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"I vacillate between rage and despair on a daily basis," she adds. "Those are the two exact emotions that describe it perfectly." DAYS LONG GONE BY Seated at a table Chapman, 62, and her 84-year- old mother, Joan Rickey, reminisce about a time long past. When she was 19, Rickey says, she remembers using a machete to clear out the thick brush as her family prepared to build on the island. "We had to do it by hand," she explains about the work. "I had to wear a bandana over my head so that the fire ants that rained down from the trees would not get on my scalp and sting me." The family members eventually created the Phillippi Fair Trailer Park. "It was a neat time," Rickey says. "We even had a little grocery store in there." "U.S. 41 was two-lane," Chapman adds, "and the joke in the family was when we heard a car going by on 41, we'd look up to see who it was." She points out, "There was nothing south of Southgate at that time." Several years later, the family subdivided the property and created a neighborhood; "sold off various lots," Chapman says. At that time, the property had access to U.S. 41, but because of the burgeoning Southgate development and drainage problems, a canal was dug. "So we're now a little isolated island back here," Chapman explains. Bob's Boathouse is directly across the creek from the Chapman property. Photo by Rachel Hackney Sarasota News Leader August 8 & 15, 2014 Page 45