Myrtle Scharrer Betz was nine years old when she had to get to school by rowing alone across St. Joseph Sound from Caladesi Island to the mainland community of Dunedin, Florida, according to The Caladesi Memories project . There were no bridges, no school buses, and no regular ferry service. The crossing became part of her daily routine as she attended school while also helping her family manage one of the island's earliest homesteads. Myrtle was also the only child of European descent and was born on Caladesi Island, where her parents had arrived in 1895 after settling the property. Decades later, she documented her childhood in the memoir " Yesteryear I Lived in Paradise" and preserved firsthand accounts of life on Florida's Gulf Coast before modern development reached the barrier islands.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
The Scharrer family lived largely because of the resources provided by the island. They grew fruit, raised livestock, fished in nearby waters and welcomed visitors who arrived by boat during Florida's early tourism years. Myrtle later wrote about collecting oysters, gathering shells, swimming in the Gulf and exploring forests that remained untouched. Many barrier islands along Florida's west coast were later cleared for roads, hotels and housing developments, but Caladesi changed much more slowly. After leaving the island as an adult, Myrtle continued advocating for its protection rather than large-scale development. Historical records show that the 156-acre Scharrer homestead was eventually acquired by the State of Florida in 1967 as part of the land that became Caladesi Island State Park.
The family's land became part of a protected coastline
Caladesi Island State Park officially opened in 1974 and protects one of the few undeveloped barrier islands that are still preserved along Florida's Gulf Coast. Visitors reach the island by private boat or ferry from nearby Honeymoon Island, similar to how the earlier generations traveled across the same waters before bridges connected much of the region. The former Scharrer property remains part of the park, and a nature trail leads visitors to the site of the historic homestead. The Florida Park Service says the trail passes through slash pine forests and live oaks before reaching the Scharrer Homestead, where Myrtle spent her childhood. The park also preserves beaches, mangrove forests, dunes and coastal habitats that support shorebirds, sea turtles and other native wildlife.
Myrtle Scharrer Betz was in her late eighties when she decided to write down her memories for her family. The manuscript eventually became “Yesteryear I Lived in Paradise”, which was first published in 1985 and later reissued with additional material. The book has become one of the most detailed firsthand accounts of everyday life on Caladesi Island before electricity and modern tourism reached the area. Today, park visitors can still walk the same landscape Myrtle described, even though most of the original buildings have disappeared. Her family's homestead is gone, but the land itself remains protected. Caladesi Island continues to be managed as a state park and preserves much of the coastline that shaped her childhood for future generations.
