One of our Club’s Founders and our first President; Alonzo Prentiss Ewing.

Alonzo was born in Hamilton Ohio in 1873, the last of six children from the marriage of Dr. Richard H. Ewing and Sarah Deming Ewing. Dr. Ewing died 3 years later and Alonzo’s mother remarried in 1880, moving with her new husband and children to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Alonzo graduated from Central High School in Grand Rapids in 1891. From there his trail goes dark, until the late 1800’s when we rediscover him serving as a purchasing agent (and ultimately advancing to the position of General Manager) with the Detroit City Gas Co. By 1907, Mr. Ewing was the Secretary of the Michigan Gas Association, was President of the Detroit Rotary Club, was on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Chapter of the YMCA and was a Director on the Detroit Board of Commerce.

In 1915, Alonzo left the Michigan Gas Association to accept a position as Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of the Highland Park State Bank, serving on the board with the bank’s co-founder Henry Ford and Ford’s son Edsel. By 1917 Ewing was moving up again, accepting a position as Vice President and General Manager of the Michigan Copper and Brass Co. Thus in a little over 15 years, Mr. Ewing had worked in public utilities, banking and mining. Whew!!

Around 1918, Mr. Ewing and his wife Blanche (who he wed in 1906) had purchased a second home in Elk Rapids. At that time Elk Rapids was suffering from the loss of it’s principal employer, The Elk Rapids Iron Works. In 1920, Mr. Ewing agreed to join with other area businessmen to form the Elk Rapids Resort and Industrial Assocation–a group devoted to saving the Village. The groups decision to promote Elk Rapids as a tourist destination lead to the creation of the Elk Rapids Golf Club.

In 1921, the Elk Rapids Resort and Industrial Association captured lightning in a bottle, getting the community to approve a $9000 bond to build the Elk Rapids Golf Club. However, they knew they needed to act fast to get the project started or risk the voters going cold on it. Donald Ross was the ERRIA’s architect of choice, but how were they going to navigate Ross’ long waiting list? Well we managed to jump the line because, as Donald Ross Society Captain Michael Fay suggested, “…somebody knew somebody”. And our somebody was almost certainly Alonzo Prentiss Ewing.

Considering Ewing’s meteoric rise in the Detroit business community and most notably his relationship with Henry and Edsel Ford, it’s clear he was a talented and driven businessman. His work with numerous charitable organizations demonstrates that he knew how to meet and influence people. He also traveled extensively for the Gas industry promoting consumer safety programs. And as it happens, in February 1910 (when he was Secretary of the Michigan Gas Association) Ewing spent two weeks in the Village of Pinehurst NC, playing golf on the village courses and staying as a guest at the prestigious Holly Inn.

Donald Ross had been hired just a few years earlier by James Walker Tufts (the original developer of the Village of Pinehurst) to remodel the existing course there, and to design and build additional venues. Thus in February 1910, Ross too was in Pinehurst designing Pinehurst #3. It is nearly impossible to imagine that a man as driven as Alonzo Ewing would spend two weeks in that very small town and not meet Donald Ross.

And a decade later, Ewing undoubtedly renewed the relationship as Ross’ contact man on our project. As reported in the Elk Rapids Progress (the village newspaper), he made the trip from Detroit to Elk Rapids at least three times before and during construction to work with J.B. McGovern, Ross’ lead design associate. Mr. Ewing’s devotion to the project so impressed his fellow Founders that they elected him as our first Club President in 1924.

The $9,000 bond was barely enough to complete the construction of our course. Our Founders hoped to sell 150 shares of stock in our Club (at $100 per share) to retire the bond and fund additional improvements. By 1926, the Club was ready to offer shares of stock to the public, but the value of $100 in 1926 would be nearly $1900 today. Asking area residents (who we barely getting by) to pony up a $100 a share for stock in a golf course was a plan doomed from the start. Ultimately, only 39 shares were sold. However, in those days members could own more than one share and Alonzo P. Ewing put his money where his mouth was, buying 9 shares of stock!

In 1925, Mr. Ewing left his position with Michigan Copper and Brass and started one of the first auto loan companies in America; Motor Buyers Inc. Remarkably, that firm survived the depression. In the meantime, Alonzo continued to serve as President of the ERGC until 1928 and remained on our Board of Governors until 1944.

Alonzo Prentiss Ewing passed away on February 23, 1950. His two surviving sons asked the Board to transfer his stock to them (4 1/2 shares each). Their request was approved. However, the debt our Club owes Mr. Ewing cannot be repaid.

Many of the past and current members of the Elk Rapids Golf Club are transplants to our area. This is perfectly understandable… who wouldn’t want to spend some quality time in the Chain of Lakes region! And as it relates to our Founders, three of the first four we are going to talk about discovered its beauty around the turn of the 20th Century and bought second homes in Elk Rapids. Such is the case with our next subject–Edwin C. Loomis.

