History of the Wading River Field & Tennis Club
The Original Officers and Directors were:
President – Selden W. Heatley
Vice-Pres. – Charles Denhard
Secretary – Morris Markey
Treasurer – Norman J. Bruen
Directors – George E. Hart, James A. Keillor, Daniel Wade Lapham and Walter Lippman.
The date of the incorporation was June 3, 1935. Annual dues for a member, spouse and unmarried children were $15.00 a year to be paid by June 15th. The dues continued at the same rate until 1951.
For several yeas the Club did not own any property but held their activities in several different places. John Condzella’s big barn was the scene of dances and masquerades, and polo games and Gymkhanas were held in the field next to the barn.
Tennis courts belonging to Walter Lippmann, Selden Heatly, Ruth T. Gosman , and the Keillors were used for the tennis tournaments which were held every fall. Croquet was perhaps the most popular sport and tournaments took place each August at the Keillors’ and Kempf’s and at George Hart’s where he had an English clay court built. Croquet was taken very seriously, and many lively discussions took place during the play-offs.The season usually ended on Labor Day weekend with the Croquet Ballheld in George Hart’s apple cellar, or in Keillor;’s big barn. Prizes were given and the winners of the tournament were suitably honored.
In the late 1930’s one of the Fink cottages on Creek Road was rented giving the members a place to swim, play ping-pong, and have clambakes. In 1948 the Wading River Realty Corp., made up of several men who bought a piece of land on the LI Sound shorefront, made arrangements with the Wading River Field and Tennis Club, Inc. to purchase the property, and a mortgage was secured. The final payment was made in 1953. On April 15, 1954 the Club took title to the property where the clubhouse now stands.
In the beginning there was only a small platform with a roof, but as years passed by, additions were made. It was enclosed first with screens, and later with walls and windows. Bath and dressing rooms were downstairs, and the deck was added. This has been enlarged and extended several times.
For many years there was rivalry between the Shoreham Country Club, with baseball games over the Fourth of July weekend (these were discontinued years ago), and the Tennis Matches over Labor Day weekend. The latter were started in 1924 and are still going strong. They are purported to be the longest running consecutive tennis matches in the United States. They didn’t stop during World War II.
The ever-popular breakfasts were started in the early 1950’s and there were even a few horseback riders’ breakfasts, beginning with rides through some of the Wading River “back country.” Field days and games for the young-fry used to be held each year at Gymkhanas. Archie Keillor gave Silver Dollars as prizes. Many other activities were added over the years such as pizza nights, chowder night, Italian night which all contribute to the communal atmosphere. One thing that has endured is the beautiful summer evening sunsets over LI Sound that all members enjoy.
A ledger with the original minutes of the Board of Governors came to light a few years ago and contains detailed descriptions of numerous activities over the years.
While times have changed and many more people have moved into our village, many of us feel privileged to be able to enjoy the beach, the activities, and the fellowship still to be found at the Wading River Field and Tennis Club after nearly 75 years.
