. · They t , e d i t up at ..... Wau-Be-Nuk-Qua~- . ··ill the early·1 ~09$ . .. ~ Golf made its first appearance in the United States in 1873, but it took nearly 25 years before people started hitting the links in Green Bay. The first U.S. golf course opened in Sarasota, Fla. A group of Green Bay and De Pere men were smitten by the idea and finally organized a club here in 1903. Many of those men had played tne game in Chicago. Others had seen · tournaments staged from H~S to 1902 in other cities by the U.S. Golf Association, which fonncd in 1894-95. That organiza tion sent bulletins to prominent men in Througf]out this year of many communities, 1Ne14 1-----® Wisconsin's including Green Bay. Sesquicentenn~I - f"'nt H.O. Fairchild, Fred C. celebration, the '\ I Press-Gazette I a€ dy, Dr. A.O. Olmstead, of a I will publish a J.H. Tayler, L.W. Kemnitz ' fo e.r-p8rt and Austin Larsen of series of -'J I, . I Green Bay, J.P. Dousman, stories on ~I •. .J l William W. Workman and ·local history. ,. 11 .,•I . •John Berg trom of De This feature, . q ~r"' I l Pere gathered in Fair prepared with ·l . I child's law office on Feb. 2.'3, 1903 and the assistance of the . @---·----®' ' incorporared as a country club. Fairchild Brown County Historical Society, was named president, and Cady was will appear on Mondays. nus m ... picked as·sccret.ru;·-treasurer. MAP SmtMlO Wll'M Tt4E )t&LP ()fl The dub name had already been select . ' .,. ..W O' R' MA.N" 'H· USS -Hor DRAWN 1.'0 'SCAlE. · ed: Wau-&Nuk.Qua (!\Ienominee Indian build up a tee for his golfer. A pail of . ' for "~lorning tar" and the name of the sand and a bucket of water were provided wife of Chief Ashwaubcntle, for whom the at each tee. Caddie:;, at 10 cent.s a round, town of Ashwaube;non was named). were expected to wet a handful of the Negotiations began iO lease the De sand and build up a tee from which play . Pere Electric.Park grounds between Web- .era dtovc their Dotty Dimple, Jack Rab : . ster Avenue and Rivetside Drive from bit and Black Diamond golf balls. ./ The Fox River Electric Railway Co. That The street car company cooperated by · company's inter-urban tracks ran along reducing the one-way fare from Green the edge of the present St. Norbert Abbey , Bay to seven cents and even· renamed one Special to the Press-Gazette grounds. of its two open summer cars the "Wau-Be A nine-hole golf course was laid out on Nuk-Qua." Green Bay members rode the both sides of the int.er-urban tracks. The " trolley to and from the club while De ,Jerome North. Only a few women played wane: During the winter of 1912·13 the old park pavillion was enclosed and grad· Pere members walked over. The latter golf. le on th property cxpir :!d and wa not ually converted into a clubhouse. Tennis often carried lanterru to light their way Q\•cr ilic years th club ncquircd an r n wed. and croquet courts were added. home after dark. impr ivc mantel-pi of trophi . They 'I he only r minder of i exi t nc for ll ~lcmbershios were sold at an un- Many con idered Dr. A. Olm ted, included th ad Do 1 man and Kendall r id n of D Perr\' Urbandal and . specified fee ~ith annual dues of. 15. • Henry Erickson, .JuJe.q Parmcnti r Sr. . Ed ('up for men and 1t he Wenthc•rly. ~1artin, Davi ood uhdiv' ion is a mi lied inety-thrce members enrolled the first Warren, Douglas Baschc. Judge Carlton Wn. hhu111 and }nil child 'lioph.i · for tr · t nam ' - th Wnuhaunuqun year. . -. Merrill good players of th .. time. The women. 'l'r · 1 . m~. Norman Nu " of De Pere was one of .Joannes family hclongcd to the club a B ·the ·ml of tbe dl•,·ud \ inu:re t in For the next three cars. the hardcor the club's caddies. FJllch caddie had to did \V.~. Wagner. ,hal'l~ T. Kimball.anl th port declm•:'<l and the duh rtoo to golfer w nt to App eton to play. a 25, 1998- 0ld T &C course is now a subdivision Golf in Brown County had a rocky Town and Country flourished dur· It.art before the sport finally caught ing the next two decadct; as a nine on. hole golf course, driving range an<l In 1915, some of the veterans of the nine-hole par-three course. Wau-&Nuk-Qua Club met to form a In the 1960s the site was purchased new club - the Fox River Valley by a group of investors: Leo Borde Country Club. leau, Dr. R. Goelz, Jim Hcyrrnan, By 1916, playen had a nine-hole Ralph Paulson and Don Soquct. Rox private golf course in Allouez. The Joslin was the manager. 3,143-yard cou.ne layout was between On Nov. 19, 1976, r:?al estate de Webster Avenue and Riverside velopers Robert Plous and Alnu Drive. Interest and popularity in golf Kane bought the course. The fol gained new supportr lowing spring, they sent out invita era, but the club only tions to play the last round of golf on Throughout this year of had nine holes and no April 29, 1977. At 2 p.m. the .. ame Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial room to expand and day, they broke ground to tart con celebration, the eventually followed struction of home sites. Press-Gazette the same path as its At about the same t,imc, real e taw will publish a predece8801'8. developer Thomas Skogg acquired series of By 1928, after sever the three-par, ninc·holc course along stories on al of its most promi the west side of Riverside Drive and /Ocal histoty. nent members pulled built the Willowbrook corporate This feature, out to fonn the Oneida office building. prepared with Golf and Riding Club, it folded. The 1upper cJub dosed in 1993. All The Fos River Valley Country the assistance of the that remains ie the building that. was Club wu eold to the Chicqo Land- Brown County Historical affectionatoly called t.he "T & C" - 1eape Co., which turned it into the Society, will appear on known as the gnthr;ring pla ~c for ftnt public fee coune. Tho name was Mondays. cocktails served up by Joe ,oli . en, chanted to the Green Bay Golf sing a-longs at the piano bar and Coune. Joaeph Sturm was the course great dining provided by chef Hall c manapr in it.a firat year of operation Ti tel. Regulars were never surpr iHed followed by W.E. Hood and Ed In the early 19408, Vince Henrie to waJk in and visit with on of its Photo courtesy of Neville PutHIC Muaeum En1elbart. In 1930, the Green Bay bought the golf course property and neighborhood patrons who lived Reedy to tee off: Florence McMasters and Prta-Gauttf 1ta1ed its first Brown with some modifications renamed it down tho street - Vince I.,omhardi. Marion Spude were two of the area's earty County Open Golf Tournament and The Town and Country Club. Danny SubmiUed by Carol Jones of the golfers. This photo was taken in the 1930ti. drew nearly 100 entries. Griffin managed the bar. Brouin County Hiswrical 'Society. shot coUrSi Sam Snead 66 .a t. Oneida By 1928, stockholders of the Fox River Valley Country Club decided to build a new 18-hole course, and the Oneida Golf & Riding Club corporation was formed. Land was purchased about seven miles west of Green Bay, and work started in the spring of 1928. The founding group of investors put under option 450 acres of a site that lay a half mile west of property formerly known as Sullivan Flats. · Founding officers were Andrew Tum· bull, president; Dr. Walter Tippett, vice-pre ident; Paul Romig, secretary Throughout this year of and Arnold Pamperin, treasurer. The W1SCOnsin's Sesquicentennial committee secured golf architect F. celebration, the Pelcher and James Pendergast, a con sulting engineer for the U.S. Gold & Press-Gazette Architects, Inc. of Chica will publish a go, t.o design the course. series of Charter members were stories on required to purchase local history. 100 worth of stock and This feature, ~ ~-- ....... pay annual dues 'for fam prepared with ily memberships ranging the assistance of the Photos courtesy of Brown County Historical Society Golf and horses: The 1950s aerial view, above, of Oneida Golf & between $30-40 annually. Brown County Historic81 The cost of the entire Society, will appear on Riding Club shows the clubhouse (top center), swimming pool and a project was completed in Moniiays. · horse show. Below is original clubhouse as shown on a 1930s post· 1928 and estimated at $41,866. In June, card. 1929 play began at tho private course and it soon became one of the show places of the tate. It consisted of 6,742 for 20 years. yards that spread across 200 acres. Among the charter members at The original buildings consisted of a tending the 20th anniversary of the locker room and a stable area for the club in 1949 were: J.A. Adams, H.B. club's horseback riders. The clubhouse Cleereman, H.L. Conley, J.I. Christo waa added in the 19308. By 1957 the pherson, J.M. Conway, Andrew B. number of structures grew to include Turnbull, F.P. Cornelisen, S.J. Camp riding stables, swimming pool and bell, Miss Bemice Campbell, Dr. and cabana. Riding was phased out in the Mrs. L.B. Gilling, Mr. and Mrs. W.F. 19808. Kerwin, Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Lawtbnt Di-. By 1934, membership increased to and Mrs. G.J. Mortell, Dr. and Mrs. more than 200. By 1934, the course' A.J. McCarey. Dr. and Mrs. L.C. Popp, champion player followed by A.C. Wit· British Air Force and builder of sever· par was broken only twice with Mns Mr. and !\Ire. A.A. Reimer, and teborg, E.A. pachmann and L.C. al course in the east and south. ~Ir. . ter' Champion Horton Smith calling Mrs. Earl Skogg, Mr. and Mrs. Walt.er Christensen. The third and fourth annual Brown the coW'Se "an endurance test ... SCherf, Mr. and ?vfrs. G. A. Valentine, Among the early Junior member County Open Tournament was played Sam Snead, Walter Hagen, Ben Mr. and !virs. H.G. Wintgen, !\Ir. and were Roland Kennedy, Jr., Robert at Oneida with F.P. Cornelisen winning Hogan and Jack Nicklau took to the Mrs. N.M. Wahl and l\ifr. and h-Irs. HL. Gage, Carrol Schmidt and John Gosin. both of them. Jinke over the years, with Sam Snead Woodin. The first club profc ional was Mer (Submitted by Carol Jones, Brown setting a cours record of 66 that stood W. Frank Kerwin was the fll'8t club rill S. Maisack, former aviator with the County Historical SOciety) JLVMt8, 1998 Work on·S horewood course started in '31 In the spring of 1930, a group of golfers believing the facilities of the Green Bay golf course and Oneida Golf & Riding Club_were not adequate to - care for all who desired to play the game circulated petitions for the devel opment of a municipal golf course. No action came of it, so the group decided to form a corpo ration and build a nine Last hole golf course. .. Land was purchased of four six miles north of Green parts Bay along the bay and in Throughout this year of the spring of 1931, work Wisconsin's Sesquicentennlsl was started on the course celebration, the with plans drawn by U.S. Press-Gazette Golf Architect.a of Chicago. It cost approx will publish a imately $15,000 and more than 100 mem series of bers joined. stories on On Aug. 8, 1931, the course was offi· local history. ~~ cially opened for play with Clayton Pichette as professional. This feature, "'~- prepared with It was operated as a semi-pu}:Jlic course the assistance of the with play being permitted by members of the club and golfers who paid green fees. Brown County Historical Harry Nicholson was president for Society, will appear on the first year succeeded by George Mondays. Biebel, P.M. Tetzlaff, Roy Madden and John Denny. In 1932, Gideon Kane won the men's championship and Adeline Jenquin was classes Scheduled t;o beiµg in the fall of women's chainp ion. 1969. By the end of the 1930s, Shorewood The last Shorewood officers were was expanded to an 18-hole course. The Fred Schwartz, Ken Aualoos and J. second annual Brown County Open Ryan. Tournament sponsored by the Press The university took ownership in Gazette was played here. 1969, and Shorewood's 18-hole course The course flourished for the was reduced to nine holes. It continues ne~i; three decades. as a public recreational facility today. In June, 1966, approval was given t<> begin initial plans and urveys for a new Submitted by the Brown Count.Y University ofWisconsin-Oroon Bay with Historical Society.