CIHS reports History Gallery sailing again at library

By CAPTIVA ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Captiva Island Historical Society is pleased to announce its History Gallery, designed to be a replica of the old mailboat Santiva, is once again open and completely refurbished

Located at the Captiva Memorial Library, it had been closed since July 2022 due to structural damage to the floor and the closure of the library due to Hurricane Ian The gallery illustrates Captiva's unique diverse history The space takes on the wooden look of the interior of the old mailboat, which serviced the islands prior to the construction of the Sanibel Causeway in 1963.

Last July, a soft spot was detected in the floor at the entry to the gallery Moisture had eaten away at the subfloor, leaving a hole under the floor tiles

The bigger problem

The problem was not restricted to the entrance of the gallery Upon further investigation, additional soft spots and rotted subfloor were discovered in other areas of the gallery and adjacent office space of the library

An entire section of the library flooring showed signs of deterioration The repair would be extensive, requiring the entire floor be pulled up But before work could commence, the gallery would need to be dismantled and removed

The Captiva Civic Association, the owner of the building, would take full responsibility for repairs to the subflooring, including the section that housed the gallery However, the CIHS would be responsible for removal and reinstallation of the “Santiva” exhibit

The dilemma

It presented an unexpected and expensive dilemma for the CIHS Its history gallery had only recently undergone a complete refashion and upgrade It was in top notch condition and now had to be dismantled

Big daunting questions loomed, presenting one challenge after another for the CIHS Board of Directors Could the “Santiva” exhibit be disassembled without being severely damaged? If so, who had the expertise to do the work? What about storage? Once disassembled, how and where could it be stored? And more troubling, how could it be reinstalled to look as good as it did before?

The solution

CIHS Vice President Mike Boris, the only remaining director on the board when the gallery was opened in 2014,

Sanibel-Captiva zone. Agencies within the zone include the fire district, Sanibel Fire and Rescue District, Lee County

E m e r g e n c y M a n a g e m e n t , L e e C o u n t y Sheriff’s Office, city of Sanibel, Sanibel

P o l i c e D e p a r t m e n t , I s l a n d W a t e r

A s s o c i a t i o n a n d L e e C o u n t y E l e c t r i c

Cooperative

“All of these agencies work within the unified command system, with the fire

See TIPS, page 7

County library system offering virtual programs

The Lee County Library System, which includes the Captiva Memorial Library, is offering the following free virtual programming:

Adult programs

∫ July 18: Online Wellness Book Club at 12:30 p m

The Online Wellness Book Club will feature a variety of books on this month's topic, “Disease Management ” Guest panelists will share their expertise and participate in the book discussion Participants are invited to share books that they have read related to the topic Advance registration required before July 18 at 12:30 p.m.

For more information or to register, visit leelibrary librarymarket com

Questions can also be directed to 239479-INFO (4636)

Download books, stream video and other online content at www leelibrary net

The Captiva Memorial Library is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a m to 12:30 p m and 1 to 4 p m For more information, contact the library branch at 239-533-4890.

The Captiva Memorial Library is at 11560 Chapin Lane, Captiva

Captiva Public Meetings

T h e f o l l o w i n g p u b l i c meetings/hearings are scheduled:

∫ T o d a y , J u l y 5 : C a p t i v a Community Panel special meeting at 9 a m via Zoom For more information or the agenda, visit captivacommunitypanel com

∫ July 11: Captiva Community Panel monthly meeting at 9 a m via Zoom For more information or the agenda, visit captivacommunitypanel com

∫ July 11: Captiva Island Fire Control District meeting at 4 p m at the fire station, at 14981 Captiva Drive, Captiva. For more information or the agenda, visit captivafire com

Wilderness Graphics dismantles the “Santiva” for safe storage at the Captiva Civic Center.

History Gallery

From page 6 thought the best place to start was Wilderness Graphics of Tallahassee, which originally designed, fabricated and installed the exhibit

When Boris contacted Wilderness Graphics, it was a pleasant surprise to connect with Cindy Abaco, the original project manager for the exhibit Fortunately, all the plans still existed Wilderness Graphics assured the CIHS that it could successfully disassemble and reinstall the exhibit. The CIHS was delighted and drew up the necessary agreement for the project

The arrangement called for Wilderness Graphics to send two crew members to Captiva for an estimated three days to disassemble the exhibit After the CCA contract o r c o m p l e t e d t h e s t r u c t u r a l r e p a i r s t o t h e f l o o r , Wilderness Graphics would return to reinstall the exhibit

It was the responsibility of the CIHS to arrange housing for the crew for the nights that they would remain on C a p t i v a P r e s i d e n t a n d C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r o f

Rochester Resorts and CIHS Director Tony Lapi provided complimentary lodging at the 'Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa The CCA provides a section of the Captiva Civic Center hall for storage of the disassembled exhibit sections

Enter Mother Nature

By mid-September all plans and arrangements were in place and set to go The Wilderness Graphics crew was scheduled to arrive on Captiva the afternoon of Sept 26 With news of the impending Hurricane Ian, Abaco notified Boris it might be best to postpone the arrival of the crew until after the storm passed On Sept 27, she notified Boris that the crew had been rescheduled to begin on Oct 4

A resilient reset

I t t o o k u n t i l m i d - D e c e m b e r f o r t h e W i l d e r n e s s Graphics crew to be able to dismantle, piece-by-piece, the “Santiva” and store it safely in the center's hall Repair of the structural damage to the library floor then began By mid-January, they came back to reinstall the exhibit in better condition than before

In addition to being completely repainted, new softon-the-feet, wood-simulated flooring was installed, along with a new exhibit feature the hourly timetable of the mailboat Santiva

Coming to the rescue

In addition to the disruption and dislocation from Ian, the CIHS faced a substantial unexpected expense associated with its gallery more than $30,000 Yet, in the midst of the challenges and uncertainty that the island community and it faced, one certainty was support from CIHS' supporters Thanks to the generous gifts from friends of the CIHS, the gallery's unexpected expenses are now covered

The CIHS History Gallery can be accessed during l i b r a r y h o u r s , w h i c h c u r r e n t l y a r e o n M o n d a y s , Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a m to 12:30 p m and 1 to 4 p m

For more information, visit http://www captivaislandhistoricalsociety org/

T h e C a p t i v a l i b r a r y i s a t 1 1 5 6 0 C h a p i n L a n e , Captiva

Tips

From page 6 chiefs, public safety chief officers as the Incident Commanders,” the site states “The IC's work closely with Lee County Emergency Management to determine the need for evacuations, search/rescue and recovery ”

L i s t e d r e l a t e d t o p i c s i n c l u d e H u r r i c a n e s & Tropical Storms, Getting Prepared, Preparing Your Home, Shelters, Information & Telephone Numbers, Clean Up & Recovery, and Other Hazardous Events

The district notes that it available to assist with one's hurricane plan and to answer questions

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t http://captivafire com/emergencies/ or call 239-4729494

The Captiva Island Fire Control District is at 14981 Captiva Drive, Captiva