annual contest standings flashbacks.... It’s never to late to say thank you. That was the purpose of a phone call made to the West Palm Beach Fishing Club earlier this year by Mr. Stuart Henry, originally from Pennsylvania and now living seasonally in Palm Coast, Florida. In 1945, Stuart was a Seaman 2nd Class in the U.S. Navy soon to be assigned to the USS Tortuga in Newport, Rhode Island. However, a rowing accident intervened. Heart complications and pneumatic fever sent him to the hospital and derailed his active duty service. Stuart was only 17 years old at the time. He spent five months in the hospital recovering from his condition, two of which were in a makeshift naval hospital that occupied the old Biltmore Hotel in Palm Beach, across the Flagler Bridge from the Fishing Club. “There were lots of other Navy men there at the time, so many in fact my bed was in a hallway,” recalled Mr. Henry who is now 88 years young. Towards the end of his stay he was invited to go fishing. During the Second World War one of the roles the West Palm Beach Fishing Club played in our community was to organize fishing excursions for enlisted men who were recovering from injury. The WPBFC also offered tours of the clubhouse and tours around Lake Worth to recovering soldiers and sailors. Mr. Stuart Henry was one of those individuals. “I don’t recall the name of the boat or captain, but I remember it was a beautiful day. I was lucky enough to catch a sailfish. I can still see it jumping, it was quite a fight. I sat in the swivel chair and fol- lowed the captain’s instructions. I had never caught a fish like that before. It weighed 42 pounds and the Fishing Club presented me with a certificate,” said Stuart who called the club out of the blue to say thank you. “As you get older, you get smarter and become more appreciative of those who helped you along the way.” A Fishing Club Thank You… 70 Years in the Making Fifty-seven years ago I became a member of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club to exercise my passion for fishing, a pastime I developed as ayoungboygrowingupinChicago. My uncle would take me to Wonder Lake, Illinois, on weekends where you could find me walking down a gravel road to the lake with a cane pole on my shoulder and a coffee can full of freshly dug worms in my hand. I would catch bream, catfish, suckers and carp. Though it was long ago, I think I remember every bite and every twitch of my bobber.  When I graduated as an engineer my location choice was heav- ily influenced by the great fishing South Florida had to offer, so I went to work for Pratt and Whitney. My time with the club has been marked with great catches and even greater people. People that have helped me be a better fisherman and a better person are Frances Doucet, Tony Deless, Lamont Albertson, John Rybovich, the brothers George & John Lott and many others that I recall only from time to time. I can tell you interesting stories about some of them but maybe that should be the subject of future contributions. Fish that I have caught, entered in WPBFC contests and sometimes won awards for include a 46 lb. kingfish, a 130 lb. tarpon, a 30 lb. snook and an 8 lb. bass. I have stories on them all.  The WPBFC has given me great joy over the last fifty-seven years and I thank Tom Twyford and all the people that have made the club what it is today, a place where the kids with cane poles over their shoulders and a coffee can full of freshly dug worms can grow up and never forget what truly makes them happy. 57 Years of Memories Bob Heil, Loxahatchee, FL Bob Heil with a snook caught from the Juno Pier in 2011.