YACHT CLUBS
Known for elaborate buffets, the chef and staff at the Pelican pay attention to detail. The Pelican dining room offers breathtaking views of the water. Diners
frequently see bottlenose dolphin playing in the lagoon while watching the sun go down.
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TREASURE COAST BOATING
times. Gary Roberts, a member, former director and longtime
friend of the Gladwin family, likes to reminisce about the
stories he heard from Bob Gladwin. “Someone decided to buy
some slot machines to solve the club’s cash flow problem,”
says Roberts. “It worked, although it wasn’t legal. Whenever
word was given, they had to move them out, and fast, usually
to the third floor of Frank Rowell’s home. Bob said they never
got caught and the club became a complete success.”
In 1953, the Pelican Yacht Club Women’s Auxiliary was
formed to help raise money for improvements. Loretta Purdy
was its first president. According to a letter written by Marion
Ryan, she said, “Bud and I joined the club in 1956… there
wasn’t much help in those days, and as usual, very little
money.” She remembered when the ladies took turns serving
the buffet dinners on Sunday evenings. Also, “We gave parties
— cookouts — and made money. For what? To buy kitchen
pots and pans and to fix up the restrooms.”
Barbara Gates, wife of deceased charter member Philip
Gates Sr., later joined the Women’s Auxiliary. “The ladies usually
had 20 tables filled with bridge players. That was the time
when we wore hats and gloves. But I also remember when the
gloves came off and we got together to paint the bathroom,”
she says. “We had dinner parties with items that we auctioned
off, white elephant sales and Christmas eggnog parties to raise
money for the club. We just did the things that needed to be
done, because the club didn’t have any money.” >>
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