The park, which includes bathrooms and two tennis courts, is open from dawn to dusk daily. The County started construction on the Dog Park in June 2022, but completion was delayed due to Ian. A section of the park opened last spring but closed for finishing work.
“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” J.M. Barrie When I first came to Boca Grande in 1978, I was in third grade. It immediately became one of my favorite places on earth, and I realized a new dream then – to live and work here. I was blessed […]
SWFWMND, or the Southwest Florida Water Management District, declared a water shortage in multiple Tampa Bay counties on Tuesday, causing certain restrictions to go into place for residents, including those in the Lee County portion of Gasparilla Island. Dry conditions throughout the area, coupled with heightening water-supply concerns, led the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing […]
One of the most visible properties just off Gasparilla Island is the southern sand tip of Little Gasparilla Island. Anyone passing over the Boca Grande Causeway will know the 6.24-acre lot, as its wide beach is visible as you look west toward the Gulf of Mexico and Boca Grande Pass. “The owner wants to sell […]
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners will vote on amendments to the Lee County Comprehensive Land Use Plan that will eliminate current height restrictions on Captiva Island. In September, Lee County’s Board of County Commissioners voted four to one to overturn longstanding height precedents due to a storm “resilience” initiative […]
If you are a Florida resident and plan on voting in Lee County in the next election, now is the time to update your voting preferences. According to Tommy Doyle, Lee County Supervisor of Elections, making your changes now will be beneficial as 2024 draws closer … particularly if you are a vote-by-mail voter. A […]
The dog park at Wheeler Road Community Park, closed since June, will reopen to the public at dawn on Wednesday, Nov. 22, in time for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The county started construction on the dog park in June 2022. The project was 90 percent complete, but the opening was delayed due to Hurricane Ian. […]
A new meeting has been scheduled for late November for Commissioner Kevin Ruane to meet with the Boca Grande Parking Panel, in order to sort out the details in the creation of a rough draft proposal to present to Lee County Commissioners regarding Gilchrist Avenue and Historic District beach access parking. Parking Panel Chair Mary O’Bannon […]
The meeting of the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board on Wednesday, Nov. 8 featured a presentation by Friends of Boca Grande regarding their proposed renovations for the Community Center, The Island School, the Teacherage, the Dishong-Bowen House and the Crowninshield Community House. They wanted to see how the Board perceived their ideas and, to their benefit, everyone on the Board seemed to have no objections at all.
Three speakers were included in the presentation – Bayne Stevenson, from the Friends of Boca Grande Board of Directors; Marta Howell, Chief Executive Director of Friends; and Jeff Mudgett, an architect from Parker/Mudgett/Smith Architects, Inc. out of Fort Myers (the planners of The Island School).
Stevenson spoke first, explaining that the $11 to $12 million dollar project was strictly in the preliminary stages. Friends has sent out about 300 booklets to members of the island, to stress the importance of Louise du Pont Crowninshield’s part in the origin of the community center and the Crowninshield House. Keeping to the original vision and community use of the buildings, as well as the architecture, is vital to them, Stevenson said, as well as honoring its history.
If it is wrong to lie about your age when you are 16 so you can earn money to help your mother support the family, Pastor Gary Beatty has probably been forgiven. What was truly wrong was how poor he and his mother and five sisters were. Someone had to relieve the burden, so young Gary took it up as his responsibility. He joined the National Guard to get a paycheck.
The Beatty family was not the only poor family in Lancaster, Ohio, and Gary was not the only underage boy who enlisted in 1956.
“It wasn’t that uncommon,” Pastor Beatty recalled. “There were probably eight or 10 of us in our company who were underage.”