1949: Boca Grande’s first newspaper, the Boca Grande Journal

BY JAMES J. BLAHA, DIRECTOR, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER

The year was 1949, when NATO was established, West Germany was created, the People’s Republic of China was formally proclaimed and the Soviet Union began testing nuclear weapons. At that time, federal spending was $38.84 billion, unemployment 3.8 percent and the cost of a first-class stamp was three cents.

In Boca Grande, 1949 was also the year of the first newspaper of the island, The Boca Grande Journal. The newspaper’s first edition is a window into an island paradise. 

Presley’s Groceries advertised the following prices in the Journal: small spare ribs at 45 cents per pound; pure pork pan sausage at 45 cents per pound; Wilson Certified Oleo at 35 cents per pound; Maxwell House Coffee at 55 cents; wax paper at 25 cents; sirloin steak at 75 cents per pound; sliced bacon at 59 cents per pound; applesauce at 14 cents per can; Crisco at $1.15, and Palmolive soap (two for 29 cents). The San Marco Theatre featured movies such as Roy Rogers and Trigger in Home in Oklahoma; Charles Laughton in Henry VIII; Maria Montez in Pirates of Monterey; Franchot Tone and Lucille Ball in Her Husband’s Affairs; and James Mason in The Wicked Lady, among other films. The Hotel Sprott ad declared, “The Hotel Sprott welcomes you; visit the Land of the Silver King; vacationland at its best! Dock fishing, swimming, shelling, boating.” The Gasparilla Island Dairy ad promoted “better milk from government-certified cows; long-isolated government-certified cows are your guarantee of delicious dairy products. Your call will bring dependable service.”

Although the Journal lasted only one year, it provides an excellent vignette of life and lifestyles on Gasparilla Island and in Boca Grande in 1949. Before the internet became a way of life, newspapers often provided a window to the world, including “happenings” of local communities.

The publisher of the newspaper was veteran steamship Harbor Pilot, Capt. Clem Johnson. The newspaper was “devoted to the shipping interests, Tarpon Fishing, Sport Fishing of All Kinds, Bird Lovers, Collectors of Seashells and the General Interest of our Year-Long Vacationers.” Published every Thursday, the annual subscription rate was $4.50. 

In 2002, Capt. Clem Johnson’s nephew, Capt. Robert Johnson, in partnership with the Boca Grande Historical Society, collected and published a bound volume containing 41 editions of the 1949 Boca Grande Journal (January 27 – November 12, 1949). Wrote Johnson:

“If you had to choose one year in which to have a paper, 1949 would probably have been the year that you would have chosen. Many things happened that year. The Women’s Club was started. The Library was established. The Pink Elephant was opened. It was a year of happenings. And yet, I think 1949 was in many ways typical of the way Boca Grande was almost from the beginning. I don’t think there is a better way to know the history of this unique community than to read these issues of the Boca Grande Journal.”

Many “things” DID happen in Boca Grande in 1949, as exemplified by the following headlines from the Journal:

• “Handsome Mercantile Building (Today – Post Office & BG Realty) Is Practically Completed”

• “Medical Center Proposed for Boca Grande”

• “Boca Grande Wants City Yacht Dock”

• “Movie Star Lana Turner Will Not Return Until L-Dock Is Repaired”

• “Control Board Rejects Docks, Sewers”

• “Theatre Ends Its First Successful Season”

• “Temptation Bar Liquor License Finally Granted”

• “Driving Licenses Will Be Sold at Drug Store Sept. 9”

•“Medical Center Nears Completion”

• “Will Boca Grande Have a Bridge?”

• “Kiwanis Club to Repair City Dock”

• “Boat Brings Kids from Islands to School Here”

• “Hillbilly wedding in July Held at Community House”

In addition to the extensive variety of feature articles pertaining to life on Gasparilla Island and in Boca Grande, the Journal also included weekly columns devoted to Port Boca Grande shipping news, fishing, social events, sports and national news briefs. 

It even covered autos. One of the articles was, “Boca Grande Goes All Out for New Automobiles:”

“The Citizens of Boca Grande have really gone on a buying spree for new cars this spring. 24 brand-new cars and three new trucks have come to the island in the last six weeks, to say nothing of about a dozen or more second-hand cars that have been brought in. A fine big Packard graces the curb of the Seaboard offices at the port, while the Pilot office is decorated with one of Mr. Chrysler’s largest models. Three fine Hudsons, seven Chevrolets, seven Fords, a Studebaker, Mercury, Dodge, and a Jeep round out the list.”

Commentaries, editorials, personals, letters, weather, gardening, regional news and classified ads offered a glimpse into 1949. A thorough examination of the number and types of business ads in the Journal in 1949 evidence more than 40 ads for local businesses, i.e., no franchises. A recent research project of the Boca Grande History Center showed at least 240 local businesses on Gasparilla Island over the years.

In the introduction to the bound collection, Capt. Robert Johnson stated, “In order to understand the difference between the Boca Grande of 1949 and today, you must realize that 1949 Gasparilla Island, of necessity, was a self-contained island. It had the stores, services, and schools that it needed for the people who lived, worked and visited here.”

On Nov. 12, 1949, the headline on the front page of the Journal stated “Journal Will Suspend Publication. Boca Grande’s First Newspaper Proves Financial Failure.” 

Overhead costs plus inadequate income from advertising were the major causes of Boca Grande’s first newspaper ceasing publication. An editor of the Journal wrote: “Well, the Journal didn’t do so well, all we have is a desk stacked high with bills that will take months to pay off. We have reached the end of the rope, and the bills have to be paid. They cannot be paid so long as the Journal is published; it takes all the cash.”

Bound volumes of “Boca Grande’s First Newspaper” remain as one of the essential tools for identifying the variables that contributed to the Island’s unique history. 

Visitors to the History Center are invited to view the bound copies of the Boca Grande Journal. A few of the bound copies are also available for sale. 

The History Center provides an island history to the Beacon every other week. To find out more about the history of Gasparilla Island and Boca Grande, visit the Center at 170 Park Avenue. Check our website at bocagrandehistoricalsociety.com or join us on Facebook. The History Center is open all year, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. except for July, August, September when the Center is closed on Mondays.