History

Longfellow opened for business in September of 1972 with four indoor tennis courts. It was an immediate hit and grew rapidly during the tennis boom of the early 1970s. The club quickly added two more indoor courts and four indoor/outdoor courts under an air structure. Due to increased competition coupled with a decreased demand for tennis, by 1980 membership dropped and the club experienced financial challenges.

As fate would have it, also in September 1972, Laury Hammel created the largest junior program and tennis instructional business in New England at an indoor tennis club in Newton. Two years later Laury moved his tennis business to Watertown where Laury’s tennis programs continued to grow rapidly. In 1978 he began working with Myke Farricker.

In 1980, Laury and Myke purchased a club that at the time was called the Longfellow Racquet Club. The expanded tennis facilities and larger staff enabled Longfellow to accommodate remarkable growth of their programs. The name then became the Longfellow Tennis Club.

In 1984, Longfellow expanded its facilities to include cardio and strength fitness facilities and programs, indoor/outdoor aquatics, basketball, and other activities and officially entered the business of health and fitness. We changed our name to the Longfellow Tennis and Fitness Club.

Longfellow is always looking to respond to the needs of our community, and as a result we have been in a state of almost continual construction at one location or another since 1980. In 1985, Longfellow took another major step and purchased what is now the Longfellow Tennis Club/Natick and turned one of the buildings into the Longfellow Health Club/Natick and kept the other building as tennis.

Longfellow has now grown to be a group of highly respected multi-purpose health and tennis clubs and currently is the fourth largest independent health club organization in New England, and the forty-eighth largest in the U.S. We are now called the Longfellow Health Clubs, and include businesses at two campuses located in Sudbury/Wayland and Natick, as well as affiliated businesses in Franklin, MA (Adirondack Club) and Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake Tennis and Health Club). We serve 12,000 members and an additional 10,000 clients every year. Longfellow has become a recognized industry leader in innovative business practices, social responsibility, and community service.

Owners

The Longfellow Health Clubs are locally owned and operated by Laury Hammel and Myke Farricker who have been working together since 1978. In 1980 they incorporated as a business and purchased what is now known as the Longfellow Tennis and Health Club in Wayland, MA.

Laury and Myke have been innovators in the health club industry and were founding members of the International Health and Racquet Association (IHRSA). In 1980 they created a purpose statement for Longfellow that included making the world a better place–which at the time was quite rare. Laury and Myke love coming to work every day and are thoroughly immersed in bringing health to everyone in our community. They welcome your thoughts and comments and can be reached at lhammel@longfellowhealthclubs.com and mfarricker@longfellowhealthclubs.com.

LAURY HAMMEL

OWNER LONGFELLOW HEALTH CLUBS

Laury was born and raised in Salt Lake City Utah. His parents Lee and Ruby Hammel managed the iconic Salt Lake Tennis Club in the 50’s and 60’s that was founded in 1912. Both Lee and Ruby were accomplished tennis players and highly respected tennis professionals. Both were elected into the Utah Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 2000, the Lee and Ruby Hammel Family were chosen to be the National USTA Tennis Family of the Year!

Laury played at the University of Utah tennis team. He was a highly ranked tennis player as a junior, open player, and now senior player, having won over ten #1 New England rankings in every division from the 45’s to the 65’s.

Laury has been coaching nationally ranked junior tennis players since 1972. He has personally taught more New England #1 ranked tennis players than any coach in New England. Laury has been a leader and public speaker about tennis, management, local business, and health in numerous organizations and conferences.

In 1977, Laury founded the Handi-Racket Tennis Program which is the nation’s longest running tennis program for children and adults with special needs. Laury also served for five years on a pro bono basis as the Executive Director of the Sportsmen’s Tennis Club, an inner-city tennis club teaching young people tennis and life skills.

In 1988, Laury founded the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts Boston (SBN). In 1991 he co-founded the national business group, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR). In 2001, he co-founded the national organization the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).

Laury currently serves as the Executive Director of SBN and he was instrumental in guiding SBN to develop the most successful green certification program for independent businesses. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA). He co-authored the book Growing Local Value, which dives deep into case studies of how small businesses can make a big difference in our communities and our world.

Laury has five children who all grew up and worked at Longfellow. You might see him in the pool or playing tennis with one of his six grandchildren.

