Sorrento Gardens & Pine Ridge

Running left to right across the center of this photo is Pine Ridge Road. On the right side is Goodlette Road that dead ends @ Pine Ridge Road. At that intersection is Sterritt Egg Ranch (the group of buildings that look like silver train box cars). If you were here in the 60's or 70's you would usually run into your friends at Sterritt around Halloween. If you worked there you would probably think teenager's liked to make omelets or egg salad this time of year. Late October Sterritt did a brisk business, on November 1st egg shells decorated most of Naples especially around the pier area.

Map link to photo.
http://tinyurl.com/ylyqsg7

Photo courtesy of the Les Whitaker family.
Photo taken September 17th 1968

Seagate 1957

Back in the day you had better pack a lunch. Although it was only 6 miles from "4 corners", Seagate was thought to be quite a ways out of town.

Surrounded by palmetto, pine, and mangrove, it was home to raccoons, opossum, rattlesnakes, and even a few armadillo. In addition, there was a pair of American Eagles with a nest atop a towering pine right where the word residential appears in this picture.

Halloween's Almost Here!

It's Homeboy's mom decked out as a beer can with a pop top hat! She was my favorite Publix cashier, I knew half the town because in the 60's Publix was one of the only places to work part time after school. I hated high school & would always check out early but you had to have your parents permission to do so. The principal's office would call your parents to OK letting you leave school. My mom would get called off her cash register to take the call & it happened so often she told anyone who answered to just tell them its OK. So I'd usually get the OK from an unknown bag boy or whoever was close to the phone. You could always find her anywhere in the store by the sound of her laugh & twisted sense of humor. Having a beer can mom had its rewards, here's to you mom!
Part 1 of my Halloween in Naples 70's style.

Vanderbilt Beach Road @ Vanderbilt Drive & Naples Park

Photo taken from where the Ritz Carlton sits today looking northeast. Of interest in this photo is Trader Zeke's Marina (ran by Captain Jim Houser) on Center Street, long gone now. Interesting side note the little duplex motel rooms from there were moved to the lake between 107th Ave North & 108th. Probably more useless trivia but it's my job to be as useless as I possibly can. A person can never have enough useless information & if you visit here often your sure to get your fill!

PS: If you click the photo & blow it up you can also see the Trail Drive-In Theatre on 41 & 111th these color photos are stunning if you study them. Pay close attention there will be a test at the end of class.

Photo courtesy of the the Les Whitaker Jr. family.
Photo taken September 17th 1968

Before Mapquest, Bing Maps, Google Maps and....

These aerials are the easiest to post this one especially this one no property search, no Tiny URL and most of all no story. Just white line arrows pointing to your destination you're just lucky you didn't need the name of that golf course. I wish they could have at least named 35 of the 10,000 islands...
In the aerial photos there is usually dark patches that I thought were clouds above but it could be all these white arrows & names overhead with all that writing in the sky. Might be a case for Homeland Security...
To quote Elwood Blues, Whatta ya want for nothing a rubber bisquit?

Gulfshore Blvd North @ Hurricane Harbor

Map link:
http://tinyurl.com/ykqywgo
(It's not my fault Bing calls Hurricane Harbor the Gulf Of Mexico)
Photo courtesy of the Les Whitaker Jr. family.
Photo taken August 16th 1968

Port Royal & Gordon Pass

Port Royal truly was a cool drive in the 60's & 70's. You could catch a water view from any street, now all you get is lot line to lot line stucco mausoleums. You could ride a motorcycle in those empty lots for blocks these days backhoes & dump trucks seem magnetically attracted to this area....

Photo taken February 28th 1974

The Blue Barracuda...

This is my “first time” at the top of the page and I am flattered that Brookside Homeboy has allowed me to join him in this little reverie.

I will still post comments in the “Add your 2 cents” area (‘cause it’s easier), and you will likely see me up here from time to time, but that ol’ Brookside Homeboy is most definitely the “Perry White” of this rag...**

**Perry White was the Editor-in-Chief of the “Daily Planet”,

you know, from “Superman”.

