Evening star., 1937-04-04
ONLYM|LL|ONA|RES
ON JEKYLL ISLAND
81 Year old Club Holds
Sway Where Blackboard
Cached Booty.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
BRUNSWICK, Ga, April 3.-On
exclusive Jekyll Island, where Pirate
Blackboard once cached his booty, the
"hibernating" season for millionaires
is at it's height.
The semi-tropical island, off the
coast from here, has been the vaca-
ton ground of some of the Nations
business and industrial stalwarts since
group of them bought it 81 years
ago and formed the Jekyll Island Club.
Today the clubs rules against un-
authorized visitors are as strictly en-
forced as they were when the club
began. Informality remains the key
note of life on the island.
Club President j. Pierpont Morgan
paused here recently. just long enough
to glance at the island before he
steamed off on his yacht Corsair for a
cruise.
idle Rich" Barred.
Other oldsters of famed families Of
finance are there now, basking on the
beach, golfing over their 18-hole course
and motoring about the islands wind
ing oyster-shell roads.
One hundred leaders in finance, in
dustry and transportation Gncluding
Rockefellers, Morgans, Vanderbilts,
Bakers, Hills, Astors, Goulds) were the
clubs charter members
A rorprar1ljSite o oci6o fro,,, Io,,;,p
at least s1,OO0,Oo0) was that the mem
ber be actively in charge of his busi-
ness. The idle rich were barred,
emphatically
Death has whitfield the charter ranks,
and infirmities have left the "active
head" requirement somewhat OF a
tradition.
Several years ago the islanders al
lowed polo field to be built, one of
their few concessions to the younger
members.
Today visits by the sporty younger
generation are few, and mostly the
oldsters are allowed to enjoy their is
land as they please.
Informal Except at Dinner.
Their handsome cottages Gin archI-
tectural style that is now old fash
ioned) gives them plenty of comforta-
BILE spots for reading and for bridge
playing with their wives.
Most of them wear slacks or bath
Ing suits by day and dress for dinner.
A rambling club house and an elab-
nr9tp
where tradition says many important
deals in world finance have been
settled
Although the island is connected by
telephone to the mainland, the club
takes precautions to keep curious. per-
sons from disturbing members or the
deer they seldom hunt.
Through the Winter season (Feb-
ruary to ApriD the island is guarded
by men who turn back venturesome
boat parties from swank but less ex-
elusive Sea Island Beach.
Brunswick gets glimpses of the
wealthy club men before they go into
'hibernation. Most of them come
here by rail and are carried the 10
miles to Jekyll in club-owned steamers
or in the snappy new speedboat they
bought this year to cut trip time.
Occasionally yacht cruising to or
from the Caribbean drops anchor off
the island.
Vacated in Summer.
In Summer the seven-by -one mile
fastness is deserted except for care
takers. With special permission,
groups go out from here for turtle-egg
hunts on the beach and to see the
Jekyll gardens.
Smallest of the six sizable Golden
Isles" of the Georgia coast, Jekyll was
settled by Spanish adventures in 1866
when it was known by the Indian
name of Ospo.
Buccaneer Edward Teach (Black-
beardD used it for hiding place.
English Gen. James Edward Ogle-
thorpe changed the name when he
set up an outpost there more than
200 years ago.
A Frenchman, Christopher Foulaine
du Bignon, purchased the island from
the English and it was in his family's
possession until the millionaire group
bought it.
Until 1881 maps spelled the name
with one a." Then a club member
produced documents to show Sir
Joseph Jekyll, after whom Oglethorpe
named it, used two. An act of the
Georgia Legislature authorized the
extra a."