Moments in time

1973 — MAY 17. David Graue once drew Alley Oop cartoons on the front porch of his Siesta Key home, which overlooked the white sands and blue water of the Gulf of Mexico. V.T. Hamlin created Alley Oop, a syndicated comic strip, in 1932. The comic consisted of the life of a caveman. Hamlin used the cartoon as satirical commentary on suburban American life. Hamlin saw Graue’s talent and pulled him into the world of Alley Oop, and, then, after Hamlin died in 1973, Graue continued to draw the popular comic strip through the ’70s and ’80s. Graue retired in 2001. He died later that year, when a dump truck hit his car in Flat Rock, N.C.
At its peak, 800 newspapers carried Alley Oop, and, it was one of 20 strips showcased in the Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative U.S. postage stamps.

1995 — MAY 18. The Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority packed the auditorium May 16, 1995, to discuss the controversial proposals to raise parking fees and to expand the runway at the airport. Among other rate changes, commissioners voted that the 24-hour rate be increased from $7.50 to $8; they increased maximum daily rate for one to seven days from $4 to $5. Also, the decision to submit a $161,000 environmental impact study for runway expansion to the Federal Aviation Authority was approved in a 6–2 vote, after 90 minutes of discussion. Airline executive Edward Stanley said expanding the runway would lead to additional national and international flights. The proposed expansion generated opposition from neighbors and caused the authority to delay its approval for a month.

1972 — MAY 15. The Pelican Press placed an ad in the paper, which was then called the Key News, encouraging Siesta Key community members to help rename the paper. Community members had until June 15, 1972, to come up with a more catchy newspaper name and for a chance to win a gift certificate of $25 to any of the newspapers advertisers.