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Background: plein aire painting on Siesta public beach by artist Shawn McLoughlin
JANUARY 2013 | 941.539.0205 | ISLAND VISITOR PUBLISHING, LLC | www.SiestaSand.net | Complimentary
Sarasota January history highlights across the years By Paul Roat There is an unwritten law that requires all publications to write a year-in-review article, a recap of events of note for the previous year come January. A slightly different approach is being taken here as we look back at Sarasota events and happenings that took place across the years in January. New Year’s Day in 1926 augured in — literally — the first piling on the Ringling Bridge, linking the mainland to Bird Key. In 1940, Jungle Gardens also opened its doors and gardens to the public to view more than 3,000 flowers, shrubs, and trees. Jan. 5, 1970, was a purple-letter day for theatergoers and art lovers with the opening of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. “Fiddler on the Roof” was the performance in the theater on the bay. The hall has been vilified and lauded, respectively, for its Nautilus shell shape and bright purple paint scheme. The purple cow or purple people
seater has had its financial ups and downs since it opened, but today is turning a profit. It was a dark day for Sarasota and Siesta Key on Jan. 7, 1921, when Harry L. Higel was murdered. He was a three-time mayor, shipping magnate, and developer of much of northern Siesta Key. The killer was never found. Siesta Key went a bit Hollywood Jan. 8, 1946. Eleanor “Cissy” Patterson bought a home on Siesta Key and used her influence as publisher and editor of the Washington Time Herald to furnish it with Hollywood memorabilia. Prominent was the chandelier from the mansion Tara in the film “Gone with the Wind.” Ms. Patterson hosted lavish parties at her Gulf front estate, enticing literati from around the world to join her soirees. Among the notables was Evalyn Walsh McLean, owner of the Hope Diamond, which she brought with her to her own cottage on the Story continued on page 27 Key.
The Ambassador Next Door By Robert Frederickson
Dave & Jessica Polosky of Sarasota, stand with their snowman sand sculpture on Siesta beach. Jessica said, “It’s more difficult than it looks, it took us about three hours.” They’re sending the photos to family and friends in Ohio and New Jersey. In 1951, while in his final year of studies for his law That new agency? Well, It turned out to be the Central Photo by Trebor Britt degree at the University of Wisconsin, Landings resident Don Intelligence Agency (C.I.A). After several interviews, a
|Landings Resident Thrived in Far-Flung Foreign Service Career
series of background checks, more interviews by agency investigators with a number of his friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues, Leidel made the grade. And as the narrator in Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Road Not Taken” said, “that made all the difference.” Instead of a career practicing law, the young Leidel embarked on a journey he could hardly have imagined at the time: assignments in Washington D.C., Austria, Germany, Argentina, Mexico and Bahrain; meetings and hearings Don Leidel and his wife before influential Washington power-brokers like the late Beverly recall life in Bahrain in Senator Jesse Helms and Secretary of State George Schultz; the 1980s when Don served as U.S. Ambassador to the Island the opportunity to meet five U.S. Presidents, as well as leaders nation strategically located in and emissaries from a host of foreign nations...heady stuff for a small town kid who had previously never ventured far the Persian Gulf. from his home of Madison, Wisconsin. Photo by R. Frederickson
Leidel’s life was forever changed by a brief notice posted on a bulletin board that caught his eye one day while on the way to class. “It was from a new government agency just getting started,” he said. “They were recruiting on campuses for candidates.” Almost as an afterthought, Leidel decided to sign up for an interview.
Story continued on page 28