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FREE Take Me Read Us Online at Home IslandSunNews.com VOL. 10, NO. 38 From the Beaches to the River District downtown Fort Myers SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 Pirate Fest Returns To Fort Myers Beach he 6th annual Fort Myers TBeach Pirate Fest will take place on Old San Carlos Boulevard and beyond dur- ing Columbus Day weekend, October 7 to 10 and will include hundreds of professional actors and actresses from across the state and beyond who choreo- graph their perfor- mances for months in advance, bringing one of the most exciting events of the Jan Ellen Atkielsi with the students in front of the mural year to Fort Myers Beach. Family friendly Rotary Italian Fest To Feature activities will include a treasure hunt, costume contests, roving musicians, strolling street performers, stage Mural Created By Art Students shows, sea skirmishes, interactive games with pirates and a bon voyage breakfast on ocal artist, Jan Ellen Atkielski, recently gave Cypress Lake High School Center Monday morning. Adult friendly activities will include a pirates gathering and costume for the Arts art students, Andie Kunkel, Ravella Raker and Sophia Jaecques a contest on Friday night and a leisurely and ongoing weekend-long Tortuga Pub Crawl Llesson in the methodology of creating a mural. The result is a large portable throughout the beach region. mural of a Tuscan landscape which will be displayed at the Rotary Italian Fest on The Pirate Fest draws adventurers from far and near for Columbus Day weekend October 2 at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers. activities with historical re-enactments, period correct encampments, black powder dem- continued on page 32 onstrations and sea shanties. Visitors will witness Old San Carlos Boulevard transform into a pirate’s haven. Guests are encouraged to garb up as their favorite buccaneer, swashbuckler or movie-themed pirate character and join the excitement while reliving a few golden days of piracy. There is no charge to attend. October Marks Three-Year continued on page 21 Anniversary Of Fort Myers Art Walk Royal tern birds working the mudflats at low tide due Bird Patrol to the diversity of micro-invertebrates. xperience the beautiful birds of Waterfowl, raptors, and warblers can also Bunche Beach with a bird patrol be seen. Inside HOWL Gallery during a recent Art Walk Eguide on Saturday, October 15 at This event is free with parking fee and photo courtesy of HOWL Gallery 8 a.m. provided in cooperation with Lee County Meet in the parking lot at Bunche Parks and Recreation. No registration is rt Walk has withstood the test of time and the economy. In October, the Beach located in South Fort Myers off necessary. Bring binoculars, sun protec- monthly art event will mark its third successful year as part of the revitalization Summerlin Road. Drive south on John tion, shoes that can get wet, a bottle of Aof downtown Fort Myers. Morris Road until it deadends. drinking water, your curiosity and love of The next Art Walk will take place on Friday, October 7 with local art galleries and Bunche Beach is excellent for both nature. art stops featuring new exhibits and shows. This regular cultural event draws between migrant and resident waders and shore- For more information call 707-3015 or 1,500 and 2,500 people each month to the downtown River District. visit www.birdpatrol.org. continued on page 32 2 THE RIVER - SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 Historic Downtown Fort Myers, Then And Now Where Cars Rode The Elevator by Gerri Reaves enry Ford himself chose the design for the Mediterranean Revivalist-style Sykes and HHill Garage that operated as a car dealer- ship from 1926 until 1963. The dealership sold Lincolns, Fords and Fordsons. Completed in January 1926 for $60,000, the garage took the concept of “showroom” to dizzying heights during boom times. The fireproof, steel-enforced concrete construc- tion was state-of-the-art for the time. Thirty-three hundred dollars worth of gold leaf embellished the ceiling of the two-story showroom that had plate-glass front and side windows. The huge elevators transported the chassis of new Fords to the third floor to be assembled. A car elevator: what an oddity today, when car dealerships typically cover several acres. The fourth floor was reserved exclusively for Lincolns, and the deal- ership employed a special mechanic to work on them. At the grand opening, Sykes and Hill gave away a brand new Ford Touring Car. Hill’s Ford dealership had been one of the first automobile agencies to open in Fort Myers. As early as 1916, Henry Ford visited him at his Bay Street dealership, an authorized dealer for Ford, the Universal Car. The Main Street site today, near the intersection with Heitman Street photo by Gerri Reaves Ten years later, it moved to this stunning new building on Main Street. In 1927, DL Shackelford bought the business, known as Tropical Motors, and later renamed Lee Motors. In the