A Collection of Personal Stories--Part 2

 

1970-1980 Sandy, Billy and Debbie Jackson share their personal memories and hysterical antics. (If only Johnie Stapp knew this.)

Sandy Jackson’s memories  

There was a huge cedar tree on the circle of the clubhouse where you turned into the club. Four or five of us would sneak into that thick tree and smoke cigarettes. I’m sure people knew because there was smoke floating out of the cedar tree. Worst of all, we would even hide our bikes in the tree so no one could see us.

   Several of us used to run down to hole # 1 by Elm Street. We would hook up the water hose, that was there for watering the green, and spray cars going by on Elm Street. Then we’d run to the woods and creek and hide. Some of the cars turned around and came back looking for us. They even drove to the club and told them, but we were sneaky and never got caught. (Billy and Tracy Bradshaw)

 

Billy’s stories:

 

1. John Mirjanich made up “Treasure Hunts” on the golf course for the neighborhood kids. He would even draw a map of the area with markings and distances in which we would find the treasures. Of course, all of this was done when there was no one on the golf course. 

 About 1973 John Mirjanich once dug, hand dug, a sand trap on the shag-bag practice range on the East side of the county club. Your dad (Johnie Stapp) even added sand to it so we could all practice. John then mowed an area down using his dad’s new Lawn Boy Mower. It was cool for us kids and the neighbors to practice on. It was located on the slight hill west of old #8 tee box and north of the Painter house on Yale Street.

 

3. Johnie Stapp put the fear of God in all of us, of any age. One time I got blamed for riding my motorcycle over the greens and destroying them. I was not guilty, and one of the club members even proved that I was at a high school golf tournament in Ada that day. My motorcycle never once touched the golf course. We were ornery not destructive. **We still don’t know who rode the motorcycles over the greens that spring night. Obviously, Dad’s presence made a difference in how we all behaved and knew our boundaries.  

 

4. We used to play Flash Light tag at night. Our boundary was on the east all along old hole #7 (16), north to old #6 (10) then west to the hump on that long hole, then down the low area of #9 (18) heading south to our houses. We did not get close to the country club, but I am sure those people sitting in the bar at night could see the flashlights shine and the kids running in and out of the trees and bushes.

 

5. I remember that old grumpy man who worked in the golf shop. (The Story of Old Bill The Story of Old Bill by Letty )

 I must have been about five years old (1967) I would walk up the window to the golf shop and ask for an Orange Coke. He would growl back at me and say, “Do you want an Orange, or do you want a Coke? We don’t have orange coke.” I didn’t understand. I only knew I wanted an orange coke, all drinks were cokes, I thought.  **When Billy shared this with me I wept, because that is exactly how Old Bill acted, but I learned that he was teasing us. His voice or tonality never shared that he was teasing. He always seemed deadly serious.)

 

6. One night Sandy and I were down on hole #1 playing with the water hoses and splashing cars as they drove by, and sometimes we threw water balloons at cars. But this night we splashed the car of ‘one of Mami’s finest’ and his window on his black and white car with a red light on top was rolled down. He felt the splash. He jumped out of his car and tried to get over the fence (Elm Street) to chase us, but he couldn’t get over the weeds and bushes.  As soon as possible he turned the car around and headed up the clubhouse. We knew it would take him a long time to go back down Elm and turn back toward the club.  We ran full speed ahead and climbed in the huge cedar tree on south side of the practice range, near the house where Kemper’s lived. It was a huge thick tree, the same one we smoked in. The police pulled in and shined their flashlights all over. Luckily, for us they did not find us that night, and eventually we made our way home.

 

7. When we were little, we loved to go up to the bar, knock on the door and order “Shirley Temples” to drink. The bartender was Bev Cox. Sometimes she let us into the bar to order and take out drinks back out. I can remember the colorful and bold eye shadow she wore like blues, greens, and bright reds or pinks. Bev was a good woman and people liked her and we felt like big people drinking our Shirley Temples.

