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On the town

Savoring jam and the Grand Tetons

By MARY JANE PARK
Published August 14, 2005

Floridians with any brain cells left in the spongy, soggy swelter are looking to cooler climes, but with little relief. Summer visitors to North Carolina have reported heat waves in the hills, and friends just back from Montana experienced triple-digit temperatures.

Vacationing in the far West, longtime St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Doniel and his wife, Kim, first had to adjust to the higher altitude in the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming, then to the unseasonable warmth.

They rented a condominium near the Teton Pines Country Club, where Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, own a place.

Former St. Petersburg Mayor Don Jones and his wife, Mary, have a summer house near the Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club and entertained the Doniels at a cookout. No need to decorate: Doniel said the Jones' place looks out on the Grand Tetons, a spectacular view.

Those mountains figure prominently in Shane, George Stevens' 1953 classic Western. Doniel is a big fan of the movie, and he said he went to every site he could find where the filming was done, even finding some cabins used in the production.

They were "dilapidated but still standing," he said. The couple were away for about 10 days and got to visit briefly with Chip and Ginger Jones, who arrived the day the Doniels headed home to St. Petersburg.

Souvenirs for the Doniels' neighbors back home were jars of huckleberry jam. Doniel says that in Jackson Hole, the big seasonal treat is huckleberry milkshakes.

St. Petersburg debutantes are winding up their summer activities before heading back to college.

Talk about a killer pool party; on Aug. 6, the young women and their dates spent much of the evening trying to solve the ongoing murder mystery that unfolded at the waterfront home of Lela and Blanton Garnett.

The sleuthing was all in fun, and guests also enjoyed lots of island food and steel drum music.

Additional hosts were Terri and Breck Amick , Gail and Mike Cannova , Lisa and William Brooks , Nancy Rutland and Helen and Peter Wallace.

Next up was a Wednesday scrapbook party at Whim-so-Doodle. Hostesses were Nancy Keller , Sandy Powers , Susan Regan , Mary Ellen Shevlin and Nancy H. Thomas.

Hosts for a sunset cruise set for Friday were Julie and Rick Bannon , Shirley and Dave DeGroot , Charo and George Echarte , Doreen and Phil McLeod , Jill and Dr. Pete Orobello and Carol and Dr. Ed Swanick.

Selma Robinson-Ayers joined a number of other women from the Tampa Bay area earlier in the month at a three-day retreat for the Tampa Bay West Central Florida Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction. The event took place at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort the weekend of Aug. 5-7 and focused on a variety of objectives that included enhancing the lives of teens and older citizens, improving the status of women, and community beautification and partnerships.

Amers Ayers was honored at a special birthday celebration Aug. 6 during a luau for participants and their husbands, whom the chapter calls ladies and lords.

Other bay area attendees included Naomi and Jessie Nesbitt , Theresa and James Goss , Annette and Phillip Faison , Ferne and Junious Moore , Dawnette and James Frazer , Alma Singletary , Devonne Hunter , Christine Frazer , Jean Miller and Florine Walker.

Mike Keefer, executive director of the Greater Florida Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America, and Maggi McQueen and her daughter, Annemarie Anders , recently returned from the LFA's annual meeting and leadership institute in Anchorage, Alaska.

The chapter received a research fund development award, and vice president Cindy Coney of Tampa was elected secretary of the national board of directors.

Those travelers did get some respite from the heat and humidity. McQueen said they went out a few days before the conference began and enjoyed high temperatures in the upper 60s, lows in the mid 50s.

LFA's mission is to improve awareness, diagnosis and treatment of lupus; support individuals and families affected by the disease; and find the cause and cure.

Mary Jane Park can be reached at 727 893-8267; fax (727) 893-8675; e-mail park@sptimes.com P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.

[Last modified August 14, 2005, 00:53:19]