Mineola

In 1934 there were expenses which we do not have today, such as $1.10 to Service Drug for a sick mule. Evidently the club mules were unequal to their task, for one occasion the board voted unanimously that one man and a team be employed for a period of 4 days, or less, at a cost not to exceed $3.00 per day, to get the fairways in condition. The mules were finally sold for $200.00 and replaced by a tractor, which of course, cost considerably more. Another expense was 75¢ for every golf ball awarded to any member for each annual membership he or she might secure.

On the other hand, there was income which we do not have: example, $73.00 for hay sold. The $830.00 received for an oil and gas lease on club property seemed a windfall; but, as it turned out, this was not an unmitigated blessing, since it resulted in the forfeiture of the club's claim for exemption from filing an income tax return. Worse still, a 20% tax on club dues was assessed by the I.R.S., making the dues of $2.00 per month increase to $2.40 per month. Oddly enough, that 20% tax was removed in 1965. Hmm! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

In 1935 the board voted to discontinue the practice of allowing members to “farm out” their stock to individuals who would pay the dues. The directors felt very strongly against betting, and they voted unanimously that there should be not betting between members and caddies, and any members violating this rule would be fined the sume of $1.00.

In order to increase social activities, a committee was appointed to organize a “Shindig Club” with authority to promote such features of entertainment as they deemed fit, the necessary funds for such promotion to be derived from sources other than the club treasury.

An objection was offered to the type of bathing suits being worn at the swimming pool, so the board required that bathers dress more modestly and that “more of the bathers' anatomy be covered.”

The board voted to file suit against members as much as one year in arrears with their dues.

The keeper's working hours were set up as follows: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the winter and 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the summer.

In the years 1936-1938 the club almost went bankrupt. Only 33 members had dues paid up; the remaining 35 members were behind. Receipts barely took care of wages, and that did not include the secretary, for whom nothing was left. Bank notes and various bills in town remained unpaid, and the club was being sued for taxes. Some months the board of directors did not even meet, but the members of that board became nothing if not resourceful. When it became necessary for them to employ legal counsel, they went to the firm of Jones and Jones, who attended to the club's contracts and lawsuits then pressing. Afterwards, when it came to the matter of the lawyer fee, the representative of the board of directors spoke thus: “Mr. Jones, tell Helen (who had departed for South Texas several years previously to teach school at a salary of $1,125.00 per annum and was devoting no attention whatsoever to her financial obligations to the Country Club) that her stock and dues are all paid up, and thank you and Mr. Wiley (Jones) for your work.” It is important to state that this arrangement was entirely satisfactory to all concerned. After all, during those difficult years Jones and Jones accepted as legal fees such items as a living room rug, periodic delivery of poultry, a battered Model T, and numerous acres of overflow land in the river bottoms of Wood County.

In 1939, C. C. Magee was given permission to use a certain plot of ground in the northwest corner of the club property bounded by fencing on all sides and better known as the “Keeper's Cow Pasture” for the purpose of pasturing his stock. No mention is made of any fee involved. I find this hard to believe.