"I'm sure that the President and Green Chairman are very astute gentlemen, well versed in architecture, golf, golf history and the play of the game.
But, if I recall correctly Tom MacWood discovered, or made it known that George Crump commited suicide and didn't die as a result of an abscessed tooth which is the story that had been perpetuated for 80+ years."
Pat:
Tom MacWood most certainly did make it known to everyone including the club that George Crump didn't die as a result of a tooth abscess which was the story of his death for over 80 years. However, the rumor that he shot himself had been around for a long, long time, and probably from the date of that unfortunate event. I heard about that suicide rumor maybe 25 years ago and I asked my old friend, John Ott about it and he said he'd heard the rumor for decades that he shot himself in his cabin at PVGC. So, having it proved by Tom MacWood most certainly was not something that Pine Valley and/or people that knew the club well were not aware of the possibility of.
The foregoing is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth but something tells me a guy like you on here will question the validity of it anyway. And that's too bad because I could have confirmed it by asking any of you to call John Ott and ask him about it because he probably heard that rumor thirty years before I did. But the irony and tragedy of it all is John is gone now too.
If you still question the validity of that rumor around Pine Valley after I explained what I just did above I can do nothing more than to take that for what I really believe it is!
The point of all this is that rumor of Crump's suicide was around Pine Valley for many, many years and obviously juxtaposed with the story that he died from poison to the brain from a tooth abscess. The additional point is since those two stories of the cause of his death resided side by side around Pine Valley for many, many years can only tell me that if ANYONE from Pine Valley really had wanted to know the truth of it, it would have been no problem whatsoever for them to go and find out. But they never did go and find out obviously because no one from the club really wanted to know that he may've committed suicide.
Nevertheless, it was proved by a man from another state who'd never been to Pine Valley, who knew know one from Pine Valley, and never even asked the club if they'd mind if he investigated the real cause of Crump's death and when he proceeded to try to do that never even bothered to tell them he was attempting to do that.
When he decided to put his findings on this website without ever mentioning anything about it to Pine Valley, it was me who arranged to have him email his article to John Ott who took it from his house on the 9th hole down to the clubhouse and gave it to them. Shortly thereafter the president of the club took it into a board meeting and explained to them the absolute truth of the way George Crump died from Tom MacWood's article---eg by a gunshot to the head!
That is the entire story of it all from my perspective. I'm a big fan of Truth as it pertains to these kinds of things but I'm also, either fortunately or unfortunately, a fan of respecting certain things about the histories of clubs, and about clubs themselves and even if I think Tom MacWood did a good job with his essay on and exposing Crump's suicide, I will never endorse the manner in which he went about it and I will never forgive him for that manner he went about it. I think the manner he went about it showed a lack of respect and consideration for the club and probably a real lack of respect and consideration for the sensibilities of numerous members. I think he went about it in nothing much more than a self-serving way and self-promoting way that in no way took into consideration what the club's feelings were or would be, and for that reason I think MacWood exhibits what I would consider to be a certain lack of class!
Matter of fact, perhaps five or six years before MacWood wrote his article and began research on the cause of Crump's death, I had this very same conversation about the rumor of a Crump's suicide with Geoff Shackelford. He told me he became aware of the rumor from a magazine article. He spoke to me a bit about possibly writing an article about it. I asked him if he decided to consider such a thing if he would get in touch with the club first. He told me he didn't really know what he would do about that. We then discussed that if he did get in touch with the club first and they asked him not to do it what he would do. He said he didn't know but of course he also mentioned that if he really wanted to do it they really couldn't stop him. Geoff Shackelford never did do that article on Crump's death as we all know. For that I feel he exhibited a commendable amount of class.
If you don't believe what I just told you above about those discussions with Geoff, unlike John Ott, he is very much alive and you can feel free to call him or email him and ask him about it if you don't want to take my word for it.