Visitor Stories From The Sanibel Historical Museum And Village

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Throughout the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village’s buildings are binders inviting visitors to share their memories of Sanibel –whether as long-time residents, as visitors of many years, as students at the Old Schoolhouse, or whatever moves them to record their Sanibel experiences. Loose-leaf pages (themselves a reminder of times past, having come into use

around 1900) and pens are provided, and that’s all one needs to bring the past alive.

From Grace Benham Herst

“I spent two wonderful years here from 1939 to 1941. I loved the school, the beach, the remoteness of everything. We used to go to Fort Myers when we wanted ice cream – there was none on the island because there was no electricity.”

From a Waterville, Ohio visitor

“From 1948 to 1952, we came to Fort Myers each year to visit my grandparents. We took the ferry out to Sanibel and a wagon pulled by a tractor or pickup truck took us to our accommodation. The cottage we stayed in was a clapboard bedroom with two double beds and a dresser – that’s it. Then there was a screened porch with a kerosene stove, table and chairs and sink (with pitcher and bowl, I think). We stayed two or three nights and hunted shells and swam and hunted shells some more. Then, the little cart took us back to the ferry, sunburned and carting our shells.”

From an unidentified visitor

“I can remember my husband’s grandmother, Jesse Shipley, drove us to the beach down Donax Road, which was only dirt. We drove up on the beach and parked. You could look both ways on the beach and not see one building.”

From Ruby Singleton Sanders

“My father ran the mail boat Santiva from 1936 to 1952. I would ride with him in the summer on occasion and walk from Bailey’s store across to the beach using a palmetto ‘swisher’ to keep off the mosquitoes.” (Ruby’s father was Cleon Singleton.)

Read more about people’s experiences living on and visiting Sanibel at the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village. In addition, the Old Bailey Store contains copies of old newspapers, and just about all the houses have plenty of reading material explaining their history.

The Sanibel Historical Museum and Village is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday through August 3, and reopens November 6 on a full schedule, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located at 950 Dunlop Road (next to BIG

ARTS). There is handicap access to all buildings. For more information, call 472-4648 during business hours or visit www.sanibelmuseum.org.

Island Sun (July 26, 2013)