FMTC Board presents plans for a major addition to the Clubhouse; controversy ensues

In the immediate post-war years, the Club’s boards concentrated on adding paddle courts and improving the grounds. Not until that was done and the old mortgage retired could the board move on to the long-held dream of expanding the little 1927 clubhouse.`

The addition would contain both a new kitchen and clubroom. Such construction required a zoning variance from the Village, and some nearby residents protested strongly. They said doubling the size of the clubhouse would add to existing traffic problems and noise.

At the time of the controversy the Club had 145 family members, thirty house members, ten nonresident members, and two honorary members. The parking lot could hold twenty-two cars.

Building the wing involved months of planning and was accomplished principally because of the presidential perseverance of Walter Close and Oliver Kingsbury. Hours were spent soliciting agreement forms from all property owners who lived within 600 feet of the Club’s perimeter.

In another move to nullify the opposition, the Club board amended the bylaws to establish a permanent ceiling of 160 active members and inserted a clause prohibiting any future application for a liquor license.

Source: Adapted from Diana Reische, Fox Meadow Tennis Club – The First Hundred Years, 1983