Former IRB Mayor's Hobby Makes a PointPhotos/Text by Sandi Fahy
Frank Proctor displays his latest needlepoint creation, "Nightclub on the Bay".
BELLEAIR BLUFFS - It all started with a seat cushion. One of the cushions in the six-chair dining room set needed replacing. Frank Proctor admired the needlepoint cushions on the chairs. After all, they had been stitched by his wife Helen's father, a retired Army colonel. A retired Army colonel himself, Proctor thought, "If that man can do it, I can, too." Replacing that cushion with a matching floral design was the beginning of a hobby that he has pursued for the past 20 years. Proctor, 83, a former mayor of Indian Rocks Beach who now resides in Belleair Bluffs, has completed some 60 different pieces in varying sizes over the years. His latest creation is based upon a painting he saw at an antique shop. The owner allowed him to take a photo of it and six months later, his decorative needlepoint has been framed and is now ready to hang. Proctor titled it "Nightclub on the Bay". One of Proctor's favorite works is the re-creation of the scene on the wine label used by Robert Stemmler Winery. He is also responsible for the large family crests that adorn their living room wall. The Army veteran is currently working on what he calls "an English snob", shown wearing a monocle and holding a martini. Proctor, who also likes to cook as a hobby and worked at E & E Stakeout Grill for 18 years for fun and no salary following his retirement, makes the canvases solely for family and friends. He would like other men to know that needlepoint is a great hobby they can enjoy without being embarrassed. He points to former NFL lineman Rosie Greer, whose talents included needlepoint. "Nobody poked fun at him," Proctor noted earlier this week.
Proctor with his current project
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