Cavalier Country Club
701-265-4506
Cavalier Country Club History
A VISION THAT SIMPLY HAD TO BE
A history of the Cavalier Country Club
by Elaine McMurray and Garnet Furstenau
Cavalier, ND
May 31, 1983 & April 1, 2020
Acknowledgment
The Cavalier Country Club will be eternally grateful to the late Elaine McMurray for her exhaustive research and attention to detail in compiling the first 57 years of the Club’s existence. She found names, discovered memorable events, and in so doing, created a picture of the early formative years.
This was accomplished in several ways with the first dozen years or so of history being obtained by her personal discussions with ‘many old timers of Cavalier’ (her words!), noting in particular the contributions of Lloyd Robbie. The next 40+ years of detail came from her own experiences as a playing member, the knowledge she gained from her husband, Clarence (a board member/laborer/player) and from club records being recorded starting in the early/mid 1950’s.
It should also be noted that Elaine’s written history was published in the Cavalier Chronicle over two issues. Photos of the article is what the club has in its possession. Without the paper’s agreement to publish, would we have a copy today? It is unknown if her original papers have been kept.
This writer will take Elaine’s work which was to 1983 and add the developments from then through 2019. Sources of info are club records and personal experience, having been a member since 1971 and also a board member for many years starting in 1975, making me an ‘old timer’ as well.
As compared to world-wide golf (having been played at St. Andrews, Scotland in 1552), the Cavalier Country Club is a relative newcomer, the first ball having been hit in 1925. By comparison, the first course in ND was Lincoln Golf Club, in Grand Forks in 1909.
As the title of this history implies, the idea or the vision of a golf course in Cavalier came about as a result of a visit that Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Robbie of Cavalier had with their son, Lloyd, in Valley City, over the Christmas holidays in 1924. Seems the weather was very mild and having been intrigued with the relatively new (to ND) sport of golf, Andrew played two-nine hole rounds on the Valley City sand greens golf course, and as they say, the rest is history.
In the spring of 1925, Andrew and a local attorney, Ed Garvey, set out to search for land that would be suitable for a golf course. The details of that search and the list of possibilities are unknown, but the two settled on the site that is now the present golf course. This land was owned by the State of North Dakota, the common name being the ‘school section’ for Akra township. Hans Nelson rented it and used it as a pasture for his cattle. (Now do you suppose this is where the name ‘pasture pool’ came from????). An arrangement with Hans was entered into whereby the club (30 members initially) could use the facility. Hans agreed to move the cattle out in the late p.m. and evenings so the golfers could play. Careful where you stepped!
The early greens were made of sand that was periodically oiled (so as to prevent the wind from blowing it into the next county or Canada!) and were only about 8 feet in diameter! The locations of the greens were a little different from today, likely the grass greens construction company in 1969 not wanting to try to grow grass on top of that oiled surface. Tee boxes were indeed a box: 2x6 lumber made a border that was filled with sand. Dimensions were about 4x6 feet. Early golfers did not use a wooden peg; rather the sand was cupped into a tiny mound, the ball was placed on top of this small rise in the sand, and the golfer hit away!
The coulee in front of 6 tee and just before 7 green was there and the holes played as they do today. Please note: no bridge. The first bridge was not constructed for nearly 30 years!! Golf carts? Nope. Here is Elaine’s exact description of #8 and #9: “No.8 green was built with a bank at its rear to prevent overshooting the ball! Wonder of all, No. 8 green was also level”! And, “the fairway of No.9 (today) is located at approximately the same area as was originally, except the distance was 125 yards with the shot requiring the ball to travel over a ravine filled with bushes. If a ball was lost here, there was some compensation in that the bottom of the ravine was home to a natural water spring offering the finest quenching of one’s thirst by means of an old tin cup hanging on a post always ready to be used by one and all.” It didn’t take more than 3 years and the greens were enlarged.
The first ‘clubhouse’ was a granary that was moved onto the property and located just to the north of #1 tee. This served its purpose for 20 years, when a concrete block clubhouse was constructed in 1947/1948, with the old wooden structure being moved and used as storage. Fifty-sixty ‘members’ paid dues of $10 and enjoyed this ‘new’ sport (dues would not change until 1966). During the early to mid 1940’s, play was discontinued due to priority needs for the war effort.
