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Bloomfield Blossoms: p. 112-113

Smith, Kay, 1925-

Bloomfield Township Public Library

Bloomfield Township (Mich.) -- History

Forest Lake Country Club (Birmingham, Mich.) -- History

Birmingham Country Club (Birmingham, Mich.) -- History

GB01a058

part of 'Bloomfield Blossoms' by Kay Smith

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FOREST LAKE AND BIRMINGHAM COUNTRY CLUBS, "THE BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP PARK" AND OTHER CLUBS Two other major country clubs in the area are Forest Lake, begun by the indomitable Colonel Edwin S. George, who founded so many clubs in the area, and the Birmingham Country Club. Birmingham was founded in 1921 and Forest Lake in 1926, but in the Thirties both clubs foundered and fell into disuse. Birmingham reorganized in 1942 and is a strong group today. In 1954 some 50 families reorganized Forest Lake Country Club, renovating the golf course and club house, bringing the club into the present. There are no public parks either in the Township or in the Hills. Most people find recreation in their own properties with many swimming pools dotting the area as well as tennis courts and other play areas. Actually, the Township once had a public park. It was called, appropriately enough, the Bloomfield Township Park. Opening day was August 22, 1929, and Supervisor Robert Y. Moore was there to see the fulfillment of his dream for his Township. Three thousand people came to the opening to ooh and aah over the nine-hole public golf course, the tennis courts, the baseball diamond, picnic ground and the beautiful clubhouse. Its location? It's just north of Big Beaver, and east of Woodward and today it's called Springdale Park and it belongs to the City of Birmingham. The park was taken over by the city in 1934 under the terms of an agreement dividing the joint liabilities and assets of the then-forming cities of Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills. The Township was left without a park, and shortly the park was left without a clubhouse as it burned down after a Hallowe'en party in October of 1944. The area has many swimming and tennis clubs, the most notable being the Birmingham Athletic Club and the Bloomfield Surf Club.