Fripparitaville? Sea-section? What’s the Frippin’ best home name on this SC island?
Over five decades ago, tractors had to pull Gini Reese in a Buick, stuck while driving to her Fripp Island home, out of the sand. It happened to island residents all the time.
That was in 1969 when Reese and her husband purchased their first home on the South Carolina barrier island. It was four years after developers completed the access bridge from Hunting Island and they only paved Tarpon Boulevard as far as the Beach Club.
Reese, 97, said she lived in one of 15 homes on Fripp Island at the time, and she was either the first or second to name a home. She called her Remora Drive residence “Sawtooth,” coined by the builder for the home’s angular build. Named around the same time, another house was called “Tara,” from “Gone with the Wind.”
Today, the road is paved and there are about 1,500 homes and villas on the island, many of which have names. Displayed on mailboxes, the titles range from play-on-words to family name homages to wildlife references. Names aren’t required, but they’ve been popping up more frequently in the past decade, according to long-time island residents. It adds to the resort’s charm and some islanders take the names further than the mailbox, matching the theme to their homes, boats and bars. It also fosters a sense of community among homeowners, some of whom have been waiting years to purchase a home on the island.
The name of Carol Ferrence’s home reflects that. In the 30 years Ferrence had been vacationing on Fripp Island, she and her husband thought about buying a house multiple times.
“Finally COVID hit and we just said ‘What are we waiting for?’” she said. “We f-ing did it.”
Her home name? “We Frippin’ did it.”
Owners have 18 characters to come up with a name, according Ann Shondell, who takes orders for the signs. The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette found our favorites and we spoke with some of the owners about the stories behind them, too.
Meant to Bee
Lori and Don Peel have lived on Fripp Island for decades, but they weren’t always married and they didn’t always live together. Now that they’re married and purchased a home together four years ago, they say it was “always meant to be,” according to Lori.
The spelling of bee just came about, she said, and almost as soon as they named it, friends started showing up with bee-themed housewarming gifts.
“We probably have about 50 wine glasses with bees,” she said, standing next to their boat, which is named “Meant To Bee Too!” Their puppy has a bee collar, the pool has a bee float and the garden has bee ornaments.
Fripparitaville
A play on Jimmy Buffets “Margaritaville.”
Sea-section
Home to a retired obstetrician gynecologist who delivered 6,889 babies during his career, according to a Fripp Island magazine interview.
Swede Retreat
Annika Nasr was born in Sweden and moved to the United States after being recruited for swimming to the University of Georgia. The name is an ode to her heritage and family who still live in Sweden.
Southern Solitude
Barclay Sharon grew up vacationing on a body of water called Solitude Creek on Eastern Shore of Maryland. She always envisioned that’s where her children would, too.
When the property sold, she said she was crushed. After vacationing in Fripp for over 20 years, she purchased a home on the island five years ago and lives there full-time. The name is meant to honor the place she loved so much in Maryland.
Sharon made a puzzle out of the collage of about 68 mailbox names a few years ago, and while they’re all sold out she said she sold anywhere from 500-750 puzzles.
The Oasis
“It just kind of fit,” Becky Freimuth said. She and her husband were considering naming the home something after the TV show Gilligan’s Island, but decided on this name instead. Their downstairs bar is called “The Oasis Lounge.”
Waffling Breezes
Julia and Harold Mills use to live in northern Virginia’s “hotbed of traffic and humanity.”
All the while Julia’s parents would be sitting out on the screened-in deck of the Fripp Island home they built in 1978. When Julia would call to catch up, her dad would tell her about the waffling breezes coming from over the water.
The Mills moved full-time to the home once Julia’s parents died and they decided to name the home after the phrase her dad used to describe the serenity.
“You could hear the smile in his voice,” she said. “It made us very jealous.”
Shore Beats Work
Seas the Day
Reel ‘em Inn
Gone Frippin’
We Frippin’ Did It
Frippadee-do-da
Crabby Pelican
Frippin’ Best House
All’s Whale
Snappy Gator
Flip Flop Villa
If you’re reading this article in our print edition and want to take the poll, go to www.islandpacket.com.
This story was originally published November 22, 2023 at 12:00 AM.
