Saving stones
The lonely stone monument at the end of Main Street got new life this week.
The South Fort Myers High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter spent Thursday morning on San Carlos Island digging, mulching and planting within the walls of the 1924 monument that was once a part of Tom Phillip’s first housing development.
The FFA chapter partnered with Restore the Fort Myers Beach Arches, a citizens group dedicated to rebuilding the stone arches that once acted as a gateway to Fort Myers Beach.
The group of five students and two FFA advisors got started early and finished mid-morning, planting jasmine and red vinca flowers to mimic the same kinds of plants that decorated the arches. They also installed a small placard donated by Sign Tech in Punta Gorda reading “Stone Monument 1924. Built by Developer Tom Phillips.”
“I think it’s awesome. They’ve done a spectacular job,” said Jane Luchi, the vice president of the Arches group.
FFA is a program that teaches teenagers agricultural science skills. It’s geared towards students who enjoy more hands-on work, said Mark Jones, one of the FFA advisors.
Cynthia Padgett, a tenth-grader, grew up in Pittsburg. When she started high school at South Fort Myers, she wanted to be a part of something – and discovered FFA.
“I’m from Pittsburg, I’ve always been in an urban environment,” she said. “I found a passion for agriculture.”
Luchi said a nearby neighbor has offered to let the Arches group use his outdoor faucet to water the new plants, which will need daily care for several weeks before they will be more hardy.
While the students worked, Mary Sanders and Judy Yeomans came over to watch their progress. The two women both grew up on Fort Myers Beach and went to the beach school. They remember the arches and hope to see them rise again. Yeomans brought along a picture of the arches to show the students.
“We grew up with it. It’s a part of our history,” Sanders said. “I would love to see them go up again.”
The Arches group also hopes to get permission from Lee County to fix a deep crack in the side of the monument. There are a few chunks of rock missing from the 94-year-old structure that some members of the Arches group fear could be the result of vandalism.
Part of the reason for the beautification project is also to raise awareness for the Arches group mission, and for awareness for its upcoming fundraiser.
Restore the Arches will host “Rock the Arches” on Saturday, May 5 at Bonita Bill’s Waterfront Cafe. The fundraiser will feature live music, raffles and auction items.
Local musical groups Dave and Jenny V, John Sherman and and Bad Latitude will entertain the audience from 4 to 9:30 p.m.
Steven Ray McDonald, one of the Arches leaders, hopes the fundraiser will help the group get enough money to start creating 3D modeling of a set of new arches. The group hopes to place the arches over San Carlos Boulevard, similar to where they stood for 55 years. They were torn down in 1979 to make way for the Matanzas Pass Bridge.
The group has to convince Lee County and Florida Department of Transportation to support the plan.
Modeling will help visualize what the arches could look like if rebuilt today.
“We’ll take that information and create some mark-ups,” McDonald said in a previous Observer story. “This is going to be neat for us.”