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BY KAREN GRACE AND THE BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER – The beginning of the du Pont family in Boca Grande came in 1916 or 1917 when Louise (du Pont) and Frank Crowninshield rented Frank’s brother’s (Benjamin) Gulf front cottage. In the years that followed, Louise and Frank bought land at First Street and Gulf Boulevard, […]
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Michael (“Mike”) A. Calahan, formerly of Boca Grande, died unexpectedly at his home in Fort Lauderdale on April 17, 2021. Mike and his wife, Midge, built a home in Boca Bay in the mid-1990s and resided there on a seasonal basis for almost 20 years, sharing residences between Holland, Michigan, Lexington, Kentucky, and Boca Grande. […]
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BY T MICHELE WALKER – Zoom meetings are as ubiquitous as love bugs in spring. After months of coffee interviews and visits to lovely homes and marinas, the Boca Beacon finally had our first profile Zoom interview with Cathy Ballman from St. Paul, Minnesota. “Zoom fatigue is all too real,” Cathy said, as she sat […]
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BY SUSAN HANAFEE – Excuse us for stating the obvious: The housing market in Boca Grande and environs is hotter than Florida asphalt in September and shows no signs of cooling off. The situation prompted Kevin Hyde of Parsley-Baldwin Real Estate, a district vice president for Florida Realtors, to post a humorous comment on Facebook […]
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BY TONYA BRAMLAGE – Bridge part II explores the rumors, intrigue, and little known nuances of game play here in Boca Grande. In the 1940s, bridge was played in 44 percent of American homes according to the Association of American Playing Card manufacturers. In 1970, ACBL membership stood at 170,000. Today, that figure remains around […]
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BY BOOTS TOLSDORF – As I have not been seen standing by the post office on a weekly basis selling my Ugandan women’s handmade jewelry made of recycled paper, many friends and acquaintances have asked me often, “Whatever happened to Bead for Life?” COVID happened to Bead for Life. And in this case, the timing […]
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STAFF REPORT – Since its founding in 1948, the Boca Grande Woman’s Club has contributed over $4,000,000 for community projects, local non-profit organizations, and college scholarships. In response to the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, the club created an Emergency Relief Fund which provided over $600,000 to Boca Grande businesses and employees that were financially impacted. At […]
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BY T MICHELE WALKER – Birthdays are a time of celebrating another year on this third rock from the sun, splurging on some birthday cake, and looking forward to new beginnings. For Kyle Rich, his birthday was the day an ad was posted in the Boca Beacon that would change the course of his life. […]
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BY SUSAN HANAFEE The proposal to put a portion of Boca Grande’s residential district onto the National Register of Historic places has been removed from the May 6 agenda of Florida’s National Register Review Board, the Boca Beacon has learned. The item had been up for discussion by state officials based on an indication there […]
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BY MISTY NICHOLS, GICIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR In 1985 the Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association (GICIA) completed construction of the 5 miles of paved bike path that run from First Street north. In the 36 years since the dedication many things have changed. Boca Grande has increased its resident and visitor populations, the GICIA […]