Our Vanishing Americana: Florida

- [Narrator] "Our Vanishing Americana: Florida" is supported by Duke Energy, Florida's Sports Coast, and Visit DeSoto County.

(vehicle rumbling) (upbeat music) - [Mike] There's not another place like this.

When people think about Americana, they think of old buildings.

- This is the original building.

- [Mike] But the stories are about the people.

In Florida, there's an interest in preserving the past.

- Been this way since her grandfather started.

- We haven't changed that recipe, and we won't.

- It's hot.

(laughs) - This is a place you used to come with your girlfriend.

You didn't have one, you could pick one up.

(laughs) - I've been here about 45 years 'cause it's wonderful and it's magic.

- Opa!

- Oh, wow.

- I think Florida might be fun.

(vehicle rumbling) (upbeat music) - We used to come here when we were kids, so that's been, oh, God, 50 years or more.

(laughs) We just couldn't wait after church or something to say, "Oh, we're going to Andy's to get an ice cream."

- It just opened as an ice cream shop, and then in 1960, they added a little kitchen and a counter.

- I did notice the menu.

The prices do seem to be yesteryear.

- Yes.

- Okay, let's see here, a regular size hamburger's 3.95, but you can get the basket for 6.95.

And then they have what they call a steak out, and it's 5.75 and it's a third of a pound charbroiled beef, thick and juicy burger.

- [Popi] I guess because everything was working, the previous owners, or myself too, we just didn't change anything.

(upbeat music) - Here you go.

- Thank you.

Well, this is the fruit salad milkshake.

- [Popi] That's a fruit salad shake.

- It is unbelievably tasty.

- Thank you.

Special recipe, the original owner, they left it for us, and we make it every day.

(machine whirring) - [Employee] Here you go, ma'am.

- What do you like the most about this business?

- People.

When they walk in here, I just like them to feel like they're home.

Thank you.

Very sweet of you.

- I come here six days a week.

Feels great, because we know a lot of the patrons that they come here, and a lot of our church members across the street come over here, so you can't do anything wrong, you know?

If you get caught.

(laughs) - I hope all of you get some ice cream now, so, you know, if you hungry, let's eat again.

(traffic rumbling) (upbeat music) (cows mooing) - Here on Barthle Brothers Ranch.

(horse whickers) It's a cattle ranch.

Been this way since the 1940s.

Five generations have been working cattle here.

(cows mooing) - My father, Randy Barthle, and my oldest brother, Clint Barthle, and my sister-in-law, Kristen, as well as one of my nieces and my son, Weston.

- We're gonna work the cattle through the pens.

The cows are gonna be coming out that gate.

- You're trying to drive them into the pens and not let 'em get out.

You keep your horse next to 'em, and then the horses will push 'em back in a bunch.

- They come through the pen four days a year.

- The cows know the deal.

They know how to lead.

- They come in once they get a set of vaccines.

The second day, they get another set of vaccines.

The third day, we're shipping the calves.

The fourth day, we're palpating cows.

And then we don't do anything with 'em for like five months.

So, they're very happy to be out here in the pasture all the rest of the time.

- I've done this about 15 or 20 times.

It's just fun.

- I always figure any day I'm working cows on a horse, it's a good day.

Florida usually ranks around 11th in beef production nationally.

Our grandfather started.

When he acquired the land back in the 1940s, he had 20,000 acres.

We're down to about 4,500 acres.

And the last 10 or 15 years, well over 100,000 acres of cattle ranch has turned into houses.

(cows mooing) - Our plan is to continue the ranching heritage in the state of Florida for as long as, you know, we can continue to pay the taxes on the land and keep beef production profitable.

- Well, that'll kind of be up to the next generation, 'cause I probably won't be here more than another 25 years.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music) - [Justin] Arcadia today is still, to some degree, the town's it's always been, surrounded by all the beautiful things Florida has to offer.

(crowd cheering) The rodeo is by far the theme of our town.

It's the Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo.

We're nearly at 100 years at this point.

20 something thousand people in attendance.

The Arcadia Rodeo is the granddaddy of 'em all.

(crowd cheering) - When the rodeo's in town, it gets really busy here.

We're at Wheeler's Cafe in Arcadia, Florida, created in 1929.

We're almost at 100 years, and hopefully it'll continue long after we're gone.

(upbeat music) - It withstands all the challenges Arcadia has had.

We've had, what, three major hurricanes in 20 years.

