EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 1, 1992
Gribbles recall how local golf course began 40 years ago
Dolores and Lowell Gobble
Like many a proud papa,
Lowell Gribble was on hand for
the birth of his baby. It was a big
baby; a very big baby. And 40
years after its conception, Grib
ble’s baby, the Heppner golf
course, has grown even bigger.
In 1952, when the course was
just a twinkle in Gribble’s eye, he
and a fellow golfer, John
Williams, stopped to munch ham
burgers at a Heppner eatery.
They had discussed what they
missed most in Heppner and talk
ed about finding a site. Gribble
and Williams happened to be
eating at the “Wishing Well,”
the “ local version of the Golden
Arches,” says Lowell, and were
looking out of the restaurant win
dow. To their good fortune, the
restaurant just happened to have
23 acres adjoining it. “ It was
beautifully bushy, cattailed with
gopher mounds, springs and a
swamp,” said Gribble. Gribble
and Williams asked Tom Wells,
the owner of the Wishing Well,
if he would consider renting the
property to locate a golf course.
“Tom, being a businessman, said
he would for $300. I thought he
meant a month, but he meant a
year,” said Gribble. Wells also
offered to provide water for a
drinking fountain and a ball
washer.
Now Gribble had the site and
an idea, but limited finances. He
then approached the local law
firm, Mahoney and Fancher, who
agreed to draw up the papers
without cost. They intended the
course to be a community affair,
so the charter was constructed so
that no one group would own the
course.
“ Now it was work, work,
work,” said Gribble. They
started out with three holes layed
out across the creek, cleared
brush and hauled sand. They
bought a three-gang fairway
mower and a John Deere “ put-
put” tractor. Originally the three
holes were not over 100 yards
apart with sand greens. They cut
up old pieces of wood for drags
and oiled the greens. Being slow
had its penalties-whoever was
last to finish had to drag the
greens.
“ Now we had started to play
golf,” laughed Gribble. “ Little
did we know what lay ahead.”
Next they put three more holes
on the west side of the railroad
crossing.
This involved more work days
and potlucks. They replaced the
bridges when high water washed
them down the creek. The pro-
The Gribbles’ threesome Helen and Harry O’Donnell, Helen
and Ed Schaffitz and Dolores and Lowell Gribble.
blem was finally solved by an
choring the one end of the bridge
to a tree. Flooding then was con
stantly a problem, and three
severe floods brought “heartache
and frustration” which they final
ly
conquered
throug
perseverance.
Jack Van Winkle, who owned
a service station at the time
donated some pieces of rip rap to
control the flooding, but the next
flood picked the rip rap up and
deposited it on the fairway. The
mounding on no. 3 green resulted
from all the silt from the flood,
they said. Dolores, Gribble’s
wife, commented that the cattails
on the no. 3 green were all higher
than her head. Between the
seventh and fifth holes was a
swamp with three different
springs. When the well was dug,
the springs were lost. Gribble
said that for years the course was
irrigated by hand-moved
sprinklers hooked up to a pump
from the creek. He says that
about this time Kit George was
hired parttime to do the sprinkl
ing and mowing and he has been
there ever since.
Fritz Cutsforth witched the
well, which put out around 90
gallons a minute. Underground
sprinklers were installed, which
made a fairway green possible.
They then had to buy a fairway
mower and many farmers fur
nished equipment.
Frank Turner purchased a
railway bunkhouse for a club
house, and a porch and deck were
added. Ed Hiemstra and Maury
Groves were the carpetner con
sultants, says Gribble.
It wasn’t until this point that
they decided to approach Tom
Wells about purchasing the land.
They bought the 23 acres from
him for $3,000.
The original membership dues
were $15 a year for a family, $5
a year for an individual and $1 a
day for nine holes. “ One thing I
wish they hadn’t changed is that
we allowed all ministers in town
to play for free,” said Lowell.
By July of 1966 a work crew
had moved the west bank of the
railroad down to the swamp, at
the present site of hole no. 1. The
course was finally layed out as a
nine-hole course.
