By Leland Crouse
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This story is from 1993 – Mention Carolyn Boutwell and chances are people will think of athletics and girls’ softball.

The long-time girls’ softball mentor has coached her current team of 11-12-year-olds to a 10-1 record with one game remaining this season.

A win would seal another Northwest Girls’ League championship for Ada. Last year’s team, undefeated in the league, went on to win the tournament to finished with a 13-0 season record.

If it wasn’t for Boutwell, it is possible that Ada would not yet have girls’ softball. She initiated the sports around eight years ago when she organized a team of 8-12-year-olds.

“I found out that there was a girls’ softball league so I put out the word and the girls came out,” she said. “We had about 20 girls on the first team.”

After several years, Boutwell expanded the program by helping organize teams for the girls as they got older.

Now there are teams for 8-10-year-olds (coached by Pam Wyss, Pat Wyss and Paul Fletcher), 11-12-year-olds (coached by Boutwell and Chris Christopher) and 13-16-year-olds (coached by Time Campbell).

Some of the girls currently on Campbell’s team were charter members of Boutwell’s first team.