Nearly 800 attend annual Pioneer Picnic
From left, Bud Smith, Ralph Ireland, Marge Smith-Henley and John Bruner at the 77th annual Pioneer Picnic at the Tinsley Pavilion at Mike Greenwell Regional Park on Saturday. CHUCK BALLARO
Remember when Palm Beach Boulevard was a two-lane road and Daniels Parkway didn’t exist?
Remember Alva High School and when the Edison Mall was a heralded game changer?
Those who attended the 77th annual Pioneer Picnic in the Tinsley Pavilion at Mike Greenwell Regional Park do. Saturday, on a sunny, windy day, nearly 800 people came to get reacquainted with old friends and talk about the old days.
Since 1949 (except for the pandemic year of 2020), the Pioneer Club of Lee County has put on this annual event for those who were born or lived in Lee County for at least 50 years. Every year, the picnic has gotten bigger and better.
Pat Mann, who was in charge of the festivities, said the picnic is the only event the organization puts on. Its mission is simple.
“It’s about bringing old-timers who lived in Lee County 50 years ago together to see friends they haven’t seen for a long time,” Mann said. “There’s no real program. It’s just getting together, shaking hands, hugging and remembering the good times.”
Of course, Lee County is nothing like it was 50 years ago, which many who came to the picnic lamented, but understood.
Johnny Streets, a former Fort Myers city councilman, graduated from Dunbar High School in 1967, when there was still school segregation.
“We didn’t integrate until 1969. We couldn’t play Fort Myers in baseball or football. But we learned and respected everybody. There was no problem,” Streets said. “Everyone wanted to have a job and follow the rules. Our Dunbar neighborhood was very close-knit, more so than it is now.”
Marge Smith-Henley, Fort Myers Class of 1956, came along with her brother, who graduated a year before her. It was only her second trip to the picnic.
“I always wanted to come and it got to the point where I finally could come,” Smith-Henley said. “We were looking for our kinfolks, but there aren’t that many left. But we enjoy seeing everybody.”
Smith-Henley said as a youth, girls were not allowed to wear pants to school.
“We used to walk or take the bus everywhere. When my brother got a car, my mom made him drive me to school. He wasn’t happy about that,” Smith-Henley said. “Fort Myers is definitely different from when I grew up.”
Even those who just earned the pioneer designation have seen the changes. Brenda Capps-Brylanski, North Fort Myers Class of 1987, said the schools didn’t have the curriculum they have now.
“We had the basics. We had one security guard and we knew everyone,” Capps-Brylanski said. “Guys had guns in their trucks and they weren’t even locked and there were no school shootings. Safety was not a concern. And high hair? Absolutely.”
Of course, they gave out awards for the most special of the pioneers. Betty Anderson, 97, was the oldest female pioneer and oldest overall.
Don Knowles, 93, was the oldest male. He and his wife, Barbara, 92, have been married 71 years, making them the oldest married couple.
Judy Walden-Dismuke came all the way from Hawaii, making her the pioneer who travelled the longest distance.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com