When we launched Indian River Magazine nearly 20 years ago, one of our goals was to share significant stories about the region’s history with our readers. Over the years we’ve presented stories about everything from the early Ice Age man in Vero to the Ais natives living along the coast from 2,000 BC to the sinking of the 1715 treasure fleet off our coast. In our last three issues, we’ve presented stories that we hope settle questions about the killing of the notorious Ashley Gang exactly 100 years ago on Nov. 1, 1924.

While writing our three-part series on Florida’s notorious Ashley Gang, I was struck by a couple of questions. Why is the story so compelling and why am I devoting so much time, ink and paper to it?

The shootout with lawmen at the Sebastian River Bridge that left John Ashley and three of his gang members dead happened exactly a century ago come Nov. 1.

Not every high school graduate needs to go to college. But every high school graduate should have the option to attend college.

Welcome to 2024. I’m not good at keeping resolutions, and because I’m more backward-looking than forward-thinking I prefer to reflect on the things I accomplished in 2023 without really trying. That way, I’m not disappointed with myself for falling short of a goal. Looking back on 2023, I’m proudest of not letting auld acquaintances be forgot.