Everyone pitched in. Dolores
and Lowell taught golf lessons
and donated a large mirror for the
clubhouse. Phil and Hazel
Mahoney donated a barbecue pit.
Kinzua donated logs and lumber
for the first new permanent
bridge, which has since been
HP ¿3* "•*>**
Lowell on John Deere in 1966
was elected. She spent 12 years
Dolores in the next election and as
of the peace
defeated her but then asked her until justice
she
retired
travel and the
to become his secretary. He even present justice to Charlotte
Gray
tually decided he didn’t want to filled out her term.
complete his term, so asked the Lowell is now president of his
court to appoint Dolores to the own company, Ultrasonic Predic
position. Dolores then ran and table Maintenance, which
was elected. She spent 12 years troubleshoots for machinery.
Stokes Landing plans concert
The Stokes Landing Senior
Citizen Center in Irrigon will host
the Blue Mt. Old Time Fiddlers
on Saturday, April 11. All kinds
Clubhouse in Aug. 1963
replaced, and a propane cooking
stove. For maintenance the
greens were divided up and each
threesome had to maintain a
green as well as provide
entertainment.
“ For the first 20 years,” add
ed Lowell, “we worked on Satur
days and played on Sundays. Ned
Sweek, ‘who never played a day
of golf in his life,’ donated a week
of his vacation from the mill to
clean out the creek bed.”
For many years there was on
ly one restroom, by the no. 2
hole, says Lowell. He and
Dolores won’t name names but
remembers once when a player
drove a ball right into the
restroom while it was in use
Because of an old football in
jury, Lowell was the first to buy
a golf cart. And Eddie Gunder
son was second, he says. The
cards were originally stored in an
old wooden shed where the carts
now stand. The wooden shed
once met with an unfortunate ac
cident at the hand of Dolores. As
she was driving into the shed with
the cart, she accidentally kept her
foot on the gas pedal, and drove
right through the shed. Dave
Gunderson, who they believe was
around 14 or 15 at the time, and
several of his friends lifted the
cart back in for her and Frances
Doherty replaced the boards.
Gene Hall made the first hole-
in-one on the course and Jacki
Labhardt was the first reporter for
the paper. Dolores took over the
“Over the Teacup” column when
the Labhardts transferred to John
Day.
As near as Dolores and Lowell
remember, the first members of
the club included John and Vivian
Williams. Coramae and Ray
mond Ferguson, Juanita and
Judge Carmichael, Bill and
Jackie Labhardt, Phil and Hazel
Mahoney, LaVeme VanMarter
Sr., Phil and June Blakeny, who
owned the drug store, Harry and
Helen O’Donnell, Ed and Bever
ly Gunderson, Frances Doherty,
Clifford Dougherty, Cork and
Jim Norene, Helen and Ed Schaf
fitz, Donna and Harlan McCur
dy, Paul and Karma Koenig (he
was the manager of the mill), Ed
Bennett, and Kenny and Lucille
Peck, who had started a ski lift
at Cutsforth Park.
Barbara (the Gribble children)
and myself never regretted the
many hours of work, food, fer
tilizer, and weed killer that we
donated," added Lowell. “ May
many enjoy it as long as it con
tinues to be a community affair.”
Lowell says that if he has forgot
ten anyone it’s because of the
years, and invites anyone to come
forward and fill in the missing
years. The Gribbles left the area
in 1980 and just returned to
Heppner in 1991.
Lowell worked for Shell Oil
company for 15 years prior to
1952. He bought the Inland
Chemical Service which helped
bring Shell NH3 fertilizer to the
area. Lowell filled in as justice of
the peace for two years. But the
demands of his business became
to great, so Dolores, who was his
secretary, finished out his term.
Charlie O’Conner ran against
of music will be featured. Show
time is 7 p.m. Admission is $1.50
for adults. Refreshments will also
be available. For more informa
tion call 922-4399.
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