Welcome to the fourth Riverside Article for 2026. As done previously, I will provide a bit of Riverside history, mention the latest social event and, of course, present the ‘Who Am I?’ segment.
Without further ado, check out the historical ‘Fun Facts’ below. Again, a big shout out to Carol Garner and Marilee Simon for preserving these important tidbits of Riverside’s past.
1. As The Landings was being built in the 1980’s, it was crawling with prospective buyers and resembled an anthill in activity. People were lined up at the real estate office ready to purchase.
2. German investors arrived with suitcases full of cash ready to purchase in The Landings. They were also investing in Cape Coral.
3. In the 1980’s, McGregor was a two-lane street. The traffic heading back into town from the beach was so congested that it took Joe Zivic half an hour to go from Cypress Lake Drive to The Landings.
4. At this time, people driving over the old Cape Coral Bridge would drive through The Landings to get to McGregor. (Is this the reason navigation systems want to lead visitors to The Landings through the back gate?)
5. Before the wall was built, outsiders would vandalize cars in The Landings. Residents would awaken in the morning to find the tires of their Cadillacs missing.
6. A German family built a home in Riverside, renting it to other Germans, who would sunbathe and swim naked. A man mowing the lawn became distracted and ran the lawn mower into the lake.
In our more recent history, Alan Fritze won The Landings Fishing Club Adult Fishing Tournament Monday March 2 with a 15-inch-long largemouth bass caught in The Landings. The prestigious awards for the longest bass were $30 and, more notably, the all-important bragging rights. Largemouth bass are growing steadily in our ponds and are a wonderful resource for folks young and old who like to fish. Of course, the trick now is to keep an eye on Alan so we can discover where his secret fishing hole is!
Last month in our ‘Who Am I?’ section. I gave you ‘poor clues’ to help you learn more about another of our Riverside residents. The Resident featured in our past edition was (drum roll please) … Leigh Hall. Thanks to Leigh for sharing her story. She was a dream to team up with. Fore!
Now, here are some obscure and often misleading clues to this month’s featured resident.
1. I spent the majority of my life in a Pennsylvania town originally called Evansburg on the state’s largest natural lake. The town has a population of about 600 people today.
2. I am the oldest of four children. Twin sisters were born six years after myself, and I have a brother born six years after the twins.
Note that three 6s are often called Satan’s perfect imperfection. Our resident is close to perfect with a smile and laughter that is contagious!
3. My mother was a dental assistant in the Navy, and my father was in the Navy too. He made false teeth and worked on hearing aids also.
On a personal note from the writer, as a former Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) member, I believe it must have been a challenge to smile whilst being in the navy in those days – even with new teeth! LOL
4. I never had to apply or interview for jobs yet worked for a bank, medical office, and I even owned a dress shop.
5. My family contemplated living in Gulf Harbor but my Dad decided to build a ‘cottage’ in Riverside during the mid-1990s instead.
6. I have Dutch and Scottish lineage. Given this, you would think I would know how to stretch a penny into copper wire but, in reality, I am known to hand out freebies on my morning walks around the neighbourhood.
Who Am I? Find out in the next edition!
If you found this challenge too easy, how about identifying the names of the ‘resident socialites’ shown below. Shouldn’t be too ‘ruff’. I believe our latest ‘Who Am I’ person may know a lot of these ‘socialites’.
Finally, on March 30 everyone enjoyed a fun time at our annual Low Country Boil held at Picnic Pointe. As always, great food, great company, served up by the Fantastic Four – Mike and Donna Stryker, and Cathleen and Jim Webb.
That’s it for this month’s column. As always, please feel free to reach out with information you would like passed along to your fellow residents. Still the place to be – RYCE!
