Does someone really may want to hear the walks of life of Annette Kniola, the married mother of four boys?
Just as a matter of sitting down to write this special little letter, I have next to me on the floor, my 3-year-old playing loudly with his king-size tractor singing, “Winner, winner, chicken dinner!” Next to him is his older brother Benjamin, age 6, sitting on my desk asking, “Can we do anything we want today?”
“Yes,” I told him. “I am going to write today about my life and the life of my beautiful area of Golden Gate Estates.”
First and foremost, allow me to tell you a little about myself. I was born in Madison, Wis., and grew up in Rome, an unincorporated town north of Madison.
Living up there were the best years of my life. Moved to Naples at the tender age of 17, and I have lived on and off here for the past 23 years. I moved down young, attended Edison Community College, and worked at the Ritz-Carlton for 9 years in specialty catering where I met my husband Dan Kniola.
We soon bought a small house in Livingston Woods and had a great future to look forward to. After those wonderful 9 years at the hotel, we headed off to Aspen, Colo., to my husband’s new job as executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton, Aspen. Oh, and how could I forget, also expecting our very first baby.
From then on, I knew I was going to be a stay-at-home mom. It was tough though, moving away from family and friends to a place with no family and friends and a baby on the way. I was scared, but with Dan’s job and 5 pets in tow, I knew I would be fine. But I wasn’t. I hated it. Dan loved it. Not a good situation to be in.
But that’s OK, shortly after Daniel, our first child, was born, the hotel decided to move out of Aspen and the Disney World Grand Floridian in Orlando found Dan! All I could say was yee haw! The 18 months in Aspen was enough. I couldn’t have been happier to leave. It must have been the altitude and without family that led me to be so unhappy.
So to Disney we moved. What a most wonderful experience in my life! We bought a house, had another baby, Nickolas, and enjoyed every moment there — it was truly magical. In that time, I received my real-estate license because I was so fascinated in the industry.
Three years later, yet another opportunity came knocking for Dan and it was here in Naples with Stock Development Group. I was again very excited about going back to the family and house we left behind. There we had two more boys, Benjamin and Matthew. You think I could get a girl here somewhere?!
The house became much too small, so we were happy to build a much bigger one out here in Golden Gate Estates more than three years ago. It may be a distance from town that we were so conveniently used to, but it certainly has it perks. The beautiful trees, great schools, plenty of wildlife and a community that thrives on friendships and family. Other than the occasional trucks off-roading, swamp buggies, and an occasional airboat passing by our canal next door, it’s pretty darn nice out here!
Golden Gate Estates has had minor issues since we have arrived. For instance, we have had to change schools twice because of zoning, but all is well. Schools have become quite better, the grades have risen and I am content with them.
Storms out here can be pretty powerful, I must say. The only true big storm I witnessed living out here was Tropical Storm Ernesto. That storm completely flooded the canals and water crept close around our house. The streets out in all the neighborhoods were flooded, especially off of Randall Boulevard. What a wet mess.
I will have to admit, thanks to the county, they have really done a nice job restructuring the control of drainage to all the streets. They dug out deeper trenches at ends of streets with canals so the rain would actually flow into the canals rather than the streets. Soon after, the sod was laid to prevent erosion. That was a big plus. It has truly made the neighborhoods much more appealing.
The downside or major issues we tackle on a day-to-day basis is the pollution in all of the canals. It is a constant battle on our end to keep our area clean.
With the inspiration of the boys in Golden Gate and their huge effort to clean their canals, Robert Ellis of Naples and I are teaming up with Keep Collier Beautiful, Inc. on Sept. 19 for Coastal Clean Up. Our first location for the “Canal Cleaning Crews” with take place at the corner of Collier and White boulevards from 8 a.m. to noon. Any more volunteers the better.
Then of course we cannot forget the fires that erupted in the Estates as well. Firefighters have done an enormous effort to protect homes involved and continue to do so. They are top notch out here.
With all of those issues that face us here in Golden Gate Estates, there is one sad story in particular I want to write about. It happened June 9th, 2006. The death of my niece Ivy Rose Scholtz. Ivy passed away out here in the Estates to an accidental pool drowning. Since her death, I have been non-stop at creating a truly unique coin album called Heaven Cent, and dedicating it to her. It’s an album to collect your special pennies from Heaven, from loved ones who have passed away.
With Heaven Cent, I also donate 10 percent of the proceeds to Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities. They promote water safety and have done a wonderful job helping many children learn to swim. Much more can be read at my site at www.heavencentalbums.com
Though more stories will arise I am sure, I hope to be able to report many future events for Naples readers. Readers can also contact me via e-mail at Dakniola@aol.com if they have any news to share.
I truly enjoy being a part of this new Neighborhood News and Storm Watch team, it is a great idea for the Golden Gate Estates and the many communities involved.
