By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

LOVELL — Golf is frequently referred to as “a lifelong sport” because people can continue to play it beyond their retirement years.

Four friends — whose combined ages equal 300 years — played a friendly game of golf at the Lake Kezar Country Club (LKCC) this fall and recalled the summers that they made money as caddies at the course.

Each of the gentlemen are 75 years old. Their birthdays are within three months of one another. They have known one another since they were toddlers. In fact, three of them are first cousins. All four grew up in Lovell, attending elementary school and Fryeburg Academy together.

In September these longtime friends, Barry Gilman who lives in Bridgton; Donnie Bean who resides in Fryeburg; Terry Adams who has a home in Fryeburg and is spending his first winter in Florida; and Brian Smith who resides and runs a business in North Conway, found a common time when all four could golf together. The autumn day was dry and warm — perfect temperatures for playing a round of golf, and it led them to reminiscing about their first paying job, caddying for customers at KLCC.

The golf course was a place where local school children could make money during the summer. Working there was almost a rite of passage for kids growing up in Lovell. 

Bean was 10 years old when he started working at the golf course. He lived close enough to ride his bicycle to the course. 

“One day, I rode my bike up and was sitting in the caddy shack and a man came up to me and said, ‘Sonny, do you want to shag balls?’ He hit 50 golf balls and I went and found them. Then he hit 50 balls again, and I went a found those,” Bean said, adding he got paid $1.

Adams recalls that first job. 

“All we did was shag balls. That was all I did at age 9. That would be the age. And when I got old enough, at 10 years old, I started caddying one bag, and playing ball,” he said. 

Gilman provided some definitions. 

“The caddy shack is a shack for the caddies to stay in when it was raining. It was a small building called a caddy shack. Also, there was a caddy master who was in charge of the caddies,” he said.

“The first time I went caddying I was 10. I played my first round of golf when I was 11 or 12,” Gilman said. 

Smith shared his experience. 

“The same as these guys — probably 10 years old. The shagging balls — I did that when I was 10. We would shag balls before we started caddying. Before you went caddying, they wanted to make sure you could follow instructions, duck the golf balls,” he said. 

This was the pay rate for caddies in the 1950s: 

• 9 holes, carrying 1 golf bag, $1.25

• 9 holes, carrying 2 bags, $2.50

• 18 holes, carrying 2 bags, $5.00  

Besides getting paid the rate, the caddies “might get a tip on top of that, which would be $1,” according to Bean. 

During that time period, KLCC was a 9-hole golf course and it was customary for golfers to “play two rounds,” which meant to go around twice in order to play 18 holes. 

“Sometimes, a caddy might go double twice, 36 holes altogether. I’ve done that a few times,” Bean said. Doing a double twice would earn a caddy $10, and that is not counting tips. 

A Golf Course was built In Lovell

Lake Kezar Country Club was built in 1923. The establishment will, in fact, be 100 years old next year. 

“Back in the day, what Lovell was famous for, back in the ‘30s and early ‘40s: Rudy Vallée had a camp right up on Kezar Lake,” according to Gilman. 

Vallée wrote and performed, The Maine Stein Song, which became a number one hit. 

“Rudy Vallée had a lot of guests and I’m sure a lot of his friends played golf. That is why the golf course in Lovell was built. Some of the entrepreneurs in town knew that people were coming to town and had nothing to do. Some of the local businessmen, there were three or four key guys, got together and decided to build a golf course. That was how it happened,” Gilman said. “They hired Donald Ross, who was a world-famous golf architect at the turn of the century.”

Living in Lovell, people knew that the golf course was one place to seek employment.  

“That was about all there was for young people to do was Caddy. It was a source of income,” Gilman said.

“We could help buy school clothes and stuff like that,” Bean said. 

Smith agreed.

“It was a really good income, compared to other jobs they had around, even for adults,” he said. “It was interesting. I don’t know how you guys learned about caddying, I learned about the caddying because my mother was a caddy up there.”

Both Gilman and Bean said their parents had worked as caddies as well.  

Gilman estimated his seasonal employment with the golf course went from 1957 to 1963.

“We looked forward to that money for school clothes, and going to Lovell dances,” he said. 

Bean added, “I would go to Town and Country in Bridgton and for $100, I’d get all my school clothes.” 

Also, there was a store at the golf course that sold soda and snacks. Quite often, the caddies could be seen spending their money there, he said.  

Bean estimated he worked at KLCC “off and on for 8 or 9 years. From the time I was 10 until I was 17 or 18. I was caddy master for a year. I was probably 17 or 18 then. I did that 7 days a week 10 hours a day.” 

In addition to having an income, the caddying job taught certain skills. 

