A gathering of Trouble’s family, friends, and fans met to dedicate a bench to both honor him and commemorate his contributions to Cedar Key.  The group met at 5 pm on Monday, March 9, 2020, at G and Second Street on the Gulf at Goose Cove.

At that location, now the concrete and wooden bench sits in the precise spot where Gene would sit pondering much about Cedar Key, its people, his experiences here. The bench’s plaque provocatively reads “Trouble in Cedar Key,” echoing the title of Gene’s column published initially in the Cedar Key Beacon and later the Cedar Key News. Gene’s partner of 23 years, Anne Miller, said that she can now see the perfectly positioned bench from her back porch.

Anne Miller thanked those at the gathering and thanked Sue Colson for making the bench happen. As if to punctuate the event, at that moment hundreds and hundreds of beautiful black skimmers glided from the east across Goose Cove. Everyone stopped to appreciate the flock. Were Gene here he would have written about it. Then the stories came forth.  

Now residing in Gainesville, Russ and Deborah Weaver recounted that for all the years they lived in Ohio, their connection to Cedar Key was the “Trouble” column. Russ said, “When we got to Cedar Key and met him, I thought I was meeting a celebrity.”

Sue Colson remembered the countless times she would take her chair to the very spot where the bench now sits and quietly ponder her day. Frequently, often, many times, Trouble would hen arrive. Both didn’t speak a word; they simply sat in perfect harmony with the Gulf, Cedar Key, their thoughts, and one another.

Sue went on to thinking that the spot might be Gene’s “portal,” that place he kept coming back to…and still might. It, indeed, was a place that he continued to return to time after time. After a series of excruciating illnesses, Gene would rebound, return to his spot or portal, and continue his rich life in Cedar Key.

Bob Piscura remembered Gene on his golf cart rambling down the street feigning shutters on his eyes, then dispensing with the shutters, and pointing and grinning at Bob. Wonderfully “devilish,” he was, said Piscura.

Cedar Key News folk remembered how very generous Trouble was to the newspaper. In addition to that generosity, Benedict provided and continues to provide countless “Trouble in Cedar Key” articles for publication.

Not only was Eugene Verne Benedict, Jr., 1941 – 2019. a very rich Cedar Key character, he memorialized much of what is Cedar Key as we know it. His columns recount characters such as Mac McCain, Doug Calvert, and its watermen, Cedar Key hurricanes and less inclement weather, Cedar Key flora and fauna, Cedar Key skies and waters, and everything else personifying Cedar Key. The very essence, the feel of Cedar Key and he captured. Since coming to Cedar Key in 1996, Trouble enriched all of us who call this island home.

It is Cedar Key News ‘privilege to continue to publish “Trouble in Cedar Key” for years to come.

Cedar Key News staff urges you to read Trouble’s column in today’s Cedar Key News.   Please, click here: https://cedarkeynews.com/index.php/community/5423-trouble-in-cedar-key-2020-march-10

Pictured, not in order, are: Anne Miller, Sally Beveridge, Russ and Sue Colson, Frank and Mandy Offerle, Molly Jubitz, Bob and Mrs. Piscura, Joan Selby, Bob and Jeri Treat, and Russ and Deborah Weaver.

If you wish to read Trouble’s obituary, click here: https://cedarkeynews.com/index.php/community/4939-obituary

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