Tale of Two Storms: Ian and Donna

Ellie Bunting • December 28, 2022

Times Square after Ian. Every business on the gulf was wiped out.


“Mobile homes, boats, washing machines, parts of roofs and walls and dining room sets were scattered through miles of mangrove jungles lining Estero Bay. Some residents who built their homes on the ground level saw water levels as high as five feet on their living room walls. In some spots along the bay, mangled boats were piled on top of one another or sunk beneath the waves with only their bows or sterns visible. The crushing winds toppled virtually every tree.


About five frame cottages had been swept into the Gulf. The driveway was blocked by a house that had been blown there from across the highway.


For week’s after the storm, hundreds of men and women were digging out and repairing homes and businesses up and down the island, some with shovels, others with chainsaws plugged into gas powered generators. Seven days a week, the grinding noise of machinery droned on, making the beach sound like one giant factory.”


Does this sound familiar? This was written by long time beach resident and News-Press reporter, Lee Melsek in 1991 as he was reflecting on a Hurricane that wiped out Fort Myers Beach in 1960. The headline said it all:  Donna’s fury unimaginable. 1960 hurricane came close to washing away Fort Myers Beach. I found this article while going through some Christmas decorations, and it brought back memories of September 10, 1960. In his article, Melsek reflects on his experiences before, during, and after the storm. This story could have been written today.

When Donna hit in 1960, buildings were damaged but not completely destroyed.


I was quite young on September 10, 1960, but I do remember this storm well, and I have written about my experience in other blog postings. This time, I wanted to examine what life was like on the island in the 1950s and 1960s and draw some comparisons to what we are going through right now.


Obviously, life on FMB was quite different in the 1950s and 60s than it is today. In 1950, the population in all of Lee County was less than 25,000. Cape Coral had yet to be developed, and less than 1,000 people lived on the island full time in the 50s (this increased to about 2400 in the 60s). These were mostly business owners, fishermen, and shrimpers.



The 1950s were a quiet decade for major storms. Although tropical storm Hazel came ashore with 60 mile an hour winds, little damage was done to the island except for the destruction of Netties bar, a popular hangout near what was once the Gulf Shore Grill and later Shuckers and the Cottage. 

This is San Carlos Blvd after Donna.


On September 2, 1960, all of that changed as Hurricane Donna formed in the North Atlantic. Donna traveled through the Antilles, passing Puerto Rico, and entering the Florida Straits by September 10. The center of the storm crossed over the middle Keys and came ashore near Bonita Springs bringing 138 mile an hour winds and 178 mph gusts. The storm surge on the island was 11 feet.



In 1960, the island was not nearly as developed as it is today. There were three restaurants, four motels, one gas station, and one grocery store (Melsek).  There were no condos. The south end of the island was nothing more than sand dunes, sandspurs, and sea oats.

Donna’s path was different than Ian’s path.



Most of the homes on the island were built on pilings. Natives knew the damage a storm surge could do to ground level buildings, and they were amazed when a developer began to build concrete homes on the ground level in a subdivision known as Laguna Shores. Melsek states, “Predictably, those homes were the homes that got soaked when Donna blew the Gulf and bay right into their living rooms.”

Houses were damaged during Donna. During Ian they were blown away.


Coming onto the island after the storm was something I will never forget. Newspapers across the country were reporting that Fort Myers Beach had been “blown off the map.” With no telephone service available, I remember my parents being concerned about our relatives in New Jersey thinking we might be dead.


The town was not literally “blown off the map” but the damage was extensive. After Donna, FMB did not see another major Hurricane until Charlie made a sudden turn into Southwest Florida in 2001. Although Charlie did damage on the island, the destruction was not nearly as widespread as Donna or Ian. Even Irma which hit the Naples area spared the island major destruction. By far, the two hurricanes that will always be remembered are Donna and Ian.

Red Coconut suffered damage during Donna but nothing compared to Ian. Trailers were turned over and moved around but were not completely gone.



Many parallels can be drawn between these two storms separated by over 60 years. Since 1960, the population of the island has more than doubled, and the number of homes, restaurants, marinas, and condos, has increased dramatically. The storm surge from Ian is said to be up to 20 feet in some areas which is more than Donna’s ten foot surge.

