I think it is typical to think the time one grew up in was the “best of times,” but I feel mine really was…
One of my fondest memories of growing up in Stuart is visiting Rand’s Pier at Seminole Shores on Hutchinson Island. This area became today’s Sailfish Point. Tromping through the hot sands, my mother would lead my brother, sister, and I down a long, winding, sand-spur/beach-sunflower covered path. Finally, we would arrive at our destination, a pier that would provide shade and shelter for the outing.
From here my brother, sister, and I would take our buckets and nets and catch baby fish, collect shells and sea glass, or dig holes and bury each other up to our necks.
The pier was a reference point for a time past, and man gone, who my mother said was famous. The man was James Rand Jr. of Rand Ledger Corporation decent who went on to build his own fortune. An impressive eccentric, a Harvard graduate, with his share of troubles—but always a gifted business man— he did many wonderful things for Martin County including becoming a benefactor to the hospital and helping found and fund the Florida Oceanographic Society. Although it was not to be his fate, he had dreams of fully developing what was then known as Seminole Shores—-today’s Sailfish Point.
According to the History of Martin County: “In the early fifties James Rand acquired part of what was known as Seminole Shores on Sailfish Point three miles south of the House of Refuge. It was his intension to develop the area with exclusive residences, a marina, a clubhouse, cabanas, and a restaurant. He built the marina, the clubhouse and yacht basin, laid out and paved a number of streets, and built some thirty cabanas in a semicircle around a swimming pool, facing the ocean that one might take advantage of either fresh or salt water bathing. He also put in the telephone lines for the south end of the island at a cost of approximately $15,000…”
When my siblings and I were running around we did not think much about the man who built the pier, or put in the telephone lines, or helped make the island accessible for us to play. But his name always stuck in my head as someone who had made a difference to Martin County. The years have passed and Martin County has changed.
Today, Sailfish Point is beautifully developed– certainly beyond what Mr Rand would have ever imagined. The pier? Time tide and time have taken it: it has washed away– But when I walk the beach I still look for it and remember the “best of times”…
James Henry Rand Jr. 1886-1968: (http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rand-1):
Historic Vignette including story of James Rand and his good works, historian, Alice Luckhardt: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/historical-vignettes-interesting-stories-and-facts-about-martin-county-part-2-ep-349553375-340215561.html
I jumped off the end of that pier with my surfboard a few times; great way to get “outside” in bigger surf. Also, a short cut to snorkel the outside of the reef in calm waters. Fished on it for years. too; who needed a boat to go ocean fishing? The sad story of Seminole Shores,now Sailfish Point, is that in 1959 it was offered to Martin County for $125,000.000, the whole thing, buildings, pier, roads. What a great park it would have been The brainiacs on that Commission said it was “too expensive.” I guess we had plenty of unspoiled beach and clean water “way back then.”
Wow
Those people had no vision , no sensible planning for the future, and alas, there are some on our present day Commission who have that same lack of vision and do not care about our children and grandchildren and the legacy that they will be leaving.
My favorite Rand’s Pier memory (other than traipsing through the sandspurs to get to it) was the time the radioactive ants grew like 20 feet long and walked out onto that pier and attacked Joan Collins
Nice post, Jacqui. Thank you for the memories.
Mark D. Perry
Executive Director
Florida Oceanographic Society
890 NE Ocean Blvd.
Stuart, Florida 34996
772-225-0505 x103
772-486-3858 (Cell)
772-225-4725 (Fax)
http://www.FloridaOcean.org
Florida Oceanographic’s mission is to inspire environmental stewardship of Florida’s coastal ecosystems through education, research and advocacy.
