Keeping the peace
as well as providing superior service was a difficult task. These two skills and countless other responsibilities were entrusted to the Club superintendent. Men such as J. P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer and Henry Hyde knew exactly how they wanted the Clubhouse run. Yet it took two seasons and two superintendents to finally discover the perfect man for the job.
Ernest Gilbert Grob was hired during the inaugural season of the Jekyll Island Club as a clerk.
Grob's aptitude and resourcefulness proved to be above expectations, and the executive committee showed their appreciation by raising his salary to $200 per month plus room and board. This bonus successfully ensured his loyalty to the Club. Grob returned a second year to run the Clubhouse operations, and continued to hold the position for 42 years.
Ernest Grob also had the important responsibility of hiring the seasonal staff to operate the Club during the season. Many of his employees came from northern resorts, such as the Malvern in Maine, which Grob managed during the summer.
Ernest Grob was a mainstay on this island, and was highly respected by employees and Club members alike. He operated the Jekyll Island Club as a large country estate rather than a hotel, and this was the manner in which the members wanted to be
treated while at their hunting club.
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Bookkeeper's Cottage
Also known as Stephen's Cottage, the Bookkeeper's Cottage was constructed around 1900.
Julius A. Falk was hired in 1897 as bookkeeper and assistant treasurer, as well as Ernest Grob's Assistant Superintendent.
Falk remained on the island year round, and in the absence of the superintendent, managed the island for Mr. Grob.
Panel funded by a donation from the Friends of Historic Jekyll Island, Inc.
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