NOTABLE NEIGHBORS
The World’s Busiest Man?“ "I have to be doing something all the time. I can’t sit still,” David Dignam admits in a moment of introspection. Bingo! He’s got that right. He is one busy guy—a founder, a funder, a fixer, a door-opener, a donor and a doer. He started life in high gear, and he doesn’t intend to stop until Mother Nature tells him, “Enough already.”
BY DEAN M. LAUX | July 14, 2021 at 2:04 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
She's The Real Church Lady Who among us hasn’t seen Dana Carvey’s hilarious sendup of the “Church Lady” on Saturday Night Live? His skits brought him acclaim as the tightly wound hostess of Church Chat, whose standard putdown of her interviewees was a smug, “Well, isn’t that spesh-ull!”...
BY DEAN M. LAUX | June 24, 2021 at 12:32 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
Who Are These People, Anyway? One of the oddities of living in a retirement community like Englewood is that we share enjoyable relationships with many of our neighbors without knowing what interesting secrets may be hidden in their past lives. We know them as fellow bird lovers or golfing buddies …
BY DEAN M. LAUX | June 9, 2021 at 2:33 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
When Our Country Called, He Answered Though born in New York City in 1938 to a well-to-do Wall Street executive, Winsor G. Eveland, Jr. grew up as a country boy. How so? Well, when he and his fraternal twin Keith were three years old, Winsor Sr. inherited a 118-acre dairy …
BY DEAN M. LAUX | May 28, 2021 at 1:45 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
Just who is Amanda Glam? Have you ever wondered if the writer of this newspaper’s movie/TV reviews is really named Amanda Glam? I mean, a mellifluous moniker like that could equally well belong to a movie idol, a sultry singer, a fashion model, a Broadway celeb … or someone whose …
BY DEAN M. LAUX | May 17, 2021 at 5:31 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
Business Was His Business You could say that John Schleede learned about business from the ground up. His dad owned a grocery store in Kingston, N.Y., and like his brother Carl and sister Susan, John worked in the store as he grew up, from stockboy to delivery boy and cashier. …
BY DEAN M. LAUX | April 15, 2021 at 12:03 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
The Proud And The Brave I was the middle child of ten,” says Denny Frank with a smile, “and growing up I had to fight my toughest battles.” Don’t believe that for a minute. Maybe his early days in Olivia, Minnesota–the “Corn Capital of the World”–were no pushover, but some …
BY DEAN M. LAUX | April 1, 2021 at 2:41 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
She Makes History Come Alive “It takes a very interested group to save the history of Englewood,” says Nancy Wille, and she should know. She’s been a member of a very interested group at the Lemon Bay Historical Society for many years, the last 11 as the board’s recording secretary...
BY DEAN M. LAUX | March 19, 2021 at 5:04 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
A Woman Of Accomplishment Some people may stand out in our society because of a singular talent, be it pianist, writer or juggler. Others can be defined in a word or two by their careers, be they doctor, lawyer or master chef. But one needs at least four or five …
BY DEAN M. LAUX | February 18, 2021 at 4:59 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
She’s There For Children In Need Becca deRosa, Chair of Kids’ Needs of Greater Englewood, did not have a lot of needs herself as a kid. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana to William and Dorothy Creel, she grew up in Gibsonton, Florida, a small town on Hillsborough Bay just south of …
BY DEAN M. LAUX | February 3, 2021 at 4:48 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
He's The Man Behind The Spotlight A couple of years back, writer Dean Laux originated the “Notable Neighbors” for this newspaper, and we’ve published around 60 of his columns since then. He frequently gets asked why he doesn’t interview himself for the column, but he says, “Who–other than a certain …
BY STAFF REPORT | January 21, 2021 at 4:32 p.m.
Notable Neighbors
She Keeps Us Connected Humans are social animals. We’re born into families, and they become integral to our lives. Those of us from the Greatest Generation may recall (if we can remember that far back) that in the Thirties families could be sizeable, with three or even four generations living …
BY DEAN M. LAUX | December 17, 2020 at 4:23 p.m.
Friends of Osprey Junction Trailhead present free "TreeJuvenation Florida" webinar
Join Friends of Osprey Junction Trailhead (FOJT) for their “TreeJuvenation Florida” webinar, a 1-hour workshop on January 13, 2021. A grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation is underwriting this webinar...
December 16, 2020 at 11:15 a.m.
Help with skunk conservation; report sightings to the FWC
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has launched a new community science project aimed at learning more about Florida’s skunk populations...
December 9, 2020 at 10:43 a.m.
Notable Neighbors
A Man With A Mission Growing up in Queens, N.Y., John Catterson figured he’d become a cop or a fireman when he got out of school. His was a middle class family, he recalls. His dad was a bank teller who worked his way up to Vice President at Roosevelt …
BY DEAN M. LAUX | December 4, 2020 at 12:15 p.m.