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Early resident spins Jungle Prada yarns

By LORRIE LYKINS
Published August 27, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Alligators sometimes followed folks home after a day of fishing on Boca Ciega Bay.

Babe Ruth used to hit some mean slices on the golf course, sending balls into the street along Country Club Road.

These were among the tidbits shared by Joan Applewood, one of the earliest residents of the Jungle Prada neighborhood. She entertained other residents with an evening of storytelling about the area's past at last week's neighborhood association meeting.

Applewood recalled one day in particular, when her mother heard a swishing sound as she walked home from an afternoon of fishing. Turns out the swishing was a gator who had meandered back to the house behind her, creating quite a ruckus.

"The police chief said he couldn't shoot it because it wasn't big enough, so my father had to make sure he had his .22 rifle ready whenever we went out of the house after that," said Applewood, 85.

Back when Admiral Farragut Academy was the Jungle Country Club Hotel, collecting stray golf balls from the nearby course was a favorite pastime for Applewood and her sister.

"When we saw them land, we would grab them and run into the house," Applewood said.

Then one day an employee of the golf course knocked on the front door of her home and asked her father to stop the children from retrieving any more of Babe Ruth's misfired golf balls.

"When I was a girl, we didn't trick-or-treat at Halloween or things like that, but we did enjoy a few pranks," Applewood said.

The most memorable prank? Picking up a few of the city's famous green benches and placing them on the streetcar tracks.

"Oh, the streetcar conductor would have to stop the streetcar and climb down and move the benches, and we'd be hiding in the bushes giggling."

The turnout for last week's Jungle Prada neighborhood association at Saffron's Restaurant was the biggest president Paul Traxler has seen in quite awhile.

"Maybe it's because it's the first meeting we've had in six months or more likely it's Miss Applewood," Traxler said.

Neighborhood meetings and events:

- The Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association's Crime Watch will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 126 11th Ave NE.

- The Riviera Bay Civic Association will hold a traffic calming meeting for Section 1 of the neighborhood at 7 p.m. Thursday at St. James United Methodist Church, 845 87th Ave N. Only those residents between 89th Avenue and 98th Avenue are asked to attend.

- The Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association board will meet at 5 p.m. Sept. 5 at 1947 Eighth St. N to discuss ongoing neighborhood activities, projects and events. All residents are welcome to attend and share their opinions, but only board members may vote.

- The Council of Neighborhood Associations meets the third Wednesday of every month at the Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 20. Doors Open at 6:30 p.m.; the meeting begins at 7 p.m.

- The annual Snell Isle Sells neighborhood garage sale is set for Sept. 9 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Families throughout Snell Isle will have all sorts of bargains for sale.

- The Harris Park Neighborhood Association will hold a Sept. 18 candidates forum at 7:30 p.m. at the Vietnamese Alliance Church, 44th Avenue N at 21st Street. The event is open to any candidate in any political race wishing to attend.

Readers wishing to submit neighborhood news and meeting information for the Neighborhood Notebook may contact Lorrie Lykins by e-mail at SPTimeslistings@yahoo.com The deadline for items submitted for inclusion in the Sunday edition of the Neighborhood Times is Wednesday.

[Last modified August 26, 2006, 20:54:38]