All past members are invited to join the Bloomington, Ill., club’s current members for a six-day event that will include a hog roast, local music, and dedication of a time capsule on the first tee.
Lakeside Country Club in Bloomington, Ill., will host its 100-year celebration next week. All past members are invited to join the club’s 272 current members and partake in a variety of golf and social activities at the club in a six-day period, the Bloomington Pantagraph reported.
Ed and Ivey Weaver moved to the Twin Cities from Texas in 1956. Two years later, Ivey said they were looking for a place for Ed to play golf when they joined Lakeside Country Club. The Weavers found something so much more and have never left. It’s a tale many Lakeside families have told throughout the years, the Pantagraph reported.
“I just think it’s the closeness of all the people. They’re so friendly,” said Ivey Weaver. “You don’t get the idea somebody is trying to outdo the other one. Everyone is equal.”
There will be hog roast in the parking lot on September 17 followed by music from The ByGones and the dedication of a time capsule on No. 1 tee, the Pantagraph reported.
“I grew up here as a kid. It’s a great place for a family. The people all get along,” said Sean Craig, who serves as Lakeside’s president. “It’s a laid-back environment with a lot of fun.”
The cozy par-32 Lakeside layout, located on about 40 acres on Bloomington’s east side, has undergone numerous changes since it started in 1916 as a par-29 course measuring 1,818 yards, the Pantagraph reported.
A brickyard built by Napolean Bonaparte Heafer and James McGregor in 1861 began the chain of events that led to Lakeside’s formation. N.B. Heafer and Co. expanded to include seven acres as well as a large pond (today’s lake at the club) that was used for swimming. However, the brick factory burned down in 1888 and Heafer, due to declining health, turned over his duties to his oldest son and partner, Edgar, the Pantagraph reported.
Edgar Heafer was unable to compete with larger firms by 1914 and retired. Two years later, Heafer and his wife, Ida, decided to sell land south of the brick factory. An association of five men at that time was looking for land “to establish a country club to encourage outdoor sports and athletics.” They established 50 shares, of which 40 had already sold at $250 each. The unincorporated association bought the property from the Heafers for $16,000 and called their association McLean Country Club, the Pantagraph reported.
By 1926, club members began to embrace Lakeside Country Club as their club’s name in recognition of having a lake on the course. It was officially adopted in 1933. A putting green and irrigation system was added when Bud Concklin was Lakeside’s club professional in the 1970s, while the swimming pool was built in 1991. The club’s youth swimming team started in 1928, the Pantagraph reported.
The popular Doe Day, an outing at the club reserved for women only, was started at Lakeside in 1959 which other area country clubs eventually adopted, the Pantagraph reported.
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