The beach is lovely-- clean white sand and all the ocean you could want. There are so many things…read moreto do-- paddle board, boat, kayak, jet ski, swim, lay around, shell hunt (esp. at Lover's Key), bird watch... The beach is cleaned constantly and combed daily so there is virtually no trash. At low tide, you can find all kinds of critters on the beach-- we threw back many a starfish, brittle start, and sea cucumber. Please do not dig up live sand dollars or bother the live crabs! Many interesting artifacts to be found at any time-- horseshoe crab corpses, sea pork, seaweeds, etc. Many birds-- different types of sandpipers and gulls, egrets, pelicans-- some are playful or unafraid of close contact with humans. Loved the beach! Hated the island. The traffic is god awful south of San Carlos and north there is nothing but bars and curio stands. Old people or young people everywhere, not much for the middle-aged. The food offerings are terrible-- only pizza, burgers, ice cream-- certainly nothing veg-friendly or healthy to be found. In town, Ft. Myers is not much better. Probably will not go back, but if I do, I will be sure to stock up on some healthy food in Tampa or Naples to stock my fridge so I can enjoy beach time instead of having to drive off the island every night for something decent to eat.

This marker is along Buckingham Road near a trailhead. The sign is in excellent condition and is…read moreeasily legible though the text is quite small. There is parking nearby. The marker reads, "During World War II, nearly 50,000 soldiers earned their wings as aerial gunners at the Buckingham Army Air Field's (BAAF) Flexible Gunnery School. As one of only six gunnery schools in the United States, BAAF was in operation from 1942 until the end of the war in 1945. At the ranges once located near here, south of State Road 82, trainees were taught the skills needed to protect American bomber planes from enemy attack. Soldiers first learned how to shoot at moving targets from a moving platform. Enclosed in a spinning turret mounted to a truck, the men fired machine guns at unmanned jeeps carrying large white cloth targets that drove along a track inside the range. After ground training, the soldiers practiced firing from aircraft at targets towed by other aircraft. This training provided the soldiers with the skills and knowledge needed to man the many turret and window machine guns on B-17 and B-24 bombers, and successfully defend those bombers in both Europe and the Pacific. These gunnery ranges were an important part of the Buckingham Army Air Field and Florida's role in training the military personnel who served protecting our nation." I find it interesting that this sort of thing happened here in Florida. Of course, it had to happen somewhere so this is quite interesting and telling that there was so little civilization in this area back then that they could have that sort of weapons training. It obviously worked. [Review 16783 overall - 1508 in Florida - 296 of 2022.]

Uncommon Friends is a sculpture along the Caloosahatchee River in Centennial Park. The art piece…read morewas created to celebrate the friendship of the three titans of Fort Myers, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone. All three men had winter homes in Fort Myers. Uncommon Friends was requested by former Mayor Art Hammel and was commissioned by the Fort Myers Beautification Advisory Board which added 21 public art pieces to the city in the 1980's and 1990's. Uncommon Friends was created in 1988 by local sculptor DJ Wilkins out of aluminum, plaster and wire. Wilkins was inspired to create the art piece by the book Uncommon Friends by James Dean Newton, who was a friend of the three men. Wilkins has created 23 sculptures throughout Fort Myers including the nearby Florida panther sculpture on nearby Monroe Street. The sculpture features the three men in the three piece suits they would have worn in the 1920's seated around a campfire on an island. Surrounding them is a 40 foot diameter pool with a native Floridian animals including otters, a mother alligator and her 5 babies, a mother manatee and her calf, fish, and frogs. In 1914 Edison, Ford, and Firestone began camping trips in the Everglades calling themselves The Vagabonds. Sometimes they were joined by naturalist John Burroughs and James D. Newton. They often invited the press along to chronicle their adventures which in turn brought recreational travel to the west coast of Florida. I love this tribute to them and if you visit you will find it to be a popular spot to take pictures.

This somewhat faded sign points out that something used to be here but has since been moved. It is…read morelocated near where the southbound Edison Bridge lands in Fort Myers. It is next to a professional office and with an empty lot across the street so that's only slightly creepy. The marker reads, "During the Seminole Wars, this was the site of a military cemetery for soldiers of Fort Harvie, 1841-42, and Fort Myers, 1850-58. The cemetery was located outside the breastworks of the respective forts which were in the vicinity of the present Federal Building in downtown Fort Myers. When Fowler Street was cut through, the graves were moved to the civilian cemetery on Michigan Avenue." The original Fort Harvie was build on the grounds that no compromise downtown Fort Myers. The post was then renamed Ft. Myers in honor of Colonel Abraham C. Myers, who was soon to wed the daughter of Major General David E. Twiggs, then commanding Fort Brooke (Tampa). The expanded fort eventually became quite an impressive base. At it's peak, it featured a 1,000 foot wharf, and more than 50 buildings constructed of hardy yellow pine. The cleared ground around the fort fell roughly within the area bounded by the present day Hough, Monroe and Second streets. [Review 15786 overall - 1366 in Florida - 1290 of 2021.]

