Interlaken Golf Club in Fairmont has hit an important milestone as it celebrates its 100th year of operation this year.

To commemorate the event, there will be a three-day centennial celebration from July 12-14. A member of the club, Van DeWar, and clubhouse manager Micaela Ellefson discussed the event and the history of the club.

“We have the Chamber of Commerce involved, the mayor is coming, the Minnesota Golf Association is coming down and the United States Golf Association is sending a representative,” DeWar said.

Ellefson said there would not have been a club without the support of the community behind it.

“It is a celebration of 100 years of golfing,” she said. “But it’s also an extension to celebrate Fairmont, so it’s not just limited to current members of the club; we do want to extend it to a communitywide celebration.”

The pair shared some highlights of the celebration.

“On Friday, we have cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, we have a ceremonial bagpiper, and then the Murphy Brothers Band will be playing,” DeWar said.

“We also have what we’re calling the ‘Nostalgic 9’ and it’s the original nine-hole course,” Ellefson said.

DeWar said there will be a golf tournament July 13-14.

“We call it the member-member tournament, but for this year it’s going to be for anybody who wants to play,” he noted.

Along with a centennial barbecue and other entertainment, organizers hope the event will be one to remember.

“I’ve been researching the history of the club at the Martin County Historical Society with Lenny Tvedten,” DeWar said. “So we’re going to produce a booklet about the history of the club. Interlaken was started by Frank Wade, who was the entrepreneur who bankrolled the course and built the original nine holes for his son and 60 friends.

“The course was originally laid out by a guy from Scotland that Frank Wade paid to come lay it out. Then, in 1969, the second nine holes opened, so now it’s an 18-hole course.”

DeWar’s research confirms the “guy from Scotland” was one Thomas Bendelow, who went on to be known as the Johnny Appleseed of American golf, involved in designing more than 700 American golf courses.

In 1922, Interlaken Golf Course bought the 67-acre course for $300 per acre, from the estate of Frank Wade. In 1936, Harold Wade, Frank’s son, bought the first share of Interlaken stock for $150.

Ellefson wants the celebration to serve as an outreach to the community, golfers and non-golfers alike.

“Part of my hope with this event is to break through the stereotype that we’re a very member-only, closed-off, private country club,” she said. “It’s very affordable to be a member, we’re open to non-members attending and playing with or without a member. You also don’t have to be a member to use our banquet hall.

“We’ll take anybody,” she said. “You don’t have to be part of a certain income status or people group. So we hope this event will serve as a bridge to the community and opens the doors to help people feel more welcome to our club. We want to keep the game of golf alive and launch another successful 100 years.”

While RSVPs are not required, organizers say those who can RSVP by Monday will help create an accurate food count for the celebration. People can visit the club’s website at www.interlakengolf.com or call (507) 235-5145 for more information.