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Back to Bob Feser's article: Returning to the subject of my Dad's trip to Denver, I agreed to go into the business with him and returned home on Thanksgiving Day, 1955. We incorporated so we could sell stock, raise money and start work immediately "cleaning up" the old Spurzem farmstead, tearing down old buildings, hog pens and other structures and rolling up and discarding barbed wire fences. We spent the next year constructing Medina Golf Course. In 1960 I married. My wife Marilyn became my partner in life and my partner in making Medina Golf Course successful. Her efforts at advertising, clubhouse management, and even jumping on a tractor at times to help catch up on mowing were an important part of our modest success. Leo suffered a severe heart attack toward the end of construction of the Medina Golf Course and though he was able to guide us into the phase where we actually had golf customers, he gradually became less involved and retired in Arizona, so in 1964, exactly forty years after the founding of Orono Golf Course, management was turned over to Tom Wasgatt, who lived in the old home until it was sold to the Village. In 1974 we completed negotiations with The Hennepin County Park system which was purchasing land in Medina. They operated Medina Golf Course for several years before deciding to completely remodel and modernize the facility, now know as Baker National Golf Course. Had it not been for the series of events that led up to the construction of Medina Golf Course and the gift by Mr. Baker of his land on Lake Independence, Baker National Golf Course would not exist today. My wife and I are now retired and living in Ocala, Florida. I wish we could thank all our stockholders, customers, the state banks of Wayzata and Long Lake who supported us financially, and all the people who helped us build and operate the course over a 20 year period, but there are way too many. My bother Dave now lives in Virginia and has had a long career of being a Golf Course Superintendent. My sister Ruth is a retired professor at the University of Wisconsin and lives in Wisconsin. As for the Spurzem family, I never knew them but there is a nice (and true) story about them. On or about their wedding day they were down on the shore of Spurzem Lake fishing. Mrs. Spurzem happened to drop her wedding ring on the weedy shore. Though they looked for it a long time, they couldn't find it. Fifty years later on their golden wedding anniversary they decided to go down to the lake and go fishing to celebrate their 50 years together. It stretches credibility but, yes, Mrs. Spurzem looked down and saw something shiny. She stooped down and picked up her lost ring! Here is one last little foot note from Steve Kelley. Leo hobnobbed with the golf greats of his era and is legendary in golf circles as a pioneer golf course Superintendent. He was charter member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, and has an award from that organization named in his honor. The Leo Feser award, presented since 1956 is given for the best Superintendent — written article published in the Association's magazine. We thank Bob for taking the time to pass along his remembrances and are appreciative of Leo's efforts at recording his memories. We would love to hear from any of you with your own memories of Orono Golf Course. We'll let Leo have the last word, with a few random recollections: Orono Golf Course, originally called Orono Orchards Golf Course, was the first privately owned public golf course in the state of Minnesota. It was also the first public golf course in the state to have grass greens, for all municipal courses had sand greens in 1924. At one time the golf course had 11 sand traps. It was impossible to maintain them properly. Our golfers didn't like to rake out footprints in the sand In addition to ordinary farming activities the Walshes had an extensive fruit and berry business. Apple Orchards extended over considerable acreage on both sides of what is now the Orono Orchard road, hence the sub-division name of Orono Orchards. There were a lot of granite and limestone rocks in the pastureland that had to be dug up and removed in construction days. One limestone near 5 green was jutting about one foot out of the