Special Game Gives Fans Special Souvenir
June 22, 2000, Daily News-Miner

By Dean Lichterman

For the past nine years, the Alaska Goldpanners have given out free gold coins as a souvenir of the Midnight Sun Game.

Those coins will be carried around North America by spectators attending Wednesday's event between the Goldpanners and the Santa Barbara Foresters.

"This is something that started in '91," said Goldpanner General Manager Don Dennis. "Actually we do it with the tourism money. The organizations all go to get the bed tax money every year from the city council. This is what we do with a major portion of that money that we get," Dennis said. "We put about $2,500 a year into these coins just to give them out as a tie into tourism. It's a flat-out giveaway. We don't do anything commercial with them at all."

The coins are doing their job to promote Alaska and the Panners.

One side of the coin features a batter with an outline of Alaska in the background. The flip side has the words "95th annual baseball game" on top with the June 21 date in the middle and the Goldpanners name on the bottom.

Jim Pona, 70, will bring a coin back to Rimby, Alberta, Canada.

"This is really special to see baseball like this," Pona said. "They play baseball at midnight and they don't need lights to play it."

Two coins will end up in Lansing, Mich., courtesy of Pam Toncracy, 46, and her daughter Lissa, 20.

"We were going to be in Alaska anyway, but we planned on being here to see this game," Pam said. "This is pretty neat. This is awesome to see baseball played at midnight."

Larry Treece, 49, and his wife Sharon can brag about the coin in Fayetteville, Ark.

"This is our first trip to Alaska and it just happened to work out that we can watch the ballgame while we are here," Treece said. "I like this idea (playing at midnight), that's why we are here."

Some of the coins will arrive in Santa Barbara with fans of the Foresters. Rene Spilborghs, 50, is in Fairbanks to watch his son Ryan.

"It think this is great. It is hard to get adjusted to the light, but I think it's wonderful," Spilborghs said. "Where else in the world can you play at midnight with no lights?"

Gary Rosecrans is spending the summer in Denali National Park and Preserve, but will return to Towson, Md., this fall.

"It's such a funky idea. We (along with his wife) like the idea of coming out and watching a ballgame where you take a break in the middle of it and have a party, then resume the game," Rosecrans said. "Alaskans seem to have a neat sense of humor about the extremes of weather and light and darkness."

Carrie DeMars of Ferndale, Wash., watched the game with her fiance and two in-laws. The four coins are going to add to their collection.

"This is our first destination (as part of an Alaska vacation). We had to come here to watch this famous baseball game," DeMars said. "We're going to save those. We are sort of coin collectors too."

Coins will also arrive in Amando, Ariz., with Ester Geisman and Maurie Denissen and Silver Spring, N.Y., with Pat and Phil Mucher.

"Everybody likes them, but most people are surprised that they are given anything," Dennis said. "Then they are further surprised at the quality of the coin. We get a lot of very positive feedback from people that come in from out of town primarily, but the local people like it too. It proves that occasionally there is something for nothing."

June 22, 2000, Daily News-Miner