ST. PETE STRONG
Wendy Ohlendorf / Mask Maker
When Wendy Ohlendorf (center) closed the door on her last
night as owner of Vintage Small Bites and Wine Bar in Gulfport
on March 16, she had to wonder what was next. The pandemic
was just starting to rear its ugly head in the United States. An
experienced seamstress and fashion designer, Ohlendorf had
bins of leftover fabric and lots of time. An entrepreneur at
heart, she sat down at her sewing machine and began making
protective cloth face masks. It was just the beginning.
Two months later, after working around the clock almost
every day, Ohlendorf has sewn nearly 700 masks that have
been picked up, delivered and shipped across Tampa Bay,
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with a compromised immune system. She sent a shipment
to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Doernbecher
Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon, where she used to
live. She has a large following of friends across the country on
social media who ordered masks, and spread the word to their
families and friends.
She set up an ordering portal on the Gulfport Community Arts
website. The orders poured in.
“People all over the country were ordering masks for their
entire families and all their friends,” she said. “It was nonstop,
one day I had 200 orders come in. I would sew all day,
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mailboxes late at night.”
Locals have donated some fabric (she only accepts large pieces,
no used clothing) and elastic banding, and she hired several
helpers to cut fabric. Lately, she says ordering elastic can take up
to a month to be delivered, the demand is so great. In mid-May,
a slight lull allowed her to get some sleep, but she remains ever
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of COVID-19 strike. “Everyone needs to
have a good face mask,” she insists.
23 May/June 2020 StPeteLifeMag.com
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hospitality workers from around St. Petersburg by providing free,
carry-out lunches Monday through Friday for 8 weeks from his
downtown restaurant. And we are not talking a sub and chips. How
does Mojo Roasted Pork and Spanish Risotto sound? Or Penne
Vodka, Meatballs and Pasta, or Veal Marsala? A team of dedicated
volunteers manned the kitchen and front desk, preparing, bagging
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operation, but private and corporate donors also came through
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he could open to the public on May 8, Tony had provided over
8,500 full meals to his fellow hospitality workers, plus other meals
to frontline workers at St. Anthony Hospital , Bayfront Health St.
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Hats off to Chef Tony who was a top winner in the Evolve & Co.
Local Heroes Contest.
“People all over the country
were ordering masks for
their entire families and all
their friends.” Wendy Ohlendorf
PHOTO/LARRY BUSBY
St. Pete Strong
/StPeteLifeMag.com
