SERVICES
History of the Glencoe Pro Shop by Tamara Wilton
W
hat is a Pro Shop? When you look it up, its earliest use appears to have been in 1932, and it’s defined as “a shop… operated in connection with a golf or tennis club, resort, etc., (with) sports equipment and often recreational clothing for sale or rent…usually supervised by a resident professional coach or instructor.” We know the Glencoe Pro Shop is so much more! I’ve been a member of the Pro Shop team for almost two years now. I recently set out to learn its history and as a result, had the pleasure of interviewing Jean Waring Folinsbee, Rick Simonton, Jim Powell, Jill Fuller Gibson, Jamie Paulson, Laurie Pow and Evelyn Wigham. The first question I was hoping they could answer was “When did the Pro Shop open?” Tamara Wilton I was almost done writing the article when I Pro Shop Associate found a puzzle piece for at least part of that question. 58 glencoe.org
I didn’t find a specific date, but I discovered it existed before the fire in 1962. Thanks to Jean and Rick, I also found out that the Pro Shop was located by the original bowling alley across from the Junior Locker Rooms (in the Club today, that location would be in the west end of the current Badminton Lounge). The Pro Shop was very small, basically a room with a counter. They sold badminton and tennis racquets. They also carried feather birds, tennis balls, white tops and bottoms. And they restrung racquets in the small space. “The popular badminton racquet to purchase at that time was the Slazenger Queen’s Racquet,” Jean said. David Folinsbee, the Glencoe Tennis and Badminton Pro, owned the Pro Shop. He was also Editor of The Glencoe News. Jamie Paulson told me “David Folinsbee was the Badminton Pro before and after the fire. Immediately after the fire, he ran the Pro Shop in his house across the street. He would sell racquets, clothing and other supplies and would also string the members’ racquets there.” Jamie Paulson and Jim Powell said the Pro Shop then moved into what is the current Badminton Office until the new location was built. The earliest Pro Shop picture in the Glencoe archives is the opening of the new location in June 1963. The Sports Office was right beside the Pro Shop. David Folinsbee was named Sports Director in 1963 and Jim Powell joined the staff as the Assistant Badminton Professional. There was a time when the Pro Shop stored members’ racquets, as there was a shortage of lockers. They must have had quite the organizing system to keep track of them, especially as everything was on paper! Pro Shop staff were responsible for calculating bowling and curling scores and averages and they continued to produce the monthly Glencoe News. They sold squash, badminton and tennis racquets, tennis balls and whites. They also carried Slazenger feather birds. These shuttlecocks were lighter and made for Calgary’s altitude. Jim Powell laughs as he recalls a lady saying the tennis balls were too expensive. She decided to have them purchased elsewhere and shipped to the Club. I can imagine the look on Jim’s face when she told him that. Jim became the Badminton Professional in November 1964 and David Folinsbee became the Acting Manager, then the Secretary Manager in November 1965. The Pro Shop was now owned by The Glencoe Club and Jim was managing it, working on the Glencoe News
