A different take on Naples history was recently published in the form of a memoir titled “The East Side of the River” by Jessie Allen Chesser.  Chesser was born in East Naples in 1935.  She’s descended from pioneers who farmed and fished in Belle Meade, now part of greater Naples.  Her book is dotted with family photos from the turn of the last century, up to the mid 1950’s when Jesse was a popular athlete at Naples High School.  She says despite social divisions, Naples was a fun place to grow up – the kind of place where the girl scout troop camped out on the beach.