“There was no bright star in the east and no shepherds bringing
me gifts when I was born. Just an occasional mullet jumping in the
Indian River and Dr. Platts’ softly spoken voice announcing, ‘It’s
a boy.’ ”
And so begins the hand-written memoir of Robert Usher
Gladwin, who led the founding of two of the institutions
Camille S. Yates chose to write about in our annual boating
section, the Pelican Yacht Club Page 52 and the Sea Scout
Ship Edwin Binney Page 62, both in Fort Pierce.
In the interest of full disclosure, Bob was my great-uncle,
brother to my maternal grandmother. Bob’s dad, Robert Reed
Gladwin, opened the Gladwin boat building company at Moore’s Creek that later became the
famous Backus Boat Works. The elder Gladwin was also the first elected mayor of Fort Pierce
and, as chairman of the school board, oversaw construction of the landmark Fort Pierce school
buildings on Delaware Avenue. It was undoubtedly his father who instilled in Bob a devotion
to civic duty.
Besides his work with the Sea Scouts and the Pelican Yacht Club, Bob also helped acquire the
land and build the Little League park on Delaware and 25th Street and later the youth baseball
fields at Lawnwood Sports Complex. He had a knack for knowing where the extra money or
land that wasn't being used were and could easily get those in power — many of whom were
his former Scouts to accede to his requests. The late Miami Herald columnist Anne Wilder
called him “Mr. Fort Pierce.’ ”
Bob had an off-color sense of humor and didn't always play by the rules when it came to
getting something accomplished. When the Pelican ran out of money in the early days, Bob
helped run an illegal slot machine enterprise to keep the club going. I don’t think he felt too
bad about it. He often made reference to a well-known clergyman who also was running slot
machines on South Beach to raise revenue for his church.
Bob’s founding of the local Sea Scouts in 1939 was an example of how he got people on
board with his projects. He named the ship after the late Crayola crayon magnate Edwin
Binney, who spearheaded the creation of the Fort Pierce Inlet. The honor ensured that Binney's
daughter, Dorothy Binney Palmer, who became known as the godmother of the Scouts, would
continue to fund the organization throughout her lifetime, which she did. Later, while working
to form the Pelican Yacht Club, he worked it out so that the Scouts would be ensured rent-free
space on Pelican property.
Through activities like baseball and Sea Scouts, Bob believed that kids would stay out of
trouble in their formative years and become productive adults. “Bob said if you don't have a
project all you do is sit around,” said his daughter-in-law Kathy Gladwin, who transcribed his
memoirs from hand-written notes.
He might have had that in mind when I was about 14 and he game me a skiff to work on
and call my own. It turned out pretty well and he complimented me when it was finished, saying
it looked like the “Queen Mary.” Later, I persuaded him to give me one of the original
wooden Pelican sailboats he had built for the Scouts. Unfortunately, after restoring it I didn't
provide the care needed to preserve it and it succumbed to the elements.
Besides giving me the boats, Bob brought my brother and me into Sea Scouts, which became
a Monday night ritual for us throughout our high school years. Driving his wife's station
wagon, Bob would pack us and any other Scouts en route to the clubhouse on Seaway Drive.
During those Monday night sessions, we learned things like tying knots, saluting and “piping
the skipper aboard.”
But the real fun came on Saturdays when we could take the Sunfish sailboats out several
still in service or on Sundays when we raced in regattas. I don't think you can replicate the
feeling of independence a young kid gets handling a boat solo.
Despite Bob's civic stature, he didn't come off as a stuffed shirt. He often wore work jumpsuits
and spent much of his life doing much of the spade work for his various projects. Well
into his 70s, he continued mowing the lawn around the Sea Scout cabin. His fingers were often
dirty from the work of his civic duty.
When Bob died in the late 1980s, my dad, former editor at the Fort Pierce Tribune, wrote a
column about his funeral. In laying him out, the folks at the funeral home had made a mistake,
my dad contended. They had cleaned his fingers, he said, and too much of the soil of St. Lucie
County was in them from projects he helped build.
Reach Publisher and Editor Gregory Enns at
772.940.9005 or enns@indianrivermag.com.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
A TREASURE TO READ
4
Publisher & Editor
Gregory Enns
772.940.9005
enns@indianrivermag.com
Associate Publisher
Allen Osteen
Contributing Writers
Janie Gould,
Gloria Taylor Weinberg,
Camille S. Yates,
Susan Burgess, Willi Miller,
Catherine Enns Grigas,
Sandra Thurlow,
Pat Trowbridge
Photography
Ed Drondoski,
Bob Dobens
Design
Michelle L. Burney
Editing
Jay Goley, Julie Blomquist,
Judith Collins
Web Editor
Michael Burney
Cover Photo
Columbus Foundation
To Advertise
772.940.9005 or e-mail
advertise@indianrivermag.com
Advertising Representatives
Tommie McDermid
772.359.2669
tommie@indianrivermag.com
Yvonne Calvert
561.706.4542
yvonne@indianrivermag.com
Sales Assistant
Laurie Cox
772.466.3346
To subscribe
Visit indianriverstore.com
or send $20 check with
recipient’s mailing address to
Indian River, 308 Ave. A,
Fort Pierce, FL 34950
All address changes must be
made in writing to the above
address or by e-mailing
subscribe@indianrivermag.com
On the Web
www.indianrivermag.com
Indian River Magazine Inc. is a locally
owned company based at 308 Ave.
A in Fort Pierce, Fla. Indian River
magazine publishes five times a year:
early October, late November, mid-
January, early March and early May.
All material contained herein is copyrighted
by Indian River Magazine Inc.
Call to duty
/www.indianriverstore.com
/www.indianrivermag.com
/indianriverstore.com
/www.indianrivermag.com
link
link
link
link
link
link