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Myrtle Scharrer Betz

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Myrtle Scharrer Betz
Born
Myrtle Scharrer

(1895-02-22)February 22, 1895[1]
Caladesi Island, Pinellas County, Florida, United States
DiedJanuary 3, 1992(1992-01-03) (aged 96)[2]
Palm Harbor, Florida
Other namesMyrtle Betz

Myrtle Scharrer Betz (1895–1992) was an American writer who wrote about life on Caladesi Island in the early 1900s.[3]

Betz was born on Caladesi Island. Her mother died when she was seven, and she stayed on the island with her father, the Swiss-American homesteader Henry Scharrer.[4][5] She would live on the island for 35 years.[6]

At the age of 20, she married Herman Betz; they lived four years together in Miami before returning to Caladesi, and in 1928 they had one daughter.[7][8] Myrtle and her husband moved to the mainland in June 1934, six months before Henry Scharrer's death.[9][10]

During her stay on the island Betz and her father made a living fishing.[7] Her father also grew crops on the island, while teaching Betz to hunt and fish. By age eight Betz attended regular schooling on the mainland, maintaining perfect attendance for four years; she later recalled rowing back and forth across St. Joseph Sound.[9] While her father sold fresh produce, fish, and hogs, Betz—a self-described "tomboy"—earned money as a fur trapper. She aided her schooling by her father's trove of "scientific" works from Bern, Switzerland.[4][7]

On her father's wishes, for years Betz sought to turn the Scharrer property on Caladesi into a park, unsuccessfully enlisting state support; prior to the 1960s her efforts were not viewed with favor.[11][6] Having been sold to City of Dunedin Commissioner Francis L. Skinner in 1946, the 157-acre Scharrer homestead was, along with other properties on the island, purchased by the state and made a state park in 1967, though the original houses and cabins on site burned down in the 1950s.[11]

At age 87, Betz wrote the book, Yesteryear I Lived in Paradise (ISBN 9781597320337) telling of her life on the barrier island.[12][13] Yesteryear I Lived In Paradise was first published in 1985 in a loose-leaf binding made possible by the interest and generosity of 105 friends of Myrtle Betz. This edition was presented to Myrtle as a surprise gift for her 90th birthday.[14][6] In 1990 Honeymoon Island State Park began celebrating Myrtle Scharrer Betz Day on the island.[15][16]

Betz died in 1992,[2] and she was later profiled in Linda Taylor's book on women exploring nature.[17] She was long a member of the National Audubon Society.[2]

In 1994 a play based on her book about Caladesi Island, The Islander, was presented at the cultural center in Tarpon Springs, Florida.[18] Betz's descendants presented her life in period costumes to people interested in life on the island.[19]

In 2000 Betz was honored as a Great Floridian.[20]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Betz, Myrtle Scharrer (2009) [1984]. Yesteryear I Lived in Paradise: the Story of Caladesi Island. Tampa, Florida: University of Tampa Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-159732033-7.
  2. ^ a b c Lamm, Sharon Kirby (1992-01-04). "Myrtle Scharrer Betz, 96, writer of book about Caladesi Island". Tampa Bay Times; St. Petersburg, Florida. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  3. ^ Tomalin, Terry (June 21, 2002). "Beauty and the Beach". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  4. ^ a b Kirby, Sharon (1982-08-29). "Myrtle Betz tells of 35 years of life amid Caladesi's beauties". Tampa Bay Times; St. Petersburg, Florida. pp. [1]. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  5. ^ Betz 2009, pp. 21–2, 162.
  6. ^ a b c Kirby, Sharon (1985-02-24). "On her 90th birthday, woman gets a party and her manuscript published". Tampa Bay Times; St. Petersburg, Florida. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  7. ^ a b c Washington, Ray (1984-03-25). "Outsider from the island". Fort Pierce Tribune; Fort Pierce, Florida. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  8. ^ Betz 2009, pp. 115–6, 164–6, 167–8.
  9. ^ a b Brenner, L.C. (1944-06-02). "American Pageant". Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Fort Worth, Texas. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  10. ^ Betz 2009, p. 170.
  11. ^ a b Betz 2009, pp. 171–2, 175, 177–8.
  12. ^ Caladesi Island State Park official website
  13. ^ Reviews of Yesteryear I Lived in Paradise
  14. ^ "The Story Behind Yesteryear". Caladesi Memories. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  15. ^ "Author to receive honor at park". Tampa Bay Times; St. Petersburg, Florida. 1990-11-16. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  16. ^ Landry, Sue (1990-11-18). "Island living subject of celebration". Tampa Bay Times; St. Petersburg, Florida. pp. [2]. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  17. ^ Taylor, Linda (2008). Great Women Exploring Nature. Author House.
  18. ^ Lamm, Sharon Kirby (1994-10-21). "Woman's island life comes to the stage". Tampa Bay Times; St. Petersburg, Florida. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  19. ^ Clark, Robert (2001-02-16). "A homesteader's tale of perseverance and survival". The Kingston Whig-Standard; Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  20. ^ Betz 2009, p. 184.


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