Great to see this article. I met Roy Ozmer over in Goodland around the summer 1965, I believe. I would take my girlfriend over to Marco to go shelling, and we would rent a room, for 10 bucks a night, from a lady in Goodland. At that time, there was a swing bridge to get over to Goodland and Marco, and there was a woman bridgetender. She would plug in a big wooden key into a slot in the center of the bridge, and wind it around, walking in a circle. The entire bridge would slowly swing around, until the boat could get through. If you were unfortunate be there then, you could figure on about a 15 minute or so wait.
My girlfriend and I were talking to the woman who owned the place we were staying in, when we saw a small boat coming in across Goodland Bay, heading our way.
"Y'all want to meet a real hermit?", the woman asked us.
"Sure.", we said, and that's how we came to meet Roy Ozmer. He and the woman were friends, and he tied up at her dock when he came in to buy groceries in Goodland. He was a gregarious type, and a real character.
We would go shelling on Marco, around where the Marriott sits today. You could walk out on that beach, look to your right, and then your left, and not see another soul. A grand time to live in South Florida.
This is amazing! How cool would it be to have an entire book about these folks?
Great to see this article. I met Roy Ozmer over in Goodland around the summer 1965, I believe. I would take my girlfriend over to Marco to go shelling, and we would rent a room, for 10 bucks a night, from a lady in Goodland. At that time, there was a swing bridge to get over to Goodland and Marco, and there was a woman bridgetender. She would plug in a big wooden key into a slot in the center of the bridge, and wind it around, walking in a circle. The entire bridge would slowly swing around, until the boat could get through. If you were unfortunate be there then, you could figure on about a 15 minute or so wait.
My girlfriend and I were talking to the woman who owned the place we were staying in, when we saw a small boat coming in across Goodland Bay, heading our way.
"Y'all want to meet a real hermit?", the woman asked us.
"Sure.", we said, and that's how we came to meet Roy Ozmer. He and the woman were friends, and he tied up at her dock when he came in to buy groceries in Goodland. He was a gregarious type, and a real character.
We would go shelling on Marco, around where the Marriott sits today. You could walk out on that beach, look to your right, and then your left, and not see another soul. A grand time to live in South Florida.