If as a public school student in the 40’s, 50’s or 60’s you ever wasted time in the back of the classroom “sharpening pencils”, you have an indirect connection to one our Founders, Edwin Cooley Loomis. Edwin was born in Erie Pa. in 1865, one of the three children of William W. Loomis Jr. and his wife Marietta. William was a marine architect who designed and perfected the first “self righting” lifeboat for the US Government. After completing his education, young Edwin moved to Chicago in 1888 and got a job as a buyer for the importers Rothchild, Meyers and Co. While in their employ, he became convinced that producing and marketing “specialties” was his true calling. Thus he left Rothchild, Meyers and Co. to pursue a career in sales, representing various companies in Chicago and elsewhere. Of particular interest to Loomis was a device known as the U.S. Automatic Pencil Sharpener, then being manufactured in New York. At the time, that product was a bit of a monster. Still, Loomis saw enormous potential in it while recognizing it needed some serious refinements.

Mr. Loomis managed to buy a share of the company, then in turn teamed up with Charles Spengler (a talented mechanical engineer who had developed an opposing gear grinding system) to form Spengler-Loomis Mfg. They subsequently bought out the U.S. Automatic Pencil Sharpener Co., moved the manufacturing to Chicago and created a division at Spengler-Loomis Mfg. known as APSCO; the Automatic Pencil Sharpener Co. While Spengler-Loomis developed many other successful products, the pencil sharpener was their Big Kauna! With Spengler’s improvements and Loomis’ marketing talents, their product quickly became the biggest selling pencil sharpener in America. And with a retail price of only $1.00, they quickly drove all their competition out of the business. Spengler-Loomis Mfg. and APSCO soon had their device in businesses, schools and homes from coast to coast.

In the early 20th century more people from Chicago visited Elk Rapids than from Detroit, as steamship companies operating on Lake Michigan made travel between the two ports relatively fast and economical. Thus, around 1915 Edwin Loomis and his wife Bertha began visiting here from Chicago, ultimately buying a second home in Elk Rapids. With the Elk Rapids Iron Works in serious decline, Mr. Loomis agreed with those who thought the town’s salvation was as a recreation destination and joined the effort to found the Elk Rapids Golf Club. His business acumen must have been clearly apparent to his fellow Founders as he was asked to serve on the Club’s Executive Board in 1924. He accepted and was also elected our Club’s first Vice President. Imagine the combined business dynamics of Alonzo Ewing and Edwin Loomis!

Unfortunately, that relationship never fully evolved. Mr. Loomis had developed a heart condition and died unexpectedly on April 9, 1925. The Board of Governors asked Loomis’ widow Bertha to take over his spot on the Executive Board and she continued to serve on our Board of Govenors until 1937.

The union between Edwin and Bertha Loomis produced two children, sons Dexter and Edwin C. Loomis Jr. Dexter remained in Chicago working for the family business, but Edwin Jr. stayed in the Elk Rapids area permanently. Interestingly, Edwin Loomis Jr. and his wife Elizabeth built the Elk Rapids State Theatre (now the Elk Rapids Cinema), which opened for business on September 20, 1940!

Founder and Club Vice President Edwin Loomis’ passing on April 9,1925 came less than a year after our Club’s grand opening on July 15, 1924. With our fledgling organization still struggling with a number of operational issues, our founding members were challenged with electing a new Vice President far sooner than any of them had hoped. Fortunately we had a good number of qualified candidates available to fill the post, among them Dr. Ferris N. Smith.

Ferris Nicholas Smith was born on October 25, 1883 in Pontiac, Mi. He was the second of four sons of Samuel W. and Alida E. (Deland) Smith. Samuel W. Smith was a United States Congressman. Ferris’ older brother was Major Edwin D. Smith, a West Point graduate who died in 1920 from malaria he contracted while serving in World War 1. A younger brother Wendell was a doctor of veterinary medicine who served as an officer in the British Army Veterinary Service in that war.

In 1908, Ferris graduated with an AB Degree from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). He went on to earn his medical degree from U of M in 1910, with a specialty in plastic surgery. He did post graduate work in Berlin and Vienna, then returned to Ann Arbor to begin his practice. Ferris and his wife Florence (Bannister) were married in 1913–just a year before World War 1 began. Many soldiers in that brutal trench warfare conflict sustained very serious facial wounds, thus Dr. Smith’s training and skills were in high demand. The Smith’s sailed to England and Ferris joined the British Army in 1915.

Dr. Smith was quickly promoted to Captain in the Royal Medical Corp and was one of only two plastic surgeons at the Queens Hospital in London. When the war ended, the Smith’s traveled to France where Ferris taught at the International Clinic in Paris, then they returned to England and he demonstrated surgical techniques at the Royal College of Surgeons. Dr. Smith went on to write and publish his first book on plastic surgery, a text used by the Allied armed forces through World War II.