This is the front row at Red Coconut after Donna.


One common thread between the two storms is the residents themselves and how they have dealt with the destruction. Melsek states, “In taverns along Estero Boulevard, men wondered in and out raising toasts to survival as they took breaks from the cleanup work. They passed along information on the location of generators, ice, shelters, and other valuable commodities needed immediately to house and feed the homeless and continue the task of rebuilding.”


This is happening today on the island as people are coming together to help each other and support the beach.


Melsek ends his article by quoting another beach native, Charlie Green, who said, “There was a real sense of community. Nobody in those days got upset about storms. They just pitched in and helped get ready for them and then helped fix up after it was over. Most people today have no idea what it was like then, or what it will be like when the next big one comes along.”



The “next big one” has come to our island, and I feel confident that beach residents will continue to work together as we rebuild our island paradise just as we did in 1960.

The Gullah Heritage: From Sea Islands to Florida

By Ellie Bunting • December 27, 2024
In January, the speaker for Estero Island Historic Society’s public meeting will be Martha Bireda, director of the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture of Charlotte County. Ms. Bireda is the great-granddaughter of Queen Evans Andrews, a pioneer who came to Punta Gorda in 1897 from Charleston, South Carolina. She will share stories of the Gullah culture and of her visits with the Gullah people who live on James and Johns Islands. Having just visited the Georgia and South Carolina Coasts, I thought this might be a good time to do a bit of research into the Gullah culture in anticipation of our January meeting.

Who Was Jack DeLysle?

By Ellie Bunting • September 1, 2024
Who was Jack DeLysle? I had been reading about him in different articles as I was doing research on the early days on the island. I had come up empty except for one cryptic note I found that he “left the island under mysterious circumstances.” Yesterday, I was going through copies of the Sand Paper that were donated to the historic society and found an article by Jean Matthews that was about Jack DeLysle. This is what I learned about the mystery man who played a pivotal role in the early development of the island. Jack and his brother, John, first appeared in Southwest Florida after their ship ran aground at the moth of Gordon’s Pass. When Sheriff Frank Tippins arrived to investigate the incident, he found 320 boxes of “Soap” that turned out to be whiskey. The brothers had apparently picked up the moonshine in Alabama and sailed to Tampa, then Key West, and finally to Cuba. When they returned to Florida, they were caught in a storm and the ship was wrecked. “Captain” Jack DeLysle claimed he was in the British Army; however, he and John were arrested and turned over to the Feds. Both men were found innocent by a jury in Tampa and Jack returned to Fort Myers where he was into many different endeavors. Although he wrote poetry that he published in the local paper, DeLysle is best known for his efforts to raise money to build a bridge to Fort Myers Beach. He joined the Crescent Bridge Road Company where he met E.E. Damkohler. Damkohler was trying to raise money to build a road from Miner’s Corner to the Island. DeLysle saw potential in Crescent Beach ( old name for Fort Myers Beach)being developed into a tourist mecca like Miami Beach. He purchased property in Case Subdivision and built the Seminole Sands Casino. DeLysle’s casino had a game room with tables and slot machines, changing rooms, a dance pavilion, and a restaurant.

Times Square Through the Decades

By Ellie Bunting • June 14, 2024
The Tip Top was a popular hangout for teens back in the day.

Preserving Our Environment: The Battle for Estero Bay

By Ellie Bunting • May 7, 2024
While doing research for Lost Icons, I came across a quote in the News-Press that I have cited several times in other articles and presentations. Written in the late 1970s, this quote seems to bring the past and the future together quite nicely: “Nobody really wants to stop progress, but there is an increasing awareness that the island is in danger of becoming a polluted paradise.” Over fifty years ago, the paper stated that Fort Myers Beach was at a crossroads. The 70s were a time of rapid, uncontrolled development with over 68 condos being developed in a single decade. This led residents to vote to incorporate the town so we could control our own destiny and stop the over-development of our island. The newly born town elected its first town council who worked very hard to create a comp plan that would guide our development and preserve our island lifestyle. This plan was completed in 1995 and had served us well until Hurricane Ian damaged every building on the island. Now that we are in the rebuilding mode, we are once again at a crossroads: Do we stick to the comp plan and turn down the developers who want to build higher and bigger? So far, the council has been carefully considering all arguments and is making logical decisions trying to keep as close to the comp plan as possible. The council and residents need to tread carefully to make sure, in our efforts to build back, we spend time anticipating the unintended consequences of building back bigger. One very good example of this is the recent attempt of two legislators to take back 225 acres that are part of the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve. (More on this in another post). This was not the first time our beautiful back bay was threatened. Let’s go back to the 1960s when a group of concerned residents decided to take action to preserve the beauty of our back bay. Back to the Future

