New Pass Bridge was Part of the "Great Circle Drive"

Passage of the bond issue was also considered a demonstration of Sarasota County's appreciation for John Ringling and support for his efforts to make Sarasota "the best and most beautiful spot on earth." It was expected that with construction of the bridge, Ringling would complete the stalled construction of his Ritz Carlton Hotel and develop his other Longboat Key properties.

The bond issue passed 607-20.

Two years later on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1929, the public crossed the bridge for the first time. The $275,000 two-lane bridge was 874 feet long and 20 feet wide with a sidewalk on each side.

The Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners hired "Capt." James J. Crowley to tend the bridge for $100 a month. Although the Commissioners soon authorized a well to be drilled for the tender's use, it was another year before a bid was selected to install the water system needed to connect the well to the house.

This mid-1930s photo is from the collection of J.J. Crowley's son, Jasper. At that time, it appears the bridge was much more popular as a fishing place than as part of "the greatest circle drive in America." Another projected benefit of the bridge never materialized. Read more...

(photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)

Emma E. Booker

In 1918 she began teaching at Sarasota Grammar School, the only black school in the area. She earned $30 a month. Pupils came from as far away as Tallevast and Myakka. Classes were held in rented rooms with books discarded from white schools.

The School Board refused to add a ninth grade to the school or to allow Booker's students to attend the all-white Sarasota High School. Booker tutored her students in preparation for higher education and encouraged them not to be limited by the restrictions of a segregated society. Students who could afford it attended high school in other counties or a college that also offered high-school classes.

Booker continued throughout her life to encourage students, even helping them financially. She never gave up pressuring administrators to offer black students the same educational opportunities afforded to white students.

Booker spent every summer for 20 years going to school. She finished high school and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Tuskegee Institute before she died. Booker High School graduated its first class of four in 1935. Emma E. Booker died in 1939 at the age of 53. She is the only person for whom a school in Sarasota County is named.

Where's Bette Midler?

This 1940s  photo is of circus performer Dorothy Herbert. When your editor first glanced at this picture at the Sarasota County History Center, he thought he may be looking at Bette Midler in an earlier time of her career; before her clam shells and mermaids and such. Anyhow, Dorothy had a sense of humor, too. She inscribed on the photo, "Hi Jim, I hope you get a kick out of this". Well, Jim we sure did.

(photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)

Yesterday's Sarasota Calendar

Every day of the year we highlight what took place in Sarasota's history, thanks to Whit Rylee and Tom Payne's extensive research and sense of humor. Frequently check our website's homepage to find out what occured today.

Also, be sure and check out Whit's website at: www.ChickenHillNC.com.

This coming Monday in 1949. it was stated "No Barracks for Our Kids!" That was the word from the City Building Department. The Board of Education had wanted to move abandoned Army barracks from the Budkingham Air Base near Fort Myers to the campus of Sarasota High School. They planned to use them for temporary classrooms. The Zoning Board, on the other hand, arrested the contractor who was moving the buildings to express their displeasure with the school system for ignoring their order to the Board not to use the buildings.

(Editors note: When I attended Sarasota High School in the 1960s, we had some classes in 'portables'. However, they were not barracks, and were new and air-conditioned. That in itself was a break from the rest of the school only having A/C in a few scattered classrooms.)

(photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)

History Locator

This week we are honoring the Mary Wyatt Whitaker historical marker.

It reads: Two hundred feet east of this highway is the tomb of Mary Wyatt Whitaker, born in Tallahassee, Florida, April 11, 1831.

Daughter of William Wyatt, member of the convention which gave to the state of Florida its first constitution, mother of the first white child born in what is now Sarasota County, April 19, 1852.

Three hundred yards west of this highway stood her home which was burned in 1856 by Indians, from whom she fled for safety with the child to a palmetto log fort on the Manatee River.

This marker was erected in 1936 by the Sara De Soto Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution.

(Editor's note: This historic marker was moved away from U.S. 41 and placed directly in front of the Whitaker Cemetery. If you would like to contribute to the upkeep of this important place in our local history, please contact either Rebecca Morgan, rebecca@sarasotadar.org, or Rachel McCall, rachel@sarasotadar.org.)

Where Was I?

Our winner for last week's contest was Jim Musselman. Many participants guessed the correct answer, though the winner is determined by the first person to guess correctly. Your answers are time-stamped when they are submitted to us.

Click here to review the photo, question and the correct answer of last week's challenge.

This Week's Clues: 

This week it's going to be much more difficult for you to figure out where I was located. Obviously, I am a gas station (Crown Gasoline) with 6 guys hanging out in front of the pumps. The car has a great "Sarasota" tag on the front radiator.

Not too many of you were around in 1926 to remember where I was situated, but for sure I was not close to downtown; in fact at that time I was considered to be out in the boonies! Put on your thinking caps and let us know at what intersection I was available for a fill-up.

Please submit the form that allows you to guess the answer. Click here to fill it out, and next week we will announce the winner, and give the solution to the question. Answer early, since the first person with the correct answer, claims the prize. Contestants may win only once per month.

Sarasota History Alive! is the sponsor this week. Be the first to answer the mystery question, and we will send you a gift certificate from Target.