Remembering the old island school, and the era of the old Boca Grande Hotel

BY KIM KYLE AS TOLD FROM CHARLYN CRANDALL HEIDENREICH

Charlyn Crandall Heidenreich and her brother, John, attended the Boca Grande School from 1945 to 1948. At the time, their father, John M. Crandall, was the manager of the Boca Grande Hotel. Captain John M. Crandall served in the military during World War II. After being discharged, he was hired by the president and owner of the Boca Grande Hotel, Joseph Spadaro. Prior to World War II, “Jack” Crandall was associated with the American Hotels Corporation as the manager of various hotels under their direction. He was a graduate of Cornell University.  

Charlyn and her brother walked or biked to school. Charlyn remembers Mrs. Bowden, the 5th and 6th-grade teacher, whose husband was the sheriff. A lot of time was spent trying to get a scoop on the latest island disturbances, but they seldom succeeded because there weren’t any.   

Memorizing the Gettysburg Address, learning fractions, a great Valentine party and taking turns reading the Bobbsey Twins out loud were 6th-grade memories. In 7th and 8th grades there was Miss Boone, but Charlyn mostly remembered Mr. Jones. He was short, wore old, drab clothes and was a rather sad person. Her sharpest memory is the paddle he frequently used on the boys. The girls were afraid they would be next. Charlyn remembers well its most frequent recipient, and this same brave one finally put an end to this punishment when he put the paddle into the coal stove. The missing paddle remained a mystery to Mr. Jones, but the students knew the answer and had encouraged its torching. 

She fondly remembers the co-ed sewing classes and making aprons, but her favorite class was archery. There was the Spelling Bee, Girl Scout overnights in the cabin, the island Christmas party, horseback riding on the beach, fishing off the railroad trestle and the arrival of the passenger train. Charlyn’s fondest memory of living on the island was the freedom to explore with little fear.

The Boca Grande Historical Society has a collection of photographs donated by Charlyn Crandall Heidenreich from the 1940s, when she and her family lived on the island. Her father can be seen greeting guests as they arrived by ferry, by passenger train at the depot, and at a private dock for hotel guests. Her mother, Betty, is in photos with local fishing guides, fishing with guests of the Boca Grande Hotel. There are also photos of Charlyn and her brother on horseback, Charlyn holding a birthday cake at the Boca Grande Hotel, and more.  

To view the collection, visit bocagrandehistoricalsociety.com. Click on the “History Center & Archives” tab at the top, scroll down to “Online Collections Database,” and click. Then, click “Open Our Collections Database,” where you can choose how to search the collection of photos, newspaper articles, artifacts and maps. The History Center is currently closed for renovations due to storm damage from Hurricane Helene.

Email info@bocagrandehistoricalsociety.com.