Editor’s Letter
Marcy Shortuse
Editor-in-Chief, Gasparilla Magazine
On a quiet, sultry
summer day in Florida
it’s easy to understand
why we’re on island
time.
Things move more slowly and we are
often lulled into a semi-blissful state of
being. It takes some getting used to if you
aren’t from here, but watching the milehigh
black storm clouds building against a
blue sky at about 3 p.m. is always hynotizing. That fi rst burst of rain in a summer squall and the wind that suddenly whips the trees
with a frenzy is energizing, and the buzz of the insects in the trees gets louder as the heat of the afternoon becomes heavy and hazy.
One of the best places in Southwest Florida to witness good summer weather is Arcadia. While the Gulf breezes often keep the
big storms at bay for the coast, the storms just inland can be almost as ferocious as a tornado one minute, and gone the next. The
drive to this historic town is impressive as well, and reminds us what this state was like when cattle was king and orange groves took
precedence over gated communities and manicured lawns.
Our writer Michele took a trip to Arcadia to visit some of the quite famous antique shops there, and even stopped off at the
haunted opera house. If you’re bored in the summer in this area, think about taking the hour to travel to this beautiful town that
time forgot, particularly since many of their shops have summer hours.
Speaking of summer beauty, Art Director Christine Cunningham took a day trip to Peace River Botanical Gardens. She
documented what she found there with some of her fantastic photos, and you don’t want to miss them.
In this edition I drove much further inland, to a tiny little hamlet called Duette. It was there that I met Larry and Lenore Woodham,
two kindred spirits who operate Bunker Hill Vineyard and Winery. If you like wine, you’ll love what Bunker Hill has to offer. If you
don’t like wine, you might change your mind after reading this article.
By the way, with this being our Halloween issue, there’s a twist on the words “spirits of Bunker Hill.” You’ll have to read it to
discover why.
We also tracked down some very old references to Boca Grande Halloweens past, most from the Fort Myers News-Press. It’s
amazing to see that the Halloween Carnival has always been a popular island event, even in the early part of the 1900s. The
mischief was rampant, especially from the “Bad Boys of Boca Grande,” which makes it so much fun to read about.
So ice down a nice drink, sit poolside or fi nd your favorite hammock in the trees and enjoy the quiet, wild summer in Southwest
Florida ... and don’t forget to take your Gasparilla Magazine with you wherever it is that you like to chill.
Stay well, stay sane, stay cool when you can and take care of each other and yourselves.
P.S. In our last edition we did a feature on The Hermitage and its history as told by Carroll Swayze. We neglected to mention in our cutlines that
not only did The Hermitage contribute some of their photos to our story, but so did photographer Eddie Donato. We thank him very much for that!
14 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE • September/October • 2021