MYKE FARRICKER

CO-OWNER LONGFELLOW HEALTH CLUBS

Myke Farricker has been the business partner and co-owner of the Longfellow Health Clubs with Laury Hammel since 1980. Myke and Laury first started working together at the Mount Auburn Tennis Center in 1978, where Myke began his tennis and fitness career by working his way up from the front desk to become a top certified tennis professional and a certified squash professional. When Myke and Laury purchased Longfellow, he became the manager of the Longfellow Tennis Club in Wayland, and is currently the General Manager of the three Longfellow Health Clubs in Wayland and Natick, MA.

Myke has been responsible for the installation and removal of Longfellow’s air structures since 1981. As a result he is an expert on the proper maintenance of Longfellow’s unique and important air structures. Myke also has been the construction director of all of the numerous construction projects that Longfellow has taken on over the past thirty-seven years.

Myke has been the Official Referee of the USTA National Boy’s 16 Championships at Longfellow for 37 years. He and his wife Carol are avid dancers and he has managed and participated in Longfellow’s highly popular Dance Program. Myke and his daughter Zoe have successfully competed in dance competitions in NE and nationally.

Since 2001 Myke has been the co-chair of the Positive Spin for ALS, now known as the Ride to Defeat ALS, to honor his brother Pete, who passed away from ALS in 2001 at the age of 45. The bike ride raises funds for patient care and research, and has raised close to $3 million in the 21 years of its operation.

Timeline

1972 *Laury Hammel founds the business now known as the Longfellow Health Clubs
1980 *Laury Hammel and Myke Farricker purchase the Longfellow Racquet Club and build New England’s premier tennis club!
*Longfellow Purpose Statement Written
1984 *Longfellow builds an indoor/outdoor pool and converts one indoor tennis court into a fitness area and group exercise studio and multipurpose wood floor and the new name is Longfellow Tennis and Fitness Club
1985 *Longfellow purchases the Natick Racquet Club. Five tennis courts remain as the Natick Racquet Club. Six of the indoor tennis courts are converted into a fitness club and an indoor soccer center–it is re-named the Natick Sports Club.
1987 *The opening of the first holistic health center created inside a health club in the USA — the Longfellow Health Center at the Wayland Longfellow Campus
1993 *Longfellow leads IHRSA “Service Breakthrough Project” that includes ten of the top clubs in the nation.
1994 *Longfellow Sports Club in Natick opens new aquatics center and new locker rooms and becomes a family club
1998 *Longfellow Children’s Center in Wayland opens
1999 *Laury partners with Bob and Suzanne Hinrichs to design, build, and finance the Adirondack Club
2001 *Four new indoor/outdoor courts are open for business at the Natick Racquet Club and the New England Academy of Tennis opens
*The Longfellow Club in Wayland takes out one indoor tennis court and adds another indoor court under the air structure. A new fitness center is built and two new squash courts are constructed.
2005 *Lumina Mind/Body Studios opens at the Longfellow Wayland campus
*Rebound Physical Therapy opens at the Longfellow Health Club in Natick
2007 *Longfellow Zip Tennis Zone opens at the Longfellow Wayland campus
*Lumina Mind/Body Studios doubles in size with new larger yoga studio and new Stott Pilates Studio opens
*Longfellow installs a cogeneration unit at the Longfellow Health Club in Natick to reduce its electrical energy bills
2008 *The Adirondack Club constructs a second bubble over its four outdoor courts bringing its total of indoor tennis courts to eight and the total of indoor tennis courts at The Longfellow Clubs to 24.
2009 *The Longfellow Club in Wayland constructs one of the largest solar hot water heating systems in New England.
2010 *The Longfellow Club in Wayland takes out its squash courts and brings back another tennis court, bringing the total number of indoor courts at Wayland to eight for a total of 25 indoor tennis courts at three locations.
2011 * Longfellow installs 48 solar thermal collector panels on the club’s roof to supply heated water for showers and pool
2012 *Core Values Mandala is designed and featured prominently at every club
*The Natick Racquet Club remodels both Men’s and Women’s Locker Rooms
*The Longfellow Club in Wayland remodels the Women’s Locker Rooms
2013 *Laury purchases the Salt Lake Swimming and Tennis Club
2014 *Longfellow installs 564 photovoltaic solar panels on the club’s roof to provide additional electricity for the club
2016 *Longfellow celebrates 45 years of business!
2017 *Longfellow changes name to Longfellow Health Clubs
*Salt Lake Swimming & Tennis Club becomes the Salt Lake Tennis & Health Club, and new health club opens up on site.