FREE Take Me Read Us Online at Home IslandSunNews.com VOL. 10, NO. 28 From the Beaches to the River District downtown Fort Myers JULY 22, 2011 Arts For ACT Opening Tame The Dog Days Of Summer Exhibit Artists Reception oin Arts for ACT Gallery, located at 2265 First Street in downtown Fort JMyers on Friday, August 5 from 6 to 10 p.m. for the opening reception and Art Walk for the August artists’ exhibits featuring Callie Ferraro, Gael Collar and Harley Young. Ferraro graduated from Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, Florida in 2011 with a major in visual art and a minor in psy- chology. She has taught visual art at the Alliance for the Arts Summer Camp for four years and currently is interning in the field of art therapy at Southwest Florida Addiction Services. Collar works in acrylic, oil, pen and ink, graphite pencil, and collage. She has studied art in New York, Arkansas, Dallas, Oklahoma and Florida at various work- shops and colleges. Collar prefers figurative work, along with small animal paintings, abstracts, and collage. Young started drawing as a child and Children participate in the LEGO Story Lab at a Lee County Library studied technical drawing in college and art oo hot, too rainy, too buggy to go out. and design at the University of Iowa. He The Missing Ear by Gael Collar worked for engineering and architectural Are you an adult or parent looking for cool activities in the heat of the sum- firms building models, doing technical Tmer? Then look no further than the Lee County Library, where there are plenty continued on page 32 of activities and technology available. Anyone can: download an e-book, take an online class with Universal Class, listen to and download music for free (up to three songs per week) with Freegal, kids can find and play new video games from safe sites like world- book.com or nationalgeographic.com all without even leaving thehouse. Donations And Ticket Sales Venture to the library for: story time for children, craft corner with knitting, crochet- ing, scrapbooking, bead work or tie-dye, chess games, card games, kite flying, book Begin Soon For Love That Dress! discussions, genealogical research, watching a foreign film as well as taking a computer or language class. This is just a small sampling of the programs happening at local libraries. Go to www.leegov.com/library and click on library calendar – then search by location, age group and type of activity. continued on page 3 Free Workshop: Gardening With Natives: An Introduction he Alliance for the Arts’ Green-Market is offering free gardening classes Tthroughout July. This Saturday, July 23 the GreenMarket will be hosting a workshop on gardening with native plants Florida. On Saturday, July 23; gardener Kara Alfaro will present the workshop, Gardening with Dresses for all ages Natives: An Introduction. Alfaro, owner of alling all fashionistas! Love That Dress! returns to Southwest Florida with two Elata Natives, will guide participants through dress parties benefiting PACE Center for Girls on Wednesday, August 31 from the ins and outs of incorporating local, storm- C6 to 9 p.m. resistant plants into local gardening projects. Lee County’s third installment of Love That Dress! will take place at the Embassy Elata Natives is always striving to meet the Suites Hotel in Estero while Collier County’s inaugural event will happen simultaneously needs of the Florida environment and prides at the Naples Grande Resort. itself on creating outdoor spaces that enliven In preparation for the ultimate feel-good shopping spree, PACE is seeking dress the senses and complement the existing attri- donations of any kind, from wedding gowns to sundresses. Donations will be accepted butes of each site. at the following collection sites from August 1 to 30: The July workshops will conclude with • Adventures in Paradise Outfitters, 2019 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel Island horticulturalist Debbie Hughes of Edison-Ford • Alliance Financial Group, 14021 Metropolis Avenue, Fort Myers Estates on July 30. • Condo & HOA Law Group, 2030 McGregor Boulevard, downtown Fort Myers Head to the GreenMarket (corner of continued on page 17 continued on page 6 2 THE RIVER - JULY 22, 2011 Historic Downtown Fort Myers, Then And Now Marketing Fort Myers, Gate City Of The Tropics by Gerri Reaves lmost from its inception, Fort Myers has relied on tourism and a pro-business attitude to thrive. The ACaloosahatchee River, nearby beaches, superb climate, and abundant natural resources always have made the city mar- ketable worldwide. Look at today’s postcards and promotional literature, and you’ll see many of the same themes that sold Fort Myers to the world more than a century ago: soothing river scenes, the First Street business district, royal-palm-lined McGregor Boulevard, game fishing, and the Edison and Ford winter homes. Even Everglades drainage and dredging were hyped in the early years of the 20th century because they — “reclaimed” land for profitable agri- culture, transportation, and development. A 1912 poster, for example, proclaimed dredging and draining “progressive.” By 1919, when the city population numbered a mere 16,000, city boosterism kicked into overdrive. Whiffs of the real-estate boom were in the air, and marketing to potential business owners and permanent residents joined the appeals to tourists. The message was plain and direct in one 1919 publication: “Locate your busi- ness headquarters here. Locate your permanent home here. Come before develop- ment is at its height. Come while the opportunities are here in great numbers. Get here before the rush and grow up with us.” This postcard, probably from the late 1900s, predates the time when Fort Myers unques- Selling the Fort Myers lifestyle intensified, too. tionably became the City of Palms courtesy of Florida State Archives The upscale publication noted the “general atmosphere of friendship” that per- Thriving business and low taxes were marketed vaded the city and urged potential investors and residents to escape the “humdrum, alongside amenities such as the city park, where daily, workaday routine” and discover a place of “charm and wonder where the an endless round of games, dances and other simplicities overshadow the complexities of life.” diversions were on offer. Highly profitable agricultural and horticultural industries, particularly citrus, were showcased along with game-fishing in the gulf and world-class golf courses. Glowing reports about schools, the hospital and community organizations reassured future residents that they could enjoy both a sound and functioning “hometown” community and a business climate to die for. During this era, Fort Myers was often described as the Gateway or Gate City to the Tropics, a catchy phrase that would soon lose out to the one still with us today, the City of Palms. Who knows how effective the promotions really were, but between 1920 and the end of 1926, Fort Myers’ population grew from only 3,678 to more than 23,000! By the late 1920s, the city could boast of a new country club, recreation pier, numerous new schools, and railroad service by both the Atlantic Coastline and Seaboard Airline railways. continued on page 4 In the 1940s, South Florida cities were rivals for the role of premier American tropical city First Street was one of the most popular scenes depicted on postcards circa 1920 courtesy of Southwest Florida Historical Society courtesy of Florida State Archives 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 - JULY 22, 2011 3 Estates Summer’s National End Celebration Dance Day n Saturday, July 23, the Edison & he Alliance for the Arts and Dance Ford Winter Estates will celebrate Alliance is hosting a National Othe end of summer and present TDance Day on Saturday, July a full day of programs, specialized tours, 30, from 10 a.m. to noon. Join Dance hands-on science activities by the Estates Alliance members as they celebrate Wild Wizards and story reading with National Dance Day and the movement Thomas and Mina Edison. arts in a free event for those “who think Teachers and school staff will receive they can dance.” free admission with a school-issued Dance Alliance members welcome identification badge. Registration is students of all dance levels to learn three required for specialized tours designed short dances created by choreographers for educators. To register call the Estates affiliated with the hit show, So You Education Department at 334-7419. Think You Can Dance. A schedule of activities include: National Dance Day is a grassroots • Specialized teachers training Making initiative that encourages the nation, Science FUNdamental, 10 a.m. and 2 young and old, to move. Join individuals, p.m. (registration required) families, organizations and communities • Invention demonstration, 10:30 from across the nation as they come a.m.