- After the past hurricane, this place was destroyed.

We lost everything.

We were condemned.

They were gonna take the building away from us.

It was like a landmark.

If we could fix this, Arcadia would survive.

Took about eight months total.

Building inspectors come up, and they thought we did a wonderful job, and they let me rip down that sticker.

This floor here is 118 years old.

This is our ticket booth.

Here's an old signature from the first night in the opera house, November 12th, 1921.

- There are more signatures right below our original stage wheel.

Different companies would come in and kind of tag the building.

This is Mabel Paige.

She was very famous back in the '20s.

- Then around like the '30s and '40s, they started getting a little more technical, and they had movies.

This is truly all of our history.

So that's why it's so important.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - "8 o'clock, deathcore metal."

That's in my wheelhouse.

(laughs) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (guitars tuning) (upbeat metal music) (upbeat metal music continues) (crowd applauding) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (bell ringing) - This store was built in 1927 by my grandfather.

When he was a young man, he would drive his horse and wagon into Tallahassee, pick up commodities, things like rice, coffee, tobacco, things that the people could not grow and produce on the land out here.

There was so much of it that he needed a place to store the commodities, and so that's why they built the store.

And then it became a general store.

We had candy.

We had bread.

We sold gardening tools, underwear, socks, jeans, shirts, even coffins, 'cause you had to out here.

They had animals here.

And my great grandmother decided she wanted to try and make some sausage, and she came up with a seasoning recipe.

We haven't changed that recipe, and we won't.

- It's hot.

(laughs) - My grandmother and my great-grandmother blended the seasoning on the back porch of the house, and then people would come by and they would sell it out the kitchen window.

(upbeat music) That turned into a good business, and here we are.

(upbeat music continues) That's my grandfather sitting on the porch.

- Okay, so you're the third generation.

- I'm the third.

- And Nikki's the fourth, right?

- I actually learned how to run the register when I was like probably 10 years old.

In 2018, my grandfather passed away, and I came back to kind of help my mom and really just fell back in love with being out here, and I felt like it was my responsibility to keep it going for my family as well as for the locals.

- I'm very proud that she has chosen us.

- We've been coming here since '53, '54.

My grandfather used to come here all the time.

- My grandfather used to bring me out here in our family's '66 Mustang.

It kind of gives our town, like, it's part of our identity.

- It's history.

It's history.

It's old memories, it's precious memory.

- How could my grandfather have ever imagined that we would be here in a store that he built nearly 100 years ago, still going strong?

And he'd be proud.

(upbeat music) - This is Angel's Dining Car in Palatka, Florida.

We're the oldest diner in Florida.

You can get here by boat or by car.

People come here because it's like a step back in time.

It hasn't changed much over the years.

- I love the colors.

I like how retro it seems.

It seems very like, this is what it looked like back then.

- We have regulars that's been coming here for years.

- This is a place that you used to come with your girlfriend.

If you didn't have one, you could pick one up.

(laughs) - [Tiffani] Most people order a burger, onion rings, and either a Cherry Coke or a shake.

Our onion rings are homemade.

We fry 'em fresh every day.

And our burgers are hand pressed, never frozen, always fresh.

- It's actually a really good burger.

- Elvis did eat here back in the day.

I wish I could have been here.

I've been here when other people have been here, but it wasn't as cool as what Elvis would've been.

(laughs) - Definitely would come again.

- Yes.

- Five stars.

- This was actually really good.

(upbeat music) - Can we get a rib sandwich?

- Mild sauce?

- Mild sauce.

- I'm the owner of Holley's Bar B Q. We serve barbecue ribs.

This is the original Holley's Bar B Q butcher block.

The butcher block has been here since the '30s.

'30s.

We have the large slab rib, fried chicken, curly fries.

We have cakes, brownies, and pies.

The best desserts in the whole city.

It started in 1937 to be exact.

My Uncle Leroy, he came here, decided to do barbecue.

This is the original building.

My dad came in behind him.

I really wanted to be a nurse, but my dad ended up getting sick, so I had to help him out a lot.

When he passed away, this was a gift to myself, I guess.

One of the best pictures of him with his suit on.

I wear it every day.

(upbeat music) - [Employee] What can I serve you today?

- Let me have the combo.

- [Employee] Get three wings, two ribs, some curly Q's and a drink.

- Let's do that.

Thank you, ma'am.

- You have the best day.

- Gonna enjoy this.