-------------------------------------------------------

There were only two Barracudas in the whole town (I think). Mine was this dark blue 273 cu. in. 1967 "Formula S" shown parked in front of the Cove Inn circa 1969 (40 years ago? Are you kiddin' me?). Ron Hatcher/Stanley had a gold '65 (old body).

Then there was the night that the dark green ’69 Barracuda fastback from Rhode Island showed up. We looked like twins in the dark; except he was sporting a “383” and a license plate that read “GONE”.

There I was with my little “273” with the “‘solid lifters” stopped side by side with him, pointed north, at the Central Avenue red-light. We were both rapping our pipes, trying to be macho, and preparing for the inevitable....

Green Light!!!!! First gear... burning rubber, tires screaming. Power-shift into second gear... I’m starting to pull him just a little (my car was lighter than his 383)... 6700 RPM speed-shift into third gear (I was good, just ask anyone...) we’re neck and neck just approaching Dog ’n’ Suds, EVERYBODY heard us coming... And then... and then...

Officer Byron Tomlinson...

Siren, lights, spotlight, the whole 9 yards...

Yeah, right in front of Dog ’n” Suds.

Mr. "GONE" was told to leave town immediately and never come back.

Me, I got a stern warning from Byron who did the whole cop routine (really, he was good). Byron was a few years ahead of me at NHS making him about 24, and he had been NPD for a couple of years.

The entertainment value for the crowd watching from Dog ‘n’ Suds was, how you say... “priceless”.

"Thank you Byron for pulling me over ‘cause I was about to get beat, and thank you for not writing me a ticket, I’m sure you will have ample opportunity in the future".

I gave him that opportunity, about half an hour later ‘cept I was racing someone else coming from Publix headed south.

Man, you talk about busted...

This time, no warning, I got the ticket, a big one.... Dang, Byron, I was winning.

Thanks for not tossing me in jail....

Seagate Homeboy

11:24 p.m. PDT

Inter-County Telephone System

I always knew it as United Telephone Company I'm going by the name on a 1963 phone book that Dot Mclenon (the previous owner of Christmas Cottage @ 245 Broad Ave South) gave me. I spent HOURS sitting at their concrete benches at the corner of 5th & 8th. At 1st they had a table & out of town telephone books, they probably knew you might enjoy these too much & both disappeared over time. The out of town phone books disappearing really caught my eye & I figured it must be like a Stepford Wives (kids) thing. And it was like a plot so you'd never know about the world outside of 4 Corners.

Note to regular followers I've added Seagate Homeboy as an author to Real Naples. He's 5 years older than I & owned a dark blue Plymouth Barracuda. Growing up here I'd either be hitchhiking or walking & it never failed he'd always be driving the other way 24/7. We weren't close friends (back then I was a punk & he was a geezer, 5 years when your a teenager is similar to dog years) but he was easily out as much as me & he had wheels. I can't keep up with his attention to detail & am floored by his memory of 60's Naples. So here we sit 50 years on telling these twisted little tails of this twisted little town, there truly couldn't have been a better place on the planet to be a teenager!

Old Naples Way Before Hurricane Donna

Winn Dixie/Kwik Chek

710 9th Street North (or North 41) I don't have many Kwik/Chek stories my mom was a Publix cashier so you can figure where Homeboy's family loyalty was. I could piece together others stories but if you have a GOOD Kwik Chek story send it my way & I'll post it. I could tell Barry Johnson's water fountain story, Jeanie Rouse's cole slaw making story. I have bits & pieces of stories but we usually drove past it on the way to Publix. I know Publix was like going to Fort Myers but it was a 2 part trip pick up mom & grocery shop too.....
RE comments: I did not know Kwik Chek was formerly on 1st @ Hartleys!
More info from my reference bored, Pearlie Riner (I believe he was the city fire chief at one time also) opened the Trail Supermarket @ 1st & 41 in 1951. In May of 1958 sold it to Kwik Chek & then built the strip mall where Kwik Chek is in the above photo. Don't you just love this unknown little Naples history? Hi 5's to my commentor's & reference bored!

