BY JOSEPH SLACIAN
Cover Story: A Family Affair
KAUFMAN FAMILY MARKS
60 YEARS AT ETNA ACRES
G
ene Kaufman had an idea in 1959 that he broached one day with his father, Burlin, about 40 acres of land his father owned near the Wabash and Huntington county line. Gene and his wife, Joby, were living in Plymouth at the time, where he was an assistant golf professional at the local course. “I was really interested in putting a golf course in, so I called my Dad late one night and I said, “Would you like to put nine holes on that 40 acres?’” he recalled. “I could see him sitting there, chewing on his cigar. I could hear my mother in the background saying, ‘No, no, no.’ “But, he said, ‘Yeah, I want to do that.’” And that, in a nutshell, was the start of what today is Etna Acres Golf Course. The course, which opened on July 4, 1960, will mark its 60th anniversary this summer. The plan was somewhat risky, as golf courses dotted the countryside at several spots in Wabash, Huntington and Grant counties. But this course was going to be different, as it was going to be a public course. “Huntington had nine holes … private,” Gene said, sitting at a table in the Etna Acres clubhouse, family members looking on and listening. “Wabash had the Wabash Country Club … nine holes, private. Grant County had Meshingomesia … nine holes, private.” The closest public courses, he recalled, were in Fort Wayne and Peru. “We both loved golf at the time,” he said, a small grin forming on his face. “As I look back on it now … we were pretty dumb. Pretty dumb.”
Golfers swap stories while enjoying food at the Etna Acres Golf Course
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WABASH BUSINESS JOURNAL / SUMMER 2020
