Croquet Classic returns to Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum

From the Trekkies drawn for decades to everything “Star Trek” related to the Swifties who follow Taylor Swift’s every move today, this is an age of influencers and brand development when seemingly every source of entertainment has a catchy label for its “fandom.”

The mallet-wielding threesomes ready to descend on the Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum and neighboring mansions for the seventh annual Eleanor Davies Croquet Classic and Garden Party on Sunday raise an important question: What should Meadville’s die-hard croquet lovers be called?

It’s a game from the pre-digital past that for some conjures memories of backyard picnics. For others, it evokes images of “Downton Abbey.” But how best to brand the devotees of lawn and ball?

“Croquies” would follow the pattern set by the Swifties example, but it doesn’t have quite the right nostalgic ring to it and also looks funny.

Croquettes? Malleteers? Sticky wickets? Wicket stepmothers?

Deadheads, another familiar model drawn from the world of music, suggests a possibility: “Croq-heads”?

That might capture the fanatic zeal that characterizes many devotees, but it also carries a vaguely politically incorrect feel that seems contrary to the civilized code of conduct that characterizes modern croquet, the Queen of Hearts being a notable past exception.

The vibe of the event, according to organizer Josh Sherretts, is decidedly unlike the “Off with their heads!” approach of the “Alice in Wonderland” character known for playing with flamingo mallets and hedgehog balls.

“It’s very laid back,” said Sherretts, executive director of Crawford County Historical Society, which stages the event as a fundraiser. “Even those who are far more serious players, it’s a very laid back, enjoyable and family-friendly event.”

Balls will be sent off, of course, and there are definitely winners and losers, with the day’s top two teams advancing to a final match that takes place on a featured court during the garden party portion of the event. But even so, according to Sherretts, the oldfashioned clothing and ornate floppy hats that tend to dominate the sartorial side of the game appear to have a mellowing effect.

“While there are some that can be cutthroat, everyone is extremely cordial,” he said. “It’s that time of year time to dust off the tweed and see what we can do.”

If last year is a valid sample, what Dave Astry and his team from Bush Investment Group can do is win. Not only did the team take the title in a competitive championship match last year, but team member Kelsy Astry, Dave’s wife, has also taken home multiple awards for best hat during the four or five years they have played.

But when Dave spoke to the Tribune this week, he did not have to interrupt a grueling training regimen to do so. Yes, he owns a croquet set, but it’s one that only occasionally comes out for family get-togethers.

“We’re definitely not competitive croqueters,” he said, offering a collective term for those who play the game, if not the fandom more generally.

Not competitive, perhaps, but confident: After returning the silver cup that spends each year with the winning team, like a miniature version of the Stanley Cup, to Sherretts for tidying up before the event, Asstry expected to see it again soon.

“We’ll have it back after Sunday,” he joked.

Astry’s main tip for those looking to up their game this year was to focus on fundamentals, and he meant it in the most basic sense of actually knowing how to play.

“Brush up on the rules. If you understand the rules of croquet, it helps a lot,” he said. “It helps you know what kind of shots you can make. Something that hurts teams is not knowing something that would benefit them.”

Such knowledge played an important role in last year’s win, for instance. Astry said that as one team member continued to advance toward the final peg, the two others ran interference on their opponents, sending balls off whenever possible to slow their progress.

“There are strategies,” he said. “You can actually play defense.”

There are strategies in play for the historical society as well. The event is the most significant one that the organization puts on each year and it typically raises more than $10,000, which goes a long way toward paying the annual operating expenses for the Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum, where monthly heating bills can run up to $1,000 in the winter, according to Sherretts.

This year, more than 30 teams are expected and additional prizes will be given out for best outfits, best facial hair and best ladies hat. More than 25 raffle baskets will be on hand, with yard games for those who choose only to spectate rather than play. Two teams will also race on inflatables across Little Conneaut Lake, the pond on the museum grounds, re-enacting a tradition that first began 149 years ago, when the pond was known as Terrace Lake, according to recently unearthed archival material at the museum.

The action comes with a background soundtrack by Shades of Time, the big band that will play from the terrace of Holland House, next door to the Baldwin-Reynolds House, not to mention brunch and dinner.

Michael Reed will be providing both food and beverages for the event through his companies French Creek Coffee and Tea Co. LLC and Cussewago Creek Distillery and has been part of the croquet competition for several years.

“It’s an event that is fun and very different from other things happening in the area,” he said. “It’s an afternoon to get dressed up and enjoy the beauty of the properties we play on.”

The 15 or more courts in play will stretch down the “Millionaires’ Row” section of Terrace Street from the Baldwin-Reynolds House to Boileau Place. The event’s aesthetic cultivates the tweeds and linens of golden age croquet, but the play itself is very much geared toward the backyard version of the game, according to Sherretts, including the courts that are laid out at half the scale of the typical 50-by-100 foot backyard size.

The approach is in keeping with the advice of Eleanor Davies, the longtime Meadville resident and museum benefactor who was the last surviving Meadville resident to have known the Reynolds family firsthand when she died at 97 in 2017. Davies told Sherretts not to worry about participants being unfamiliar with the finer details of the croquet rule book.

“If no one knows how to play, the playing field is level,” Sherretts recalled Davies telling him when they came up with the idea for the event. “At least as level,” he added Thursday, “as the backyard courses.”

But even for teams who struggle to compete in their three-game schedules, the event typically proves rewarding.

“It’s fun to step back in time a bit for a day,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to put some creativity into your outfits, have a great brunch, a great dinner and to leave your worries behind for an afternoon.”