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle
I will always remember Rand’s pier. I can still remember people fishing off it and swimmers jumping from it at just the right spot. It was sad when the storms finally disintegrated the pier altogether. I have a LOT of great memories of my time spent on the water in Martin County in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The picture showing the southernmost wooded area of what is now Sailfish Point is also a fond memory of mine. In the early 70’s we used to visit this point back when there was absolutely nothing there, as indicated in the photo. As kids we had many adventures on this point and I vividly remember when the first ‘No Trespassing’ signs went up announcing the property was now private property and was now under development by Mobil Oil Company. We had no idea what was to come of the land but I remember being rather sad our spot would be turned into God knows what. We did not yet know it would later be transformed into a high-end gated community called ‘Sailfish point’. Either way, it meant this fantastic location had come to an end :>\
I greatly miss the days before Martin County began development into what it is today. For those of us who were part of this community back then, you just don’t know what you missed, and perhaps it’s best you don’t, for you would be sad as I if you knew what Martin County used to be like. I guess I’m just an old softy when it comes to things like this. The older I get the more nostalgic I become, and I truly wish I could go back in time to around 1970 when I used to visit downtown Stuart and get candy at The Dime Store, watch plays at the Lyric Theater, and buy clothes at The Town Shop, which was the ONLY place in all of Martin County one could get Levi’s jeans. James D. Holt was sheriff. This was a man who just looked like an old west lawman. Jesse Taylor was chief of police and he used to deliver this really terrific “Welcome to Stuart” greeting speech which he frequently gave at the First Baptist Church of Stuart on West Ocean Blvd. Oh how I miss the old Martin County of yesteryear… :>\
Those were the days…Randy thank you so much for you memories. We had the best of this place. Still beautiful but not what it was. Thanks again.
Exactly like I remember…thanks Randy!! Such wonderful times growing up there ♥️
You are so very welcome!!!!
As Ed Killer mentioned, my memory is the really bad Joan Collins movie. It’s on YouTube. Here are the radioactive ants:
https://youtu.be/lFVq0Ij0mE8?t=31m44s
It’s pretty cool to see the undeveloped Sailfish Point fka Seminole Shores in the background of the movie scenes. Did the pier have a concrete extension at one time? You can see the wood section changing into concrete here:
https://youtu.be/lFVq0Ij0mE8?t=11m27s
… and of course my 7th grade Stuart Middle School teacher, “Mr. Red”, played the cab driver!
https://youtu.be/lFVq0Ij0mE8?t=7m55s
Awesome!!!So funny!A classic. The sound of those ants….Mr Red looks so young and he used to look so old when I was at Stuart Middle School!!!! Joan Collins on Bathtub Beach. Cool.
Thank you Facebook Friends. A fun and memorable discussion!
81Shaun Kelly, Norma Leighton and 79 others
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Laurie McIntyre
Laurie McIntyre my memories too, Jackie. Nothing like it!
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Robert Pilla
Robert Pilla You forgot about the beach tar between your toes. I remember that path and the half dozen parking spaces. Now it’s all parking lots.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch i do remember the tar!!!
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Blake Faulkner
Blake Faulkner I’ll bet they had barrels of tar on that pier to coat all those wooden posts and lumber to try to protect it from the elements. Not much wood was pressure treated or rot-proofed back then.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Lynn Crawford
Lynn Crawford I remember! It was so much fun!
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Linda McLendon
Linda McLendon Imagine moving here in 1952
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Ronnie Kirchman II
Ronnie Kirchman II Do you remember the movie EMPIRE OF THE ANTS? When the HUGE ants where shown walking on the pier?
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Ellen McCormick
Ellen McCormick I do Ronnie! It was on tv again a few years ago.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch i do! I wasn’t even thinking about that this morning! put us on the map, didn’t it? !!!1
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Natalie Evans
Natalie Evans We, too, had so many memories there! My mom used to take us fishing back where Sailfish Point is now smile emoticon It was paradise, for sure! smile emoticon
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch great to see you on Facebook Natalie! great memories for sure!
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Margot Redington
Margot Redington Feel the same, Bathtub Beach was the best and so was the pier
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Ed Killer
Ed Killer Here is my Rand’s Pier memory
Ed Killer’s photo.
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Ronnie Kirchman II
Ronnie Kirchman II That’s it! Awesome!
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch SO AWESOME you have this Ed Killer! What a riot.
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Holly Hyatt
Holly Hyatt I remember a guy named Tony dove off of the pier into the water, hit the reef and broke his neck.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch That is horrible. I remember a lady too I believe. She was in a wheelchair. I will ask my mother.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Blake Faulkner
Blake Faulkner There was an elderly research professor up at the Florida Medical Entomology Lab (FMEL) on Oslo Rd. in Vero Beach up until at least 15 years ago named Emile Van Handle (sp?) who told me (if memory serves) at least 20 years ago that he had worked for R…See More
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch Very interesting Blake and yes Mr Rand supported all sorts of of things maybe reaserch..Can’t believe the elliott would not have a photo of pier. Maybe Stuart Heritage…???