Lake Park Area & North 41

Of interest in this photo Pastrami Dan's original little restaurant (at least the building) across from Tropics Drive In. And the Ford dealer they had a parrot or macaw bird that would say Wanna Buy A Ford, Wanna Buy A Ford, when you walked in the front door. I think it said more like no money down or something like that but my memory starts to slip after all it was almost 50 years ago. Off in the distance Royal Castle & Chris' Gourmet Castle.
Home Girl's hood!
Map link for out of towner's!
http://tinyurl.com/yj7v6fy
Photo courtesy the Les Whitaker Jr. family.
Photo taken September 6th 1968
As usual please read the comments SH never fails me when it comes to details!

Broad Avenue South Postcards

Homeboy Warning: Viewing these Broad Avenue South photo's can cause nightmare's or cramps!

The Queen & The Badge 1974-75

Priscilla Schweppe quite a unique name for 60's Naples being most people here had nick names like Shorty, Dufuss, Bozo etc. I went to junior high & high school with Pris & can truly say she was one very funny person. If my memory serves me, I believe I met her in the hall outside of class that was usually where I met all my friends being that's where they would put you when you'd laugh too hard. I had a pretty funny Pris & I tailing a Naples Police car story but I ran out of wind & stopped typing. I think I'll have to hire another writer......
Pris told me after she did the queen dunking thing she was sick for some time after from a mouth full of Sippy hole water. I can't even imagine what all was in that water, can you?

Photo: Pris & I've got it on good reference it's Gary Hartford on the right.
Badge courtesy Bill Kilgore

The Pier Sometime In The 60's

You can see what I mean by more open ends at the beach heads. Also the growing number of rules & regulations back then.

Split Level Pier SUPWIFDAT?

This is totally NEW news to me I never heard there was a 2 level pier. See what I mean by the history of Naples gets told over & over about the same old things? Now this is just too interesting to me let alone them fishing up a 1980 Corvette body & the car wasn't even created yet! Learn your Naples history here at The Real Naples!

The lower level was probably created for those poor kids from Brookside, you know keep them greezers off the martini deck!

Photo courtesy Greg Whitaker

5th Avenue Postcards

The Record Bar @ 949 Central Avenue

What can I say, it was the the ONLY place to buy your records back in the day! Owned by Ron & Laverne Novak two wonderful human beings I loved these people. I had a running tab that they would let me pay off on pay day what more did a teenager need? The right side wall was filled with the top 100 Billboard albums (all of them) for that week as seen in the color photos. Records were a way of life for me I loved the darn things & still do. You always had to have scotch tape & pennies for your needle when it wore down. Especially when your spun your records backwards to try & figure out if Paul really was dead & if it really mattered anyway. Has anyone figured out how to spin the remastered Beatles CD's backwards yet? One of them had to be the Walrus, or that 28IF license plate on that VW was a lie......

Top photo left unknown person, right Brookside Homeboy.
Middle photo Craig Burnaugh & Andy Mclenon.
Photo's courtesy Paul Novak.

Pine Ridge And 2 Lane North 41

2 lane north 41, on the left side is the future Pelican Bay and the 2 lakes are Cardinal Lake (closest to 41) & the other is Mockingbird Lake in Pine Ridge. Here's a map link to this picture & you probably ask me homeboy, Do I look stupid I've lived here for blah, blah,blah? Keep in mind even most of my family has trouble recognizing anything in these photo's without any landmarks.
http://tinyurl.com/yaog6gn
Photo taken September 1968
Courtesy of the Les Whitaker Jr. family.

Naples Municipal Airport Part 2

And you thought I was kidding about the oil slick....

