Muncie Country Club was organized in 1899, Ralph Hemingray listed among charter members

[Newspaper]

Publication: The Muncie Sunday Star

Muncie, IN, United States
vol. 57, no. 156, p. 4 Sect 3, col. 7


THE OLD TIMER

BY ROBERT B BRADBURY.

"I DROVE out part the Country Club last Sunday." said Bill to the boys in the Corner Grocery, and the fall rains have livened up the grass and —" "I them reckon people who belong out there," broke in the Old Timer, “think they enjoy theirselves right well, playin’ golf and doin' whatever other things there is to take up their time, but I bet, puttin' the good times of their mem­bers all tergether, it wouldn't cut much ice, compared to the good times that were enjoyed by the members that belonged to the old Muncie Country Club back there thirty year or more ago. You know, Mac., the Muncie Country Club was organized in 1899, at a meetn' held in the home of Rush Evans at the southwest corner Main and Elm streets. That uster be the Thad Neely home and was quite some building for them days. Ralph Hemingray was there that night when they organized. Ray Johnson, George Ball, Robert Scott, Frank Kimbrough, Robert Walker, John McNaughton, Edgar Johnson, also Carroll and Lewellyn Hemingray, Fan Turner, Emily Olcott and others. Edward Olcott was picked out as their president and was also chairman of the croquet committee. Robert E. Walker was secretary and treasurer and chairman of the house enter­tainment committee. He was with the McNaughton Company then, now lives in Chicago. George Ball was chairman of the tennis committee, Rush Evans was chairman of the golf committee. You remember him Bill, he made paper while he was in Muncie. Frank Kimbrough was chairman of the miscellaneous games committee and worked right hard at it when he wasn't playing golf. Them five fellers were the directors of the club and they tried their best to keep some­thin' goin' on all the time. After they got organized as a stock com­pany with 200 members they leased about thirty-five acres from the Delaware Land and Improvement Co., and had a club house built. N. B. Powers was the contractor, and when he turned that buildin' over to them as completed they were right well sat­isfied with it. It consisted of the main club room with all the furni­ture they needed includin' a piano. There was also a large open fireplace all hooked up with gas for heatin.' West of this main room were two smaller rooms fer lockers. To the north through a large arch doorway was the dinin’ room with a kitchen back. The kitchen and dinin’ room were in charge of Rhine Hummel, and nothin’ more need be said about them. That buildin' located on what was probably the highest point around Muncie, with no buildin's any­where near and a feller could see a right smart distance in every direc­tion. It was north of the Jackson Street Pike and west of the Uni­versity subdivision.

The Ball Memorial Hospital stands where the No. 1 and 2 fairways of the nine-hole golf course was. and that great big elm that stands in front of the hospital was in the rough right there, and believe me it’s shade was a welcome relief from the hot sun durin' the summers them boys and girls played there. The club house was about twenty rod west of the hospital. Golf was Jest beginnin' to be played then and anybody in a pair of knickers usually came in fer a good razzin' anywhere off the golf course. And when them fell­ers were dressed up as golfers or in white ducks they went in gangs as a protection from the guyin' that any lone soul got on the westside street car. You know they didn’t have autermobiles then and it was a case of either street carin', walkin', er gettin' a cab from Bud Thomas fer a trip out there er back. They played tennis quite considerable and their tennis team played a lot with Harttford City, Anderson and Richmond teams, winnin' some, losin' some but havin' a bang up good time, anyhow. There wasn’t much of amusement goin' on in Muncie so this club house was used quite a lot after it got goin', fer dinners and dances. The music they had usually was jest the piano and a rag time played to work on it. Sometimes ef it was goin' to be extra swell they had a drummer, too. Huh? Yep, you said it Mac. They shore had all the comforts of home. They had a showerbath so the men could wash off the honest sweat after a hard game. It was in a very small room with a couple of barrels up on the roof, a piece of rubber hose and a sprayer. Some outfit ef you ask me. The rules of the club barred anybody but stock holders from the use of the club house er grounds, but members had the priv­ilege of invitin’ any out of town guests to all the privileges as long as they was visitin' in Muncie, and sometimes they did rent that place out fer private dinner parties or dances, lest to kinder help make ends meet. They didn't have much money and tried to make what little they had go a long way. I reckon there are quite a lot of fellers around Muncie who uster belong to that club, and ef old age hasn't dimmed their memories too much, er ef the glitter of the gay nineties ain't effected their judgment I bet they’ll all agree with me they had the best time of all their lives in the old Muncie Country Club. They learned to play golf, they had their dances, probably did some courtin' and — But I’m jest about to run down, so guess I'll take my poke of Seek No Further chewin' terbaccer and beat it fer home. I have a date to beat Andy Jones to­night in a game of barnyard golf. So long boys, see you next Sattiday.”


Keywords:Hemingray
Researcher notes: 
Supplemental information: 
Researcher:Bob Stahr
Date completed:January 23, 2023 by: Bob Stahr;