provided to The Santiva Chronicle
Bank of the Islands is proud to invite its customers, neighbors, and island visitors to view the photography exhibit displayed in its Sanibel bank lobby. Open during banking hours throughout February, the exhibit salutes Black History Month through the images and stories of three multi-generational Sanibel families who have called Sanibel home since as early as 1917.
“We are just so blessed to have these important stories to share with our island community,” said Bank of the Islands President Robbie Roepstorff. “Ours is a rich history that deserves to be repeated and preserved for the generations that follow.”
Sanibel marked the arrival of its first Black families in the early 20th century, starting with the Gavins in 1917, followed by the Walkers in 1927. While both families originally settled as sharecroppers, subsequent generations went on to become island entrepreneurs and business owners. Under the leadership of Oscar Gavin, Gavin’s Plumbing, Heating & Gas Services remains a well-regarded, owned and operated family business.
Eugene Gavin, who started as a plumber with his brother Oscar, went on to own his own home repair and landscaping business. Despite tremendous damage to their home during Hurricane Ian, Eugene and his wife, Velma, remain committed Sanibel islanders.
The Jordans are the third family profiled in the bank’s Black History Month exhibit. Mozella Jordan, a beloved island caterer in her lifetime, played a key role in making the Sanibel School the first integrated school in Lee County in 1964. Her son Jim attended that elementary school. He went on to be the City of Sanibel’s Planning Director until his retirement in 2018, at which time Jim Jordan was the longest-serving municipal employee in Sanibel’s history.
In a 2003 profile in the Islander, Mozella Jordan was quoted as saying of Sanibel and Captiva: “They’ll never lose their serenity and beauty…I hope I can always give to the community who I was and who I am and what my family represents.”