Coming of Age

Among the many projects that were given serious consideration during the early years - some even advertised in promotional brochures or rendered in architectural sketches - but never implemented, were an ice-skating rink and toboggan run, stables and horseback riding trails, a heated outdoor swimming pool, sixty condominiums with some planned for the second and third floors of the Clubhouse to help finance its construction, a motor lodge at the State Road 64/Ridge Road corner, a cable-car to the top of Whiteside and a swinging bridge over the ravine that we now call "Jaws".  Considering such plans which never came to fruition helps us share the perspective of the early directors of Wildcat who could have let it develop in all kinds of ways, yet, instead, by devoting their time, effort and expertise, brought the Club to the fine, friendly state with all its pleasant, private features that we enjoy today.  Each Board of Directors must make necessary financial, marketing and project-construction decisions, while still preserving the natural mountain peace, beauty and charm that we all hold dear and that are Wildcat's most valuable assets.

The year 1972 appears to have been the watershed, for with the completion of the original Clubhouse came an avalanche of membership applications which brought the Club to the verge of filling its total authorized limit.  Also, by then, maintenance buildings and homes for both the golf course superintendent and the general manager had been constructed and paid for.  Rain shelters and comfort stations were in place, and cart paths were being paved.  Good business practices with regular audits had put Wildcat in a sound financial state unusual for private clubs. 

It was this deep regret that the membership learned of the death of Dr. Matthews in March of 1972, just as his vision of the Club was coming to reality.  President Bill Browne, speaking of him at the annual meeting, stated, "He was a man of considerable character and imagination who forever leaves his mark on Wildcat Cliffs."  A long-simmering, distressful-to-both-parties dispute between Dr. Matthews and the Club over the purchase of a small piece of land near the Ridge Road entrance, as well as the responsibility for improving a swampy area of Lake Ravenel and providing water and maintaining roads for property owners on Wildcat Ridge, many of whom were Club members, was finally settled amicably in 1975, most of the Matthews interests having been purchased by William L. Tuck & Associates in 1973.  Member attorneys Walter Sheppard and Tom Skinner, Club attorney Dick Jones and President Ed Callaham all spent a great deal of time on this matter.  It was agreed (1) that the cost of boundary lines surveys to settle the question of responsibility for the roads would be borne equally by both parties, (2) that Wildcat would provide water to the Ridge property owners for one year to give them time to complete an independent water system of their own, (3) that for $15,000 Wildcat would purchase the "spring lot" near the tenth fairway, and (4) that each party would provide easements to the other for the further development of their water systems.  Beverly Matthews Sossomon, who presently lives at Chestnut Hill, is an honorary member of Wildcat.  She has very graciously and kindly shared some treasured memories with us for this history.

With the original Clubhouse built, the Boards of Directors turned their attention toward maintenance projects, such as purchasing equipment, during the remainder of the 1970s and early 1980s, while the entire membership enjoyed rounds of golf and social activities.  (It should be noted here that Directors who recognize the need to rest between spurts of building construction are just as appreciated and esteemed for their efforts as those who tackle monumental projects.)  Member/guest and member/member tournaments were held by both the men's and the ladies' associations, nine-hole twilight events followed by suppers became popular.  Bingo and Las Vegas evenings and the Kentucky Derby opening party were well-attended.  Fourth of July and Labor Day barbecues became traditional, as did Family Reunion Weekend and the President's Ball.  The new Clubhouse was especially appreciated for this last event, for, before it was finished, the President's Ball had been held in the cart shed, with the carts relegated outdoors and the ladies resplendent in long Lillys.

In 1973, the "Highlander" reported in a double-page spread with lots of pictures that the sixth annual Wildcat fashion show benefitting the hospital was a huge success.  The host couples paid the costs of the party so that all the proceeds could go to the hospital.  "The Mary Norton House of Fashion provided both ladies' and men's ensembles, and the director of the playhouse served as master of ceremonies...Jean Bryant appeared in a stunning Herbert Levine gown that featured chiffon sleeves and back."

