Today’s “Walkabouts” feature on this page focuses on Sanibel Island, and especially its historical village, where old structures have been saved from the bulldozer.
I wish Sarasota County had such a facility as an alternative to tearing down historical houses. But all that is old is not necessarily lost here.
“Sarasota County has a history of relocating historic buildings to public lands,” said Lorrie Muldowney of the Sarasota County History Center. “At Urfer Family Park, we have the Wilson House, and we have the Svenheim Barn, from the early 1920s, which was located from Siesta Key. It was on Sarasota Bay, and the developer donated the funds to relocate it to Urfer Park.”
Carlton Reserve has a reconstructed log cabin from Siesta Key. The Settlement Era Tatum House is at the Crowley Museum and Nature Center.
“So there certainly is some precedent for locating historic buildings to public lands,” Muldowney said.
Moving them there often is the major challenge. It is costly and inconvenient. And you can end up with side-by-side buildings that in the real world had nothing to do with each other.
Letters from our readers
My brief memoir of my somewhat lengthy career in the newspaper business (“Multitude of changes in 40 years,” Dec. 21) brought this response from “inveterate reader” Jim Styer of Sarasota:
“For me, it was 51 years ago (not counting school papers).
“I first was a weekly-newspaper editor, then a daily reporter, and then I spent nearly 30 years at a daily in various capacities — reporter, copy editor, Sunday editor, features editor, TV editor, wire editor (in Michigan).
“I learned of hot type from my dad, a printing teacher (among other subjects). I particularly miss hot type; it had a smell and a feel that said real ‘newspaper.’ I also miss the professionalism and perfectionism of the compositors. And the proofreaders, devoting their entire effort to finds errors and omissions. I miss correct punctuation and style.
“I retired early, 16 years ago, and I and my wife have been reading the Herald-Tribune since we moved to Sarasota (my parents’ home) 12 years ago. We have perceived a decided bias creeping into the media over the past few decades. Often it involves omission of facts, background and/or quotes from the conservative side of an issue ( . . . except in Real Estate, of course!). It also involves non-reporting of some events or discussions. And . . . especially seen from my background in language . . . usage of words that tend to make one side sound positive and the other negative.
“This is why I am devoted to the Internet and the ability to find material prepared by proponents of both sides of an issue, and those with a ‘neutral bias.’
“But I also fear a day when newspapers on newsprint are hard to come by. I still love the ability to read a paper wherever I want. Turning pages and scanning the headlines lets me feel more in control.”
Jim is not alone in that.
