Kino Bay Chronicle

The Club Gets A Home

By 1981 the ever-busy Club had more than 900 member ships, representing some 3,000 people. Not all these were in Kino Bay at one time, of course. Roy Morwood made available a room in his home that served as an office. But when meeting attendance outgrew the capacity of local homes, and even restaurants, the officers and Board began talking about a place of their own club; a house, if you will..

They considered renting a vacant restaurant building. This didn't work out and, although obtaining land and financing a building seemed impossible to most members, Eldon Heaston, the Club president, argued strongly and effectively for it.

To obtain land involved lengthy negotiations with the municipal government of Hermosillo. But after discussions with the president of the Patronato, Club officers were delighted to learn that the Mexican government had generously decided to make available a lot, 2,500 square meters in extent, where a clubhouse could be built.

By November of 1981, preliminary architectural sketches for a 4000-square-foot Quonset-type structure were obtained. But the Board and officers now estimated that even if members themselves did a lot of the work, especially the finishing the building would cost at least $50,000 U.S.

That seemed like a great hurdle to some but not to Eldon Heaston, Bob Jarratt, and others. They launched a vigorous fund- raising campaign. Before long, some 300 members had contributed nearly $19,000 in cash and a few more made loans to the Club totaling $24,000.

Ground was broken on April 15, 1982. Construction went forward during the summer and the Board was able to hold a meeting in the new structure on October 8. Then, in November, the Patronato made more land available so the Club could occupy a block of 10,000 square meters.

Symbolizing the international cooperation represented in the building, and in the Club itself, large Mexican and American flags were hung in the main room. In addition, members brought flags from their home States in the U.S.A. and these were hung from the high ceiling, making for a dramatic show and, incidentally, greatly improving the acoustics.

Tables and chairs were donated or made (tables, for example, are hollow-core doors with sturdy legs attached). The Club was now ready for the variety of functions its founders had envisioned. These got underway immediately, not only for the enjoyment of members, but also as a means of bringing in money which helped pay the Mexican staff and meet ongoing expenses.

The Club was not through building, yet. In 1985, Tony Zepeda was hired as a full-time Mexican manager and a home was built for him and his family on the grounds. A bodega was built behind the clubhouse to provide needed storage. Then a roofed palapa was erected at one side for barbecues and other outdoor festivities.

By 1987, the growing membership and increasing use of Club facilities by members and community groups, began to call for still more space. The Board and officers figured a way to build an addition on the north side of the original building. This was completed in 1988 and provided 2,152 square feet additional space. This gave us more room for the library, for offices, and for the bar and brought the seating capacity for meals and various Club functions to about 250.

The next year, the kitchen was enlarged and improved. Likewise, ceilings in the new addition were lowered and acoustical tiles installed to dampen crowd noise.

Acoustics were also poor in the old part of the building, especially after the flags had to be removed because of their age. Volunteers came to the rescue again. Some 70 sound-absorbing panels were hung from the ceiling and a thorough redecoration of the entire building was completed, only to have some of that work undone by a fire, in 1994, which smoked up much of the interior. The same hard-working people scrubbed and painted and the building was soon as good as new. The bar, which was badly damaged, was totally remodeled and redecorated. Tom Crutchfield's realistically painted carvings of fish found in these waters now adorn the Walls.

Work then got underway on some long-planned grounds improvement and landscaping, including installation of a fountain and the addition of both a miniature golf course and a bocce ball court. Most of this was done before the snowbirds went home in the spring of 1995.