. Siastic members. The growth years: 1955- 1958 The clubhouse .-was con-: structed almost entirely by- volunteer labor under the super: vision of Bob Grabler. It was a _ one-room structure overlooking _ the course situated on the pre- “- sent site. It was made of the old logs from the farm buildings. Provisions were made in. the plans for the eventual addition .. Of the sun porch, living quarters _and the coffee shop (see water color print on new dining room wall vintage. {968). Over the next few years, the fairways were widened and im- _ proved. The membership during’ __ these early years was around 100 - with an active mens, ladies and junior section,. Many members who played during the early years were residents of Prince ’ Rupert and Kitimat. It was to be many years before these cities acquired their own golf courses. . Prince Rupert was a very strong supporter. and promoter of the ~ Thornhill club. During the winters of 1953, 1954 and 1955, there was a very active ski club in operation. At that time there were great plans for an extensive ski area. The area was mapped out with ‘various ski trails. Mr. Grabler -applied to the Land Office and — obtained a further 10 chains of property from Lot 4002 that ad- joined Lot 1430 on the south property line, However, nothing further was ever developed along these lines. The golf course area was enlarged for future use. In the summer of 1953 the ‘Thornhill club membership was up to 77 men and 43 ladies with -14 juniors, The guest book at the “tlub showed nearly 600 paid _ green fees — an increase of over 100 percent over the opening . Season. ~ During the years 1953-1958, _the Terrace Golf Club was a real center of activity with golfing, socials and competitions. In the winter, many skiers were using the surrounding slopes for skiing _and sledding. Great Sunday out- ings in the winter months were picnics which were held at the clubhouse. During the summer months the golf competitions . were very well attended with --match play for both men and ladies. The two-ball and best- ball format for fun tournaments were used extensively to the "great enjoyment of the many new players, There was a regular ~ monthly social evening, with the clubhouse packed with enthu- Prominent names of the time in the club “were Morris Wightman, Bill ‘Washburn, Ken Piper,. Jim. Cul- lan, Parker . Mills, Opal. and - Harold Vance, Mary and Doug © Little, Mickey Denbow, Johnny Jacks, Don and Doris Grabler, Jan, Munthe, Hal Windt and those still active today — Jean ‘and Sandy Sandover-Sly and Er- nie McConnell. They also had a lefty — and even had a left handed trophy! They also held a Lefthanders Tournament with a surprising number of partici- pants — lefthanded clubs were expensive and hard to obtain. The membership increased to ‘about 150 through the remain- der of the’1950s. The road had been upgraded, the parking area expanded, a coffee shop,. kit- chen and living’ quarters were added to the clubhouse. The lounge and dining room area was licensed, By the end of the 1957 season, three hole-in-ones had -been recorded — two of those by Prince Rupert members ’ Ralph Endridge and Jerry Pel- lenuzzo on the then-20] yard hole 3 in 1955, This hole later was increased to 270 yards. Then Parker Mills from Terrace, aced the 130 yard par three hole 4. - The National Handicapping System was adopted for use in | 1958 play at a cost of $1/person. - |.,: The dues structure for the year. was $1 for green fees; $15 for ladies and $25 for men. Juniors were $10, anc a family member- © ship was $4€. 1958 saw the first play of the ‘Beat The Champ Tournament' which was province wide. Pro- ceeds went to raise money for the Junior Golf Program. There were 25 junior members in the Thornhill division that year. Everybody who entered paid $1 per round to enter, and then played to beat net scores established by Marlene Streit and other Canadian pros, The cost is still the same today, and the Program is very active across B.C. The same format is used today, with a professional set- ting the net score to beat each year, and the competition has always been played on a week in ‘June, Terrace Review — Wednesday, April 20 14a. The beginnings of construction were evident last summer as masons tald the outer walls of the Skeena Valley Golf and Country Club's new clubhouse. The structure Is now finished, and the grand opening takes place this Saturday. New owners, and competition: In August 1961, Bob and Doris Grabler sold the Thornhill golf course to Kurt Kolterhoff from Prince George