Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Royal Palm Players has gained another new talented member who has been busy planning and rehearsing for productions starting this fall. Kate Ingram, wife of well-known RPP director Tad Ingram, formally joined the organization when the couple made the decision to move to the area over the summer. Tad has been directing musicals […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Obituaries.
Janell H. Johnson, formally of Boca Grande, Florida, passed away to her heavenly home on November 11, 2019. She was born October 29, 1926, in Arcadia, to Theodore and Hessie Mae Hargis. Although born in Arcadia, Janell’s family moved to Boca Grande when she was six years old and suffered the devastating loss of her […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
To the Editor: Each spring and fall, the Johann Fust Library Foundation conducts a used book sale in the library loggia. Island residents turn out in the hundreds to shop for books. The proceeds from the sale support the JF Library Foundation mission. Last week, the fall book sale took place on Monday, Tuesday and […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE It was a very large crowd of islanders who took their seats a few minutes after 2 p.m on Tuesday, Nov. 5 in the Boca Grande Community Center auditorium. As Lee County Director of Parks & Recreation Jesse Lavender called the public hearing regarding the proposed dog park on Wheeler Road to […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT United States Coast Guard Capt. Robert A. “Bob” Melvin III, (deceased), father of islanders Sandy and Bob Melvin, served his country honorably in the U.S Army and the U.S. Coast Guard. He risked his life time and again over his career to help others during his service. Below is the official account […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ SUBMITTED BY GIWA The Gasparilla Island Water Association had planned to begin replacing aging clay gravity sewer lines on Gasparilla Street this week, but an area of greater concern was discovered on Harbor Drive by a sewer video inspection crew last week; therefore, the Gasparilla Street project has been temporarily postponed. As is customary […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Evelyn Carter McKinney took her first breath of air in the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse. She was born in 1934 in a bedroom of the circa 1890 Lighthouse that doubles as a museum of regional history. Her father, Light Keeper Osmund McKinney, served as the keeper of the establishment from 1931 to […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN After 27 years of working in the fashion industry on 7th Avenue in New York City, Boo Thayer Gemes perceived a void in the market for stylish and affordable separates, so she created a collection of clothing that appeals to women of all ages. “I design clothes for real people, clothes that […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Obituaries.
Leonard Mathew Saari of Riverside, CT, and Boca Grande, FL, died as a result of a sudden stroke on October 19. 2019, at Greenwich Hospital. He was born in Los Angeles, CA, on January 19, 1938, to Mathew A. Saari, originally from Raahe, Finland, and Esther E. Saari, originally from Tampere, Finland. Raised in Baltimore, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Obituaries.
Janet M. Thibodeau, 83, wife of Gerald Thibodeau, passed away peacefully, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, a the Sussman House in Rockport. Born in Camden, July 17, 1936, she attended Camden Schools. On July 3, 1954 she married Gerald Thibodeau. Together they raised six children and were married 65 years. Janet was a great cook and […]