- Yes.

Come back and see me, okay?

- I will.

Mm.

- Moncrief, well, they say it's a impoverished neighborhood, but I think by me being here my whole life, it's not impoverished me.

These are the people that I see every day, all day.

- She has been a asset to the community.

- They do a lot by having the kids something to do.

That's my brother here, Carson.

- [Regular] We've been coming up here since we about 13 years old.

- [Mike] Is it still good?

- Good?

(chuckles) It's awesome.

- I've watched kids grow up here.

- I've been coming here since I was maybe in middle school.

- Back in the '30s, Black people didn't have much of nothing, let alone commercial buildings.

So my dad told me, "Keep my land, whatever you do, keep my land."

Now, I hope and pray that my kids take it and do the same thing I did.

As long as I'm alive, Holley's Bar B Q is alive.

(traffic rumbling) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Oh, a long, long time ago When I left my home to roam Down in the hills of Tennessee (bell ringing) - It's a store that was founded in 1922 by my Great Uncle Sid Brinson.

- Back in the day, it was originally the Richloam General Store Post Office and the train depot for the community of Richloam.

- This is the original post office from 1928.

And my grandfather's mailbox was '23.

When the train would come through, they would throw the incoming mail, they'd just throw it out the train in a big sack, and the outgoing mail they would have hanging on the pole, and they would catch it with a little pole that went by.

This is one of the last known photos of the rail line before they took out the tracks in 1976.

It's now become a dirt road which is called Goat Road, named after the train, which was nicknamed The Goat.

During its heyday, it had a population of 100 people.

Government's bought up most of the land out here.

My family was one of the only families who wouldn't sell, so we're down to a population of 11.

I was born and raised on this piece of property.

Set out on a venture to restore this, open it back up.

It's all original metal.

When I restored it, we just took the metal down, built it, put it back up.

- When Eric decided to restore it, it made us very happy, because we knew that the history was gonna carry on.

- What is this?

- That's the original push broom from the store.

That's all metal roots for the broom.

This is a 1920s telephone.

And to make a phone call, you would ring this here.

(phone ringing) - [Mike] What are these notes here?

- These are actually some original phone messages that was left on the store.

(upbeat music) (machine whirring) - God, it smells good.

- It takes something unique to have items from that time period, and let people come into a living, breathing museum.

- So they get the feel of what it was like when the store was open back in the late '20s.

- Right, yep.

(register dings) - It made me really happy that he went through the trouble and the effort to save our family history.

Some day I'll settle down in that little country town With that little girl of mine in Tennessee (bell ringing) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Melrose, it's just the center of the universe, I think.

(laughs) We're right here on the northwest corner of Highway 21 and 26.

- Chiappini's is a main staple of Melrose.

People wanna find out anything, they usually come here and ask us what's going on, who to hire, where to shop.

We're a real friendly place.

This was back in 1949.

We would always check your oil, wash your windshields.

I mean, we were full service.

You pull up, get gas, come inside, grab a beer, watch the game.

(gentle music) That's Babe Ruth there.

He's been here.

- [Mike] Was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers here?

- Yeah, Tom Petty's been here a number of times.

And then this is the most famous guy right there.

That was my dad, Francis David Chiappini.

My grandfather started it, and my brother Mark and I took it over.

I like that bottom picture there.

- [Mike] Not like that anymore, is it?

- No, no, no.

It's pretty busy.

Used to be able to sit out front here and count the cars on one hand.

People say, "Well, do you own it?"

And I go, "No, it owns us."

(laughs) Mark and I, we got things we want to do, so it's not gonna be here forever.

- It'd be sad to see Chiappini's go.

If it ever does.

I doubt it will.

There's too many good, old country boys that won't let that happen in my book.

- I'd like to see somebody carry on kind of the tradition, taking care of Melrose, helping people.

Five generations been coming in here, so.

It's not a whole lot of places I know that can say that.

It's been been one hell of a ride.

(upbeat music) (vehicle rumbling) (upbeat music) - Wow, what a change of scenery.

- Green's Pharmacy is a 86-year-old pharmacy luncheonette.

It's been around since 1938.

We do breakfast and lunch every day, 365 days a year.

- Green's is the last of the old Palm Beach.

This is what I call my happy place.

- Okay, are we gonna be here all day again?

(patrons laughing) - I came down here 20 years ago.

Haven't kicked me out yet, but, well, I'm working on that.

