1965 Miss Sportsarama Contestants (l–r): Seated – Martha Lott, Mary Castles, Betsy Rate, Anita Koslowski, and Kay Ann Dell; Standing – Ima Gayle Turbyfill, Ann Dunn, Patsy Craig (Miss Sportsarama 1964), Susan Farley, Judy Bihari, and Mary Kohn. In 1960, Guy Castles Jr. was a successful Columbia pediatrician and the president of the Richland Sertoma Club.

Yet, on a hot, late summer’s night that year, Castles was lugging packages of peanuts and popcorn to sell through the stands at the first Sportsarama.

“I don’t remember how much we were selling them for, but if it was a penny more than a dime, I’d be stunned,” said Castles, who is retired but still lives a few minutes from Dreher High School. “They cost a little more nowadays.”

Fifty years later, Cory Manning, a Columbia lawyer who was recognized as one of “Columbia’s 20 Under 40” earlier this year, patrols the same stands selling cold drinks.

A copy of a page from inside the program from the first Sportsarama in 1960. “We call him Rocket Man,” said Steve Etheredge, the concession chairman for the Sportsarama. “He’s one of two guys who, for the past three years, strap on a portable cooler that keeps cold and distributes bottled drinks. It’s basically a backpack.”

Though generations apart, they are links in the volunteer chain that have enabled the Sportsarama to reach its 50th anniversary. For that first Sportsarama, nearly 90 club members served as volunteers.

“The Sportsarama was the club’s big fundraising project, in terms of involvement,” Castles said.

It also was—and remains—the club’s biggest fundraiser in terms of cash, which is why most members still take part.

The A.C. Flora page from the 1965 Sportsarama program. Pictured are coaches (l–r): Standing – Mike Ragin, John Szakaesi, Jim Pinkerton, Bob Ellenburg, and Warner Montgomery; Kneeling – John Jones and Joe Weathers. “Unless a member is out of town or sick, everyone is there that day helping in some way,” said Pat Blackwell, the 50th anniversary celebration chairman.

The number of volunteers has risen and fallen through the years; today, approximately 40 to 45 annually help stage the event that day—from selling tickets and manning the concession stand to preparing scripts for public address announcements and coordinating teams, officials or halftime activities.

The club doesn’t worry about lining up security, officials, or the teams. The Richland One school district and its athletics director, Dr. Carlos Smith, handle those matters as part of the partnership the two organizations have forged over the years.

The Dreher page from the 1965 Sportsarama program. Pictured are coaches (l–r) Dean Fowble, Earl Rankin, Charlie Stuart, and Bill Knight. “Regardless of how much effort we put into it as the club, the school district also puts a lot of effort in,” Etheredge said.

While most of the volunteer activity occurs the weekend of the event, a core half–dozen Sertoma Club members dedicate themselves to the Sportsarama yearround in areas such as soliciting advertising, handling publicity, and lining up concessions.

“It’s a labor of love for us,” Etheredge said. “If we didn’t think it was a worthwhile community event, we wouldn’t be doing it. While it helps us raise money, that’s not our sole interest.”

Etheredge has volunteered for 25 consecutive years. Blackwell has done so for 30. Jack Sterne is the longest active serving volunteer: 33 years, including 28 as the Sportsarama’s chairman.

The Dentsville page from the 1963 Sportsarama program. Pictured are coaches (l–r) Harry Parone, Lee Coty, Don Richardson, and Von Boozer. “I just want to put something back to the community that I’ve lived in for a number of years,” said Sterne, who retired to Columbia from the Army after 20 years. “I was invited to join the club, and I enjoyed the camaraderie of the members. I was there when this opportunity came up. The majority of my volunteer work is with youngsters; they are the future. And, it has just sort of gone from there ever since.”

These days Sterne, who is 75, is talking about stepping back and aside once again, but club members have heard that before.

“We call him Mr. Sportsarama,” Blackwell said. “He’s handed over the reins many times, but no one can do it as well as he does, so he keeps coming back.”

That pattern is nothing new for the Sertoma Club members. The late Edward “X” Harter, who co–chaired the first Sport- sarama in 1960, regularly came out as a volunteer for the event long after his 80th birthday.

“It’s guys like that who reminded us what real commitment is,” Etheredge said.

And guys like that who keep the Sportsarama thriving after so many years.