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Blake Faulkner
Blake Faulkner I don’t think James Rand Jr. was in any way associated with the RAND corporation. Same name, different organization completely. The RAND corporation was an acronym name for ‘Research And Development’. It was a think tank.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch maybe i mixed it up
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Nick Peragine
Nick Peragine Great story and jarring of memories… Awesome, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch! Love the picture and the other that you sent me some time ago! You’re the best!
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Colleen James
Colleen James Remember it well. I was there almost every weekend as a kid. 😎
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Clint Carbonneau
Clint Carbonneau Your brother and myself had many a funny time off that pier. One very funny one was when we went snorkeling off the pier. Problem was, we were in an inflatable boat and tied it up against one of the pilings and while we were in the water the boat was …See More
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Colleen James
Colleen James I can so see that happening . We use to jump off of that pier too .
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Blake Faulkner
Blake Faulkner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rand,_Jr.
James Rand, Jr – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch Thank you!
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Mike Holliday
Mike Holliday Didn’t there used to be a seawall there as well, and a big tree. I remember sitting under that tree for shade.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch I don’t remember a seawall but I do recall giant Australian pines.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Kevin Odegard
Kevin Odegard We knew the area for the Cabana Club, where we could change outfits and get refreshments. It became a daily ritual to bump across the rickety wood bridge from Sewall’s Point to the sandy perch where we watched the elders swim “from pier to jetty” and often back again. “She does that every day” our mother told us.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch Great recollection! Now that u say it I feel I recall that too. A lady with a bathing cap? I should get out there and swim some laps!!!!
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Blake Faulkner
Blake Faulkner There’s a picture of the big ants on a pier in this long & unfavorable review of the movie. I like the part where the local sugar factory gets burned down to kill all the big ants tho’………http://www.jabootu.com/eota.htm
Empire of the Ants Review – Jabootu’s Bad Movie Dimension
JABOOTU.COM
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch Funny as —-
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Alice L. Luckhardt
Alice L. Luckhardt Here is about Rand and his work in Martin County. A spontaneous public national uprising in Hungary against the communist People’s Republic and the Soviet Union’s influence lasted from October 23, 1956 to November 10 of that year. With mass protests in the streets for the first five days, peace was tentatively established with a ceasefire on October 28th. However, the Soviet government was unwilling to negotiate a withdrawal of Soviet forces from Hungary. On November 4th, Soviet troops, ordered by USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev, invaded the major city of Budapest and other regions across that country. The Hungarian resistance continued until November 10th; casualties totaled about 2,500 Hungarian dead and 20,000 wounded. Budapest bore the brunt of the attack, with 1,569 civilians killed. Mass arrests continued for months thereafter, forcing over 200,000 Hungarians to escape as refugees. By January 1957, the new Soviet-installed government had suppressed all public opposition in this Eastern European nation. James Henry Rand, Jr., a wealthy businessman and winter resident of Stuart in the 1950s, in an effort to assist refugees arriving in the US, offered to sponsor some of those individuals or families in Martin County. Rand, born in 1886, was an American industrialist who in the 1910s created a company producing office supplies and filing systems used mostly in the medical profession. From 1927 to ’29 Rand purchased and merged many similar companies, including those manufacturing carbon paper, binders, adding machines, filing cabinets and office safes. In 1927 he had merged with Remington Typewriter Company to form Remington Rand Inc. In the years that followed the company continued with advances to include manufacturing military defense equipment. In July 1955, Remington Rand merged with Sperry Corp. to form Sperry-Rand, which would pioneer the manufacturing of computers. James Rand, as a resident of Stuart, initiated several private developments in the area, including Seminole Shores, the first actual large-scale ocean beach development planned on Hutchinson Island and launched in 1957. Many Martin County beachgoers may remember Rand’s Pier. In 1956, fifteen acres of land had been purchased from the city of Stuart on East 7th Avenue, on which was built a Public Health Research Foundation Laboratory. Its research involved developing cures for