Pine Island gone
To the editor:
“Our hearts are down, our heads are turning around
“We left Pine Island for another town.”
When we were children in the 1950s, Florida was a distant, exotic dream, especially during those dreary winter months of grey skies, frequent snowfalls and an elusive sun in our northeastern home states, Pennsylvania for me and Ohio for Beth. On rare occasions, our families would do a slow road atrip to the Sunshine State, driving down Route One before the interstates crisscrossed the country and I-95 delivered Florida in a day or so of speedy travel. I remember catching my very first fish off the Naples Pier and wading for discarded queen conch shells in Key West. So the seed of the Florida Dream was planted early.
In 2009 we bought a waterfront CBS home in St. James City. We put in a dock and boat lift, bought a 17-foot skiff and began pursuing that “dream” in real time. Our quarter-acre lot became the site of an “edible landscape” as mango, lemon, starfruit, orange, longan, lychee, key lime and fig trees took root and usually prospered, although Ian took some away.
Our boat took us into St. James Creek, Matlacha Pass and Pine Island Sound in pursuit of redfish, snook, seatrout and mangrove snapper which we caught with enough regularity that we became constant customers at Pine Island Bait and Tackle.
Yet time, as it always does, marches on. This year we decided the demands of island life were just too much to handle. It was time to relocate to an inland destination that afforded a more sedate lifestyle. And so we will soon leave with memories of many good years intact.
What will we miss most of this very special island?
1. First and foremost, the people. “Pine Island Strong” is more than a motto. The folks here are dedicated and the volunteer ethic is deeply rooted. We’ve tried to do our part. Beth has chaired the Pine Island Garden Club Gala for six years, and it’s been my honor to emcee both the Gala and the Calusa Land Trust Duck Race.
2. The wildlife that thrives in the forests, marshes and waters. From pelicans and wood storks, manatees and porpoises, rabbits and coyotes, and this year, even a bear, the island maintains incredible populations of God’s creatures, great and small.
3. Impromptu traffic stops on Stringfellow as a motorist helps a gopher tortoise to cross that busy highway. No one honks, no one is impatient as the Good Samaritan completes the task!
4. Tennis and pickleball games at The Center where racket players gather Monday through Saturday for semi-competitive games. Score is kept but it’s the participation that matters.
5. Sunsets at the northern tip of our island where the sun dips into the Gulf and after there’s always time for pie at Captain Con’s.
6. Mangoes are now our favorite fruit. Each year we relish fresh Hadens, Glenns and Keitts. Pine Island is justly the “Mango Capitol of Florida.”
7. The 4th of July celebration from the morning parade to evening fireworks at the American Legion. It’s a day to recognize we live in a country that brings out our best because we’re founded on “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
8. The restaurants of the island and Matlacha that had to weather first COVID and then Ian. Eating locally makes both economic and culinary sense.
9. The Duck Race that transforms Monroe Canal into a mass of yellow rubber ducks, all vying for first place. Three thousand ducks go into the water, herded by volunteers in kayaks as wind and tide determine the lucky winner. The ticket proceeds help the Calusa Land Trust preserve and protect Pine Island for another year.
10. Finally, we’ll miss morning coffees (Perfect Cup beans) on our old boat dock, watching the Florida clouds gather for a morning T-storm during summer season. Another day in paradise.
Clearly, we’ll miss our island home and the wonderful friends we’ve made over the years. Our only advice to those we’ve left behind is to cherish what you have and make every day here count.
Beth and Herb Smith
Formerly of St. James City