September Song
Oh it’s a long, long while, from May to December
But the days grow short, when you reach September.
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame,
One hasn’t got time for the waiting game.
And these few precious days, I’ll spend with you.
These precious days I’ll spend with you.
— Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson (and best sung by Jimmy Durante)
After dinner the other evening I was writing at my desk, when I looked out the window, saw that it was dark, and immediately headed to the bedroom. It was 7:45PM. In a Twilight League match, one of my fellow competitors asked a member of our foursome to please move his shadow. The shadow maker was standing 25 feet away! The geese are here, foraging and resting before their long trip south. But they are here weeks earlier than usual.
Inside the Clubhouse, more “season end” merchandise sales are being planned, and re-orders of beverages and snacks have been stopped. The last social event of the season, the aptly named Thanksgiving Dinner, is this week, whether you can get your head around that or not. The Clubhouse “shutdown” plan has been pulled out of the file drawer. The Grounds crew has begun to implement its new Fall maintenance plan.
The recent Washington Post Magazine article got it right – Deer Isle is not a fact that can be described, it is a feeling that uniquely exists in every person who gets to experience it. The author – and he was not the first to do so – called it mysterious. I prefer magical. But, whatever the cause, whatever the feeling, it is never as intense as in September – with all that it summarizes, all that it portends and especially with that remarkably golden light just as the setting sun touches the horizon.
With that, herewith the news:
News of the Clubhouse:
The Clubhouse will close at 3:00PM today (if not sooner depending on weather) to allow our great staff to enjoy as much of Labor Day as possible. Great thanks to Patty, Diana and Willow for all of their great work, patience, smiles and contributions to the Old Club’s 94th Season. Speaking of which:
The Employee Appreciation Wine Wednesday Barbecue was a great success. Social Director Jeannette Parker reports: Wednesday August 31st’s “End of the Season Picnic” was a huge success!! All around perfect – 56 attended; great weather; great food (plenty of it!); and friends laughing and enjoying each other’s company. A shout out of exemplary appreciation to Ryan, Vern and Mike – burgers, hot dogs and onions grilled just right. Couldn’t have done it without them. Thanks to the generous donations of club members, 10 door prizes were awarded. Two hundred dollars in gift cards were purchased from Finn & Fern and Burnt Cove Market. Congratulations to the winners! Additional donations were used towards the purchase of food for the event.
Willow and Diana — Colleagues, Friends, Superstars
The Annual “Thanksgiving” Dinner is 5:00PM Wednesday, September 7 and there are some seats available (limit 70). A traditional Thanksgiving dinner prepared by FRIENDS, and a sing along with Mimi and Mikey playing favorite Broadway Show tunes. Please call the Club by 3:00PM today to RSVP. All food items requested for the dinner have been filled. Thanks to everyone for your generous participation in making this annual tradition happen once again. NOTE: Please arrive with your dish hot and ready to serve along with serving utensils.
There’s A Treat continues to astound with great sandwiches and salads, delivered frequently to the Clubhouse. The ICC Lunch Special – your favorite Roast Beef, Turkey, Ham, Italian or Chicken Caesar with a bag of chips and a soft from – remains just $13.00.
The Great Clothing Sale continues as well with men’s, women’s and kids’ shirts and pullovers still available at 20% off sticker prices, albeit in a decreasing range of sizes.
The Final Full Board Meeting of the Season will be held in the Clubhouse on Wednesday, September 21 at 4:00PM. This will be members’ first chance to learn how the Club’s business performed over its full 94th Season, as well to hear about some of the plans for the off season and the 95th in 2023. Members are welcome to attend and participate in the discussion.
News of Golf:
All the greens will be aerated beginning tomorrow (Tuesday). If the Grounds Crew is working on a green when you get to it, DON’T WAIT for them to finish. Assume you got a two putt, add it to your score (it’s better than you are likely to do on #3 anyways) and move on to the next tee. With our great crew outfitted with its new riding roller with its built-in brush, once the holes are poked and the greens dressed with sand, they should return to good playability quickly. How long they take to fully heal is up to Ma Nature, and she/her has been a fickle provider lately.
You may also have noticed that the very thick fescue on the mounds above the bunkers on Hole #1 has been cut. This was a test of our new “bush hog,” recommended by our USGA Consultant, and acquired with money in our Friends of the Club account. With careful management, the thin, wispy fescue that is both beautiful and playable will grow in, but the underlying bad grasses will not be as prevalent.
