Book Review
Title: Yesteryear I Lived in Paradise: The Story of Caladesi Island
Author: Myrtle Scharrer Betz
Publisher: University of Tampa Press
Date: October 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1597320337
Myrtle Scharrer Betz wrote Yesteryear in 1981. She describes her father’s life (Henry Scharrer) from April 1883, age 23, when he arrived in America (from Switzerland) to December 23, 1934 when he died. The story ends there. The only mention of Henry’s prior life in Switzerland was that he had spent three years serving in the Swiss Army as a sharpshooter.
The book is also autobiographical from the time Myrtle herself arrived on the scene (bn. February 22, 1895). Henry Scharrer married Kate McNally April 14, 1894. Kate died in April 1902 when Myrtle was only 7. So there isn’t much information about Mrs. Kate Scharrer.
The focus is on Henry’s homestead on Hog Island or “Scharrer’s Island” (later Caladesi Island) near Clearwater, Florida, where Henry obtained 156 acres in 1892. But the book starts earlier with a fascinating saga of Henry spending five years exploring the West, still the “American Wild West” of the 1880s and 90s. Henry traveled by stagecoach and train, working many types of jobs such as farming at harvest time, ranching roundups, and all-around “hiredman” jobs as he traveled. He described his adventures in letters to his family in Switzerland, and those letters were reprinted as a feature in the local Swiss newspaper.
Henry traveled from Wisconsin to North Dakota. He eventually bought a horse (named “Pet”), traveled on to Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and on to San Francisco. There are many memorable encounters and episodes along the way. From California, he sold his horse, took a train back East to New Orleans, and from there a ship to Tampa, Florida. In Tampa, he worked construction, building the Tampa Bay Hotel (owned by Railroad Magnate Henry Plant), which later became Tampa University.
In Tampa, Henry bought a 30-foot boat. It was now 1892, he finished his last day on the construction job, and sailed for the islands. Due to rough weather he ran aground in a small cove. The marker said “Hog Island.” Here he remained for the next forty-two years.
As Myrtle is a growing child, she becomes more prominent in her own story, the narrative aptly shifts from third-person (referring to “Henry”) to first-person (referring to “my father”), for the remainder of the book. The shift effectively brings the reader into a more personal feeling about the story, as though Myrtle were in the room talking to us.
People from across the sound in Dunedin and Clearwater referred to Hog Island as Scharrer Island. Henry built a strong home that weathered a hurricane’s direct hit and many tropical storms. He raised hogs, caught a wide variety of seafood, and grew a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. In addition to feeding his family, he was very successful selling the “money crops” on the mainland.
Henry’s hospitality became famous in the area. For the next forty years, anyone docking there was sure to be greeted with a hearty meal, coffee, and conversation. Myrtle shares many episodes of visitors, how much she and her father enjoyed entertaining guests, showing them around the island, making new friends over the years. They had some famous visitors, such as WWI flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, and poet Carl Sandburg.
Myrtle became expert at boating as well. In rough waters, she rowed her skiff alone across the sound to and from school every day, after getting up at 3 a.m. and finishing several hours of chores. She was never late to school, and missed only two days.
The time span covers interesting changes in technology as well. Myrtle’s first phonograph played cylinders, and later disc-shaped vinyl records. Water transportation was with Sailboats at first, then later changed to motorboats. Similarly on the mainland, horse-and-buggies changed to automobiles.
The latter pages recount her marriage to Herman Betz. Off and on they lived on the island with Henry or just across the sound in Dunedin. Henry and Herman became fishing partners and as the family grew (Herman and Myrtle had a daughter), they continued the island lifestyle.
Two of Myrtle’s granddaughters wrote very nice forwards to this edition. The book includes maps and a lot of black-and-white photographs of the island and the people. The book is a fascinating, personal story that is extremely well written and enjoyable to read. It’s a slice of history and a culture long gone.