(upbeat music) - Okay, Pete.

We run it the way it was run in 1938.

- There's a lot more sense of community here in Palm Beach than I would've expected.

- Well, I think places like this are create it.

And everybody's equal in here.

- Yeah.

Can't forget the sunscreen.

Here we go.

(traffic rumbling) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) How's it going?

- All right.

- This shop reminds me a lot of barbers I went to growing up back in North Carolina.

- Oh, yeah, I grew up in North Carolina.

Matter of fact, that's where I got the idea to become a barber.

(both laughing) McGuire's Barber Shop started in 1949.

(clippers buzzing) I tried to keep everything as an old fashioned barbershop.

- I like these old chairs.

These down here look like they're original.

- [Mo] Yeah, these are all the original chairs.

- Still shave?

- Yep, we do shaves.

(gentle music) - What do they talk about in here usually?

- Usually the local politics.

- Ah.

(both laughing) I enjoyed this, Mo.

- Glad to be able to help you.

(laughs) (upbeat music) - Ah, woo!

(vehicle rumbling) (upbeat music) - The unique part of Brooksville is the roots that people plant here.

There's so many generations.

Coney Island Drive Inn is part museum and part restaurant.

- Just a real great place to be yourself.

- You meet so many people who come in here and identify with objects that are hanging on the wall.

You know, there's things here that mean a lot to a lot of people.

- It's the history of this city and the history of families.

You know, they donate us stuff, they bring it in, we put it on the walls.

- Family still comes here.

They like to sit where they can see the sign of the family business and talk about the past.

More like a curator's job than a restaurant job.

It was really an investment for me, and I have a son.

- We've had restaurants our whole lives, and I've been in a restaurant since I could walk.

- When we bought the place, they did a little plaque of who started the place down to the date when we purchased it.

Kind of underscores the significance of what it is.

It's not just a restaurant business, it's a part of the community.

We're famous for a footlong hotdog.

Been serving the same product since 1960.

- I think this is the authentic, original American hot dog.

- We serve about 10,000 pounds of footlong hot dogs a week.

(upbeat music) Elvis stayed here two times in 1961.

- [Employee] Hi, guys.

Welcome, welcome.

- How did the King have it?

I want it the way the King had it.

- I think it was a long chili onion and mustard.

- And this is where he sat?

- Supposedly, this is the spot.

- Mm.

I don't see him wanting to let go of it.

He grew up here.

This is his hometown.

What's the future of Coney Island?

- I want to be here when we get to 100 years.

So we got about 40 more to go.

(gentle music) - That's why they call it Lakeland.

(motorcycles roaring) - This is how it started.

We don't have horse parking anymore.

It's been going for 90 years.

We're known for our pies.

We do a lot of pies.

This here's Jeanette Mobley.

She was the original pie maker, and she passed it on to Ms.

Willie, Willie Johnson.

She passed it on to Albert Bess, who's my kitchen manager.

- Put a lot of love into it, and everything is made the same, same recipe, nothing changed about it, and it's just great.

- Hi.

- Hi, there.

I'll take your last piece of cherry pie.

Thank you.

Didn't know I was gonna eat my way through Florida.

- You know how everybody, when they're younger, wants to go away and discover the world?

Well, I discovered that I really missed here.

This is Cortez Village.

This is a working village.

(upbeat music) People that live here are fishing people.

There's the main fish house where I work every day.

A.P.

Bell, we're basically farmers of the sea.

These are the boats that are working right now, due west of us pretty much.

- [Mike] And so your grandfather started the business.

- Correct.

Aaron Parx Bell for A.P.

Bell Fish Company.

When I graduated from college, I called my dad and I said, "Dad, I really, really miss this coast.

I miss the village.

I miss the things that I thought I wouldn't miss."

He told me it's a bad idea.

It's a man's world.

He just wanted for me something easier.

- So right now, we're offloading Mangots.

He got in last night.

He's got about 2,000 pounds of fish.

- We try to really let people learn what Cortez is about, reflected in this little restaurant.

The fish are wild caught on our boats.

Fried, grilled, or blackened.

My favorite is mullet.

- Have the big fried mullet.

- Yeah, of course.

- It's very homey.

It's just such good quality, and it's really casual.

- That's some mullet.

(upbeat music) Mm.

- I love what we do, what the fishermen do, what this place does.

My dad passed in 2012.

I believe he was pleased after a number of years that I was here.

