A piece of Matlacha that the Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Control District is committed to preserving

MATLACHA, Fla.  — The Matlacha area is known for many things, its waters, foods, unique stores and its power poles? Yes, you read that right, power poles, painted with pictures of what represents the area, “It’s part of the island, it’s part of the history of the island,” Benjamin Mickuleit, Fire Chief, of the Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Control District said.

But now, those colorful power poles that added to the personality of Matlacha and the neighboring ares, were ripped up by Ian. So, Mickuleit and his internal staff asked what could they do to bring the community together and preserve the history.

So, they took it upon themselves Mickuleit said,”To save them and we will come up in the near future to see how we display the power poles,” as he pointed to the 7 that they’ve already found.

When I asked, a definitive number of how many are on the area isn’t known, but he says the oldest one they have in their possession is time stamped from 2009, “It’s very symbolic, every time you drive on to pine island you see these painted power poles,” reflecting on the time he’s spent on the island.

While they are memorable and easy to spot, they have been hard to find, so if you’ve happened to find any in your area Mickuleit says they’re more than happy to take it, “So we can make it part of our project, that would be awesome, just come to station one, reach out and we’ll be happy to take them.”