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Memories of Eldred’s Marina, Part II, Building Barges

Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Community History, News.

My cousin, Linwood Parrish, was living on a houseboat in the marina and working around with Daddy on the island, and Linwood went to see Farrel Davis and obtained a loan to build a new barge. He and Daddy built the barge from 3/4 inch plywood and pressure-treated lumber, then fiberglassed the bottom. They got an old Lyman lap strake boat for a tow boat, and they were back in business. Daddy got a little flat-fender Willys jeep, built a trailer to put behind it, and we were really uptown! No more carrying lumber by hand! Later they bought a military deuce-and-a-half from Englewood Water District, and then came forklifts, tractors and other equipment. Later we added more length to the barge, about 10 feet if I remember correctly.

Tricky stairs and new 18th Street house mulled over by Historic Preservation Board

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community History, News.

The first project to come before the Board was the replacement of an outside stairway at 225 Banyan Street. The stairway is on the south side of the house and is referred to as a “double-winder,” which means it has stairs to the right and left of the centerpoint. This is a short stairway, only four steps on each side. The owner wants to replace it with a single stairway directly in front of the doorway. 

Turtle Tracks: August 7, 2022

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Columns, News.

“We received a hotline report of a turtle nesting during the day, and it just so happened to be Flame Lily. This rare daytime encounter provided a clear look at this turtle and heightened our suspicions that she might be a hybrid,” said Kelly Sloan, coastal wildlife director and sea turtle program coordinator. New genetic results from the University of Georgia’s Dr. Brian Shamblin confirm that Flame Lily is in fact half hawksbill, half loggerhead. Flame Lily’s first nest last year produced 104 hatchlings.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: R.N. Lindsay Dalton 

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.

Originally from Ohio, Lindsay and her husband Tyler have been Floridians for the last eight years. They have three children, all born in the state: Shiloh is 6, Hart is 3 and Charlie is 2. Working full time and having three young children does not leave a lot of time for hobbies, but the family enjoys spending time at the playground, camping and going to the beach, especially the beach at Boca Grande.

OBITUARY: Richard D. Simonds

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.

Richard D. Simonds passed away on July 31, 2022 at the age of 86 after a long and wonderful life.  He was born on May 12, 1936 in Evanston, Illinois, attended New Trier High School and Yale University, from which he graduated in 1958 with a degree in history. He then went to business school […]

ON THIS DATE: A Boca Beacon Timeline

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Boca Beacon Back Pages.

Gasparilla Fishery in Placida was expected to open a new seafood restaurant. Plans called for the restaurant to be built on the west side of the current fishery building that had served as a seafood wholesale and retail operation since 1944.

Coach Kiesling, retiring? No, not really

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community, News.

If you were to find ten young adults who grew up in Boca Grande during the 2000s and ask them who the most influential people in their lives were, you can be guaranteed a good number of them would say the name DJ, or “Coach,” Keisling. DJ has been working at the Boca Grande Community Center’s events and summer camp for a very long time … time he has made good use of. The number of young lives he has positively impacted is countless. Not to mention, it just wouldn’t be a proper egg hunt without him there between hunts, throwing candy to the wind with joyous abandon, surrounded by hundreds of young children who look as though they might eat him for brunch if he didn’t step up the pace.