At least I think he was pleased.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (birds chirping) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - This is our Flaming Cheese.

Opa!

- Oh!

- [Demetrios] Any restaurant you go here in Tarpon Springs, they are mom and pop.

- Mm.

How would you describe Tarpon Springs?

- A town that you can come back to 20 years, 30 years from now, that will not change.

And we're a very small town, small town mentality.

We try to keep it very quaint and keep it local.

- We're at Faklis Department Store and Shoe Repair.

You're coming here to be fit with shoes, repair shoes.

People have shopped with us for generations.

We're still able to use the machines that we've been using for 85 to 90 years.

My grandfather, as a master shoemaker coming over from Greece, started this business in 1912.

(upbeat music) - [Mike] How is it that so many Greeks came to Tarpon Springs?

- [Demetrios] Tarpon Springs was started with sponge divers.

This was basically a sponge diving town.

It was in the late '20s when they started slowly coming, and now we've got about 10 that are still really doing the true artwork of sponge diving and harvesting sponge wild.

- They call me Taso, T-A-S-O.

I've been sponging since 1972.

This is a sponge dock.

So this dock over here made out of the sponge divers way back then, you know, when they first come over here.

When the Greeks arrive over here, they discover sponges are everywhere.

Sponging always gonna be here.

No matter if they're Greeks or Americans, somebody gonna be sponging.

- The way the sponge divers harvested the sponge was by putting on these heavy diving helmets with a suit on, and going under and walking around on the bottom, collecting sponge.

I'm the only helmet maker in Tarpon right now.

There have only been three helmet makers in Tarpon Springs.

My grandfather came over in 1913, and he was a Marine engineer.

I've followed in his footsteps and carried on the tradition.

You know, it's such an iconic figure, these diving helmets, their importance to the community.

They have become sort of a symbol of that community.

(upbeat music) I don't think anyone is still making helmets the way I do.

We're standing in a machine shop from 100 years ago.

The techniques and the processes I use hadn't really changed in 150 years.

I make the port holes here, the valve assemblies, even the wing nuts, I drill and tap them on this lathe.

So, this is as old school, handmade, one at a time, as it gets.

(popcorn popping) (upbeat music) - My grandfather was in the theater business since the early '50s.

He ran it up until his passing.

After that, I started running it for him, and continue to do it today.

- Hey, there.

- [Employee] Hi.

Which movie are you watching today?

(thunder booming) - We've kept it authentic as we can, if you look at our signs and our neon.

- Every time they come out with a new movie, I'm usually out here.

You get two movies for $8.

It's a really good deal.

Really nice.

- [Chip] I think people enjoy the nostalgia and all the memories they have here with their families and friends.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (bell dings) - This is the only real motel left down in the area.

This place looks really unique and it has a nice art deco feel to it with flamingos all over the place.

The colors are nice and teal and pink and yellows.

It's all exterior corridor down and out our rooms, which means you're parked right out front.

You can walk right up to your room and get in.

Most of the rooms have their own mural on them.

I think that's what gives it the charm.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - Bone yard.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) You run the place?

- I run the place.

- I'm Mike.

- Hey, Mike.

Andy.

- Sure smells like a hardware store.

- It is a hardware store.

You know, a lot of folks come in here and say, "Great smell, reminds me of the old hardware store I went with Mom and Dad."

A lot of dust.

We always say, the dust is free, so.

- How long has this building been here?

- 1876, the original building.

- Wow.

(gentle music) - Little picture of my mother.

My mom was the boss, you know?

She kept us all in check.

She got it to what it is.

The paint store was owned by a different lady.

One day, Mom says, "Would you like to sell your business?"

She said yes.

Mom bought all the inventory, desk, phones, everything for $800, and the rest is history.

(upbeat music) There's a lot of Victorian mansions in this neighborhood.

A lot of 'em remodeled, they were old, and they all used me.

Local painters, local handymen, do it yourselfers, the whole community, I've grown up knowing them all, just about, you know?

They're like family.

I'm here Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Wednesday's my golf day.

Well, unfortunately, it's up for sale.

I'm ready to retire.

I would like it to remain its building and keep its look, instead of tearing it down and making condos.

I don't want that.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - I started coming here back in the '80s.

They were here when nobody else was down here.

- Specially caught seafood.

It's not imported.

- Yeah, whenever the shrimp comes off the boat, we bring 'em in the back, and we have a gentleman that sits back there all day long, and he peels and heads the shrimp.

