It’s vacation time, and this year you’ve decided to take a drive from the mainland to the Florida Keys. You’ve heard about the attractions, the magnificent coral reef, and the laid-back lifestyle. And after a long winter of working hard, it’s what you’ve dreamed about.

Marine life artist Wyland takes a break after putting finishing touches on his 7,500-square-foot marine life mural in Key Largo. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Once you leave the mainland, almost before you know it you’re in Key Largo, world-famous as a dive paradise. One of the first things you’ll spot is a colorful marine life mural wrapping around all four sides of a building at mile marker 99.2.

This massive “Whaling Wall” mural is one of 100 that artist Wyland, an Upper Keys resident, has painted in the United States and around the world. (He has also painted walls in Marathon and Key West). An avid conservationist, Wyland often invites kids to participate in his mural paintings, giving them lessons in art while educating them about our oceans and their inhabitants.

As part of Wyland’s Keys public relations team, I was on site during his week of painting. I saw crowds gather every day to watch as Wyland transformed a nondescript building at the entrance to the Florida Keys into a glimpse of the wonders of the underwater world.

The African Queen is the original vessel from director John Huston's classic 1951 film by the same name. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Sea turtles, dolphins, manatees and fish were brought to life by the talented artist. Seeing the look of wonder on onlookers’ faces as Wyland grinned down at them from his scaffolding is an experience I’ll never forget.

Once you’ve seen the mural, you’re likely to be hooked. The waters off the Florida Keys beckon and you want to immerse yourself in the underwater experience.

But before you leave Key Largo, take a trip above the water’s surface on the restored African Queen for a journey into history.

Some of us older seniors will remember the film, “The African Queen,” with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, but the vessel that appeared in the film has a much larger history than her role on the silver screen.

Stephen Bogart, son of actor Humphrey Bogart, steers the original African Queen in Key Largo waters. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

She was built in the United Kingdom in 1912. The British East Africa Rail Company used her as a cargo and passenger ship in Africa until 1968, and later she was a passenger boat in the U.S. for a time. In 1983 she began taking visitors for rides in Key Largo, but eventually fell into disrepair.

Recently, however, the African Queen was completely restored to her appearance in the iconic film and is now a national historic site. In April 2012, this famous vessel was re-launched for cruises, leaving from the Holiday Inn Key Largo. You will savor the experience of traveling on her — available nowhere else in the world.

A little farther down the Keys’ famed Overseas Highway, you’ll get your chance to slip into the water when you stop at Islamorada’s Theater of the Sea, the second oldest marine mammal facility in the world. Open since 1946, this unique facility is home to many species of marine life and has attracted visitors from around the globe.

Marine life and lively parrots intrigue young visitors to Islamorada's Theater of the Sea.

Here dolphins, stingrays, and sea lions occupy several lagoons, all frolicking in the salt water pumped in from the Atlantic. Here too, visitors can swim with any one of the three species, a fascinating water adventure for kids and adults alike.

As a SENIOR senior citizen, I admit I haven’t done this (yet), but family members have swum with rays and dolphins and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even kids as young as three years old can wade with the dolphins when accompanied by an adult, so share the experience with your kids or grandkids.

Theater of the Sea also offers attractions including parrot shows, marine shows, guided marine life tours and a four-hour Adventure and Snorkel Cruise in the waters of Florida Bay and the Atlantic.

In case you haven’t realized it by now, the laid-back yet lively Florida Keys offer enough to see and do to fill your days with fun and wonder. I’ve been here for more than 20 years, and I STILL haven’t experienced everything!

Topics: Environment, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Local Color, On the Water, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Florida Keys residents and visitors will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Conch Republic this month. But if it weren’t for one stalwart senior citizen, the Conch Republic might not exist. The ingenuity (and excellent memory) of Stuart Newman helped spawn the birth of the republic — a creative way to combat what residents believed to be an illegal action by the U.S. Border Patrol.

For 30 years, the flag of the Conch Republic has flown proudly in the Florida Keys.

It all started in 1982. Hoping to confiscate drugs and apprehend illegal immigrants, the Border Patrol set up a roadblock at the junction of the Keys and the Florida mainland, where agents inspected the trunks and glove compartments of every car leaving the island chain. (Just how many illegal immigrants could be stuffed into a glove compartment has not yet been determined!)

