Sprott family owned and operated the Boca
Grande Ferry Company and the Hotel Palm.
Ensign Brouwer emphatically stated, “I’ve
got to meet her!”
In response, Capt. Johnson took leave
of his companions to speak with Helen. As
they spoke, her gaze quickly darted over to
the tall, dark-haired Brouwer, who was very
handsome
in his white
offi cer’s
uniform. Yes,
Helen would
like to meet
him. Capt.
Johnson
brought
Brouwer over.
The enamored
teenage
sailor was
still hovering
around Helen,
so with proper
introductions
completed
Ensign
Brouwer
invoked his
offi cer’s
privilege and
sent the little
sailor on his
way.
After his
friends left the
bar, Ensign
Brouwer
remained
with Helen
to enjoy her
company in the
romantic glow
of the moonlight Patio Bar. They laughed
and danced the evening away to popular
melodies, including Frank Sinatra’s
“Supposin’.” The fi rst line of the song was
“Supposin’ I should fall in love with you.”
Brouwer kept playfully repeating the words
as they danced ... for each, it was classic love
at fi rst sight. Their chance meeting would
58 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE • November/December • 2020
soon prove to be the prelude to everlasting
love.
At 5 a.m. the next morning, PC 449 set
back out to sea. Good fortune intervened a
week later when the sub-chaser returned to
South Boca Grande with another minelayer.
An anxious Ensign Brouwer repeatedly
telephoned Helen from the port, but Helen
was not at
home. She had
gone off island,
shopping
in far-away
Tampa.
Typically not
dissuaded
by adversity,
Brouwer made
the three-mile
journey to
the Sprott’s
Banyan Street
home and
left Helen a
written dinner
invitation,
wherein
he jokingly
mimicked
the format
of an offi cial
U.S. Navy
memorandum.
Later, when
Helen
returned, her
sister Ruth
informed her
of Brouwer’s
telephone
calls,
whereupon
an exhausted
John on his sailboat.
Helen unequivocally stated that she didn’t
care if the Prince of Wales had called, she
was not going out that evening. Ensign
Brouwer’s clever invitation, however,
changed her mind.
HISTORY continued on page 94