Naples Municipal Airport

So you could drive up to the terminal find a parking place at the front door. Walk in with your bags with no metal detector in sight, get your ticket & walk out across the runway step in a puddle of oil & board your plane? What's wrong with this picture, the only thing you thought about was is this plane ready for the mosquito plane army? Am I drunk or is this thing weaving sideways down the runway? You'd usually get up to about 6th grade with your life flashing before your eyes & the plane would hit cruising altitude......

3rd Street South @ 12th Avenue South

The 2 story building on the left at one time had the only elevator that I knew of in town. But keep in mind there might have been more but I hitch hiked & my travel was limited until I got my Yamaha dirtbike. After that the town & surrounding areas were mine for the taking. :):):)

Muldoon's Pizzaria 835 4th Ave South

This is the original rough drawing or blueprint of Muldoon's counter. Muldoon's was a small pizza restaurant located in the small brick building the 1st block off 41 on 4th Ave South. Before there was Muldoon's it was Monty's Bar B Q & as a teenager I would get dropped off in town & head over to Monty's because you could buy a BAG of french fries for 25 cents. The bag was huge & at least you have something to eat before you started drinking Saturday night beers before the dance at the Teen Center. The dances were put on at the Norris Community Center located across from the police station. I had a heck of a time walking by there in a straight line it was a bad place to put a police station at least from a drunken teenager's point of view. The beer was usually free donated by weekend boater's without their knowledge or consent (I'll leave the rest of that story for another post).
Muldoons things courtesy Bill Woznak & Gerry Johnson

Swamp Buggy Jail 1965

Can you name any of these women? The only one I can spot is Patti Loach front center outside the jail with the Wesleyan sweatshirt on. I remember watching the parade on my bicycle & the jail guards would spot someone without a badge or a swamp buggy buck & manhandle the hell out of them & put them in the jail. This was no sissyfest I mean it was a borderline ass whippin' spectacle the perp (I must watch too many cop shows) would basically get pounded pretty bad if he resisted & have to ride the rest of the parade in this jail while the whole town got a laugh. They finally had to stop doing it due to injuries & lawsuits (gee, like that hasn't screwed up everything fun). The jail would usually get stolen right before the parade & there would be a huge manhunt for it everywhere.
***** 5 Star comments here!

1971-72 Swamp Buggy Badge

Bill Kilgore sent me these badges & made a note saying all of them have the same buggy artwork, it's hard to remember life before Photoshop isn't it?
Interesting comments here!

Coconut Circle Off Estey Avenue East Naples

You know I have to give a shout out or maybe a little tribute to my good friends Johnny Frye & Bobby Evans both Coconut Circleler's. They both passed away at an early age & I shared a ton of laughs with both of them. Johnny Frye hands down had the worse jokes I've ever heard in my entire life. The funny part was he could tell them non stop walking all the way into town from East Naples you had no choice but to walk, sweat & listen. His jokes usually turned out to be more fun than the trip itself. His delivery & laugh at his own jokes made them pee in your pants funny...
Large building in photo is East Naples Middle School.
Map link.
http://tinyurl.com/nawygd
Photo taken September 17th 1968
Courtesy of the Les Whitaker Jr. family.

Whole Lotta Coughing Goin' On

Lowdermilk Park being gassed down by the mosquito fogger truck. Gotta admit there was a ton of stupid kids in this town including me. I mean lets be real how close did you have to get your bicycle to that bazooka pipe blowin' out all that death gas? And they say my generations problems were drug related? Maybe they should get one of these Jeeps & put it at the county museum after all every kids followed their trucks closely. I remember a blue yellow flame shot out of the death pipe about 4 feet one time & ended my hobby as a close follower. The only other thing in town that shocked your senses any worst was trying to use the bathrooms at the pier....

Mosquito Plane Dusting North Trail At Pippins

Funny thing is in the 60's these planes were as common as backhoes & dump trucks are today. You could almost set your watch to their flight patterns but they would always manage to sneak up on you & scare the hell out of you when you weren't expecting them. I worked in Marco in the late 70's & they would fly between the condos on the beach. You could actually look down on the pilots if you were standing on one of the higher floors.

