Welcome Shriners

When the East and West Shrine football squads take the field in Bulldog Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon it will be another step in one of the most successful fundraising efforts in the United States.

This year’s contest is the 57th annual East-West game. Since 1981 the game has raised approximately $65,000 annually for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Portland.

The only reason the game is played is to support the youngsters in the Portland hospital. It is from the generous support of Shriners and non-Shriners alike that the care and research is carried out to help those youngsters lead as normal a life as possible.

The football game will cap a festive weekend that also will include:

• Shriners from three states dressed in brightly colored costumes having fun and entertaining the hundreds of fans who will visit Baker City;

• Sixty young men, some of whom will be playing their final football game ever, plus top coaches and officials who are willing to go that extra mile for less-fortunate children;

• The annual Shrine parade Saturday at 10 a.m. with its colorful clowns and fancy floats, marching and performing units, Shrine dignitaries, and Shrine royalty.

• The pre-game pageantry, which begins this year at noon, and the halftime festivities.

• The chance for townspeople, merchants and other fans to show their support for the Shriners, the players, and above all the children in the hospital.

Undeniably, Saturday’s game will be a highlight for players, planners, Shriners and community residents. But when the game has become a memory to us who play or run or walk, its deeper and still more permanent benefits continue in the lives of the hospital’s young patients.

Welcome, Shriners and others, who have created this outstanding event and to those guests who are participating in this lighthearted labor of love.