The tennis courts at Argonaut High School, between the school and the athletic fields below, have a long history of community involvement.

Built into an exposed hillside west of Argonaut Lane many years ago, time, tennis, terrain and the weather have continuously exerted an erosive effect on them.

When local realtor and tennis enthusiast Dave Carlson entered the Argonaut tennis scene as coach of the high school team in the mid-90s, the courts were in a highly advanced state of disrepair.

"It was a mess in '96," said Carlson. "I went to the principal and found that the school district was not willing to finance reconstruction."

In a glowing example of what can be considered a Jackson sports tradition, people from the community got together in a fund-raising effort with members of the Amador Tennis Club.

"We raised more than half of the $40,000 needed," Carlson said, "and the district matched the funds. We got the courts done in time for the '96 tennis season."

The newly refurbished courts became so popular that demand for play time outstripped daylight hours, making night lights an obvious necessity. Again, the Amador Tennis Club members threw themselves into funding efforts, raising $46,000 to pay for lights that continue to benefit both student players and the tennnis-playing community.

"Benita Asher was instrumental in raising the funds for the lighting project," Carlson recalled, "and I was the project coordinator (and still high school tennis coach)."

Armed with memories of the success of these fund-raising drives and faced with the deterioration of the intervening years, the Amador Tennis Club is launching the 2010 Community Tennis Project, to once again repair and resurface the Argonaut tennis courts.

The goal is to raise enough money to replace damaged asphalt, repair cracks, and fill, resurface, repaint and restripe the courts. Preliminary estimates for this work range between $3,500 and $5,000 for each of the four courts, bringing the total being sought to a nice, round $20,000. Given the terrain, official contractor bids could go higher.

The board of directors of the Amador Tennis Club has voted to contribute $2,200 in seed money to the fund-raising campaign. The board also has decided to conduct a fund-raising Spring Recreational Tournament the weekend of March 26 to 28. Registration for the competition will begin in mid-February.

Donations to the tennis court restoration project are tax-deductible and may be mailed to Amador Tennis Club, c/o Vera Ferguson, 4115 Beaver Road, Ione CA 95640. "Argo courts" should be put in the memo line of a check.

For more information, visit www.amadortennisclub.org or call Rosalie Escamilla at 304-0004.