Gary Thielen and his wife Jane couldn’t have imagined a worse way to learn of the existence of Spare Key. After their son Daniel, now 8, spent most of January and February of 2000 at Minneapolis Children’s Hospital, one of the few bright spots they remember from that spring was receiving a mortgage payment grant from Spare Key. “After all Danny went through,” said Jane Thielen, “And all we went through, to have an organization we knew nothing about come through for us like that, it was really something special.” The Thielen’s decided then and there that someday they’d make an effort to return the favor, or as they like to think of it, to “pay it forward.” “So many people could use the type of assistance that Spare Key gave us,” said Gary. “People far less fortunate than we turned out to be need Spare Key.” Thielen, a 40-year-old former college and amateur baseball player, figured out a way to relive the glory days of his youth and raise money for Spare Key at the same time. He gathered up a dozen equally creaky, old friends who wanted to be young again, at least for a day, and the St. Cloud Relics were born. The Relics were able to raise more than $800 for Spare Key with the help of the players and the fans who came to see last year’s inaugural team lose to Holdingford, 5-4, in 10 innings. “We thought we might play more than one game a year,” said starting pitcher Pete Hamerlinck, 39, “But then everyone found out they could barely walk for two weeks after the game.” Danny Thielen is now a healthy, rambunctious 8-year-old, and it seems the Relics have become a tradition. This year’s game figures to be much bigger and better. The Minnesota Twins Community Fund has committed to send Tony Oliva and mascot T.C. to make appearances at this year’s event. Thielen hopes that their appearance and more time to plan will translate into raising $2,500 or more for Spare Key. Jane will help out in any way she can, including collecting tickets at the gate. “I’ll have one eye on Danny, and the other ready to reach for the Advil, Ben-Gay, and the Ace bandages.” This year’s game will begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 29, at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud. Tickets are available for $5 each by calling the Thielens at (320) 252-2900. Donations will also be happily accepted. The Thielens added that they’d like to challenge all former Spare Key grant recipients to figure out a fun way to raise money with their friends and “pay it forward.”