The resulting traffic jam at the upper end of the Florida Keys was humongous — stretching through Key Largo some 14 miles from the checkpoint itself. Naturally, that had a negative effect on tourism, seriously affecting local businesses. And unfortunately, five days of arguing the legality and practicality of such a checkpoint with the federales brought the Keys powers-that-be no closer to a solution.

What do to? Business and civic leaders pondered the problem until Stuart Newman, then 60 years old and head of the public relations agency that represented the Keys, had an inspiration. He recalled that during the Civil War, after Florida seceded from the Union to become a Confederate state, Key West seceded from Florida to become a Union stronghold.

Stuart Newman, one of the Conch Republic's founders, later discovered a Conch Republic-like nation in faraway New Zealand.

With that in mind, he suggested that the Keys secede from the United States. His suggestion led to the formation of the independent Conch Republic.

Civic leaders hurriedly made plans — and on April 23, 1982, a formal secession ceremony was held in Key West, the county seat. In quick succession ambassadors were appointed, a cabinet was named, and passports were issued. Wilhelmina Harvey, a beloved grande dame who was then 70 years old and mayor of the Keys’ Monroe County, was appointed Admiral of the Conch Republic Navy.

Just moments after seceding, the brand-new republic declared war on the United States and a battle ensued, with stale Cuban bread as the weapon of choice. After fighting for approximately 60 seconds, the Conch Republic surrendered and demanded a billion dollars in foreign aid.

The result? The republic received no foreign aid, but not long afterward the Border Patrol itself “surrendered.” The blockade was quietly removed, and business as usual (or UNusual) resumed.

In 1982, hundreds gathered to watch the historic secession ceremony and birth of the independent Conch Republic.

But every year since that historic day in 1982, the Conch Republic has celebrated its victory with a Keyswide festival. This month, the 30th anniversary of the original secession, festivities will take place in Key West and Key Largo — with highlights including a Key West re-enactment of the birth of the republic.

Among the planned activities are the so-called “world’s longest parade,” lively parties, an island heritage festival, a world-record attempt at conch shell blowing, a “drag” race and bed race, a high-heel-a-thon, and general merrymaking throughout the Keys. Key West will stage a great naval battle against the “evil” federal forces, while Key Largo will conclude its celebration with the “destruction” of the Jewfish Creek Bridge leading to the mainland.

And why not? Today, many of us who were young at the time of the secession are seniors ourselves. But whether you’re 18 or 80, chances are you’ve felt the urge to “secede” from your everyday life on occasion.

Since even a temporary abdication is good for body and soul, next time that urge strikes, don’t fight it. Simply pack a bag and head for the place that made a success of secession — the glorious Conch Republic.

Topics: Events, Festivals, Highlights, History, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Quirks, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

You’re never far from water in the Florida Keys. Swimming, fishing, snorkeling, or just relaxing — the water is there to be enjoyed, no matter what your age or inclination.

Fort Jefferson, lying on a tiny island in the Dry Tortugas nearly 70 miles west of Key West, is a favorite spot for visitors. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

One of the most enjoyable water experiences is a voyage aboard the 100-foot catamaran Yankee Freedom II to Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson. Located 68 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, Dry Tortugas is America’s most remote national park — and the six-sided Civil War-era fort just might be the largest brick structure in the Western Hemisphere.

Aboard the Yankee Freedom, you’ll find an air-conditioned main cabin equipped with comfortable benches and tables (if you’re like me, that’s where you’ll want to spend most of your time). The main deck also has three restrooms, including one that’s handicapped-accessible.

If you prefer being outside and don’t mind climbing stairs, you’ll love the second deck. Partly covered and partly open, it’s a great place for basking in the sun and spotting fish, sea turtles and other marine life.

The Yankee Freedom offers comfortable, entertaining daily voyages to the Dry Tortugas. (Photo courtesy of Yankee Freedom and Historic Tours of America)

Once the catamaran leaves its dock at Key West’s Historic Seaport, you can enjoy a bountiful breakfast on board. Shortly you’ll cruise past Boca Grande National Bird Sanctuary, Marquesas Key atoll, and the site of the shipwrecked Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha. An onboard tour guide provides commentary along the way, sharing his knowledge of the area.

The Dry Tortugas are actually seven tiny coral-and-sand islets that were discovered in 1513 by Ponce de Leon. He named them “Las Tortugas” for the numerous turtles he discovered there — and when no fresh water could be found, the word “Dry” was added to their name.

