Wonderful Neighbor On The Gulf

April 17th 1962

Photo credit Kathy Keely Smith

Isle Of Capri

Isle of Capri barely developed & 951 stops at the turn off.
Photo credit Kathy Keely Smith

Mid 50's Aerial Photo #4

Photo credit Kathy Keely Smith

Mid 50's Aerial Photo #3

Photo credit Kathy Keely Smith

Mid 50's Aerial Photo #2

Photo credit Kathy Keely Smith

Mid 50's Aerial Photo's #1

The next few photo's are a series of shots starting at the East Trail & working north.
Photo credit Kathy Keely Smith

Wiggins Pass Area

Undated photo.
Photo credit Kathy Keely Smith

4 Corners 5th Avenue South & North 41

This is the earliest aerial photo I've ever seen even Club 41 on 4 Corners (instead of the Gulf Station). Love the school bus on Central Avenue.

Photo credit Kathy Keely Smith

Naples Park, Vanderbilt Beach & Wiggins Pass Area

Good shot of Naples Memorial Gardens like I always said people are dying to get into Naples Park ;)

Undated photo credit Kathy Keely Smith

Pre Donna Pier

Kathy Keely Smith's unreal early pier photo.

Boston Whaler Ad

My dad bought an early Boston Whaler from Phil Morse at Boat Haven. This is a picture from one of the original ads. Somewhere there is a picture of the aft section being driven away with an outboard while another fellow rows the bow section in another direction.

 

This one . . . I'm still lookin' for the guy rowing the bow section . . .

Marco Beach

Taken from Marco Beach Hotel & Villas.

1961 Junior Deputy Program Promotional Film

All the local 60's police celebrities! Doug Hendry, Aubrey Rogers, John Rogers & Don Harris. I did one or two of these camp outs & NEVER want to hear "99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall" again. Had a run in with at least one these folks, sure could rain on some Halloween fun.

Film courtesy Capt Mark Baker.
Again many thanks to GC Homeboy for the find!

Golden Gate Country Club

Photo taken February 3rd 1967.

The Real Naples On Facebook

The Real Naples is on Facebook now! Photo's only with a brief description (I'm bored with my stories its easier this way).

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Real-Naples/120102424698135?v=wall

The "GREATEST" Naples Roadtrip!

I don't know if this relates to Naples but in Homeboy's kookie little world it does. Plus the Rolling Stones album Exile On Main Street just got re released so I'm gonna let this fly. Me & 3 of my friends (Andy Mclenon, Scott Kepp & Barry Johnson) loaded up & drove to Charlotte North Carolina to see the Stones. Incredible tickets front center, 10 feet back in front Keith's amp wholly cow one of the truly greatest things, show, summer vacation in one trip, one summer. Scott has since passed away & so this is kinda my little tribute to him & the summer of 72. If you ever read how how good the Stones were that year triple that by times 10, its still burnt into my memory...

Middle photo: Scott Kepp all others Brookside Homeboy.

Naples Police Department August 1964

From left: Policeman 1st Class Winebrenner, Desk Officer Kaester, Sergeant Bliss, Sergeant Bass, Desk Officer Wall, Sergeant Alexander, Policeman 1st Class Spohn, Policeman 1st Class Jones, Policeman 1st Class Hayes, Patrolman Grimm, Patrolman Young, Chief Of Police Caruthers.
Missing Desk Officer Holzhausen, Patrolman Dampier.

Naples Airport @ Radio Road

You can see the forestry fire tower off in the distance on Radio Road.

School Crossing On 2 Lane North 41

Jeff, Vince & Linda Wood crossing Highway 41 @ 14th Avenue North (Pippins or Chris' Gourmet Castle) Sergeant Bob Dennis NPD stopping traffic.
Photo probably taken in 1964

3rd Street South

Courtesy David Sorokoty

Omah Clark's Bar

Don't drink but if you do buy it here! Great slogan for those days & probably for these days too :) This bar sat on the southwest corner of 41 & 4th Avenue South. As you can see from the top picture it sat right in Nicks Liquor's driveway. From the looks of the bottom picture any moment all hell could break loose. Always have to be careful with rowdy people in business suits...

Chamber Of Commerce

1952 Naples Police Department

South 10th Street, 4 Corners & Beyond

Lake Park Area From Goodlette Road

In this photo the old Lake Park Elementary School, Goodlette Road newly paved, the railroad tracks along Goodlette, the rear of Chris' Gourmet Castle.
Also the empty field between Royal Castle & Chris' Gourmet Castle.
Retouched repost photo taken August 16th 1968.
Courtesy of the Les Whitaker Jr. family.

The Beach Store

I believe this was toward the end of the Beach Store & the beginning of the change of 50's, 60's & 70's Naples. Odd things that slip your mind the city's fiberglass garbage cans & the old telephone booth...

