Famous Authors and a First Lady: The Academy’s Illustrious Guests!
BY ANETTE ISAACS, ACADEMY COORDINATOR
Historian and actress Leslie Goddard as former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Ray and Jacqui Boyce (Rosemont), and Susan Schmitt (Lakewood), enjoying a chat with America’s leading ornithologist David Allen Sibley.
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Shell Point Life | May/June 2022
Exciting things keep happening at the Academy of Lifelong Learning here at Shell Point! One example is our robust and fruitful partnership with the Ding Darling Wildlife Society on Sanibel Island. Through this tremendous organization, we had the pleasure of welcoming two famous bird experts to our campus in March. First, David Allen Sibley—arguably the most renowned ornithologist of our time—filled Connie Brown Hall for his absolute superb talk entitled “What It’s Like to be a Bird.” Later in the month, residents enjoyed Minnesotan Stan Tekiela, who gave us a detailed look at the intricate and ingenious world of bird nests! The Academy was also delighted to welcome back historian and actress Leslie Goddard, who traveled to Fort Myers all the way from Chicago in order to present two programs celebrating Women’s History Month. The residents first learned about Typhoid Mary and her riveting story; the next morning they were treated to a living history portrayal of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Aptly dressed in a vintage dress, 1940’s shoes and her signature hat, Leslie embodied the world famous humanitarian perfectly! Drawing from Eleanor’s own letters, diaries, newspaper columns, and other writings, the gifted historian and actress delivered a performance that captured the warm, honest and passionate American First Lady and stateswoman to a T.
