Craig and D’Arcy “Mee” Sloane love everything about Altadena: the community, the atmosphere, the foothill setting, even the regular bear visits.

“We love the small town feel, the beautiful architecture dating back over a hundred years,” Sloane said. “D’Arcy’s family home on Mendocino Lane, which survived the fires, is across the street from the famed Balian Mansion, built in 1916. We’re regular hikers of the Alta Crest trails behind our house. We love the free summer concerts at Farnsworth Park, some of such great local restaurants as Alta Eats, Miya and Bernee, Altadena Hardware, and of course, the country club.”

That would be the Altadena Town and Country Club, where Sloane served as general manager for 27 years. Time enough to see generations of members grow up, and thousands of couples marry out in the courtyard or in the clubhouse’s two ballrooms.

So when the 114-year-old institution was reduced to rubble in this month’s Eaton Fire, Sloane was joined by a multitude of mourners.

Sprawling 27,000 square feet at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, the club offered its members amenities such as a pool, tennis and pickleball courts, a lounge and two restaurants. Al Jolson, Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable golfed her. Pancho Gonzalez and Billie Jean King tapped its tennis courts.

But it was what was open to the public that drew people to the club, from families celebrating milestones, to schools, businesses, and nonprofits espousing everything from music and education to social issues and cancer support.

“Each and every family event has a cherished place in my heart,” Sloane said. “Easter, Mother’s Day, our Fourth of July fireworks celebrations for the community, Christmas and Hannukah celebrations. Observing from a distance, the thousands of couples who have tied the knot at the club is also a highlight, the excitement, the beaming parents, friends and family coming together to love and support the couple.”

Not to mention his relationships with members through the years.

“One of my greatest joys comes from seeing the kids I worked with when I started at the club back in 1998, seeing them evolve from rambunctious children to college graduates, responsible working adults, establishing their own family, and becoming active members of the club,” Sloane said. “Creating that next generation of active and involved club members has special meaning.”

Sloane said they are contacting clients to offer them a full refund and help in finding another venue.

“We’ve been in contact with many local clubs, from the University Club (in Pasadena) to further away venues such as the Castaways in Burbank, and we have been directing our clients in these directions.”

And while the image of an American flag posted on the burned remains of the club’s arched entrance is a haunting reminder of what’s been lost, Sloane said the club and it’s 120 employees are fully committed to rebuilding.

“While it may take two to four years to build a new clubhouse, our intention is to re-open services to our members as soon as the evacuation order is lifted and we can complete the process of assessing damage to the tennis/pickleball courts and pool areas; services are restored, electric, gas, water; and the appropriate level of demolition and clean-up is accomplished that would eliminate any danger from toxins and hazards, and allow our members to safely participate in those activities.”

Juan Martinez deferred his daughter Camila’s quinceañera last year because he was setting up a new business, European Coach Works of San Marcos. The family decided to celebrate a Sweet 16 instead and chose Altadena Town and Country Club because “have you been there? It was a beautiful place.”

Now the family is scrambling to find a new venue.

“It’s just a nightmare, a terrible situation everyone is in,” Martinez said. “But at the end of the day, we didn’t lose our house, we didn’t lose any family members, while a lot of other people lost their entire livelihoods.”

Event and wedding planner Jennifer Laskey of Los Angeles is offering her expertise for free to help people find replacement venues at jenn@redlightspecialevents.com.

Kelly G. Richardson, president of the club’s board of directors, said the club was his family’s happy place, a point of refuge enjoyed first by their children and now their grandchildren.

Members for 32 years, “our kids learned to swim at the club, and our daughter was married there in one of our happiest days ever,” Richardson said. “Many of our family highlights centered around our beautiful club.”

The work to return the club to be the cultural, social, and historic landmark that it is won’t be quick or easy, he added.

“The club is our members, not a building, and we are supporting each other in different ways until that building is back, better than ever.”

As for the Sloanes, even though they expect to be unable to return to their heat- and smoke-damaged home for months, they count themselves fortunate.

“ATCC and Altadena is strong community, together, we will come back even stronger than before,” Craig Sloane said. “I’m in it for the long haul.”