8.  I must have been a teenager when “old Doug” a cook upstairs with Flo said, “See that Blue Maverick out there in the parking lot. It’s broke. If you can start it you can drive it.”  The challenge was set—I went out there and jiggled the broken ignition switch until I started the car. I took off and Doug came screaming out of the kitchen.

 

9. One time in a ‘horse race’ Joe Hankins on the first hole pulled a fifth of Jack Daniels and took a swig before he teed off. He then proceeded to take a swig before every shot. Much to our amazement he didn’t pass out and made it eight holes of the ‘horse race’ until someone yanked the bottle out of his hand and took a swig of the Jack Daniels. He discovered it was Iced Tea and not Jack that Joe had been drinking. We all had a good laugh over that.

 

1970-79

Debbie Jackson’s memories:

1. We often played flashlight tag at night on the golf course with the neighbors. We usually played behind the Wallace house, and we could go anywhere on the golf course to hide.

2. My friends and I love eating on the upstairs back porch after Jr. Golf on Friday’s. We ate grilled cheese sandwiches and onion rings. The best lunch was on a Friday.

Breaking my arm was a dramatic memory.  My brother Billy was jumping off the diving board of the old pool and I got on to go jump off and he decided not to jump and told me to move back. So, I did. Then he said move more, so I did, and I didn’t see how close I was and fell off on the back of the diving board breaking my arm and getting a cast.

4. Having the nice Easter egg hunts in the grass area in front of the club is a fond memory. One time I found the golden egg and it was amazing.   

    Playing jr. golf early on Friday mornings and having to get up and walk on the grass with all the dew still on it will always be a special childhood feeling. 

6. What fun it was riding my lime green QA 50 minibike. I was racing someone on the golf cart to the tee box behind our house. I won the race, but I put my front handle brakes on and went flying over the front of my minibike landing flat on the tee box. I thought I was dead, but just knocked the wind out of me. I was so embarrassed laying on the ground after winning the race. (not telling who but it was a boy I was racing. He was a real nice boy who worked at the club.)

    We always had such fun playing Bingo night at the Country club.

 I I loved when our family ate in the dining room when we would pass the toppings for our baked potato. It was a silver serving item that had butter, sour cream, and bacon bits. (Can’t do that anymore in restaurants). I wanted to have my wedding reception in that dining room and loved the fancy steps to walk up and go in there, but they tore the old building down and built the new one and it wasn’t finished in time for our wedding.

   I really enjoyed visiting with all the people. Especially the older ones. Now I am older ones!  When my mother would go play cards with her friends it was nice to say hello to everyone and then go swimming.

One time my sister and I were on hole #7 and I was teeing off. I told her she better move. She said she wasn’t and there was no way I could hit her. Well, I sliced it to the right and right to her. After she was hit by me, she always got out of the way from then on.

The golf course was always our big backyard growing up! We live on 200 acres now and our back yard of 5 of those acres looks like a golf course. My sons and I go tee it up out our back door and see who can hit the ball the farthest and over the pond. I now have a piece of my growing up in my own backyard.

 **Dear Readers, if you have some personal stories to share please send them to me by June 15. 

A Collection of Personal Stories --Part 1

 

PERSONAL STORIES FROM the MIAMI GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

 

 

1957 Tom Pat Wilson—I remember great times at the dances in the ballroom. One time my cousin and I were supposed to babysit my little brother, Bobby, during the dance and party. Being a ornery older brother I decided to teach him how to scratch his butt and stick his finger up his nose. The idea was that he would do that in front of adults and make them laugh.

Needless to say, we were in serious trouble when my parents discovered Bobby’s new trick.

My favorite memory of those times at the club was when Dad would use the “pull my finger and fart” joke on the kids. We laughed ourselves silly and then I taught my daughter how to do it.  Dad joke

 

1960s-80’s Gary West recalls his personal stories as twofold.

 

The early days playing four to nine holes depending upon my age and the later years when I moved back from San Francisco to Miami of playing after work and coming down the 18th hole when it was almost dark and still finding our balls.

 

I have really enjoyed reading your stories and seeing pictures from high school days, my parents’ friends and how lucky we were to have grown up in such a great place.

 

 

1960-1970’s Mark Cordell shares his reflections.