Massive Fort Jefferson stands on Garden Key, the Tortugas’ largest island, taking up almost the entire land mass.

The fort dates back to 1846, and chances are you’ll find its history as intriguing as I did. Key West was a Union stronghold during the Civil War, so Fort Jefferson was used to house the Union Army’s prisoners — including Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg after Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln.

America's largest masonry structure, the fort welcomes people eager to explore the Tortugas' natural and historic wonders. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Several years after his imprisonment, when the fort’s only doctor died in a yellow fever epidemic, Dr. Mudd treated other prisoners and soldiers who contracted the disease. Eventually, in part because of requests from his captors, President Andrew Johnson granted Dr. Mudd a full pardon.

Today, Yankee Freedom passengers can take a guided tour of the fort and view Dr. Mudd’s cell (bleak enough to make me shiver), or stroll the grounds on their own.

If you’re a birder, be sure to bring your binoculars. Hundreds of species can be found on nearby Bird Key, and you can walk outside the fort and search for them.

Snorkelers and swimmers, bring your bathing suits. Snorkel gear is provided, so you can slip into the crystal blue water for a pleasant hour of activity (you’ll find a shower on the Yankee Freedom that’s great for washing off saltwater).

Tortugas visitors can view seemingly endless vistas of sea and sky. (Photo courtesy of Yankee Freedom and Historic Tours of America)

And if you’re feeling lazy, simply relax on Garden Key’s sandy beach or under the trees.

Later, you’ll return to the boat for a buffet lunch of cold cuts, salads, sandwiches, and desserts set up by the crew — followed by more time to explore the fort and Garden Key. On one of my trips I was escorting a CNN reporter, and we climbed all over the fort shooting photos and checking out the panoramas of turquoise water and sky.

Passengers tend to be quiet on the journey back to Key West, lulled by the wash of waves, savoring a snack or drink as they recall the highlights of their day.

Whether you’re interested in history, architecture, birding, or just having a good time, you can’t beat a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park. But don’t take my word for it … come down and experience it for yourself.

Topics: Highlights, History, Key West, On the Water, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Talk about culture shock. I was a senior citizen when I first came to Key West to visit my daughter, who had already bridged the gap from midwestern city to the tropical island at the end of the line.

Blog author Katharine chats with world-renowned marine life artist Wyland, who lives in the Upper Keys.

The warm weather and lack of snow in midwinter were the least of the differences. Actually, I’d had enough of using the snow blower and starting the car just before going to bed in the hope that the darn thing would run in the morning.

The casual attitude (and dress) of those who lived in the Keys was a much greater change. But it was one I happily learned to live with as I returned to become a resident of the island chain.

One of the first things I noticed was the complete lack of age discrimination — or even recognition. Nineteen or 90, everyone was welcome everywhere. To paraphrase Jimmy Buffett, age in the Keys is a state of mind. To a senior from a traditional background, this was a remarkable fact.

Being in the younger stage of “seniorhood,” I was able to participate in almost everything the Keys offered. I drew the line at parasailing, but snorkeling was an enjoyable way to spend an hour or two and view the fish from another angle.

I soon noticed the scores of bicycle-riders on the streets of Key West, so one of my first stops was at a bike store. Emerging some time later, I was off to see the sights from the seat of my “conch cruiser.”

Toured by scores of visitors daily, the Hemingway property became a museum in 1964 and was recently designated a literary landmark. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

On that early adventure, there was so much to see — and so much to do. I was told that one must never leave the Keys without having something to drink at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, where Hemingway whiled away many hours and imbibed many such concoctions. Though I never planned to leave, I felt compelled to follow tradition and stop in. And speaking of Hemingway, I had to see his house, where he worked, and his six-toed cats. Just another bicycle ride down the street.

Exploring the Key West Bight, filled with shrimp boats, was another must. Today it’s filled with sailboats and excursion craft, but is still an enthralling sight.

My legs were feeling the strain of pedaling, so I returned to my car for the drive to midtown. There I was able to find Tennessee Williams’ house — which was smaller than I had anticipated, but its red shutters made it stand out.

During the next few weeks I explored Bahama Village, where some of the original Key West settlers lived. I even ventured into another watering hole, Captain Tony’s Saloon, where Tony Tarracino still held court, for an alcoholic treat.

And since then, I have never ceased marveling at the sunset, the people, and the climate of my favorite place in the world.