Fort Myers Beach Fire Department Has a Long Successful History

By Ellie Bunting • November 10, 2023
I have been reading recently about the plan to merge the FMB Fire Department with Bonita. I am by no means an expert on how or if this would be a money saving move, but I do know that the FMB Fire Department has been the pride of our island since 1949 when the Beach Volunteer Fire Department was born at “Jenk’s Bar” on San Carlos Island. Twenty-two men attended the banquet meeting. Earl Howie was the first Fire Chief, and J. Travis Cowart was elected Fire Captain. This was the beginning. Prior to this time, there was no established fire department on the island, and the closest fire apparatus was 20 miles away in Fort Myers. The information in this article comes from a small booklet written by former Chief John McCarthy called simply “The History of the Fort Myers Beach Fire Department.”  After raising funds from the island residents, the new department purchased a small two-wheeled spray pump, tank, and trailer that was pulled by a borrowed jeep (McCarthy). These were housed at Red Coconut. Residents could call the department by dialing 2541, a precursor to 911. In April 1950, an old international war-surplus fire/rescue crash truck was purchased. This was a step up from the original truck and was the first real fire apparatus that the department owned. It lasted until May 1964 when it was sold to Leigh Acres Volunteer Fire Department.

Haunted Restaurants of FMB?

By Ellie Bunting • August 29, 2023
Yesterday I was surfing the Internet, and I came across an article about haunted restaurants. This article mentioned the Whale (formerly the Beached Whale and before that the Mermaid Club) as being haunted by the ghosts of Jim and Mary Galloway (I covered their murder in an earlier posting). Suddenly, I remembered reading about another haunted restaurant on the island: the Holmes House. This led me down a rabbit hole as I got caught up in trying to learn more about the ghost that was supposed to be the daughter of the restaurant owner who had died (I can’t remember how she was supposed to have died). Unfortunately, I came up empty on the ghost story, but I did learn some interesting facts about this lost icon of Fort Myers Beach.

Another Loss for Fort Myers Beach: RIP AJ Bassett

By Ellie Bunting • April 27, 2023
The passing of longtime Beach resident AJ Bassett this week is another loss for our island. AJ was one of the few residents still alive who were on the island in the 1940s. When her newly widowed mother, Mildred, packed up her three children (AJ, Connie, and Frandy) and her mother and drove from Philadelphia to Fort Myers Beach, there were just 279 people living on the island. Connie and AJ were only 6 years old. The family rented a cottage on the beach and began their new life as islanders.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign: A Short Lesson in Sign History on FMB

By Ellie Bunting • March 16, 2023
For the past few weeks, volunteers have been busy painting street signs to help people navigate on the island. Very few of the “Approved” signs survived the storm, so this was a great way for people to help out with the rebuilding of FMB. Unfortunately, some controversy has arisen about these signs since they are not “up to code.” I thought this might be a good time to look back about seventy years when the last sign controversy rocked the Beach.

Surviving Ian: Historic Cottages Still Standing

By Ellie Bunting • October 27, 2022
Although it was not easy, thanks to Jon Bloch of Spartan Blue Knights, a couple of board members were able to take a peek inside the Estero Island Historic Society Museum located at the end of Bay Road.

Keeping the Faith: Island Churches Suffer Damage

By Ellie Bunting • October 16, 2022
This is the original Chapel By The Sea sanctuary After driving down Estero Blvd this week, I noticed that my goal to write about lost icons on the island was going to be a large undertaking since so many buildings were destroyed in the storm. To me, it was heartbreaking to view the damage done to our island’s churches. I find it amazing that on a seven-mile-long island, we had all the major Christian denominations represented. The damage done to all the churches is extensive. Here is a brief look at the growth of religious institutions on FMB.