Clinton Curry may be the only person on the planet who has both driven Harry Truman’s limousine and played composer Aram Khachaturian’s challenging “Sabre Dance” on the conch shell.
His virtuosity on the fluted mollusk shell is an indicator of Curry’s own history. Descended from settlers who came from the Bahamas’ Green Turtle Cay more than 180 years ago, he represents the seventh generation of his family to live in Key West and the fifth generation born on the island.
As such, he has a deep belief in preserving the regional culture — including seafarers’ centuries-old practice of using the pink-lined conch shell as a shipboard device for signaling and communications.
“Playing the conch shell is a tradition in my family that goes back generations,” said Curry. “My father taught me and my brothers how to play, and his father taught him as well.”
Curry, who has won Key West’s annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest repeatedly as a child and an adult, delights in teaching the unusual musical form to others including his daughter. He has even mastered the unparalleled feat of blowing two shells at once — and has demonstrated his “shell musicianship” on national television shows including ABC’s “Good Morning America” and NBC’s “Today.”
A good-natured man with a warm and frequent smile, Curry is modest about his talent but passionate about using it to introduce people to the history and traditions of the island.
“The thing I like best about blowing the conch shell is that it helps preserve the culture of Key Westers and folks from this area,” he explained. “I’m all about preserving the heritage of my hometown, and this is just one small piece that I get to contribute to that.”
One of Curry’s long-held goals is to be a positive representative of his family, in the professional as well as the personal sense. Because his family history is so intertwined with Key West’s, serving that goal has been possible throughout most of his career.
Today he’s the Key West director of operations for Historic Tours of America, whose attractions spotlighting the island’s colorful past include the Shipwreck Treasure Museum and the Harry S. Truman Little White House — Florida’s only presidential museum. The Little White House was Truman’s refuge for 11 working vacations during his 1945-53 presidency and has been meticulously restored to its Truman-era appearance.
Curry began working for Historic Tours in 1987, holding positions that included tour guide at the Key West Aquarium and storyteller/general manager at the Shipwreck Treasure Museum. Now, as well as overseeing the company’s operations on the island, he’s the executive director of the nonprofit Key West Harry S. Truman Foundation that helps preserve the Little White House and supports historic and cultural programming.
That’s where Truman’s limousine comes into the picture. Several years ago, the foundation acquired the vintage Lincoln Cosmopolitan stretch limo — one of nine that were staged around the U.S. for Truman’s use when he traveled. During the foundation’s exclusive White Glove Tour for small groups, participants are treated to a ride in the gleaming black vehicle.
Curry himself has been known to act as chauffeur, and enjoys passengers’ responses to riding in the elegant car that carried a president.
“I have been told by guests that riding in the limo was just one of the most magical moments of their trip to the island,” he said, gratification evident in his voice.
Like blowing the conch shell, overseeing the foundation and Historic Tours’ operations allows Curry to indulge one of his greatest passions: opening people’s eyes to the depth and significance of the backstory that helped shape today’s Key West.
“I like to communicate to people that Key West is so much more than the party town many perceive it to be,” he said. “Having studied the history of the Keys, I know that we have had international cultural influences, all of which have a chapter in our rich history.”
When not immersed in history, Curry enjoys traveling with his wife Julie and their daughter Parker. Other favorite pastimes include cycling the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, kayaking in the backcountry, and simply enjoying waterfront sunrises and sunsets.
He’s also a longtime board member of the Key West Attractions Association and an enthusiastic volunteer for local nonprofits. No matter what specific activities he undertakes, he finds the greatest satisfaction in his family and community.
“I’m blessed to live in a city where multigenerational family members live in proximity,” said Curry, who has spent all but two years of his life in Key West. “The aspect of Keys life that matters most to me is connection within the community.”
