Country club hits 100-year milestone

One hundred years ago -- April 3, 1921 -- members of Cape Girardeau Country Club played the first round of golf in the county's history.

From their clubhouse site, the highest point of the club's 80-odd-acre property, members could see the Mississippi River and Cape Rock. What they couldn't see was how the club would survive the Great Depression, World War II and a fire. Nor could they see how the club would become a powerful benevolent force in the community through the generations.

How it started

According to Jay Fred Waltz and Jerry Ford, who are working on a book of the history of the country club, the club's property has been "iconic" since the first trading post in the area sat on what is now the golf course's seventh fairway.

The property, now on the northern edge of the city limit, was originally part of a much larger tract conveyed to St. Vincent Seminary and eventually St. Vincent College in the mid-1800s. In 1921, a bit more than 100 acres became available, and 103 members of the city's Rotary Club each pitched in $100 to buy the land. Waltz said the $100 contribution would be equivalent to $1,500 today. The group formed Cape Rock Park Association and turned a portion of the property into Cape Rock Park, with the remaining 80 acres forming the original basis of the country club.

Cape Girardeau Country Club golf links. Mississippi River in background, circa 1920sSoutheast Missourian archives

"The bottom line is the Rotarians of that day were community spirited, and they ended up making it happen," Ford said.

At that time, though, the community could scarcely access the property, and Waltz said the first assessment to members was to raise funds to construct a road from Big Bend Road to the property.

While a golf course, complete with sand greens, was the primary focus on the property itself, the clubhouse was the focal point of activity.

"It was a place to go and dance," Ford explained. "In those days, dancing was the entertainment."

A few years after the club's inception, the Great Depression came along, dealing a significant blow to the club's viability. A generation later, World War II had a similar effect.

"World War II comes, and everybody leaves to go to war, and they just about folded up," Waltz said.

After the war, a group of five club leaders -- H.I. Himmelbergre, A.W. Harrison, Allen Oliver, R.E.L. Lampkin and Fred Groves -- spearheaded efforts to put the club on more secure financial footing. They developed a "share" program which would raise funds for the club, but the shares were not transferable or otherwise portable. They amounted to investments in the club itself.

"The money sustained the club. It became a contribution for the good of the order," Ford said.

Just as the club was finding its way forward, a 1963 fire destroyed the clubhouse. Mere months prior to the fire, the club had acquired property to complete an 18-hole golf course.

Social impact

One of the hallmarks of the club has been inclusion, and that philosophy led the club to admit its first Jewish member, Marty Hecht, in unique fashion.

"R.E.L. Lampkin made a motion at a board meeting one day to admit Marty Hecht to the country club, and there was silence," Ford said. "And so, after just a few pauses of silence, he says to them, 'I take it by your silence that Marty Hecht is now a member of the country club. Over the years, there have been a lot of people of the Jewish faith in the club, but that was a real breakthrough in those days."

Waltz noted the club also admitted Japanese American and Black members earlier than other such clubs.

"It's not about any of that stuff," he said. "That little golf ball doesn't know who you are."

Waltz attributed the club's longevity to its simple mission.

"It is nothing more than a big co-op -- people who have joined together in a cooperative agreement to share costs to create something they couldn't individually afford," he said.

Centennial celebrations

General manager Paul Belcher said the club sponsored a centennial gala recently and has plans for various events this year to commemorate 100 years of existence.

Saturday morning, a ceremonial tee-off and program will highlight the club's history.

Belcher said the club has added more than 140 members in the past year-plus, a testimony to member recruitment efforts. About 375 members comprise the club's roll.

"Private but not pretentious.' That says it. I have never seen a club more welcoming to somebody from the outside than here," he contended. "There is a group of these folks that no matter what, this is their club, and no matter what it takes, they are going to keep that legacy going."

Superintendent Mark Moser agreed.

"You learn really quick that everybody has a lot of pride in this club. They will never let it die. There are too many memories here."