Katie EnnsTo my No. 1 fan

In the 15 years since we launched this magazine, one reader has shared her opinion about how we are doing or what we should be doing more than any other.

That would be my mother, Katie Enns, who has always been quick to suggest a good story, note who might be a good advertiser or critique our latest issue.

In nearly all cases, her observations have been unsolicited, unfiltered and unrelenting. But they certainly never have been unknowing.

That’s because for 36 years, until his death in 1990, she was married to my dad, Bob Enns, the longtime editor of The News-Tribune in Fort Pierce. How she came about her journalistic acumen requires some explanation about her migration to Florida from her hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Merry Makeovers

A series of sparkling after-dark boat parades will light up early December nights on the Treasure Coast this holiday season. That’s great news for everyone who longs for a sense of normalcy. Bring the whole family and cheer for the boats you like best as they go by. Eager to make plans to see them? Put these dates on your calendar: Dec. 5 for Martin and St. Lucie counties and Dec. 12 for Indian River County.

Giftology

Things to buy and do

Looking for that perfect gift or gift certificates for the holidays? You won’t have to travel far. Check out these offered by Treasure Coast theaters and businesses.

Art of the Treasure Coast

Backus turns 60

From hurricanes to recessions, the A.E. Backus Museum and Gallery has weathered many storms in its 60-year history. But perhaps nothing has challenged its survival more than the pandemic.

As the oldest continually operating art institution on the Treasure Coast, the museum depends on community support and its popular events like the Backus Brunch for fundraising. That was all jeopardized when the museum, like everything else, closed to the public on March 16.

Art of the Treasure Coast

Humble beginnings

As a young photographer on his first big newspaper assignment, Jon Kral knew what he had to do to get the shot. He strapped himself to the outside of a Stearman Double crop duster plane while his subject skimmed over orange trees in a plume of chemicals.

That photograph of the colorful Fort Pierce crop duster Harold Williams sealed Kral’s fate. From then on, the camera would always be with him and he would always go the extra mile to get the shot he wanted.

Art of the Treasure Coast

Mirroring an illusion

When Vero Beach Museum of Art’s new senior curator, Anke Van Wagenberg, lined up one of her favorite artists for an exhibition this fall, she had no idea that a pandemic would shutter the museum and change much of the way it operates.

But as it turns out, the work of the internationally-acclaimed South Korean-born Baltimore resident Chul Hyun Ahn could not have been a better choice for a world restricted and changed by a pandemic.

His sculptures created with light and mirrors and other objects offer a window into the infinite.

Art of the Treasure Coast

Safety first

The performing arts season comes roaring back with the beginning of the new year after many 2020 shows were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Full CDC safety requirements will be met by all theaters, including deep cleaning and sanitizing, masks, hand sanitizer, social distancing and more. Each theater’s website will provide details.

2021 promises to be a very busy year for show- and concert-goers with a jam-packed schedule that includes some of the postponed events.

Festivals

Events offer respite and fun from months spent indoors

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Treasure Coast festival-goers have plenty to pick from this season. We weren’t able to include every festival but many of them are below. Some events and festivals have been postponed until next year although most are still a go and offer welcome relief from days spent indoors. It’s a good idea to check before attending events though. Expect signs letting you know that social distancing and other safety measures as described by the CDC are in force.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR EVENTS...

Homes of the Treasure Coast

Worth the risk

Working with a client who is willing to take a risk is always gratifying for an interior designer, especially one as talented as Allen Holmes.

A multipurpose designer with an eye for detail, the fifth generation Floridian’s family settled Fort Drum in the late 19th century. His Hobe Sound design studio has developed a loyal clientele with Holmes as its central creative force. Because of an ability to achieve or surpass his clients’ aspirations, his work has been commissioned from Canada to Colorado, the Bahamas to New England.

Treasure Coast History

The right prescription

If the walls of Corey’s Pharmacy could talk, oh, the stories they would tell. They’d tell of days of old when the quintessential corner drug store was the hub for island visitors and residents. And they’d tell of all the secrets that unfolded at the soda fountain when area businessmen met for lunch. Some came for the fresh sandwiches, but others were there to catch the eye of the beautiful young waitress by the name of Vangie Smith.

Vero’s elite from John’s Island sat on stools next to barefoot kids stopping in for a soda after a day on the beach. Cartoonist Fontaine Fox whose comic strip, Toonerville Fox, ran in hundreds of newspapers nationwide, often sketched on a napkin while enjoying a cup of coffee and a pastry.

Taste of the Treasure Coast

Divine dining

When the Dignity Food Truck rolls out of its home base, The Source in Vero Beach, it does so stocked with all the fundamental ingredients to cook-up the sweet and savory taste of success. The Source, a nonprofit, Christian outreach ministry, serves the poor and homeless population by inspiring hope and providing the necessary resources that offer recovery and promise. Thanks to a grant from Impact 100 of Indian River County,

The Source has been able to broaden its signature Dining With Dignity Program with the addition of a food truck.

Treasure Coast Personalities

The CANCER FUNDRAISER

Lenny Schelin introduced his two sons to the water when they were only three days and three months old, respectively. Many families point to the age a child walked or learned to read: The Schelin boys, Lenny Jr. and Ryan, water-skied by age 3.

As a boy, Schelin lived on the North Fork of Long Island, New York. A creek ran by his house. He had his own boat. He loved the North Fork so much that he was less than enthusiastic about moving to Florida in 1971.

Treasure Coast Personalities

The FITNESS TRAINER

Take one look at Rosalind Neilen, owner and fitness coach of Rosalind’s Fitness Studios in downtown Stuart, and you quickly realize that staying fit has been a central focus of her life. Her youthful looks defy her age. At 67, she enjoys training her clients so they can be in optimum shape.

“I do a prescription of fitness that is realistic,” she says. “I like to focus on the everyday person and help them for one hour, two to three times a week. They walk in the door and say, ‘Tell me what to do, Rosalind.’ Two to three hours makes a big difference in their lives.”

Treasure Coast Personalities

The NAVIGATOR

The energy field surrounding retired Col. Martin J. Zickert mirrors the force of the F4 Phantom fighter jet he flew in the Air Force. Retirement hasn’t slowed him down, as he embraces each day with a sense of adventure and a quest to do something that can change someone else’s life. His life story reads like an action novel full of chance encounters, leaps of faith and opportunities seized.

Born and raised in a small Wisconsin farming town with a population of 954, Zickert grew up playing baseball — the sport that opened the door to his military career.

Barred Owl

Back Country

The days are getting shorter and the nights are longer. A barred owl makes a loud hooting call that is answered by other owls. Some Native Americans believe the hoots come from spirits. With their big eyes, hunting at night is possible making them king of the night. Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, but they will eat birds and reptiles also. They get their name by the barred stripes on their underside, which is good camouflage in their woodland habitat.

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