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| Pioneer view of area that became Naples, Florida. This is a screengrab of a WCGU video: https://youtu.be/iRBW-tuD79Q?si=CCx4YK5wYCi8zRqO |
The end of the calendar year is perfect for mentioning old habits. Mine is about newspapers. I still subscribe to the formerly family-owned paper where I worked for many years.
Today, the newspaper is part of the USA Today chain owned by Gannett. When I log in to the online version of the local paper, I can also see stories from throughout the chain's holdings. This morning a letter to the editor popped up from the Naples area, more than 200 miles from me. The writer was frustrated about overdevelopment and overcrowding and the resulting traffic jams.
Located on Florida's southwest coast, Naples is a picturesque city and one of the state's wealthiest areas. Yet it is plagued by overdevelopment like so much of Florida. A look at Naples today makes it hard to realize how remote the area once was.
It's funny that the newspaper letter appeared in front of me two days after I watched a YouTube video about the early days of Naples. What a contrast.
For this short holiday season post, I leave you with that video: https://youtu.be/iRBW-tuD79Q?si=CCx4YK5wYCi8zRqO. You also can find the video and many others by going directly to the WCGU page on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wgcu
You'll see how the Naples area was developed in a resort-like manner almost from the start. It always fascinates me to see how settlements appeared in their early days.
