Florida Yesterday and Today

[harbison]

Florida Yesterday and Today

I am a Florida native who has lived in Tampa my entire life. I was born the day the United States declared war on Japan:To say I have lived through, enjoyed, many change in our state would be a gross understatement. Remember milk delivered to your front door? I do!Remember kerosene for heat? I do!Remember an ice box that used ice to cool? I do!Remember when gas was 25 cents a gallon? I do!Remember one channel black & white TV? I do!Remember hunting squirrels, quail, rabbit, dove within walking distance of my house? I do!Remember soft shell crab box lunches at Mirabella's for four dollars? I do!And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Moving on how many remember Burger Chef?The prices were a 'little' different from today:Will never forget that help yourself works-bar:Build your own burger your-way:Boy did we ever pile it on:When Burger Chef closed the doors for the last time I think part of me went with them.The works bar was that good!Fishing way back when was a lot different from today. There were virtually NO restrictions and recreational anglers could legally sell their catch. The grouper fishing was fantastic, and the King fishing was even better. Catching 100 King a day a few miles off Clearwater Beach was common. I know; I did it. I took this picture of our typical catch:The going price for grouper was 25 cents a pound; Kings fish went for 10 cents, when we could get it. During the Spring run the market was often so flooded that we could not sell them at any price. Days long gone, but never forgotten. Florida fishing today is still very good. Let's take a look.First inshore followed by offshore:To say I have lived through, enjoyed, many change in our state would be a gross understatement. creditTampa Bay TimesCaptain Dylan Hubbardencyclopedia Wikipedia