The Good People Among Us

The man dressed in red with a white beard is coming soon! Better watch out, better be good or he might pass you by! Today I want to mention a few community leaders who seem to be of leadership quality and who give of themselves. You might know them, but you might not know how much they help their community. (As I write, I find that I’m mentioning vibrant people in our community, and you just might know some of them!)

* Good things are going on around us! Our weather has been great; not only for us, but for our visitors and guests and part time residents. We couldn’t have asked for more or better weather. Many members of The Elks Lodge and many Elks Veterans have stopped by the Elks Lodge on US 41E to enjoy the holiday spirit, play some games, dance, and meet some new people. There are the really friendly members who regularly stop in, like Cassie Demetsky, who is always helping out with whatever the organization needs, like the children in our schools, and the seniors who might need a helping hand or just a friend. They have the friendliest people there! I’ve been a casual member for 23 years, but these people are always there helping people, and especially Cassie, who is also involved with some of the Veteran’s Groups in this area, where she met Brigette Smith. The Elks seem to have the friendliest people there. These people are always there helping other people, and especially the young people in our community! Some members come to dance, some to eat, some for company and friendship; they are always welcome to come in and join if they haven’t been a member before. 

* Now Brigette Smith is an Elks member but is also very involved with many Veterans Groups and also with the DAR – Daughters of the American Revolution - another vibrant organization in our community (there is also a SAR – Sons of the American Revolution - but these ladies do not belong to the male counterpart group). Brigette is also involved with the Military Officers Wives organization. I bet you are beginning to hear of groups you never knew were here before, or some groups you just might want to know a little more about, and maybe even find a friend or do some volunteer work to help out!  They are all out there folks, and most are open to new members who would like to feel like they belong and would like to meet others.  

* On the Isles of Capri I have a friend (actually I have a few friends on Capri whom I greatly admire, but for this article I will only mention one, although you just might hear of another in the next column next week!) who has been a blessing and will bring me up to speed with good news information when I call and today, Rosemary Langkawel said that the Pelican Bend Restaurant is now open! I guess they were hit pretty hard by our storm, but after a lot of work, sweat and pain, they are now approved and open! I love turning to Rosemary because she is so much fun as well! That will be good news to many of their regular customers when they read this! (I used to work with a few of the Pelican Bend employees or family members back in the days of PBA!) What is PBA? Provincetown Boston Airline! Yes, we had an airline in our community back in the 70’s and early 80’s – a very popular Commuter Airline owned by John Van Arsdale. Some of the airline employees from that era are still here in Collier County, like Al Shantzen, an Airline Mechanic for PBA and Craig Pereira, another mechanic, and of course me, Donna Fiala. I bet many people had no idea we even had an airline here in our community! 

Speaking of things from the past: Did you know that there was a drug store on 5th Ave that also had a lunch counter with ice cream soda’s, sundaes, hot dogs and hamburgers and a gift shop? It was near Ingram’s Hardware Store, and yes, there was a Sunshine Grocery Store as well, and they were there when the devastating Hurricane Donna blasted the area back in 1960. That drug store belonged to my girlfriend Nancy Wojcik and her husband. They too are still here in town. They’ve seen a lot of things as this county grew. It’s fun to rehash the past. It’ll never be the same, but it’s fun to know what it was like. In those days most people didn’t even have to lock their doors! It was a different world then.

Merry Christmas everyone!