for around $20,000. During the early 1960s. the membership fluctuated from 100 to 125, but acquired a new source of local competition when another golf course, Spring Creek, came into opera- tion in 1964. The two courses divided the golfing population and both struggled along over the next few years. There was a very definite competition be- _ tween the two clubs for member- ships and on the field itself. Kitimat too, had acquired a golf course and in 1968 Prince Ru- pert Centennial Course was opened and Thornhill really felt the loss of its Prince Rupert members —- in excess of 20 members had joined the club ‘from Prince Rupert. This reven- ue was sorely missed as was the golfers’ support. In 1964, Kurt Kolterhoff in- Stalled a drainage system on holes 3, 5 and 8 and grass greens _were touted as being an absolute certainty for the next season. Member’s dues were increased from $45 to $55 for men. No mention of what the ladies were paying then. No grass greens appeared! In 1965 the Skeena Valley Open was a great success. Entry fee for the 36-hole tournament was $2 per. player with 100 players entered. Prize money was still at $200. The winner, Fred Zinn, was from Terrace and shot a 148 score. He was followed by Phil Davies of Ter- race and Byron Phillips of Prince Rupert with scores of 155. The course par at this time was 66. George Rzeplinski, a Prince Rupert member, record- ed a hole-in-one on hole 2, “In 1966 Tertace’s population was growing rapidly. Thornhill population increased from 400 to over 2,000 residents and 100 new homes were built. The final tender was called for the com- pletion of Highway 16 between Terrace and Smithers. 1967 saw the largest gradua- tion class in Terrace’s history — 90 students graduated that spr- ing, and in September the school enrolment had jumped to 3,900 students. The area was definitely growing! This was the Centen- nial year and the mayor pro- claimed a city beard growing contest — it was grow a beard or else] Many members of the golf course were adorned with a variety of. hair growth that sum- mer. The claim was that they | kept away the black flies — and might be here to stay! This was the year we were predicted to become a cashless society within the next 15 years and that computer-type phones would be ‘in every home and bills could be paid by lifting and dialing. Headlines screamed that credit cards were a menace and threatened all kinds of economical disasters if they went. into common usage. Today we use them to pay our golfing fees! In 1969, the course was bought by Northern Securities who hired Bill and Amy. LaPlante as Pro-Managers for 1961-1969 the 1970 season. A stronger club started to emerge with an in- crease in memberships again. A strong ladies club was formed under the statutes of the Cana- dian Ladies Golf Association with Ashley Prociviate leading the way. The parking area was greatly enlarged to accom- modate 100 vehicles. The clubhouse was given a general face lifting, and the sun porch area enlarged and enclosed to form a ‘games room’. Boom years and grass greens: 1971-1976 June 3, 1971, the cost of a case of beer was increased by 20 cents a dozen to the horrendous price of $2.70 plus 14 cents tax to $2.84. Suds drinkers were enraged! Also in Terrace at this time, keeping in step with the in- crease in population of the area, Overwaitea opened their largest stor in B.C. at the corner of Eby and Lazelle. They had eight speedy checkouts and a parking area for 100 vehicles. This was the first year that cars could drive to Stewart, and then in Ju- ly of 1972 the bridge across the Nass River was officially opened and the area was booming. Ter- race received a final government donation from the electioneering Premier W.A.C. Bennett to finish the arena. Thornhill was incorporated under the Societies Act. This issuance was to clear the way for progress towards ob- taining self-administration for the community on its way to becoming a village or town. On July 3, 1972, henceforward all new drivers licenses were to in- clude a colored photo for iden- tification purposes. The area was continuing to grow — Ter- race had passed the 10,000 mark and now would have door-to- Please turn to next page ATITA Keith Avenue, Terrace: Your glass supplier wishes | . the golf club ‘continued success! All-West Glass Terrace Ltd. "Phone 628-1166, Terrace H&H Builders Ltd. _ 2914 Eby Street, Terrace Phone 635-6277 _ We are proud to have been associated “ with the construction of the new club house at the Skeena Valley Golf & Country Club.