Prepares 'em for you to eat.

- [Employee] I do everything by hand.

It's more work, but I gotta do it.

- I got the fried shrimp dinner, and it was delicious.

The first time he came here, he was only four months old.

- He's been coming here since he was that age, when Mitch Singleton was still alive and making the boats.

- [Dean] My dad made a lot of wooden boats.

- So your dad was Captain Ray?

- [Dean] Captain Ray.

- [Mike] He made all of these?

- All these out of his head.

No plans whatsoever.

They're all some of the boats that used to be here in Mayport.

They're all in depth, just like a real boat was made.

Even the hull, it's got all the ribs, the stringers.

Yeah, it's open to the public, so people come back and look at 'em all day long.

- Museum.

Why aren't you making boats like Captain Ray did?

- One day, when I retire.

(Mike laughs) (seagulls chirping) (upbeat music) - Goofy Golf is one of the original businesses in Fort Long Beach.

In fact, it's probably one of the last few standing built in the '50s.

- This is just one of those places that you came to when you were a kid with your parents or your grandparents, and then you bring your own kids to it, and it's just a generational thing.

- My grandparents came and did dates here.

My husband and I did date.

It's a cheap time to come out, especially when you're young and have no money.

- You know, as a local that's been here a long time, we sort of use Goofy Golf as a focal point because it's a constant, and you can sort of orient yourself around the rest of town based off its location.

That way is towards the beach.

That part of town, yeah, you can still get to the beach.

We're pretty much hemmed in by paradise around here.

Mike, what you got?

- Just a little beginner's luck.

- In the hole!

That's what I'm talking about!

(upbeat music) - This is the world capital of shuffleboard.

It is the world's oldest and largest shuffleboard club.

- Yay!

- [Christine] We were founded in 1924.

By the '50s, we had about 6 or 7,000 members.

- I learned to play the hard way, by playing with tough players.

If you made a bad shot, they told you right off.

- [Player] Don't screw the shot up!

(laughs) - [Mary] It's a strategy game as well as an accuracy game.

- Good!

Good job!

- When you're shooting from your end, you are trying to add points to the scoreboard, and you want to prevent your opponent from adding points to the scoreboard.

- Mary's an excellent player.

She's in the top five women of all time in Florida.

- In St.

Pete, your job was to bring home the bacon.

Otherwise, don't come home.

(gentle music) - By 2005, we were down to 35 members, and the place and its future was really in jeopardy, and so we started the Friday nights in 2005, and that is what's gotten a lot of interest in the club.

I like to think that today could be the heyday, because we've got 2,700 members.

We're open and available to all ages.

- Makes me feel good to see a lot of people here.

- That was fun.

I'm gonna have to put one in my backyard.

(dramatic music) - [Kathy Barrett] This is the world famous Citrus Tower.

It is a landmark, and way before there was Walt Disney World, this was the place to be.

It was officially opened in 1956.

(elevator dings) - How high are we going?

- Oh, this, you'll be approximately 300 feet above sea level.

It is actually the highest viewing point in the state, so you go up to the very top, and I think we're there.

- Wow.

What a view.

Okay, so if I came up this elevator and looking out in 1956- - What would you see?

- Yeah.

- Let me show you.

- Huh.

Ah.

- [Kathy Barrett] As far as the eye could see.

You would've seen approximately 17 million trees.

- 17 million?

- 17 million trees.

(upbeat music) You know, sadly, the citrus trees are no more, so people have a lot of memories.

This serves as a beacon.

It's showing you that the significance still remains, and the tower is such a reminder of that.

(vehicle rumbling) - We happen to be famous for raising the best citrus in the state of Florida.

So, first thing I did was plant citrus trees.

A couple years later, we put in the mango trees.

- And that's what we have around us now.

- Yeah, that's what we have now, and that put us on the map.

(upbeat music) - My dad started 60 years ago as a small fruit stand, shipping citrus all over the country.

- All the other places, there might have been 25, 30 places like us, they're all gone.

They didn't diversify like we did.

We came out with fruit shakes and a juice bar that's exceptional.

We came out with Terry's famous key lime pies.

- This is the official state key lime pie.

My mom started making 'em about 40 years ago in our kitchen.

We thought we'd pack it in a jar so people could travel with it all over the country.

- [Bob] Over the years, I've had all my family working here.

- [Lisa] I always had this in my blood and felt like this was gonna be a part of my family forever.