And so play resumed in the late 40’s. The first annual statement that the club has is dated December 31, 1953. Ending balance in the checking account was $1,874.55, which would be over $9,000 in today’s dollars. In addition, the club had a building fund of $1,500. The $10 dues added up, considering that up to the 50s, all labor was donated. About 3 years prior to this date, in 1950, the club made a bold move and entered into its first debt/loan arrangement: the purchase of the quarter of land (which they had been renting) from the state for $1,650, on a contract at 4% interest. Ole Bernhoft was president at the time.
In 1954, nearly 30 years of walking through the coulee ended with the construction of a bridge, making use of heavy poles and then railroad ties on the platform. With everyone walking and many wearing metal spikes, the ties wore down. Solution was to simply turn them over. This writer can remember the reverse side wearing such that the ties were turned again, returning them to their original position! 30 years would go by from the first bridge to the concrete structure now in use.
1959 was the year that brought a situation that would have a massive, positive effect on the club. Between local, state, and federal entities, a plan was developed that would soon turn into the construction of what is now called ‘Renwick Dam’, the official title being a very non-descript, ‘M-4’. The dam would flood adjacent property and some of the Cavalier Country Club. Negotiations between the club (Robert Olson, president) and the Water Board resulted in the club losing 18 acres of land for which they were paid $50 per acre (remember, purchase price was about $10 per acre!) and were also paid $25 per acre for 10 acres that was called a ‘slow release pond’. In addition, number 9 fairway was raised and the green relocated to its current position, all costs being paid for by the flood control board. Sadly, the old post and tin cup became history.
Five years went by with the only large item being an addition to the clubhouse that included indoor bathrooms. Very likely that was met with a big round of applause. 1965 was a year,
however, that saw perhaps the biggest move by the board in the club’s history to-date. In December of that year a committee was put together by president Jack Shahane consisting of T.J. Kibler, Richard Timian, Jerry Burt, and Ron Wysocki for the purpose of securing a loan from what is now the Farm Service Agency (called the FHA at that time). Purpose: construction of new grass greens complete with watered fairways, plus make some improvements to the clubhouse!! The loan request ended up being $46,000. A very bold move considering the bank balance was $10.34 just 3 months later on the annual report.
So basically, committee work on this project would not have started until some time in 1966. The loan request met some resistance from the FHA, likely due to the club’s lack of cash plus the fact that the payment---even based on a 40-year plan--would consume 95% of the club’s total gross income! Dues were raised to $15 in 1966 but would ultimately go to $35 in 1969. Looking better.
According to a member of that committee that this writer talked to long ago, after three years of working with the FHA and still no approval, the congressional delegation, or at least, a member of, was approached for assistance and in 1969 the project was approved! Bids were opened on August 5, 1969 and Leo Johnson of Sioux Falls was awarded the job. Here are Elaine’s words as only she could express: ”Our dream finally comes true!! From a humble but proud birth in 1925 to the spring of 1970------45 years of devotion, hard work by scores of volunteers, a willingness to participate in financial demands, a vision that simply had to be----that is the story of the lovely Cavalier Country Club!” The board at that time should be recognized--Richard Timian president, Jerry Burt, Glenn Wells, Bennie Bernhoft, Clarence McMurray, Lyell Miller, Charlie Berdahl, Harold Greenwood, Greemer Hillman, E.J. Larson, and Dick Kihne.
The 70s were a much calmer time at the club, although dues were raised--first to $40, then $50, then $65, and finally $75 in 1979. Trees were established lining the fairways and around the tee boxes and yet another clubhouse expansion (is this the third one???). The road leading into the clubhouse area was relocated from its position beside #1 fairway to where it is now, work being done by Cecil Moe and Duane Peplow. In 1975 Ladies Day on Tuesdays and Mens Day on Wednesdays were formally established by the board. In early 1976, the late Roger Erickson came up with the idea to ask the boards of Walhalla, Morden, and Winkler (both in Manitoba) if we could join them in their newly formed tournament consisting of rounds played at all of the courses. Adding Cavalier would make it a “truly international event,” Roger suggested. This writer--secretary of the board--put a letter together, and within a couple of weeks, the club was in! Initial participation was 576, with a lottery system needed due to the number of applicants. Initially, play was on Saturday and Sunday, and then later, part of Friday. Over 700 participants was the peak number. The tournament was known as ‘The International’.
In 1981 another clubhouse project resulted in a storage area complete with locker storage for clubs. A cement pad was poured beside the southwest part of the building on which grills were placed. The beginning of the cookshed! 260 members in the club with dues of $75. Greens fees were $4 during the week, $5 weekends. Up from $.50 during the sand greens days.
