You will understand the title when you arrive.
PLEASE PARK IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE YMCA!
Do NOT attempt access from any of the neighborhood yards or streets!
Permission has been granted for this cache by the management.
Headsup: PETS are NOT allowed on YMCA property, sorry.
SOME FUN FACTS:
The YMCA was founded in London, England on June 6, 1844 by George Williams. The 1st YMCA was started as a Bible Study & prayer group to substitute for the unhealthy social conditions during the Industrial Revolution.
Basketball, Volleyball, Racquetball, Softball, and Professional Football were all created at the YMCA!
It was at the International YMCA Training School in December 1891 that James Naismith invented the game of Basketball in a period of just 2 weeks. The ball could be passed but not carried. Goals at each end of the court would lend a degree of difficulty and give skill and science a role. Elevating the goal would eliminate rushes that could injure players, a problem in football and rugby.
The first goals were actually peach baskets!
Volleyball was invented at the Holyoke YMCA (Mass.) in 1895 by William Morgan, a Y instructor who felt that basketball was too strenuous for businessmen. He blended elements of basketball, tennis and handball into the game and called it "mintonette." The name "volleyball" was first used in 1896 during an exhibition at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Mass., to better describe how the ball went back and forth over the net.
Racquetball was invented in 1950 at the Greenwich YMCA (Conn.) by Joe Sobeck, a member who couldn't find other squash players of his caliber and who did not care for handball. He tried paddleball and platform tennis and came up with the idea of using a strung racquet similar to a platform tennis paddle to allow a greater variety of shots. After drawing up rules for the game, Sobeck went to nearby Ys to promote the sport. The original balls Sobeck used were half blue and half red. When he needed replacements, Sobeck asked Spalding, the original manufacturer, to make the balls all blue so they wouldn't mark the Y's courts.
Softball was given its name by motion of Walter Hakanson of the Denver YMCA in 1926 at a meeting of the Colorado Amateur Softball Association (CASA), itself a result of YMCA staff efforts. Softball had been played for many years prior to 1926, under such names as kittenball, softball and even sissyball. In 1926, however, the YMCA state secretary, Homer Hoisington, noticed both the sport's popularity and its need for standardized rules. After a gathering of interested parties, the CASA was formed and Hakanson moved to settle on the name softball for the game. The motion carried, and the name softball became accepted nationwide.
Professional Football began at a YMCA in 1895 in Latrobe, Pa. John Brailer was paid $10 plus expenses by the local YMCA to replace the injured quarterback on their team. Years later, however, Pudge Heffelfinger claimed that he was secretly paid to play for the Allegheny Athletic Association in 1892. The National Football League elected to go with Pudge’s version of events.
President Ronald Reagan was a Lifegaurd at the YMCA.
Mark Spitz, Janet Evans, Greag Louganix, John Naber all learned to swim at the YMCA.
Harlem Globetrotter Curly Neal learned to play basketball at the YMCA.
The "Peace Corps" was founded in 1961 by President Kennedy after the YMCA's program of World Service Workers, which started in the 1880's.
"Fathers Day" was the first national holiday held at a YMCA in 1910 by Louise Dodd when she petitioned the Spokone Ministerial Alliance to recognize and support Father's Day. President Wilson officially recognized the day in 1916 and President Coolige recommended it in 1924, and then in 1971 President Nixon and Congress issued proclamations and endorsements of Father's Day as a national tradition.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up a the Butler Street YMCA in Atlanta. He and his family swam at the YMCA during the time of the Cival Rights movement.
The 3 corners of the YMCA triangle represent, Spirit, Mind & Body.
ENJOY YOUR CACHE!
Happy Caching!
FTF Honors Go To...Nayotic !