Always and ever, the ladies " God bless 'em" fell for Speed's banter. He was truly irresistible, strumming his Spanish guitar, but not one could catch him. He carries on the same sort of talk with the nurses at the Naples Community Hospital now, I understand where he has been a patient for several years. Though he has lost the use of his legs, his tongue is glib as ever.
  Gone now is the old Naples Hotel, gone is Speed's house on the beach, a victim of hurricane Donna. Gone are the members of Speed's family who used to visit him. He is th elast of the Menefees. In Louisville, however, there is one person who knew both the Naples of those early days and the family Menefee. For after April second, 1964, is also a very special day. She too was born on April second 1879.
  This 85 year old birthday girl is a fine colored woman named Florence Phillips. She came to Naples even before Mr. Menefee and continued to come every winter for 50 years. Florence does not brave the trip south anymore. She has a cozy home of her own in Louisville. She and various relatives of her's were mainstays in making the old Naples Hotel the place of charm and comfort and good cuisine that is was in the Shaleyon times.
  Only Florence can rival Mr.Menefee in his tall tales of those early days. She could look out the back of the hotel and see a panther or a wildcat robbing the garbage. Once she thought there was an old man there. His back was to her and he was rocking to and fro holding his feet in obvious pain. She went to him exclaiming, old man can I help you ? Then she realized it was no lod man at all, but a bear, He was rocking with the pain of a sandspur in his paw.
  Here is how one of a younger generation describes knowing Speed in his cottage days;
  " Part of the fun of coming to Naples was the anticipation of breakfast with Speed before the family was up. My cousins and I would bound out of bed and rush to greet another day on the beach. The sunset clams would be flirting  with the wind and tide by the million. The great-grandfathers were even more nonchalant about getting their feet wet than their offspring.  But that is all just background, warm sun, abundant beach life, blue sky, but most of all, breakfast with Speed. How he stood us, day after day, Heaven only knows. But he did and with all the graciousness he proffered to all his "best girls".
  There was a glamor to him intrinsically, apart from the shrunken heads and exotic oddities inhis cottage. The wind of faraway places blew in the corners of his always immaculate home. There might be a seine drying on the porch or crab traps, Oh, there might be anything! Whatever there was, it was wonderful.