1982 was the last year of Elaine’s work and she closed with this: “The Renwick Dam, the Lake, the beautiful State Park and the Gunlogson Arboretum adjacent to our golf course all make this over-all area one of the most popular in our state. Our community should be eternally proud of our beautiful golf course and the excellent manner in which it is maintained for the pleasure of all who use it.”
Well said, Elaine. And thank you for the history of the first 57 years. I’ll take it from here…..
The 80’s had a variety of activities relative to improving the clubhouse and the course. Yet another addition to the clubhouse was completed, that being a screened-in patio. A large storage building was also added. The club also got into the rental cart business, acquiring three units for the public to rent. Many of the members had their own carts, with storage sheds starting to pop up, all owned by the members. It is worth noting that Clarence McMurray built the first shed, housing five carts. The year is unknown.
With an increased usage of carts, the old bridge across the coulee became a safety concern. It took much discussion and info-gathering, but in 1985 the concrete bridge that is there today was constructed/installed at a cost of $20,000+. What an improvement! However, many players still walked and the cement was hard on the metal spikes on their golf shoes. A little slippery, too! The solution was the use of long rubber mats. Adequate might describe them--good old ND wind wreaked a little havoc and moved them around a bit, but overall, a great addition.
Another major improvement was also made in the latter part of this decade. The road coming in from the highway was ‘blacktopped.’ Not in the sense that the highway department does the major roads in the area, rather a combination of sand and oil and stones which resulted in a hard, dust-free surface. Another step up!!
Now for some negatives. The irrigation system (installed in 1969 if you recall) began to develop some issues. The pump would shut off and not come back on. The members were also somewhat dissatisfied with the coverage provided by the sprinkler heads (if you can picture this: the heads provided a circular pattern of coverage and golf fairways are mostly rectangular). Caretaker Carlton Ill and Garnet Furstenau trenched in and installed 3,000 feet of additional lines and heads to help fill in the gaps. Still the problem with the motor, however…..
Over two separate years, the minutes reflect the boards granting authority to have the irrigation concerns reviewed by companies that install and/or sell such equipment. A recommendation was received and the club did move to bring what is known as 3-phase power into the pumphouse, the idea being that a new, more powerful motor was needed. And that is just what was purchased, in fact, two of them, one serving as a spare. That took care of the motor issue.
--------and so the 80’s came to an end. Around 300 members, dues at $85 with the only debt being the long-term loan with the FHA that was for the initial irrigation project. The club made good profits due to the large number of people----members and greens’ fees payers----that used the course, with all acquisitions and improvements being paid out of cash flow. Still, concerns relative to the overall condition of the course existed. Could ‘this beautiful course’ that Elaine so eloquently spoke of be made even better???
The 90’s. A time when the club moved somewhat away from volunteer labor to paying someone else to do various jobs or activities. And it turned out well, although adding to the cost of operations which, plus normal inflation, caused dues to increase, reaching $200 by the end of the decade. Chappy Gustafson became the club’s paid treasurer (helped immensely by his long time companion, Janet Greenwood). Monthly financial info was now the norm. He continued in this position until the fall of 2019. No longer was a board member involved with bills nor depositing any income.
In addition to the treasurer position, a clubhouse manager position was established. This person was responsible for the ordering of inventory, establishing staff hours, and also worked a shift. Tami Lorenzen was the person hired, with the concept working very well.
Given the low numbers of local participants and the large amount of volunteer hours involved, the board made the decision to withdraw from the International Tournament, effective with the 1992 season. The move by most golfers away from stroke play events to a ‘scramble’ format also contributed as the club was now hosting a very profitable 5-man scramble event.
As alluded to earlier, the watering system would still be only graded a ‘C’, maybe a ‘B-’ by many people. It worked as designed, which is to say it was all manual. The motor had to be turned on and the fairway sprinkler heads (over 125 in number) had to be manually placed into the line. Greens and tee boxes were more automated, but still had to be manually activated.
In a perfect scenario, a club with a system like ours would have employed someone whose only duty would have been to water the course. That was not an option that clubs used, likely due to the cost of the employee. Some volunteer time devoted to watering did help. The main issue was that watering was done during the daylight hours--the same time obviously that people played the course. And the same time that the ND wind referenced earlier, was usually at its strongest. And that is when the temperature was the highest. So, the caretaker had to balance watering without annoying too many people, all the while losing some water to evaporation due to wind and heat. And do his mowing. Put these situations on a big sand pile that is the CCC and you cannot escape dry, hardened areas.
