Pumpkin patch drawing hundreds daily

Ainsley Thomas, 4, inspects pumpkins at the Cypress Lake United Methodist Church pumpkin patch.


Julie Kuhns, of Cypress Lake United Methodist Church, reads to children at the 6th annual pumpkin patch in south Fort Myers.

Drivers on Cypress Lake Drive are seeing orange.

The sixth annual Cypress Lake United Methodist Church pumpkin patch is under way in south Fort Myers and customers are lining up to buy pumpkins, take pictures and feel the first signs of fall.

“We come every year and they pick up little gourds and pumpkins,” said Shannon Conrey, 32, of south Fort Myers.

She visited the pumpkin patch within days of opening to make sure her kids had a chance to see the pumpkins.

“It’s very family friendly and we take pictures for my scrapbook,” said Conrey about the pumpkin patch that is decorated with friendly scarecrows, hay and an antique tractor.

Julie Kuhns organizes the pumpkin patch at the church and is pleased that the community looks forward to it.

“Our mission is to help others and this helps us connect with the community,” said Kuhns, the church's director of family ministry, adding that a small portion of the profits help the church’s youth group.

The pumpkin patch, which opened Oct. 1, also helps raise money for the Navajo Indian Reservations in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and borders of Colorado.

“I think they get a full experience in southwest Florida and it points (families) toward fall holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving,” said Linda McGlashan, the director of the church’s Bright Beginnings Early School. “It also raises money and hundreds of people visit a day.”

Parents are also invited to attend readings of Halloween themed books on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.

“Most families are looking for a safe, fun loving atmosphere for their children ... our church emphasizes family and children,” said Kuhns about the readings she hopes promotes discussions of God’s love.

“We celebrate pumpkins and emphasize loving one another, helping one another and having fun.”

Having fun is easy for children at the pumpkin patch because there are so many opportunities for them to look, touch and learn about pumpkins.

The church will also host its second annual fall festival on Saturday, Oct. 20. A scarecrow decorating contest will be held and children are asked to wear non-violent costumes.

“We find it connects the community and our church and we get a lot of support,” said Kuhns adding that the pumpkin patch is run by volunteers.

The pumpkin patch closes Oct. 31.

Loyal clientele keeps bakery rolling in dough

Specialty desserts are available at Gulf Shore Bakery in south Fort Myers. They are baked fresh daily and have no preservatives.

The smell of fresh baked bread seeps from the Gulf Shore Bakery on McGregor Boulevard in south Fort Myers.

Customers can see exactly why as they take in the sight of pastries, muffins, Halloween-themed treats and shelves lined with bread.

“It’s freshly baked every day and we make everything from scratch,” said Tim Countryman, the owner and baker at the shop for the last four years.

The bakery has grown now offers pastries and specialty cakes along with their bread selections.

“We are getting into specialty desserts and specialty cakes that nobody else will do like novelty cakes,” said Countryman about the bakery he owns with his wife, Tracy. They have 11 employees and four delivery trucks. “A lot of people want that private bakery and that’s what we are.”

The service keeps customers coming back for more but it’s the offerings that have them hooked.

“The demand is high for Italian desserts ... they seem to be hitting the best right now,” said Countryman adding that cannoli’s are a fave among customers. “We make really unique bread too that they can’t get anywhere else.”

The bread selections include white, rye and wheat among others. Select breads are made on certain days of the month including golden cheddar, apricot walnut and sundried tomato pesto.

“We print a monthly calendar with the specialty breads so customers can get them,” said Countryman, who said customers come in on specific days because they like the flavors so much.

Despite the bakery’s offerings, Countryman said, the retail end of his business could use some improvement.

“It’s very difficult to get in and out of this shopping center and it’s kind of hard to see me here so I have to be really good at what I do,” said Countryman, who added that he makes up most of his business by selling his goods wholesale to local restaurants. “We are trying to focus on retail and getting more visible.”

Judy Murac is a regular at the bakery and drives in from Fort Myers Beach just to buy bread.

“I love the bread. It’s great!” said Murac, adding that she likes that the bread has no preservative and has natural ingredients. “I just love this bakery. They have so many different kinds (of bread) and the quality of stuff.”

Countryman prides himself in the quality of his ingredients and offerings.

