Every summer, when we packed up the old station wagon and made our annual trek to our summer cottage near Point Breeze, we would pass by a very large property on Route 5 that had a magnificent view of Lake Erie. There are two stone pillars near the entrance of the estate with the words, “Wanakah 1899.” We kids assumed it was a museum. It wasn’t. What it was, was a “country club.”
Growing up on the working class West Side of Buffalo, we were unfamiliar with country clubs. No one who lived near us on 15th Street, or elsewhere in the neighborhood for that matter, played golf or tennis, or sat down for lunch at tables with linen tablecloths. Our summer days were spent playing kickball in the street, jumping into the crowded Massachusetts Avenue swimming pool, and eating baloney bombers from Ganci’s grocery store. The only club we were familiar with was the Butler-Mitchell Boys Club which kept wayward youths off the city streets.
Fast-forward a few decades. In recent years, I have had several opportunities to visit the once mysterious “Wanakah,” a stately facility with an interesting history. It was founded during Buffalo’s “gilded age” by several prominent local businessmen and later rechartered by, among others, Ansley Wilcox, owner of the home where President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn into office after President McKinley’s assassination. Although the club was started primarily to serve golf-playing Buffalonians who were wealthy enough to have homes along the lake, it underwent a change in the early 20th century, becoming more family-oriented, with an extensive range of activities.
Today, in addition to a newly re-designed golf course, there is a large L-shaped pool, clay tennis courts—and a trendy attraction—pickle ball courts. Beautiful landscaping adorns both the clubhouse and golf course and the meals I’ve eaten there were as elegant and well-prepared as in any fine restaurant. The sunset view from the patio is almost enough to make one dig deep into the pockets and inquire about the membership fee.[1]
One afternoon, prior to meeting with a book club there, I talked to Kevin, the Events Director, who has worked at Wanakah for 40 years. He gave me a quick tour of the club house, focusing on some of the artifacts collected for the 125th anniversary celebration in 2024. As I looked at the dining menus, elegant furniture, ladies lounge, and comfortable restaurant, I was inspired to write a scene for my upcoming book. What would it be like, I wondered, if a couple of characters fresh off the 1970’s West Side were invited to dine in such an establishment, seated at a table with some of the club’s wealthier members?
It was fun to imagine the conversation that might take place, with both sides feeling a bit uncomfortable. (Think of Archie Bunker from All in the Family sitting down to break bread with Thurston Howell III of Gilligan’s Island.) My West Side characters were far happier eating Egg McMuffins than the Eggs Benedict served at the club.
Groucho Marx once famously said, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” The West Side of Buffalo has certainly changed since the 1970s. With much of that part of town now “regentrifying,” I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the more recent West Siders were “invited” to become Wanakah members. But who knows, enough of the old neighborhood grit might have gotten into them and, like Groucho, they just might refuse to join.
Are you a member of a country club, or aspire to be one? Have you ever been invited to a place where you felt out of place? I would love to hear your stories in the comments, below!
Moxie Gardiner is a writer, gardener, and traveler who grew up on the West Side of Buffalo, NY. In a previous life she was a journalist, magazine editor, speech writer, and policy wonk. Back in the day she made three solo parachute jumps, flew in an F-15 fighter jet, and crawled through mud pits at the Jungle Operations Training Course in Panama. She now meditates, grows tomatoes, and enjoys a good online Zumba routine at home on winter evenings. Virgin Snow is her first novel, and as of this writing, she is getting ready to publish Book Two in the Buffalo trilogy.
[1] For more information about the club today, visit https://www.wanakahcc.com/home
