Winter 2005-2006

New Causeway On Schedule
With a crew of about 70 working every day, the new causeway to Sanibel Island is coming along nicely. By spring of 2006, the new drawbridge replacement span (A) and the middle span (B) will be open for traffic . By fall of 2006, the entire new causeway (including span C) will be operational. Around the first of the year in 2007, the old bridges will be demolished and turned into offshore reefs, and the new toll plaza (with an old Florida look) will open. You can find out more about this by logging onto www.sanibelcauseway.com.

A Tale of Two Presidents
You may have heard some compare the circumstances of President Kennedy’s death to that of President Lincoln but the similarities go far beyond the norm. For example:

• Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846; Kennedy in 1946

• Lincoln was elected President in 1860; Kennedy in 1960

• Both Presidents were concerned with civil rights

• Both Presidents died from a gunshot wound to the head – on a Friday

• Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy and Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln

• Both were succeeded by a man named Johnson – Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln was born in 1808; Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy was born in 1908

• John Wilkes Booth, who shot Lincoln, was born in 1839; Lee Harvey Oswald, who shot Kennedy, was born in 1939

• Both assassins were known by their three names and both names were composed of 15 letters

• Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse; Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater

• And finally, both Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

West Wind Inn Family
We feature this quarter our new Reservations Manager – David Foetisch. Born in Chicago, David moved at a young age to Richmond VA, where he went to high school, followed by a college stint in Harrisonburg (Business Administration & German Education). Capitalizing on his German, he spent the next 1 ½ years in Marburg, Germany at Phillips University – the oldest university in Europe (Martin Luther went there). On returning to the states, David finished his degree at Virginia Commonwealth University and came south to Florida to give his Grandfather a hand. After working for a few years as a wine specialist for a liquor store, he joined us in 1995 to become our night auditor. Now that he has moved to his current position, he goes from “seeing nary a soul” (he had the 11PM to 7AM shift) to knowing every soul who books at the West Wind Inn. Perhaps we can capitalize on his fluent German now that he has “normal” hours.

Recipe of the Quarter
Each quarter we feature a recipe from a guest (sometimes an employee) so send us your favorite or interesting recipe. The one selected gets 2 free West Wind Inn T-shirts. The winner of this quarter (recipe shown below) is Ms. Charlene Staton of Fort Myers, FL: