All You Need to Know About Becky Thompson

Turning Back Time By Don Eskins        

One of my favorite things to do when Kyle Marksteiner sends me an electronic copy of the Carlsbad Local is to look for names and photos of the people I taught with, coached with, or knew as friends there. 

I especially like checking out the Lake Carlsbad Municipal Golf Course's Senior Par 3 results each week. It was something I often participated in with my good friend, Jerry Collier, and many others while living there.

However, when names I've been following are suddenly missing, I begin to worry—names like Becky Thompson, one of Carlsbad's most celebrated and loved figures.

Although Becky's name had been posted, along with several other participants competing on May 16, she had withdrawn from the tournament. Right away, the red flags went up, and I began to worry.

So, it was a welcome sight to see her name back on the Senior Par 3 League's scoreboard for the week of May 23. Although she had posted the tournament's low gross (36) for the day, she wound up in a tie for third place alongside her good friend, Bobbe Young, with a net score of 31, just one stroke off the pace set by tourney winners John Caraway and Jaynie Martin, who both carded the tourney's low net scores of 30.

Iconic Becky

For all the new faces in Carlsbad who may not know her, Becky arrived in Carlsbad during the early 1960s. Since then, she's owned and operated two very successful businesses during her lifetime, Becky's A&W and the Carlsbad Sports Center.

Very athletic, as a member of the historic All-American Redheads, a traveling women's basketball team that competed during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, she was inducted, along with other members of the Redheads, into the National Basketball Association's Hall of Fame in 2012.

For her exploits on a softball field, she's been named an All-American for eight different organizations and can be found in a number of athletic Hall of Fames.

She's also spent a very big part of her life working with and supporting Carlsbad's kids.

Becky's accomplishments are innumerable, and over the past, well, we'll just say several years, she's touched the lives of many, many residents in Carlsbad.

Because of all the lives she's touched, there's always a lot of great stories floating around the Cavern City about Becky. Seems like all those who have been fortunate enough to meet her have one, including me.

However, as I see it, all of the achievements and accolades she's gathered during her lifetime don't really define her. Becky's much more than all of that. To me, her life has best been defined in a simple story she shared with me a few years back.

It's a story I feel is worth repeating. So, Carlsbad, here's all you need to know about Becky Thompson.

A Nickel and a Few Pennies

While operating her A&W Root Beer Restaurant, Becky began to have a frequent visitor—a youngster who lived just down the street from her business. For him, times were tough, as his family was undergoing some financial difficulties.

"He was a cute little guy, and I could tell that he didn't have much money," said Becky. "But he liked to come over and talk to me. He was really a very special kid.

"He also liked to order something to eat. So, as we talked, he'd reach down deep into his pocket and pull out a nickel and a few pennies," said Becky with a smile. "Just enough to buy a hamburger, fries, and a coke."

That young boy has never forgotten the kindness and compassion shown to him by Becky, and several decades later, he continues to keep in touch with her.

Yup, that's all you need to know about Becky Thompson!

May your days be filled with birdies and eagles, young lady, and a pocket full of mulligans in case they aren't.