SHARON Club marks 100-year anniversary

The club is looking for more than $700,000 for improvements.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The. F.H. Buhl Club is marking its 100th anniversary this year and is using the occasion to raise money for building improvements.
The club, at East State Street and Pine Avenue, opened its doors in September 1903, a gift from Frank H. Buhl and his wife, Julia Forker Buhl, to the community.
It was a gift valued at more than $250,000 at the time, but the building is in need of some extensive repairs, said Jeff Valentino, executive director.
The club is linking its 100th anniversary to an effort to raise more than $700,000 for that purpose, he said.
The club, a nonprofit corporation, became a part of the social, recreational and cultural life of the town when it opened, and it still is today.
It has nearly 4,000 members and runs more than 60 classes ranging from aerobics and indoor soccer to dance lessons and reading instruction. It has a large indoor pool and an 8,000-square-foot wellness center filled with exercise equipment that draws people from a 30- to-40-mile area.
The club has already held a number of anniversary special events this year, but this weekend is expected to be its biggest draw.
Golf ball drop
There will be a golf ball drop and golf clinic at Buhland Golf course at Thornton Avenue and Forker Boulevard at noon Sunday, and a picnic and sports memorabilia auction starting at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Shriner's Picnic Grounds on Lamor Road, Hermitage.
Between 700 and 800 golf balls have been sold at $10 each for Sunday's drop, Valentino said.
The balls will be dropped from a helicopter, and the owner of the closest ball to a pin placed on the golf-course driving range will be awarded $3,000. Second- and third-closest will net $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Balls are still available at the Buhl Club, Valentino said.
This weekend's events end with a golf outing Monday at Sharon Country Club.
Remaining events include a July 19 dance and musical performance at Sharon High School and an Aug. 30 banquet at the Corinthian Banquet Center on Vine Avenue.