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THIS DATE IN THE BOCA BEACON

Boca Beacon backpages FIVE YEARS AGO The Boca Grande Garden Club celebrated their 20 year anniversary with a tea party at the home of Nora Lea Reefe. The Island School art exhibit showcased unique pieces at the Boca Grande Art Center.   TEN YEARS AGO President Abraham Lincoln, or a reasonable facsimile of, told stories […]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: No McMansions, please

To the Editor:  I admit to being a die-hard gawker of the beautiful homes on BG – all types, but especially the architectural gems along the perimeter of the island. For me the only city homes more fun to gawk at are in Amsterdam, where they are also nestled along the banks of the sea […]

Cell phone tower update: More COWs are coming before new tower is put in place

The current providers of service have responded to the immediate needs in Boca Grande for interim service brought on by Hurricane Ian. There is service uncertainty due to capacity limitations and demand from island visitors.

The Boca Grande CSWG has established a dialog and working relationship with the current providers of service – AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. The group is reviewing current and future plans for Boca Grande. Each of the providers have enthusiastically offered support and solutions.

Donations down in big blue barrels

Donations are down in the blue barrel at Barnichol Hardware, and that makes Jane Caple a bit concerned. They are down in all of the island’s barrel locations, in truth. The group that has worked with island residents to fight hunger in our area, Englewood Helping Hand, has Boca Grande volunteers driving to the pantry weekly to help stock shelves. Lately, though, the donations to take have become less and less.

PanCAN!  The ‘purple stride’ comes to Boca Grande this month

“This started when we lost friend and Boca resident Mary Tucker last summer. Then another friend, Priscilla Masselink, was diagnosed in December. Priscilla is part of a gold standard chemotherapy clinical trial at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston, Mass. (and 15 other oncology hospitals around the country) that is funded by the organization PanCAN. When I found out they were having a fundraising walk on April 29th in Tampa, I formed Team Boca and asked other friends of Mary and Priscilla to help me: Honey Skinner, Julia Pierce, Zayra Calderon and Kathy Spiteri. When we knew we had enough people, we called the PanCAN Event Organizers and asked if we could do the walk in Boca. They have been wonderful at accommodating this.”

First tarpon tournament of the year is up on deck! Sign up now

Sign up sheets are now available for the 2023 Howl at the Moon Tarpon Tournament, to be held on Sunday, May 28 from 7 to 10 p.m. in Boca Grande Pass. Some proceeds from the tournament benefit the Gasparilla Island Maritime Museum, the event’s host. The entry fee is $700, with a non-refundable $100 amount donated to the GIMM. Under normal circumstances, 25 percent of the proceeds goes to the museum. The remainder will be split 60/40 between the first and second place teams. 

Historical Society needs new volunteers to help keep island history alive

“As a volunteer, you can learn more about the island you love, or teach us all the stories you know!” said Diff. “We’re looking for volunteers to help foster our island’s vast culture, while having fun and meeting new friends in the process. History spans so many different topics and we’re sure to find something that satisfies anyone’s interests.”

Bob Fletcher and his secret to longevity 

After the passing of his parents, Robert (Bob) Fletcher, 91, took over the family’s small piano and organ business in the 1970s – back when mall king Edward DeBartolo Sr. was bringing his indoor shopping centers to Florida. Bob opened Fletcher Music as a general music store in Florida’s first mall and quickly focused on selling organs to the retirees of St. Petersburg. That became his business model. If there was a mall, there was bound to be a Fletcher Music store – 42 of them, in fact – in Florida, Arizona, Nevada and the Carolinas.