Now my son's working for me.

- Gonna grab some fresh mango from the backyard, and then we're gonna get some coconut, just a splash.

(blender whirring) - Sweet.

- Yes, sir.

- Thank you.

- I definitely want my kids to see this place and work how I did and pick the mangoes and oranges.

I definitely want to teach 'em the ropes.

(upbeat music) - I can't find a place like this.

I can't find a place like this anywhere.

- It's unique.

- [Bob] There's nothing around like this anymore, so you have to keep the thing going as long as you can and see what happens in the future.

(vehicle rumbling) - Back in the 1960s, there was no Disney World.

There was no Universal.

There was no Sea World.

The biggest draw in Florida at the time was Cypress Gardens.

- [Narrator] This beautifully landscaped paradise is regarded as America's tropical wonderland.

- My parents thought, "Hey, we can continue to make the candies that we've made just for friends and turn it into a real business."

So they built it on Highway 27, north of Cypress Gardens, so that when people were finished in the garden, they would stop here on the way home.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) We make about 104 flavors of candies.

- Oh, wow.

- They're yum.

- That's good.

- [Tom] Citrus candies, chocolates, coconut patties, and about 86 flavors of marmalades and jellies.

We're using Florida citrus, real orange juice.

Whether we're making key lime, orange, lemon, whatever flavor that we're making, we're using the actual juice from that citrus fruit.

(upbeat music continues) - All right, I gotta text my wife to see which flavor she wants.

- Ooh!

- Is that a good one?

- [Child] Let's go, Mommy.

- Orange pineapple marmalade it is.

(vehicle rumbling) (upbeat music) - Back in 1960, most of what you could see from the top of the hill was the top of orange trees.

Some of them, they used 30 and 40 foot ladders to pick.

People would drive through, see the area, and then buy an orange, get some juice, and have a good, old time.

- [Mike] "Citrus Attraction, since 1966."

- [Kathy Oleson] Most of the citrus has passed on because of one particular disease, greening.

Now we've added some new things over the years.

We're like a little gift shop, tourist space.

- Boyett's Grove is a unique, eclectic mix of everything.

- This is an amphibious creature, it appears.

- Weird.

- Weird.

- Chasing this fellow.

- Strange.

- Interesting.

- Is there anywhere in Florida the King hasn't been?

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've fed a zebra.

- I was really astonished with how many animals that they have in the back, and all the different rooms, the dinosaur room.

(Mike laughs) - [Mike] The Battle of T-Rex.

- [Kathy Oleson] They can see the camel, Wally.

- Hey, Wally, take that.

How you doing?

- There's just so many different things, it's hard to say which is my favorite.

We've just evolved.

We had no real plan.

Probably there's not any place exactly like it.

Oh, we are not planning to go away.

We've been here so long, and people still come out to see something like maybe your mom, your dad, your grandma might have done back in the day.

(traffic rumbling) (gentle music) - There's nothing like the Everglades.

We got panthers here, alligators.

We've got pythons.

That's something new.

This is Goldie right back here.

She's 24 feet long.

She's a foot shy of being the world record.

And my favorite is the skunk ape.

I've run a research facility since I was 10 years old and had my first sighting.

If you were to see a skunk ape here in the Everglades when you're visiting, you'd say, "I just saw Bigfoot."

Skunk apes are a smaller animal.

They're six and a half, seven feet tall at best.

The tracks are four-toed.

This is a really interesting track right here, and it clearly shows the four toes, which is not characteristic of the Bigfoot track.

- [Mike] And where did you find that?

- Here in the Big Cypress Preserve.

(gentle music) This is a gathering place for like-minded people.

Bigfoot people getting with skunk ape people, everybody getting together.

- Oh, that's a skunk ape.

(upbeat music) - Everglades City to me has that old Florida charm.

I love sitting out here on the porch, on the Barron River.

How did you find this place in the middle of nowhere?

- Well, I just happened upon it, looking for places that have been here a while, and a lot of places like this that are no longer here.

- We have a community.

We have the old bank building that's being renovated.

We have our city hall, our community church, and of course, the Rod & Gun Club, and it hasn't changed much, which I like.

In the 1920s, Barron Collier purchased the whole property, and he then developed it into the Rod & Gun Club, where people could come and hunt and fish throughout the Everglades.

Every photo I have seen from way back when, the gator has been there, the piano, the pool table, most of these animals.

That was what it was known for, as a destination for hunters and fishermen.

