The Lufkin Saturday Bass Club held their May tournament on May 10 with the weigh-in at Monterrey Park. The weather was decent and the 16 contestants managed to find fish for the most part. The top five finishers were: Larry Frank, 13.5; Mark Hobbs, 11.8; Tom Webb, 11.1; Bill Cameron, 11.1; Donny Webb, 10.6; Bobby Baker, 9.4. Tom Webb caught the big bass which went 6.6.

A total of 60 fish were weighed in with a total weight of 122.5 for an average of 2.04.There were nine limits weighed in for the day. Those who weighed in a limit were: Mark Hobbs, Donny Webb, Danny Massey, Wendell Thomason, Bobby Baker, Bill Cameron, Joe Baker, and Larry Franks. Don McBride had a 4.9 fish and Larry Franks came with a 4.8 dandy. This was one of the best tournaments of the year.

The corps has finally opened "BIG HANKS" put in and this is good news for most area fishermen in that it measn those who like to fish the area will not have to spend time and gas to run to it. The ramp sits in a cove and is out of the wind most days.

The standings for the year through May are: Mark Hobbs, 66.3; Bill Cameron, 47.6; Bobby Baker, 46.6; Ken Gates, 46.6; Larry Franks, 42.3; Andy James, 39.2; Windell Thomason, 38.1; James Slack, 23.9; Jack Jenkins, 28.0; Don McBride, 25.5; Danny Massey, 23.3; Donny Webb, 23.3; Joe Baker, 22.9; Tom Webb, 23.3; Danny Bebout, 22.1; Glen McKey, 21.1; Ken Lightfoot, 16.9; Josh Beckman, 15.5; Kendall Weldon, 13.4; Jeff Mastro, 12.2; Wes Basham, 12.2;Don Chumley, 12.0; Joe Carriers, 11.5; Dustin Beckman, 4.8; Mark Wych, Brian Hudson, Jerry Hill, Brad Morris and Wamer Folsom, all at 2.0.

The Saturday Bass Angler Club is looking for new members who love to fish and welcome the competitive fun of fishing. Anyone interested can call Ken Gates. The club is made up of members of all ages and from all walks of work and all are interested in helping newcomers to the club learn more about fishing and the waters the club fishes each month. It's a fun group to be with each trip. Thirtyfive years ago I was the director of the Foster Grand Parent program at the Lufkin State School. Remembering all the fun and learning that I had found at the teachers conventions and coaches clinics while teaching and coaching in the high schools of Oklahoma and Texas I decided to try to set something up in the Foster Grand Parent program that would give the Grandparents something like that.

I worked with Dr. Ben Dickerson, head of the department at Stephen F. Austin University. Since we both worked with the elderly, we had a common ground when thinking what would be good for them. Both of us thought that a gathering some spot for a few days would be beneficial to the Foster Grand Parents. He set us up with a meeting with the president of the university to see what he might do to help us toward a meeting of the Foster Grand Parents. The president was very enthusiastic about the idea and told us we could have three meeting rooms and the girls' dormitory to house the visitors in for four days. I lined up speakers and entertainers for the event including police, firemen, medical and we were set.

We invited the eight programs in Texas to the event and each school responded with an average of 40 Foster Grandparents. We had a little bit of everything, including talent shows from the Grannies. I had called and luckily got John Henry Faulk from Hee-Haw to come as guest speaker. His home town was Madisonville, and he came because I promised to take him bass fishing as payment. This was too good to be true because he was one of the most sought after speakers in America. He spoke to Ivy league colleges and the more prestigious colleges of Europe for $30,000 a speech. He spoke to the Grannies for a hamburger and fish trip with me. He was quite a man and the Grannies loved him. I was lucky to get him to come, speak and fish with me. It was a good exchange on my part to get him.

The event was moved to Baylor University after two years at Stephen F. Austin and stayed there for five years. One of the speakers at Baylor was Ann Richards. After five years at Baylor the Jamboree was made available to other areas of the nation. We have held it in Kansas City, Oklahoma City twice, the last one last week. It has been held in Texarkana twice, Branson, Mo., twice, Indianapolis, Biloxi, Miss., North Carolina, Nashville, three times, Chattanooga, Memphis, Orlando, Fla., Atlanta and Macon, Ga., Shreveport, Bossier City and, New Orleans, La., to name a few places. We plan on it being held in Mississippi next June.

The sites visited have been more than a little flattering to me personally each year. They have named a day twice in Oklahoma, once by a governor's proclamation and once by a joint house proclamation. The mayors of Oklahoma City, Bossier City, La. and Shreveport have named a Woody Cooper Day in their cities. The mayors of Oklahoma City, Shreveport, Bossier City and Weatherford, Okla., have presented me with a key to their cities. I have been the honorary mayor of Satsuma, Ala., one year. I don't think the keys will open any banks for me nor even keep me out of jail in those cities - but I like them. The city mayors of Lufkin and Waco have both proclaimed Woody Cooper days. My two baby boy great-grandsons will be inheriting all of these soon. I hope they enjoy reading about the old man someday.

BUCKLE UP, DRIVE WITH CARE, PUT ON A LIFE JACKET AND I'LL SEE YOU ON THE LAKE.