Caddie Master and Caddies, Waynesville Country Club, 1930

Take a look at this photo. What do you see? Do you see a pool of qualified candidates prepared to caddie your clubs? Bare-headed, bare-footed, bare-chested, and as young as eight years old, in 1930 this is exactly what you could expect on any given visit to the Country Club. Of the available options, the Caddie Master would determine who went to work each day, awarding caddies fifty cents in wages for working eighteen holes and giving them the opportunity to earn up to two dollars in tips.

In the mid-1920s, Jim Long’s purchase of a dairy farm paved the way for the establishment of the Waynesville Country Club. After converting the farm’s old barn into the club house, Long built the golf course and the rest of the club amenities including a tearoom and swimming pool.

Denton Browning, fourth from the left in the front row, would eventually go on to become Caddie Master. He is followed by Bob Mull (eight years old in this photo), second from the left in the second row. Mull would also go on to establish Bob’s Sports Store at 2145 S Main St in Waynesville. Jack Snyder can also be spotted in this photo, standing all the way to the left on the back row—without his shirt.

Photograph courtesy of Mull Family