Dorothy Westerman
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 12/05) - What once was a source of fun for children and adults in Yellowknife sits silent and vandalized.

Bought for a token $1 last year by the Yellowknife Kiwanis Club, the Wade Hamer mini-golf course didn't open this season because the club is closing for lack of members.

The Wade Hamer mini golf stand on Franklin Avenue sits silent this year after the Yellowknife Kiwanis Club decided to pull funding.

"We did try to find other service groups interested in taking it over, but we weren't successful, so it will be returned back to the city," said Darcy Fleury, a Kiwanis member.

The golf course was built in 1990 by the Wade Hamer Foundation which was established after the 1987 death of former Yellowknifer Ter Hamer's son Wade in an industrial accident.

Hamer left Yellowknife last year for a new home in Peace River, Alberta and management of the course was passed to the Kiwanis Club.

"We are extremely proud of the facility we built," Hamer said.

"I don't think you will see any mini-golf as unique as this is. It will be there long after I'm gone because it was made so well."

Hamer said at least 8,000 people annually visited the course during a season.

"I am hoping to find a group or organization who will take it on," he said.

"It is a fabulous facility and if run by volunteers, it will earn a reasonable amount," Hamer added.

"My only criteria is that it remains a family venue."