cancer, high blood pressure and heart disease. One of the major contributors to its research projects was James H. Rand Jr., who donated $200,000 in 1957 and became the head of the non-profit foundation. Rand’s Foundation and company, Tuscbay Properties, Inc., had sponsored the first of the refugees to arrive in Stuart in January 1957, two couples and two boys. The Hungarians stayed in Tuscbay owned homes on Riverside Drive. By the end of the month, thirteen adults and nine children had also come to Stuart. Rand supplied the shelter, food and clothing; the citizens of Stuart welcomed the foreign guests. Tuscbay Properties, Inc. purchased the St. Lucie Hotel for $42,000 on April 1, 1957, to accommodate some of the refugees, yet this building was never utilized since private housing had been found. Some of the refugees who came to Stuart were: Janos Toth, born in 1927; Gyula Toth, born in 1930, wife Jolan and daughter Jolan Lukacs; Laszio Szskacs, born in 1925 and wife Marie; Laszlo Nyes, born in 1934 and wife Georgetta; Katalin Peck, born in 1906; Guaztav Orban, born in 1937 and Istvan Paroezy with two young children. Most of these refugees eventually moved to other regions of the United States, but were forever grateful for the initial assistance of James Rand and the people of Martin County. A few years later, in 1961-’62, Rand left an estate in Stuart to reside permanently in the Bahamas where he would begin building a “Science City” to conduct important and vital research. Even while in Stuart, he was particularly involved with developing a cure or vaccine for cancer. Ironically, he died of cancer in Freeport, June 3, 1968, having had perhaps an estimated net worth of half a billion dollars. He was 81.
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Steve Purkey
Steve Purkey Thanks for the info Alice
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch Thx Alice! He was such an interesting man
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Ellen McCormick
Ellen McCormick Such fond memories of the pier and area! We went there all the time as children and sometimes my dad would spin us around the property in his old truck. Never anyone else there but us
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Clint Carbonneau
Clint Carbonneau I miss those days on the beach!!
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Ellen McCormick
Ellen McCormick Me too Clint although it was sometimes scary with you and Guy- especially in zodiac
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Steve Purkey
Steve Purkey Lots of M.C. High school parties there in the 70’s… Nothing but the pier and a few cabanas there… Absolutely beautiful.. Great memories
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Dennismserafini’s Completelawncare
Dennismserafini’s Completelawncare That old Rams Pier! My dad use to fish off of that in the 60s
How cool .
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Stefani Campo Hughes
Stefani Campo Hughes Way cool. Mans that’s reaching back into some old files.
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Jody Bond
Jody Bond Took my daughters, Kelly & Tracy, when they were little. It was an exciting structure to see!
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Leathanne Wright
Leathanne Wright I miss the old pier and the beach use to be such fun. It’s now all gone.
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Gary Guertin
Gary Guertin Many people do not know that Mr. Rand was instrumental in developments in Grand Bahama and among other things – the Rand Memorial Hospital is his namesake. along with the Rand Nature Preserve
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch Wow. Did not know that. Very cool.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
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Julianna Crankshaw Winters
Julianna Crankshaw Winters I remember going out to the pier with my grandfather, Dr. J.D. Parker
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Julianna Crankshaw Winters
Julianna Crankshaw Winters One of the kids had stepped on a large hook that had been partially buried in the sand. We took the boy and his grandfather in my granddad’s buick to the old Martin Memorial and granddaddy sent me to the cafeteria for a 1/2 gallon of ice cream, 2 bowls and 2 spoons. He took the stuff from me, scooped 2 bowls of ice cream, handed one to the boy and 1 to me and used my spoon to scoop the rest of the ice cream onto the boy’s foot and pulled the hook out. The boy didn’t realize it was out until the nurse started pouring alcohol and mercuricrome on his foot to bandage it.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rand-1
James Henry Rand Jr. | WikiTree: The FREE Family Tree
WIKITREE.COM
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Shaun Kelly
Shaun Kelly What a great memory!
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After watching the video I now understand why everyone hates big sugar. Did you notice how an evenrude motor carried everyone to safety at the end of the show. They should have made a national park where Mr. Evenrude used to live because everyday Evenrude Motors bring people home safely all over the world
🙂
If I were going to come against US sugar It would not be over water issues.
What do you mean Brent?
what then….