- Wow, this bar just has that vintage feel.

- They still have all of the original furnishings around.

The walls are all cypress, and the ceiling is cypress.

The floors are the Dade County pine, the old heart pine.

- [Mike] How does that feel, like, 100 years old, this bar?

- [Patty] Yeah, it is.

(chuckles) - [Mike] I mean, it looks like somebody just left and closed the door, and this is the way it was.

- Chokoloskee Island is the southernmost point that you can access by car on the West Coast.

(upbeat music) It's a small island, about a mile, give or take a few acres.

This is the Smallwood Store, started by my grandfather in 1906.

People either farmed, fished, or hunted to make a living here.

He traded with the white people and the Seminoles that lived out here in what we call the Everglades National Park now.

Back then, there were no roads here in Florida, so everything was done by boat.

Here was your original one stop shopping, where everybody came to get whatever they needed to survive out here in the Everglades.

It was a post office.

It had a small pharmacy section in it.

People would bring their hides and their furs and their produce to trade here at the store also.

- As soon as I walked in this place, it reminded me of Mass General Store in the North Carolina Mountains.

From the post office to this long counter, I can just see that this was the kind of place where folks came to get their provisions.

- Who gathered.

The hub of the community back then.

Actually, it was probably what enabled them to have a community.

The Tamiami Trail was put in in 1928, and that bought civilization a little bit closer.

And then tourists came, so- - You don't stumble upon this place.

- You don't stumble upon it, no.

We're kind of at the end of the road, for sure.

(upbeat music) (traffic rumbling) - Port St.

Joe is a really special place.

Not a lot of chain stores, not a lot of T-shirt stands.

You'll hear this area referred to as Mayberry on the beach.

(upbeat music) Reid Avenue is our main street, and that's where the location of our theater is.

It's the historic Port Theater because it was built in the '30s.

- It started as a movie theater.

It was grimy and scary.

I put a call out and said, "We need volunteers."

AC people, everybody came in and just did everything for free.

This community has stepped up.

They just cannot wait for it to get back open.

They have all the memories.

It's a small town, and small town takes care of their own.

So that's what's happening here.

(upbeat music) - This is Cape San Blas Lighthouse Complex.

It's at George Core Park.

This is the forgotten coast, but unfortunately, we have been discovered.

I have lived here my entire life.

My grandfather's family lived on Blas Island to protect the structure that was built for the lighthouse.

It's an 1883 model.

It's been down the Cape.

We moved it a little over 12 miles in July of 2014, so we've been fortunate to preserve it.

It survived a Category 5 hurricane.

Our goal is to protect this not only for the locals, but for future generations to share our history, to be able to let people see the life that we have known and enjoyed.

Really more like just a little piece of paradise on earth.

(traffic rumbling) - Apalachicola is a bay and river town, and so we're not on the beach.

We were just not thought of as a destination.

- What makes Apalachicola special?

- Apalachicola is just, it's a great fishing town.

Great seafood that comes from out the waters right here.

Oysters, shrimp and grits.

Everything here, as you can see, is local.

- Mm.

- It's the small town feel that you really get from this town.

You know, everybody's really friendly.

- Hey, there.

- Hey!

- There are about 2,500 people that live in Apalachicola.

It's wonderful and it's magic.

- [Resident] It's rich with history.

Got that old Florida feel, sort of slowed down in time.

- So Mike, what brings you to Apalachicola?

- Well, I've been traveling throughout Florida, searching for main streets, businesses that are multi-generational and places like this, really, and this our last stop.

- Saved the best till last, right?

- [Mike] Absolutely.

(gentle music) Owl Cafe's been here since 1900.

- [Edward] We kept the outside of the building looking the way it back in 1900.

That's really the trick to it, is really to kind of keep it the old feel.

- The small town feel.

That's why people come here.

- I've noticed in Florida that there's an interest in preserving the past.

It feels like I'm not the only one that has an interest in that and an appreciation for that.

When people think about Americana, they think of old buildings.

But what's really special about it is the people.

- I felt like it was my responsibility to keep it going.

Thank you.

- [Danny] This is truly all of our history.

- [Lisa] I always had this in my blood.

- How could my grandfather have ever imagined a store that he built still going strong?

He'd be proud.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - [Narrator] "Our Vanishing Americana: Florida" is supported by Duke Energy, Florida's Sports Coast, and Visit DeSoto County.

(upbeat music)