Doctors Pass & The Mooringline Bridge

Photo taken September 17th 1968
Photo courtesy of the Les Whitaker Jr. family.

Anchor Drive-In Liquors Dime Holder/Keychain

The Anchor Lounge was a small but rowdy bar that sat at the northwest corner of 3rd Ave South & 41 where the CVS drugstore sits today. A classic old Florida butt kicking bar that was painted along the top with happy dancing feet around the entire building. It had wood floors & on a good night the place would rumble & vibrate with all the dancing going on. It's one of those places that has seemed to disappear without a trace I can't find a good picture of it anywhere. This appears to be the only piece left of it which is totally cool its a key chain & on the back is a spring loaded dime holder. I guess it was for a call home if you were too drunk to make it there. Only problem is I don't know if there was phone booths around back then. Closest one might be the telephone company on 5th Ave South but I'm not sure that existed when this key chain was around. I've never heard of this key chain all of these years a good friend gave it to me which I'll keep with me until I move permanently to 111th Avenue North.

Anchor Drive-In Liquors
294 Tamiami Trail South
Phone # MIdway 2-2954

Key chain courtesy Marvin Lightner Jr.

Even MORE 3rd Street Community Service Station

You can even see the rubber hoses Stumpy ran over on his bicycle. I think I'd throw my Bread Basket hat on the ground with that kind of pressure. Funny thing is I've heard the Bread Basket hat story from at least 3 people so far.

For an explanation of this story see the comments section in the other Community Service Station story 3 posts below this one.

Crayton Cove Area Without The Cove Inn

Photo taken January 22nd 1963.

1963 United Telephone Gas Station Ads

Community Service Station @ 12th Ave South & 3rd Street South

Now occupied by Hansome Harry's, my reference bored chimed in & stated no way could this photo be 1974 so I'm going with them & agreeing I must be outta my mind for typing that in the 1st place. So I'd venture to say it's sometime in the early 60's? I've heard the story of the man who worked there with the bread basket hat (SUPWIFDAT?) his name was Adam Moog, I love getting these little strange stories of these odd little people & places.
1963 phone # MIdway 2-3423

North Trail @ 4 Corners

I was having a conversation with SH & we were laughing about the 60's/70's in Naples. When you were coming into downtown from the north or east the 4 Corners usually determined your night of activity. From the east you could head straight down 5th to the pier & Beach Store or go north to Lum's, Chris' Gourmet Castle (whatta name) or beyond. From the north you could take a right & do the pier or head east to Al's Aquarium (a bar on the east trail). SH had a car so he had way more options than I & I was usually on foot with my thumb out hitchhiking. The funny part to it was you were always looking for the party & it never dawned on me till years later that looking for the party, was the party. 4 Corners truly was the center of the universe....

In the photo the north trail was 4 lane until Central actually 6 lanes, but 1 lane each way was for parking. At the northwest corner of 3rd & 41 was the Anchor Lounge a funky little bar that was always good for a little fist flying action. I think the police spent as much time there as the patrons.

Gulfshore Blvd @ 5th Ave South

If you notice in the picture at all the beach ends there were no touristy looking wood boardwalks or bushes. No rules no regulations & no parking meters just open ends to the gulf. I believe (and don't hold me to this) that the flashing light that used to be at 5th Ave & Gulfshore Blvd was put there because someone drove down 5th & into the gulf. I'll have to check my sources but they haven't let me down yet.
Map link to house on the beach at 5th Ave South.
http://tinyurl.com/kjcbja
Photo taken September 17th 1968
Photo courtesy of the Les Whitaker Jr. family.

WQAM Fabulous 56 Survey October 4th 1969

I put the links in for radio reference to follow up on a comment, there really wasn't much radio until late at night that's when you could pick up KAAY out of Little Rock. There was also WSHE out of Miami you really had to work at being entertained by any media in those days. Nothing like now where you are bombarded anywhere you go.....

Clyde Clifford link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Clifford
KAAY Little Rock Link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAAY
WQAM Courtesy Gerry Johnson