Many people in Ponte Vedra Beach have fond memories of the Ponte Vedra Recorder.
Bonnie Hayflick, a public relations professional who attended the 50th anniversary party Oct. 23, does. Her parents subscribed to it during her teenage years.
“I have very fond memories of the Recorder from the 70s,” she said. “It was a true social rag. And it was much sought after the moment it came out. Ponte Vedra was a very small community among the social set who were regularly featured in the pages.”
Hayflick also has fond memories of Ponte Vedra Beach, a town much smaller, with far fewer people than today. Hayflick recalls that her parents were the first patio homeowners when Arvida built TPC Sawgrass, purchasing a home on Bermuda Court for $47,000 cash.
“I remember there were just a few, maybe two or three, boutiques at the apex of Corona and A1A, now Ponte Vedra Boulevard,” she said. “Before the Lodge was built, before the Cabana Club was built, there were boutiques with gorgeous resort wear and all of your fashions for ladies.”
Founding families, frequently featured in the Recorder’s pages back then, “Had beautiful homes on the ocean,” she remembered. “Their names were Stockton, Fletcher…”
While newcomers like her family tended to move to the Arvida Community. The Oak Bridge Club was called Inlett Beach at the time. “Oak Bridge was the affordable golf club,” she said. “But it was really nice. The monied families belonged to the Ponte Vedra Club, and the newcomers belonged to Oak Bridge.”
