E. Bruce Strayhorn possesses a unique knowledge of Southwest Florida’s history, decades of involvement in planning and growth, and a noted insight into current issues. This includes a strong network filled with individuals and organizations who have also made a lasting impact on the local community.
Mr. Strayhorn recently reflected on his family’s generations-long history with former U.S. Senator Bob Graham, a friend to Southwest Florida who passed away April 16 at the age 87.
Senator Bob Graham’s father, Ernest “Cap” Graham, served in the Florida Legislature at the same time as my grandfather, Guy M. Strayhorn. They became acquaintances as fellow cattlemen, with Cap from Dade County and my grandfather from Lee County.
In fact, I understand that those legislative acquaintances led my grandfather to support Cap’s Democratic gubernatorial run in 1944. When Cap was defeated, the headline in the Tallahassee Democrat after the loss was “It will be a cold day in h… before anyone from Miami is elected Governor of the fine State of Florida.”
I believe my father, Norwood Redwine Strayhorn, was present at Bob’s gubernatorial inauguration in 1979, which was held on a cold January day in Tallahassee. My father related that it snowed that day in Tallahassee, thus, to some extent, verifying the 35-year-old headline of the Tallahassee Democrat.
During Bob Graham’s gubernatorial campaign in the late 1970s, he became known for “workdays,” where he worked a full eight hours doing various jobs alongside his constituents. Throughout 1977 and into 1978, Bob conducted 100 of these workdays, including serving as bellhop, barber, construction worker and more. He performed more than 400 workdays during his political career.
He visited Southwest Florida for several of those workdays, including picking up trash at the Fort Myers Housing Authority development known as Michigan Court. Graham joined with the resident garbage pickup crew and spent a full day picking up trash.
When Bob served as U.S. senator from 1987 to 2005, he continued to visit Southwest Florida on a regular basis. My daughter, Megan, and I were photographed with him in 1988. Bob and I were both wearing University of Florida ties.
On Feb. 2, 1996, Senator Graham was in Fort Myers for a roundtable discussion with several residents, including Red Sox General Manager/Part Owner Haywood C. Sullivan; Fort Myers City Councilman Bernard Alimenti; appliance store owner Bill Smith; contractors Harvey Youngquist and Bob Himschoot; and Edgar Wilson.
Later, when Bob announced his candidacy for president of the United State for the 2004 election, he attended a fundraiser in Fort Myers hosted by, among others, Mike Mitchell, then CEO and president of Suncoast Beverage, and Scott Edmonds, then CEO of Chico’s at the Heitman House. After breakfast, he sent me a letter thanking me for my support.
“With your generous and effective help, our Presidential campaign is gaining momentum – fourth in a field of 9 after 90 days of campaigning ain’t bad, and it’s only going to get better,” he wrote. However, in October 2003, he withdrew from the race several months after heart surgery and retired from the senate the following year.
Bob was a dedicated public servant who served Southwest Florida and the state for nearly four decades as a state legislator, governor and three-term U.S. senator. It’s said he had a role in nearly every major public policy issue in Florida at the time.
As an environmental champion, he focused on preserving endangered lands, launching extensive environmental protection programs that ensured environmentally important lands were permanently protected. He will forever be remembered for authoring the Save the Everglades program, which became a federal commitment to restore the fragile and important River of Grass.
One thing that I will never forget is that Bob was always a friend to Southwest Florida.