This date in the Boca Beacon: Silver King Celebration

FIVE YEARS AGO

Boca Grande Community Center’s summer camp enjoyed visits from Monty the banded water snake and Charlotte the curly-haired tarantula!

TEN YEARS AGO

The Gasparilla Inn & Club made Travel & Leisure magazine’s world’s best list of Florida resort hotels. The demolition of the Old Mercabo Conference Center was well underway.

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO

Boca Grande Fishing Guides and Chamber of Commerce announced that they would once again host a World’s Richest tournament in 2012.

TWENTY YEARS AGO

A search was on for the owner of a ring which had been found by then-deceased Larry Van Morgan on one of his many fishing trips.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO 

The Silver King Celebration was held in downtown Boca Grande. The party drew a large crowd to Park Avenue for the annual event featuring live music and raffle drawings.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

The contract for renovation of the old Amory Memorial Chapel at the south end of the island was awarded to Burch Building Contracting to convert it into a multi-purpose community meeting center.

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Florida Marine Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to reports of an oil spill in the canal between Damficare and Damfino Streets.

FORTY YEARS AGO

Boca Grande Community Theatre acquired eight new lighting fixtures for the stage at the Community Center.

FORTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

The July Fish Fry was full of familiar faces helping with the community event including Carolyn Nabers, Pansy Cost, Bumps Johnson and Carter Wright.