In 2012, all hell broke loose in Pass-A-Grille when a tornado roared south of the Don CeSar. The twister ripped through the itty bitty 34 block long strip of land, dotted with historic bungalows, restaurants known for grouper sandwiches, shallow eddies and Pass-A-Grille Park’s legendary Trudie Perry Shuffleboard Courts.
A humble German immigrant, Tante Trudie as she was known to her friends and grand-nephews Max and James Assenheimer was considered a force of nature herself. She lost her sister in Germany’s WWII, came to America and landed in St. Petersburg Beach around 1961 from Mineola, New York.
First a nurse, she was a proud housewife who never had children. For 37 years, she lived at 304 Pass-A-Grille Way #5 and for 22 of those, she was the resident Queen of the Pass-A-Grille Shuffleboard Courts.
According to her doting nephew (and local real estate broker) James, “she ran the shuffleboard courts like a commandant”. Nothing escaped her attention. Repairs, upgrades? All Trudie and her volunteer manpower. Play by the rules? You bet, when Tante Trudie was in charge.
During the 2012 storm, the tree that had been planted in her honor took a big break on one of the main limbs. James begged the workers not to cut it down. “Today, the tree continues to flourish, a testament to her tenacity I think,” recalls James.
Trudie’s community efforts were honored and a plaque with her name memorialized her contribution during her shuffleboard reign. When Trudie passed on October 30th 1998, she was mourned by many. Today, the namesake sign in her honor needs some TLC and the family is hoping that Santa’s Elves (aka the town’s leaders or merchants) will restore her sign, which is in need of sprucing up.
“My dad was like her son. We were like grandchildren,” says James. “We would paint and refurbish the tables and chairs and spend Sunday Funday there when we started visiting St. Pete Beach in 1967. Mr. Hurley would be invited down to give out the trophy and lots of snowbirds considered it their home away from home.”
“She was sharp as a tack till the day she died,” says James, who is named for her (Perry James). “She remembered where she was standing when Kennedy was killed. Whether she was making lamb for Sunday dinner or overseeing a shuffleboard tournament, she got things done with that particular German can-do spirit. She was deliberate, successful, yet very gentle and humble.”
Shuffleboard has gone in and out of vogue since its initiation in St. Petersburg in 1921. Mirror Lake’s St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club’s St. Pete Shuffle is the current hipster rage. Club spirit still reigns, just as it did in 1940 when the Pass-A-Grille Shuffleboard Club (founded in 1938) built the clubhouse. Back then, membership dues were $2/year and guests could play all day for 25 cents.
According to Tampa Bay Times reporter Bob McClure in a January 2015 article, a group of 40-50 seniors meets three times a week to play during season, (January – April), competing for trophies in the annual Hurley Tournament. On the day I drove over to commune with Tante Trudie’s spirit and toast her park, I saw people of all ages ogling or enjoying this old-fangled game gone new recreation.
So for Auld Lang Syne, let’s usher in the New Year with some TLC for Tante Trudie’s plaque, okay Pass-A-Grille?
By Nanette Wiser