Making history, one page at a time

In the fall, Longboat Key Historical Society board member Chet Pletzke began the project of scanning all Longboat Observer archives for historic preservation.

But history isn’t made overnight — and recording it takes time, as well.

At the Historical Society’s Thursday, Feb. 21 meeting, Pletzke reported that he’s currently up to 1983 — meaning he’s made five years’ worth of progress in the past few months, because the newspaper was founded in 1978.

“I’m going to have to live to be 100,” he joked.

Still, by our calculations, Pletzke has scanned at least 200 issues of Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper.