Tag: Boca Grande Historical Society

History: Some favorite personal memories of Boca Grande

BY JAMES J. BLAHA, DIRECTOR, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER After many years of bringing my family to Florida for vacations, my wife and I decided to plan for our retirement, which included moving to...

Remembering the old island school, and the era of the old Boca Grande Hotel

BY KIM KYLE AS TOLD FROM CHARLYN CRANDALL HEIDENREICH Charlyn Crandall Heidenreich and her brother, John, attended the Boca Grande School from 1945 to 1948. At the time, their father, John M. Crandall,...

Boca Grande Historical Society artifacts OK after Helene floodwaters

The Boca Grande Historical Society is moving its artifacts and papers off island, until its offices can be restored. During Hurricane Helene, a few inches of flood water came into their building,...

Tanks for the Memories: The evolution of water storage on the island

BY KAREN GRACE The late Capt. Fred Futch once said that although many people say the biggest change to the island came from the building of the bridge, he thought it was the formation of the water...

Business and Real Estate: Signs point to restoration of historic Sharp compound Hacienda

The red-tile roofed estate just north of Fifth Street known as the Hacienda, has new signs for its restoration, courtesy of its contractor, Sarasota-based Ball Construction, Inc. Ron Marcotte of...

1949: Boca Grande’s first newspaper, the Boca Grande Journal

BY JAMES J. BLAHA, DIRECTOR, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER The year was 1949, when NATO was established, West Germany was created, the People’s Republic of China was formally proclaimed and the Soviet...

History: A primer on the school buildings of Boca Grande

BY KIM KYLE From 1893 to 1908 there was a school located on 4th Street in a frame building. The building may have also been used as a church. The first school on Gasparilla at the north end of the...

History: Boca Grande resident and actor, impeccably mannered Brian Aherne

BY KAREN GRACE Famous stars have been coming to Gasparilla Island for years, from Lana Turner to Robert Redford, Harrison Ford and Michael Keaton. The most famous was Katherine Hepburn, a relative...

The Grand Old Lady: Remembering the Boca Grande Hotel, 1930-72

BY JAMES BLAHA, BOCA GRANDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY On February 10, 1930, the following article appeared in the Fort Myers News-Press: “Plans for a three-story resort hotel at Boca Grande to cost approximately...

Summer at the Boca Grande History Center

BY THE BOCA GRANDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY The late Robert Fischer, author of “Boca Grande: Once A Railroad Town,” wrote that there are “Many beautiful places to live or vacation in southwest Florida...