Have a Bash
From Unforgettable Columbus, volume 2: “Although Herb Bash is not considered a pro, he did give lessons and was considered a pretty fair golfer. [Early on, he leased Indian Springs Golf Course.] In 1948 he opened a unique golfing complex on W. Dodridge St. between Olentangy River and the Olentangy River Rd. These 60 acres consisted of an 18-hole golf course and a large driving range. He sold the land in 1962 to Chemical Abstracts and moved his entire operation to just beyond Rte 161 on Dublin Road…The driving range on Dodridge was a place where many a Columbus duffer sharpened his game. Bash died in 1979 at the age of 86.”
According to Bill Case’s web site, “former South High coach Herb Bash … made his living in the golf industry. Herb and his wife owned the Berwick Golf Course, a public facility located on the city’s southeast side. Herb helped grow the game at Berwick by conducting numerous golf clinics for the city’s youths. Shortly after joining The Elks’ in 1928, Bash, in partnership with Bugs Raymond, opened another golf course- Indian Springs, opposite Henderson Road on the east side of High Street. Herb later added the “Bash Driving Range” in Dublin to his collection of entrepreneurial golf activities. Like many of his compatriots at Elks’-Wyandot, Herb Bash could golf his ball. Prior to joining The Elks’, he won Dublin Road’s club championship. Herb was also a mainstay of the 1932 Wyandot golf team which won the inter-club championship.” [Image courtesy of Bill Case.]
July 21st, 2015 at 1:14 pm
Herb Bash came to Columbus from Muskingum County to become a coach and teacher in the Columbus public-school system, the superintendent of which was Charles Cookson at the time. Bash’s first cousin, Ethel Bash, was married to Ervin Cookson, a nephew of Charles Cookson. Together, Ervin and Ethel Bash Cookson owned and operated a popular restaurant in Roseville, Ohio. Ervin’s Cookson’s father, Alfred B. Cookson, Sr., brother of the Columbus Superintendent, asked the latter to hire the young Herb Bash. In the late-1950’s, I went to an informal “reunion” at the Beechwold Restaurant that brought together Herb Bash, Ethel Bash Cookson, my maternal grandfather, Alfred B. Cookson, Jr., and their families.