 

Thank you for the note.  I have enjoyed reading your writings on Miami Country Club history.  I think we were all very fortunate to have had an opportunity to grow up at MGCC. 

My Mother and Father were both a big influence in my golf.  Mom and Dad both played and made sure my brother and two sisters had an opportunity to learn and play golf.  In other words, we were a “Golfing Family”.  I still remember the Sunday afternoon nine-hole Family golf games. They were always there to help guide us with the golf game and how to act on the course.  One thing I am not  proud of happened during the summer.  We played a lot of golf.  As a kid playing golf, I thought the thing to do was to hit a club against something when you missed a shot.  (Not the thing to do but probably was trying to act big as I had seen some of the older guys do it.)

 Well, on (the original) #6 I  pushed my drive into the right rough close to a tree.  I missed the next shot and hit my 3 iron against a tree.  It snapped!!  After some careful thought, I told my dad that night that my ball was up against a tree and when I tried to hit it, I hit the tree on the follow through and it snapped.  Little did I know, my dad had come out to play in the evening and from the putting green saw the whole thing.  So, in the middle of the summer I was banned from the golf course for a week and never had a 3 iron until I was I high school!  He told me that if golf made me that mad then I shouldn’t be playing.  Lesson Learned!!!

Another big influence on my golf was your father.  We were very fortunate to have a Pro who had time for kids.  During the Summer your dad would give us Juniors Friday morning golf clinics before Junior Golf. 

As you probably remember, your dad was a BIG believer in the grip!!  He was a “thumb of your left hand straight down the shaft and your right-hand V covering the left hand”.  We all tended to stray from this allowing the left hand to become stronger but whenever he was around, we quickly moved it back.  He would ride up on us when we were on the course and ask to see our grip.  Of course, it was always correct when he did this. 

What really threw us off was when he watched us without us knowing it and he would see that our grip was out of position. We would get a little lecture on the correct grip every time!!  I have played a lot of golf over the past 65 years. (we could not start playing golf until we were 6 at MGCC).  Today, when I take a lesson and the teacher says your grip is too weak and you need to get that left hand in a much stronger position, I can’t help but think about what your father would be saying!

I currently live in Houston.  I am a member of the Champions Golf Club.  The Club was founded by Jackie Burke Jr. and Jimmy Demaret.  Mr. Demaret passed away many years ago, but Mr. Burke passed away last January just a few days before his 101^st Birthday.  He was at the club most days and loved to talk to whomever about golf. I visited with him one day about your father.  I asked him if he had ever heard of Johnie Stapp.  He said “yes, I think I remember him”.  I told him about the time he spent with us as Juniors teaching us not only the swing/grip but how to act on a golf course.  He said consider yourself very fortunate to have had someone like that helping guide you.

**Yes, my father and Jackie Burke met in California after the war, most likely at the Bing Crosby Clam Bake.  He kept a picture of Jackie on the wall of the pro shop for decades.

You asked about the people I played with.  Scotty Jackson was a very close friend.  We remain close to his wife Leah who is coming to visit in a couple weeks. Scotty, Jackie Mann, Tim Schofield, Charlie Grayson, Steve Reneger, Jonya Stapp, Susie Wickham were people I remember playing with.  Mark Wojcik, the Painters, John Robinson Jr. were all older.

I lost contact with many people.  After college I spent time in Tulsa, transferred to Los Angeles, back to Tulsa and then ended up in Houston.  Had the opportunity to play golf along the way. I retired about 5 years ago.  Spent a lot of time traveling internationally with my job.  Today I try to play 3-4 times a week, and have 5 grand kids (10, 7, 5,4,2). Three of the grand kids like to play golf, so I am never too far from the game!!

Mom just turned 99!!  What a remarkable Lady!!  I try to get to OKC every couple of months to visit.  She played golf until a few years ago.  She would always tell me she was losing distance and there was one hole at the Greens where she could just not get her tee ball over the pond, but she was going to keep trying!!!

 

**Dear Readers, if you have stories to share please send them to me by June 15, 2024.  Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts.  Letty