COEUR d'ALENE — As a love letter to 50 years of teeing up together at Ponderosa Springs Golf Course, the women’s league preserved a part of their history by burying a time capsule.  

"We wanted to mark this milestone in a way that would reach beyond the fairways and greens we play today,” the letter to future golfers read. 

The ladies gathered at their 50th anniversary celebration to put photos, lists of past champions, martini golf tees and other golfing materials to capture the memories of players building bonds over rounds on the links Thursday. 

“We just wanted to preserve our little piece of Coeur d’Alene,” league president Cindy Jordan said. 

When she joined the club five years ago, Jordan was moved by the connections the golfers have to their North Idaho roots. 

“They’ve lived here their entire lives and they’re in their 70s now,” Jordan said. “To hear those stories of how places used to be and how families know each other, it’s just so interesting.” 

League vice president Debbie Shipman said a recent trip to visit family in Nebraska sparked the idea of preserving the fellowship and fun the golfers have shared.

“Fifty years is a long time; we should do something special, and the idea of a time capsule popped into my brain,” Shipman said. “We're hoping that in 10 years, they can dig it up, update it and bury it again to hopefully keep the history alive.” 

The close of the letter to future members of the women's league shares a wish that the love of golfing and togetherness will carry into the future of the group.

 "Golf is not just a game — it's a bond that unites us across years, across stories and across the timeless beauty of this course," the letter read.

    Items that went into the time capsule buried at the ninth hole by the women's golf league at Ponderosa Springs Golf Course to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the group.