Banner Lodge Sports | East Haddam Stories

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Athletics of All Kinds Were Available to Guests

Sports were available for all ages and abilities. An 18-hole golf course and Olympic pool were featured. Softball, archery, tennis, shuffleboard, horseback riding, and yoga helped guests work off some of the calories they consumed during their stay.

Archery was a popular pastime through the 30s and 40s.

A brochure shot of a staff archer in high heels.

Archery lessons.

Bicycling around the grounds during the 1940s

The bicycle track in the 1940s.

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Walking a resort road (c. 1950).

Six tennis courts (top) were installed in the 1950s. Daily calisthenics classes around the pool were conducted by Harry Molbert.

Tennis pros regularly put on demonstrations. This 1958 shot shows Malloy and Maylan.

Jack with visitng tennis pros in the late 1940s.

Manny, the weekly softball game umpire during an Old Timers gam in 1960.

Manny officiating in 1955.

A staff softball team in the early 1950s.

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Ping pong tables on the terrace between the pool and the resort office (early 1960s).

An 18-hole Championship Golf Course Catered to the Public

In 1961, Banner Lodge opened a 9-hole golf course, expanding it to 18 PGA-regulation holes two years later.

Jack's brother-in-law Irv Levowitz managed the golf course construction.

Jack and Lou look over plans with the course architect.

Banner's first PGA pro Frank Gambarella with the course's architect.

Horse Riding Was a Popular Pasttime through the 1950s

Banner Lodge maintained a stable of horses, offering guests lessons and guided trail riding.

Breakfast before riding.

The Banner Rancho stables near the lake. The building later housed staffers.

The stables.

Heading out.

Horseback riding lessons were available to the city-slicker guests.

Staffer showing a guest how to ride.

On the trail.

Taking a break by the lake.

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