Category: Photos

Bocce at Useppa

Photographs By: UseppaGin

Story By: Donald Beckstead

Is is with great pleasure that Useppa Island Club can now offer the excitement of the ancient Roman game of BOCCE!!!

The courts are finally finished and as you can see much fun has already been had on them. The bocce court material consists of one layer of large base rock then by a layer of smaller rock finished with a fine crushed oyster shell surface, which will provide maximum drainage and ease of maintenance so therefore more playing time!

Soon to come will be sod and landscaping to complete and beautify the area, a new playground and covered seating area for people to relax and watch the intense action. We hope that this new amenity will provide years of fun for Useppa Island Club members of all ages!

After the Hurricane

2005: Ten Years Ago on Useppa

Part II

By UseppaGin

Reminiscences about Useppa ten years ago include tales of neighbors opening their homes to other Useppans needing places to stay after Hurricane Charlie’s destructive landfall in August 2004.

Over the winter and through the next summer, loud music was the background to roofers and carpenters rebuilding the century old Collier Inn. Dirty and sweaty, never without a smile, these men knew what they were doing was more than just a job.

Landscapers, craftsmen, Useppa employees, independent contractors, all knew the future of Useppa depended on their efforts. Whether they worked for the Useppa Island Club or individual homeowners, they went beyond what anyone expected.

There was a common feeling on the island that recovery was too big of a job for individual egos. If Useppa was to survive, if the infrastructure was to be rebuilt, if homes were to be rebuilt, it could only be done in a team effort.

Yes, we still had fun. The annual Saint Patrick Day Parade was held. Croquet was played on the beach until we could go back to the lawn. We went sailing. Happy Hours rolled over into dinners at the Tarpon Bar.

Under the leadership of Tim Fitzsimmons and the “Can Do Team,” homeowners, boating members, individual members, accomplished what some thought impossible. The Collier Inn was reopened with a ribbon cutting and party in one year. Thanksgiving was celebrated in its dining room, Christmas carols were sung around its piano. Residents moved into “new” old homes.

Looking at these pictures, it’s easy to look back with soft feelings of nostalgia. We were survivors, but we were lucky. We had the money, the management, and the people. We worked together to accomplish the impossible.

 Ten Years Ago On Useppa

2005

Old Friends with Young Faces

Part 1

Photographs and Story by UseppaGin

Ten years ago Hurricane Charlie was still a recent memory. Houses needed to be rebuilt, the Collier Inn required a major renovation effort. Landscaping needed major work. Working together, we did it all.

These pictures are from a collection of old 2005 Useppa web pages. Familiar faces with a few less wrinkles, grownups who were once island children, croquet on the beach, a Useppa Yacht Club picnic, friends no longer with us, and a gator visitor who added a bit of adventure to a lazy summer day.

Our next posting will include the Collier re-opening one year after the storm, more memories and more Useppans.

Enjoy.

Pictures by UseppaGin and Island Annah

Story by UseppaGin

Casting the net, walking in air, dining on the patio, swimming in the pool.

Labor Day on Useppa

Bows, Fishing Rods, Coaches and Outstanding Students

Story and photography by UseppaGin

On Useppa, we know him as Captain Jeff Gosnell.  He runs the barge, the boat parked at the end of the Collier Inn dock that brings supplies from the mainland and takes off our trash, furniture no longer needed, anything too big to on the launch.  Last Saturday, August 1st, he was Coach Gosnell, and he brought twenty-five members of the Martial Arts University’s Archery Team with him to spend the day on the island.  The students were here to learn safety, conservation, and survival skills.  Their ages ranged from 8-55, and they arrived with fishing rods and archery bows.  They hiked Useppa, fished off the Collier dock and the docks on the old airstrip.  They played chess, had a picnic, and swam.  They explored a different life than the one they are used to on the mainland.

MAU has been open in Cape Coral, Florida, for thirty years, and is directed by Retired Deputy Jeff Santella and his wife Leela.  They have taught fifteen styles of martial arts to over 18,000 students.  Both Captain Jeff and his son volunteer there.  Captain Jeff and Bert Rapp coordinated Saturday’s trip.  The young students were polite, confident without arrogance, disciplined and helpful.  When they left, the chess pieces were back in proper positions.  Except for a lingering delicious smell and a grill, there was no sign of a picnic.  The pool toys were put away, and the fish relieved that those well-armed adversaries finally gone from the docks.

For more information, go to www.772-KICK.com

Employee Summer Ice Cream Social

Thoughts and photos by UseppaGin

Summer on Useppa is HOT!  Working every day to take care of the island is hard.  Sometimes the best way to deal with it a big bowl of ice cream.