Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Chicago Trivia and Da Hawks!

Memorial Day is a national holiday to remember/commemorate the loss of American lives in war. The Memorial Day observance started right after the Civil War in several cities around the country. Carbondale Illinois was considered to be the first, started by General Black-Jack Logan. I am fortunate to have spent quite a bit of time in Southern Illinois and here are pictures from that exact cemetery. Double click on the picture to enlarge for your reading pleasure.




OK, here is a bit of trivia...In what "CITY" of the Union (North) are there more Confederate dead buried in, than any "STATE" (think of Pennsylvania/Gettysburg) outside of the Confederacy (South)???

Yes, this great metro we live in Chicago! When General Grant started his campaign south along the Mississippi River the prisoners where sent back to Camp Douglass. Then a training camp for the Union located at 32nd and Cottage Grove. As they were not well taken care of, living in pine shacks, many without shoes, thousands succumbed to our harsh winters... The following pictures are from Oak Woods Cemetery located at 67th and Cottage Grove where over 6,000 Confederate dead are buried in a mass grave.





As we spend quality time with our friends and families this weekend please remember we might be witnessing some new history in the making... the return of Lord Stanley's Cup to Chicago. Its' nature certainly is not of the ultimate price our brave military heroes have paid in the past and present. But it is about a game called 'Hockey' that lets us escape from the rigors of life for entertainment purposes. Sorry for the rant on hockey but I admire the athletes as they appear to act as the least 'entitled' in all of pro sports. By the way, the last time the Cup was hoisted by our Blackhawks I was just a few months old and don't remember it all too well. Oh ya, the TV 'back in the day' was black and white!

Following is a picture from my cell phone as the Hawks beat San Jose 3-2 in OT on Dustin Byfuglien's goal in OT last Friday night. LET'S GO HAWKS!!!

How to correctly fill a divot (and more importantly how NOT to fill a divot).

Below is a perfectly filled fairway divot using the seed & soil mix. The objective is to provide a smooth surface (in case a ball lands in it) with one-half inch of room for the turfgrass plant to grow.

(Below)This is not only the wrong way but is very detrimental to the mowers. The soil mix has sand which dulls the mowers blades which in turn are costly to repair or service. The old adage that if a little is good, then more is better, actually costs money!

THANK YOU very much for reading this important blog today!

Winnetka Golf Club OPEN on Monday mornings all season this year!

New for the 2010 Golf Season, both golf courses will open at 7 am. In the past the courses were closed until 11 am on Monday mornings during the spring (April/May) and fall (Sept./Oct./Nov). As always please call the golf shop for updates at 847-501-2050. The first person to name the location of this picture of Phlox will receive two free range tokens. You must answer through this blog's comment section.
Thank you!

FRIDAY May 14th Golf Courses OPEN !!!

Both golf courses are OPEN today as of 7am. There are no gas carts running as there is a fair amount of casual water from the 2.28" of rain Thursday morning. Staff will be working 'in-play' areas throughout the day cleaning up clipping debris on fairways and restoring the few sand bunkers that may have washed down. PLEASE be careful and yell " FOUR" before hitting near staff. Thank you very much!

Red Eared Slider Turtle was seen earlier sunning at #2 Tee.


Red Tail Hawk is in middle of tree. Double click picture to enlarge.


Flowering crabapples near #7 Tee.


Old Halfway House crabapples.


Hole #7 Winnetka National-North Course (as labeled by resident Golf Professional Dan Leonard).

Winnetka Women's Golf Club Spring Banquet & a few Mother's Day factoids

On Tuesday, May 4th the Winnetka Women's Golf Club kicked-off their new 2010 Season with spectacular weather to play golf during the day followed with an evening banquet at Hackney's.



A good time was had by all 50 people in attendance (including the male 'crasher' who near the end of the festivities attempted to serenade the room of women). The WWGC was offered the same contest (as WMGC) to name the golf course and hole number used on this blogs profile page. Upon seeing the photo, in a near chorus of a response many said Torrey Pines Golf Course. Now all we need for a winner to the coveted prize of a totally free round of golf for a guest is to name the hole number. For the enormous amount of new WWGC blog followers here is a clue: Back nine only. Not Hole #18.


MOTHERS DAY Factoid/History:
First attempts to establish a "Mother's Day" in the U.S. was mostly marked by a group of mothers whose sons had fought or died on opposite sides of the American Civil War. There were several local celebrations in the 1870s and the 1880s, but none achieved resonance beyond the local level.

In 1868 Ann Jarvis created a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day" whose purpose was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War", and she wanted to expand it into an annual memorial for mothers, but she died in 1905 before the celebration became popular.

Holiday establishment
In its present form, Mother's Day was established by Anna Marie Jarvis, following the death of her mother Ann Jarvis on May 9, 1905, with the help of a Philadelphia merchant called John Wanamaker. A small service was held in May 12, 1907 in the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where Anna's mother had been teaching Sunday school. But the first "official" service was in May 10, 1908 in the same church.

The holiday was declared officially by the state of West Virginia in 1910, and the rest of states followed quickly. On May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and requesting a proclamation. On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation, declaring the first national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.

In 1934, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved a stamp commemorating the holiday.

Carnations
Carnations have come to represent Mother's Day, since Anna Jarvis delivered 500 of them at its first celebration in 1908.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all!

WINNER-WINNER Chicken Dinner!!! Critically acclaimed contest won by "Winnetka Men's Club Member" Dave Johnson!

Yes, the contest to be the first WMGC member to name the 'golf course and hole' on this blog's profile picture was solved this morning. Due to the secrecy of this contest to win the much coveted "free" round of golf to bring a friend out to Winnetka, we can not disclose the correct answer at this time.




The Winnetka Women's Golf Club league kicks off their season this Tuesday and the same contest will be offered that night at the WWGC Spring Banquet. Follow this blog for the correct answer and the WWGC contest winner next weekend.