September 16, 2015 3:54 pm

I remember when…….by Deb

I remember when I was a little girl and my grandfather (Sidney Banks,  First Generation), whom I loved dearly,  used to take me, all dressed up,  to the Sunday Night Buffet Dinner in the dining room.  There  was always a band playing.   I even remember the singer, Lee Carroll, who I thought was absolutely gorgeous, singing  our favorite songs if we asked.   Lots of our guests and members would dance and so would Lee and I!  Every single table would have a lit candle and a relish tray.    After we enjoyed our Shirley Temples, Lee and I would order hot turkey sandwiches without the turkey for dinner!!  That was basically bread and gravy, but we loved it….. Imagine that!   I remember when gentlemen were required to wear jackets in the dining room…..I remember spending every weekend with my mom at “the hotel” and we loved every minute of it.  We swam in one of the two rectangular pools and especially loved the diving board!  I remember when Santa used to come to Lago Mar every Christmas morning by helicopter.  I kind of remember that my dad was especially happy when Santa left via  helicopter and nothing bad had happened.  Now that I am older I totally understand his anxiety…….I remember when the Easter Bunny actually hid real Easter eggs……that stopped when there was a weird smell in the beginning of summer and Lee and I had the job of finding the real egg that was not found during “The Hunt”.  Since then the Easter Bunny hides plastic eggs with little toys in them!   I remember when every Monday night all of our guests would  dress up and attend the cocktail party that my parents had invited them to  in our ballroom. Everyone had a great time!!   There would be a “wiener roast” for the kids outside where Lee and I would go.  After the cookout Lee and I would got to the  the game room on the beach where we would play pinball and pool with hotel  guests that we are still  friends with now.   I remember the original Soda Shop and a snicker bar costing 10 cents…….Lee and I loved treating  the young hotel guests to a candy bar or ice cream cone.    I guess we inherited the hospitality gene and it was obvious even  back then….I am still extremely close to some of our guests that are my age that I met over 40 years ago…….Lago Mar is a very special place that is completely unique and can never be duplicated.  Please look for our  newsletter that you will receive right after the holidays to enjoy more of Lago Mar’s History!!!! Deb

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