Four years ago, former Davis Little League official Tom Locker and a French middle-school teacher named Laurent Carpentier were chatting on the Internet.

Carpentier’s call for baseball gear for his Sens city Dodgers had reached around the world. It was Locker’s reply that began a friendship — removed by 5,600 miles — that has evolved into a cultural exchange which this month will see 16 local residents head to southeast France for the continuation of the two cities’ new relationship.

“At first, we thought it would be just practicing baseball with each other,” says William Butler, 15, a DLL veteran who made the trip two years ago and whose family hosted a couple of Sens kids when the French visited Davis last spring. “But we learned so much about their culture and how they socially interact over there. We found out how different some things are … and how similar we are in other areas.”

Butler went with his mom, Dee Clark, last time. This time around, dad Jim Butler accompanies the group.

“It’s a terrific opportunity for the families,” Clark, who owns Woodstock’s Pizza, told The Enterprise. “The wonderful thing about it was staying with the families … knowing the way it is to live in France, rather that just staying in a hotel. That was a real good experience. (We’re) glad we’re able to do it that way … always be in a family situation.”

Joining the Butler-Clark clan will be Gerrit and Greg Michael and their kids Claire, 13, and Matthew, 16. Rose Brownridge, 13, will be on the trip and her mom Susan will join the group before leaving Sens.

Debbie Shoup, Bob Morrison and their son, Joseph, 12, also are headed to Europe with Steve and Jean Korinke going with son Scott, 13, and daughter, Caroline.

The contingent will be in Sens from July 27 through Aug.3, but some of these families are packing their trip with bonus outings before or after the baseball exchange.

“We’re (going) to Paris with everybody,” Gerrit Michael explains, adding that while the kids and others head to their host families, Greg and Gerrit are off to the London Olympics: basketball and volleyball tickets in hand while hoping to score some swimming ducats once in England.

The Korinkes are planning some post-Sens outdoor fun in the French Alps and Clark, William and Jim Butler will be off to Germany to visit relatives.

All agree that while the opportunity presents itself, it’s a chance to make the most of this summer event. Shoup said her family had been making plans to get involved the first time they heard Locker hatch his plan …

“We hosted a couple of French kids on their trip last year and we loved them,” she explained. “We played baseball almost every day. When those kids came here … is was almost the best week of my life. Watching kids see things that are new; that’s so exciting.”

The Sens middle-schoolers are typically aged 11-14. Carpentier told The Enterprise last year that baseball equipment is in short supply in France, but his kids’ interest in baseball has always meant high numbers of students eager to try the American Pastime.

When Locker and Davis Little League got involved by sending old and new equipment to the Medieval city, interest surpassed even Carpentier’s wildest dreams.

“The kids all Facebook each other. There will be gloves, balls and cleats in our luggage and I know Davis keeps sending equipment to (Sens),” Locker said. “While the Olympians are without baseball, at least the French-American series will be in full swing.

Day 1 (July 27) features the Davis folks getting picked up at the airport in Paris, then whisked off to Sens.

An adventure park and 1,100-year-old castle are on the next day’s agenda before a Sunday trip to the City of Light (Paris). After staying overnight, the group returns to Sens on July 30.

Troyes, a key textile center during the Middle Ages, is a destination as is Le Parc du Moulin a Tan (the largest recreation park in the Sens vicinity).

A four-team tournament against squads from Burgundy is the final-day highlight. A farewell dinner will be conducted afterward.

Notes: The Davis travelers met last week at Woodstock’s Pizza to pore over details while doing a little watch synchronizing. … Clark, who knows a little about pizza, was asked to check in about French pizza: “We actually had pizza there one time. It’s pretty good. They use a lot of different toppings, like potato.”… Shoup’s son Joesph has been getting weekend French tutoring, leading to the question, who speaks the other’s language better? “I think the French kids do better at English than we do at French. But we all make it work so wonderfully,” Shoup says. The Shoup-Morrison trio has Paris, Venice and Berlin on its post-Sens agenda.

— Reach Bruce Gallaudet at [email protected] or (530) 747-8047.

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Local families headed to Sens, France, on a cultural exchange trip — which has evolved from chat between baseball coaches in each city — gather at Woodstock’s Pizza to go over last-minute details. Clockwise from bottom left are Debbie Shoup, Joseph Morrison (partially hidden), Bob Morrison, Scott and Jean Korinke, Robert Michael, Gerrit Michael, Dee Clark, Will (partially hidden) Bulter and Jim Butler. Wayne Tilcock/Enterprise photo

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