“We have expanded so drastically ... in four years, our volume has multiplied even though the summers are slow,” said Countryman who also offers a box lunch for $5.50. “I can’t complain.”

Leasing still available at 9299 Center

Only three units are available at the 9299 Center in south Fort Myers. The owner hopes the spaces will be leased as the shop’s remodeling is complete.A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market isn’t the only change coming to the 9299 Center on College Parkway in south Fort Myers.

The nation’s biggest retailer is attracting a lot of attention and center owner Terry Brady hopes it will help attract business to the little space that is still available for lease.

“I’m 87 percent leased and that’s not bad and that’s still with the rest of the center being upgraded,” said Brady, who has owned the center since 2002 and is working to remodel it so it matches the surrounding area.

“At one time it was really tired and it looked like something out out of downtown Detroit.”

And the look Brady said is what makes the remaining retail spaces on the northwest of the building so attractive to potential lessees.

“College Parkway has been referred to as the ‘golden corridor’, the demographics are good and the building is being remodeled,” Brady said referring to the middle section of the center that is getting a facelift. “When you have something fresh, new and sharp, it will be successful.”

Mary Beth Cangiano is the leasing agent for the center and said that the remodel is getting a lot of attention.

“We have a lot of interest from franchises and some start-ups. Restaurants in particular are looking at it,” said Cangiano, the leasing agent for LandQwest Commercial Inc. “We have prospects but nothing has been signed yet.”

Because of negotiations with potential businesses, Cangiano is unable to reveal what restaurants have shown interest.

“It usually takes a month or two for negotiating,” she said about the remaining 6,659 square feet of available space.

The total building is 40,000 square feet and is all general commercial, said Cangiano.

“We have different rates and there are three units left. It’s hard to say when it’s gonna be filled but there is interest,” Cangiano said.

The building’s central location is what Cangiano said is luring businesses to the area.

“The access to it speaks for itself. We have an abundance of parking located right at the front of the Cape bridge and it’s on the crossroads of the county,” Cangiano said. “The signage too is a big deal. You can see it from everywhere.”

Lt. Gov. Kottkamp visits lauded school

Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottcamp talks to Superintendent of Schools Dr. James Browder during his visit to the automotive academy at South Fort Myers High.

A visit from Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottcamp and a $30,000 check.

That's what students at South Fort Myers High School received recently in honor of being awarded the Leadership Level Career Academy Innovation award from the Ford Motor Company Fund.

The fund awards schools whose communities show a strong support for career schools that prepare students for life after high school.

"They spend their time really beginning to see what the career academy's have to offer and then they see what they'd like to do," said Cheryl Carrier, the program director, 21st Century Education Programs for the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Carrier is in charge of selecting the schools that will receive the distinction and the money, which is used to help create a network of schools aimed at developing students' careers.

Although the school isn't sure what it will do with the $30,000 check, Carrier said, schools generally use the money to invite experts to come in and help them expand programs.

Some schools also invite representatives from other schools to look at their models for success, Carrier said.

"It's great that Ford picked us and we are in the cutting edge of what we are supposed to do," said Kim Verblaauw, the assistant principal of curriculum at South Fort Myers High. "It's an honor and it shows that people put time into the school."

The school is strongly supported by the local business community, which frequently makes visits to the school and helps develop students' skills.

"We selected the very best communities and we were going to take these models and share them with other communities," said Carrier about the program that was started in August of 2006. "Businesses know that at the end of the day, these kids go out into the community and are ready for it."

The efforts the school makes to prepare students for the real world is what impressed Kottcamp most. He visited the school and was given a tour of the medical, criminal justice and automotive academies.

"... It provides a pathway for our students to convert their hopes and dreams with the career they will have in the real world," Kottcamp said.

"It says a whole lot that a group from out of state travels to pick this school out of thousands of schools is very impressive."

Carrier said that only two schools in Florida were chosen to receive the distinction which is the highest the fund provides.

"The school deserves it, our administration works hard to get us the best education possible," said Hermann Piard, 17, a senior at the school.

Piard was one of the students asked to tour the school with Kottcamp.

"If they want to give us $30,000 dollars then we will take it, the more tools we have the better it is for our school," Piard said.