Beth Fowles described how the lobster dinners originated:  "Back in August of 1986, Beth and Julian Betts, Alice and Frank Smith, Rosalie Jenkins and George and Beth Fowles had a typical New England clambake for members of Wildcat.  Picnic tables with red and white checked tablecloths were arranged under the trees at the back of the Clubhouse.  As each guest was served lobsters, clams, corn and potato chips, a lobster bib was put on along with a kiss for the men by one of the female hosts and the same for the ladies by one of the male hosts.  The weather that day was made in heaven.  It was the beginning of a tradition!"

Hawaiian Luaus and Halloween costume parties, as well as Western Bluegrass music, clogging and line dancing, enlivened things.  Several years ago, Evelyn Gordon initiated the home tours, followed by Tuesday night suppers, which have proved a delight.  In the beginning, members simply set their own liquor bottles at their tables at such social functions, but after a "revenuer" walked in, was served a drink by mistake and confiscated all the alcoholic beverages, the Club installed liquor lockers to conform to North Carolina State law.  From time to time, buses have been chartered for excursions to plays and concerts.  During this summer, Susan and Charlie Sheehan arranged a most interesting bus tour to the BMW automobile plant in Greenville, with a pleasant stop for lunch on the way.  Participants were excited to see "just-in-time" inventory practices and the latest assembly-line robotic technology.

A social convention begun at Wildcat by Pappy and Ruth Coleman is that evening parties, both club-sponsored and private, end at nine o'clock.  When the clock strikes that hour, the thank-you's and good-bye hugs begin, the parking lot attendants spring into action, and the guests troop home for a good night's sleep to be at their best when they tee off the next morning.

George Cobb, who designed the golf course, was an honorary WCCC member and used to come up from Greenville with his associates and experts from Clemson University to advise Wildcat's greens committees from time to time.  Since his death, his associate, John LaFoy, has become our golf course architect.  Wildcat, in contrast to other courses in the area, was designed and built mainly on the ridges rather than in the valleys, causing surface draining to be more rapid.  Also, rock formations lie near the surface on many of the fairways.  Accordingly, occasional periods of drought made a sprinkling system, not just for the tees and greens but also for the fairways, a recurring recommendation through the years.  To control one of our main problems, Japanese beetle grubs, it is necessary to water insecticides down into the root systems of the grass right away rather than let them lose potency in the sunlight, and of course fertilizers also can work better with controlled watering.  Finally, in 1987, a complete irrigation system was put into operation to keep the course lush and green.  That same year Jeff Davis became Greens Superintendent, and since then many extensive improvements in drainage and landscaping have been made.  In addition, environmentally friendly chemical/fertilizer and fuel storage areas have been built, the Club has become an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, and a new computerized Rainbird Irrigation Control System that makes it possible to water the entire course overnight has been installed.

Wildcat Cliffs Country Club operates two water systems, (1) a potable system for the Clubhouse and the homes of property owners and (2) a golf course irrigation system.  They are separate and distinct.  The potable water system depends on three wells drilled on the number one and number two holes and between the number five and number seven holes.  It has an 84,000 gallon storage tank that was added during the winter of 1997-1998.  Wildcat's water is checked and reviewed monthly by the state of North Carolina for contaminants.  Well sites that meet State Health Department requirements are scarce on Club land because they must be buffered from the fairways, where insecticides and fertilizers are used.  The golf course irrigation system receives all its water from lakes on fairway one, fairway six and between fairways ten and eleven.

Thirsty, Allan Crawford and Hilda Johnson (Hilda Blitch) sampled our pure spring water near the sixth and seventh fairways in September of 1967.  Some golfers remember how good the cool water tasted when they drank from a tin dipper that hung from a nail at Bayeola spring.  Later, portable water fountains were used for awhile before the present piped-in ones were installed.

During the late 1980s, the interior of the original Clubhouse was renovated and redecorated through the efforts and generosity of Dick Schumacher working with his designer D. Bentley Walker, a 38-speaker sound system was donated and installed by Julian Betts, the kitchen was enlarged and modernized under the direction of Skee Dick, and the cart paths were widened and repaved.  Although a majority of the members who voted were in favor of these improvements, a few who thought them unnecessary sued President Pappy Coleman and the Board of Directors, giving the Club a quarrelsome image that caused one of our Highlands Country Club friends to quip, "So it really is a den of Wildcats over there!"

