The collections include oral histories
that have been transcribed, programs and
presentations made by the Boca Grande
Historical Society (including “History Bytes”),
newspaper clippings and other documents,
images, newsletters, brochures and other
print materials on a variety of topics.
Jim is in the process of having all of the
information digitized, a tedious labor of
love.
One thing that Blaha stresses is that the
History Center is not just a museum or an
organization that puts on a presentation
every once in a while … The Center is much
more.
“We are a History Center, a research
facility, dedicated to preserving Boca
Grande’s history,” he said. “We want people
to make an appointment to come by, then
sit and spend an afternoon looking through
all of the information we have here. It is very
important for people to understand that
the place we are now, is not what we have
always been.”
There is enough information in Blaha’s
volumes to keep the most voracious history
buff immersed for many hours. Five of
the 30 huge binders he has created are
dedicated to Florida, Boca Grande and
World War II. The fi rst two World War II
volumes include information about Florida’s
part in the war in general; the other three
sections are particular to the island’s military
members, as well as some civilians who
participated in the war effort.
“I felt that we should make a serious
attempt to recognize the contribution of
Boca Grande residents towards the War ...
the Good War ... as we call it,” Blaha said.
“This is our recognition of the veterans
who served during World War II, to do this
project. This is our war effort at the history
center.”
There are 262 individual names of Boca
Grande residents who registered for the
draft in World War II or served in the war.
There is at least one page for each of those
veterans. Blaha researched ancestry.com
and the U.S. Census records to make the
list and the information as complete as
possible.
“If someone knows of someone who isn’t
on this list, they should contact me,” he said.
The overview of the war in Florida includes
the Naval installations in Florida and other
military installations. There are newspaper
clippings from all over the state, and other
general war memorabilia.
In the local volumes, one of the veterans
who received the commendation of Silver
Star in battle was the late Jack Silcox,
husband of the late Edith Silcox. The letter
that came with the commendation was
dated July 1, 1945 and reads as follows:
Jack Silcox, Private First Class, Infantry,
Company “C,” 15th Infantry Regiment, for
gallantry in action.
At 1000 hours, March 18, 1945, near
Althornbach, Germany, PFC Silcox crossed
over 400 yards of exposed terrain to bring
28 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE • March/April • 2021
/ancestry.com