It was a special Fathers Day for the Barnbrook family.
Its been a couple of years since Jim and Timm had their dad in the boat. Back problems kept him landlocked.
Thatll happen when youre 90 years old.
But a few weeks ago when Michigan offered a free fishing weekend, Don Barnbrook was feeling a lot better. Jim, age 66, and Timm, age 64, put dad in their boat at Donnell Lake near Vandalia and treated him to a day of pike fishing.
It went so well, they bought him a fishing license on Fathers Day and took him back to Donnell where they have a cottage.
We didnt catch much that day but its OK, said Jim. We had a good day on the water.
If Dons name sounds familiar, its because he was one of South Bends all-time sports greats back in the day.
He coached Rileys High School golf team to two state championships in the early 60s and was inducted into the Indiana High School Golf Hall of Fame.
At age 88, he got a hole-in-one, an event that was chronicled by Trib columnist Bill Moor.
Don, best known as Barney, was the head basketball coach at Adams High School from 1965-1969. He also played basketball at Adams in 1944.
When we were younger and dad was a teacher and coach, we didnt have much money for vacations, but he found time to teach us how to fish on area lakes, said Jim. So now its our turn to take him.
In the early days, the Barnbrooks fished for bass and bluegill. Now their focus is on pike.
Honestly, dad doesnt care what we catch, says Jim. As long as hes fishing with his boys, hes good with it.
Thats the beauty of fishing. Your body may past its prime for ball sports, but its never too late to pick up a fishing rod and enjoy a day on the water.
And when youre doing it with family, its timeless.
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