The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1927-06-09
GOLF, $40 YEARLY
FOR FAMILY, FEE
St. Paul Dispatch Tells
Story Of Development Of
Sport in Sank Centre
FINDS A FINE COURSE

Extols Accomplishment Of
| the Community Club
Piceures of Local Men
A staff correspondent of the st.
Paul Dispatch is visiting the lead
ing towns of the Northwest and
writing special stories about the
communities in which the Civic
organizations are strongly played
up. A few weeks ago the Dispatch
man visited Sank Centre. Naturally
he called at the Herald office to
get his bearings. He was taken in
charge by Mr.. Fleming who got
him in touch with w. M. Parker,
president of the Community Club
and D. B. Caughren president OF
the Sank Centre Country Club.
From the facts gathered from these
gentlemen he prepared an inter
esting story which appeared in the
Dispatch Decoration Day. The
story was embellished by pictures
of Messers Parker and Caughren
and a scene from the golf course.
The Dispatch story follows:
SAUK CENTRE, MIMI, May
30.-William Parker, formerly
mayor of Sank Centre and now
president of the Community Club
is of the opinion that his city has
the only country club in a town
of 5000 in the state, with an i'm
proved golf course, in which an
entire family may have a member
ship with full privileges for only
$40 a year.
If this statements challenged,
the club may claim distinction on
another point. 1t is not certain.
but it may be the only club of such
democratic composition that is
paying as it goes and has accom-
plished so much in the handling OF
it's finances.
The leaders of this club also are
the prime movers in the Comm
unity club, which has an excellent
record as a civic boosting organ
ization. In fact it was the Com
munity club which helped estab-
fish the country group on it's well
kept nine hole golf course. Heads
that had got together to solve
some civic problem were the same
heads that figured out the feats
in finance that put the Country
club on a sound footing.
When organization of the
Country club was undertaken a
few years ago campaign was
started to enroll 100 members,
each of whom was to take a mem
bership at a cost of 500. This
drive was brief and successful.
With $4,000 to pay down on it,
1876 acres of land touching the lake
shore was bought by the club for
$14,500.
But the club did not remain in
debt for the $4,000 which it did
not have to complete the payment
Instead it sold 26 acres, plotted
into building lots for lake homes
for $4,000.
Also the club set aside a piece
of land for a tourist park at the
edge of the lake and rented it to
the city for $500 a year. Next, il
plotted the lake shore on two sides
of the country club house site
sold the lots and got $4,000 fol
them. "A possible hotel site of a.
bout eight acres was reserved, but
the tourist park accommodations
had grown so inadequate to meet
the demands on it, that this piece
of land was sold to the city fol
$4,000.
While Mr.. Parker was mayor
an office he held four years, he
proclaimed two civic holidays to
be set aside for building "bees'
to help improve the country club
and golf course. About 120 men
responded to the call for volun-
teers. Thirty teams, many of them
from the farms in the surrounding
country, were added to the
volunteer forces and the township
grading apparatus was borrowed
They graded the lake shore drive
brushed the entire shore line and
cleaned away all debris. They
worked from early morning until
late in the evening.
Two months later, the Country
club engaged an expert to come
from st. Paul to lay out the gol1
course. Then another "bee" was
proclaimed, and this time the vol
unteers built a woven sueel wire
fence about Is acres, enclosing
the golf course, and also con-
structed two public tennis courts
The city extended a water pipe
line to the course, and experts
recently put in greens, using
creeping bent grass. This improve
menr has cost about $4,000, but
it gives the club, these experts
said, course as excellent as any
nine-hole course in the state.
eve decided to stay within nine
holes" Mr.. Parker said, "because
we wished to remain out of debt
and have money enough TO keep
the course in proper condition.
The experience of many clubs
organized democratically, as ours
is, has shown that 18-hole courses
cost more than the club can afford
consequently many of the clubs
have gone on the rocks or are
heavily burdened with debt. Our
pay-as-you-go policy is the sound
est and the least expensive. That
is why we can offer the privileges