Puddy ’N Pearl carries one-of-a-kind items

Puddy 'N Pearl Boutique owner Ivy Levinson-Purdy,51, helps customer Courtney Signorella, 28, of south Fort Myers pick out a dress for her upcoming wedding party

Puddy 'N Pearl Boutique isn't your grandmother's clothing store.

The clothes are funky, unique and definitely eclectic.

But store owner Ivy Levinson-Purdy wants customers to know that at her boutique everyone is welcome — even children who drop Cheerios on the floor.

"We don't care. We want it to be fun. Heck, we put up drawings from the kids that visit with their moms," said Levinson-Purdy, who opened the south Fort Myers shop almost a year ago with her husband Chester.

"We are very different from what you usually find in Fort Myers."

The difference, she said, lies in her ability to shop for unique items that customers won't see in other shops.

"I have a good mix. ... I do designer stuff for the higher end clientele but we have accessories that are $20," said Levinson-Purdy about the selection that she brings in from her shopping trips around the country. Some items are even shipped from Europe.

"I like to take care of a lot of people and that's why I have a lot of different things."

The store specializes in very contemporary pieces to wilder items depending on a customer's taste.

"It caters to all age groups ... the lines we carry aren't like anything around," said Gianna D' Alessandro, a store employee. "I've had mothers and daughters come in and try things on and they both find something they like."

Finding that one-of-a-kind item is easy at the boutique, which is named after the owner's granddaughters Isabella and Pearl, because Levinson-Purdy doesn't restock any items.

"The sizes in the store range from 0 to 14 and once it sells, it's gone," said Levinson-Purdy, 51, about how quickly some clothing lines leave the racks. "When I go shopping, I have trouble sometimes because if I've had it in the store already, I want something new."

Courtney Signorella, 28, shops often at the boutique because of the variety.

"I shop here a lot. I've been visiting her store for a long time," said Signorella, who first came upon the store at its old location on Fort Myers Beach.

On a recent visit, Signorella was shopping for items for her upcoming wedding.

"The variety is like nowhere else. It's very funky and unique stuff," said Signorella of south Fort Myers. "I want to come here and buy a purse that I won't see everywhere else."

Levinson-Purdy has had plenty of experience in the retail industry because of her time spent working in SoHo in New York.

"I've been in retail all my life. I had a makeup line for many years, too," she said adding that the store also sells its own Puddy 'N Pearl boutique clothing line. "We really like people and we want them to have fun."

Blind community to take walk

Drivers are going to get a wake-up call from the Southwest Florida blind community on the fourth annual Vision Awareness Walkathon at Lakes Park in south Fort Myers.

The blind community is gathering on Oct. 13 for a walk at 9 a.m. to show drivers the importance of giving blind pedestrians the right of way.

"Our mission is trying to help blind people in the area. ... I feel that blind people need to be an integral part of society," said Joyce Thornton, who works with the Fort Myers Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Thornton is a member of the blind community and has been struck by a car twice in the last two years.

"Twice, I was stopped to have my guide dog use the bathroom and a car backed into me," said Thornton, who created the walkathon to remind drivers about laws that give blind pedestrians the right of way. "I don't think that there is a winter that doesn't go by that something doesn't happen."

The winter season is the most difficult for the blind community because Thornton said that there are more drivers on the road and some don't respect the law.

"I'm very lucky but it's not fun to get hit by a car," said Thornton about one of the accidents that left her with a concussion and a fractured tibia.

During the walkathon, participants will also work to raise money for several blind non-profit groups in Lee county.

"It's gonna let people know that we exist. There are local blind agencies around who can help them with any kind of a problem they have ...," said Sue Wild, of the Visually Impaired Persons of southwest Florida.

Wild has known Thornton for 25 years and said that the Walkathon will help educate the community about the needs of the blind community.

"There are shades of blindness like there are shades of gray. A lot of people think either you can see or you are blind," said Wild about the experiences she has had in working with the blind community for 26 years. "Education is the biggest (impact) we can do."

Walkathon participants will be asked to donate $20 and will receive a T-shirt, goody bag, and a chance to win prizes. Complimentary lunch will be provided by Carrabba's Italian Grill in south Fort Myers.

"We will have a free diabetic screening and going to be taking walkers blood pressure before and after the walk if they'd like," said Thornton about the new services for this years Walkathon.

The Walkathon will also honor National White Cane Day and recognize National Handicap week from Oct. 15-19.