BY MARY COOK – Trains would come in carrying loads of ammunition, and there’d be armed guards on top of the train. They even built some barracks on the island. Patrol boats ran missions keeping track of the submarines we could see from the coast. Minesweepers worked the pass. These words spoken by late Darrell […]
Blair Elizabeth Chapin of Orlando died peacefully surrounded by her parents, Susan and Roger Chapin, her younger sister Grey (13) and her beloved standard poodle Henri on April 4, 2017. A funny and loving child with a smile that could light up a room and a laugh that was contagious, Blair never met a stranger. […]
BY SUE ERWIN – If you’re ready to step up your tennis game with a stronger swing and a crushing serve, you might want to think about talking with Skylar Warren, the assistant tennis pro at the Boca Grande Club. Skylar has been playing tennis since he was in eighth grade. “I grew up playing […]
The 2017 Ladies Day Tarpon Tournament is gearing up for another exciting year of tarpon fishing. The event will be held on Mother’s Day weekend, Saturday, May 13 in Boca Grande Pass from 5 to 8 p.m. The awards ceremony will follow immediately after at the Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce, 471 Park Ave., […]
On Thursday, March 30 Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of the theft of three fishing rods from the victim’s residence. According to reports, the victim told sheriff’s deputies he kept the rods next to the stairs in the car port under his condominium. He told the deputy the rods were there […]
BY SUE ERWIN – What we behold, we become.” That’s how artist Kevin Fitzgerald describes the inspiration he gets when he starts a new oil painting. A reception was held at the Hughes Gallery on Tuesday, April 4 and Wednesday April 5 to honor Fitzgerald’s work. Born in Washington D.C. in 1953, Fitzgerald was drawn to […]
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE The Boca Grande Community Center will be set up and ready for all two and four-legged contestants of the 2017 Boca Grande Dog Show, which will be held this Saturday, April 1 beginning at 10 a.m. The field is full, according to a spokesperson for the event, so the lawn at […]
■ STAFF REPORT The restoration of the Gasparilla Island Light, also known as the Range Light, is complete, but before we pop the champagne corks the Barrier Island Parks Society has an important request in regard to our much-loved givers of light. According to Larry Hannah, Chairman of The Lightkeeper’s Fund, they need […]
■ BY SUE ERWIN. National Geographic photojournalist Ami Vitale spoke about her fascinating career covering the mayhem of combat in Kosovo at the Boca Grande Community Center auditorium on Wednesday, March 29. Vitale lived in mud huts with the locals and experienced first-hand what their way of life was like. She started her […]
To say that about Mr. Rockefeller is an understatement. Figures from his recent obituaries run anywhere from $900 million to $2 billion that he donated to causes throughout his lifetime. Neil deGrasse Tyson did the math, and he tweeted that if Mr. Rockefeller donated $900 million, it was the equivalent to donating $24,000 for every day of his life … and he lived to be 101. I believe the truer donation figure was much more, so that’s a whole lot of money.
He took his grandfather’s words very seriously, but I believe he was a man of true heart either way. He had friends from all walks of life, and he varied his dinner companions as much as he could because he loved good conversation. He met with leaders from other countries that many would have shunned; he helped people that others would never have helped (there was that whole Iran hostage thing that happened – Google it if you don’t know what happened there); and he did all of this with no remorse. He did what he thought was right and kept moving forward.