Have you ever seen the Take 5 Tree along FishHawk Boulevard? It was 20 years ago when local grandfather Dan Nagle Sr. and his grandsons, Keidan and Quin, would make a routine stop at a favorite landmark — the Take 5 Tree — during their bike rides up FishHawk Boulevard to grab a Slurpee.
“I do a lot of biking myself, and when we’d go out to get some exercise with the grandkids, they couldn’t quite make it all the way up the hill for a Slurpee,” explained Nagle Sr., now age 91, who added, “I’d say, ‘Hey guys, let’s ‘take five’ under this tree.’”
This perfect resting stop continued for some time.
On a visit to Busch Gardens, Nagle Sr. saw a vendor offering custom wood carvings and had a sign made for the ‘Take 5 Tree,’ and in 2005 he got a ladder and mounted the sign.
Now, two decades later, the sign is still there and Nagle Sr. who still rides, but not all the way up the road for a Slurpee, is proud of the lasting tribute to the perfect rest stop.
“I’m glad the tree is still there,” said Nagle Sr. “It’s nice to know that something so simple can still mean so much, even after all these years.”
Nagle Sr., an Army veteran, served in Germany in the 10th Infantry division in 1956. He came home and missed his daughter Lynn’s birth in 1959 because it was a 16-day journey back to the U.S. He was stateside for the birth of his son, Lithia resident Dan Nagle Jr., Nagle Sr. had a heart attack at 42 years old and open-heart surgery at 50 years old. His doctor instructed him to exercise or die, and he asked if cycling was exercise. Nagle still cycles to this day and rides 7-10 miles every Wednesday, and he even participated in a Tour de Nagle cycle from Valdosta, Georgia, all the way to Riverview at age 72 years old, 20 years ago.
“Age is just a number,” advised Nagle Sr., a retired lawyer, during a recent visit to Florida. “There is so much you can do to overcome what you think you can’t do.”
The Take 5 Tree is on the south side of FishHawk Boulevard right after the Circa FishHawk sign.
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