Dr. and Mrs. Smith subsequently returned to America and Ferris began a new practice in Grand Rapids. Around 1920, they traveled north to the Elk Rapids area and fell in love with a tree covered parcel of land on Elk Lake, which they bought and built a home on. Like his fellow ERGC Founders, Ferris got involved with the effort to save the town after the closure of the Elk Rapids Iron Works, which included the creation of the Elk Rapids Golf Club.

After the death of Edwin Loomis the Board of Governors elected Dr. Smith as Club Vice President. He served in that position until 1929 and remained on the Board of Governors for an incredible 34 years! In the meantime, he was one of the founding members of the American Board of Plastic Surgery in 1937. As his medical practice continued, Ferris gained national recognition in his field. In 1947, he performed major reconstructive surgery on a 16 year old Chicago area youth who, because of his facial features, had been cruelly dubbed “Ape Boy”. The operation, which Dr. Smith performed free of charge, was a complete success. Newspapers around the world reported the story!

Dr. Smith published his second book, “Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: A Manual of Management” in 1950. He continued his medical practice and his service on the ERGC Board of Governors until just before his death on September 18, 1957. Nationally circulated newspapers, including the New York Times, published his obituary.
Dr. and Mrs. Smith’s marriage lasted for 44 years, but produced no children. Florence passed away at their home in Elk Rapids just two weeks before Ferris died in a Grand Rapids hospital. Ferris Nicholas Smith lived a very extraordinary and successful life–and he was one of the Founders of The Elk Rapids Golf Club.

One of the tougher assignments in researching the lives and careers of our Founders has been that of Charles B. Carver, the first Secretary of the Elk Rapids Golf Club. In fact, during his service to our Club he was both our Secretary and Treasurer, as those duties were combined until 1960. Much of his life is a mystery, but what is clear is that Mr. Carver was a key man in the early life of our Club. He could be fairly described as the glue that held our organization together during very difficult times.

Charles Belding Carver was born on October 9, 1869 in Olivet, MI. His parents were Andrew Jackson Carver (there’s probably a fun story there) and Jane A. (Belding) Carver. Andrew was born in New York and moved to Olivet, MI. in the late 1850’s were he met and married Jane in 1861. Their marriage produced three children including Charles and his sisters Jennie and Anna May Carver.

Charles moved to Elk Rapids in the 1890’s where he met and married Evelyn Edith Lang in 1899. Their marriage produced one child, Bradford Belding Carver, who was born in 1906. After graduating from Elk Rapids High School, Bradford joined the military, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army.

We know Charles was busy building a business career at the turn of century–no small task in those days given that Elk Rapids was basically a company town of the Elk Rapids Iron Works. It’s been reported that Carver rose to the position of President of the Elk Rapids Savings Bank, but all your historian can confirm is that he was named the bank’s “Cashier” in 1907. A bank cashier in those days was considered the manager of the bank. He was active in area politics and on April 11, 1907, Charles was elected Elk Rapids Village Treasurer. He was subsequently named the Village Election Commissioner and Secretary of the Elk Rapids Board of Trade in 1909.

In those days, most rural outposts in Michigan recognized the economic need to promote tourism as a means of survival. While mass production of the automobile was a key part of the early 20th century economy, automobiles need roads to travel on and there weren’t many of those in outstate Michigan. The West Michigan Pike Association (at that time a “Pike” was the name given to privately owned toll roads) sought to create a system of connecting roads that would allow automobiles to travel through various rural communities in the state. In 1914, Charles Carver was appointed as the Antrim Co. Director of the WMPA.

By 1918 it was clear the the Elk Rapids Iron Works would soon cease operations. When concerned citizens formed the Elk Rapids Resort and Industrial Association to try to save the Village, Charles Carver, with his background in banking, government, trade and tourism was a perfect organizational fit. The Elk Rapids Golf Club became the first egg hatched by the ERRIA and our Founders quite logically named Charles Carver as Club Secretary/Treasurer.

On October 29, 1929–just over 5 years after our Club’s grand opening–Wall Street crashed and shortly after, much of the national banking system collapsed. The Elk Rapids Savings Bank was one of the casualties and Charles Carver was out of work. In those difficult times he managed to transition to the real estate and insurance business, but remained committed to Elk Rapids and the ERGC. As Secretary/Treasurer Mr. Carver saved much of his correspondence, which is where we learned how he staved off our creditors, convinced our members with means to buy additional shares of stock to pay our bills and basically kept the Club alive. By the the early 1940’s, much of the national economy had recovered and the Elk Rapids Golf Club had survived. Sadly, after a long business career and 19 years as our Secretary/Treasurer, Charles passed away on December 6, 1942. As devoted as he was to the Village of Elk Rapids and the Elk Rapids Golf Club, it’s fitting that his final resting place is in Maple Grove Cemetery.

Our Club exists today due, in large part, to the efforts of Charles Belding Carver–one of the Founders of the Elk Rapids Golf Club.