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The Second Twilight Talks Series, Stories from the Sanibel Cemetery, has been rescheduled from October 28 and will be held on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, Featuring Local Historians Sharing Fascinating Tales of Early Island Settlers
Stories from the Sanibel Cemetery has been rescheduled from October 28 and will be presented on Tuesday, November 18 in the Village’s Shore Haven at 4:00 p.m. Join us to honor and remember those buried in the sands of Sanibel. A trio of local experts will share these notable tales: Betty Anholt, Ginny Darby and Deb Gleason. Tickets are $20 and are availabe to purhcase HERE or at the Village’s Shore Haven Welcome Desk.
Tucked away around Sanibel are numerous burial sites for Island settlers, many of them unmarked. Today, walkers and bicyclists nod in tribute—or stop to pay their respects—when passing the historic cemetery nestled near the bike path. You will hear sad, bizarre and fascinating stories about the lives and deaths of early Sanibel residents.
Betty Anholt has been a Sanibel resident for more than fifty years. She is the Island’s most celebrated local historian and is an award-winning author of seven books. Starting with the “skulls in the garden,” she knows where the bodies are buried on Sanibel.
Ginny Darby, Chair of the Education Committee for the SHMV Board of Directors, she is a self-professed “history nerd.” She has spent many hours wandering through cemeteries on Sanibel, in the US and abroad contemplating the lives and stories of the people who are interred.
Deb Gleason explored every bit of Sanibel as she grew up on the Island. For over thirty years, she has been active with the Village and is also currently Chair of the City’s Historical Preservation Committee. Deb observes that Islanders “ live in a natural world of protected animals, birds, and plants that bring a quality to our lives like few other places offer.” She, too, knows where the bodies are buried.