Quite a few folks came out to celebrate Ely Park on a beautiful sunny morning!
The fourth Ely Park Celebration was held at 10 am on Friday, August 4th up at Ely Park on the practice putting green. Long time Ely Park golf professionals Rick Mauro and Bob Steiner were present and honored for their contributions and legacies that date back to the early 1980s. Rick and Bob, along with previously honored Ernie Smith and Steve Vaskovic Sr., are the only four golf professionals to manage the Ely Park Golf Course since it opened in the Fall of 1933.
Two other amateur golfers—Ronnie Simkulet and Andy Reistetter Sr.—were honored in an interesting, fun, and entertaining informal ceremony on a beautiful morning up at Ely.
Reporter Christy O’Neil from WICZ FOX 40 was on hand to interview Rick and Bob and air a feature on the Ely Celebration on the evening news.
Simkulet, one of the all-time best Triple Cities amateurs, first came to Ely Park as a ten-year old in 1951. The ‘boy wonder’ won the Ely Park Club Championship five times, including four times in a row from 1957 to 1960 and then again in 1962. A Vietnam Veteran and graduate of SUNY Cortland, he left the area for ten years to be a club pro in Texas where he befriended the legendary golfer Doug Sanders.
Reistetter Sr. was a living fixture up at Ely Park, along with the likes of Bob Kollar and Walt Kozak, until his death in 1993.
WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O’Neil interviewing Rick Mauro at the Ely Celebration!
Reistetter Sr. won the Ely Park Club Championship in 1975 with son Andy Jr. on the bag and son Larry, long-time Broome County park designer and golf architect snapping pictures. Andy Sr. came to the game as a young boy caddying at Scranton CC to help the family make ends meet. A WWII veteran, he came to Binghamton after the war and served the community first as a police officer and then as a 25-year veteran of the fire department.
WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O’Neil interviewing Bob Steiner at the Ely Celebration!
The twelve Ely Park Honorees to date include Joe Gomulka, John Hammer, Joe Kovarik (a threesome that played Ely Park together for over fifty years), Walt Kozak, Bob ‘Bert’ Kollar, Bob Marachek, Ed Nosewicz (lifetime member of the PGA of America, member of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame), Mike Popik (all great amateur golfers), long time professional golfer Al Morley (who played in eight PGA Championships), Al Vaskovic (long-time Assistant Golf Professional to his brother Steve and the competitive golfing face of Ely Park), and previously mentioned golfing professionals Ernie Smith (who designed the golf course with city engineer Edward Prentice) and Steve Vaskovic Sr.
Ronnie Simkulet (left) with Rick Mauro up at Ely Park in May 2008.
Beautiful Ely Park Celebration this morning honoring Bob Steiner, Rick Mauro, Ronnie Simkulet, and my father Andy Reistetter Sr. Thank you to everyone who came out to make it so special! Special gratitude to Joan E. Davis, Mark Kachadourian for helping get the word out & FOX 40 reporter Christy O’Neil for her excellent coverage. The spirit of Ely Park, her history, her beauty, & her welcome to all, is alive & well! TROML Baby! (Facebook Post with 30 Pics, Andy Reistetter, 8-4-17)
Fran Roach: “What a great place and classy golf professionals!!”
Chris Dickerson: “I was unaware this was happening!! Sorry I missed it!!”
Lisa Bennett-Fish: “Thank you Andy for inviting Jordan and I…what a “Splendid Spiritual Event!”
Andy Reistetter Sr. on the par-3 second tee box back in the old days of Ely Park. The cinder parking lot and old clubhouse can be seen in the background on what is now No. 3 fairway. The two greens are today’s 6th green and the original practice putting green. (The first hole was a log par 3 from today’s No. 3 ladies tee to the 3rd green.
Virginia Kronk: “Great to see a special day for a special person – Rick Mauro surely deserved it!
Peggy Wells Mauro: “Great pics!”
Kim Hastert: “That’s awesome! Congrats!”
John Olsa: “Bob was my first instructor as a child, gave me some great teachings, and at 46 years old the handicap is still at 0. Thanks Bob!”
Jim Blodgett: “Congratulations Gents!! Steins looking good as always.”
Nick Brewster: “Great tribute! Binghamton golf is better because of them.”
Stan & Sue Lisk: “It was a day up on Ely Mountain for (joy)! Glad I made it. Well-deserved awards to my two great friends and Golf Pro’s. You helped many people to enjoy this great game. Thanks again and keep on swinging.”
Pictures from the 4th Ely Celebration on Friday, August 4th, 2017:
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