After twenty months of court proceedings, the Board's defensive strategy, planned and executed under the leadership of our Legal Committee Chairman, attorney Bill Getzen, led to the dismissal of the original suit by the Superior Court in Asheville, as well as to the dismissal of related complaints by a Franklin court.  An important part of this strategy was the consent and ratification for the renovations to the Clubhouse obtained from more than sixty percent of all the equity members in response to a letter of request from a Members' Committee chaired by Jim and Ibby Lierman.  The three members who had caused the dissension that cost in excess of $25,000 in legal fees and more than that in lost dues revenues and lost potential memberships, and thus who had almost destroyed the Club, were expelled at a 1988 meeting of the Board to which all Wildcat equity members were invited.  The Club then "made a market" in equity memberships, maintaining their price, until enough were truly sold to bring the Club back to normal.  As a result of this experience, our members made special efforts to restore peace and harmony and today, Wildcat's reputation is that of the friendliest club in the area.

After the need to revise and update Board Policies and Procedures was recognized by several administrations, Dean Blankenship spent considerable time over several years writing our present version, which was adopted by the Board in 1996.  It is to be hoped that these guidelines will be observed by everyone and not only will help us to live as neighbors and regard for one another's rights, but also will contribute to the smooth administration of the Club.

With the advent of the Wade Hampton and Cullasaja Country Clubs, our by-then President Bill Getzen and the Board of Directors thought that to remain "the best in the mountains" Wildcat needed facilities beyond golf, so after a 92 percent favorable vote of the members, sites on Hickory Lane were cleared and our Tennis Center with three Har-tru courts, Lakeside Pavilion with gazebo and Fitness Center were built.  Strikingly designed by Jim Fox to complement the natural beauty of their settings, as the pictures on this and the following pages show, they are a source of pride and enjoyment for us all and have been featured in several architectural magazines.

Snow-covered gazebo and the icy lake in a pristine state with not a footprint in sight.

The Pavilion has been the site of several wonderful outdoor parties including a "Pitchfork Fondue" with corn-on-the-cob dipped into black iron pots of melted butter simmering over campfire coals.  Tennis round robins and pot-luck suppers are held there often, and once, in June of 1997, it was the site of a lovely wedding.

With the assistance of Pete Dawson and the support of Skee Dick, Andy McDivitt, John Phillips, Julian Betts, Charlie Davidson and other Board Members, President Bill Getzen found a way to finance the Fitness Center without assessing the membership, buy selling an eight and one-half acre parcel of Club land to Whiteside Trust III, comprised of nineteen member investors who sub-divided it into eleven lots, many of which were generously purchased by Wildcat members.  In the spring of 1997, when Ken McCall was president, Dick Schumacher purchased the lots remaining in this Trust for $180,000 so that the investing members could be repaid, and he also bought some of the lots that individual members held, all in order to create a "Woodland Cottage" project next to the Fitness Center on Hickory Lane.  Three ponds connected with falls and cascades were built, utilizing water from the Club's lakes, and ten homes designed by Jim Fox are planned.  One of these, which is new complete, is being enjoyed by its new owners, Skee and Wilda Dick.

A stand of majestic white pines which stood where the tennis courts were constructed was milled and used to build the Lakeside Pavilion, which was completed in 1989.

In 1992, President John Phillips joked that his administration would be remembered as the one that attacked the sewage problem, which, indeed, was no easy task.  However, by the winter of 1995, the club had installed sewer lines to take the place of septic tanks and the sewage treatment plant was in operation.

The handsome interior granite wall of the Fitness Center was originally exposed when soil was taken from the site to build the number thirteen fairway and to cover rock out-croppings where the villas were constructed near "Jaws".

In spite of its architectural complexity, the Fitness Center was completed on time and on budget.

The Fitness Center stood ready for landscaping and its opening reception in the spring of 1991.  The heated pool promised by Bill Matthews in early brochures has become a reality, but, rather than being outdoors as he envisioned it, the pool is indoors, where it can be enjoyed in any weather.

Further alterations and additions were made to the Clubhouse during the 1994-1997 period.  They were done in two phases, the first consisting of improvements for the Pro Shop, the Nineteenth Hole and the locker rooms, as well as construction of a whole new dining room wing.  Phase II included remodeling the kitchen and building a new kitchen receiving area, new administrative offices, restrooms and a private dining/board room and reception area.  Tom Stone, who was president when all this was begun, kindly remained as chairman of the building construction committee during Phase II, earning members' deep gratitude for his efforts to see that the work was completed on time.  Tom kept his sense of humor throughout, as his description of these two winters shows:

President Ken described the excavation for the administrative wing, saying, "We encountered rock so vast that it had to be blasted to get a stairwell down, then just cleaned off and exposed as a surface area in the basement". These pictures provide insights into Jim Fox's expertise with complicated beams and trusses.

I made seven trips to Highlands to inspect construction and approve draw requests during the winters of 1995/96 and 1996/97.  On all of the seven trips, it was bitter cold, and it snowed on four of them.  Each time, I came with the intention of spending three days and nights.  Most times, I was forced to leave a day early, just ahead of another storm.  (One just can't get off the mountain with very much snow on the road.)  During one particular trip, Ken McCall, who made several of the trips with me, was up, along with Tom Dickinson.  While we were here, we were to interview a prospective member/couple who drove up from Atlanta.  The last morning, I woke in my room at the Hampton Inn to two or three inches of new snow on the ground.  I carefully drove over to the Mountain High Motel, looking for Ken and Tom.  Since new snow covered the ground, I missed their parking lot and slid into a ditch and some shrubs.  I had to be towed out.  I learned then that one needs either a four wheel drive or, at least, a front wheel drive vehicle if he comes to Highlands in the winter.  By the time I was towed out, I was so spooked that Tom Dickinson, who had experience in winter driving, drove my auto back to Atlanta while I rode with Ken McCall.  From that time on, I had either a four or a front wheel drive car when I made a winter trip.  By the way, we did interview the couple, who were later approved for membership.

To create a record of the construction process, George Shook took a number of candid pictures of myself and whoever was with me (usually Ken McCall).  He must have ten a hundred pictures or so.  In most of them we are bundled up with hats and mittens.  Every single time I made the trip, the weather was unseasonably cold, and usually it either snowed or sleeted.

Finally, several of the workmen on the job offered to take up a collection to pay me to stay off the mountain so they could have some decent weather.  Even the Wildcat winter staff asked me to stay in Florida until spring!

Our stone masons for both phases were from Mexico, a more or less tropical country.  I would have thought that they would have suffered, as this Floridian did, from the cold weather.  On the contrary, they worked twelve to fifteen hour days through the very worst of weather and did a great job as well.  As a matter of fact, I was impressed with the ability of all the tradesmen to endure the weather and still do a great job.  Of course, once I left the area, the sun came out and the weather moderated.

All in all, the two-year experience was a pleasant one, made more pleasant by the talents of the architect, Jim Fox, and the contractor, Schmidt Building Contractors, Inc. (in particular superintendent Joe Keener), the tireless efforts of Weezie Rosch, Nancy Temple and Melba Cornell, as the Aesthetics Committee, help and company from Ken McCall, and the constancy of George Shook.  Most of all, it was a pleasure to see that the Membership, who paid the bills, were happy with the final result.

The Brigham family was particularly grateful to Tom Stone and Ken McCall for their efforts to keep the construction timetable on track, for our daughter's wedding reception was the first event held in the new dining room in May of 1996, just after its completion.  The room looked lovely, though the chandeliers had yet to come and the chairs were borrowed.

Weezie Rosch's account of the work of the Aesthetics Committee explains how these two items and all the other decorations were acquired:
The Committee had many meetings during the fall of 1994, and by telephone we consulted through the winter of 1994/1995.  I spent so much time on the phone that Jack had to install another line.

During the summer of 1995, after prsentations from interior design firms, we selected Image Design, Inc., of Atlanta, on August 21, 1995.  We met with them to select everything we needed.  Joan Bougassa, a pricipal of the firm, and Robert Brown, an associate of the firm, were the two people with whom we consulted.

Our budget for a project of this size was rather limited so we decided to utilize everything that was in good enough condition to recover or refinish and to replace pieces that could not be used.  In September of 1995, we met with the design firm to make our final selections and decisions and to approve their budget.  After this meeting, George Shook and I inventoried everything in the Clubhouse and made plans to ship what needed to go to the design firm and to store everything that was just being kept.  We stored most in members' garages as the Club had no place to store anything.  I don't know how we could have done this project with George Shook!  He was a joy to work with, as was Tom Stone.

It took longer than we had planned to get our chairs, since the first sample that came was unacceptable because of its poor quality and incorrect size.  We then changed to another company and reordered chair frames manufactured in the Philippines that take twelve weeks to be made.  They are then sent to the United States where they are refinished and upholstered.  The second chairs were being delivered to the upholsterer by train when they were in a train wreck and were destroyed so we had to start all over for the third time.  In the meantime, we used chairs that were loaned to us by the first chair company.  The new chairs finally arrived during the winter while we were doing the second phase.

At the design firm's price of $5,000 each, we could not afford to do our chadeliers.  At one of our dinner evenings when we gave reports to the members we discussed the chandeliers and three members volunteered to pay for one each, while four other members volunteered to pay for the fourth one.  We decided to find someone to do them on our own.  I was familiar with Kreissle Forge in Sarasota, Florida and asked them to give us design drawings and quote us a price.  The chandeliers they presented are six feet in diameter and approximately ten feet high.  They are hand-forged and made of iron.  The company quoted us a price of $2,750 each plus tax and shipping.  The Kreissle family has a tradition of fine craftsmanship that began in 1700 in Dados, Switzerland, and their Forge has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1996.  They made our chandeliers during the fall and winter we did the second phase, and the fixtures were hanging when we all returned in the spring of 1997.  George Shook sent Wildcat staff people in a truck to Sarasota to pick them up, so we saved a lot on shipping charges.

Lynda Spragins teetered on a tall stepladder to take this picture of the chandeliers, showing the detail in the Kreissle family's workmanship.

Nancy and Melba made several trips together to select furniture and fabrics for the Board Room, Foyer and restrooms as we did not use a design firm for the second phase.  We had planned it all, but they did the legwork to find everything and they did a wonderful job to complete the decorations for our beautiful Clubhouse by May of 1997.

The total cost of both phases of the renovation was $2,247, 975.

Golfing, hiking and tennis have increased hungry members' interest in foods, so in April, 1998, a 400 page cookbook called Wildcat Seasons was published, the culmination of the year's work by Peggy Newton and her committee, who collected and tested recipes from Club members as well as from local-restaurant chefs.  Containing many selections that make use of mountain-garden ingredients to whet appetites, from "Silver Queen Corn Pudding" to "Green Tomato Pie", it has become invaluable to us all.

As his presidency drew to a close this summer, Bill Keeler reflected on Wildcat's present state, saying "We have total assets of 9 million dollars, 285 members, 65 loyal and hardworking employees, indebtedness of only 100 thousand dollars that is slated to be repaid this winter and an operating budget of nearly 2.7 million dollars".  The price of equity certificates has been stabilized at 20 thousand dollars, while the initiation fee is 10 thousand.  In contrast to its situation in the early day, the Club has indeed come of age.

Although the mountain lions and black bears have been hunted until almost none are left in our area, there still are many "critters" that make Wildcat their home.  Families of foxes have charmed golfers and have even trotted off with golf balls from some startled players, beavers have "landscaped" trees near the edges of some of our streams, a mink family has been seen on number five, a woodchuck peeks out near the number eleven tee from time to time, chipmunks, rabbits and squirrels scamper and nibble through our flower beds.  In the deep night my dogs pace by the windows when the wildcats cry from their caves in the ravine between Country Club Drive and the villas near "Jaws".  Of course, the hummingbirds, cardinals, finches and Carolina juncos frequent our bird feeders and give us all a great deal of pleasure, as do the blue birds and wood ducks that have taken up residence in the houses provided for them on the golf course.