Tybee Breeze

we had class, too! We wore peach colored
jerseys, had the Bummettes (our own
cheerleaders), and our own video
photographer, Dr. Mike Milford. Doc might
have been a little tipsy more often than not,
however - we got a lot of footage of the tree
tops and tops of our shoes! We even had our
own post game interview session! We would
all gather at the DeSoto’s Ship Watch Lounge
immediately following the games. The Band
(Ron Denning, Ron Ambose, Dan Arno, and
Charlie Sherril) would play, “Take Me Out to
the Bums Game,” as we filed in after each
game!”
“There was only one time when we
really won big,” recollects Jack! “We built an
old out-house (complete with crescent moon in
the door), hauled it to the ball park, and placed
it under the score board. Our whole team beat
the crap out of it with our softball bats (it’s a
good thing it was a fake out-house)! We were
so psyched, that we actually scored that day!
We won 16/15, but were embarrassed - it broke
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Tybee Breeze
the tradition! Everyone got a trophy - mini
Budweiser bottles mounted on wooden bases
complete with metal plates! Forget MVP - our
awards were more appropriate, “Most Obvious
Bum” and “Rusty Jock Award” to name a few!
The sad part is that no one knows the
whereabouts of the highlight footage shot by
Dr. Milford. It’s a “Cold Case” of the missing
tapes! John O’Neill should probably be the
one locked up for the crime, says Jack, or
maybe Gordon Varnedo is the culprit! I suspect
they’re waiting until were all gone to release
them. The tapes need to be found now - it’s
High Treason!”
The ‘Beach Beach
Bum Bum Parade’ Parade’ got
started on a whim,
recalls Jack (but it
wasn’t until the
second year when
someone threw
water balloons that the parade turned wet)! We
decided to do something a little different and
have our own home coming game parade the
Friday before Memorial Day Weekend - the
Last Locals weekend. We had posters and
banners, and our own ‘Pots and Pans Kazoo
band,’ chuckled Jack. “Carl Looper came out in
full regalia as Uncle Sam on stilts! There were
no parade permits, and no advertising. The
parade route was from the18th Street parking
lot (in front of Cobb’s Apts.) to the Desoto
Beach Club parking lot.”
“1987 was a big year for the ‘Beach Beach
Bums’ Bums’ and a big year personally. It was the
year that Nancy and I got engaged,” explains
Jack. “John O’Neill pulled some strings, and
we were named King and Queen of the Home
Coming Dance - not to be confused with the
‘Beach Beach Bum Bum Parade’ Parade’ dignitaries! Sally
Pearce was the first Beach Bum Parade
Queen, 1987 & 88. And Bob and Betty Ann
Davenport were the Grand Marshals, all long
since passed away, it’s sad to say. The Big
Kahuna tradition didn’t begin until 1990.
Gordon Varnedo turned fifty that year, so we
made him the Big Kahuna!”