Photo's taken June 1974 courtesy Howard Green

Jim B thank you for your comments, it truly makes this worth doing! BH

Port Royal, Naples Bay & Beyond

Some Naples 60's & 70's Era Characters

A good number of these people have passed away & when my mind wanders back then it gets pretty sad. This is my little tribute to some these guys. If you lived here back then you probably knew some of them.

1st photo: Brent Collins & Johnny Frye
2nd photo: Jeff Barber & Roger Morris
3rd photo: Dab Barber
4th photo: Dave Clements
5th photo: Brad Macintire & Danny Farmer
6th photo: Brookside Homeboy

Note to readers please pay attention, the 3 words "A GOOD NUMBER" of these people have passed away. Please don't panic & think you might have died. If that was true you wouldn't be reading this because I Brookside Homeboy am still among the living. :)

My favorite Jeff Barber story is he would stand on the pier & tell tourists that the pier was there to separate the salt water side from the fresh water side. You could catch fresh water fish on one side & salt water fish from the the other side. :)

Photo's #1-5 Courtesy Kathy Keely Smith
Photo #6 Courtesy Howard Green

4th Avenue North & 41

Interesting in this photo Thunderbird Motel, the Esso Gas Station, Tropics Drive-In & Dairy Queen which believe it or not is still there. Also in this photo Mr. Donut, Barley's Paint Store, OK Tire Store & Pittman Funeral Home.
Courtesy the Les Whitaker Jr. family.
Retouched photo taken August 16th 1968

Naples Bay & The Fish House

Interesting in this photo Central Mall (before Bayfront) under construction & Naples Redi-Mix concrete plant ran by "Redi-Mix Richie" Yannaco.

Central Avenue & North 41

Central Avenue & 41

Interesting photo mostly because its the only one I can find that has the Anchor Lounge in it. Also Seashell Motel, Howard Johnson's (got his ho-jo workin') a good chunk of Naples Junior High even the new Naples Daily News building although it might have been the Collier County News at that time who knows?

Bob DeVille The 1st Publix Manager At Store #76

Publix had 35 stores (only in FL) when Bob started in 1956. (Now....to the credit of many Neapolitans...there are 1,014 Publix supermarkets in: Florida - 729, Georgia - 177, South Carolina - 42, Alabama - 39 & Tennessee - 27.)
Made manager in 1959 (age 25).......came to Naples when store opened in 1962. He requested moving due to the Everglades and hunting & fishing. First Naples visit was on a Sunday.......deadsville with only Four Corner's gas station and Fifth AV Rexall open. Realtor Chuck Grimm showed the family Naples........and horrors!.....lots were selling for the outrageously high price of $55,000 in Port Royal. One could buy an average home for that much! heh-heh. Store #76 was often called 'the tail end" but became the Number ONE volume store in the chain. Winter season was horrendous but the crew was FANTASTIC. The stock men, part-timers and cashiers (Betty Harris, Lorene Adams, Peggy Wall, Ann Colwell, Alice Gilley, Lois Benfield, Bea Herbert, Mildred Salter, and others) weathered it all year after year. Bob always thought he had the FINEST team including great assistant managers. He worked 27 years and has been retired 27 years. Bob worked and loved Publix (being accused of having 'green blood' (Publix color). Bob knew the Jenkins, Blanton’s and founders of Pubix as it was a 'family geared' company. He purchased stock and badgered.......truly badgered employees to do the same. He has been happy to see it benefited many. Having about 50 teenagers working for him at almost any given time has made him know many Neapolitans and their families. He was able to see immature boys develop into successful, responsible adult men. His own three sons (Ken, Phil, & Troy) and three daughters (Robyn, Monica, & Colette) worked at Publix 76 in their youth and it is still in the family with the third generation there. A daughter married a son of a Publix manager. Retirement came in 1983 when he was 48 years old and there were 285 stores. At age 76, Bob is still the staunchest admirer of Publix. It is still his “bread and butter”. Bob delights and is encouraged seeing employees at many Publix stores showing signs of the potential he saw in the young ones that called Publix their first job. Publix let him enjoy 22 consecutive summers driving from Naples to Alaska for fishing and having a tractor to play on in North Florida. Naples is and will remain his home and Publix………and those that have helped make it grow, will be forever in his heart.

Goodlette Road Post Office (under construction)

Grace Lake Florist & Zita Inc.

This building is now occupied by Tommy Bahama's on 3rd Street & 12th Ave South.
Grace Lake Florist
1244 3rd Street South
Phone # MIdway 2-2752

Piccadilly Pub & Menu

Piccadilly Pub
625 5th Avenue South
Phone # Midway 2-5940
Menu courtesy of Kevin Ginos