“We learned the etiquette on what they had to do on the golf course, to be quiet when they are teeing off, not to walk on the green when you’re not supposed to, to give them the correct club when they asked for it,” Bean said, “and primarily to watch where the golf ball landed so they would know where it is.”

“It enabled us to get to know a lot of nice people as caddies and to appreciate theeloquentpeople who golfed there,” Bean said. 

Smith said social interaction was an exciting part of his job.  

“It was interesting to meet people from different parts of the country,” he said. 

Lovell had its celebrities: the rich and famous folks who golfed at the course. 

“The Eastmans — back in the day, how he made his money, how the father made money, his name was Robert Eastman and he was president of a large printing company in Chicago. He printed the Sears & Roebuck catalogues among other thing he did for printing,” Gilman said. 

Bean recalled the daughter’s name.

“Her name was Patty Eastman. I caddied for her,” Bean said. “She was very nice lady.”

One day, Gilman arrived to his job in style. 

“In 1957, I was 10 years old, I was probably one-half to three-quarters of the way to the golf course. Along came a Model A roadster with a rumble seat,” he said.

The driver was Lovell resident Fred Kimball — who co-owned the Stearns, Kimball & Walker Store. He asked Gilman if he wanted a ride. 

“I hopped up in the rumble seat. I took a trip. I got delivered to the golf course in a Model A Ford with a rumble seat. Later that year, he [Kimball] passed away,” Gilman recalled.

Benefit of caddying: Free golf  

 As time went on, working at the course provided the young boys with the opportunity to play golf. 

“Anytime that golf clubs got lost or left behind — that was how we got our golf clubs. Of course, they were not a matched set,” Adams said. “That was how we got our golf clubs. They were older clubs with wooden shafts. They weren’t very good clubs. We were just kids and we don’t really know anything about technique. But, we loved to play.”

The country club allowed the caddies to play after 4 o’clock, he said. 

“We got used to those clubs. We figured out what that club would do and what that club wouldn’t do. We would get fairly good at hitting the balls,” Adams said.

Probably in the 1970s, the caddy job was phased out because most people rent golf carts. People no longer require the assistance of a caddy to carry bags.

Gilman believes golf is thriving at KLCC. 

“One reason Lovell is so successful. The price is very reasonable. The last 3 or 4 years have been the best years,” he said. 

After COVID, people have been more eager to get outdoors. Playing golf has been a welcomed activity for many people.  

Gilman played on Oct 20.

“There was a 30-minute frost delay,” he said. “I’m trying to play three times a week. I’m still trying to shoot my age.”

About three years ago, Gilman suggested to his boyhood friends that all of them get together in the autumn for a round of golf at their old stomping grounds.

“We’ve been doing it for about three years,” Gilman said. “This last one was in September. Terry [Adams] has been treasurer of the Fryeburg Fair so he was very busy in October.”

Bean said the weather was cooperative. 

“It was great day. We really enjoy socializing. We play golf but we have fun with each other,” he said. 

Smith carried along that same vein, saying, “There’s a lot of laughing.”

Bean said he is able to laugh at himself.

“I am not a good golfer. They nicknamed me Nine Iron Bean. I played with two clubs— a 9-iron and a putter,” he said.

One year, he won the president’s cup using only those two clubs. 

On the other hand, Adams’ game has improved because he took up golfing to spend time with his adult sons. 

“I play with my sons. They joined the Tuesday night men’s league at KLCC. If they hadn’t started playing golf, I wouldn’t have started playing golf again,” he said. 

“The funny thing is when I was old enough to get carded, I was getting married and having kids. So, I didn’t play golf. I did play several times during that stretch, but not regular at all. You can’t play once in five years and be any good,” Adams said. 

“I was 60 when I was buying actual golf clubs. That was because my boys got into golf. I am competitive and decided to get as good as I could. I played two to three times a week. I tried to do three times most weeks. I studied YouTube techniques. That helped me a lot, helped me get leverage. As you get older you lose distance, you have to find ways to compensate. I believe I am as good at golf right now as I ever have been,” he said. 

He carries his own clubs instead of someone else’s. However, KLCC still contributes to his income. 

“I actually still work for the golf course. I do their income tax. In my office, I do their payroll, the accounting and the income tax. I am glad to still be a part of that. It’s kind of neat they used my talent when I was 10, and they’re still using it, but not the same talent,” Adams said.

“We all have fond memories of caddying,” Bean said. 

The caddy job provided “a neat lesson on dealing with people, and yourself, humanity in general,” Smith said.

The caddy master imparted life lessons on the young boys.

“They didn’t put up with people being lazy. They awarded people who were go-getters,” Smith said. 

Bean agreed.

“The work ethic started young for all of us,” he said.