PATTERSON HEIGHTS — Near the entrance at Beaver Valley Golf Club lies a small engraved slab of granite marking the spot of a buried time capsule.
It won't be unearthed until 2048 when the golf course celebrates its 150th anniversary.
"I don't know if I'll still be around by them," joked Dave Vetica, whose family now owns the course that was known for over 100 years as Beaver Valley Country Club. "I hope so."
Who knows what's going to happen 30 years from now. But at Beaver Valley, they're still playing golf in its 120th year.
In terms of continuous use at its original site, it's the third-oldest course in western Pennsylvania and one of the five oldest courses in the state.
Foxburg Country Club, located in Clarion County, was founded in 1887 and is considered the oldest course in the United States based on 131 years of continuous service.
Allegheny Country Club in Sewickley Heights was founded in 1895. So was Edgewood Country Club in Pittsburgh. But Edgewood has played on courses at two different locations.
The Pittsburgh Field Club got its charter in 1882 but didn't begin playing at its Fox Chapel site until 1914.
"Yes, we are very aware of the history of this place," said Jim Vetica, the director of golf at Beaver Valley.
In July of 2002, the Vetica family bought Beaver Valley Country Club which has been struggling financially and, in fact, had filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. Upon purchase, the course had a slight name change: Beaver Valley Golf Club.
The head of the Vetica family then and now is Rudy Vetica, who ran the Vetica Construction Company in Ellwood City. He was 76 years old when he and his family bought the course.
"This is a dream come true," Rudy Vetica said at the time.
His sons Dave and Jim, 59 and 56, respectively, feel the same way 16 years later.
"Well, we're doing what we love to do, so it's been very enjoyable," Jim Vetica said. "We've kept this place open for 16 years. People who play here have an appreciation for the place. It's our job to keep it nice and keep it going."
It was 120 years ago that William McCool, a Beaver Falls businessman and inventor, brought golf to Beaver County and founded Beaver Valley Golf Club.
McCool, a Scotsman, became infatuated with golf after playing a few rounds in Florida. So he got together with four of his business associates and bought property in Patterson Heights.
It's believed the course only had four or five holes from 1898 through 1904 when a 9-hole configuration was competed. In 1904, the original clubhouse was constructed. It was a magnificent all-wood structure built near the current 16th tee and 17th tee box. The 17th hole as it is today was the original No. 1.
The clubhouse included dining rooms, sleeping quarters for members who wanted to stay overnight, and even a bowling alley and pool hall. That clubhouse burnt to the ground in a 1916 fire.
The current clubhouse was originally a home owned by Lemuel G. Townsend.
The original nine holes stayed intact until nine more holes were built in 1961. Much of the land used for the second nine used be to the Patterson Heights Airport, which had been a primary aviation center for Beaver County since 1927. Land where the airport used to be was sold In 1957.
"When they went to 18, they kept that integrity of the original course," Mike Bauer, the club pro at Beaver Valley Golf Club in 1998, said as the course planned its centennial celebration. "To make it all tie in, they designed the new nine to fit the original design.
"They kept the greens rather small. They laid it out with that Scottish links effect. You wouldn't want to put a 1998 fender on a Model T. For someone who didn't know the history of the course, they'd probably think it was always 18 (holes)."
No one alive knows the history of the course as well as Bauer, who served as head pro from 1977-2001.
And nearly 17 years since his last day at Beaver Valley, he's so happy that the course remains open and is being run by the Vetica family.
"That's a great family," Bauer said. "After all the years I spent there, it's nice to know that the people there now are good people and good golf people as well."