2020 through the lens on Longboat Key

Let's face it, 2020 got off to a pretty good start.

But from about mid-March on, it was a parade of things few of us have ever seen or experienced. And it's a pretty safe bet none of us want to do it again. 

It literally took longer to drive to the airport than it did to fly from Sarasota to Atlanta.

We lost friends and neighbors, and we had to stay apart from those we didn't.

Masks weren't just for Halloween. 

A storm most of us wouldn't have paid much attention to rocked our world. 

But it wasn't all sturm und drang on the island in 2020. There's a new pair of mating swans, there are new pickleball courts, the town's staff is a dragon boat race champion, and at least one sea turtle is swimming around because of dedicated volunteers. 

So, have a look at the year in photos, Longboat Observer style. 

January

2: Order on the court

By the time the year got underway, work had started on two new pickleball courts at Bayfront Park, adding to the existing court with a little concrete, revamped fencing and a lot of teal paint. Coming up with the plan took most of 2019 to winnow into shape, but in the end, most everyone was happy. The park's tennis courts remained as they were and the park's basketball facilities were changed a bit to make room. Today, they're a popular gathering place for fans of the sport. 

9: Back to the sea

Larissa the loggerhead turtle swam off into the Gulf of Mexico following extensive treatment at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. She had lost a lot of blood in what was believed to be a shark attack. She healed well under treatment with antibiotics and other care and was eventually carried to the sea at Lido Beach. 

23: A new place

The long chapter in the story of an abandoned gas station on the island's north end came to a close when Whitney's opened. The beachy restaurant and bodega was designed and built to fit in with the surrounding neighborhood and instantly became a hit with the bike-riding locals. 

23: Spin to win

Speaks Clam Bar wasn't interested in selling vowels with its wheel of fortune at the 2020 edition of Taste of St. Armands. It was just a way of determining what patrons might win at their booth. The 10th annual event offered bites from 13 area restaurants. 

30: Another era

We see what you did there, Longboat Harbor. 2020s . . . 1920s . . . Roaring '20s. 23 Skiddoo and all that. Residents enjoyed a speakeasy but, hopefully, no bathtub gin. And no raids by Elliot Ness.

February

6: Not again

Traffic slowdowns were more than annoying. They were downright frustrating to many Longboaters driving back and forth to the mainland. There were lots of causes, but the main one was the loss of a turn lane from Ringling Causeway north to U.S. 41 because of roundabout construction. Those barriers had traffic over a barrel for weeks.  

6: Looking good

The Garden Club of Longboat Key rolled out another edition of its annual Taste of the Keys event, featuring people you might know modeling high fashion while raising money for scholarships. The 2020 version featured bites from 12 local restaurants.

20: Final report

Sarasota Police released its findings in connection with the deadly crash that killed Longboat Key philanthropists Charles and Margery Barancik in December 2019. Investigators found construction equipment to the north of the En Provence driveway likely blocked the view of Charles Barancik of an oncoming police vehicle, which collided with the Baranciks' car. The police officer, JeffreyVogt, was fired after an internal investigation found he violated town speed rules 21 times in 15 months, including in the moments leading up to the fatal collision. 

20: Now, stretch

Nowhere in the firefighters manual will you find the word Namaste, but Longboat Key firefighters gave yoga a try anyway to take the edge off work-a-day stress. Instructor Debby McClung worked with crews in the firehouse between calls, along with Sidney Turner, a psychologist and founder of Resilient Retreat. 

20: Very European

Who gets frustrated when everyone refers to the site of professional tennis' French Open as Stade Roland Garros? Not the folks at Club Longboat. No, they embrace things needlessly French, as evidenced by their tennis event in which only French was allowed to be spoken. Sacre bleu! Points were deducted when English was spoken, but not when fun was had.  

27: Which way?

What if two people of reasonable driving skill and intellect decided to head for Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport from Longboat Key Town Hall through the worst traffic in recent memory, one heads north on Gulf of Mexico Drive and one heads south, even though one route is about twice and long as the other?  And you thought that sentence was long.  Well, we tried it. One of us averaged about 20 mph. The other about 9 mph. Our little driving experiment was hardly scientific, but it did teach us one thing. If you have a plane to catch, leave early. 

March

5: Live and in concert

Trivia time: Who was the first (and only, so far) performer at the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce's revival of Savor the Sounds? The live outdoor concert series was supposed take the Town Center Green a few steps toward Tanglewood in offering residents a monthly way to enjoy some music, some food and drink and the company of their neighbors. Scheduled to launch in January, it was put off by a performer's illness until February, then canceled because of COVID-19 in late March. So, if you said The Billy Rice Band was the first and only performer when the event made its debut in late February, you were right.

5: Fastest town on the water

It's not all "scrivener's error corrections" and "carrying over open purchase orders into the next budget year'' around Town Hall. These men and women also can make waves, literally. Longboat Oar Bust outpaddled a few other local towns to win a dragon boat challenge at Palma Sola Causeway Park. 

12: Cleaning up

Volunteers boated over to the Sister Keys to hack away at invasive species that regularly threaten to take over the islands. The effort was coordinated by Sarasota Bay Watch. 

19: A new way to worship

 One of the first shifts from normal on the island when COVID-19 stuck was church. No longer able to attend regular services, churches adapted and brought church to us, via streaming video. 

26: Nope

As beaches and other public facilities closed around the area, Longboat Key town officials followed suit, hoping to head off crowds shut out of other popular areas. 

26: Taking office

In a public meeting unlike any other, BJ Bishop and Sherry Dominick were sworn in at Town Hall before a socially distanced group of well-wishers. It was their first public meeting together and their last until October as the pandemic continued and Town Commissioners met remotely over a teleconferencing app few of us had heard of until now -- something called Zoom. 

April

2: Hello, down there

Very few people had heard the term "social distancing'' before March, but by April, folks were champions of it. One of the quick-to-pop-up trends around the island was the porch party. In multi-story buildings, residents gathered on individual porches and chatted up, down and side to side with their neighbors while practicing the new slow-the-spread skills. 

16: Work begins

Not since Amore was torn down had there been as much activity on the new Town Center Green land. Work crews in early April began clearing pesky vegetation and leveling the land to make a useful plot, suitable for further refinements that are still to come. 

16: Back to normal, kind of

When Easter came, community members wondered how the most Christian of celebrations could take place while also sticking to COVID-19 protocols. Guess what? Longboaters found a way. Through video hookups, drive-in services and promises to do a proper celebration when possible, churches made it work. 

May

7: Joyous occasion

Greta and Clark, the island's mating pair of swans, welcomed a cygnet into the world but the outcome wasn't as happy as the initial news. The baby swan, the first in two years, never really thrived and died by July. 

June

11: Speaking out

With protests popping up all over the country, a small group of Longboaters decided to make their voices heard following the death of George Floyd. About 20 people with homemade signs drew various levels of support along Gulf of Mexico Drive. 

25: In lieu of a parade

With the annual Freedom Fest canceled for the Fourth of July, three women got together with the town's Barry Gaines and Carolyn Brown to film a patriotic message to be posted on social media and the town's website. Susan Phillips (red), Nancy Rozance (white) and Lynn Larson (blue) said they enjoyed the process but hoped it wouldn't be necessary in 2021. 

July

9: It's the rules

The town made it against the rules to appear in public without a mask, unless social distancing protocols could be met. The measure passed the Town Commission unanimously and was widely supported in town. 

August

6: Coming soon

No, that wasn't a new condo for which town leaders broke ground. It's a new fire station, coming next year to the south end of the island. For now, firefighters are based in temporary quarters across from the construction site. 

13: A bit of joy

We've seen dozens of drive-by celebrations in 2020 but few with as much joy as Jimmy Loftis' 95th birthday. Sure, the fire department rolled by with a fire truck, as did friends and well-wishers. But the star of the event was the birthday-man himself. 

27: Back to the books

Back to school took several forms for the kids who call Longboat home. Some returned to traditional schools, albeit with masks and other COVID-19 precautions. Others learned from home. 

September

3: Keeping track  

Trash cleanup took on a new scientific spin with Bridgette Clark's cataloging of the refuse she and her helpers found on the beach. 

17: Remembering

Town Public Works Department staffers once again lined Gulf of Mexico Drive with American flags to honor each person who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington DC and Shanksville, Pa.

24: Ship to shore

The morning after a stormy night, Longboaters awoke to a sailboat on the beach. And there it stayed for weeks despite owner Mark Sternal's attempts to have it repaired and refloated. Tropical Storm Eta smashed the hull into bits, and it was hauled away by the end of November.

October

8: Blessed be the pets

Pets around Longboat got the chance, even in a pandemic, to be blessed at All Angels Episcopal. Father Dave Marshall officiated the ceremony, which took place outdoors. 

22: Puppet government

Lynn Armstrong-Coffin found art where most others would have only seen politics and a heaping helping of ill will. The Longboat artist took to the online craft fair Etsy to sell her battling donkey and elephant puppets while the real, less whimsical, counterparts yelled at each other on cable TV. "People can be so mean,'' she said, "I thought it might bring a little levity.''

29: On the job

Kelli Smith began her job as chief of police, replacing Pete Cumming. The chief comes to Longboat Key from a position as chief of police on the campus of Northern Arizona University and also has command experience on the police department at the University of Central Florida in Orlando -- both of which have larger staffs than Longboat Key.

November

12: Welcome

A new mating pair of swans, from Illinois, arrived in Longboat Key with hopes they would bring a viable cygnet to town after a sad episode involving Clark and Greta over the summer. The new swans were named Chuck and Margie, an homage to the memories of Charles and Margery Barancik, who died in a car crash in December 2019.

19: A lot of water

Eta hammered Longboat Key with waves and high tides, flooding sections of town with feet of saltwater. Wind damage and rain flooding were hardly an issue, but residents of Longbeach Village especially dealt with rising waters, shorted out electrical devices and waterlogged homes. In some cases, as in Fred Kagi's home, seawater or water from rising Sarasota Bay, overtook swimming pools. 

3: Sold!

For sale during most of the period between 2017 and late 2020, Serenissima sold in November for $16.5 million, the highest price ever for an MLS-listed piece of residential property in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties. The home at 845 Longboat Club Road was originally listed at $26.5 million, the highest ever asking price in the area. 

3: Back again

For the second year, the town held a tree lighting ceremony at the Town Center space, though unlike 2019's inaugural version, there were no food booths and mingling with friends. Social distancing was still the rule. 

 Staff photos and reporting by reporters Nat Kaemmerer, Mark Bergin, Brendan Lavell and managing editor Eric Garwood. Courtesy photos from Lou Newman, the town of Longboat Key and Michael Saunders & Company.