"Wayzata Today" Thursday, April 9, webcast:

A look at the April 9 Wayzata Sun-Sailor

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with two sons of the late Johnny Blanchard for a feature obituary on the Wayzata resident and former New York Yankee.

Blanchard was to be one of 30 Yankee greats to help christen the new $1.6 billion Yankee Stadium when it opens next Thursday, but unfortunately Blanchard suffered a fatal heart attack on March 25.

Both Tim and Paul Blanchard said that growing up they never really looked at Johnny Blanchard as a ball player, they just saw him as 'dad.' They both added, however, that over the years they grew to appreciate exactly what he accomplished a little bit more.

Blanchard played with the Yankees from 1959 to 1965 alongside such legends as Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Yogi Berra and was a member of the 1961 Yankees, widely considered one of the best teams in baseball history.

In the week following Johnny's death, his sons said they'd heard stories about their father that they'd never heard before and his impact on people outside of their family was evident when a half dozen Yankee fantasy campers flew in from New York to attend the funeral.

In addition to Tim and Paul, Johnny Blanchard was survived by his wife, Nancy, another son, Johnny, and six grandchildren.

The complete version of this story, along with updates on IOCP's FoodShare Month drive, an upcoming presentation by the Wayzata Historical Society and many others are available on our website Mnsun.com and in this week's edition of the Sun-Sailor.


Local golf courses opening up
With the weather warming up, many area golf courses are beginning to welcome golfers back to the links.

The Orono Golf Course opened up yesterday and Baker National in Medina opened to golfers at noon today.

I also spoke with representatives from Spring Hill Country Club, the Wayzata Country Club and Woodhill Country Club this morning. Wayzata Country Club will be opening to members tomorrow and the other two will follow suit right around the 15th or shortly after.

Weatherunderground.com forecast
Now we'll take a look at the Weatherunderground.com forecast. A link to Weatherunderground.com can be found on our website Mnsun.com

For the rest of Thursday expect the sun to stick around with highs reaching up to 55. It should be mostly clear overnight with lows around 30.

For Friday it will be mostly sunny in the morning with some clouds rolling in in the afternoon. Highs will be around 55.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Sun Newspapers
• Sun-Sailor
• Wayzata Today
• Jared Huizenga
• Johnny Blanchard
• Paul Blanchard
• Tim Blanchard
• New York Yankees
• Wayzata
• Orono
• Long Lake
• Orono Golf Course
• Wayzata Country Club
• Woodhill Country Club
• Spring Hill Country Club