The Delightful “Miss M” One of the most iconic faces in Boca Grande for decades was that of Margaret Elizabeth (Nevitt) Fugate, also known as “Miss M.” Ask any long-time resident who their favorite teacher was back when Boca Grande was the educational center of the barrier islands and you’ll get the same answer nearly every time - Margaret Fugate. Margaret taught upper-level subjects at the Boca Grande School from 1939 to 1963, when the school closed its doors, with the exception of an eight-year leave of absence to be with her children in their early years. When the school closed she moved on to Lemon Bay High School and, all total, she was an area teacher for 33 years. Like almost everyone else who has come to Boca Grande over the years, Margaret’s story about how she got to the island is an interesting one. Born in Washington, D.C on August 1, 1917, her family moved to St. Petersburg when she was 8. She later graduated with a liberal arts degree from Florida State University and thought she wanted to enter the Diplomatic Corps. Before graduation she had befriended a girl from San Juan who, as Margaret put it, “was always getting into trouble.” “She had led a pretty sheltered life and I think she was making up for lost time,” she said in a 1997 Boca Beacon interview. “We were seniors and she was a freshman so we kind of watched out for her.” One day the girl’s mother came to town and took By Marcy Shortuse Photos from the Boca Beacon archives Margaret and another girl, Emily Olson, out to dinner. What she didn’t know at the time was that the woman was sizing Margaret and Emily up for teaching positions in Puerto Rico. “As it turned out, she was the head of all the schools in San Juan,” Margaret said. “Later that year we both got letters from the San Juan schools system, recommending us for teaching jobs.” But as fate would have it Margaret’s grandfather took ill. Both girls had to decline the positions, but soon FSU’s placement service had news of openings for teachers in Boca Grande. The two young teachers decided to give the island a look. By the time they arrived in Boca Grande in 1939, the new school had been built 11 years earlier, at the corner of 1st Street and Park Avenue. She and Emily were immediately hired, along with three other girls. After they accepted the jobs the principal gathered the group together to fill them in on the proper conduct for Boca Grande. Proper island conduct for the time
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