Donna Howley
Golf & Glamour in the ’60s
“My husband and I lived in Cleveland for a while, but we would go down to the Belleview Biltmore for two to three weeks every winter. It started in 1962, when his brothers-in-law invited him to join in a seniors’ golf tournament, even though he wasn’t even 55 yet. After that first one, he got invited to more, so we would go down for a few weeks at a time, so he could play. The men would spend the day golfing and they would arrange for little events and activities for the wives. In the evening, we would have a big fancy dinner and a cocktail party and dancing. Of course, in those days we would wear long evening dresses. The evenings were always so glamorous in the Tiffany Room or the Dining Room. Sometimes we would take a little boat out to the Cabana Club on Sand Key, long before there was anything on Sand Key. In about 1965, we moved down to Belleair and become some of the original members of the country club when it opened. I’m so glad they’ve opened the hotel back up. It will connect the community back to its memory.”
–Donna Howley, 89, a Belleair local and original member of the Belleair Country Club