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More History of Marco Island

• History in Motion: October 1, 2008
• 30 years ago today: October 1, 2008
• Historical Society seeks Marco’s assistance to save about $100,000

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FAST FACTS:

Tommie and Jim Barfield of Marco had three daughters, and adopted a niece named Kappy when one of the girls died tragically. Elva was one of these daughters who grew up to graduate from Fort Myers High School, where she met Robert Atwood Griffis, called Grits by all his friends. They were married in August of 1935 and purchased the Mercantile Store in Olde Marco, which they ran for many years. Tommie was Superintendent of Schools for the county for two terms, and then served on the board for 20 years. When her health failed, Elva took over and served 20 years in the same position.

(Article adapted from Betsy Perdichizzi’s book on the Barfield family, “A Girl Called Tommie.”)

Update on progress of our Museum

The building committee has been moving full steam ahead on starting the construction of the main museum building. The Site Development Plan was submitted to the City for approval and the County for concurrence on June 3, 2008. On June 13, 2008 the construction plans were submitted to the County for concurrence and the permitting request was submitted to the City on June 20. A bidders’ meeting was held on June 16. A meeting with the County to answer questions and resolve concerns is scheduled for June 27. A second bidders’ meeting is scheduled for June 30 and we expect bids to be submitted by July 14 with the evaluation of the bids and the selection of the general contractor to be completed before the end of July. If there are no significant issues with either the City or the County, site preparation could begin as early as the first week of August. Completion of the main building could be as early as the middle of next summer.

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Marion Nicolay and Betsy Perdichizzi of the Marco Island Historical Society are compiling this report on a weekly basis for the Eagle. Shirley Beckwith oversees the archiving of photos for MIHS.