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History was made in Bonita Springs 30 years ago this week as South Florida Cable Television Corp. hooked up its earth terminal to a signal from a communications satellite hovering over the equator 23,000 miles away.

A group of dignitaries witnessed the flipping of the switch at the site of the giant antenna about three miles east of Bonita Springs, the Bonita Improvement Group's Tom Reahard among them.

That event brought satellite programming, such as Home Box Office, into the homes of South Florida Cable subscribers, putting them on the cutting edge of television viewing in the nation.

Bonita had one of only three earth terminals in the state and one of only 25 in the entire country.

"The response during the first week was very good," said Vern Coolidge, vice president and general manager for the company. "An awful lot of people called and inquired about it even before they received our mailing and many returned their contracts the same day they received them."

The service provided 12 hours of programming every day, including uncut movies, live sports and other special features such as live entertainment form Las Vegas.

At Koreshan State Park in Estero, members of the second oldest founding family in the area convened for a reunion that week. The gathering of 180 members of the family was the first held in almost a quarter of a century.

The Fernandez family came to the area in 1899 when Antonio and Mary Fernandez arrived at Mound Key. Fernandez was a Portuguese native who came here originally as a missionary. He took up fishing to support his growing family; six more children were born to the couple on Mound Key.

Joe Soto, a Spanish fisherman, stayed at Mound Key after a trawler brought him there. He married Rosa Fernandez and the couple moved to Estero in 1912.

"The Estero River was much deeper then," Mrs. Soto told The Banner, "and was used as a barge canal to move citrus out and to bring provisions in."

The Sotos had eight children. Members of the Fernandez and Soto families were active in their community and helped found the Estero United Methodist Church.

At the Trail Drive-In, David Jansen was starring in "Once is Not Enough" and Donald Sutherland had top billing in "Day of the Locust."

Contact Editor Cathy Cottrill at 213-6031 or cccottrill@bonitanews.com.