Myrtle Scharrer Betz is a born storyteller with a marvelous tale to tell. Her account of growing up on Caladesi Island is one of the richest portraits available of life in Florida when it truly was the natural, tropical paradise that tourists and residents alike can only dream of discovering today.Told with compelling honesty and humanity, this tale by the only child ever born on Caladesi Island captures the natural wonders, discomforts, challenges, and joys of pioneer life on a Florida West Coast barrier island, spanning the time from when her father, Henry Scharrer, first arrived in America from Switzerland in 1883 until his death in 1934.This new and enlarged edition includes more than 130 historic illustrations providing a visual legacy to complement Myrtle s narrative, and granddaughter Terry Fortner has added a timeline to clarify the history, extending to the years before and after the narrative itself.With wisdom, insight, and poetry, Myrtle Sharrer Betz has written a book that is sure to become a Florida treasure. In consideration of the future as well as preservation of the past, sales from the book support the Henry Scharrer Memorial Fund to underwrite projects at Caladesi and Honeymoon Island State Parks.

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