No Quit

Not many people west of the Great Lakes had baseball on their mind during the long winter of '49 -- '50. Fewer still were concerned with fastball. But the twenty-eight farm kids attending Heidelberg, the last remaining one-room school in the district, were positively possessed with the game. Faced with losing their school, the hayseeds had a point to prove to the town people and their dodgy team, the Wexford Wizards. Armed with two weather-checked bats, one frayed softball and an ancient pancake catcher's mitt, they were determined to set things right and settle the score on the ball diamond. Mildly amused, the elders shook their heads and kept their sage opinions to themselves. Then, when a starving, half-frozen kid from Toronto showed up with nothing but a battered ball glove in his possession, the neighbourhood started to think differently. Oblivious to discrepancies in size and age, a shortage of equipment and a lack of basic training, another major stumbling block faced the country team: How would the Heidelberg Hitters convince the Wizards to take them seriously enough to accept a challenge?
About the Author: C. C. Phillips grew up on a mixed farm along the edge of the Great Sandhills region of the Canadian prairies. 'The Hills' provided a wonderland of adventure and enchantment for a growing lad, his dog and saddle horse; the semi-annual two day cattle drive through the heart of the uninhabited landscape were highlights of the year. As a youngster, Phillips attended a country school for the first six seasons of his formal education, making the three mile trek on horseback, buggy or cutter. It was here that he realized a love of stories and writing under the tutelage of Mrs. Harrison, a young teacher recently arrived from Britain. With the family farming operation lacking in capacity, a young C. C. Phillips entered the work force, delving into a variety of occupations. Writing was relegated to a hobby as he turned his attention to providing for wife, son and daughter. Phillips' adventurous spirit moved him and his family to La Ronge in central Saskatchewan, and from there to Uranium City in the province's extreme northwest corner. The latter, once a thriving mining community of five thousand, had dwindled to a near ghost-town of two hundred. Here, the wildlife, scenery and solitude captured his heart and rekindled the writer's imagination within. Throughout the course of his life, C. C. Phillips has continued to write. Now retired, he is able to devote more time to pencil, pen and keyboard. He takes a keen interest in wildlife and spends hours tramping or riding across the grasslands. Leisure time is devoted to his family, puttering in shop and barn in summer, hunting in autumn and winter. He and his wife currently reside in their country home in southern Saskatchewan.