Katharine and her husband Joe (far right) quickly met senior (and younger) Ernest Hemingway Look-Alikes in Key West for an annual contest.

Today Key West has changed in many ways. The streets are busier, with more shops and restaurants for visitors and residents to enjoy. There are more resorts and hotels, and more visitors, who please local merchants by leaving behind a fair quantity of dollars.

And I don’t ride a bicycle anymore.

But the wonderful attitude, the laid-back lifestyle that’s truly Caribbean, remains throughout the island chain. It still doesn’t matter if you’re 20 or 90 — you’re still welcome and there’s still plenty to see and do.

The Keys lifestyle is what I will be discussing in this column during the next months. The opportunities that are here for seniors, just for the taking. The sights, the activities, and the wonderful, quirky atmosphere that belongs to the Keys and the Keys alone.

You’ll see entries from me in this space around the middle of each month — and probably more often as time goes on. So keep checking back, and keep reading!

Topics: Key West, Local Color, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

The list reads like a “Who’s Who” of significant Florida Keys artists: Jim Salem, William Welch, Jon McIntosh, Sal Salinero, Carrie Disrud, Sean Callahan, Julie Joyce, Gale Upmal, Fran Decker, Ann Irvine, Keith Bland, Anja Marais, Jimm Sherrington and more than 60 others who are equally significant.

"Turquoise Squall" by photographer Rob O'Neal is among the exceptional pieces to be auctioned at the 2012 Anne McKee Artists Fund fine art auction.

But instead of a “Who’s Who,” the list documents the artists whose work will be auctioned at the 2012 Anne McKee Artists Fund fine art auction, set for Saturday, Jan. 28, at Key West’s historic Fort East Martello Museum. For art lovers, there’s no better place to find top-quality, affordable pieces by the creative spirits who call the Keys home.

The McKee Fund, FYI, is a wonderful example of Keys artists helping their fellow artists. The fund provides project-based grants to qualified Keys residents who show talent in visual art, writing or performing art — plus a commitment to the Keys arts community.

Each year, money is raised for the grants at a winter gala and live auction of fine art. It’s all created by generous local artists who are eager to support other members of their close-knit community.

Auction attendees can bid on striking, beautifully crafted images such as "Lotus" by Keys artist Jill Benado. (Photo by Carol Tedesco)

While many nonprofit organizations ask artists to donate their work, that’s not the way the McKee Fund operates. Instead, each person whose work is auctioned receives 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale, and the fund gets the other 50 percent.

At the Jan. 28 auction, you can expect to find original paintings, sculpture, photography, fiber art, ceramics, woodworking, mixed media, art jewelry and more — some created by critically acclaimed masters and some by talented emerging artists.

As in the past, the bidding will be guided by renowned New England auctioneer Charlie Bailey-Gates. In addition to nearly 20 years of experience, Charlie possesses a deep respect and appreciation for the Keys artists whose pieces he has showcased at previous McKee auctions.

Upon arrival at the auction, you can view the featured artists’ work and enjoy gourmet hors d’oeuvres and cocktails on the grounds of the Civil War-era East Martello (where, by the way, Key West’s “paranormal pop star,” Robert the Doll, lives in a comfortable glass case). Viewing begins at 7 p.m. and bidding at 8 p.m.

Anne McKee conceived the auction and fund many years ago to benefit individual Keys artists. (Photo by Carol Tedesco)

Many whose work will be auctioned Jan. 28 are previous recipients of McKee Fund grants.

People in the fields of visual, literary and performance art are eligible to apply for grants when the annual awards cycle begins each spring.

Since its creation, the fund has given more than $170,000 to deserving members of the Keys arts community. Between 10 and 20 grants are typically awarded each year, including two to talented young people.

Three grants are given in memory of notable Florida Keys residents: Richard Heyman, the late Gingerbread Square Gallery founder and former Key West mayor; Jack Baron, the late Key West artist; and Miriam B. Good, a late Lower Keys artist and McKee Fund board member.

Anne McKee, a Key West resident since 1971, is a longtime friend of the arts. Years ago, she realized that many funding opportunities were available to arts organizations.

"Eyeing Breakfast," by Marathon artist Jerry Bachman, was featured in the 2011 fine art auction.

In contrast, she saw a great need to provide financial assistance and recognition to talented individual artists. Today, the McKee Fund’s volunteer board of directors carries out her mission.

