The bus ride to the Historic Ft. Myers area was beautiful; we drove through neighborhoods with old homes and giant Royal Palms. The area was green and the trees towered over the roadway. We soon arrived at the Ft. Myers Historic Museum, the institute was full of diagrams, artifact replications and informative postings describing the Native Americans indigenous to the Florida area and other relevant historic aspects of the area including; fishing, industrialization and the many scientific contributions the area benefited from Edison. The museum included pictures and details about the coast and the many inhabitants it received throughout the centuries, it concluded with an array of military artifacts from WWII and Vietnam, the glass cases included uniforms, helmets, diaries and other physical artifacts. The museum also owned the home next door; it was a replica of what a home in the area would have looked like and measured, about the size of a large living room and housing a family of four or more. It was built of wood and raised from the ground, the roof was made of tin and extremely high, this helps to keep the heat of Florida Summers high in the infrastructure and cooler where people spend most their day.
We then walked through the historic district of Ft. Myers, the road was lined in small shops, boutiques, restaurants and bars. The architecture was impressive, a glimpse into how the town must have looked centuries ago. It’s an amazing thought to know that you’re walking on the same land where so many before you have also walked. I visualized what the streets would look like covered in buggy carriages and how people would have dressed; women with their exaggerated feathered hats, hooped ruffled skirts and men with big mustaches and top hats. We walked the coast of the area and observed the Marina, taking note of the different types of trees and the many years it takes for a tree of that size to grow.
It was a unique experience, everyday we drive through our city and never pay much attention to the historical significance of the land, its resources, people or national importance. Much like many other cities within the nation Ft. Myers is a city drenched in historical importance and will stand as such for generations to come. The area includes some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and water as well as the summer home of one of the most famous men in the world, Thomas Edison. I look forward to the day when I can walk with my grandchildren, pointing out trees as old as I am, architecture three times as old as myself and teach them the importance of one day doing the same with their own grandchildren.
I enjoyed your article on Ft. Myers. I am 60 and was born in Ft. Myers in 1951, and my mother was born there in 1912, one of eight siblings. She, as a small child, recalled walking, skipping down the dirt road of First Street and Palm Beach Blvd., sometimes throwing sand and small rocks at her older sisters who walked ahead, having just denied her some childish want.
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents had come here in the 1800s from North Florida--Grandpa was an alligator hunter and mullet fisherman. Grandma died when my mother was just three, and she (Grandma) is buried at the old New Prospect Cemetery on Bayshore Road; and all other family were laid to rest in Ft. Myers Cemetery on Michigan Avenue.
My father arrived in Ft. Myers in the 1920s from Alabama (via Chattanooga,Tennessee; Detroit, Michigan (where he worked for Henry Ford); and a wheat farm in Kansas...when I was a child, he told me, "when I drove across that bridge and saw those palms, I knew I'd found home." He had arrived here with two buddies, crossed the old Edison Bridge, and come upon the beautiful sight of the Royal Palms lining the riverfront entrance to Ft. Myers. He wasn't sure if the beautiful palms were real, so they pulled over near the intersection of Fowler St. and First St., he hopped out of the car, and with his pocket knife cut into the tree--he had thought it was probably concrete and could hardly believe it when he discovered it was a live tree, not concrete with fronds stuck on top!
When I was a small child, my parents did their shopping in downtown Ft. Myers--the Sears store was there on First St., just across the street from the A&P, a small drug store with a soda fountain, and a McCroy's.
I and my family have such precious memories of our beautiful hometown, and I thank you for recognizing its unique history and its everlasting charm.
Correction: Actually, my father said, as he crossed the Edison Bridge and the city came into view: "When I crossed that bridge and saw those trees, I knew I'd found home."
ReplyDelete("trees" rather than "palms.)