A Visionary Beginning
The next organization effort began in 1959 and resulted in the successful formation of
Illahe Hills Country Club. The seed of its formation originated through informal luncheon discussions at the Quisenberry Drug Store Restaurant near the Salem General Hospital.
The participants concluded that it would be best to form a private country club as a spinoff of a for-profit real estate subdivision. Furthermore, they decided that they should only select a site after the development company was financed and organized.
It Started with a Shared Idea
In early March 1959, attorney Bruce Williams visited Dr. Owen Miller. During this visit, Bruce mentioned that he and his neighbor, Merritt Truax, had discussed this idea before.
Eager to move forward, Bruce organized a meeting for March 26, 1959, where the three agreed on key principles and decided to involve more people. He requested Dr. Owen Miller to draft a document outlining their “drug store” concept as a foundation for the discussion.
Excited by the potential of creating a local country club, they decided to invite others for a meeting on April 9, 1959, with the goal of forming a steering committee.
An Historic Meeting
On April 9, 1959, several key individuals attended this meeting, including:
- Reynolds Allen
- E.E. Batterman
- Werner Brown
- Carl Gerlinger
- Al Loucks
- Vern McMullen
- Dr. Vern Miller
- James Payne
- Merritt Truax
- Glen Stevenson
- Bruce Williams
The group agreed that forming the private golf club as a spin-off from a subdivision development was the right approach. They estimated that raising $300,000 would make the project viable.
To move forward, they decided to incorporate by issuing 100 shares at $3,000 each. Those in attendance were tasked with recruiting potential members, encouraging them to express interest by writing to Bruce Williams.
A follow-up meeting was scheduled for April 17, 1959, at the Marion Hotel.