Everyone who supports that mission is invited to attend the Jan. 28 auction, and view and bid on the featured artwork. Not only do buyers take something from the Florida Keys home with them — they leave something behind to help the local arts community continue to flourish.

Topics: Arts, Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, Highlights, Marathon, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Just about 100 years ago, a five-year-old Key West girl was chosen to present a special bouquet of flowers to Henry Flagler’s wife Mary Lily on the day that marked the completion of Flagler’s Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad.

Henry Flagler re-enactor Paul Jellinek reacts to remarks by 105-year-old Lamar Louise Curry after presenting flowers to her. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Those plans fell through — but a century later, at 105 years old, Lamar Louise Curry finally met “Flagler” and he presented a similar bouquet to her.

The Over-Sea Railroad, a miracle of engineering whose track stretched more than 100 miles out into open water, connected the previously isolated Keys with each other and the Florida mainland for the first time. Its completion has been called the most important single event in Florida Keys history.

On Jan. 22, 1912, when the first Over-Sea Railroad train arrived in Key West from the mainland, thousands of Key Westers greeted Flagler, his wife and other dignitaries. Despite carefully laid plans, however, the young Miss Curry was not among them.

The little girl had eaten peanuts the day before and come down with a terrible stomachache. Her stomach illness (later determined to be a sensitivity to peanuts) caused her to miss the train’s arrival, and the honor of presenting the flowers was given to another young lady.

When the organizers of the Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad Centennial Celebration found out about Miss Curry — who now lives in Coral Gables, Fla. — they desperately wanted her to come to Key West on Jan. 22, 2012, to present flowers to a Mary Lily Flagler re-enactor.

Miss Curry displays a photograph of herself as a five-year-old girl -- the age she was when Henry Flagler's Over-Sea Railroad first steamed into Key West. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Unfortunately, her health simply wasn’t good enough to allow her to make the trip. So they did the next best thing.

Just before the centennial anniversary, Henry Flagler re-enactor Paul Jellinek went to see Miss Curry at her Coral Gables home.

“About 100 years ago, I understand that you were going to bring flowers to my lovely wife,” said Paul, who visited Miss Curry on his way to the Florida Keys for the centennial anniversary celebration. “You weren’t feeling well (that day), so this day I thought I would bring you some flowers.”

Miss Curry can’t quite remember how she felt about missing the honor, but she does remember the anticipation of Jan. 22, 1912, and what it was like to ride the “railroad that went to sea.”

“It was a great occasion and I remember planning it for a long time,” Miss Curry recalled. “We heard about it and watched it since 1909 being built.”

Mary Lily Flagler holds the flowers presented to her after the first Over-Sea Railroad train arrived in Key West Jan. 22, 1912. (Photo courtesy of the Monroe County LIbrary Collection)

She also recalled the experience of riding an Over-Sea Railroad train, especially when it traversed the Bahia Honda bridge.

“It was very exciting, because I looked out the window the whole time while we were on the trestle,” she said. “So it was a wonderful occasion to ride over it.”

Though the meeting between “Henry Flagler” and Miss Curry came 100 years later than originally planned, it was a momentous occasion for both of them.

Paul Jellinek, who is obsessed with the visionary Flagler he portrays, was the most enthusiastic of all.

Over and over, he kept repeating, “I can’t believe I’m seeing someone alive today who was alive when Henry Flagler arrived in Key West.”

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, Highlights, History, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Once upon a time (way back in 1982), the Florida Keys & Key West seceded from the union and formed the independent Conch Republic. This wasn’t a joke. In fact, it was a last-ditch attempt to get the U.S. Border Patrol to remove a blockade it had erected at the head of the Keys — where agents searched outgoing cars for unspecified contraband, tied up traffic interminably, and nearly annihilated the Keys’ fledgling tourist trade.

Even NBC "Today" weatherman Al Roker (left) and anchor Matt Lauer are fans of the Conch Republic. Here they display the republic's flag during a special broadcast from Key West. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

So, like any intelligent population blessed with a creative mindset and lively sense of humor, some good citizens and friends of the Keys came up with an offbeat, attention-getting response: they staged the island chain’s secession from the mother country.

It was a stunningly effective solution to the problem. Following the international media hoopla generated by the gutsy action, the blockade was quietly dismantled, never to return.

