Donald Meamber never forgot the time baseball great Babe Ruth visited Yreka and its grade school. Meamber, who grew up in and around Yreka during the 1920’s and 30’s, was in the fifth grade at the time.
Ruth, known as the “Bambino,” had been vacationing and fishing along the Klamath River. His New York Yankees had just beaten the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1925 World Series.
His visit to the school was of great importance for the small town kids of Yreka. The Babe, always a performer, enjoyed performing for the kids.
Meamber said two good student baseball players, brothers John and George Lawe, were selected to pitch and catch for the “King of Swat,” another Ruth nickname. John was the pitcher and George the catcher. Ruth never missed a pitch. Once, he hit the ball so hard it soared over the neighborhood for more than two long blocks, landing near where the old Siskiyou General Hospital was located.
Meamber recalled, “It just went into orbit and disappeared. George Lawe didn't need to catch behind that plate. Ruth always belted that ball. Boy, did that impress us kids!”
Source: Meamber, D. L. (2003). Sawbones in Siskiyou: The Story of My Family (pp. 76-77). Montague, CA: Genealogical Society of Siskiyou County.
