See Spot run: Derby Lane diners wrap up a season

By LENNIE BENNETT

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 4, 2001

Went to the dogs Saturday night and it was fun. The greyhounds ran their last race of the season at Derby Lane, moving to Tampa for six months, and I went to the farewell dinner at the Derby Club with friends Louise Weaver and Tom Stovall.

Though not a habitue, when I have been to Derby Lane, I usually have been outside with the "groundlings" draped at the railing as the dogs zoom by. They are beautiful creatures.

Anyway, being in the Derby Club is a bit like being in one of the boxes at Tropicana Field or Raymond James Stadium, with remote televisions, food and libation. Lots of comfort and less immediacy. I could get used to it.

Joining us were John and Leslie Osterweil, soon to depart on a trip to California and then a cruise around the Polynesian islands, and their son David. At the adjacent table were Mary Margaret Winning, a member, like Ms. Weaver, of the family that has owned Derby Lane for decades, and her friends Dan and Harriet Harvey, Madelon Healey, Jim Sirmons, Joyce Wilson, and Rick and Kelly Ware. Mrs. Winning's son, Richard Winning, an executive with the track, stopped by to visit, but didn't linger since he and his family were preparing for a trip to Cancun.

Did I wager? Yes, I did, about $6 total, though I did not choose the dogs on which to bet. My problem is that I wanted them all to win. In my book, there is no such thing as a favorite.

If you like happy endings, consider this love story of Penny Godwin Ridings and Jonathan Johns. It began, then ended, more than 60 years ago when they were children at the old Forest Hills Elementary School here in the late 1930s.

"He was my boyfriend, I guess," said Mrs. Ridings, "if you can call it that when you're that young."

The Johns family moved away, the two wrote for a time, then stopped, though he stayed in touch with her cousin Bob Ulrich, one of his best friends. Life went on, with marriage to other people and children. They reconnected last fall, when he came to town for her Aunt Esther Ulrich's 100th birthday celebration. Both divorced, they started seeing each other. Their first date was at Ted Peters.

He returned to Pennsylvania but called her every day. When she went to her granddaughter's college graduation in May, he drove 400 miles to see her and popped The Question.

"We're kind of like teenagers," she said.

The wedding is Saturday, at the Coast Guard station in downtown St. Petersburg "because it reminded me of Hawaii," she said, a place she loves and where her son now lives. A group of women friends with whom she has dinner every week is preparing the food for the reception. Everyone will wear leis. Her sister Gina Abeles will be matron of honor, and former St. Petersburg Mayor Bob Ulrich, back from a trip to Europe, will be best man.

"(Jonathan) was my first boyfriend," said Mrs. Ridings. "He will definitely be the last."

Thanks to all of you party planners who have sent information for the fifth annual On the Town Social Calendar. The calendar lists events from September through June, and if you are helping to plan one, please send your listing by Aug. 1. Include the name of the event, the organization sponsoring or benefiting from it, date, time, location and ticket cost. Also include a contact telephone number that we may publish. Mail to Lennie Bennett, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg Fl. 33731 or e-mail to lennie@sptimes.com.

Please be specific about the e-mail's contents. Like many of you, I receive a disturbing amount of junk mail that I never open. The calendar will appear in late August or early September.

Saturday

EAST MEETS WEST: Sunken Gardens is the site of a fundraiser for ayouth baseball team invited to Takamatsu, Japan, to play in the Friendship Games in August. The games are part of a 40th anniversary celebration of the sister-city relationship between St. Petersburg and Takamatsu. The fundraiser will include refreshments with a Japanese flavor and entertainment by Yuko Daiko. 7:30-10 p.m. 1824 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg. Adults, $20; children 11 or younger, $11. 528-4628.

July 16

A PARTY FOR THEATER UNITY: Join representatives from the American StageTheatre Company, Palladium Theater, Mahaffey Theater, Eckerd Theater Company of Ruth Eckerd Hall and LiveArts Peninsula Foundation for a gathering to "connect, exchange ideas and news, create a sense of unity and camaraderie among those who toil in this exciting but difficult field," says the invitation. All that and refreshments, too. Backstage Lounge at the Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. 8-10 p.m. No reservations required. livearts2001@cs.com.

July 29

A TASTE OF ELEGANCE: Second annual wine tasting to benefit Brookwood Florida, a residential and counseling agency for abused and neglected girls. The party will be held at Lewis House, on the Eckerd College campus in southwest St. Petersburg. Lewis House is the headquarters for the Academy of Senior Professional Professionals at Eckerd College, a group of accomplished people from all avocations and professions. ASPEC members Patricia and Robert Sheldon will prepare a spread of gourmet food, and state Rep. Leslie Waters, R-Seminole, a former Brookwood board member, will be the celebrity wine decanter (as in the person who pours the wine, not the vessel from which wine is poured). 7-9:30 p.m. $60. 822-4789.

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