Letters: Pickleball, Whidden’s and Chowder Fest
Island School PTO thanks community
To the Editor:
The Island School PTO would like to thank everyone for their hard work in making the Chowder Dinner SO successful!
We would have never been able to pull that off without the help of our Island School staff, parents, alumni, local restaurants, chefs, businesses & community!
With all your support, we reached our goal and are very excited to be able to continue to support the kids and staff in any way possible!
We look forward to next year’s Chowder dinner!
Sincerely,
TIS PTO board
Whidden’s makes anniversary trip
To the Editor:
A chilly and rainy Sunday happened to be my husband’s and my 35th wedding anniversary. Normally, we go away to celebrate, or at least take the boat out, but this year found us spending our anniversary at home. So I found myself trying to think about something we could do today, and I decided to take my husband down to see Whidden’s Marina.
My husband has heard me talk a lot about the history of Boca Grande, and of course that includes Whidden’s Marina. He’s been wanting to go down to see this marina that he’s heard me speak of, and so today I finally took him down there, and I’m very glad I did!
He very much enjoyed the Maritime Museum, but I think the highlight of the afternoon was being able to talk to the family of Sam Whidden who were there and happy to share their stories. I’ve taken friends down there many times but today, as I watched my husband ask questions and enjoy talking to this wonderful family, I learned so much more and fell even more in love with this “hidden gem” in Boca Grande.
And so I’m taking this moment to write this letter to remind people of the importance of preserving the history of Boca Grande and places such as Whidden’s Marina. Don’t wait for a cold, rainy day to explore this island. Get out there and talk to people like the Whidden’s family especially. This is a family that goes back generations in Boca Grande and the marina is their life and their legacy. They are struggling to keep Whidden’s Marina alive. How sad would it be if they were unable to hold onto this property?!
In all our years married and all the ways we’ve celebrated our anniversary, this afternoon at Whidden’s Marina is one that I think we both will always cherish.
I want to thank the family of Sam Whidden for taking the time to share with us your family history and for making our day so special. And to all of you who are reading this, go visit Whidden’s Marina and the Gasparilla Island Maritime Museum. Talk to the family there, they will be sure to transport you back in time, and you’ll learn so much more about this beautiful island! Maybe by doing so, we can help the Whidden family preserve their legacy and a very important piece of Boca Grande history.
Sincerely,
Sandi Firtion
Future of Wheeler Tennis and Pickleball Courts
To the Editor:
I have been coming to Boca Grande for the past 41 years. As a Florida resident, I live in the Turtleback Colony for six months of the year and then return to my home state of Iowa. I was the head teaching pro at a country club for approximately 30 years, becoming a member of both the USPTA and USPTR professional organizations. During my time as a pro, as our programs expanded, I had experience building courts and domes as well as managing all the programing. With this background, I think I can contribute value to the planning of the Wheeler St. tennis project.
Over the last two years, I have contacted Lee County Parks and Recreation about doing something to upgrade the tennis courts and provide separate pickleball courts. After meeting with Lee County officials in 2022, we were notified that we could not use the Wheeler baseball area for any tennis or pickleball expansion. They said the space needed to be used for the Friday morning Farmer’s Market and as a hurricane debris location. Yes, they were correct on needing space for post-Ian debris. However, 2022 was the first time in my memory the space needed to be used for that purpose.
In my opinion, the County could certainly find 7,500 square feet, in what is left of the huge area of the old baseball park, to build four dedicated pickleball courts. At one time I thought it might be possible to replace one tennis court with a pickleball court. However, after seeing the usage of the tennis courts, it makes no sense to take away a court that is used regularly. That would be the equivalent of taking away half the public tennis courts in Boca Grande!
The current status is that Lee County wants to move forward with their plan of removing one tennis court and building four new pickleball courts. Four pickleball courts could fit on one regulation-sized tennis court. It would also be important for the County to know that the pickleball courts should be close to the current restroom on Wheeler Street.
The bottom line is that the Boca Grande residents were never given the chance to give their input on the changes the County is planning to make. We welcome pickleball in Boca Grande and realize that it is a paddle sport that both young and old can play. Our only objection is that we think each sport should have their own dedicated court space.
I suggest that tennis and pickelball players have a meeting to discuss what Boca Grande would like to see happen to the Wheeler court area before Lee County decides what they think Boca Grande needs.
I would like to invite all interested parties to a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 4:30 p.m. at the Wheeler tennis courts. Please come to give us your feedback on the future of paddle sports on Wheeler. In case of bad weather, we will move to the Houghton room in the Community Center.
Cam Watts,
USPTA, USPTR
Pickleball’s Value for Boca Grande
To the Editor:
I get the feeling that the people at the Boca Beacon don’t know much about Pickleball. Hopefully you would be interested in doing a little homework to see what it’s all about. It is the fastest growing sport in the country for very good reasons.
All we ever hear from those who know nothing about the sport is that it’s noisy, but so are dogs, lawn mowers, kids at school, delivery trucks and just about any activity.
The Beacon is mostly about tennis, and their Island Tournament, but there is just so much more to like about Pickleball. As a matter of fact, Pickleball should be part of the Island Tournament during January, just need some courts and knowledgeable people to organize it.
I was reading the most recent Boca Beacon and saw two articles about the proposed updating of the Tennis courts on Wheeler Road. Conversations have been going on with Lee County for five or six years about adding pickleball at that location.
The plan they have right now is for four pickleball courts and one tennis court. The tennis court would not have pickleball lines painted on it. A common complaint is that tennis players can’t get on a court because there are people playing pickleball on the tennis courts.
You state in your Editorial that pickleball is noisy, including the fact that there would be 16 people on four courts rather than eight people on two Tennis courts. You’re wrong, there would be 20-30 people at the pickleball courts every morning, laughing, exercising, meeting new friends and adding years to their lives through social interactions and exercise.
Pickleball has has a system to rotate players into the next game so during busy times one group can’t occupy a court making others wait like Tennis does. It’s really strange to hear people complain about noise from too many people enjoying an activity at a park in Boca Grande.
Isn’t that a good thing, more people having fun!!
Paul Richards
Grand Rapids and Boca Grande
IPTPA Certified Instructor
BEER CITY OPEN Co-Founder
GRPC Board Member/Advanced Play
USA Pickleball Ambassador
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