JUNE 16, 1921:

By Morgan Simpson Staff Writer

SARASOTA — Sarasota County kicked off its Centennial Celebrations at the historic courthouse in Sarasota on Tuesday.

This event started the 100 days of celebrating and the countdown to the county’s 100th anniversary on July 1.

Speakers at the event spoke of the county’s history, the historical courthouse and the upcoming events to look forward to as the celebration continues.

Alan Maio, the Sarasota County Commission chairman, opened the event with remarks about Sarasota County’s rich past.

He stated the county owes so much to important figures like John and Mable Ringling, Marie Selby, Bertha Palmer, and countless others.

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Select the tour you want to do.  If there is an Orange Download bar, click it.

When it turns Green, click Start Tour:

The screen will show the 1st stop. If you are at the starting location, audio should begin. If it doesn’t, tap the triangle play icon.

If  the tour isn’t starting, click the beacon icon at the top right and ensure Show location alerts and Autoplay audio options are selected.

Navigation
Clicking the 3 lines at the top left will bring up a menu of all the STOPS and Direction Points. The actual STOPS are in all CAPS.  Click a STOP to see photos and videos, read the text of the narration and replay the audio.

An interactive map of the tour can be found by selecting the folded map symbol at the top right of the screen. Select Online Maps

If there is mobile phone coverage in the area your current location should be highlighted by a dot. Clicking on a numbered stop pin will take you to that page in the app.

ON ALL PHONES and IPADS:

1. Set up your phone to play via your car speaker. If you are not sure how to do this here is a How To video.

2. Tap the Settings gear at the lower right

3. You should now see this screen:

4. IMPORTANT:

a) Make sure “Location events” slider is on (to the right)

b) Tap the green button to “Check for updated content” (this will require an Internet connection)

5. After updates (if any) are loaded you will be returned to the main screen where you can select the tour you want to do.

6. If you see an orange button tap it to “Download Tour.” When it is downloaded you will see a Green button to “Start Tour.”

**Make sure you are at the Starting Location before tapping “Start Tour.” Your Starting Location will be listed on the opening screen “About this Tour.”

Once a tour is downloaded onto your phone you will no longer need an Internet connection (unless you want to use online maps).

Tap the “Listen to the Audio” button to start your tour narration.

Audio narration will play automatically at each stop as well as giving you travel directions from stop to stop.

LIST OF STOPS:
If you want to see a list of all the stops and driving directions tap the 3 lines at the upper right:

MAP:
If you want to view a map of all stops (including the points along the way where driving directions will play) tap the Map icon at the bottom of the screen:

The arrows on the Map screen toggle from one point to the next. If you tap a number in a circle you will be able to view that point at the bottom of the map screen. (Points are stops and the driving directions between them.)

Tapping the square icon will show you all the tour points on the map; the paper airplane icon will show you where you are located. It’s hard to see but tapping the brown gear at the lower right will enable you to turn on Online Maps which will show more detail.  Hit the X to close the Map screen.

NAVIGATION:
Navigating between pages can be done by tapping Previous or Next at the bottom of the page or by swiping the page left or right.

PHOTOS:
Swiping across images may reveal additional images. Tapping on an image will enlarge the view and show the image caption.

AUDIO:
To listen to audio (if it doesn’t trigger automatically via GPS) tap the triangular play button below the images on the app page. You will then at the bottom of your screen have the option of rewinding 15 seconds or fast-forwarding 30 seconds.

VIDEO:
To watch videos tap the triangular play button within the image.

Monty’s Stories: Growing Up in a Small Florida Town.  Monty Birdsey of Englewood wrote numerous short stories of life in this small Sarasota County community in the 1960s. Sadly, he passed before he could put his stories in a book. Don Bayley from the Englewood Museum compiled and edited all the stories and published the book.

Listen: Editor Don Bayley is interviewed on WENG Radio:

For more information about the book, CLICK HERE