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Handshake in 1957 helps bring power to Cape Coral

By Staff | Aug 26, 2010

In 1957, a handshake symbolized a promise between LCEC manager Homer T. Welch Jr. and Gulf Guaranty Land and Title Company President Leonard Rosen to bring electricity to Cape Coral. Welch agreed to return Rosen’s deposit for the cost to run electricity to the area after homes were built.

In June, 1958 eight miles of power lines extended down Del Prado Boulevard to serve 24 model homes and Rosen got his money back.

Kenneth Schwartz, a Gulf American vice president, was the first to have electricity in his new home and Cape Coral was off to a powerful new beginning. Schwartz’s home no longer stands in Cape Coral, but it was at the corner of Cape Coral Parkway and Coronado Parkway.

“There were 17 lamp posts down Del Prado Boulevard, and I used to patrol them and let LCEC know when a bulb burned out,” Schwartz said during an interview in 2000.

Schwartz has moved away from Cape Coral and now resides in Hollywood, Fla., but he was back in Cape Coral to bury a millennium time capsule.

He says he still has strong emotional ties to Cape Coral and is very proud to see how far the city has come and how well LCEC is doing.

LCEC is proud to provide reliable, cost competitive electricity and quality service to Cape Coral customers.