Visit From France Bengocheas Enjoy Visiting, Baseball During Trip To Area

The group of fans at the Big Muddy Little League baseball tournament cheering for their players included a couple from a great distance away.

Sitting next to Jean Bengochea of south Brockton were his brother, Henri, and sister-in-law, Isabelle, who were visiting from France. It was the first time that the brothers spent time together since Jean and his family members flew to France six years ago.

Jean came to eastern Montana in 1959 when he was just 18 years old of age.

“There were no jobs in Europe,” Jean said of the move.

He started out working on a sheep farm near Nashua. After several more jobs, he started farming south of Brockton. His wife, Linda, served as a teacher in Brockton for 37 years.

After the time in eastern Montana, the traveling Bengocheas will head to California to visit Jean’s son, Christopher. This is the couple’s fifth time in the United States.

On Saturday, however, they were relaxing while visiting and trying to understand the game of baseball in Plentywood.

“It’s difficult to understand the rules,” Isabelle said. “It’s not very popular in France.”

The couple’s favorite sport in France is team handball. In fact, Henri has been a national referee of handball for 25 years. Henri, who doesn’t speak English, was enjoying watching baseball even though he wasn’t sure of all the rules.

“It’s important for teams to share the win or the loss,” Isabelle said.

Although Jean has seen many baseball games, it still isn’t his favorite sport. “Basketball is better,” he explained.