Milburn Country Club in Flames

Milburn Country Club, located at 69th St. and Santa Fe Drive, unexpectedly burst into flames between 4:30 and 5 p.m. on Monday. According to Milburn President Greg Dunn, no one was  hurt in the fire. Dunn said he doesn’t know how the fire will affect the club in the near future.

Ann Griffith, mother of senior Katie and sophomore Lucy Griffith, has been a member of the club with her family for eight years. Last Tuesday, her family had resigned from the club.

“The kids were saying ‘I wonder if they even got our letter,’” Ann said.

Ann’s children had been members of the club’s swim team and she believes the fire will have a major impact on East families.

“You know, it’s just a great club,” Ann said. “It’s a beautiful old club. Really good families belong here so it will hit the community super hard. We made a really hard decision to resign and we’re still here to see what’s happening. It’s really sad.”

Ray Klein has been a member of the club since 1972 and said he goes to the club nearly every day. Klein, 80, said the club was where he spent most of his time since his retirement.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do without it after all these years,” Klein said.

Lisa Wetzler, mother of sophomore Sam Wetzler, has been going to the club for ten years. In the summertime, Sam played golf at the club nearly every day. Lisa remembered her immediate reaction to hearing of the fire.

“Shock, sadness,” Lisa said. “It’s a good place.”

As of 7:30 p.m., the fire had not been put out, but the fire had been contained by shortly after 6 p.m. Overland Park fire chief Bryan Dehner told the KC Star.

Additional reporting by Andrew Simpson

Videos uploaded using YouTube, a service students are blocked from by the district.

Photos by Lindsey Hartnett

Photos By Lindsey Hartnett