I love your libraries and all they do for the community (programs, genealogy, etc.as well as normal…read morelibrary services) There is one matter I'd like to bring to your attention. I congratulate you on offering customers a digital option instead of having to retain paper receipts. However, there is still a danger to librarians and customers who don't choose this digital option since the ink on the thermal paper you use is a source of BPA or BPS, which has been linked to increased risk of breast and prostate cancers, cardiovascular disease, and reproductive and brain development abnormalities. Simply touching the ink briefly puts it directly into your blood stream, especially if your hands have hand cream or hand sanitizer on them. And the BPA/BPS also contaminates other surfaces it comes into contact with. If a receipt is desired, the digital option you provide is certainly the best choice for cutting the cost and environmental impact of paper receipts. However, since not all customers have internet access and most customers and employees who work at cash registers are not aware of this problem, we urge you to buy phenol-free paper. For example, POS Supply has a number of kinds. In the meantime, wearing nitrile gloves when handling receipts would help your employees. Because of the impact on human health and the environment, attention to this issue deserves your attention. Sincerely, Jean Chandler

I love lighthouses and I have visited quite a number of them over the years, yet each one still…read moresparks my sense of curiosity and my admiration. This lighthouse was moved to it current local in 1927 and stands 105 feet tall with 134 spiral steps to the top, it was restored to its original glory in 2017 at a cost of 1.3 million dollars and today stands proud for all to see, but this is not where the story began. It was originally built in 1881 by the Phoenix Iron Company of Trenton, N.J. It began service just north of Lewes, Delaware as the Delaware Breakwater Rear Range Light, known locally as the Green Hill Lighthouse. In 1927, the lighthouse was reassembled and installed on Gasparilla Island just south of the town of Boca Grande by the U.S. Lighthouse Service. The tower was painted white and a 4th order Fresnel lens was installed and lit on January 1, 1932. Unfortunately I was not able to climb it today being it was closed but just walking around it was a joy. Some say it's not worth going out of you're way to see it or pay the $6.00 to cross onto the causeway I say it's a must see if you're anywhere in the area and have a few minutes to spare. As an added bonus visiting this lighthouse is in close proximity to a beautiful beach which offers a great shelling opportunity...

I enjoy reading about history and on a recent trip to Fort Myers I learned about the 2nd United…read moreStates Colored Infantry, a regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was created by the Bureau of Colored Troops and was authorized by United States War Department on May 22, 1863. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers. The 1989 movie Glory was a historical war drama based on a similar fictional African-American regiment. The 2nd U.S. Colored Infantry was organized in Arlington, Virginia from June 20 through November 11, 1863 for a three-year service. The regiment of around 900 men arrived in Key West on February 22, 1864 as replacements for the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers. They experienced hostility from many of the locals. The unit established a regimental headquarters and was encamped at Fort Taylor, under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Gulf. The unit was then assigned to the Department of Florida until January 1866. The 2nd U.S. Colored Infantry mustered out of service January 5, 1866. During service the regiment lost 173 men. I discovered this memorial in Centennial Park in downtown Ft. Myers which features several memorials as well as art work. The memorial is known as Clayton because it is made out of a ton of clay then cast in bronze. The 9 foot tall memorial was created by local sculptor DJ Wilkins who also created Uncommon Friends, an art piece that is a tribute to the friendship of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone, located a few feet away in the park. He also created many other art works displayed in downtown Fort Myers. The 2nd U.S. Colored Infantry memorial was dedicated on November 11, 1998. it features a 66,000-pound bronze sergeant standing in front of an open gate within a wall. The soldier is framed by two granite plaques mounted on each wall. The plaque on the left is a description of the important contributions of the USCT during the Battle of Fort Myers. The plaque on the right contains a poem, In Freedom Cover Me by D.J. Wilkins. The memorial was placed in the park in honor of the regiments service on February 20, 1865 when Confederates of the 1st Battalion, Florida Special Cavalry attacked Fort Myers to steal cattle and destroy the military fort. The Confederates engaged in a cannon duel with the 2nd USCT in charge of artillery. The New York Times reported that "the colored soldiers at Fort Myers were in the thick of the fight. Unconscious of danger, their constant cry was to get at them." Confederate forces were forced to withdraw at nightfall having failed to accomplish their mission. The Battle of Fort Myers marked the final action of the 2nd USCT in South Florida. Companies D and I left Fort Myers in March of 1865 and Fort Myers was then decommissioned, The USCT is credited with having freed and enlisted over 1,000 enslaved people in Florida.

In the longest and costliest of all the Indian wars in U.S. history--the Seminole Indian Wars in…read moreFlorida--today's Cape Coral was the scene of one of the worst slaughters. It happened here, near the foot of the Cape Coral bridge. The marker reads, "Near here on the Caloosahatchee River, a band of 160 Indians attacked the Ford and Trading Post at four o'clock on the morning of July 23, 1839. In the raid led by Chief Chekaika of the Spanish Indians, thirteen soldiers died and fourteen, including Col. William S. Harney, in command of operations, escaped down river. A year later, Col. Harney returned and destroyed Chekaika in the Everglades." The attack was successful because Colonel Harney had spent the previous day fishing and gone to bed too tired to post sentries. The dazed and terrified soldiers tried to get at their weapons but most were shot or stabbed to death before they could get out from under their mosquito nettings. Harney Point is to the south of the bridge. The marker is located in the northern half of the park. [Review 13254 overall, 571 of 2020.]