The boardwalk stretched as far as the eye could see, steeped in mystery courtesy of Florida’s marvelous mangroves; and was quiet as the breeze off Miami’s nearby Biscayne Bay.
Spooky quiet with all those trees harboring all manner of wildlife ready to pounce.
Deering?
Surely you’ve heard of Charles Deering, philanthropist, wealthy industrialist, Chairman in 1902 of the newly created International Harvester Company. Okay, maybe you don’t have ties to Miami (Miami’s Deering Estate was Deering’s winter home from 1922 to 1927); or maybe you don’t have ties to Chicago (William Deering, family patriarch and entrepreneur moved his family from Maine to Chicago in 1873, foreseeing the internal combustion engine’s role in America’s heartland, and the profits to be had via his new Deering Harvester Company); or maybe you don’t have ties to International Harvester (I wish; in 1902 Deering Harvester merged with the McCormick Reaper Company and several other smaller companies to become International Harvester Company, today still one of the leading manufacturers of farm implements).
Did you notice how innocuously the word ‘reptiles’ appeared in the sign along with the fish, amphibians, mammals and birds? Florida doesn’t have reptiles.
Holy habitat! That’s a chunk of change for one snarly mass of messy mangroves.
Who knew? Love this travel gig!
I suspect Florida might still be a sandbar looking for a foothold if not for mangroves.
----------------------------
You Might Also Like: