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| "Golf House" Danbury, CT - December 2012 photo: © Golf Girl Media |
As the final days of 2015 fly by, I suppose it's natural to reflect on the passage of time.
That's what we've been doing of late, and it's inspired us to look a bit more closely at history. And, the fact that we live in a historic home... in a town that was settled in 1685... means we don't have to look too far to find it.
Truth be told, we've done quite a bit of research on the history of our Victorian house... and the venerable Danbury, CT neighborhood that surrounds it... and we've discovered a fortuitous connection to our favorite obsession: golf.
Built by Scottish immigrants John and David Mclean in the1880s, for almost four decades the stately Queen Anne structure we've lived in for over 15 years was home to another Scotsman, George Ferrier, who arrived in the US to promote golf equipment, made his way to Danbury, and in the early 20's became the golf pro at the town's new and burgeoning Ridgewood Country Club. The dapper Scott married John McClean's daughter, Christine, in 1925 in a wedding that took place right here in the home her Father had built. The newlyweds moved into the house and spent the rest of their lives here. George officially retired from Ridgewood in 1958 but remained active in golf in Danbury and became involved nationally with the PGA Seniors and as part of the Ryder Cup Committee.
What I've come to believe as I've explored historical archives, read old articles and spoken at length to a couple of Danbury's golf-obsessed octogenarians, is that despite the often well-deserved depictions of an elitist and exclusionary past and there are many things about the history of golf... and the people involved with it... that are interesting, inspiring and... well... awesome, to use the overwrought verbiage of today.
In the coming year, I hope to add to my nascent collection of golf memorabilia. For inspiration, I'm happily curating virtual collections of the some of cute golf collectibles I come across. These charming golf pin markers are my current favorites:
Cast iron crow, iron and metal heart shapes, metal putting green pins, and a logo illustration featuring Merion Golf Club's distinctive basket pins ...which will welcome players and guests to the 2013 US Open.
