Frances (Guiles) Wills has seen the evolution of girls? basketball in Ortonville.
When she was a teenager, Wills, a 1942 graduate of Ortonville High School, played intramural basketball with her classmates at the old town hall.
Around the time her second daughter, Mary, attended high school in the early 1970’s, girls? basketball became a recognized varsity sport in Ortonville ? in fact, Mary and her teammates went on to win a district championship.
Wills, who still lives in Ortonville with her husband Don, talked about what the game was like when she was in school.
Ortonville’s old school, at the time, housed students in grades K-12 under one roof. The school was located at the corner of Ball and Cedar streets, where the Brandon Township Recreation baseball fields are located today.
‘It was a beautiful red brick building,? Wills recalled.
However, the school did not have room for a basketball court, so the girls had to go elsewhere in town to play the sport.
‘We played at the old town hall,? Wills said. ‘The court at the time was only a half-court, and the guards would try to keep the forwards from scoring. Today at the high school, their half-court is as big as our whole one.?
Since Ortonville didn’t play against other schools at that time, Wills said she and her classmates played intramural games at the old town hall on teams of 10.
Don Wills, though, was able to hit the road in varsity basketball competition. ‘My husband and I were in the same class and he played basketball, and they played other schools,? Frances Wills said.
As a matter of fact, Don played on the first Ortonville High School varsity boys basketball team in 1942, and they won a district championship that year.
After they graduated high school, Don and Frances married and remained in Ortonville, where their children also attended school.
Her first daughter, Susan, was not able to play girls basketball at the varsity level before she graduated in 1970. However, things were different for her younger daughter, Mary, as she learned the sport under the guidance of Mary Shanks, who still teaches in the Brandon district today, according to Wills.
‘They started (playing varsity girls basketball) in the early 1970’s,? Wills said. ‘She played and there were plenty of writeups on her. She was on a district championship team.?