The Early History of Wightman Tennis Center: A Test of Memory
By Jerome Rosen
One morning in 1966, sitting at my desk on the 22nd floor of the Prudential Center, admiring the view of a mammoth LPG tanker docking in Charleston, across Boston Harbor, I received a call from my accountant, Sidney Cohen. Sidney was then the Senior Partner of the accounting firm of Cohen, Cohen, Havian and Shaller, at 85 Devonshire Street in downtown Boston, and had been my accountant since I had begun practicing in that same building in 1946.
After the usual pleasantries, Sidney said that he was calling to ask me a favor: would I agree to become a director of a proposed tennis facility he was deeply involved in? "Sid," I said, "I no longer play tennis, I was never good enough to enjoy it, and I have no intention of starting up again, let alone spending any money to join a tennis club." "Don't worry," he replied, "it will only cost you $10.00 and you will get one share of stock."
He then told me that his group had an option on a parcel of land in the town of Weston, and they had submitted an application for a tennis club there. There was opposition, and he (and the other founding members) sensed that some of the opposition was coming because his group was mainly from Newton. They were seeking directors who were residents in Weston to create a Weston presence for the proposed facility. He told me a little of the history of his group, which had initially been formed at the instigation of Summer "Sonny" Rodman, Harrison "Rosie" Rowbotham and Bernard "Bill" Pearson. They were, of course, avid tennis players (Sonny and Rosie later were named to the New England Tennis Hall of Fame) and felt that there was a need for an indoor tennis facility. At the time, such a facility was to all intents unavailable in the Boston area since only The Badminton and Tennis Club had an indoor court but it was essentially closed to non-Brahmins.
Sidney told me that his group had been turned down informally in other towns, and formally in Newton. He wanted me to appear at sessions before the Town Permitting Authority, and to speak up and write in favor of their application. The name of his group, organized as a Massachusetts corporation, was the "Garden City Family Recreation Center, Inc."
I accepted. Then came a number of meetings of the Board, which in time included other Weston residents, including Harrison Rowbotham, Jr., William Brown (later President of the Bank of Boston), and Tom Wyman (later President of CBS, Green Giant, and other New York Stock Exchange companies). At that time, our meetings were usually held in Sid Cohen's basement family room, and cookies and soft drinks were a major attraction. In December 1967, the name of the corporation was legally changed to "The Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman Tennis Center, Inc.", thanks to our first President, Harrison Rowbotham, Sr., who was closet to Mrs. Wightman and obtained her consent to the use of her name.
On January 18, 1968 the Weston Planning Board issued a Conditional Permit to the Center, conditional upon its remaining a non-profit corporation and otherwise obtaining written approval of its plans (and other matters) from the Town Board of Appeals. On February 29, 1968, the Weston Board of Appeals issued it's approval, with many conditions, including: a limit to 300 family and 100 youth memberships; no food or liquor operations, other than a snack bar; only 8 lighted outdoor courts; and, believe it or not, a member of the Christian Science Church to be requested to be a member of the Board of Governors.
Major impediments to financing the proposed facility arose, and refusals of mortgage financing from bank after bank confronted the Board. The universal and major objections by the banks resulted from the fact that the property was single-purpose because of permitting limitations; in the event of our defaulting, the bank could only foreclose if it wanted to get into the indoor tennis business. But we kept trying, and in due course application was made to a then small Boston bank, the City Bank and Trust Company, whose President had enough imagination to create a package with adequate security for the bank. In addition to a mortgage on the real estate, including the building-to-be and its contents, the bank required each of the intended members to personally guarantee the bank against any loss, up to $3,000.00 per member. On the strength of that collateral, City Bank committed to an $800,000.00 construction and permanent loan, at 8% interest.
Armed with the City commitment, plus $500,000.00 from payments by the initial members, which covered the land acquisition and remaining expected costs, construction began. The plans were prepared by Sasaki, Dawson and DeMay of Cambridge, and the groundbreaking took place on February 19, 1969. At the time, the officers of the Center were: Harrison Rowbotham, Sr., President; Bernard Pearson, First-President; Bertram Rodman, Second Vice-President; Harrison Rowbotham, Jr., Financial Secretary; Irving Karg, Secretary; Sidney Cohen, Treasurer. The initial Weston member-residents were: Paul Brountas; Robert First; William Brown; L. Tom Perry; Kenneth Fish; Dr. Stanley Eldred; Jerome Rosen; and Harrison Rowbotham, Jr. Key to the permit-obtaining process and other contact with the Town boards was the participation of Ken Fish and, subsequently Bob Cook. Ben Cantor, a longtime member and later an Honorary Member, was also active in the early stages.
The construction budget, as it turned out, was probably too limited, and a number of problems related to cost-cutting economies came to light within a relatively short time. Charlie Rosen headed the Building Committee and, along with Gene Isenberg and Harrison Rowbotham, Jr., oversaw the most pressing areas requiring correction, (lighting, surfaces, roof). All of them, especially Charlie and Gene, and the other officers spent long hours, in these endeavors. Other help was provided by Dr. Bob Leach, a fine tennis player and Tennis Hall of Famer who became Team Physician for several professional athletic teams in the Boston area and whose son was part of the National Professional Tour for some time. In the early years, the Club was used mainly by its male members, many of whom were then young and are today still active Wightman players. Long waits for courts were not unusual. Part of the reason for the initial limited use by the fame members may have been that the women's loc her room was too small and otherwise inadequate, and use by women greatly increased after those facilities were expanded and improved. There were no exercise facilities other than the two swimming pools, until the early 1990's.
Each of the first 300 members initially bought refundable bonds for $1,500.00, later increased to $3,500.00, paid annual dues of $1,000.00 per year, and gave the bank a Promissory Note for $3,000.00.
For many years, the Club has been managed with energy, competence and intense loyalty by Bill Grimes, ably assisted by Phillips Simm at the front desk. No small part of its continued quality and smooth operation is due to them.
From the very beginning, the Club was envisioned as a family-oriented, quality facility, emphasizing Junior programs, and it clearly has provided that function over the years. There are probably as many as 30 members who have been on board since the very beginning 36 years ago, but it is a Club of which we may all be proud.
One morning in 1966, sitting at my desk on the 22nd floor of the Prudential Center, admiring the view of a mammoth LPG tanker docking in Charleston, across Boston Harbor, I received a call from my accountant, Sidney Cohen. Sidney was then the Senior Partner of the accounting firm of Cohen, Cohen, Havian and Shaller, at 85 Devonshire Street in downtown Boston, and had been my accountant since I had begun practicing in that same building in 1946.
After the usual pleasantries, Sidney said that he was calling to ask me a favor: would I agree to become a director of a proposed tennis facility he was deeply involved in? "Sid," I said, "I no longer play tennis, I was never good enough to enjoy it, and I have no intention of starting up again, let alone spending any money to join a tennis club." "Don't worry," he replied, "it will only cost you $10.00 and you will get one share of stock."
He then told me that his group had an option on a parcel of land in the town of Weston, and they had submitted an application for a tennis club there. There was opposition, and he (and the other founding members) sensed that some of the opposition was coming because his group was mainly from Newton. They were seeking directors who were residents in Weston to create a Weston presence for the proposed facility. He told me a little of the history of his group, which had initially been formed at the instigation of Summer "Sonny" Rodman, Harrison "Rosie" Rowbotham and Bernard "Bill" Pearson. They were, of course, avid tennis players (Sonny and Rosie later were named to the New England Tennis Hall of Fame) and felt that there was a need for an indoor tennis facility. At the time, such a facility was to all intents unavailable in the Boston area since only The Badminton and Tennis Club had an indoor court but it was essentially closed to non-Brahmins.
Sidney told me that his group had been turned down informally in other towns, and formally in Newton. He wanted me to appear at sessions before the Town Permitting Authority, and to speak up and write in favor of their application. The name of his group, organized as a Massachusetts corporation, was the "Garden City Family Recreation Center, Inc."
