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Read Us Online FREE at Take Me IslandSunNews.com Home VOL. 9, NO. 23 From the Beaches to the River District downtown Fort Myers JUNE 11, 2010 New Winter Sports Exhibit he Art of the Olympians Museum T(AOTO) celebrates the opening of its new Sports Experience Gallery with a tribute to Winter Olympic Sports and the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, showing through June. The Winter Sports exhibit introduces patrons to the seven main events in the Winter Olympic Games: bobsled/skeleton, skating, curling, hockey, ski, biathlon, and luge. The exhibit provides an interac- tive Olympic experience as guests are invited to sit in a bobsled, lay on a luge and view Olympic uniforms and memorabilia while pay- ing tribute to the Winter Olympics. Part of Lovegrove’s SOS art installation The Art of the Olympians Museum and Al Oerter Center of Excellence Matlacha Artist Making are located at 1300 Hendry Street in the heart of down- A Statement About BP Oil Spill town Fort Myers’ River District. For information, go rtist Leoma Lovegrove of Matlacha has been creating quite a statement about to www.artoftheolympians. the oil spill in the gulf. Her art installation is located at her national headquar- com or call 332-5055. Aters, Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens, 4637 Pine Island Road in Matlacha. She Lenny Katz and his daughter experience the Winter was inspired to create the public art installation after trying to donate $100,000 of Olympics at the Art of the Olympians Museum her original wildlife art to CROW. The animal rescue organization could not accept continued on page 32 Cancer Research Center in Houston Estates President Kanzius to hire the researchers. Instead of hav- ing about two-thirds of the PepsiCo Wins National Foundation grant money go toward the salaries of a molecular biologist and a physicist, it Garden Clubs Gets Unexpected will all be used to spread the word about the Kanzius project in an effort to recruit Award Of Donation more donors. by Jim George Mark Neidig Sr., the foundation’s Excellence executive director, said the researchers hris Pendleton, president and he Kanzius Foundation had an will still get paid. Neidig said he told a chief executive officer of the unexpected windfall this past week former Kanzius donor about the PepsiCo CEdison & Ford Winter Estates has Tas a result of a rule regarding the decision and the man, who did not want been honored with a national Award of distribution of the award money it won his name disclosed, gave $250,000 to Excellence from National Garden Clubs in a national contest. PepsiCo would pay those salaries. Inc., the largest volunteer organization not allow the Kanzius Foundation to The PepsiCo grant money will now be of its type in the world. Pendleton is use money it had won in its national used to hire a full-time project leader and recognized for her leadership in the contest to be used for salaries to hire recruit a national public-relations agency. restoration and the implementation of two additional researchers. The foun- The foundation will also invest in technol- new horticulture programs in the gar- dation raises research money for the ogy that will enable them to use text mes- late Sanibel Island resident and inven- saging to raise money. dens on the site of the winter homes of Chris Pendelton American inventor Thomas A. Edison tor John Kanzius’ external radio-wave The foundation will utilize the generator, which has been proven to $250,000 from PepsiCo and the match- and automobile industrialist Henry Ford agencies, foundations and private donors at the estates in Fort Myers. kill cancer cells in live animals. PepsiCo ing amount from the private donor, an for preservation of the site, as well as in said it won’t fund any research that does unexpected windfall. Pendleton, whose vision for the estates the development of new visitor ameni- included the restoration of its gardens and animal testing. ties, classrooms and public gardens. The The foundation won $250,000 in historic buildings, was integral to secur- Edison & Ford Winter Estates is one of ing funding from local, state and federal a national contest and had anticipated continued on page 3 the money going to the MD Anderson 2 THERIVER JUNE 11, 2010 Historic Downtown Fort Myers, Then And Now: The IE Foxworthy House On Lee Street by Gerri Reaves uring the early 20th century, comfortable homes like the one shown in this historic photo (circa 1915) were com- Dmon in downtown Fort Myers. For many years, on the block of Lee Street between First and Second stretched a long block of predominately private homes with a scattering of apartments. The IE “Ike” Foxworthy resi- dence, located roughly behind the Franklin Arms Hotel, stood for approximately six decades. Over the years, however, the airy wood frame houses built by early Fort Myers settlers disappeared as they were replaced by commercial enterprise. The Ike Foxworthy house’s most notable architectural features are those that ventilate the house and invite the outdoors in. The upstairs open French doors and the numerous large windows would have cre- ated both vertical and horizontal ventilation. The spacious porch with roll-down sun- shades and rocking chair would be a delightful place for reading and conversation on a warm day. For the cooler winter days one could seek warmth on the sun deck, which for a United Telephone made use of the home site starting in the early 1970s. Today the young child could serve as a place to sleep in the great outdoors. property is a CenturyLink parking lot. Visible across the lot is the back of the Foxworthy The historic photo records the arrival of visitors. One of the women entering the Building (formerly a furniture store), which faces Jackson Street at the foot of Main Street. gate is Lucretia Nute Turner. Dressed for an outing and protected from the sun by photo by Gerri Reaves the fashionable hats and long sleeves, perhaps the visitors are paying a social call, or The Foxworthys were a family with significant post-office experience. Two of the maybe they’re attending a meeting. four brothers extended the tradition into the third generation. Ike served as postmaster After all, Mrs. Lena (Ike) Foxworthy was involved in her community. In the 1960s, from 1910 to 1914. Boyd Clifton “BC” served as assistant postmaster from 1909 she was the longest-surviving member of the Woman’s Community Club, organized in until 1913 and as postmaster from 1922 until 1924. her home in April 1907. We can only theorize that she is the unidentified woman on The family’s endeavors stretched far beyond the post office, however. James Edgar the upper sun deck, who seems to be welcoming the visitors. Foxworthy, who came to Fort Myers in 1893, founded Foxworthy & Company As for the identity of the photographer – was she a visitor too? And if so, why did Clothing. Both Ike and Clifton were involved in that family business from its early days. she deem the visit worthy of photographic documentation? Many long-time Fort Myers residents will remember Foxworthy Furniture & The Foxworthy family history goes back more than a century in Fort Myers. Ike Interiors Company, established on Jackson Street in 1940, and run by BC. Foxworthy was one of four brothers from Kentucky who settled here. Brother CM Foxworthy was an insurance agent. Lena Foxworthy lived in the family home on Lee Street into the 1960s, followed by her son Lynn. In the early 1970s, the house was converted to apartments for several years. Then United Telephone acquired the land, and today a CenturyLink parking lot lies where visitors once opened a gate and climbed the steps to a big front porch. Soon, that part of downtown will undergo yet another profound transformation when the long-awaited public-library complex is built on the east side of Lee between Richmond and Second. Walk down to Lee Street and ponder the changes that a century can bring to what was once a neighborhood of family homes. Be sure to visit the Southwest Florida Museum of History at 2031 Jackson Street, where you can learn more about how Fort Myers has built and rebuilt throughout its history. Don’t miss the Tutankhamun: Wonderful Things from the Pharaoh’s Tomb exhibit, extended to August 15 by popular demand. For information, call 321-7430 or go to swflmuseumofhistory.com. The museum’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Be sure to visit another valuable historical resource, the Southwest Florida Historical Society at 10091 McGregor Boulevard, where you can research local or family history. The society would appreciate your help in completing its collection of The Caloosahatchian, the yearbook of Fort Myers High School. Contact them at 939- 4044 or drop by on Wednesday or Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon. The IE Foxworthy home once stood on Lee Street, just south of First. One of the visitors Sources: The Story of Fort Myers by Karl H. Grismer and the archives of the entering the gate is Lucretia Nute Turner Southwest Florida Historical Society. courtesy of Florida State Archives Read Us Online: www.IslandSunNews.com Contributing Writers Click on The River Jennifer Basey Heights Elementary Advertising Sales Production Manager Photographer Kimberley Berisford Joan Hooper Isabel Heider Thies Stephanie See Michael Heider -ÕâÞÊ i Brian Johnson Ed Ibarra Jenny Evans Audrey Krienen Graphic Arts/Production Writers Ed Frank Scott Martell Co-Publishers Terri Blackmore Ann Ziehl iÀÀÊ,i>ÛiÃ]Ê* Ê Max Friedersdorf Ê->}}>Õ Lorin Arundel Office Coordinator Katherine Mouyos Anne Mitchell *ÀÃV>ÊÀi`iÀÃ`Àv >«Ì°Ê>ÌÌÊÌV i and Ken Rasi *>ÌÀV>ÊÞ *>ÌÀV>ÊÞ Scott White ÊiÀ}i The River Weekly News will correct factual errors or matters of emphasis and interpretation that appear in news stories.

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