GIFFORD AND FLETCH COCHRAN
When the spring thaw melts the snows in Lamoine, Maine some weeks hence, Gifford Cochran and his wife Fletch will be out on the diamond as usual with the ball club they "adopted" some years ago. Giff is a painter, his wife is an ex-actress and both are ardent baseball fans. Seeking a substitute for the big leagues when they moved from Manhattan to Maine, they found themselves watching the Lamoine A.C.—an enthusiastic collection of local ballplaying mechanics, farmers, storekeepers and telephone linemen who played in the Waldo-Hancock League.
"We saw they needed all kinds of things," said Fletch. "Their uniforms were tattered. There was a hill in their right field. They had no money. We wanted to help, but you know how it is down East. You can't push yourself in too fast." At first the Cochrans contented themselves with rooting at every game. Then they donated a few new balls. Then some uniforms. Last year they felt secure enough to build a new diamond for the team on the 60 acres of land behind their house. The Lamoine A.C. promptly moved in and elected Giff Cochran their manager. "This spring," says his proud wife Fletch, "we're going to put in bleachers."
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