Still Rocking Englewood

It’s kind of a fun coincidence that as Englewood celebrates the 60th year of Pioneer Days with the theme Englewood Rocks, Andy Rock celebrates his 60th year in Englewood. Rock, 65, moved here with his family from Virginia, when he was five years old.

In another interesting coincidence, a photo of Andy, his sister Alice and his dad Bennett in the 1957 Pioneer Days Parade shows them on a handmade float that says “Englewood Rocks” Andy is actually Bennett A. Rock, Jr. 

Andy’s older sister, Nancy Rock Benardo said that their parents ended up in Englewood after not finding what they were looking for in Clearwater or Fort Myers. “Driving up US 41 they saw the sign for Englewood. Their friends John and Norma Reynolds lived here and they decided to visit.” That was all it took. The Rocks saw property on Dearborn Street and bought it. 

The family lived on prime Englewood real estate back in the day. At the site of Buchan’s Landing, Rocks’ parents built Rock’s Hotel and Fishing Lodge. “My dad had a tackle shop on the corner. We lived on the bay and fished.” said Rock. The resort drew everyone from winter tourists to construction workers drawn by the building boom to one of the stars of the Phil Silvers show. “But I don’t remember his name,” added Rock. 

Both recall the comfort of growing up in a place that was growing up along with you. “It was a small town, everyone knew everyone,” said Rock. Benardo recalls, “It was a great place to grow up. “You went out and did something and before you got home your parents knew about it.”

It might have been fun for the kids, but Benardo said that the house was a lot of work for her parents. Eunice did the housekeeping and Bennett tackled all the maintenance and grounds work. When he took a job with the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners around 1960, their mom took on running the hotel until they sold it in 1968, keeping the house until 1984. That’s when Andy says a “no name storm (1982) scared them away” from the water and they built a house on Hosmer Ave.

That house was right behind the fire station that would become a focus of Andy and Nancy’s life. His father was a volunteer firefighter and the chairman of the board for a number of years. Andy joined his dad at the fire station as soon as he turned 18. Nancy’s husband, Bruce Benardo, also became a firefighter there. 

“The first fire truck they had was an old 1947 military surplus International. It had a small engine and pumped 500 gallons a minute,” said Rock. Back then, he said “People could donate money and become a member of the fire department. There were three sirens, one at the fire station, one at the beach and one (coincidentally) by our property.”

The women in the Rock family got involved in the fire department as well. Nancy Benardo restarted the Ladies Auxiliary. The group held bake sales, spaghetti dinners and Tuesday night Bingo at the station, raising money for the department. When the dispatcher retired, Eunice Rock took over from their house, making calls with an old CB radio. Bruce Benardo became fire chief in 1966 and Rock went from volunteer to paid firefighter in 1977. 

“We worked 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday before we went to 24-hour shifts,” said Rock. With two young children at home, Rock admits it was difficult for his wife Lorrie and his daughters. “I spent a lot of holidays, birthdays and anniversaries away from them”

One bright spot for Andy came in 1976 when he received a commendation from Senator Warren Henderson for saving the life of South Venice fireman Jack Stevens. On April 25, 1994 Englewood, Venice, South Venice, El Jobean and North Port firefighters were fighting a huge bush fire in South Venice. Rock noticed Stevens “stumbling around and nearly surrounded by fire.” Rock rushed into a wall of fire with no concern for his personal safety and pulled Stephens to safety. “We put him on the tail board of the truck and brought him back out to the main road. An ambulance took him to the hospital.” Rock ended up at the hospital too and was treated for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion. Rock said, “I just believed it was one of those things where I was put in the right spot at the right time. It’s part of what being a firefighter is all about, helping others and helping your community.”

The family saw a lot of changes in the fire department which eventually became the Englewood Area Fire Control District. “The funeral homes ran the ambulance service. Kind of morbid I know.” The fire department took over and then, once the firefighters realized how much time was required to run the ambulance, the two split off, before the departments reunited years later

In 1981 Nancy Benardo said her husband was told the Department could not afford to keep him on as chief. But he wasn’t about to stop fighting fires, so he went to work for Charlotte County, retiring in 2002. Andy Rock stayed with the department for 31 years, four years as chief before he too was let go in 2001. Both have stayed in Englewood and their sister Alice Patton lives in Nokomis. Lorrie Mallory Rock has worked for the Wellbaum Law Firm (now Wellbaum and Emery) for 30 years and daughter Andrea Coppock lives in Port Charlotte and Carolyn Laughary lives in Englewood and is an R.N. in Englewood Community Hospital. Nancy and Bruce Benardo raised their sons Bruce Jr. who lives in Washington, DC and Michael, who lives in Englewood.

Even though he went through some difficult times, Andy Rock said he never really thought of leaving Englewood and he is happy that his six grandchildren live so close. He does have one regret, that they never got the chance to visit him at the fire station. “They would have loved that.”