Month: March 2020

A United Island – Thoughts and pictures by UseppaGin – Useppa is a family of members, residents, and the men and women who work here. These pictures reflect their faces and spirits. Multi generations stay together hunkering down in their homes until the Coronavirus Pandemic ends. Husbands and wives don’t take this time together for granted. They treasure it. Folks alone see their neighbors on walks or when a homemade dinner is dropped off at the cottage door. Employees had to be let go, but not without knowing they mattered, not without knowing if there had been a way to keep them, it would have been done. Jobs have shifted. Instead of Front Desk or Kitchen, it is Housekeeping. Landscaping crews are hard at work. The Service Department is on the front line for needed repairs whether it be of the water system or a broken down golf cart. Residents enjoy Collier Inn take-outs and support the restaurant staff. Management juggles each day’s shifting demands. Island life is not taken for granted. We are all working together in the Useppa tradition. We can still smile even as we keep those six feet between us.

Saint Patrick Makes Early Island Visit – thoughts and pictures by UseppaGin – On Sunday, March 15th before social isolation, before crowd limits, the Island celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day in its own unique way. Led by Admiral Useppa and the Firetruck, Islanders in decorated golf carts and dressed in green paraded up and down the beach. Prizes were awarded, and judges are still trying to determine whether kids or grownups had the most fun. The afternoon ended at the Tarpon Bar with toasts to each other and Useppa. How lucky we all are to be part of our Island family.

Island Sailing – Thoughts and Pictures by UseppaGin – Six knots and less on Pine Island Sound. Seven catboats on the water and Bill’s Grille on the beach. Boats and people kept their distance, but we still spent Saturday together. There were three races and three winners Spirit, Flying Cloud and Coot. Ultimately Coot was the overall victor based on technical scoring. Later hamburgers, hotdogs, cookies, and plastic gloves at lunch. Tradition and today’s reality co-exist on Useppa.

History and Style Under One Roof – Thoughts and Pictures and UseppaGin – On a windy Friday afternoon March 6th, ladies of Useppa gathered for a fashion show and party at the Barbara Sumwalt Museum. Director Rona Stage thanked everyone for all the work they do to make Useppa’s Historical Society such an integral part of island life. Then the fun began. The Art of Fashion and More in historic downtown Fort Myers brought clothes, accessories, and jewelry that both their models and Useppans showed off to good natured laughter and applause in the usually staid and serious museum. Glasses of Prosecco were raised in toast to each other and the spirits of Useppa’s past.