May 25 will be a special day for St. Croix Country Club in Calais as the members celebrate its 75th anniversary.

“Gov. King along with many others have taken an active interest in the [celebration],” according to Rand Castile.

The club members were hoping to get a proclamation from the governor noting the event. They did, but they received more than they expected.

“We thought he would give us a day, but he gave us a month, May 25 to June 25,” said Castile.

The club will hold a dinner on May 25 and go over the history of the club.

“It’s going to be a big to-do,” said John Marchese of Calais, president of the club.

Marchese said the club will have special events to continue the celebration throughout the year.

The club began in 1927 through the efforts of a group of area men.

“They paid $6,000 to buy the land, and the guys – and it was all men then – kicked in another $8,000,” said Castile. “They wanted to do something in a big way, and we’re the beneficiaries.”

The original name was the John Todd Farm Club because that was the land that was purchased, but the name was changed to St. Croix Country Club in 1934.

In the St. Croix River valley, there are no borders, practically speaking, when it comes to golf.

Players – including women now – from Washington County are members at New Brunswick courses, and players from the St. Stephen-St. Andrews area are members at St. Croix.

“We have a bi-national association,” said Castile. “The original board was substantially divided between Canadians and Americans.

“It’s a very inclusive club, and it’s always been that way.”

According to Marchese, there are approximately 300 members with 25-30 of being Canadians.

The new course in St. Stephen and the falling exchange rate between the Canadian and American dollars have caused the number of Canadian members to drop.

The future looks brighter for the club, though, as it recently held a preliminary meeting for junior golfers.

“We had our largest turnout ever,” said Castile.

One special feature of the course, said Marchese, is an eagle nesting site overlooking the seventh green.

“When you’re putting, you can see the parents and the babies and everything,” said Marchese. “To play golf and see that [is special].”

MSGA scholarship winners

The Maine State Golf Association honored a dozen scholarship award winners during a banquet Sunday at Martindale Country Club in Auburn. The awards are for $1,000 a year for up to four years as long as the recipients maintain satisfactory progress toward their degrees.

All of the scholarship winners this year happened to be men, although the MSGA does present scholarships to women, also.

Winners are determined by a point system that includes grades, participation in extracurricular activities, and an active interest in golf.

This year’s winners were: Travis Beaulieu of Caribou, Jacob Berkowitz of Blue Hill, Greg Brown of Belfast, Ryan Curry of Scarborough, Jacob Doiron of Farmingdale, James Dube of Hermon, Blake Eldridge of Winthrop, Robert Girvan III of Kenduskeag, Ross McGee of Fairfield, Isaiah Oliver of Portland, Jonathon Sirois of Presque Isle, and Nicholas Zafirson of Saco.

Oliver earned the Dr. Francis A. Winchenbach Award as the top scholar along the honorees. The honor carries an extra $500 award.

Beaulieu received his scholarship in memory of Larry Adams, Zafirson received his in memory of Valerie McCallum, and Sirois received his in memory of Rock Labbe.

The Southern Maine Women’s Golf Association honoree was Jessica Coady of Bridgton, while Mary Timmins of Oakland received the award designated by the Women’s Maine State Golf Association. Coady and Timmins earned scholarships in earlier years.

Mike Baker at Kebo

Mike Baker has returned to Kebo Valley Club as an assistant pro.

Baker was an assistant at Kebo in the ’90s under Gregg Baker (no relation). Gregg Baker took a job at Hawaii last fall, and Peter DeVos moved up to the top job.

Baker, an assistant at Bangor Municipal Golf Course for the past few years, didn’t get a sense of what his status was there this year.

“I was just kind of left in the lurch,” said Baker. “I just didn’t know what was going on.”

DeVos had offered the assistant position at Kebo to someone else, but that person turned it down.

Baker got the call and began working there April 20.

“It’s kind of neat, I know 90 percent of the people still,” said Baker.

Dave Barber can be reached at 990-8170, 1-800-310-8600, or by e-mail at dbarber@bangordailynews.net.