Cribbage tournament this Saturday

By Julie Noyes
Special to the Herald Times
RANGELY | When Western Rio Blanco Recreation District Director Tim Webber moved to Rangely in July 2005 he found fast friends in Carl and Peggy Rector. He spent his lunch hours playing cribbage with Carl and enjoying lunch made by Peggy. “It was real fun, talking about old times,” Webber said. “And such a great way to get to know folks.”
“Carl was the kindest, most gentle, most honest of people around. He helped a lot without making a show,” recalls his wife, Peggy. “He always had a smile on his face. He always looked for the good things.”
So it made sense to Webber that upon Carl’s passing seven years ago, he would organize the Carl Rector Memorial Cribbage Tournament with all the proceeds benefiting the local Elks Club. Rector was an Elk for many years and believed in the importance of supporting community organizations like the Elks that offer scholarships for local students, the town-wide Easter Egg Hunt, and Christmas giveaways.
The first tournament was held in 2011, welcoming 40 participants who played late into the night. Now in its seventh year, the 2017 tournament is Saturday, Feb. 18 and starts at 9 a.m. at the Rangely Elks Club, 1907 BPOE, 633 East Main St. The $20 entry fee covers breakfast, lunch and prizes.
Because Rector enjoyed woodworking, the first place prize is a handmade wooden cribbage board donated by the Rector family.
Door prizes include donations from Silver Sage RV Park, Napa and Conoco. Sodexo will cater a breakfast buffet and the Elks will supply hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixings for lunch.
“It’s a real honor to think in those terms of Carl. I’m real proud of Tim for doing it,” Peggy said.
As community members recall the good old days of Rangely with their buddy, Carl, and raise money for a worthy cause, they will already feel they’ve scored a “perfect 29” hand: four fives and a jack (the highest possible score in a single cribbage hand) just by being there.