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Berkshire Hills History |
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Berkshire Hills Country Club |
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In the early 1950's a millionaire industrialist Charles Grief Raible purchased a large tract of land, started a large farm business, & named it Pebble Brook Farms. Pebble Brook Farms came to be known as one of the premiere farms in the area for breeding prize Guernsey Cattle. Special barns were built for the prize cattle & others it is said housed thoroughbred horses. Like everything else Mr. Raible did, the buildings were constructed with the best materials available & by some of the area’s finest craftsmen. The main barn was also used to stage Square Dancing for the local families. Many of the buildings Mr Raible constructed are still being utilized by Berkshire Hills today. In the mid 1950's to early 1960's, Chesterland was a "one traffic light" town and still considered too far to drive for many of the private country club customer base. So in 1963 the Wagner Brothers put a "For Sale" sign on the property. The Kapel vision for the property was not unlike that of its original owner, C. Grief Raible. When Milan S. Kapel, Sr. took on a task he put himself 100% into it and went "first class". Only the best materials and finest staff would be employed in the transformation of Pebblebrook CC into Berkshire Hills CC. However, providing a quality facility was only one aspect of Milan S. Kapel, Sr.'s legacy. He wanted to provide this quality to people without the customary restrictions to access by the majority of the other private clubs. Milan S. Kapel, Sr. came from humble beginnings and he never forgot from where he came. Being a self-made man Milan S Kapel, Sr. understood the hard work that goes into making a dollar and he wanted to make sure that those who were using theirs to play golf, swim or have their special event at Berkshire Hills Country Club would "get their money's worth". The Mr Kapel was committed to making this club in the country-- a high quality Country Club without the restrictions that other clubs imposed. Unfortunately, Milan S Kapel Sr. would never see his new vision for Berkshire Hills full materialize due to his untimely passing in October 17, 1984 at the age of 59. While the golf outing concept was showing promise, there was an eminent development involving another one of Northeast Ohio’s landmark golf courses which would change the course of events for years to come. In 1984, Landerhaven Golf Course in Mayfield Hts, Ohio, a golf course built Henry Miesz (September 25, 1911 to August 1976) and operated by the Miesz Family was sold to office-park developers. This meant that Ron & Joyce Miesz, the former owners and managers of Landerhaven GC were on the lookout for a golf course to operate. Through a trusted mutual friend and business associate of both the Kapel’s and Miesz’s the two parties came to terms so that beginning in the 1986 season Ron & Joyce Miesz along with the well-seasoned golf course management team of Arthur Management began to operate Berkshire Hills GC as public golf venue. Ron & Joyce Miesz operated Berkshire Hills GC until Ron & Joyce retired in November of 2007 making many improvements to the course, enhancing its playability & ease of maintenance. We welcome any and all suggestions on how we can continue to improve Berkshire Hills for the pleasure of our patrons. Please feel free to contact Berkshire Hills at info@BerkshireHills.com to comment or make suggestions. Berkshire Hills—following through on the vision of its founder to “Provide Patrons with a Quality Recreational Experience at a Reasonable Price!” . |
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(Left) Millionaire Industrialist Charles Greif Raible (Undated photo-circa 1954) |
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9760 Mayfield Rd Chesterland, Ohio 44026 |