Putting Money into the Bank

Last weekend offered a unique opportunity to get in touch with the real history of Southwest Florida – and maybe help keep some of it intact. 

The Everglades Centennial Music Festival, this past Saturday in Everglades City, brought together two iconic local landmarks, the Rod & Gun Club on the banks of the Barron River in “downtown” Everglades City and, just across the street, the historic Bank of Everglades. The Rod & Gun Club grounds hosted an all-star lineup of down-home Florida heritage musicians, all donating their time, in a benefit to raise funds to restore the bank building. Fortunately, additional funding help is in the works, with three million dollars committed by the federal government, and roughly half of that number being sought from the State of Florida.

Musical entertainment for the festival included guitar ace Raiford Starke (his stage name comes from two Florida state prisons), the Florida Boys, featuring Pete Gallagher and Pat Barmore, Sarah McCulloch, Marie Nofsinger, Tim McGeary, and Charlie Pace. All the musicians playing had strong roots in the ’glades one way or another, and many have written original songs illustrating their connections. 

There was a lineup of musical acts that was publicized ahead of the show, but these things are subject to change, and some of those scheduled to appear could not make it, and some who did show up had not been advertised in advance. “Last minute changes may occur – that’s life,” pointed out the organizers’ Facebook page.

Starke led off the performances with his own set, then sat in – or stood in, as the players were on their feet underneath a canopy to ward off the still-warm afternoon sun – with one player after another. He lent his talents, including acoustic lead and slide guitar, harmonica and backing vocals, giving each performer a fuller sound. 

The audience either sat in the sun or huddled off to one side under the shade of some trees, so although there was a reasonable crowd in attendance, the spacious grounds, with the Barron River flowing behind and occasional boats cruising by, could have held many more spectators. Local artists, craftspeople and businesses donated items for a silent auction, and authors Nicholas Penniman and Franklin Adams sold autographed copies of their book “Enjoyment of the Same: A History of Public Lands in Southwest Florida,” donating much of the proceeds to the cause. 

Everglades City Mayor Howie Grimm, who is running for re-election this month, addressed the group, along with Everglades Society for Historic Preservation president Patty Huff. Grimm said he wants to keep the town’s Old Florida charm and avoid a situation like the Isles of Capri, where high-rise condominiums were approved to be built over the residents’ objections. 

“We’re going to stay nice and quaint. We want to keep it that way,” he said. Huff said people would rather listen to the music than hear her talk, but did conduct raffle drawings, and thanked all those who came out to support the cause, with a special shoutout for those who ventured down from Marco Island and Naples. 

The Lions Club cooked up hotdogs, and Everglades Distilling showcased their locally produced whisky in many flavors, along with vodka and moonshine, passing out free samples of the spirits made at their distillery in Immokalee. Naples artists exhibiting under the name “Ze Art Rat” hawked their wares, and Glenn Pace displayed his hand-turned wooden bowls, a business that originated to recycle trees that had been felled by Hurricane Irma. 

Hurricane Irma, along with Ian and a century of hard and varied use, seriously damaged and impacted the Bank of Everglades building, although its construction featuring cypress and Dade County pine gives it great resilience. Huff provided a tour of the building in its dilapidated pre-restoration state. 

The structure holds special meaning for this reporter, who spent the night of the millennium New Year’s Eve along with much of his family in the bank building when for some years it was operated as a bed and breakfast. The proprietors served breakfast inside the steel-lined vault, where banging on the walls still provides an echoing boom. 

Once restored, the bank will house a visitors’ center, replacing the one that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Plans for the bank building will be on display, with renderings from REG Architects, the West Palm Beach architectural firm specializing in historic preservation that is handling design and engineering for the restoration, at a meeting on November 17 at the Everglades Isle Lighthouse. 

The Bank of Everglades was founded by Barron Collier 100 years ago in 1923 and moved into the current building in 1927. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1999. For more information or to donate to help preserve the bank, go online to www.ESHP.org.