KEYS HISTORY: AUTHOR NED BUNTLINE PENNED BUFFALO BILL & BLACK CAESAR STORIES

Today, I am going to write about a man who spent time in the Florida Keys in the ’30s. He had a reputation as...
a group of young men standing next to each other

KEYS HISTORY: PIRACY ACCOUNTS ‘ARGH’ ASTONISHING

I did not consider studying a relevant part of the school experience in high school and those early community college semesters. Better stated, I...
a black and white photo of a statue

KEYS HISTORY: FIND KEY WEST PIONEERS, A LARGE LOBSTER & JESUS BENEATH THE SEA

The Florida Keys started as something other than a refuge for art and artists. It seems safe to say that the island chain has...
a tree that has fallen on top of a house

KEYS HISTORY: ISLAMORADA COMMUNITY STANDS TALL DESPITE ALL THE DOWNED TREES AND DEBRIS

We have a small concrete house on Plantation Key. When we bought it in 2012, we first fell in love with the front yard’s...
an old photo of a man and a woman

KEYS HISTORY: THE ALBURYS & AN OLD CONCH HOME

The Reef Environmental and Education Foundation (REEF) invited me to give a talk for their “Fish and Friends” lecture series. A talk about the...
a group of women standing next to each other

KEYS HISTORY: FOR BETTER OF WORSE, CRAWFISH CATCHING FOREVER CHANGED IN 1975

The Dry Tortugas were once fair game when it came time to hunt spiny lobster.  In a newspaper article published in the Naples Daily News...
a black and white drawing of a map

UNLEASHED DOGS, BATHING IN PUBLIC & PROSTITUTION IN KEY WEST CAME WITH MONETARY FINES...

In 1829, Monroe County lines stretched from Key West, the county seat, north to Lake Okeechobee and west to Port Charlotte (Charlotte Harbor between...
a table topped with lots of sea shells

KEYS HISTORY: BLIND FAITH, BIRTHDAYS & HURRICANE HAM

The only way I could have arrived in Florida the way I did and accomplished what I have so far is blind faith. The...
a person measuring a piece of metal in the ocean

KEYS HISTORY: ‘WRESTLING ALLIGATORS’ & PICKLES REEF PIQUES INTEREST

I attended graduate school in my 30s. It was a vastly different experience than what I expected, but managing expectations has been a long-standing...
a black and white photo of two men on a boat

KEYS HISTORY: THE STARCK FAMILY HAD A LONG RUN ON LOWER MATECUMBE KEY

The Sold Sisters, Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty’s Sarah Ewald and Sabrina Wampler, invited me to speak at an open house. The Atlantic-front Lower Matecumbe...