The value of history is in the eye of the beholder

Chester Keene, Lynne Hixon-Holley and Lance Julian at the mini-museum Last November, a visitor walked through the back door of the Naples Backyard History Mini-Museum who turned out to be the great-great grandson of the founder of the city of Naples. Since then, many surprise guests have passed through our doors, front and back, with stories about the magic of this place we call home. But this past week was something to behold.

What are the odds that another greatgreat grandson of the founder of our city would find his way through our back door? Pretty good, I'd say now.

Sayer Combs says hello

Sure enough, Sayer Combs, the other great-great grandson of Walter Haldeman, stopped in one afternoon and said he's heard some of his relatives mention the new history museum in town. Although we talked about many things, it was apparent that Mr. Combs simply needed to "speak his piece" (a Southern expression for a cathartic monologue).

He wanted us to know that he had tried his best to keep the Haldeman House (the city's oldest house) where it belonged — next to the Naples Pier.

The move of the Haldeman House to Bonita Springs was and still is painful for many. Three different groups thought they knew what was best for the historic house: One wanted to move it to a site next to Palm Cottage, another wanted to leave it were it originally stood, and the third wanted to move it to the Collier County Museum.

Yet in the final analysis, it was landscape architect Christian Busk who put his money where his mouth was, and saved the Haldeman House (at a great cost to himself, I might add).

That's all water under the proverbial bridge now, though, and after Mr. Combs said his piece, he left with a promise to come back soon for another visit.

Lynne Hixon-Holley and Sue Smith stop by

Lynne Hixon-Holley, a retired county judge, has visited the mini-museum regularly since our recent interview. But on a particular sojourn last week she was accompanied, much to our delight, by a someone who truly needs no introduction for anyone who ever watches city government channel on cable TV. Sue Smith, the champion of city citizens' rights, has been a regular at Naples City Council meetings for some 30-plus years.

A true Southern lady if there ever was one, Ms. Smith grew up in Naples, in more ways than one. She knows where many bodies are buried — figuratively speaking, of course — so she is a force to be reckoned with and will "stand by her Ebenezer" until she feels the job is done (Ebenezer is Southern expression for plant your flag and stand your ground).

On this visit, Ms. Hixon-Holley and Ms. Smith were on a mission to talk about a formidable group of women who were responsible for many important initiatives in the early days of our city: the members of The Naples Woman's Club. These gracious elders left me with not-so-subtle instructions to care for the club's archives. For the record, I will do what I can.

Along comes Chester Keen

Chester Keen was the fourth visitor from out of the blue to the mini-museum last week. A former Naples police office and Collier County deputy, he had written some stories about his experiences and called to see if the new museum lady in town (30 years is new, I reckon) cared to see them. I urged him to come on down.

After learning he had just missed seeing the judge, he showed me a story he wrote about a time when he was a bailiff in Ms. Hixon-Holley's court. It seems a social worker who was new to the area had brought a family from Marco Island into court for child neglect because the children had scars on their arms.

The attorney for the family said, "Judge, the official county insect for Collier is the no-see-um," and with that the good judge laughed and dismissed the case. It seemed the social worker simply didn't recognize the signs of too much scratching.

When today meets the past

Enter Peter Thomas, a relative newcomer to Naples but an old timer in spirit and duty. Mr. Thomas stopped in to say hello while I was meeting with one of our city's newest newcomers.

Lance Julian, an eighth-generation New Zealander, has been here for just 10 weeks. He had come by the mini-museum in hopes of learning a bit about the history of the working waterfront, as he and his son, Harry, are designing cultural cruises on Naples Bay.

While the old timers' love of local history is understandable and certainly admirable, I find there's something truly magical about a newcomer who has a heartfelt appreciation for the past.

Lois Bolin is the co-founder of Naples Cultural Landscape, a fund at the Community Foundation of Collier County. Naples Backyard History is the fund's educational initiative. For more information, visit the NBYH Mini-Museum at 1300 Third St. S., call 594- 2978 or visit www.naplesbackyardhistory.org.