Ladies Golf played the Howdy Thompson on August 30, as ever chipper correspondent Sharon Hellstedt reports: Fifteen ladies played their golf wearing work boots and using only three clubs for the entire round, as did Howdy Thompson in his day. The results are as follows:
Golf Results: 1st – Jean Hutchinson (41)
2nd – Sharon Hellstedt (42)
3rd – Mikey Bannister (43)
4th – Ellen Foote (44)
Low Putts: 1st – Ellen Foote (13)
2nd – Sharon Hellstedt (14)
3rd – Paula Colwell (15)
Chip-ins: Ellen Foote
Paula Colwell
Doing the Full Howdy: Mikey, Anne, Sharon and Linda
Twilight League results for August 29 and Season to Date are presented by Ken Wiberg:
1- Ken Wiberg/Nick Eaton 17pts (card playoff)
2- Ryan Hayward (Jim Twitchell’s score)/Myron Curtis 17pts
3- Vern Seile/Jim McDonald 16pts (card playoff)
Pins Hole 3:
1- David Greiwe 36’
2- Steve Stone 37’
Standings with 3 weeks to play:
1- Ken Wiberg/Nick Eaton 73 pts
2- Mark Sterritt/Richard Eaton 73 pts
3- Jim Twitchell/Dick Dunham 65 pts
4- Ryan Hayward/Myron Curtis 61 pts
5- Steve Stone/Steve Smith 58 pts
5- Vern Seile/Jim McDonald 58 pts
7- Jack Shaw/Kendall McGuffie 53 pts
8- Vito Corsini/David Greiwe 51 pts
9- Lee Levant/Sam Ostrow 45 pts
10- Luke Hartmann/Jerry Gray 38 pts
Twilight League will play this week’s round on Tuesday, at 4:00PM so that its players can enjoy Labor Day with family and friends.
Scrambles was played by the largest field of the season on September 2, as co-Commissioner Mimi Gerstell reports: Thirty-one players competed in Scrambles on September 2nd. There was a freakish three-way tie for men’s closest to the pin. All of Jack Scribner, Mike Parker, and Dan McLaughlin landed exactly 2’8″ from the hole on #4. Ladies’ closest to the pin on #6 went to Carol Shaw at 6’6″. The low gross foursome was Jack Shaw, Mike Parker, Jeff Crandall and Mimi Gerstell, at 5 under par. For 2nd low gross, several teams tied at 2 under par; on a “card playoff” the money was awarded to Mark Sterritt, Charlie Odenweller, and Margaret Hutchins. Two teams tied for low putts at 9 putts; the prize was awarded to the team with the lower gross score: Dennis and Marsi Stavinoha, Felicity Gillette, and Dick Woodbridge. Scrambles will be played again on Friday, September 9 at 9:00AM. Signup by 4:00PM Thursday in the Pro Shop or by calling 348 2379.
News of Tennis:
Coco Gauff made the Quarters at the U.S. Open, Serena was Serena and Frances Tiafoe is the only American man left in the round of 16 and he gets Nadal this afternoon.
None of these players will be at Open Tennis this Wednesday at 9:00AM, or Sunday at 2:00PM. You can be, however. No reservations – or power overheads – required.
News of Bridge:
Bridge was bid, played and made on August 29, our Jack of All Trades, Jim Plotts, reports: This past Monday saw an even 8 players filling out 2 tables. Hostess Mimi polled the group and determined there was interest in playing Labor Day Night. So we’re on for this week. Pat Roth will host. We’ll continue to poll the group to check for interest week to week as the end of the season approaches. No end date yet.
RESULTS:
3170 – Steve Bralove
2770 – Ruthie Levant
2650 – Mimi
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Editor’s Note:
Your Editor at Large will be very much “at large” the next few weeks, leaving the Island over the coming weekend, traveling to meetings and gatherings for his “other lives” and returning on or about October 7. The newsletter for the 94th Season will continue weekly until it won’t (i.e., when News of the Club runs out), thanks to our highly trained corps of intrepid correspondents. Until we are together again in this magical place, please stay safe, stay well and please be kind to one another and to all who you may meet.
Sam Ostrow
Editor at Large
samsiccmail@gmail.com