As had been done since the club’s first ball was hit in 1925, suggestions have surfaced to improve the clubhouse, other buildings, equipment and the like. How can we make a good thing better? And so it was with the irrigation system. Knowledge began to be obtained just by members playing at other courses, observing conditions, equipment, and methods used. The course could be made better. As was said by more than a few, all it takes to grow grass is money!
Quite a bit of money, as it turned out. From the early discussion brought to the board by Garnet Furstenau in October, 1990 to the final approval by the board on 3-3-92, the discussions, meetings, and recommendations by the companies that service golf courses resulted in $87,000 being expended on a new irrigation system that is used yet today. (It should be noted that the original FHA loan----now owed to the bank, having been ‘called’ by the FHA due to the club’s strong earnings---was at or around $25,000).
At least two points about the irrigation system that were significantly different: instead of one water line running down the fairway, there were now two, allowing much better coverage, to say the least. Starting on the north side of number 7 fairway to just into the rough on the south side of #2, every blade of grass got water! Number 8 fairway, being wider and irregular, has even more than the two lines. Of course, #1 and #9 were/are covered. And, the best of all, every head is wired to a control panel and those in turn to a ‘computer’ in the pumphouse. The timer turned the motor/pump on at the end of the day’s play and continued until morning. Same thing in 2019. And does it ever work! With this system, Elaine may have used words or an expression like ‘an emerald in the prairie’. Me, it looks like green, healthy grass.
The last part of the decade saw some more trees added behind #1 and #4, the pond beside #1, and the need for better mowers! The old practice of first driving over the grass and pulling a mower behind the tractor (the earliest report of mowing a fairway was that of Clarence McMurray pulling a mower behind his Model A) was replaced with a self-propelled mower that had the mowing units in front of the tires. Ingenious. Spendy, but so good.
At the end of the 90s, dues had been increased to $200, with approximately 250 members.
The 2000s. Surviving the Y2K concern was priority #1 for some of us as 2000 approached. At a couple of minutes past midnight, all was well and shortly after that, the new golf year began.
Joining many golf courses in providing some level of comfort while playing, the club invested in a dozen electric golf carts, a lease arrangement actually. Immediately this proved to be a strong move, as in addition to the rental fee charged per round covering the lease payment, $5,000 was contributed to the general fund. The club also raised additional monies by selling advertising signs on the tee box benches and on the tee box signs. A raffle was also held with tickets being sold for a tv and later for cash drawings. And in the category of ‘our forefathers never saw this coming,’ the sale of several hundred cookbooks (recipes provided by club members, including some humorous offerings) netted the club at least $3,500.00. Support for the club was and continues to be, as they say these days, awesome.
Equipment for and care of the greens was a focus in this time period. Attachments to the mower allowed the grass to be thinned and de-thatched. Anybody know what a ‘poa buster’ is? Got ‘em (attach to the greens mower). Newer aerating equipment was also acquired along with a sweeper that picked up the cores left behind by the plugging process. A unit that quite possibly may NOT be in the equipment sheds of many courses, but is considered by the CCC as essential, is a snowblower. Attached to our tractor, this is used to clean off the greens in the spring (hopefully only once) to prevent the thaw/freeze cycle from forming any ice layer on the surface.
Several items that could never have been thought of by the pioneers of this course. Some work was done, however, that they would have done too. The lake side of number nine fairway was eroding and had an assortment of concrete pieces and dead/dying trees. All of this was cleaned up and the shoreline, if you can call it that, was rip-rapped with rock. The rough along number one fairway was terraced and planted to grass, with the pond beside the green also lined with rock. Lookin’ good!
A major addition to the club occurred in 2002. At least it has turned out to be major, and all would agree to be of more importance than a poa buster, or a fairway mower that doesn’t drive on the grass first. Well, let me think about that last one for a minute……
Rick Kemnitz was hired in that year as the course caretaker. That decision would turn out to be one of the better ones that a CCC board has made. Very dedicated, working long hours to make the club one that all of the members consider as among the best in our peer group of 9-hole courses in a smaller community. In 2006, Rick assumed the duties of manager of the clubhouse as well. The connotation of what ‘24/7’ means started here.
