Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Community History.
BY CAPT. ROBERT JOHNSON Editor’s Note: The late Capt. Johnson wrote a history of The Boca Grande Quarantine Station during the COVID-19 outbreak for the Beacon. We are reprinting the May 2020 story. The Boca Grande Quarantine Station, located on the south end of the island, was built in 1892 on the beach next to […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Obituaries.
Livingston Byrns Sheppard II was born in the Appalachian mountains of Jenkins, Kentucky to his father Livingston Byrns Sheppard Sr and mother Mecca Vicars, both of Virginia, on April 19, 1928. Growing up in coal country he met his wife, Glenda Huskisson of Virginia. The two married young and Livingston attended the University of Virginia […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
The newly rebuilt South Beach Bar & Grille has temporary power, and they hope to have the building turned over to them by mid-June, said co-owner Bart DeStefano. “We’re going to go as fast as we can once the contractors turn over the building to us,” DeStefano said. They are hoping to open the Boca […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, Editorial, Opinion.
This week, the Boca Grande Quarantine Station house went on the market (see pages 16-17). One feature of the house is a working, wooden cistern. During Hurricane Ian, the tank was disconnected from gutters, but it is still in place, with an actual hose spigot at the bottom. It functions not only as a practical […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, Community History, News.
The Boca Grande Quarantine House, the oldest house on Gasparilla Island, is on the market for the first time in its history. The house, built in 1892, has four bedrooms and four baths. It includes the old 19th century house, as well as a comfy but compatible separate addition, built by Safety Harbor Builders. “There […]
Written by Delores Savas on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
“Mothers are the gardenersof the wind-blown wildflowers.They water them with happy tears. Happy with them for many yearseven as the hours ring with sweet,sad melodies sighing through their bowers.” –Nicholas Gordon, author, poet Please forgive the above old cliche describing the life of a mother. But it is so true. Last year’s Mother’s Day column […]
Written by Scott Cotherman on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
■ BY SCOTT COTHERMAN It is a well-accepted premise among golf course superintendents that continued employment means preserving grounds and greens from the vagaries of weather, infestation, course mismanagement and inflated member expectations. None of these seem to have fazed Erin Stevens, Director of Agronomy at nearby Coral Creek Club. He knows the pressure that […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Featured News, Profiles.
Boca Grande is very close to being a perfect community. That’s the personal and professional opinion of Oliver T. Carr, who has owned a home in Boca Grande for 20 years, and has been developing homes, office buildings, hotels and communities for longer and more successfully than just about anyone on the planet. Ollie, as […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Featured News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
Charlotte County Parks and Natural Resources is continuing to monitor the seabird nesting colony in front of SeaWatch, off Gulf Shores Drive. Last week, they expanded the fenced-off area to create even more of a buffer between nesting birds and beachgoers. A colony of least terns have nested with eggs, and some have even been […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Police & Fire.
A small fire on the Boca Grande Causeway’s center island was the road’s second land fire in a year. “This is not normally a problem, but the same thing did happen back in October,” said Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority Executive Director Kathy Banson. The fire was only in a small area by the roadside and […]