Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Editorial.
Many of you are aware that Sam Samsonov, a toll tender with the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority for 30 years, is no longer at the booth. There has been a flood of responses on social media regarding his leaving, and we wanted to acknowledge him. Sam, you were a Gasparilla Island fixture. Many people saw […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
We had another amazing Independence Day, and wanted to share some of our photos from the fireworks and the golf cart parade. If you’d like to see them, go to our website, bocabeacon.com, click on the “media” tab, then “photos.”Or, just click here: Boca Grande Independence Day
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Obituaries.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE We lost another one of our island mothers on Sunday, July 5, as Louise Bowe slipped away from congestive heart failure. Other than for a few years her entire life was spent on the island, and while she was a quiet, understated woman her impact on Gasparilla Island was profound. Mary Louise […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE AND JACK SHORT We’ve been famous before for having one of the most expensive zip codes, and for having some of the best beaches. We’ve got celebrity status for many reasons here on Gasparilla Island, and now we’ve got a new reason to be chatted up on the Today Show and in […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
BY MIKE VASHER When was the last time you had the opportunity to be invited onboard a fishing vessel to get to meet and speak with one of the world’s most well-known artists, scientists, explorers, and conservationists, Dr. Guy Harvey? With a little perseverance, Capt. Sandy Melvin, owner of Gasparilla Outfitters and a director of […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
Remember back in the day when you used to be able to go to our website and watch the world go by in downtown Boca Grande? Those days are here again, my friends, because the Boca Beacon webcam is back in business. Right now we’re still aiming it right down Park Avenue facing Hudson’s Grocery, […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE You’ll want to remember the name Gabriella Vetter. She’s only a teenager now, but give her a few years and she might be playing in the Masters’ Golf Tournament. You actually wouldn’t believe this story if you heard it out on the course or sitting at the clubhouse, but we can guarantee […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Letters to the Editor, News.
To the Editor: Snooty is an extra special Florida manatee who sets records every day for how long we know manatees can live. That fact has now been documented by the Guinness World Records. He has been named Guinness World Records’ “Oldest Manatee in Captivity.” Snooty lives at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, in […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Obituaries.
Mary Louise Bowe, 89, formerly of Boca Grande, died in Port Charlotte on July 5, 2015. Louise was born on September 2, 1925 in Bartow and moved to Boca Grande at age 3, where she resided until age 88. She retired from the Boca Grande Post Office in 1985 and was a lifelong member of […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Profiles.
BY JACK SHORT Joshua Karl would have had to try pretty hard to end up in a place more different than Boca Grande. When he grew up here on the island, he went by Joshua Johnson, of the “harbor pilot” Johnsons. But as he prepares to turn 40, he does so as a designer in […]