BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

INDEPENDENCE — Sunday was a day of celebration for the Independence Tennis Association as it officially opened its renovated clubhouse at Riverside Park.

Ken Brown, Independence High School tennis coach and a long-standing supporter of local tennis activities, cut the ceremonial ribbon that opened the clubhouse to the public for the first time since arson destroyed the nearly 70-year-old facility on May 29, 2008.

Before cutting the ribbon, which was held by members of the Independence Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, Brown said the arson fire didn’t burn the spirit or character of Independence.

“I was notified of the fire at about 2:30 in the morning,” said Brown, recalling the early-morning telephone call from the Independence Fire Department. “When I got to the park, the building looked to be in awful shape. When the sun came up hours later, it revealed a building that was in worse shape than what I had thought. But, I realized that it was just trophies and old rackets. That’s when I put it in perspective: it could have been a lot worse.”

The opening of the Independence Tennis Association Clubhouse also coincides with an attempt by Independence tennis buffs to be declared as the best tennis town in America. Such a designation is being offered by the U.S. Tennis Association, which held an online poll in July to name the top 10 finalists in a nationwide competition. Independence was among the smallest of the towns in the online voting but garnered enough votes to be declared among the top three finalists. The other two towns to be named finalists are Ojal, Calif., and Midland, Mich. The winner of the “Best Tennis Town in America” competition will be named on Sunday, Sept. 6, during an evening session of the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament in New York City.

Brown plans to be in attendance at the U.S. Open that evening as will 22 other representatives from the Independence community.

Pat Corbitt, president of the Independence Chamber of Commerce, said that should Independence be named the top tennis town in America, then the community will have a bigger celebration — larger than Sunday’s ribbon-cutting ceremonies — to recognize the honor.

“We’ll come back from Independence and create a bigger racket,” said Corbitt.

The Independence Tennis Association Clubhouse includes a large room filled with memorabilia from Independence tennis history, including recognition of state champions from Independence High School. Westhoff Construction of Cherryvale was the primary contractor that was responsible for largely erecting a new building within the charred confines of the sandstone walls of the 1940-era building. The structure was built as a clubhouse by the Works Progress Administration but was used as a Montgomery County Museum after tennis’ popularity waned in Independence following World War II. The building was made available to the Independence Tennis Association in 2000 when the museum was relocated to the Independence Museum in downtown Independence.