A History of Minerva Park, 1895-1992, by Vernon
Pack, historian.A History of Minerva Park, 1895-1992, by Vernon
Pack, historian.
The stock market crash of October 1929 brought an abrupt stop to any further development. Nearly all of the Park's lands were forfeited and sold for delinquent taxes and assessments.
Developer Johnson
talked Harold Pollock into building the Minerva Park Golf Course so that
it might prove to be an inducement to people to buy lots in the adjacent
Park. Harold Pollack, assisted by his brother, C. A. Pollock, opened the
tricky 18-hole golf course to its members on July 23, 1930. That was the
first full year of the Depression, so it had taken courage to complete the
project.
Three of the holes were located east of the railroad tracks on about twenty acres of leased land. The remaining 15 holes were west of the tracks. Ernie Limes' father plumbed the golf course. Two of the earliest pros were Joe Rooney and Del Hamner.
The Minerva Park Golf Course was built as an inducement to people to buy lots in the park during the period of the Great Depression.
George Crosby well recalls that he paid only 50 cents to play as many as fifty-four holes! Members in 1931 paid $25 a year, associates $15. Locker rental was $5. It was on November 13, 1931 that Delmar Hamner achieved the course's first hole-in-one. A new pro, Bill Collins, was added to the staff in 1932, the year the course temporarily closed; Andy Berry joined the staff as a pro instructor in 1934.
Harold Pollock paid to have the Park's first phone lines installed on his property along Minerva Lake Road.
The financial situation worsened during this decade. The Board of Education voted on March 29, 1934 to transfer sufficient money from the Bond Fund to pay its personnel. George J. Mitchelson became the principal in 1930, with Mrs. Gladys Linnabary succeeding him three years later. She was authorized in 1936 to use money from the Poor Relief Fund "... for appropriate pupils."
Until the area was developed in the mid-1920s, many people enjoyed their picnics in the quiet woods. Gid Mussio remembers walking the eight miles from his Fifth Avenue home to roast potatoes. There continued to be streetcar service from Columbus to Westerville until the early 1930s. Velma Graves recalls her father, Dennis Clutter, relating some highlights of his years as a part time motormen.
Significant dates from this era
The historical text and photos reproduced here are used with the permission of the author. The graphics contained in this web site were produced by the copyright holder.
Rick Lakin, rlakin@home.com