This year, the Christmas party was an one-of-a-kind festive event for the Kiwanis Club of St. James City, December 13th.
"Lady" Peggy Cozadd, (photo left)  member of the Kiwanis, conceived and planned a Medieval style Christmas Party for the members and their guests. That's when the "fun" started. The hall had to be decorated with medieval banners hanging from the ceiling, long sections of tables and chairs were to be set up and the food had to be planned for and prepared. "It didn't occur to me right away that there would be quite this much involved in a 

(Photo above, special guest from New Jersey, Al Rizzi, Lieutenant General of the Kiwanis and wife Irus, prior to competing in a joust with Chris Dohme having horse and lance in hand, see page 8)
medieval party. But I'm thankful for all the good people who stepped forward and helped, especially my daughter Ila and her husband Frank. If it weren't for them, our organization would not have had such a delightful evening, said "Lady" Peggy, " "Lady" Ila and Frank (who admits to having only "slave" status) Valcarcel of Cove Systems, St. James, hosted the event. Others who helped were Kiwanis member "Lord" Paul Eckenroad, an agent of C-21 Sunbelt Realty, Inc., who helped with the chairs and tables and "Lady" Patty Burman of Ad&PrintCraft and her two children, "Princess" Rachel and "Lord" Nathaniel who helped decorate the hall and prepare some of the hor'durves. The kitchen was hopping as they prepared the various cookie platters, cheese platters and spinach balls while "Lady" Ila made her special medieval cookies. "Princess" Rachel kept up with "Lord" Frankie. Jr. and "Princess" Margaret, Ila and Franks little ones, in an effort to keep their minds off all the great food. While the food was being prepared in the kitchen, "Lady" Peggy was locked in the "dungeon", which also acts as the craft room. 
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     On January 18th, the Fifth Graders of Pine Island are invited to participate in a “Celebration of Trees” in partnership with the Calusa Land Trust Junior Ranger Program, the Florida Department of Forestry Rangers and the Matlacha-Pine Island Fire Prevention Inspector.
 - We will be learning, how land on Pine Island is preserved, managed, restored, and protected.
  - We will plant native Longleaf Pine tree seedlings in containers for future transplanting to preserved lands and yards in the Pine Island area. 
 - We will show responsibility in caring for the young trees and protecting the environment by being “Fire Safe”.
      Please have each of the children bring 2 or 3 containers to school, ½ gallon milk jugs, 2 liter soda bottles or large plastic drink cups. They also should wear clothes, which they can get dirty 
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   A proposal to save what may be our last remaining native upland parcel on Pine Island.
        100 years ago, Pine Island consisted of about 13,620 acres of mangrove fringe and about 20,000 acres of uplands. The land inside the mangrove fringe was covered with a canopy of tail slash and eastern longleaf pines with an understory of grasses and saw palmetto. The vegetative cover supported the natural aquifer with retained the summer rains through the fry winter, acted as a natural barrier against hurricanes and storms, and housed Gopher tortoise, indigo snakes, deer, bear,and other wildlife now either endangered orextinct on Pine Island. 
       In the 1920's and 30's, large lumber companies laid waste to most of the stately Pine Island pines, and following World War II, immigration to Pine Island claimed most of the denuded forest for housings and farmland, a process which continues to this day. 16,027 acres, or 80% of our native uplands, have been thus destroyed in the last 100 years, most of it during our lifetime. 
  The Calusa Land Trust, together with State and County authorities, has preserved 1,551 acres of native uplands on Pine Island. That consists of about 1,421 acres on Little Pine Island, 30 acres on  Bocilla Island (Northwest Bokeelia), and about 100 acres on the Eagle Preserve (Northeast of St. James City). Nothing has been preserved in central Pine Island. 
    Pockets of undeveloped but endangered native uplands have achieved significant second-generation growth. Sadly, however, there are only seven such pockets totaling 1.402.32 acres left- the Calusa Land Trust is seeking all seven for preservation. They are follows:
     Kelly/Tompkins/Miller Property -- 430.75 acres. On Stringfellow, across from Tropical Homesites. The Kelly portion, 338.3 acres, was scheduled for conservation 20/20 purchase, but the deal fell through only weeks before consummation when a developer offered a higher price to build a golf course community. 
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