A TRIBUTE TO FRANK J.
BARTHEN
Barthen
was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, which is just north of Eau Claire.
He
came to Columbus at age 16 in 1942, looking for wartime work.
To
his great disappointment, a heart murmur and flat fleet disqualified Barthen
from military service.
He
ended up working in a Pearl Harbor naval yard as his way of contributing the
war effort during World War II.
By
the time Barthen made it back to Columbus in 1947, he decided he wanted to
become part of donkey basketball.
Barthen
bought into Donkey Ball with his brother-in-law, Spicer, for $700 in `47.
Spicer
died at age 85 in 1997.
One
of his sons, Jack, has four donkey ball teams in trucks traveling the country
and more than 100 burros at his ranch in Marengo, Ohio.
Although
paralyzed on the left side and slowed by the effects of a severe stroke he had
in late 1995, Barthen still helps tend to the house that donkeys built.
TRIBUTE CONTINUES TOMORROW -- MAY 17
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