©
www.SiestaKeyFitness.com
“Why the World Comes to Sarasota” LIVE MUSIC PAGE 24 SIESTA KEY ROUND-UP PAGE 6
WATER WORLD PAGE 20 GIVING BACK PAGE 12
ISLAND HEALTH PAGE 19 FEATURED ARTIST PAGE 21
Background painting by Shawn McLoughlin
AUGUST 2012 | 941.539.0205 | ISLAND VISITOR PUBLISHING, LLC | www.SiestaKeyIslander.com
|Bobbie Tuccinardi of Sassy Hair in The Village. By Diana Colson..
Bobbie Tuccinardi is the founder of Sassy Hair on Siesta Key. Located next to Foxy Lady Boutique, Bobbie has shaped Sassy into one of the area’s finest salons. Her attention to detail is remarkable. She has a passion for excellence, service, health and beauty, and—believe me—it shows. Bobbie grew up on a farm in Elmira, New York. There were six in the family, and she was somewhere in the middle. Her father worked in a factory making fire hydrants. (If you look around Sarasota, you will find many hydrants stamped Made in Elmira. That’s the factory where her dad worked.) Of her mother, Bobbie says: “My mother started college when my oldest brother was in high school. She became a teacher of English and History. She also became a writer, and had many things published.” According to Bobbie, as a kid she was very shy in school. Well, she certainly has conquered that! When I asked how she did it, she said: “Being in charge of a corporation has helped. Also, I’ve taken a lot of public speaking classes. I’m a firm believer that if you can visualize it, it will happen.” Today she has an articulate gift of gab, so important in the world of hair salons. (If you go to the Sassy web site you can see for yourself. Here, Bobbie introduces her staff and their offerings in a polished video. She comes off like a pro on camera. www.sassyhair.com.) Continued on page 23A
The History of Bentley’s Boutique Hotel By Diana Colson
The tale of Bentley’s Boutique Hotel in Osprey, Florida, is a fascinating one. It is a Cinderella Story that began almost half a century ago. On Christmas Day of 1964, Florida’s largest theme park opened. It was named Floridaland Park, and located on 50 acres in Osprey on what is now known as the community of Southbay. It was part of a 195-acre complex planned by developer Philip C. Smashy of Osprey. The park included 10 attractions: a Western Ghost Town, complete with saloon; a deer park; Porpoise Pool; Billy Goat Mountain; an Indian Village; a botanical garden, Lover’s Lane, Dolphin Show, a sternwheeler riverboat, and a train ride that was actually only a tram. In 1967, a 100-room Holiday Inn opened on the property, and the project had all the earmarks of becoming a grand success. As many as 5,000 visitors came daily to Floridaland, and many of them stayed at this Holiday Inn. This inn quickly became THE place to be for locals as well as tourists. During its heyday, more than 80 people were employed by Holiday Inn, among them our current
County Commissioner, Jon Thaxton. Jon started bussing tables there at the age of 15, and soon graduated to washing dishes. He ultimately was assigned to the carving table slicing “Steamship Round”, and has the scars on his hands to prove it. (Young Jon must have worked long and hard, for he was able to buy a 350 Chevrolet Nova Super Sport with his earnings!) Floridaland’s dolphins even took over the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn for several days in the 1960’s (The pool had to be de-chlorinated first, of course.) The dolphins were moved to the pool because their trainer, Robert Corbin, judged pool water to be safer than the Gulf of Mexico, which was in the throes of a severe outbreak of red tide. In spite of such dedicated nurturing, the park was plagued with other problems concerning the care and treatment of its porpoises and dolphins.
The cowboy shooting photo is Floridaland’s Ghost Town & the boat photo is Floridaland’s Harbor Queen. Photos courtesy of the Sarasota County History Center.
Continued on page 7A
Wild times back in old Siesta Key days. By Paul Roat
It seems that every community has its own eccentric resident every era. For Siesta Key, that screwball was Rube Allyn in the early 1910s.’ The “screwball” reference above was based on a comment by famed mystery writer Wyatt Blassingame of Anna Maria Island. His famous quote of that island seems equally adaptable to Siesta Key back in the day: “If you unscrew a screwball anywhere in the United States, blindfold him, turn him around twice and turn him loose, he’ll wind up in Anna Maria.” Noted historian and author of “The Story of Sarasaota” Karl H. Grismer summed up Allyn probably best. “He came as a humorist and entertainer. He left as an accused, but never tried, murderer. Rube Allyn’s decade
in Sarasota was one of great contrasts.” Grismer described him as “a cross between a genius and a bum … (with) the eloquence of an old-time Shakespearean actor … a man of mood … long hair … seldom if ever bathed … never wore socks … an excellent writer.” In October 1911, the Sarasota Times ran a notice that “Rube Allyn, humorist and impersonator, would be entertaining at the school hall. Tickets were 25 cents, 15 cents for children.” It was in 1913 that Allyn started the weekly Sarasota Sun newspaper, “put out every Saturday the best we know how” as its motto. Continued on page 18A
Rube Allyn Sr.