A major shift in opinion came about in 2006 as well. The ladies association, having been formed way back in time, (possibly Elaine was a founding member), disbanded. Their idea. The money that was now earned on Ladies Day from food sales and from any tournament they might have became part of the general fund. No longer was there a ladies’ checking account and a men’s account--rather, there became a Cavalier Country Club account. Nice. For many years, a lady or two has served on the board of directors.
As this period ended, the dues were $250 for a family and $185 for a single membership, with 109 families and 115 single members. A reciprocal arrangement with Walhalla and Langdon was also established. (For $35 paid to one or to each of the other clubs, a Cavalier member was allowed to play without paying any additional greens fees.) Of course this worked the same way with a Walhalla or Langdon member desiring to play here. Later Pembina was added to this arrangement.
One thing that escaped the notice of everyone occurred in 2010. In August of that year, the club debt went to -0-. First time in 40 years. That status of being debt-free lasted for about 6 months, as a piece of equipment was deemed necessary and back to the bank the board went. Short term debt would remain until 2019, when again it was paid in full. United Valley Bank (First State Bank, First Bank, Farmers and Merchants Bank) has been there for the club for all of these years, (with part of the loans participated to Citizens State as well.) The support of the club up to this point, however, was only a practice run compared to what was coming. Read on…..
First, however, a paragraph on ‘support.’ It’s been there since day 1, actually, when a small group of golfers-to-be fashioned the tee boxes out of sand and the ‘greens’ as well. Buildings have been built and added onto with donated labor. Broken water lines repaired. Top dress the greens? Make a few calls and the labor shows up. For many, many years, men’s & ladies’ nights, as well as party nights and other activities were ‘staffed’ by volunteers. Caretakers were not paid initially.
Support also materialized later through cash donations (for those who were around in 2013-14, you can see where this is heading). That self-propelled fairway mower mentioned earlier that mows in front of the tires?? Many thousands of dollars and maybe 50-50 in the debate between ‘need’ and ‘want’. Kevin Sommer, president, parked this unit (had not been purchased yet) on the number 1 tee so all could see what was wanted/needed. Enough donated funds were received to pay for it.
A favorite of this writer was a fountain in the pond beside number 9 fairway. The minutes and copies of the annual newsletter would confirm that the subject was brought up more than a couple of times. Lots, in fact. If the mower was 50-50, this was 80-20, with the larger number being the ‘want’ category. Aesthetics and possible help keeping the water cleaner was the lower number. With some persistence (stubbornness?), though, the board agreed to do it, but wanted me to see if the members would help out. They did. $12,000+ was donated, enough to cover the $9,000+ fountain and wiring. Great support, yet just a test run……
Get to the point. I will, but what comes next should be a booklet unto itself, as opposed to a few lines or paragraphs. We’re talking about the flood of 2013. The City of Cavalier was under mandatory evacuation orders. Lake Renwick, normally considered a shallow body of water, became a monster, threatening the ‘integrity of the dam’, they called it.
Not many years after the dam was constructed, it was determined that the emergency spillway was inadequate, unsafe, needed strengthening. Federal funds became available that would cover a large part of the cost to fix. To do what, however? Many meetings were held, with representatives of local entities and the golf course attending. The final plan resulted in what is now the revamped Renwick Dam, complete with an emergency spillway carved right into the dam itself and protected by who knows how much concrete and rip-rap on the east side. The old emergency spillway was filled in and leveled.
‘Old emergency spillway filled in.’ And when the spring run-off came, with the whole upstream watershed full of snow and water, that passive, shallow lake, turned on its neighbor, the golf course. Even though upstream has many dams, some had little to no control over what water could be kept or released. Accordingly, Lake Renwick rose nearly to the top of the dam and spread out onto golf course property. A call from Rick went out to help sandbag and a ring was placed around the building. But many of us were bagging either in town or at our neighbors. Short of help, the battle at the clubhouse was lost, with water rising to maybe two feet high on the walls.
Two images will remain in this writer’s mind’s eye: driving onto the property and down the hill, the front wheels of the pickup were in the water with the back end of the vehicle still on the hill. That’s how high it was. The second is when the water did go down and clean-up began, I was cleaning around the pumphouse by the lake and saw debris on the roof of that little building. The roof…..
