Imagine Arnold Palmer and Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) in the same high school at the same time! That was the case in the early 1950s in Latrobe, Pennsylvania (Western Pennsylvania, to be more precise. That's my Heimat).
For as long as I can remember, people liked and respected Palmer. He never forgot his roots. A humble, unassuming person, he took pride in what he did. He won the Master's four times, and notched numerous other victories. His most important contribution was in removing the snobbish mystique from golf.
In the late 1960s my father took my brother and me one Saturday morning to the golf shop at the Philadelphia Cricket Club to get us interested in golf. He himself did not play, but it was a means for social advancement. My brother and I are second-generation Americans, and I suppose Dad wanted us to climb up the ladder. My reaction was: do I have to wear those clothes? Plaids, pastels, and stripes yuck!
Neither my brother nor I play golf, but my son does. tried a few times, but would rather run than play golf. But I respected and liked Arnie. And I miss him.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/25/us/arnold-palmer-death/index.html
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