LINK TO EMPIRE OF THE ANTS TRAILER: (You can see Rand’s Pier in this video too— with giant ants crawling on it) http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2Ftq6pCO3O66I&h=HAQFZ2AF6
The panama canal was completed in 1913 , It cost the US 375,000,000. It was the most exspensive US construction project the US had ever done up till that time. Jimmy Carter gave it away. I hear china now owns both ends and Panama has more money than all the other latin American countrys combined. Who knows what shady deal was really made—perhaps unlimited funding for his political party. I believe our government has been selling out ever since. How does US sugar benefit the citizens of Florida other than bankrolling politicians to protect them.What country owns US sugar. Do the employ US citizens or do they use illegle aleans so the can hold the ax over their heads if they have any complaints.I think if you start digging you will find it is not just US sugar . It took a lot of economic treason from our criminal government to trash our constitution and put US 19 trillion in dept to forign powers
Believe me it has crossed my mind that maby our beloved lagoon has been just a poker chip in their big game exspecially when you go shopping for fresh fish and it all comes from other countrys
Lagoon made the front page of the USA Today paper again. They said it was going to take more hundreds of millions to fix it. They will fix their bank accounts but they will NEVER fix the lagoon until they line the shores with coquina shells the way it used to be..
I did not see USA Today –was it about the fish kill in the Central IRL?
Maby it was Florida today—The last 2 week ends I have been up at the 528 causeway. I put many scallop shells in swift current(in sikes creek) to help put oxygen in the water . The 528 causeway is calcium and rains running over the calcium has put oxygen in the water and saved fish that were in immediate area exspecially on west side where there are live coquina formations (Banana River)Winds helped churn the shells violently . I intend to go again next week end.
I am seeing lots of live fish where I live but only a few dead ones. Centril IRL
good
It is The Florida Today. The first sentence read —March ushered in the worst known fish kill in IRL history. It went on to say low levels of desolved oxygen suffocated fish. It would have been so easy to have stopped this. Like I said before when acids desolves calcium it puts desolved oxygen in the water. Now I think I have to find a way to prove this so real dummys can understand. Fish know this and I doubt they have been lieing to me.
the worst in known history….wow
One thing I have noticed is all the dead fish (calcium) bones are all along the shore which will be exactly where all the acids will wash up completeing the cycle. What I would like to see the future of America be like is when ever there is conflecting issues people can hear debates on tv or radio and take a ATM type of magnetic strip card down to the post office and swipe the card –enter their personal pen number and vote how they waunt to solve the issue—quick and simple.
Drivers license has a magnetic strip and would be perfect for createing a government where the people make ALL the decisions
Factories have left small towns all across this country causeing financial ruin and some times I wonder if this is really about saveing the lagoon or destroying US sugar corporation. Saveing the lagoon is an easy fix and I wonder how many factories would have left this country if these towns had had debates about the pros and cons of the company going over seas. and then the PEOPLE decided by swipeing their drivers license at the post office. It is blatantly obvious this government does NOT represent us at all and sending all our tax money out of this country is totally against every thing the constitution stands(was written) for.
Seminole Shores is emblematic of the ultimate “good news/bad news” circumstance. Those of us who knew it and loved it would be happy to have frozen time in that window from 1965 to 1975.
That would mean that fewer people would be here, in Martin County, in particular– and in Florida, in general.
So, we have such beautiful memories, and we know that they are images that we can recall, recite, but never relive. And the difficulty comes in wondering who is “allowed” to live in the state we so love….
We didn’t stop at 5 million residents. We went on to 10 million, 15 million, and now more than 20 million.
We have, in so many ways, sacrificed a paradise on the altar of economic growth. And, despite the “too many mice in the jar” problem, we have done a surprisingly good job of not pouring concrete all over everything (think “Ft. Lauderdale” and “Port St. Lucie”).
I’ll pause here, and think a bit……
Back to the pier—— I will never forget when the blue fish would run so aggressively that we could dangle a pull tab from a soda can on a fishing line (with or without a hook), and pull those critters up out of the frothy water below……..
Wonderful memories!! Thank you!!!
My grandparents Julius Max and Naomi Hellpenstell had one of the cabana’s. We thoroughly enjoyed our times in the pool but especially loved going from the pool to the beach.
I remember it felt as though we were alone there. Hardly anyone around…
So peaceful ♥️
Dear Gail, so wonderful to receive your comment! Our families and the connections! It was such a beautiful and private place and we and our families had the best of it. All the best to you.