So we will do in the clubhouse what the people in Grand Forks did in their homes after the 1997 flood. Cut off 3-4 feet of the wall covering up from the floor, dry it out, clean like crazy, replace with new wall covering, go about your business. Except that cutting off the 3-4 feet revealed a secret--the roof had been leaking. Water was also coming up through cracks in the concrete floor. The more we looked, the worse it got. Fixing this was going to cost 6 figures it was estimated. The club had just remodeled the bathrooms, painted the exterior, replaced windows and replaced the ‘computer’ in the pumphouse. $20,000 or so.
Fix or replace. Kevin Sommer, board president, organized a building committee to look at those options and a financial committee that would gauge the community’s interest or ability to fund a new clubhouse or a major repair. The finance committee (Garnet Furstenau, Tim Siegle, Matt Bjornson, Kelly Johnson, Steve Karel, Dennis Johnson, and Chappy Gustafson) divided up the membership list and started making contacts. The response was immediate and very gratifying--people were interested in supporting new construction and some were voting with their checkbook! By the time the board looked at construction designs and estimates and approved the new construction in February, 2014, $100,000 had been received. Support. Should really be all in caps, as over the next year, pledged amounts totaled $500,000 with nearly $60,000 of non-pledged money having been received.
The building committee (Kris Falk, Margaret Bjornson-Holm, Wayne Clarksean, Rick Kemnitz, Jerry Greenwood, Kevin O’Leary, Shawn Carrier, Kevin Sommer and Bryan Ratchenski) spent a huge amount of time working on the details and the implementation of the design. Steve Restemayer, Cav grad, an architect by trade, donated time galore in drawing/redrawing plans.
The result is a 4000+ square foot beauty, complete with landscaping, a patio, and even a grill shack nearby that matches the clubhouse. I wish Elaine were here to describe how it looks and how it functions and how the community is proud of it and how former Cav people are so amazed we could pull this off. Right from the beginning, it was referred to as the Cavalier Community Clubhouse Project. Indeed….
And so it is that we adjourn this history at this time. Memberships are around 220, family and single, dues are at $395/290, which would rank us in the lower one-third of a survey of our peer group. Debt for the clubhouse is at $106,000, with payment based on an approximate 15-year schedule.The machinery line is very good and we still have Rick. The club was well-positioned at the end of the 2019 as it turned the calendar into the next decade. Little did we know, as the club was closed for the season, that the next history update would likely start with one word:
Coronavirus.
Early Anecdotes and Factoids
‘Camp Comfort’ was the name given to the area that is now the golf course. The native prairie flourished, with trees only by the river and ravine. Occasionally school picnics and the Vidalin Church picnic would be held here.
The first tournament ended in a tie between Paul Nelson and a player from Grafton, their best, as the story is told. Paul was noted for always using one club----only one!----a brassie (not to be confused with a ‘spoon’ or a ‘baffy’, a brassie was a two wood). Except in this tournament, when he was persuaded to use a putter on the greens. Not working for him, he lost in an extra hole.
Inez Page is credited with making the first hole in one at the CCC. Number 9, club choice unknown. This was her first time playing golf!
Ole Bernhoft had a cook shack located between number nine green and number one tee, the green having been located east of its current location. Burgers, coffee, and soft drinks. Probably $1 would buy you and your partner a burger each plus a beverage for each as well.
The land that the golf course was on, being owned by the state, was rented for $99---per year!
The first greens fees (and reference was always made to the surface as being a ‘green’) was $.50. Several year-end statements would show yearly totals of ~$250.
The first caretaker (paid) was Sig Nelson. No record of what the salary was at that time.
Membership dues were $10 from the beginning right up to the early discussion about adding grass greens in the mid-60s. The first income statement that the club has was as of 12-31-53 and showed that the club had $1,874 in the general fund and $1,500 in the building fund. Multiply that by 9 or 10 to arrive at today’s equivalent.
Early phone bills were about $40---again, this is an annual total.
Clubhouse rent for parties or meetings started at $3 and ended the 1960’s at $10.
1969 was the first year gross income (no expenses deducted) was as high as $10,000. In 2019, the figure was over $300,000.
The first grass greens club championship tourney was held on 9-20-70, with Roger Erickson the winner.
The first riding greens mower was purchased in 1976. No precise cost was given, although considering the amount on the annual statement and the other item purchased that year, it would look like $2,600. Today, $26,000 would not be enough.
Highest number of golfing memberships was 346 in 1986. In 2019 there were 220. Back then the Anti Ballistic Missile site, now called the Cavalier Air Force Station, had a much larger number of workers and airmen on the site.
