Week 39—Steps—Lovetta Loveless at Club Med

Sometimes I take these themes literally. I searched in RootsMagic genealogy database for the word “steps” and found this article about my first cousin, twice removed, Lovetta Loveless. Her father, Zachariah Loveless was a son of my maternal great-great-grandfather, Ebenezer Loveless.

Lovetta (1929-2011), never married. She lived in Little Rock, Arkansas and worked as a legal secretary. A January 6, 1977 newspaper article from the Arkansas Democrat gave an account of her trip to a Club Med location in Playa Blanca, Mexico.

      “It was a fabulous vacation for Lovetta Loveless when she spent a December week at Club Mediterranie at Playa Blanca, Mexico. The village is situated on a hillside on the Pacific Coast between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanilla. ‘My bungalow was next to the top--86 steps from the main area. Even though I tried to eliminate trips up and down, it was almost necessary to make four or five trips a day,’ she said.

      “The activities at the club were numerous--scuba diving, tennis, sailing, snorkeling, swimming, volleyball, horseback riding, deep sea fishing and arts and crafts, to name just a few.

      “Lovetta had to choose so she picked tennis lessons, Greek dancing and just relaxing on the beach. She advanced to the semi-finals of the beginners' tennis tournament. She also was initiated into deep sea fishing and believes she has found her hobby—'just the life for a person with tired blood.’

      “The good was great, she said. Buffet and lunch was buffet style and she could choose from lavish menus. Dinner was a four-course meal. There were pitchers of beer and wine at each meal, with the exception of breakfast.

      “Dancing and entertainment filled the evenings. ‘Not too many people from this part of the country know about the Club Meds,’ Loretta said. ‘There are at present none in this country, but they have them in Cancun, Mexico, Caravelle and Fort Royal, Guadaloupe, Buccaneer's Creek in Martinique, Moorea, Tahiti, Hanalei Plantation, Hawaii, Marrakesh and Agadir, Morocco, and also in Spain, West Africa, Israel, Switzerland, Tunisia, Egypt, Majorca, Italy and Turkey. One girl I met had been to the Martinique Club five times. That's where I want to go next.’"[1]

It was the 86 steps she had to climb to reach her room was what caught my eye and thought it matched the theme. I researched this Club Med site and it no longer exists. From the Club Med Planet forum, I learned about others who had spent time there.[2] It was sold off after travel was down following 9/11.

It sure sounded like she had a lot of fun doing the wonderful activities at the resort. I think tennis lessons, Greek dancing, and enjoying the beach sound just what I would want to do, too.

I have no photos of her trip. However, this website has images of the resort in the 70s. http://www.clubmedplanet.com/village_detail.asp?cntnt=pic&vilcode=PLAB.

I spoke with Lovetta once on the telephone, asking her questions about her family for genealogy and she sounded like a fun-loving person. She knew some really important people in her life-time, even Bill Clinton. Wished I could have met her in person.

This is my fourth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

[1] Betty Woods, “Some Spring Fun at Playa Blanca, Mexico,” Arkansas Democrat (Little Rock), 6 Jan 1977, p. 2c.

[2] “Club Med Playa Blanca,” forum, Club Med Planet (http://clubmedplanet.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1742 : accessed 29 Sep 2021).Copyright © 2021 by Lisa S. Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family, All rights reserved.

Comments

  1. Barb LaFaraOctober 5, 2021 at 11:00 AM

    I can't imagine checking into a hotel and being directed to find my room at the top of the stairs, and it turns out to be an 86 step staircase. I think that would be all the exercise I would want for a vacation. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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