Remembering Bob Ardren and trying to fill those 13-EE shoes
It’s going to be a challenge filling Bob Ardren’s size 13-EE shoes, but here goes.
Newtown to Downtown & Beyond debuts in this issue. The column’s name pretty much explains it all. I live in Newtown, hang out Downtown and like to go Beyond to catch up on what else is happening in Sarasota.
The "unfashionable North Side of Town," as Bob always put it, is undergoing a renaissance. A slow renaissance.
Newtown has had Phase I of Janie’s Gardens open, providing low-cost living to folks in high-end apartments.
There has been a lot of talk about what’s going to happen to north Tamiami Trail, but not much is going on except a lot of hookers and crack sales.
Downtown has some problems. Stores keep shuttering, rents keep going up despite dire economic conditions and its fate poses problems for merchants, property owners and all others who love Main Street.
Beyond is also having some issues. St. Armands Circle is trying to keep up with the times – mostly successfully – but the city’s longtime shopping jewel is threatened by the economy as well.
But enough of all that. Let’s talk about the founder of this Main Street Beat column, Bob Ardren.
BOB
Robert Lyman "Bob" Ardren, 67, of Sarasota, died Jan. 1, 2008.
Bob was born in Wyeville, Wis. The family eventually moved to Denver, Iowa, where Bob graduated from Denver High School before attending the University of Iowa. He began his career in journalism as a reporter for United Press International in Indianapolis and Detroit. He later worked in public relations for General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y., and Louisville, Ky., then relocated to Des Moines, Iowa, as an editor for the Meredith Publishing Co. After moving to Sarasota in 1976, Bob briefly worked for Walt’s Fish Market and Seafood Restaurant before becoming director of public affairs at The John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, where he was also curator of the Ringling Circus Museum for a time. He was a museum employee for 16 years.
Bob Ardren
For 20 years, Bob wrote a weekly column for the Tampa Tribune called "Suncoast Shelter" about the Southwest Florida housing industry.
He was also a contributing writer for Sarasota magazine and for the Islander Bystander (known today as the Islander) newspaper on Anna Maria Island.
In 1994, he joined the Pelican Press, a weekly newspaper based on Siesta Key, as a reporter and columnist; he was employed by the Pelican at the time of his death.
Bob wrote extensively about the city of Sarasota in news articles and in his twice-monthly column, "Main Street Beat," covering life and events in Downtown Sarasota.
He expressed his longtime interest in local waters, boating and the environment in another twice-monthly Pelican column, "Sarasota Waters."
He was the recipient of multiple writing awards from the Florida Press Association. He was a former president of the Florida Attractions Association and a founding member of the Sarasota-Manatee Press Club. At various times he was a member of the Showfolks of Sarasota, Sarasota Sailing Squadron, Selby Gardens, the Sports Car Club of America and, more recently, the Sarasota Kiwanis Club. He was also a former Hospice volunteer in Sarasota.
Bob held court every Saturday morning at the Farmer’s Market in Downtown Sarasota with his "posse" of city officials, community leaders and just hangers-on. It was a diverse group, to say the least, all drawn by his big laugh and voluminous expertise regarding Downtown Sarasota, where he lived for more than 25 years.
BOB: THE GOOD STUFF
He was a bear of a man with a walrus-sized mustache and belly to match. His laugh was infectious, his Buddha grin unforgettable, and his abilities endless – and, for some reason, he called me a good friend.
Bob stories are myriad.
There was the time we were out in my little boat, coming to the dock. He looked at me, grinned, said, "Man overboard drill," and toppled over the side. I retrieved him after my heart started again. The feat became a regular ritual.
There was the time we went to Tampa to look at model houses for the Tampa Tribune. He had to take notes, so I usually was faster touring the ticky-tacky spec joints and was a few rooms ahead of him.
I hollered for him when I got to the master bathroom. It had one of those little branched-off rooms with just a toilet in it that were popular back then. The builder had constructed the "dump hole" incorrectly by not only having the door swing in – paramedics hate that design because if somebody passes out in the bathroom they’ve gotta fight to get in to help – but also the door-to-toilet ratio was almost non-existent.
Bob came in to see me standing on the toilet seat, trying to swing the door open or closed, laughing like a hyena. See, that was the only way to close the door.
He started his big Bob laugh, too. Unfortunately, we got busted when a young couple heard the commotion and came in to see a guy with a ponytail standing on a toilet in front of a walrus-looking guy, both laughing.
Methinks the real estate salesperson didn’t get a sale from that couple.
And then there was the time when Bob and a buddy were roaming around the race car pits in Daytona before a race. Bob was a huge race fan. They ran into a NASCAR official, and Bob’s friend asked how he could get a rule book on racing.
Bob started to laugh, as did the official. See, there are no rules in NASCAR. They make it up as they go along.
It’s kinda like Bob’s favorite line in the wonderful world of journalism, a phrase that is anathema in today’s world but was very much alive back in his day: "Don’t shade your eyes; plagiarize."
Bob, not a day goes by without my thinking of you. This is a column for you. I miss you.
... AND BEYOND
One of Bob’s favorite places was Carr’s Corner Café on the North Trail. Sharon Carr always had a bowl of soup for him, or a wrap. Given Bob’s love of soup, that probably did more to help him fight his cancer there at the end than anything else.
Go see Sharon and have a bowl of soup in Bob’s memory.
September 20th 2009 - 10:36PM