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Caladesi Island: Fortunately, a Paradise Never Lost

caladesi1One of the few remaining natural islands along Florida’s Gulf Coast, Caladesi Island has been rated first among America’s best beaches.

Now you can explore captivating Caladesi through the eyes of a born storyteller, the only child ever born on Caladesi Island, Myrtle Scharrer Betz.

Myrtle’s account of growing up on Caladesi Island is one of the richest portraits available of life in Florida when it really was a natural tropical paradise. Myrtle’s tale, Yesteryear I Lived in Paradise, vividly captures the natural wonders, discomforts, challenges, and joys of pioneer life on a barrier island in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With wisdom, insight, and poetry, Myrtle Scharrer Betz crafts a story that is a national treasure. Learn more

Caladesi Island History Lesson

Margaret Word Burnside of Tampa Bay Magazine joined GDL with Terry Fortner of the Pinellas Historical Commission to tell us about Caladesi Island.

Christina Martinez
Published: October 23, 2019

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