Schuylkill Country Club continues centennial celebration
May 28—ORWIGSBURG — The Schuylkill Country Club will continue to mark its 100th anniversary with a family fair celebration for members at 5 p.m. Monday.
Herb Redman, general manager, said the event will include a maypole dance, a time capsule dedication and old-time festivities reminiscent of 1921, including croquet and sack races.
There will also be an ice cream truck and fireworks to end the night.
Around the actual anniversary, May 10, the club held a cocktail party and dedication of a plaque commemorating past club presidents, Redman said, and the centennial events will continue in the fall with a golf tournament and gala ball.
"It's a great club and testament to the members here to be around for 100 years," he said. "We're very excited about that."
Although this month marks 100 years at the current location, the club first opened in 1905 as the Outdoor Club of Pottsville.
In 1919, club members bought 113 acres of land in Orwigsburg, and it reopened as the Schuylkill Country Club in 1921 with a nine-hole golf course and clubhouse.
In 1945, the golf course was expanded to an 18-hole course, which was designed by Donald Ross, a world renowned golf course architect.
Redman said that since then, the club has undergone various renovations and additions, including the construction of a pool in 2019, as well as a recreational complex and covered patio.
Membership growing
Other preparations have been made recently in anticipation of the centennial.
"We've done some minor improvements and cleanup to be ready for the year," Redman said. "With last year being what it was with COVID, this year is a little different, so you can see the excitement. People are enjoying the 100th anniversary."
In the past year, Redman said the club had cancellations and had to close the banquet facilities due to COVID-19, but it still saw some successes.
"We did lose a lot of events, but golf and membership are actually exceeding expectations," he said. "Golf play has been very busy, and we've picked up over 95 new members in the last year and a half."
Activities, dining, fun
Along with golf, the club offers different tournaments, social events, happy hours and swimming activities.
"There's a lot that goes on centered around golf, swim and dining," Redman said.
He said that what makes the Schuylkill Country Club unique is the friendliness of the people who make up its membership.
"Country clubs in general make an impression on people that they're stuffy or that people are unwanted, but in Schuylkill County, that's not the case at the club," Redman said. "When people do come in, they're pleasantly surprised to see how friendly and fun it is to be here. It's not anything at all like they think."
