The Millstone Times November 2021

The Millstone Times' STUDENT OF THE MONTH By Pam Teel

Continued from page 6... Interesting People throughout HistorY “Aunt Mary” Mary Dobkin In 1965, the Baltimore Orioles held a "Mary Dobkin Day" to honor the local coach for her work, and invited two of the boys involved in her programs to be honorary batboys for that game.. Dobkin threw the ceremonial first pitch at the sixth game of the 1979 World Series, played in Baltimore. Mary had always wanted to give back to her home town because of how they took care of her, being a ward of the State. She made a vow that one day, in some way, she would give back; and she fulfilled that promise. Her extraordinary service to the poor youths of Baltimore resulted in a national television tribute in 1979, when her story became a television movie called “Aunt Mary.” starring Jean Stapleton as Mary Dobkin. Ellis Cohen was one of her former Dobkin Dynamites. His bi- ography formed the basis for the TV movie. “The kids can’t say to her, you don’t know where I’m coming from,” Ellis stated. "I was the first manager to integrate a team, the first to play a girl, the first to coach three sports (baseball, basketball, and football), the first living person to have a playing field named for them, and now I'm the first to have my story told on TV," Dobkin noted of her many accom- plishments. Dobkin always volunteered her services, because a salary would have jeopardized her disability benefits. Beyond sports, she was noted for throwing an annual Christmas party for the children of her neighbor- hood. A Mary Dobkin Park was dedicated in Baltimore in 1975. She died in August 1987, at the age of 84, after a stroke. There is an exhibit about Mary Dobkin at the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore. Among the alumni of Dobkin teams were Tom Phoebus of the Bal- timore Orioles, and Ron Swoboda of the New York Mets. Ms. Dobkin became known to most of the famous major leaguers of the era, and her athletic club office was adorned with autographed photos of many of them. Even in her older years, she appeared regularly on the practice field, using crutches to move from child to child, alternately yelling and coax- ing them to try harder. “We’ve had kids on my teams who have become doctors and lawyers,” Mary stated, and 35 went on to become policemen. You should have seen what cop-haters a lot of them were, but my greatest joy is the boys who are now grown up, and are bringing their own kids to practice. Some of them are my best coaches.” She didn’t have much money, but what she did have made up for all of the money in the world. Mary had love and patience, understanding, and determination. She was fair and just, and treated all children the same, no matter their race, gender, or handicap. She shared her love for baseball with others who needed an outlet, a way to escape their poverty. She brought out the good in the hopelessness of the times and gave the children something to feel proud about. The world needs more people like Mary Dobkin in it!

9-year-old Patryk Ehlenberger attends the Millstone Elementary school and is in the 4th grade. What he likes about school is seeing all his friends, riding the school bus, play- ing during recess, and eating lunch in the cafeteria with his friends. He also likes his teachers. His favorite subjects are math and gym. He was chosen for the advanced math this year and he is doing very well so far. He likes gym because he gets good exercise, and likes to run around. Patryk is getting all A's so far this year, even in the advanced math class. Hopefully he can continue to get straight A's all year.

Patryk Ehlenberger

If you have a child, friend, sibling, that you would like to see get some recognition for being a great student, I would love to put them in as Student of the Month. You don’t have to get straight A’s. What you need is to show an enthusiasm for learning and a love for your school. Please email me at: crescent671@gmail.com. Christmas is his favorite holiday. He loves to open his presents and he loves to give them as well. He gets to spend a lot of time with his family and they all eat a nice dinner on Christmas Eve. This year he is going to ride the Polar Express train for the first time. His favorite sports are MMA and golf. He is starting to learn a little bit of basket- ball too. His favorite foods to eat are, Cheeseburgers and Pizza. If he had one wish, he would wish that he could get a dog. He and his sister really want one. Right now, he thinks he would like to be a mathematician when he grows up be- cause math is his favorite subject and he likes solving problems. Keep up the great work in school Patryk. Getting all A’s is very impressive!!!!!! His favorite books he likes to read are, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dogman. He has read all 11 Dogman books. He also enjoys the Harry Potter series and read all 7 books! His favorite TV Show, by far, is SpongeBob Squarepants. He thinks it’s really fun- ny and has seen almost all the episodes. Hobbies: His Dad is teaching him guitar and he has made a lot of progress. He can play a number of chords and soon he will start to learn the scales. He also has been taking MMA classes for nearly two years and he is an orange belt. Favorite places to visit: His family has gone to the outer Banks in North Carolina 4 times. He also likes to go to Universal Studios. He went last summer and loved the water rides the best; such as Jurassic Park ride, the log flume, and others. He also likes to go to Hurricane Harbor, which is part of Great Adventure. It has fun water slides. Patryk lives with his mom, dad, and sister Kasandra. His mom loves him very much and takes very good care of him. She tucks him in at night and cooks nice meals for everyone. His dad does a lot of jobs around the house and is very funny. His sister, Kasandra, likes to play with him. They laugh together all the time. Family pets: Patryk has 5 fish., 2 small catfish and 3 goldfish. They are about 3 years old now. He won one of the goldfish at the Polish festival where his family goes every year. He had to throw a ring onto a bottle and he won the fish.

8 The Millstone Times

November 2021