The concept of the Conch Republic, however, has far outlived the incident that spawned it. While Keys citizens are technically still Americans, today Conch Republic flags and passports are common — and the secession’s anniversary is celebrated each year with a fun-filled festival.

The concept of the Conch Republic appeals to the independent, nonconformist spirit of Keys residents (and those who dream of becoming residents). And recently, one of the republic’s founding fathers discovered that it also appealed to a citizenry on the other side of the world.

Intrepid traveler Stuart Newman discovered a Conch Republic-like country in faraway New Zealand.

While he was in New Zealand representing the Florida Keys & Key West at the annual Society of American Travel Writers convention, honorary Conch Republican Stuart Newman took time off to explore the countryside. Driving along the Lost World Highway, he encountered the “Republic of Whangamomona.”

Here, in Stuart’s own words, is the tale of his remarkable discovery.

Whangamomona, NZ — Halfway around the world from the Florida Keys, residents of tiny town on New Zealand’s North Island, arguably inspired by Key West’s 1982 Conch Republic rebellion, seven years later seceded and formed the “Republic of Whangamomona.”

In 1989, dissatisfied with a series of governmental redistricting changes, the elder gurus of the community of less than 180 gathered at the pub of the local six-room hotel/restaurant — and declared Whangamomona to be an independent republic.

The republic of Whamgamomona is governed from this unassuming hotel. (Photo by Stuart Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Located in New Zealand’s Manawatu-Wanganui region, Whangamomona is accessible via the Lost World Highway (NZ 43) — not exactly the caliber of the Keys’ U.S. 1, since it boasts a 90-mile stretch without a service station.

Whangamomona’s first president, Ian Kjestrup, was elected after his name was placed on the ballot without his knowledge.

Kjestrup served from 1989 through 1999 and was succeeded by Billy Gumboot, a goat (!), who won by eating the ballots of the other candidates. Gumboot served 18 months before being succeeded by a poodle named Tai, who served from 2003 to 2004 and retired following a reported assassination attempt.

The present chief of state, garage owner Murt “Murtle the Turtle” Kennard, won out over founding father Kjestrup and a cross-dresser named Miriam (sound familiar?) by a single vote. He was overwhelmingly re-elected this year.

Like the Conch Republic, Whangamomona has a population of indigenous poultry.

Today, the tiny “country” of Whangamomona is replete with Conch Republic-type passports and official T-shirts. Every other year in January (summer in New Zealand), the town celebrates Republic Day, which attracts thousands of visitors from throughout the North Island.

As Stuart discovered, clearly the citizens of Whangamomona share an irreverent mindset and good-spirited sense of fun with the denizens of the Conch Republic. Those attributes will take center stage in the Keys April 20-29, 2012, during the 30th annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration.

Why not come down for the festivities and declare your own independence?

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, Festivals, Highlights, History, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, Quirks, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Henry Flagler’s Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad ceased operating in 1935, but two Keys women vividly remember childhood experiences riding the “railroad that went to sea.”

Two Keys women recall childhood journeys on Henry Flagler's Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad. Here, a train steams across the Long Key Viaduct. (Photo courtesy of the Monroe County Library Collection)

Completed in 1912, it was called the Over-Sea Railroad because its track stretched more than 100 miles out into open water. For 23 years it carried passengers from mainland Florida to (and through) the Keys, giving them a breathtaking sense of steaming across the ocean.

Minnie Dameron, who spent much of her childhood on Plantation Key in the Upper Keys, remembers trips to visit family in Key West — and taking the train’s final journey just before portions of its track were severely damaged in a 1935 hurricane.

Marie Gasser, who spent childhood summers in Ohio and winters in Miami, recalled her family’s one-way train trip from Miami to Key West before her death in January 2012.

Dameron remembered her father flagging down the train at the Plantation Key freight station with a white handkerchief, and a lantern signaling the family had boarded.

Minnie Dameron took several Keys train trips with her parents and sister. (Photo by Steve Panariello, Florida Keys News Bureau)

“We’d get so excited when we knew we were coming to get the train and go all the way to Key West — we put on our best clothes,” said Dameron, 87, who now lives in Key West.

“My sister and I used to love to ride the train and look out the window,” she recalled. “But when we’d come to the Seven Mile Bridge, it looked like you were riding on the water, so we’d get scared and hold one another’s hand.”

For Dameron, arriving at Key West was the trip’s highlight. On special occasions, she remembered, Cuban bands and dancers greeted arriving passengers.

