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Happy FREE New Take Me Year Home VOL. 14, NO. 52 From the Beaches to the River District downtown Fort Myers JANUARY 1, 2016 Church Concert Series Presents Broadway & More t. Peter Lutheran Church Concert Series will feature Broadway & More Son Monday, January 11 starting at 7 p.m. The concert, starring Mark Sanders and Lee Van Asten, will include favor- ites from Broadway and the American Songbook. Sanders’ appearances include the Broadway tour of Fiddler On The Roof and as a guest vocalist with the Gulf Coast Symphony at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. Van Asten has enter- The Bugtussle Ramblers tained Southwest Florida audiences with piano and vocal performances for more than 30 years. Live Bluegrass At The Alliance Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and admission is free; donations will be accepted. St. Peter For The Arts On January 10 Lutheran Church is located at 3751 Estero almgrass presents three hours of live bluegrass at the Alliance for the Arts on Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach. Call 463- Sunday, January 10 beginning at 2 p.m. 4251 for more information. Lee Van Asten and Mark Sanders P The January concert features bluegrass bands Kindred Spirit, Pain In The Grass and The Bugtussle Ramblers. Tickets are $8 at the door or $6 for Alliance members. Seating is open and first come, first served. Children 12 and under are admitted free if accompanied by an adult. Pre-sale tickets are not available. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. continued on page 15 Author Ryan To Give Lunch Lecture At Davis Art Center eemed “master at crafting sus- penseful mysteries,” author Hank DPhillippi Ryan will join guests at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center for lunch on Monday, January 18 beginning at noon. Ryan will then lead a lecture and question session about her background and literature works, followed by a book signing opportunity. Ryan is the on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s NBC affiliate. She’s won 33 Emmys, 13 Edward R. Murrow Awards and dozens of other honors for her ground- breaking journalism. A bestselling author of seven mystery novels, Ryan has won Johnnyswim Sheena Brook multiple awards for her crime fiction: five Agathas, the Anthony, Daphne, Macavity and, for The Other Woman, the coveted Festival To Bring Brews And Bands Mary Higgins Clark Award. he Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center has announced a new event, the Taps Her 2013 novel, The Wrong Girl, & Tunes Craft Beer & Music Festival, to celebrate the best in beer tasting and won both the Agatha Award for Best Tone-of-a-kind music. The event will take place at Centennial Park East, 2150 Contemporary Novel and the Daphne Edwards Drive, in Fort Myers from 2 to 8 p.m. on January 30. Award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense, Hank Phillippi Ryan Sample over 80 brews from award-winning breweries and learn the basics of home and is a seven-week Boston Globe best- brewing and tasting. Set on the edge of the Caloosahatchee River in Centennial Park, seller. the inaugural event will allow for scenic views of the historic river district and river’s Truth Be Told is the Agatha Award winner for Best Contemporary Novel and an edge. Anthony Award nominee for Best Novel. Truth Be Told was also a Library Journal Headliners are Los Angeles-based duo Johnnyswim, composed of Amanda Sudano Best Book of 2014, with starred reviews from Booklist and from Library Journal, (daughter of Donna Summer) and Abner Ramirez. The two began writing and singing which raves, “Drop everything and binge read!” together in the spring of 2006 and found their similar influences of folk, soul and rock She won a second Agatha Award in 2015 for Best Nonfiction as editor of Writes blended together well. Their music has recently been featured on VH1’s You Oughta Of Passage, an anthology of essays by mystery authors, which was also honored with a Know Concert, NBC’s Tonight Show, and the HGTV’S Fixer Upper. They will per- Macavity Award and Anthony Award. form at 6 p.m. Ryan’s newest novel, What, is an RT Book Reviews’ top pick for “exceptional sus- Also performing are Fort Myers artists Sheena Brook and For A Season. They will pense!” and named a Best Thriller of 2015 by Library Journal, which raves, “Mystery go on at 4 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively. continued on page 15 continued on page 17 2 THE RIVER - JANUARY 1, 2016 Historic Downtown Fort Myers, Then And Now: New