A Key West Treasure and a true Key West Character left us on Feb. 15, 2022.
Born in Beaumont, Texas on Sept. 14, 1935, Alicia Metzler joined the Navy in the 1950s. After four years on a Navy base in San Diego, she moved to New Orleans and while on a visit to her sister in Ohio she met and married “Saint Fred,” the father of her three children, settling in Akron. Besides being a mom, she had her own salon, and was a bellydancer and ballroom dancer. As a hairdresser, she traveled by train with Ringling Brothers, creating fashionable hairdos for circus performers and clowns.
When the kids had grown and her marriage was over, she moved back to New Orleans, where the real adventures began. Always the entrepreneur, she opened a full-service drag salon in the French Quarter, where the motto was “For The Man You Are, and The Woman You Want To Be.”
It was in NOLA that she met her Tarzan and playmate, Ron, who happened to be 25 years her junior.
They moved to Key West in the early ’80s, complete with her 16-foot python, Banu, soon to be performing at Mallory Square. In addition, she also had a stint as a “handywoman” for a property management firm. She became proficient with the tools of the trade, her favorites being a glue gun, duct tape and WD40. In her spare time she restored Sponge Man, a Key West icon.
In 1998, she began working at The Ambrosia guest houses on Fleming Street, later becoming the Executive Vice President in charge of Stuff, a title she gave herself, at The Gardens Hotel.
And stuff she did. Including taking care of the menagerie of animals on the property, gardening, maintenance, decorating for all holidays, craft projects (which usually involved the use of copious amounts of glitter), socializing with guests, being a cheerleader, mentor, confidante and costumer extraordinaire. She was the heart and soul of The Gardens.
The adventures never stopped. The wonderful journey that was her life included riding a
circus elephant, alligator hunting in Louisiana, white water rafting in the Leeward Islands, donkey riding up a cliff in Greece, bareback ostrich riding in Curacao, jazz in New Orleans, olive oil sampling in Italy, wine tasting in France, shell collecting in Costa Rica, cigars in Cuba and tango school in Buenos Aires, where all the ‘handsome young men in tight black pants” wanted to be her partner. Then of course there was Las Vegas, where she seemingly always won at the slots.
Alicia had her own unique style and would often be dressed in stained overalls during a day at work and transform into a beautiful image of style and grace for a party. Alicia was the ultimate costumer, an important skill in Key West. Instead of a costume closet, she had a costume room. She was a collector of everything and always said she would find a use for that broken bottle, fallen palm frond, dead beetle, snakeskin, etc. Someday she would create something unique and wonderful from them.
Alicia was a lover of all animals, but was particularly enamored with the various dogs who passed through her life. As puppies they got to ride around in the top of her overalls while she puttered around the gardens.
A positive and sparkling force of nature, people were instantly drawn to her. Her friends are legion. She touched many lives and left a heartfelt footprint on her island in the sun. We should all aspire to live a life as full and enjoyable as hers.
For a glimpse of who this amazing woman was go to: vimeo.com/139421786
Alicia’s Words of Wisdom:
Stop worrying and start wondering.
Give and hope you get the best back.
I’m calling in old today.
The only way to eat a mango is naked over the sink.
If I knew I was going to get this old I would have taken better care of my teeth.
Enough of this frivolity, I have a business to run.
We’re here for a good time, not a long time.
She was here for a long time, but sadly, not long enough.
Fly, fly, fly so high you touch the sky
Thank you, thank you, thank god for you, the wind beneath my wings.
