Blog

Recently, two SHS classmates of mine, Bill Blackstone and Otto "Red" Rice, came over to our house to give us a collection of negatives and prints of pictures Bill took during his tenure as a Sarasota Herald-Tribune photographer back in the 50s.  It was truly a treasure trove that is destined for the Sarasota County History Center.  I'm so glad that Bill and Red saw the value in these historical photos.

Last fall I wrote a blog about the Bee Line Ferry that provided service across Tampa Bay for cars and passengers starting back in 1926.  Well, among Bill's photos was this picture of the opening day of the first Sunshine Skyway Bridge on Labor Day, September 6, 1954 with the Bee Line Ferry boat "Manatee" below the bridge probably on one of its last trips.

This is a Thank You to Bill for his willingness to give his collection to the History Center and I offer this as a reminder to all of you to realize that you, too, may have some treasures of Sarasota's past that might be an asset to our community archive.   Life is good.