Danny Elkins grew up in Jungle Terrace, played Little League in Azalea Park and learned to play golf on the Pasadena course. He is a three time Pasadena Club Champion and a two time St. Petersburg Amateur Champion. Click here to see a list of his accomplishments. Today, he owns the Georgia Golf Center in Roswell, GA where he is an award-winning golf instructor.
Danny writes:
Steve:
I recently came across the Jungle Country Club History Project website and have sincerely enjoyed viewing the stories and pictures of the west St. Petersburg neighborhoods in which I spent my youth and early adulthood.
My college degree is in American History, so the access to all of this information about the Jungle/Azalea area has made for some wonderful reading. I have enjoyed all of it, and I particularly enjoyed seeing the overlay of the Jungle Golf Course on the existing neighborhood.
My impression is that you have some interest in the stories of the people who have lived in "The Jungle". I hope my memories will add something to the tableau.
My college degree is in American History, so the access to all of this information about the Jungle/Azalea area has made for some wonderful reading. I have enjoyed all of it, and I particularly enjoyed seeing the overlay of the Jungle Golf Course on the existing neighborhood.
My impression is that you have some interest in the stories of the people who have lived in "The Jungle". I hope my memories will add something to the tableau.
Danny Elkins has written numerous articles about golf on the sports pages of the St. Petersburg Times. Today, he shares his memories of growing up on the west side of St. Petersburg.
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| St. Petersburg Times, June 5.1980 |
Danny Elkins
Early Years
My parents moved to St. Pete in 1957 when I was not quite a year old. They lived on 35th avenue between Park Street and 80th street until 1992. I lived with them until 1979 and moved away from St. Petersburg in 1985. I attended Azalea Elementary, Azalea Junior High, Dixie Hollins HS, St. Pete JC and USF.
As a young child perhaps my most vivid early experiences revolve around my time spent at the Jungle recreation center at the corner of 80th street and 34th avenue, now the site of what was originally the Mets spring training complex, since occupied by the Rays. Tom Yankus and Rita O'Brien ( I think that is correct. She may have been related to Bill Freehan) were incredible mentors to the neighborhood kids. We were very sad to see the center close.
I had the good fortune to reconnect with Tom a few years ago and was able to remind him of how much he meant to us kids. It was a life highlight for me. I believe Rita is now Rita Rewiski but I have not spoken with her since the Jungle Rec days.
The Jungle in the 60's
All of the kids residing in the Jungle in the 60's rode their bicycles virtually everywhere. One of my earliest memories of living on 35th Avenue is that the original paving in my neighborhood was of good sized rocks embedded in tar which made falling off a bicycle a pretty miserable experience! A certain rite of passage in those days was flying down the overpass on Tyrone Boulevard for the first time!
From my house I could ride my bike to; fish at Jungle Prada, play capture the flag at Abercrombie Park, bowl at Crossroads Bowling Alley, get a submarine sandwich and a Frostie Root Beer while I played pinball at Williams Submarines (still there!), and play Little League baseball in the Azalea Little League.
Azalea Little League
At that time the Azalea LL baseball games were played at the park across from Azalea Elementary. ECI was on the other side. Remarkably, the field where we played most of our games has not changed since the 60's! It still has one open air bench on each side, no fence in the outfield, an all dirt infield and no bleachers. (At least it was still the same as of about five years ago.....) My best friend during the Little League days was Marc Peltz, who I believe still owns the family business now located on 22nd Avenue N.
I can still remember the names of the coaches that I had for all five years in that league. Lou Ioia and Bill Manning probably never knew how much of a positive influence they had on myself and my teammates.
Pasadena Golf Club
In 1970-71 I transitioned from baseball to golf. From 1971-1985 I was either a member or an employee at Pasadena Golf Club, now Pasadena Yacht and CC. My route to the course would take me down Park Street at least four, and often seven, days a week for 15 years.
While I knew there had been a golf course located behind the Farragut Academy, I had NO idea it was a Tillinghast golf course! That was a stunning revelation for me. If you are a golfer you know that Tilly is one of the most revered course architects of all time. It's sad that economic conditions led to its demise. Had it survived it would most certainly have been the premier country club in the city. Of course, the neighborhood would have been very different.
Changing Landscape
As stated above, I grew up playing at Pasadena Golf Club. When we joined in 1971 the golf course was quite a bit different than the present layout. And as I've come to find out, substantially different from the original layout when it opened in the 20's.
There were no interior houses in 1971, and the driving range was located in front of the now closed snack shack, known as Stu's Palace, between what is now number five green and number six tee. When the golf course was changed in 1974 the current sixth tee became the first tee and the current fifth green was the ninth. The driving range was relocated to the old twelfth hole at the street light to accommodate the condos that are still at the sixth tee.
Pasadena was a wonderful place to grow up playing golf. It was a semi private facility with a fabulous group of characters who's friendship and mentoring I still appreciate decades later. Most of the people I played with were twenty to fifty years older than I, and they treated me much better than I deserved.
Memories
It would be impossible to list all of the people who I played with back in the day, but their images and names still come into my mind on a daily basis. I would love to go back in time and play one more time in my group with Larry Bulger, Larry Bocox, and Carl Mutert. Or with Wayne Kiger and all of the guys who played in the regular weekend games.
The PGA Head Professional for most of my time at Pasadena was Buck Thornbury. Over the years he was my teacher, my boss, a competitive rival, and most importantly, my friend. Bucky was the lynchpin for all that went on at the club. He was an excellent teacher, a great ball striker (but a mediocre putter!), and someone who I always enjoyed being around. I think it's safe to say that I wasn't always the easiest student, or employee, over the years, but his patience with me, and his willingness to keep me employed even when I made mistakes, was incredibly important to the success I've experienced in the golf industry.
Thanks to Danny for adding his memoirs to our neighborhood's historical record.
