Memberabilia
Aren’t we Lucky!
On the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of Ocean Reef Club – A look at How far We’ve Come….
Seventy-five years ago, Morris Baker, a Minneapolis developer on a quest for a fishing camp, found a primitive site in the Florida Keys…. His wife promptly pronounced that the location was “the end of the earth.” But Morris was intrigued by the natural beauty of the place – the crocodiles, the mangroves, and the coral rock. Instead of a fishing camp, he dreamed of a club with “some villas on the ocean, a 9-hole golf course and maybe a little airstrip.”
Flash forward to 2023….
Even a visionary like Morris Baker would have had difficulty imagining the extent to which his dream has come true. The Ocean Reef Club is “unique” – a word used, often and accurately, to describe its awesome facilities and activities.
In this 75th year of the Club’s existence, the membership has perceptibly come to appreciate, more than ever, what a privilege it is to live here. Aren’t we lucky! has become a mantra of Ocean Reef Members.
Here is my personal summary of the things that make Ocean Reef Club unique and their Members happy….
FIRST and FOREMOST….
Ever since its founding, Ocean Reef has had a clubhouse of some sort. Last year the membership welcomed the opening of the new “ultimate” clubhouse – an impressive building that includes two restaurants and a lounge; a top-rated golf shop; plus – magnificent views of the beautifully landscaped Dolphin Golf Course…. This is a dream come- true, not just for Morris Baker, but for many of us OR Members, as well.
HEALTH and SAFETY – Like they say: give me good health and the rest doesn’t matter…. The Medical Center at Ocean Reef may not be able to guarantee good health, but it can guarantee good health care. There’s an experienced staff of full-time doctors, as well as a large roster of visiting specialists. And there is plenty of “star-war” equipment for tests for everything from a heart problem to a broken toe…..
As for SAFETY…. Ocean Reef may be the safest community in America. ORCA has officers, who patrol the community 24/7 and a fire department with trained firefighters and a beautiful new red firetruck.
WINE and DINE – Morris
Baker would certainly be amazed to hear his former fishing camp now has more than a dozen restaurants and lounges, ranging from the haute cuisine at CH Prime to the stalls at Waterside, where you can find everything from an Indian curry to a pizza…. For the purchase of wines and spirits there is Port O’ Call, which is run by a top-ranked sommelier Micah Winecoff.
STOP and SHOP
As Joan the Shopper, I am here to tell you that the stores located in the Fishing Village (e.g. Burgee Shop, Lilly, J. McLaughlin, etc.) and the outliers (the Gift Shop; the Tennis and Golf shops; the Fitness Center and the Spa boutiques) are each and every one (including some I failed to list) first rate. There is lots of diversity, which means lots of choices. And I’ve always thought that choice is the ultimate luxury.
ART and CULTURE
We might, as Mrs. Morris Baker commented, be located at “the end of the earth,” but there is no shortage of culture at Ocean Reef. Our beautiful Cultural Center, built in 2001, has a large theatre with a stage that can accommodate live performances, as well as firstrun movies; the simulcasts of the Met’s operas; and lectures by experts on everything from politics to flower arranging…. There is also an interesting Museum, which illuminates the OR history with artifacts and videos. And a Library, well-stocked with best sellers, as well as books on subjects like travel, history, politics…. The Art League, a huge draw for many OR Members, occupies a building, which has rooms and appropriate equipment for classes on sculpting, woodwork, watercolor to name a few of a very large list.
BODY and SOUL
Almost everybody I know at Ocean Reef goes to the Member Fitness Center for classes and to the Spa for a touch-up or two. I go for Zumba, sessions with a personal trainer, or just to workout alone (earbuds in place) on the high-tech machines. I bet, if you could add up the steps recorded on the Apple watches, worn by devotees of the Fitness Center, you would discover that a monthly total would be in the billions…. Early this year the new Inter-denominational Chapel (that’s the “Soul” part of this paragraph) opened its doors to four congregations. The Chapelis beautiful, tasteful, and large enough to provide room for nearly everyone who wants to worship (or get married) there.
FUN and GAMES
This combined category is the one
that has probably been responsible for many Members choosing to live (at least part-time) at Ocean Reef…. Golf and Tennis head the list (with Pickleball squeezing in for a tight third). But there are a host of other games and activities that have captured the interest and energy of OR Members – e.g. Croquet, Bocce, Bridge, Canasta, Mahjong…. Then there’s the water sports: boating, fishing, swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving…. What have I missed?
FRIENDS and NEIGHBORS
I sometimes think that lasting friendships flourish at Ocean Reef like the lovely orchids that are attached to our trees and rebloom season after season…. When you meet another Member at ORC, you immediately have one thing in common and that is Ocean Reef. Then you might discover that you share a neighborhood, an interest, an activity. Next thing you know, you’ve made a friend…. I believe that Ocean Reef has a kind of magic that that transforms acquaintances into friends…. Perhaps that is the reason, above all else, for why we so often say to ourselves and others – Aren’t we lucky!