The Southwest Florida Archaeological Society (SWFAS) nominated Betty Anholt as our 2024 nominee for a Florida Anthropological Society (FAS) Certificate of Achievement Award. Betty has been a life member of SWFAS and a long-time member of FAS. She has served as our SWFAS Secretary for several years, attended a number of the FAS Annual Meetings, and has a record of significant personal and professional accomplishments.
Betty moved with her husband Jim from New Jersey in 1968, spending one year in Ft. Myers before moving to Sanibel Island. The first bridge and causeway to the island had only been opened six years earlier in May of 1963 and the streets were still unpaved. Yet, it was on Sanibel that Betty would find her calling – combining her love of island history, archaeology, conservation, and preservation. Betty is the author of six books where she weaves the history of the Calusa into the history of Sanibel and Captiva, educating the reader on the prehistoric roots of the islands. One book, Sanibel Story: Voices and Images from the Calusa to Incorporation traces the beginning of Sanibel and introduces the reader to the early prehistoric occupation by the Calusa. Her other books are: Once Upon an Island Known as Sanibel, Protecting Sanibel and Captiva Islands, and Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation: A Nature Course (both coauthored with Charles Le Buff), Sanibel Fire and Rescue (her husband was a member of the Sanibel Fire Department for many years and she traces its history), and, her first historical novel, Turtle Coast.
Betty has been active in the Captiva Historical Society as a member of the Board of Directors, and the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village on their Council. She has been called the “Unofficial Historian of Sanibel” and in 2020 she was honored with the creation of the Betty Anholt Sanibel Guardian of History Award by the Captiva Historical Society, We at SWFAS recognize and honor her accomplishments, including her integration of archaeology and history at Sanibel and Captiva Islands.