DEAR SUN SPOTS: This is a baseball question to settle a dispute.

The Chicago Cubs of the National League who play in Wrigley Field were the last Major League team to play under the lights. I say this was started 12 years ago. The other person says they don’t.

I hope you can read my printing. I will look for your answer in the column. I read it every day. — M.B., Berlin

ANSWER: Sun Spots didn’t understand your question and thought maybe she had misinterpreted your handwriting, so she asked her editor, Pete, who knows way too much about just about everything, what he thought. He said you were probably referring to the fact that Wrigley Field was the last of the baseball stadiums to add lights.

If that is indeed your question, your friend is wrong, but you are also off on the dates, as the Cubs have played under the lights for more than 25 years, but only for a limited number of games each year.

Pete sent Sun Spots a couple of links about this subject. The following appears on the Chicago Tribune website (http://tinyurl.com/on8o75y):

“It had taken six years of arguing, cajoling and bluffing to bring lights to Wrigley, which for years had been the only major league baseball park where night games could not be played.

“When then-general manager Dallas Green first proposed installing lights in 1982, many neighborhood residents took up the cause of keeping the field dark. Largely because of their efforts, the Illinois General Assembly and the Chicago City Council passed legislation that effectively banned night games (a grandfather clause excluded Comiskey Park, which had had lights since 1939).

“The Cubs, owned by Tribune Co., persisted. Management hinted darkly that the team might abandon Wrigley for the suburbs. Major League Baseball decreed that, should the Cubs ever make it to the World Series, their home games would have to be played at an alternate, lighted site.

“Eventually a city ordinance was passed that allowed the Cubs a maximum of 18 night games per season.”

At ESPN’s website (http://tinyurl.com/l3lxjsc) you can watch a video taken at the first night game, which was held Aug. 8, 1988, by someone who was there.

The big story of that first night was weather, not baseball or lights. In the fourth inning, with the Cubs leading, heavy rain began. After two hours the game was called, obliterating the game from the record books and leading to more talk about the infamous Cubs curse.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I would like to answer some of the horse-lover questions (Feb. 18), as there are lots of great barns in the area.

First off, know that there are certification processes out there for instructors. The Certified Horsemanship Association offers a nationwide certification process focusing on safety first. Your hairdresser needs to have a certification to cut your hair, so it makes sense that your children’s riding instructor has a certification as well. If you would like to find a certified instructor near you, check their website http://chainstructors.com/

Secondly, there are quite a few 4-H groups in Androscoggin County, some of which primarily focus on horses. It’s a great way to get kids involved in horse care and lessons. If you would like to learn more about 4-H, contact Extension Educator Kristy Ouellette, 4-H Youth and Family Development, at kristy.ouellette@maine.edu.

Horses are a great opportunity for learning commitment and dedication as well as a great form of therapy and physical activity for everyone. Horses also provide an amazing animal connection for children of all ages and abilities. — Mary Paige Kowalski, campkippewaequestrian@gmail.com

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