Celebrating 50
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 1, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Scott LaFevers, left, Jack Best, and Kim LaFevers look at the original plans for Walnut Creek, which included a runway and shopping center, during a celebration for the 50th anniversary of Walnut Creek Country Club on Wednesday evening.
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Charter members of the Walnut Creek Country Club were recognized during ceremonies Saturday. From left are Calvin Hodgin, Conway Rose, James Jeffreys, Lindsay Warren, Hope Derby, J.D. Pike, Ed Borden, David Weil, Charles Norwood and Bruce Berkeley.
Fran Boyce discovered a special connection with Walnut Creek Country Club while helping to plan the club's 50th anniversary celebration.
Her late grandfather, James Randolph "Randy" Baker, who owned and operated Wayne Wholesale Grocery in Goldsboro, was a charter member.
Those were some of the memories Mrs. Boyce shared during the Wednesday night social commemorating the actual 50th anniversary of the club's incorporation on Sept. 30, 1965.
Other events have included a dinner and dance to pay tribute to the club's founders and charter members, and a picnic and pool party with food and games.
"I was born in Goldsboro, but then my family moved away," Mrs. Boyce said of her surprising discovery. "I grew up in Louisiana, and I didn't return to Goldsboro until 2003. So I was not really familiar with the history of Walnut Creek Country Club. It was quite a surprise to find out that my grandfather was a charter member. He was also on the first board of directors. That just made it all the more exciting for me knowing that he was part of this history."
Planning for the celebration started 13 months ago, and Mrs. Boyce said it is a relief that the events came off as planned.
Nearly 150 people attended Wednesday night's event.
"Saturday night was so fantastic having so many of our charter members being able to show up, having all of the memorabilia from the club from years ago and a lot of pictures from the last 50 years," she said. "It was a very special evening."
Wednesday's event was the finale in the celebration and included the social with a raffle drawing offering 22 prizes from golf bags to a wine basket.
Ken Ritt, president of the Walnut Creek Country Club, has been member for 31 years.
"Actually tonight is the date that the country club was incorporated," he said. "This is our actual anniversary."
In those early days, 100 people got together, each giving $200, and started the club, Ritt said.
"Back 50 years ago, that took a little bit of courage and vision," he said. "They threw that money together and started Walnut Creek Country Club. Then they hired Pete Dye, a famous golf course architect, who did the original design of the course."
Ellis Maples did the final design of the golf course itself, Ritt said.
"I joined in '84, then we left the country and went to Korea for two years," he said. "I was in the Air Force, and we were fortunate to be able to come back here. Then we rejoined the country club.
"I started playing here and the trees were short and you could cut corners with the golf ball. Then all of a sudden the trees are grown and no more cutting corners. It is really fun to watch it grow. When I got here, the club was about half the size it is now."
There are 26 charter members still living, he said.
Bob Hill, a member of a little more than 46 years, served as historian for the planning committee.
He was among members of 45 years or more who were recognized along with the charter members recognized during the celebration.
Hill smiles when he talks about the club's early days.
"Our golf course was open," he said. "We had a beautiful clubhouse -- it was a 14-foot single-wide home with a cinder block patio with a beautiful wooden rail fence.
"The food service was an electric cooker which warmed sandwiches, and club storage was a big wooden building out back of the mobile home. That is kind of how it started."
The first building was opened in January 1971, and the club has continued to grow.
"We have been going ever since," Johnson said.
Jack Spencer, who for a while was manager of the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Officers Club, became the country club's first manager in 1971.
The golf course itself enjoys a reputation as one of the best in the eastern U.S., Hill said.
"It has been amazing as it has been put together, but we have a lot of amazing people here that have done a whole lot -- not just paying dues and that sort of things, but contributing in different ways through the years when things were needed," Hill said.
People have been willing to pitch in to help to raise money to meet needs at the club, he said,
"These folks have a great feel for Walnut Creek Country Club," Hill said. "A lot of people sort of categorize a country club as the 'its,' but that is not the case.
"Here it's a real family-oriented and family operation that is altogether different from the so-called thoughts of what a country club is to some people. That we are real proud of and hope to keep it going."
Hill said that when he joined the club the pine trees on hole No. 17 were about 3 feet high and now they tower 40 feet and more.
But the club is more than golf, it is an asset to the county and region, he said.
"To me it is a regional club and is used by people from all over," Hill said. "We have functions out here -- people come from different parts of the country because they have heard of the facility, the food service and so forth.
"We had one person come join because they just wanted their wedding here. They had heard so much about it."
Receptions, class reunions, weddings, as well as events for numerous organizations are held at the club, he said.
"That is part of the ability of Walnut Creek to serve the community and that is what it is all about," he said.