I accepted. Then came a number of meetings of the Board, which in time included other Weston residents, including Harrison Rowbotham, Jr., William Brown (later President of the Bank of Boston), and Tom Wyman (later President of CBS, Green Giant, and other New York Stock Exchange companies). At that time, our meetings were usually held in Sid Cohen's basement family room, and cookies and soft drinks were a major attraction. In December 1967, the name of the corporation was legally changed to "The Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman Tennis Center, Inc.", thanks to our first President, Harrison Rowbotham, Sr., who was closet to Mrs. Wightman and obtained her consent to the use of her name.
On January 18, 1968 the Weston Planning Board issued a Conditional Permit to the Center, conditional upon its remaining a non-profit corporation and otherwise obtaining written approval of its plans (and other matters) from the Town Board of Appeals. On February 29, 1968, the Weston Board of Appeals issued it's approval, with many conditions, including: a limit to 300 family and 100 youth memberships; no food or liquor operations, other than a snack bar; only 8 lighted outdoor courts; and, believe it or not, a member of the Christian Science Church to be requested to be a member of the Board of Governors.
Major impediments to financing the proposed facility arose, and refusals of mortgage financing from bank after bank confronted the Board. The universal and major objections by the banks resulted from the fact that the property was single-purpose because of permitting limitations; in the event of our defaulting, the bank could only foreclose if it wanted to get into the indoor tennis business. But we kept trying, and in due course application was made to a then small Boston bank, the City Bank and Trust Company, whose President had enough imagination to create a package with adequate security for the bank. In addition to a mortgage on the real estate, including the building-to-be and its contents, the bank required each of the intended members to personally guarantee the bank against any loss, up to $3,000.00 per member. On the strength of that collateral, City Bank committed to an $800,000.00 construction and permanent loan, at 8% interest.
Armed with the City commitment, plus $500,000.00 from payments by the initial members, which covered the land acquisition and remaining expected costs, construction began. The plans were prepared by Sasaki, Dawson and DeMay of Cambridge, and the groundbreaking took place on February 19, 1969. At the time, the officers of the Center were: Harrison Rowbotham, Sr., President; Bernard Pearson, First-President; Bertram Rodman, Second Vice-President; Harrison Rowbotham, Jr., Financial Secretary; Irving Karg, Secretary; Sidney Cohen, Treasurer. The initial Weston member-residents were: Paul Brountas; Robert First; William Brown; L. Tom Perry; Kenneth Fish; Dr. Stanley Eldred; Jerome Rosen; and Harrison Rowbotham, Jr. Key to the permit-obtaining process and other contact with the Town boards was the participation of Ken Fish and, subsequently Bob Cook. Ben Cantor, a longtime member and later an Honorary Member, was also active in the early stages.
The construction budget, as it turned out, was probably too limited, and a number of problems related to cost-cutting economies came to light within a relatively short time. Charlie Rosen headed the Building Committee and, along with Gene Isenberg and Harrison Rowbotham, Jr., oversaw the most pressing areas requiring correction, (lighting, surfaces, roof). All of them, especially Charlie and Gene, and the other officers spent long hours, in these endeavors. Other help was provided by Dr. Bob Leach, a fine tennis player and Tennis Hall of Famer who became Team Physician for several professional athletic teams in the Boston area and whose son was part of the National Professional Tour for some time. In the early years, the Club was used mainly by its male members, many of whom were then young and are today still active Wightman players. Long waits for courts were not unusual. Part of the reason for the initial limited use by the fame members may have been that the women's loc her room was too small and otherwise inadequate, and use by women greatly increased after those facilities were expanded and improved. There were no exercise facilities other than the two swimming pools, until the early 1990's.
Each of the first 300 members initially bought refundable bonds for $1,500.00, later increased to $3,500.00, paid annual dues of $1,000.00 per year, and gave the bank a Promissory Note for $3,000.00.
For many years, the Club has been managed with energy, competence and intense loyalty by Bill Grimes, ably assisted by Phillips Simm at the front desk. No small part of its continued quality and smooth operation is due to them.
From the very beginning, the Club was envisioned as a family-oriented, quality facility, emphasizing Junior programs, and it clearly has provided that function over the years. There are probably as many as 30 members who have been on board since the very beginning 36 years ago, but it is a Club of which we may all be proud.