mid-1940s, his son- in-law Sam Galloway took over the running of the dealership, which moved south of downtown in 1963. LD Bochette is one of many Fort Myers residents who remember the business on Main. In the 1950s and early 1960s, one model of an automobile would remain on the ground floor for show at Lee Motors, he says. In the early 1960s, Egbert T. Smith extensively renovated the histor- ic structure. Modernization included the removal of the large-car eleva- tor and the installation of a modern office one. The Fort Myers Travel Agency became the first tenant of the newly named Smith Building, followed by Hertz Rent-A-Car, Warren Real Estate,and then several life insurance companies. Lee County bought the historic building for $200,000 and used it as a courthouse annex in its last years. In 1990, the Lee County Board of Commissioners’ plan to demolish the historic building and use the land for a parking lot evoked an outcry to save it. In addition to the compelling argument of historic preservation, some people argued that a building designed to bear the substantial weight of vintage cars could be renovated into a parking garage. Obviously, the effort to save the structure failed. Fort Myers native Pete Bowen stood across the street with a crowd In this circa 1927 photo of the historic car dealership, a Ford sign hangs over the entrance and the words “Ford Products” are visible on the building façade and watched the demolition. courtesy of the Southwest Florida Historical Society continued on page 6 Read Us Online: www.IslandSunNews.com Contributing Writers Click on The River Jennifer Basey Joan Hooper Kimberley Berisford Audrey Krienen Advertising Sales Graphic Arts/Production Photographer Suzy Cohen Scott Martell Isabel Rasi Ann Ziehl Michael Heider Ed Frank Capt. Matt Mitchell Sarah Crooks Office Coordinator Writers Max Friedersdorf Patricia Molloy Co-Publishers Kris See Patricia Molloy Gerri Reaves, Ph D Priscilla Friedersdorf Laura Zocki Puerto Lorin Arundel Anne Mitchell Jim George Di Saggau and Ken Rasi Emilie Alfino Dr. Dave Hepburn Scott White The River Weekly News will correct factual errors or matters of emphasis and interpretation that appear in news stories. Readers with news, tips, comments or questions, please call (239) 415-7732 or write to: The River Weekly News, 1609 Hendry Street, Suite 15, Fort Myers, FL 33901. Fax number: (239) 415-7702. E-mail: [email protected]. The River Weekly News reserves the right to refuse, alter or edit any editorial or advertisement. PRINTED ON RECYCLED Independently Owned And Operated • COPYRIGHT 2011 The River Weekly News • LORKEN Publications, Inc. PAPER THE RIVER - SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 3 on activities as well as immersion into the a.m. Edison & Ford Winter Estates historic gardens, buildings and museum. Join Edison Ford volunteer staff and The continues twice a month through- Florence Keen Sansom, who was born in Programs Starting In October out the year. Cost: members, $5; non- the Edison Caretaker’s House in 1917, members $15 each class. Registration is and the subject of Denege Patterson’s recommended. book, Edisonia Native Girl. Sansom will • Garden Talk – Building a historical present A Heart-to-Heart Conversation, herb mound, October 8, 9 a.m. chronicling her childhood, gardens, art- Mrs. Edison grew herbs in her gardens work and Florida in the 1920s. This is a including her favorite herb, nasturtiums. regular monthly volunteer meeting and She used herbs in many of her recipes. mandatory training for all new volunteers; Estates horticulturists will teach the basics potential volunteers are also welcome. of herb gardening and an alternative • Homeschoolers: Powerful Plants, method of growing herbs with mound October 18, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. gardening. Reservations not required. From plant cells to photosynthesis, Free for mermbers, non-members, $5; homeschooled students will learn the all participants will receive a $5 gift cer- significance of plants in everyday life tificate to be used in the Estates Garden as well as the important plant research Shoppe. Thomas Edison conducted at this Fort • Science Fair Workshop for Myers estate. Students and their parents Homeschoolers and Virtual Students, can enroll in a half day of curriculum that October 11, 10 a.m. to noon follows the Florida Sunshine Objectives The estates is hosting the 2nd annual for Learning. The program follows the Homeschool and Virtual Students Young Lee County mandated program and Engineers, Scientists and Inventors Fair addresses environmental science, history A Homeschool and Virtual School Science Fair will be held on October 11 on October 25, 2012. Homeschool and and reading SOLS. Pre-visit curriculum ctober at the Edison & Ford Class, October 6 – Halloween Time and virtual students must enter to pre-qualify materials will be mailed to registered Winter Estates is highlighted October 20, Pumpkin Party 9 a.m.

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