Courtesy of the Marco Island Historical Society

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• Special section: See audio and photos about the history of Marco Island

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FAST FACTS:

In the late 1960s Helen Tateo had an art gallery and studio workshop on the second floor of a building on the Marco River near the site of today’s Pier 81. Interested local artists gravitated to the gallery and they decided to organize a club with a legal charter. Longtime artist and resident, Charles

Wetzel, became the first president. Charlie produced many paintings and guaches of the Seminole and Mikosukee Indians in their dwellings along the Tamiami Trail.

They chose for their name the Art League of Marco Island which abbreviated to ALMI, close to the Greek word for Soul, which art is.

Helen’s husband Vincent had adjoining space for his sailing school and center, and from that beginning evolved SAMI, the Sailing Association of Marco Island. One New Year’s Eve early on, they had a marvelous Artists’ and Sailors’ ball at the Marriott when Roger Everingham was manager. Vincent was also Commander of the Coast Guard Flotilla 95 in the early days, and helped organize it.

All three of these organizations are alive and well on the island today.

What’s new with the Marco Island Historical Society?

For the last three days, our Education Director Gerry Masters arranged for 300 Collier County school students to visit the Art Interprets History exhibit which closes today at the Marco Island Center for the Arts. To make their field trip memorable, the MIHS provided several other stops: the Otter Mound Preserve where they spoke with artists working on-site; the Pioneer Church and Cemetery for a historical film about the 1896 Pepper-Hearst Expedition, including a “souvenir craft” with a replica of the Key Marco Cat; the Marco Island library to view our museum model and the adjoining site. MIHS members Eleanor Burnham, Betsy Perdichizzi, Marion Nicolay and others portrayed various historical local characters at these locations.

What’s new with the Marco Island Historical Museum?

The original art interpreting Marco Island’s past was sponsored by a grant from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. The popular exhibit, expanded to include historical artifacts and more original paintings, will travel across the bridge to Naples, where it will open at the Collier County Museum on May 1. A percentage of the art sold at the exhibit contributes to the Marco Island Historical Museum fund. The exhibit will be on display at various county museums including the Naples Depot and Museum of the Everglades through the end of the year.

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Marion Nicolay and Betsy Perdichizzi of the Marco Island Historical Society are compiling this report on a weekly basis for the Eagle. Shirley Beckwith oversees the archiving of photos for MIHS.