Text Size

Profile: Creighton Sherman

13 April 2012 Last Updated on 13 April 2012 Marcy Shortuse

Creighton Sherman1

BY LIZA STROUT - When visitors come to Gasparilla Island, they often remark on the difference between Boca Grande and Sanibel or Siesta Key. The laid-back charm, the preserved downtown, the complete lack of towering condos. They ask why this island is so different from the others.

Any answer would have to include Creighton Sherman.

Creighton was born in Marshall, Mich., where he spent his childhood playing with the other children in the small town. In the summer, it was bikes and tricycles. Winter brought out the sleds.

“Kids don’t really have hobbies,” he mused. “They have things that they like to do, but I wouldn’t call them hobbies.”

Creighton’s mother stayed home to raise him and his brother. His father was a merchant.

“He owned the first Chevrolet dealership in town. He also owned the family shoe store, which was in business from 1892 - 1981. And right out of high school he had a stint with the Post Office,” he said.

He grew up with one brother, David.

In 1950, Creighton graduated from Michigan State, having studied Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning. He put that training to use on Gasparilla Island. In 1971, he first came to the island, lured by the tales of his wife’s uncle, Livingston Hunter.

“He was on the island, supervising the building of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church. He told us how beautiful it was, so we visited,” he said. “While he was here, he bought a home, it was an old, empty fishing shack, and he had a house built there. Today it is the Stanton house.”

Creighton was quick to buy his own home on the island. “In 1972, we bought a house on a back road on the island.

Hank Wright and his wife owned a home there. We decided that the road needed a name.”

It is thanks to Creighton and Wright that Boca Grande has the ‘Damfi’ Streets: Damficare, Damfino, Damfiwill. Creighton’s house was on Damficare.

In the late 1970s, a group of island residents got together to discuss their concerns about the future development of Gasparilla Island. The result of their conversations was the Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association, or GICIA.

“At the time, this was a very laid back, lovely island. It was slow, and peaceful. There were still so many lovely native residents. It really was one of the best examples of early Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. And we wanted to keep it that way. The island was still relatively unknown, but it was starting to be noticed. We didn’t want to lose the charm and the history and the way of life like so many other places did,” he explained.

One of the people on the board of GICIA was a close friend. He asked Creighton if he would be willing to stay on the island full-time.

“I jumped at the idea,” he said. “This was paradise. I started on January 1, 1980. I spent that first summer boating, gardening and exploring the area. It was possibly the most satisfying work that any human could ask to do. Since I loved what I did, it was more like one long vacation. I come from a long line of farmers. We love to make things grow, and we love the outdoors, so this was perfect.”

Creighton accomplished many things in his tenure as executive director of the association.

“We were instrumental in quite a few things that happened around the island,” he said.

“With the lighthouse, we helped to raise money and worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to place the lamp back inside of the structure after it was restored. By that point, not only was the lighthouse getting ready to fall into the Pass, the large cement structure that they had moved the light to was being undermined and it had started to tip,” Creighton explained. “They were happy to get it to a safe structure.”

“Later, several organizations and individuals got together to save the Amory Chapel that is near the lighthouse,” he continued.

The Chapel was abandoned when the black community moved off-island in the late 70s and early 80s. When work began, there were drifts of sand where the pews once sat. Today it is used for weddings and other events. It and the lighthouse are part of Gasparilla Island State Park, and are managed by the Barrier Island Parks Society.

When the Creightons moved onto the island in 1971, the train was still running to the port at the south end. Not too long after the formation of the GICIA, that changed.

“The project that people notice the most often is the bike path. The Association worked closely with CSX Railroad executives to acquire the land after the old track was removed. It was very nostalgic, watching the last train go through town. Everyone showed up to watch it go. We still have a section of the original track next to the old Depot building, and there is even an original signal to go with it.

“Getting the bike path property was a process of give and take. The CSX people were wonderful to work with, they were very generous and cooperative. GICIA worked to raise money for the building of the path and the initial landscaping, which has been vastly improved in recent years,” said Creighton.

While the lighthouse may be historically important, and the bike path highly visible, the one thing that has had the greatest impact on the island was an idea. The Gasparilla Island Conservation District Act froze zoning, limited density and height of buildings, and banned off-site advertising signs. GICIA was the main driver behind getting the referendum passed.

“The idea came from Porter Goss, who was mayor of Sanibel at the time, and it was supported by most of the community, from the seasonal residents to the people who lived out here full time,” said Creighton.

“Without it, we would have become another island full of towering buildings and chain restaurants.“

While he was busy helping to make Gasparilla Island what it is today, Creighton was also having a family. His met his wife, Becky, at a social function held at her college in Painesville, Ohio. They have three children and seven grandchildren.

Their son, Lee, is an RN with the state prison in Michigan. “He had been working in an ER for about a decade. When the job became available, he thought it would be a challenge, so he took it. He has been there ever since,” Creighton said.

His older daughter, Jane, is a homemaker. She volunteers with her church in Sparta, Mich., and is very active in her community.

His younger daughter is also a homemaker, in Kalamazoo, Mich. Sarah is also a graduate of the University of Michigan.

Among the three, there are seven grandchildren.

Creighton’s wife passed away in March of 2004. Becky was well known on the island, and was the person responsible for starting the Thursday morning pancake breakfasts at the Methodist Church.

When they had time, the Creighton’s loved to travel.

“I’ve been to New Zealand most recently. England, Scotland and Ireland. I went to Santa Fe with Elderhostel,” he said.

Creighton retired from the GICIA in 1992. His retirement party was attended by hundreds of islanders; a tribute to the job that he had done protecting and shepherding the island.

These days, Creighton spends his summers on a small island in the 30,000 Islands area of Georgian Bay in Canada.

“I live about 100 miles north of Toronto. I spend my time cooking, cleaning, boating, fishing and doing what gardening I can. There isn’t a lot of soil on the island. You can find pine trees growing straight out of the bedrock. They actually get their nutrition from the rain eroding the rock.”

Georgian Bay is part of the Canadian Shield, an area scoured to granite bedrock during the last ice age.

While the island population of Gasparilla Island has grown over the years, one thing remains the same.

“I have always found that people on the island are eager to help save the island. Not just financially, but physically. They will literally put their shoulder to the grindstone if asked,” Creighton said.

“One thing that I wish more people knew is what exactly the Gasparilla Island Conservation District Act does. It is one of the most powerful tools that the island has for preservation. They also need to know what GICIA is and what it does. There are so many new people on the island, and I think that that history and knowledge needs to be shared,” he explained.