By Andrew Meacham, Times Staff Writer
Friday, December 24, 2010
ST. PETERSBURG — Gene LeCompte put his Christmas lights out right after Thanksgiving, sparing no wattage or labor to adorn the extended family's holiday headquarters.
He strung lights in the bushes outside his Allendale-area home and along the eaves, his two sons pitching in. His wife, Elizabeth, cooked for days. Children took vacation time to be there and bring their own kids.
Mr. LeCompte often enforced close relationships with some kind of action, from frying the trout he had caught off Fort De Soto to handing out Werther's candies to children and adults.
He built the Park Inn Restaurant and Drug Store on those relationships, starting with his family. After he opened it in 1950, the restaurant on 16th Street N quickly turned into a neighborhood social hub.
Mr. LeCompte bused tables and greeted customers, even cooked if he ...