by Susan Couso
It is generally accepted that the game of golf was created way back in Scotland in the Middle Ages. In Lassen County, it got a late start, but as early as the 1920’s, local enthusiasts were looking for a good spot to put a little ball into a hole with a stick.
The Fruit Growers Supply Company lumber mill built the Story Club, a huge ‘clubhouse’ for its employees, including a theater, library, dining hall, dance hall and many other amenities.
They also included an indoor golf course for the employee’s pleasure. This was probably the first golf course in the area, but it was rapidly followed by the formation of the Susanville Country Club which, in 1924, purchased George Wingfield’s former Meadowbrook Ranch, and installed a nine-hole course.
They didn’t last long before suffering financial losses that closed the venture.
Then, in 1951, Dr. Clarence Burnett gathered a group, which was interested in establishing a new golf course. The group discussed leasing Rollie Emerson’s Four Oaks sand course or purchasing property and building ‘from scratch’. They decided to advance with the latter.
The newly formed Susanville Golf and Recreation Club then purchased the Bill Williams ranch, about 5 miles south of Susanville on Wingfield Road, and hired Reno course designer William Mayo to draw plans.
This was to be a community project, and the group hoped to include recreational possibilities beyond golf. There were picnic areas in the beautiful meadow, an archery range, operated by the Diamond Mountain Bowmen, and even a ski run.
The Lassen Junior College forestry students, under the guidance of instructor Ralph Throop, felled trees and installed a rope tow to create the run. A club house cabin was constructed to hold gatherings and house equipment.
But the project was a lot of work. In July 1952, vandals broke into the clubhouse and did a lot of damage. They broke all of the windows, ground the broken glass into the hardwood floors and even absconded with a trophy.
They were arrested by Sheriff Olin Johnson, but the damage cost the club in the form of labor and money.
The course was to open for the year on July 2nd. The fairways were mowed, the trees trimmed, and the greens filled in with sand.
The Lost Meadows recreational area was a beautiful and successful venture, but it was run by volunteers who needed to dedicate a lot of their time and energy for the project. In 1957, the Susanville Golf and Recreation Club began a drive to raise money to pay off their debt, with the idea of then donating the property to the City of Susanville.
Then, in July of 1963, a group of local golf enthusiasts, headed by George Pence, approached the Susanville City Council with a request that they investigate the feasibility of a municipal golf course.
Mayor Jim Jeskey appointed a committee, headed by Elton Millar, to look into the idea. The committee toured many proposed sites, but each was rejected because of high prices or soil which would not grow lush grass. Richard Walpole, local resident who had worked to design golf courses in other parts of the state, assisted in this search.
By April of 1964, a solution was proposed by Rollie Emerson. Emerson offered to donate a 95.6-acre piece of real estate for the new course.
State Senator Stanley Arnold toured the offered property with the committee, and all agreed that it was a perfect solution to the problem. The city accepted the proposal and architect Walpole drew up plans for the new course, using, in part, aerial photos of the land.
The city still had the problem of finding funding for the project. On April 6, 1964, they signed an agreement with J. B. Hanauer Co., to arrange financing.
At this point, the proposed golf course was becoming a full-time job for the city. They decided that they needed help. The city authorized the formation of a non-profit corporation to deal with the project, and search for financing. The firm of Nichols & Rogers, San Francisco bonding attorneys, were retained to draw up the Articles of Incorporation, and do the necessary paperwork to prepare for the issue of bonds in the name of the corporation.
In June of 1964, the City of Susanville, California, Municipal Facilities Corporation was formed with Elton Millar as president.
Through the guidance of the Hanauer Co., the First Nebraska Securities Co. issued bonds for $265,000, bearing 5% interest. The city would lease the new golf course in a lease-back agreement, and then own the course after payments were completed in 25 years.
Under the terms of the indenture, all surplus monies would be held in a Reserve Account administered by the Bank of America, in San Francisco as Trustees, and the bank would invest them in short-term maturities.
To make a confusing story even more confusing, as the lease was to be signed by the city, Mayor Charles Richardson agreed to abstain from voting, in an effort to send the matter to court for a legal review, thus ensuring that all was ‘on the up and up’.
And, so, it was done. Actual construction began in November,1965. Grayson Concrete & Materials successfully won the bid for general contracting, along with Miller Custom Works, Fair Way Landscaping and Norcal Construction Co. as sub-contractors.
By the middle of the year, wells had been drilled, and the irrigation system was installed. Construction was moving rapidly, and by September of 1966, the grass seed was growing and the foundation for the clubhouse was complete.
An Open House was held at the course on June 18, 1967, where everyone could come see the new clubhouse. The Grand Opening was held on July 2nd, where about 200 people gathered on the first green to hear speeches and promises of new things to come.
The snack bar and pro shop would open soon. Elton Millar, hard-working and dedicated as ever, hit the first ball. All-in-all, 91 golfers showed up to tee off that day, and it was just a beginning for the Emerson Lake Golf Course.
In 1968, the 9-hole Lost Meadows Golf Course was donated to city. The 143-acre site, valued at about $60,000 was given by the Lost Meadows Golf and Recreation Club, on condition that any proceeds be used to improve the new Emerson Lake Course, acquire land adjacent to Emerson for expansion, or retire the existing debt incurred for construction of Emerson.
Lost Meadows, created 17 years before, also donated equipment, and about $1,700 in the club’s treasury. Clearly, there were a lot of people in the area who really cared about golf.
In July 1968, the City Council met to work out the details of a complicated land exchange, which was worked to gain land for future expansion of the Emerson Lake course. The council accepted an offer from Rollie Emerson to exchange land with the city to give property, adjacent to Emerson Lake, to allow expansion of the course to 18 holes.
The 143-acre Lost Meadows property now belonged to the city. Fred and Barbara Nagel offered to trade 80 acres, just east of the Emerson course for the Lost Meadows property, but to get to the 80 acres, people would need to cross through Rollie Emerson’s land, as his property surrounded the golf links.
In the deal, Emerson would exchange 29 acres of his land, including the lake, for 12.8 acres of wooded land which was part of the 80-acre Nagel property. The city would retain access across the 12.8 acres to access a proposed picnic site. This deal was finalized, and Emerson Lake had a chance for future growth.
About 1985, the Reserve Fund had grown, through smart investment, to approximately $130,000, making 10% – 12% interest. The remaining indenture amounted to around $106,000. At this point, the City of Susanville, California, Municipal Facilities Corporation used the Reserve Fund to pay off the debt, seven years early, reverting the surplus money to the city, and then dissolved the corporation.
Credit must be given to the City of Susanville and those countless and dedicated people who worked through a very complicated and confusing manipulation of money and property to create the beautiful golf course that today makes our area proud.
