Merab Favorite
Four women, known as The Wendys, came to Longboat Key together in the early 1900s. These women shocked the local population by redefining what it meant to be a pioneer in the wild south.
Back in 1919, when the area that now makes up Manatee and Sarasota counties was beginning to be developed, a community on
Longboat Key was advertised to those who wanted a more ""simple, unfettered"" life, according to a Sarasota Tribune article by Dan F. Prew titled ""The Wendys.""
No bridge connected the island to the mainland and most people just visited for the day, usually, they were dropped off by a steamer ship in the morning and picked up in the afternoon.
However, a tiny village called Long Beach was forming where the Shore restaurant is located today. Long Beach was a fishing village where residents lived off the land. The Gulf provided them with sustenance and miles of undeveloped white sand beaches were a place where a person could ""be close to God and nature,"" according to an advertisement.
It was this simple life that attracted four women from Xenia, Ohio: Edna Wolfe, Catherine Buckles, Gertrude Kendig, and Nada Gowdy, according to a Manatee County Historical Society interview with Mrs. Gordon Whitney called ""Stories of Longboat Key.""
Whatever their reasons for leaving Ohio, Whitney refers to Wolfe and Buckles as ""companions"" in her interview, when they arrived they found a strange new world filled with lush tropical vegetation ""where snakes and turtles crawled lazily across the narrow roads and paths in the blazing sun.""
The village itself was sparsely inhabited by fishermen and their families who lived in shacks along
Sarasota Bay. Many of the residents were doubtful the foursome could make it, after all, there were no conveniences of the mainland and very few women with ""whom they could trade gossip.""
Still, the women would not be dissuaded. They found the perfect home, a beautiful block house surrounded by palm trees. They named it ""The Wendy"" after the character in the book Peter Pan. The villagers were surprised by how well the women adapted to their new environment. Wolfe was an established carpenter and got to work fixing up the house, Kendig surprised everyone with her fishing skills, Gowdy was an excellent cook, and Buckles was described as ""an advisor, a teller of tales and a unifying force.""
It wasn't long before the villagers affectionately began calling them ""The Wendys."" The group was extremely hospitable, frequently offering their services to the community. They helped families with repairs, welcomed visitors, cooked up neighborhood dinners, and always provided fish from the icebox whenever a friend came home empty-handed.
Kendig, who liked to be known as Gertie, became an expert angler. She sought out fishing holes along the bay and studied the fish migration year after year. She preferred the company of fishermen and loved to tell folklore and other stories over a neighborhood campfire. The following excerpt was taken from Prew's article:
""Because of Gertie and her fisher friends, The Wendy icebox is rarely without a dozen or more delectable filets. Gertie and Miss Wolfe clean and skin fish so fast the visitors can hardly believe their eyes. So far as is known, they have no competition on the island. If Gertie happens to be unlucky with her bamboo pole or casting rods, there are always those who dump a catch into the kitchen sink.""
The Wendys kept seasonal jobs in Ohio and returned during hurricane season every year. But for 38 years, they returned to the village. Donning work pants, button-up shirts, and sun hats, they each contributed to their community in some way. Gertie with her fishing, Wolfe building and painting furniture, and Gowdy making beautiful shellfish jewelry. These four women dismissed the traditional way of living and reimagined what it meant to be a pioneer. Their story is incredibly inspiring and interesting.
Merab Favorite is a published author, journalist, and columnist. She can be reached at favorite.merab@gmail.com.
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