The Florida Keys: 200 Years of Paradise

Key West. My ancestral hometown since 1870. My maternal grandfather, José L. Rodríguez (1898-1986), was Hemingway's captain for the Pilar during his Key West years. (My grandfather is the man pictured on the far right at minute 35:23). Thank you for this program! <3

i moved to Marathon in 1975 and became a comm fisherman, it was a great place to live and explore. but now in 2023 its sad. it is now been overrun by big business high rents. its so bad that most of the work force is bussed down from the mainland. Paradise has been lost in lieu of the all mighty dollar. After hurricane Irma it just got worse. RIP florida keys

I moved there Oct. 6 1976 and I got to see Paradise before new people came in the 90s and it changed sad what has been done to Paradise for ever. I got old there. I am no longer there . All those nice families I met, was the best of my life,. I am 82 now . I photographed before the fools changed it. My memories are priceless.

Florida Keys! I am 72 now and my Dad bought a motel there in the 1950'a (Grassy Key)! I recall the coconut palms the key limes , and the sight of todays catch rolled up in newspaper !!. Back in those days I recall the swarms of lobster 🦞 darkening the shore line. Everone was so excited ! Conch where everywhere i saw conch thrown up on the shore in heaps ! Smell was awefull. The greed of a few decimated the conch population ! Shameful! Well so many horseshoe crabs seemed to be everywhere. Awesome creatures there where no shortage of. Daytime was the most excellent, as when the sun started to set the mosquitoes where so bad you couldn't see the docks in front of our home ! After late night you could hear the mosquito abatement trucks flooding the skys with pesticide to eradicate the mosquitoes .. Sounded like aircraft crash landing, scared my mother to dearh.. Well our uncle John Hlebo who served on the USS BANG submarine seevice during WwII joined us. WHAT a life, free America wss in those days ! All our Family friends and neighbors where living in Paradise ! Hopefully You and others will have a chance to enjoy GODS Blessings !

Being born in Florida back in 1965, I've been going to the Keys since I can't remember. Old photos of my mom holding me at Bahia Honda, my dad holding his spear guns at the edge of the water. All my 6 siblings still visit the Keys every year to enjoy the water as well as catching our own lobsters. So many fantastic memories over the years as a teenager, till now as a late 50's young man. The Keys are always a paradise and a short drive from central Florida. I love "The Florida Keys"!

Driven the highway and spent a week in key west. One of best times of my life.

Key West was a grand place in the 70's went back in 87 was still nice. Then I took a road trip recently and was disappointed. The once beautiful town has turned into Little San Francisco.

My wife and I visited Islamorada for the first time in the Mid-80's and fished out of Bud-N-Mary's many times for Bonefish and Tarpon. We we're instantly hooked and fell in love with the Keys. There is only one Keys and I am proud to say I have supported Captains 4 Clean Water a few times. When I learned of what those Guides were working for, I knew I had to donate a few times. I have life long memories of the Keys and my late wife. 💔

Best Key Lime pie I’ve ever had was homemade in Key West ! I’ll never forget it. Yummy 😋

Maybe the best video story of 200 years of Florida Keys History.

As a 6th generation Conch, all I can say is BRAVO PBS!!! This is an absolutely brilliant presentation of my island home. It was such a joy to see so many friends onscreen, too!

Key West has always been paradise. I've lived there on and off for many years starting at the age of 14 in 77. I worked on a shrimp boat before becoming a sailing lover. Even worked at Margaritaville in the 90's I now live aboard my sailboat in Hawaii, my other paradise 🏝️ Cheers for the wonderful story, thank you! Some of my most prized memories. ⛵🐚🐠🦐

This was an engaging and beautifully edited narrative. Thank you.

I shouldn't be surprised at how amazing this Documentary is since being a lifer of PBS programming but I gotta say, Wow. I've lived in the Keys for 35 years and never got this much comprehensive data in one place that was so well composed and enjoyable to watch. Thank you.

My great grandfather came down in 1912..my grandfather served at the Naval Base during the war and my mom went to school in Key West. This was such a wonderful documentary and I noticed many places still there today.

I must visit Key West, and Cuba. I've been all over Florida and around the Caribbean. I love Cuban People and Music, and I've been waiting a long time, all my life we couldn't go to Cuba. I will so enjoy the People (Cuba and Key West), and the Feeling of being there. (Hemingway had to be a really fun fishing friend.) Yep, it a plan/intention ✨ Chicago, USA

I appreciate the diversity in the storytelling. Thank you for sharing this.

I’ll always love orange blossom perfume from the keys ❤

GREAT program and documentary. My parents lived in Key West and I have always felt like it was 'home'. ...not a Conch but only a month away from actually being one before my parents moved away. Key West is in my blood, the Keys are in my blood...this was a great show for what this Paradise of the US was and still is in its small places. THANK YOU for producing this fantastic documentary.

This opens with a revision to history. The waters weren’t aqua colored when the settlers came here. The waters were a light bright vibrant blue. The aqua color is an artifact of the last forty years. It’s due to the increase in algal content in the water from the infusion of nutrients due to human habitation. Much of the nutrient load actually comes from the Miami Fort Lauderdale area. Longshore drift and Gulf Stream counter currents cause the nutrients to flow south westerly through and along the Keys. I’ve lived here immersed in our history for over thirty years. I saw and dived the blue colored waters before they were a full aqua color.