‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot LakeCrews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
A tombstone discovered in Southwest Florida that dates back to the Civil War is back where it belongs. WINK News first brought you this story in 2020. A SWFL man discovered the tombstone in his backyard months after purchasing his house. Now, WINK News is speaking to the family of the child to whom the tombstone belonged to. And for this distant relative, the return of the tombstone means everything. This family traces its history back t least 300 years. The family even has its own board of directors. The family is grateful for the man who found it and thankful that it is now back where it goes on. It wasn’t a Halloween prop. It was a real headstone that Tom Dipaolo excavated in his backyard. That was in March of 2020. Who is baby Gideon P? Port Charlotte man finds Civil War era headstone in his yard “As I was clearing this spot out, the headstone was facing down, and I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, and then I kept brushing off more dirt,” said Dipaolo. The name on the tombstone is Gideon P. Brubaker, a 21-day-old baby boy who died on September 11, 1863. “Yeah, it was a little surprising at first, and then it started getting interesting. The first thing that came to my mind was that it was a Halloween thing.. but then when I was looking at it closer, I was saying that this is too heavy and it’s too well-made,” Dipaolo said. Dipaolo searched for the Brubaker family, which, while that was a long shot, it paid off. The Brubakers are a rare family because they have their own historian, Elaine Renkin. “As soon as he told me the names, told me the name, I had Gideons records,” Renkin said. The family also has a president, Doug Brubaker. “They came armed with shovels, a bucket of wet concrete, and we set the stone back in place, not that that concrete is going to ever preclude somebody else from stealing it. But it may make it a little tougher,” Brubaker said. That poor little baby is buried in Page County, Virginia. “The father is there. The mother is there. His sister, who died in 1854, is there. And I knew that Gideon should be there because his stone is identical to his sister. His sister died in 1854,” said Renkin. How did the tombstone end up in Dipaolo’s backyard? In Port Charlotte? Which is more than 1100 miles away. So when Dipaolo called Renkin, she looked at the family tree and called Gideon’s nearest relative. “First thing I did is I went to my database, looked up his name, and he was there,” said Renkin. “In my database right now is 24,000 Brubaker’s, okay. We’re all over the world. Concentrated coming out of Lancaster County, though.” That relative is Brenda Bosserman. “We found the tombstone of your ancestors and my mom’s family. And we need to get it back to you. So that’s kind of how it started,” Bosserman said. As it turns out, the Brubaker family has a member living in Sarasota. So, she picked up the tombstone from Dipaolo. But it did take several months to transport it back to Virginia due to COVID-19. Submit Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.