The main building had a 16,000-gallon rainwater
cistern as well, located under the kitchen floor. The
family also raised chickens, ducks, guinea hens,
occasional turkeys and even a little pig, a present to
son Taylor. This “farm” was a source of food at the
dinner table.
Peter and Taylor went to school on Punta Blanca at
a small one-room schoolhouse. Peter attended the
school for one year and was the entire 8th grade,
while Taylor had five years of education there.
Continuing his education in Boca Grande, Peter lived
on Park Ave with the Smith family. He slept
on an L-shaped porch and his parents paid
the family $50 a month for room and
board during the week. He came home on
weekends, but Boca Grande was
considered his hometown. Taylor followed
in his footsteps at the Boca Grande School
for two years, but was ferried every day to
Boca Grande by school boat, following the
closure of the Punta Blanca school. Debbie
boarded with classmates in Sarasota to
continue her high school education and
was joined by her brothers when they
reached high school age.
Debbie recalls that her father and mother rose to
the challenge of innkeeping with good humor and a
sense of adventure. They were city slickers from the
suburbs of Chicago, unfamiliar with island living,
opening and operating an inn, or maintaining and
operating boats, but were willing to tackle this new
way of life! Larry also wanted to spend time painting,
using his own creative senses rather than
following the requirements of the commercial art
world. They jumped in feet first. Throughout his
adventurous life and as a standard for the family
to follow, his most important motto for living well
was: Be flexible.
Nellie Coleman was a great help with housework
and cooking and Joe Celec, who ran the
school boat, was the man to go to when help
was needed with repairs. In time, Larry, Peter, and
Taylor were expert boatsmen, but there were a
few glitches along the way. Though this was the
“family car,” it was hard to remember that you
could not put your foot on the brake to stop the
36-foot Sandspur, so at least one piling was pulled
over while trying to tie up the boat at the Punta
Blanca fish house. At first, their neighbors, the
fishermen sat and watched Larry make mistakes