Weather and Tides FREE page 21 Take Me Home VOL. 20, NO. 21 From the Beaches to the River District downtown Fort Myers MAY 21, 2021 Reception For Family Of Artists rts for ACT Gallery will hold an opening reception and meet- Athe-artist session for a family of artists during Art Walk on Friday, June 4 from 6 to 10 p.m. The exhibition will feature abstract resin pours and realism from three generations of artists from one family; Pat Cleveland (posthumous), a donator to Arts for ACT for over 28 years; her daughter, Bonnie Turner; and her grandson, Brock Turner. New works from the gallery co-op artists will also be on display. At age 3, Cleveland copied a painting on her mother’s easel, and this started a lifelong passion to paint. She graduated from the Pratt Institute of Design in New York and was an interior designer until she retired. Upon retirement, Florida Vibes by Bonnie Turner Cleveland began to paint and was an images provided award-winning artist. She had several an ad in an art catalog for acrylic pour solo exhibits across the United States, paints, she became inspired and, at age Florida Panther by Pat Cleveland producing mostly realistic art. 85, explored the wonderful world of creative ways to produce an acrylic pour and posting on TikTok. As Cleveland aged, she was diagnosed YouTube. While watching acrylic pour and to have fun as an artistic family until This exhibit will be on view through with macular degeneration and soon videos, she sent her daughter Bonnie to Cleveland passed away in December Monday, June 28. became legally blind. Her love of the store for supplies. This began the 2019. The Turners continue to paint. Arts for ACT Gallery is located at painting continued, but her style changed painting of a three-generation family. They began posting to Instagram and 2265 First Street in downtown Fort to abstract realism, becoming a looser With a construction background, have taught acrylic pour classes. Brock Myers. For more information, visit www. painter with more vivid colors. Seeing Brock Turner soon began teaching the has started his own YouTube Channel artsforactgallery.com. Blue Star Memorial Dedication Billy Dean Chris Wallin photos provided Nashville’s most sought-after songwriters. He began writing songs at age 12 and has A Country Music worked hard to achieve his place on the “A List” of Nashville songwriters. He has Weekend In Store topped the charts with classics in the The first Blue Star Memorial Marker on Fort Myers Beach photo provided opular country music star Chris making for the industry’s biggest stars. he Estero Island Garden Club is The blue star was used on service Wallin will perform with Billy Dean Artists who have cut Wallin’s songs include honoring veterans with a Blue flags to denote a service member Pat the Players Circle Theatre on Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks, Trace TStar Memorial Marker, which will fighting in the war. The program Friday and Saturday, June 4 to 5. The Adkins and Toby Keith. be unveiled next to the entrance of the has since been expanded to include Friday performance begins at 8 p.m.; Dean first gained national attention on Fort Myers Beach Library on Saturday, memorial markers and memorial Saturday’s show is at 7 p.m. Ticket prices TV’s Star Search in 1990. The Grammy- May 22 at 10 a.m. Service members, by-ways. Since 1994, these markers range from $35 to $75. winning artist has mastered the art of veterans, family and friends are welcome have been used in national cemeteries, Wallin has established himself as one of continued on page 14 to attend the ceremony. continued on page 16 2 THE RIVER - MAY 21, 2021 Historic Downtown Fort Myers, Then And Now: Lofton’s Island Gets A Makeover by Gerri Reaves, PhD ust off the downtown riverfront lies an island with a new name, Legacy Island, and a newly defined future. But what Jis the legacy of that spoil island, which for decades has been the topic of redevelopment dreams – some of them a bit zany? Jesse Lee “JL” Lofton created his namesake island while working on a federal dredging project to deepen the waters in the Caloosahatchee River from Punta Rassa to Fort Thompson from 1910 to 1912. He deposited the “island” west off the downtown riverfront and declared squatter’s rights. As his 1949 obituary summed up his career, Lofton built numerous bridges and seawalls in the area, including the bridges between Sanibel and Captiva and between the mainland and Fort Myers Beach. In 1911, he built a three-bedroom house on the newly created island and he, his wife Florence and daughter, Zelma, moved there. Zelma rowed into downtown to Circa 1920, when JL Lofton’s family lived on the island, palm trees abounded. In the attend school. background is the Fort Myers waterfront photo courtesy Florida State Archives The circa-1920 photo shows the island during the family’s residence, when it was populated by numerous palms. In 1948, Lofton sold the island for $4,000 to Tom Phillips, who quickly flipped it. In 1949, it was marketed as a three-acre island with rights to fill up to 10 acres. (Note that the island’s acreage above water fluctuates, a warning sign to anyone wanting to develop it.) That same year, a fire of undetermined origin swept the island, destroying the frame house and damaging most of the invasive Australian pines. In 1950, Phillips sold the five-acre island to A. Lowell and Elinor Hunt for $7,500. Lowell Hunt was a well-known author of the book Florida Today (which had just been published by Scribners) and articles in national magazines such as Collier’s, Pageant, American Weekly, Parade and Coronet. Lofton’s Island today, as seen from the foot of Hendry Street, now cleared of exotic plants photo by Gerri Reaves The couple built a much larger house on the island and electrified it via an underwater cable. It was to be a home and writing retreat. The Hunts planned to remove the exotic Australian pines and plant coconut palms, citrus trees and other tropical shrubs. The circa-1950 aerial photo pictures the island the year of the sale. In the southward view, the Fort Myers Yacht Basin is visible in the upper left. One might say that the zany development dreams really began in 1950, because Hunt also considered exercising his right to fill the island to 10 acres, erecting a retaining wall and building a road to connect the island to the Edison Bridge. The road-to-the-bridge idea was quashed in December 1950, however, when the State Road Department revoked and canceled the permission it had granted in 1930, the year the bridge was completed. Twenty years later, traffic had grown exponentially, making such a project unthinkable. This 1950 photo of Lofton’s Island was taken eight months after author A. Lowell and Elinor Through the decades, the island has changed ownership several times, and there Hunt bought it. The island was then overrun with invasive Australian pines. Upper left is the continued on page 4 Fort Myers Yacht Basin. photo courtesy Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System Independently Owned And Operated COPYRIGHT 2021 The River Weekly News Read Online: www.IslandSunNews.com LORKEN Publications, Inc. Publisher Graphic Arts/ Reporters Contributing Writers Lorin Arundel Production Gerri Reaves, PhD Kay Casperson Capt. Matt Mitchell Accounting Ann Ziehl, Manager Kathy Kurtz Ferrari Suzy Cohen Trinette Nelson Mike Terry Amanda Hartman Linda Coin Howard Prager Advertising Willow Peterson Marcia Feeney Julie Rosenberg, MD Bob Petcher Katie Frederic J. Brendan Ryan, CLU, Shelley Greggs ChFC, MSFS Published every Friday for the people and visitors of Fort Myers River District. Distribution: 6,000-8,000 per week (seasonal). Tom Hall Di Saggau Marion Hauser, MS, RD Jeanie Tinch Readers with news, tips, comments or questions, call 239-395-1213, Ross Hauser, MD Allison Havill Todd write to: The River Weekly News, 1640 Periwinkle Way, Suite 2, Sanibel, FL 33957 Craig R. Hersch or email: [email protected]. To advertise, email: [email protected]. PRINTED ON The River Weekly News reserves the right to refuse, alter or edit any editorial or advertisement. RECYCLED PAPER We will correct factual errors or matters of emphasis and interpretation in news stories. THE RIVER - MAY 21, 2021 3 From left, Jeff Broome, Janet Bartos and students from Fort Myers Christian School photo provided Jennifer Basey to create homeless kits that included a First Vice President/Investments Students Help toothbrush and two tubes of toothpaste, waterless shower kits, deodorant, a Homeless Families bible, bug spray, a first aid kit, a $25 Call me for a Publix gift card and a personal note With Care Kits of encouragement. NJHS students personalized plan ort Myers Christian School hand-delivered the kits to Bartos at the (FMCS) National Junior Honor Lee County Homeless Coalition. FSociety (NJHS) students created a “This has been a great experience GoFundMe page and built care kits to for our students to go through the help people experiencing homelessness process of budgeting, choosing items in Lee County. and putting together homeless kits,” Earlier in the school year, NJHS said Jeff Broome, NJHS coordinator KNOWLEDGE for Fort Myers Christian School. “Our students discussed the best way to help For 130 years, Stifel has served as a trusted the community during the COVID-19 students learned more about what is pandemic. Students were passionate happening in their community and how financial advisor to individuals, just like you.