Gasser recalled her family boarding the train in Miami when she was about 5 and walking back to the last seat — a seat that resembled a church pew. Her mother sat by the window and her father on the aisle, while she rode between them.

Marie Gasser, who was 5 years old when she rode the train with her parents, remembered her mother being quite unhappy about riding over water. (Photo by Steve Panariello, Florida Keys News Bureau)

“Everybody was excited — take a train down to Key West,” said Gasser, who was an Islamorada resident when she died at age 95.

During the journey, they walked to the dining car.

“It seemed like a long ways to get to something to eat,” said Gasser, who remembered a waiter in a white shirt and black pants helping her. “He brought a highchair for me, lifted me up and put me in the highchair.”

The journey was pleasant, she said, until her mother looked out the open window as the train crossed a bridge so narrow it seemed she was sitting over water. After arriving in Key West, her mother refused to take the train back to Miami and insisted they return by boat.

“She said boats were made to go on water and trains were not!” Gasser chuckled.

Dameron and her family’s last ride was the train’s final journey to Key West — just before the Labor Day 1935 hurricane slammed into the Upper Keys, damaging that area’s railroad line. The trip wasn’t inspired by foreknowledge of the storm, but instead to get treatment for her sick sister.

A group awaits the Over-Sea Railroad train at the Islamorada station. (Photo courtesy of the Monroe County Library Collection)

“She had a temperature and my mother tried everything to get it down and couldn’t, so we got the train to Key West,” Dameron said. “We would have been in it (the hurricane), but I was on the last train in here (Key West) because of my sister being ill.”

Three years after the hurricane, the Overseas Highway debuted, built on a foundation that incorporated most of the original railway spans. Today, it contains 127 miles of roadway and 42 bridges over water connecting the Keys. The original train bridges were retired in 1982, but many became fishing piers.

A celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the railway’s completion is to culminate Jan. 14-23, with Keyswide events marking the centennial of the first train’s journey.

“It changed the Keys forever, and what a blessing it was,” said Dameron. “I just wish it was still there — that’s how much we loved it.”

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, History, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

In 1993 Jimmy Johnson had just won his second consecutive Super Bowl, and was celebrating with his Dallas Cowboys team in the locker room, when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones jammed a phone in his ear.

Former NFL football coach Jimmy Johnson stands at the wheel of his "Three Rings" fishing boat off the Upper Keys at sunset. (All photos by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

The caller was Bill Clinton, then president of the United States.

“He said, ‘Coach Johnson, I want you to come to the White House, and congratulations on winning the Super Bowl’,” recalled Jimmy, who also coached the Miami Dolphins and led the University of Miami to a national championship. “I said ‘I’m sorry, Mr. President, I’m going to the Florida Keys. I’m going fishing’.”

Jerry Jones, standing next to him, was shocked to hear him refuse an invitation from the president.

“Jerry Jones grabbed the phone and he says, ‘Yes, Mr. President, we will be at the White House’,” Jimmy said, laughing. “I wasn’t even thinking, but that was my mindset: I wanted to go to the Florida Keys.”

Jimmy displays a nice dolphin fish he caught while trolling off Islamorada.

Jimmy Johnson has had a residence in the Keys since just after that second Super Bowl victory. He moved to his current home in Islamorada 11 years ago and his name graces Jimmy Johnson’s Big Chill at Fisherman’s Cove, a dining and entertainment complex as well as a private residence club in Key Largo.

Jimmy began visiting the Keys in the mid-1980s while he was head coach at the University of Miami. Toward the end of that period, he earned his dive certification and developed a lasting love for the subtropical island chain.

“I came down to the Keys (for) my final open water dive and just fell in love with the place, the people and all the things you could do down here,” he said.

While he was the Cowboys’ coach, he decided he eventually wanted to live in the Keys. When he retired from Dallas, he sought a home that offered specific benefits.

Jimmy is happiest at the wheel of his fishing boat.

“I wanted to get away from all of the hustle and bustle and autograph seekers, and go to an area where I could just lay back and enjoy life,” he said. “{In the Keys} I can go out anywhere and not be bothered.”

Although Jimmy still dives and loves to catch Florida lobster, these days Florida Keys sportfishing is his primary passion.

