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Recreation Center Houses Memories

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2007

BRANDON - Every workday is a bit like child's play for Glenda Jaudon, senior recreation leader at the Brandon Recreation Center.

That's because Jaudon and her twin sister, Linda, spent every summer of their childhoods at the Brandon park.

'We lived in Tampa, but my mom would drop us off at my grandmother's house on Moon Avenue and Victoria Street, and we'd spend the entire day at the park,' Jaudon said.

Their grandmother owned the old Galvin-Jaudon House, built by Brandon's first postmaster, Daniel Galvin, in 1890. The house has since been demolished. But when the Jaudon twins were growing up, it was a jaunt across the railroad tracks from the park. That's where the girls started playing in the park's sandbox 35 years ago as youngsters and ended up playing Leaguerette softball as teens.

'I've got a lot of great memories growing up here,' Glenda Jaudon said, recalling the center's merry-go-round and teeter-totter, playground equipment since deemed too dangerous. Some things, however, are eternal, such as the 1,600-pound concrete camel guarding the sandbox - although it's missing its ears.

'She came with the sandbox,' said center Director Marty Bradley, adding that the camel's name is Alice. 'She's probably one of the most photographed sites in Brandon' next to Stowers Funeral Home, she said.

Bradley would know. She has been director of the park for 22 years. Although that makes her an old-timer as far as county employees are concerned, she's a youngster when it comes to the park's history. John Brill, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, despite researching the subject, has yet to pinpoint the date the park opened. He guesses the Brandon Recreation Center - the original building at 510 E. Sadie St. - was built 52 or 53 years ago.

The parks department knows the center existed when the Presidents' Roundtable of Greater Brandon hosted its first Brandon Fourth of July Parade 50 years ago. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office used to stop traffic on State Road 60 for the parade. The festivities would end at the recreation center with a community barbecue and picnic.

That was when the park was more commonly called Sadie Park or Sadie Street Park, in reference to the street it sits on, said local baseball coaching legend Tony Saladino. Saladino, founder of the county's Saladino Baseball Tournament, coached baseball at the Brandon Recreation Center from 1968 to 1998, teaching hundreds of youngsters the rules of the game, including former Boston Red Sox player Jody Reed.

'I spent a lot of time on those fields,' Saladino said. 'A lot of memories there.'

Whatever residents choose to call it, the Brandon Recreation Center is among 43 recreation centers in Hillsborough County.

'But this park is one of the busiest in the county,' said Coach Sal Tagliarini, a recreation leader II at the center. Tagliarini has worked for the parks department for 20 years and spent the past five at the Brandon Recreation Center, a park he knows well because he used to hang out there with his cousin, J.J. Massaro, owner of the original Beef O'Brady's at 210 S. Kings Ave.

Massaro and his younger brothers spent a lot of their childhoods playing ball at that park, and Massaro was a volunteer basketball coach for the county. His restaurant employees frequently hold fundraisers for the recreation center to provide it with the extras the county can't afford.

'Working here is like always being a kid. It's been the best five years of my life,' Tagliarini said. 'There's so much action here. There's something going on. The kids are great. The staff is great, and the park is beautiful. What more could you ask for? There's nothing greater than the feeling you get when a parent whose kid has been struggling with T-ball walks up and thanks you for helping.'

Rochelle Wright said she knew she wanted to work for the parks department when she was 8 years old and was first enrolled in the parks summer program at the Gardenville Recreation Center in Gibsonton, where Jaudon was her coach and mentor.

Later, Wright apprenticed under Jaudon, and she has worked for 10 years at the Brandon Recreation Center.

'I'm giving back to the community what was given to me,' said Wright, a recreation leader II. 'The reward is working with the kids. You try to provide them with a good foundation, and even if only one kid gets it, that's reward enough for me.'

Recreation specialist Lavaris 'Juice' Larry seconded that sentiment. He's worked for the county for 13 years, the last two at Brandon Recreation Center.

'Without these centers, some kids would be out on the streets committing crimes,' he said. 'We keep them occupied, focused and help prepare them for the future. Instead of building more jails, we should be building more recreation centers.'

'It's not just a day-care,' said Jaudon, noting that the summer program caps at 400 children and the fall after-school program caps at 250 children. 'It's a place where kids get social, emotional and physical support.'

While Jaudon and the younger staff members concentrate on the children 2 and older, Bradley focuses her attention on the other side of the spectrum: senior citizens.

The Brandon park has garnered a countywide reputation for catering to senior citizens, with everything from ballroom dancing classes to the annual Senior Fun Fest hosted by Senior Connection magazine.

'Marty's like the Energizer Bunny,' Wright said. 'She's totally dedicated to her job, and she's always here.'

With the opening of the Brandon Community Center at 502 E. Sadie St. next to the Brandon Recreation Center in 1998, seniors had room for their activities without tripping over toddlers. Bradley promptly added art classes, belly-dancing classes, sewing and embroidery clubs, square and line dancing, bridge and anything else the seniors suggested. She's looking for volunteer instructors to lead the seniors in exercise, ballet, hip-hop, tennis and crafts.

When it's not being used by the children and seniors, the center is used for heated debates between residents and county commissioners, political forums and wedding receptions.

'This park has always been the hub of the community,' Jaudon said. 'We've held community festivals, Easter egg hunts, military salutes, cheerleading, flag and tackle football leagues, baton, Girl and Boy Scouts, slow-pitch and softball leagues, the Red Hat Society, the AARP, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, you name it.'

Part-time recreation specialist Raymond Hernandez said he's a testament to the enduring nature of the park.

'When I was at King High School, we used to come to dances here,' he said. 'Then, when my son was growing up, I coached his Pony Colt League here. Now, my 9-year-old grandson comes here. His kids will probably come here, too.'

The Brandon Recreation Center is at 510 E. Sadie St. For information, call (813) 744-5617. The Brandon Community Center is at 502 E. Sadie St. For information, call (813) 653-8179.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

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