The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1946-06-13
TOO
LATE
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81 RUSSELL Kay

first time in quite awhile. T ac-
cepted the invitation of Clarence
Sitting to attend the celebration
OF Florida's greatest sugar har-
vest at Clewiston a short time
ago.
In the past, trip from Tampa
to Clewiston has always been
more or less of an ordeal due to
the inconvenience of train sched-
ules and the time it takes on a
bus. Of course if a fellow had
nice new car and could drive
down, it wouldn't be so bad, but
I'd hate to try it in mine right
now.
This time l left Tampa at 2 D.
m. and arrived at Clewiston at
$3.50 and it was by far the most
interesting and enjoyable trip I
ever made. Taking advantage of
the new air service recently es-
tablished by Plantation Air
Lines, flew down via Arcadia
and Fl. Myers. Their five pas
sengcr planes are coy and COM
Portable and I was privileged to
ride in the co-pilot's seat.
In spite of the fact that Ar
cadis was one of Florida's out
standing air centers during the
war, the municipal airport is
hardly more than a cow-pasture.
Fl. Myers, however, has a splen-
did airport, taking over one de-
velopment by the Army, which
was close enough to be practical.
was delighted to find my old
friend, Claude Ansley, formerly
of the Fit. Myers News-Press
managing the airport
1t was a real thrill to view
Clewiston from the air. Few
cities in the country offer such
an attractive air-picture, 1t is as
neat and clean as can be and
well laid out, a gem in the heart
of the 'Glades.
My companion on this trip was
John Kawka, a friend from
New Jersey, who happened to be
visiting with us and since had
been Dragging to him about bass
fishing in Lake Okeechobee, he
decided to come along on this
ord YNooDn mo yNrNxya ~
| got in touch with Bill Hooper
at Johnson's fish camp, explain
ed the situation to him and asked
if he thought he could stir up a
bunker or two for us. He reckon
ed he could, so we numbered
our rods and Bill took us on
trip up the canal.
John had meyer had much ex-
perience with bass. He'd been
catching catfish from the Bal
last Point pier in Tampa and
now and then would snag salt
water trout. He began throwing
his plug under lily pads and at
cypress stumps in such careless
manner that l began to get
alarmed. You see, / had fished
those waters before and l knew
what could happen to a guy.
Well, before l could warn him it
did. One of them gosh awful
grandpappys erupted under his
bait like a depth bomb. He
didn't get it but he knocked it
three feet in the air John turned
pale and then sat down because
he was weak in the knees. He
was trembling like leaf. Bill
looked at me and grinned.
Al little. further on l set off
chatge iof INT when l cast in
the mouth of little stream that
entered the canal. My luck was
with me and I pulled in 6
FOUNDER. Before our fishing was
over we had the limit and our
string included four beauties
that tipped the scales at from 6
to 8 pounds. Bill Hopper calls
'em picture fish. He says you
don't mount anything under 10
pounds, you just take their pic
ture so you got proof if you
meet up with a skeptic.
But getting back to the Sugar
Festival. Clewiston was celebrat-
ing and with good reason for the
greatest sugar harvest in Flor
ida's history had just been COM
pleted. 1t had been a gala week
with feasting and dancing on all
the company's plantations, top
ped off with a dinner given by
the Sugar Corporation to key
employees and invited guests.
We stopped at the Clewiston
Inn, of course. 1t is delightful
place, affording Accommodations
that equal the best any metro
politan center could offer. The
only thing I missed there was
Mrs. Downes who served so long
as its manager Now she has her
own establishment, the Cane
Brake, exclusive night spot on
Clewiston's Great White Way"
I've eaten some mighty fine
meals in Clewiston but l never
ate a better one than was served
by Mrs. Downes at the Cane
Brake, the evening we returned
from our adventure on Lake
Okeechobee.