Project For A New Year by Gerri Reaves, PhD ew Year’s Day 1937 saw the start of a project that brought optimism to Fort Myers during the Great NDepression: the Fort Myers Yacht Basin, one of the most transformative construction projects in the town’s history. Who can imagine downtown without it? The yacht basin was only one federal project that greatly benefited the town and Lee County, projects ranging from a riverfront park, water plant, and post office to a hospital and airport, just to name a few. During those hard economic times, such projects provided basic incomes, hope and a sense of purpose for countless people. The Federal Works Project Administration (WPA) took nearly two years to complete the yacht basin. Competition for those revitalizing WPA projects could be fierce. In fact, it was due to the political savvy and leadership of Mayor David Shapard that Fort Myers, not Sarasota – for which the yacht basin was originally designed – was awarded the project. Political know-how also played a role locally. For decades, plans to renovate the deteriorating and increasingly unsightly riverfront had gone nowhere, primarily because of disagreements over riparian rights. The yacht basin is in such demand this time of year that it’s difficult to get a view across the river unless onboard a vessel. Major changes since 1951 include high-rises (right) along Edwards Drive. The twin spans of the Edison Bridge (far distance) have replaced the low two-lane original bridge. photo by Gerri Reaves However, when Shapard and the city council managed to acquire land from the estates of Harvie E. Heitman, Robert B. Leak, John Morgan Dean and Joseph Vivas, it was a major breakthrough. The project was funded by the city and the WPA. It cost over $300,000, with the city paying less than half of that amount – and that included cancelled taxes from the property deals. The ensuing infill and construction erased the last traces of the pioneer-era commercial riverfront – no more wooden docks or businesses located on houseboats. Transforming the waterfront with a basin and park also paved the way for better water quality in the Caloosahatchee. The yacht basin was dedicated in 1939 with great fanfare. Since then, it has expanded twice and greatly increased capacity. Start the new year with a sunset walk to the yacht basin. Be sure to include the Southwest Florida Museum of History at 2031 Jackson Street in your New Year’s itinerary. For information, call 321-7430 or go to swflmuseumofhistory.com. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. If you love local history, don’t forget to visit the Southwest Florida Historical Society’s research center. The all-volunteer non-profit organization is at 10091 McGregor Boulevard on the campus of the Lee County Alliance for the Arts. The center is open Wednesday and Saturday between 9 a.m. and noon and Wednesday 4 to 7 p.m. Call 939-4044 or visit swflhistoricalsociety.org for more information. Sources: Archives of the Southwest Florida Historical Society, The Passing Scene An eastward view across the Fort Myers Yacht Basin taken near Hendry Street in October 1951 by Marian B. Godown, and The Story of Fort Myers by Karl H. Grismer. courtesy of Florida State Archive Read Us Online: www.IslandSunNews.com Contributing Writers Click on The River Jennifer Basey Marion Hauser, MS, RD Advertising Sales Graphic Arts/Production Photographer Kimberley Berisford Ross Hauser, MD Isabel Rasi Ann Ziehl Michael Heider Suzy Cohen Audrey Krienen George Beleslin Kristy See Ed Frank Capt. Matt Mitchell Writers Co-Publishers Rachel Atkins Jim George Patricia Molloy Gerri Reaves, Ph D Lorin Arundel Office Coordinator Shelley Greggs Di Saggau Anne Mitchell and Ken Rasi Patricia Molloy Tom Hall Cynthia A. Williams Jeff Lysiak 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 2016 The River Weekly News • LORKEN Publications, Inc. PAPER THE RIVER - JANUARY 1, 2016 3 Fort Myers Art: At the News-Press, she was awarded artist of the year in 2004. In 2010, she Local Artist Plans appeared on FOX TV’s Morning Blend to paint then-co-hosts Carly Wegner and Wild To Shell Shock Bill Wood. If you are interested, classes are forming The Community now for Benson to guide you down your by Tom Hall own creative path. Linda Benson’s Shell Shocked e prepared to be exhibition opens January 1 during Art shell shocked by Walk in the Office Gallery (called Behind BLinda Benson as the Main) at Arts for ACT, 2265 First she starts-off the New Street, in downtown Fort Myers’ historic Year with a big bang.

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