Behind his Islamorada estate he keeps a 39-foot SeaVee center console boat named “Three Rings,” after his three coaching championships. A dedicated room houses a large collection of rods, reels and boxes of lures and other tackle. Photos in the room and on his iPhone showcase past notable catches including a big bull dolphin (mahi-mahi), a large wahoo and an estimated 235-pound blue marlin he caught while fishing alone.

In fact, Jimmy usually fishes alone — a testament to the real reason he enjoys the sport.

“I fish for fun and for relaxation,” he said.  “I don’t fish for meat. I don’t fish to brag to everybody what I can catch.

Shown here heading home aboard "Three Rings," Jimmy has traded the pressures of coaching for the tranquility of Keys living.

Jimmy particularly enjoys the freedom of solo fishing, without a schedule or pressure to catch anything.

Sometimes he doesn’t even put a line in the water.

“When I was coaching, everything about my entire life was so regimented,” he said. “Now, going out by myself fishing, I load the boat and I go out and stay as long as I want to stay.”

That’s where he usually can be found — except during the NFL season, when he travels weekly to Los Angeles to help anchor “Fox NFL Sunday.”

“There’s only two things that get me away from the Keys,” said Jimmy Johnson. “The Fox TV show, and if someone gives me a big check.”

Topics: Islamorada, Key Largo, On the Water, Profiles, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

In the late 1960s, Sally and Joe Bauer made a road-trip pit stop that changed their lives forever. Driving back from diving in the Florida Keys, they stopped at a store near the Miami airport called Stone Age Antiques.

Sally Bauer stands beside a diving bell after a dive in Norway in 2005. (Photos courtesy of the Florida Keys History of Diving Museum)

There they found an old diving helmet selling for $500, and bought it because they thought it was attractive. That simple act set them on a path that, years later, led to their founding the Florida Keys History of Diving Museum in Islamorada.

“When we purchased that helmet, we caught the collecting bug,” Sally admitted. “Like any incurable disease, it can’t be treated. You can suppress the strength of it a little bit — in this case by adding to the collection — but you never quite get over it.”

Under the influence of the “disease,” the Bauers eventually assembled the world’s largest collection of diving artifacts, antiques, books and prints related to the history of diving.

Sally wasn’t always interested in the underwater world. She grew up in a rural area near Youngstown, Ohio, and later studied medicine. She first met her husband of 42 years, the late Joe Bauer, when she showed up at his office seeking a summer job while in college.

“I started working for him, and then I worked for and with him all of the rest of his life,” she said. “We did everything together — that was my joy through life and my great tragedy when he died.”

Sally displays a wooden Griswood helmet underwater.

Sally and Joe began diving as a hobby that helped them disconnect from the world and escape the stresses of the medical profession. They kept diving because of their fascination with the marine biology of aquarium fish.

The Bauers took dive trips to the Keys to study the spawning behaviors of fish and bring them back to their Cleveland home for further research. As well as making important scientific discoveries, they also were the first to raise clownfish and peppermint shrimp successfully in captivity.

By the 1980s, their collection of artifacts was so vast that they helped found the Historical Diving Society of the United States and the United Kingdom. Concerned that the collection, and the history it represented, would be scattered and lost after their deaths, they approached the Smithsonian Institute, Disney’s Epcot Center and others — but got little response.

“When we moved to the Keys full-time in 1997, we realized that the Keys are the only place that you can drive and dive on a coral reef,” Sally said. “It just seemed natural that this is where we should have the museum.”

That realization sparked their creation of the world-class Florida Keys History of Diving Museum, located at mile marker 83 — which contains artifacts and other items covering an incredible 4,000 years of diving history.

The museum's highlights include an exhibit dedicated to Upper Keys treasure hunter Art "Silver Bar" McKee.

Highlights include an exhibit of dive helmets from around the world, and one dedicated to legendary Upper Keys treasure hunter Art “Silver Bar” McKee.

“The museum is not just for divers — it’s for anyone who wants to know more about man’s quest to explore under the sea,” explained Sally, who was inducted into the prestigious Women Divers Hall of Fame in March 2011. “Joe used to say, ‘It’s a little jewel that has not quite been discovered,’ and when people come in they’re astonished.”

Joe Bauer died suddenly in April 2007, but his legacy and knowledge of diving history live on through Sally.

“My challenge for the rest of my life is to put this history down so it’s not lost,” Sally said. “There are many more stories we want to tell about diving history.”

Topics: Highlights, History, Islamorada, Profiles, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive