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Official OGC Tabloid Journalism
WINTER 2014/2015
LINKS
IF IT’S NEWS, IT’S NEWS TO US
No. 10
A few yards to the right of the first tee
you'll find this memorial marker at the
base of tree. It's dedicated to to Hank
Weatherhead who died at age 10.
For Every
Stone
There's
a Story
By Dick Ciccone
The redesign of the Wilmette Course,
particularly the back nine, provide new
areas of discovery for those golfers
whose spend a great deal of time
searching through the rough from fence
to pond, from slough to gully, behind
oaks and under pines. There are
amazing things out there that some
fellows like 2014 OGC champion
Brian Coffman will never encounter for
he spends most of his time on the
fairway.
Among the things that have been
fixtures on the Wilmette Golf Course
longer than even Mike Matchen can
remembers are the scores of plaques
commemorating the passing of fellow
golfers, family members, or friends.
Some of them were placed to pay
tribute to a great shot or a perpetual
obstacle. Some others were set down
to name the donors of trees, or to wish
someone a happy birthday or a happy
Father’s Day or just to celebrate golf
and life.
Matchen thinks the plaques and the
donation of trees began in the 1960s
after the course lost more than two
thousand elms to Dutch Elm disease
and the Park District was eager for
donations to plant new saplings
“Some people objected that the golf
course shouldn’t be turned into a
cemetery, but over the years most
people
have
appreciated
the
opportunity to have a memorial and at
the same time help maintain the tree
growth at the course,” Matchen said.
“It’s nice to see family members come
back ten or fifteen years later and go
find the plaques.”
“It got started after we lost 2,000 elm
trees in the early 70s. The place was
kind of barren and people started
donating money to plant trees. Now,
the Park District matches up to $150
for anyone who wants to plant a tree
and that will get you a tree about 13 or
14 feet tall. Of course, some people
want something bigger so they pay
more. Donors pay for the bronze
plaque and we install them free.
“As far as where people want to plant
the tree, we work with them. We can’t
always plant it exactly where they want
but we get it in the general area,”
Matchen said.
Matchen, who began his career at
Wilmette in 1973, said as far he knows
the oldest plaque may one of the most
visible, “Kerrigan’s Gulch,” which sits
on the 13th tee even after the redesign
which has shrunk the gulch. It was
placed in honor of the grandfather of
OGC member Mike Kerrigan and
father of longtime OGC member Bob
Kerrigan, both of whom spent
considerable time at the Wilmette Golf
Course in lieu of unclogging your
drains.
An equally visible plaque for years was
on the edge of the 17th tee to honor
Jack Kanatzar.
“He finally made it to Old Knobby,” is
a reference to the big oak that sits on
the right side of the fairway a decent
drive from the tee. Kanatzar, the 1974
OGC president, left a strong memory
with Matchen.
“He had cancer but he was still playing
whenever he felt well enough and he
actually brought me the plaque to plant
before he died,” Matchen said.
Some of the plaques carry life
messages. On behind the No. 4 green
along the path to No. 5 honors Harold
Trittin. The plaque admonishes: “Putt
it out.”
To the right of the boardwalk leading
up to the 14th tee is a plaque quoting
Ross “R.B.” Taylor, “I didn’t come out
here to lay up.” (continued on next
page)
(STONE STORIES CON'T FROM PAGE 1)
Two others on the 14th tee honor, John Taylor Bourke, OGC
President in 1980 and the father of current OGC member,
Jay Bourke, and a plaque placed by the late Howard
Andrews to honor his wife, Yolanda, who preceded him in
death but left him her pink putter which Howie used until
he passed away a few years ago.
The very first plaque you pass on the golf course is slightly
to right of No. 1 tee where even the most horrid of us rarely
hit a ball. It honors Hank Weatherhead who died in 1980 at
age 10.
Matchen noted that another plaque for a child, James
Stanton Locke, who Jamie and his wife lost at birth, had
been on No. 17, but like many others was removed either
because of the recent loss of ash trees or the more recent
golf course renovation. Matchen plans to replace all the
plaques in 2015.
Other sons honored by their fathers include, also on No. 5,
a plaque our late starter, Ralph McKee, placed in memory
of his son, Ralph “Chip” McKee who died too young at age
41. There's one on No. 6 for Tony Frank who died at age 38
of a stroke. His father was the late longtime OGC member,
Ed Frank.
The late Marty Reuss laid a plaque on the left side of No. 8
to honor his wife, Roxanne, while Dianne and Frank
Charhut planted a tree to honor themselves at the left of the
new orange tee on No. 8.
There is a plaque on No. 9 for Thomas Harvey who often
played in a group with Dick Morrison. There's another one
on the left side of No. 9 for Joel Streightiff, a playing
partner of Tom Bonnie.
Behind the 9th green is a marker that reads, “Time takes all
but memories.” It is for Larry Scully, the father of Angela
Steger, one of the club’s most active women members who
lives just off the ninth green. Left of the forward tee on No.
10 is a plaque that reads,“In loving memory of Jim Connors
1941-2009 “Don’t forget your cash.”
Pat and John Grady put in a tree and plague on the right
side of the 17th fairway which carries every golfer’s motto:
“Hope Springs Eternal.”
Al Glatt planted a tree for his parents, Philip and Ethel near
the 12th tee and nearby is a plague for Lois Conlin
Marshall, President WWGA 1987, President SWG 1996.
Tom Bonnie honored his wife, Ginger, with a plaque just
behind the 13th tee and also planted a tree on the right side
of No. 17 in memory of his parents. The family of Tom
Dolan, the driving force behind the OGC Bob Dolan
Twilight League, planted a tree just short of the 8th green in
1999 with Bob’s favorite saying, “In life, in golf, go for it.”
One of the newer plaques stands along the right side of No.
14 to honor Bob Hanson. The plaque notes, “Where he
made his eagle.”
Tom Tillman perhaps fulfilled every golfer’s dream when
he died walking off the 15th green. The plaque to the right
of the 16th tree reads: “This maple tree was planted in
memory of Tom W. Tillman 1939-2000 by Helen, his wife,
Greg, his son, and Christi, his daughter
Not far away is a plaque that is unique in that it has an
etching of a golfer and was planted in memory of Mark
Harney, 1960-2006, by his friends at Allstate.
Another plaque that Matchen had to remove sat under the
Australian pines that used to ring the back of the old 15th
green but were thankfully removed in the redesign. It was
in memory of Carl Michaelson an OGC stalwart of the
1970s and 1980s.
“Carl was dying of cancer and when we had the lottery
drawing at the old clubhouse in March,” Matchen recalled,
“and in those days we had 110 groups in the lottery. Carl’s
group won the first pick and everyone thought we cheated
for Carl, but we didn’t. It just happened. They got their
favorite time and Carl had a chance to play a few rounds
that spring before he got too ill.”
Some fairways are almost cluttered with plaques and others
have none. There are only two on No. 4, one that simply
says, Clark Madden, and one for Harold and Gladys Porte
placed there by their son, longtime OGC member Ron
Porte. (continued on next page)
Stories Behind the Stones (conclusion)
One of the most colorfully labeled, was “Benedict’s
Billabong,” that was on No. 17 and was for one of the
OGC’s more colorful members, Lou Benedict, a Golden
Gloves fighter in his youth who was still fighting his slice
into his 90s.
A former two time OGC champion, Jim Versino, who ran
the Wilmette Bicycle Shop, is remembered on the left side
of No. 6 with a plaque that says, “1995 Heavenly Days.”
Two of the OGC’s most generous members, Jack and Lou
Glunz are remembered with plaques, one for Lou’s 75th
birthday placed by Jack and his wife, Pat, and a similar one
for Jack that sits in a group of four on the right side of No.
18 fairway.
The first one in line is for Jim McKeone, a past president of
the OGC and it reads: “There are no bad rounds.” Plaques
for two longtime OGC members, Bob Dickson and Jack
Dempsey, are nearby.
On the right side of No. 18, a short pitch shot from the
green, is a plaque in memory of William Lambrecht Sr.,
who headed the Park District in the late 1960s and
spearheaded the drive to purchase the golf course from
Northwestern University. It reads: “A caring man.” Every
OGC member should bow when they pass that plaque for
without Lambrecht’s vision they might be in the lottery at
Peter Jans or Chick Evans.
An unusual plaque is placed on the other side of the cart
path to the right of the 18th green. It reads:
“Herb Immenhausen 'Wie Geht’s'"
It’s unusual, Matchen said, because the gentleman never
played golf at Wilmette. His family just thought it would
Behind the 9th green is this memorial for Larry Scully, the
father of Angela Steger, one of the club’s most active women
members who lives just off the ninth green.
be a nice memorial. For those not fluent in German, it
means, “How ya doing?”
Even those OGC members who always find the fairway
can’t miss the most recognizable memorial on the course,
which is also one of the most recent. It is the one just
beyond Old Knobby on No. 17 and it is always decorated
with a small American flag. It is also the most poignant.
“In memory of
Capt. Matthew Charles Hays Freeman USMC
1980-2009
KIA Afghanistan
Son of Mark and Paula Hays
from his Dad’s golf buddies”
And then there is one that was green with age and always
overgrown and almost impossible to spot down the hill to
the right of the old No. 16 green. It was removed after the
ash tree planted by her family died, but Matchen pledges to
replace it for every golfer should pause to admire the
plaque for Elizabeth Slaught.
“Betsy was a very active woman golfer,” Matchen said.
“She was president of one of the women’s groups. The
most interesting story about Betsy was that the ladies’
championship was scheduled on the same day that her
husband was going to have a bypass operation.
“She played in the championship. They both survived.”
(Even the most errant high handicapper assigned to search
for plaques could never find all of them, so this is an
incomplete survey but hopefully explains some riddles. -Dick Ciccone)
You don't have to be deceased at the time to merit your name
on a stone as this tribute to Lou Glunz testifies. It's located
off to the left of the 18th greeen.
2015 OGC Membership Application Form
Time to renew your
membership
and handicap
Your 2014 USGA handicap expires at
Midnight on Dec. 31. If you are going to
be playing golf over the winter, you will
need to renew your handicap through
renewal of your OGC membership. You
can do that with the form to the right. Just
fill it out and and make your check payable
to OGC for the right amount. (Sorry, we
can't do e-payment right now.) Mail or
drop off at the pro shop.
Of course, even if you won't be a snowbird
on the links this winter, you still can renew
your OGC membership now. NAME______________________________________________
ADDRESS___________________________________________
CITY ____________________________STATE____ZIP_______
BEST PHONE TO
REACH YOU AT: ______________________________________
DATE & YEAR BORN___________________________________
CHECK ONE:
___ Membership with Handicap…………………....$90.00
___ Membership with Handicap Elsewhere……….$65.00
___ Hole-in-One Pool (must have membership)….$10.00
___ Handicap Only…………………………………...$45.00
TOTAL…………………………………….$____
For renewals only, please check here if contact information has
changed:
Make checks payable to OGC. Payment must accompany application to
complete registration. Either submit in person to the Wilmette Pro Shop
or mail to:
Ouilmette Golf Club, 3900 Fairway Drive, Wilmette, IL 60091
2015 Schedule
It's still tentative, but most major
events are iced as follows:
• Lottery March 19
• Opening Dinner April 9
• Lottery Tee Times Begin April 25
• Start of Twilight League April 23
• Ocho DeMayo May 8
• BioSwale Boogie May 20
• Mt. Prospect Match May 29
ª Slider Cup June 17
• Healy Classic July 15
• W Cup July 25
• Skins Game August 14
• Go Cup August 29, 30
• Club Championship Sept. 12, 13
• Closing Dinner November 4
• Turkey Shoot November 14
It seems that our cover story author failed to mention this memorial
marker our photographer discovered slightly in back of the 18th green.