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Harold Ott and the Bicentennial Parade Committee were organizing quite a gala for Independence Day 1976.

"We are planning the biggest parade ever seen in Bonita Springs," Ott said. "In keeping with the commemoration of the Bicentennial, we are hoping to have floats representing every organization in Bonita Springs, plus some out of town units."

The theme, appropriately, was "Freedom," and floats were to be judged. The Council of Clubs was donating cash prizes for winning floats, with $25 going to the first prize winner, $15 to second and $10 to third. A carnival, a barbecue and a fireworks display were planned to round out the day.

In other news, Banner readers met Estero Realtor Ruth Mason, whose family roots went back to 1895, when her father and his parents moved to the area with the Koreshan movement.

"My father was raised here in Estero, then went to New York for further schooling," she said. "While there, he met the woman who was to be my mother. They married and stayed in New York."

The Masons eventually returned to Estero, however, becoming the first year-round residents of the Estero River Heights subdivision in 1958.

Ruth traveled the world after college and eventually settled in New York, where she worked for nine years as secretary for the patent counsel for the giant Geigy Chemical Co.

"I had been coming to Estero since I was a little girl, visiting my grandparents, so it was natural that I wanted to come down and help Dad in his business," she told The Banner. "My aunt, Edith Trebell, is also a well-known, longtime resident of the area. She's known by a lot of people for her jam, jelly and fruit shop."

Mason was quite successful in real estate and served as secretary of the Bonita Springs Board of Realtors.

The Lee County School Board announced new middle school boundary guidelines that would transfer 503 students to the new Bonita Springs Middle School, under construction on West Terry Street. "(The school) will draw its pupils from Cypress Lake, plus all of next year's sixth-graders who live within the Fort Myers Beach area," The Banner reported.

Units at the Beach and Tennis Club were available at pre-construction prices: $32,900 to $34,900 for beach view and $31,900 to $33,900 for bay view.

At the Trail Drive-In, Burt Reynolds was starring in "WW and the Dixie Dance Kings" and Lyn Redgrave had top billing in "The Happy Hooker." Linda Lovelace was featured in "Linda Lovelace for President."