Share this photo on Twitter Share this photo on Facebook

The Sponge Diver...

Posted by
Judy aka L@dybug (Brooksville, FL, United States) on 9 June 2016 in Documentary & Street and Portfolio.

...along the dock in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

'Tarpon' as it's often called, has the largest Greek-American population of any city in the US, "23,"484 in 2010 census/Wikipedia.

"In the 1880s, [Tarpon Springs] was developed as a wintering spot for wealthy northerners. During the same decade, John Cheyney founded the first local sponge business. The industry continued to grow in the 1890s; many blacks and whites from Key West and the Bahamas settled in Tarpon Springs to harvest and process sponges. A few Greek immigrants arrived in this city during the 1890s to work in the sponge industry.

In 1905, John Cocoris introduced the technique of sponge diving to Tarpon Springs and recruited divers and crew members from Greece. The first divers came from the Saronic Gulf islands of Aegina and Hydra, but they were soon outnumbered by those from the Dodecanese islands of Kalymnos, Symi and Halki. The sponge industry soon became one of the leading maritime industries in Florida and the most important business in Tarpon Springs, generating millions of dollars a year. The 1953 film Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, depicting the sponge industry, takes place and was filmed in Tarpon Springs.

In 1947, a red tide algae bloom wiped out the sponge fields in the Gulf of Mexico, causing many of the sponge boats and divers to switch to fishing shrimping for their livelihood, while others left the business. Eventually, the sponges recovered, allowing for a smaller but consistent sponge industry today. In the 1980s, the sponge business experienced a boom due to a sponge disease that killed the Mediterranean sponges. Today there is still a small active sponge industry. Visitors can often view sponge fishermen working at the Sponge Docks on Dodecanese Boulevard. In addition, visitors can enjoy shops, restaurants, and museum exhibits that detail Tarpon Springs' Greek heritage." Wiki

FUJIFILM FinePix HS30EXR 1/850 second F/5.6 ISO 200 9 mm

Jan 1, 2018: Dementia was debilitating; he needed me 24/7. Mike died November 16, 2020.
* Update: Our youngest son (56) died Jan 5, 2022 from complications of diabetes.
David, Mike & Curtis are now together in peace.

* SPOTLIGHT IMAGES
* PORTFOLIO

* Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." ... <)))><
______________________________________
All images copyright ©JhClark 2021 - All Rights Reserved

Mhelene from Villiers-sur-Marne, France

Beautiful framing . Great tribute to the divers .

9 Jun 2016 11:23am

beach from Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Thanks for the history of Tarpon Springs. Interesting. Nice statue honouring the divers.

9 Jun 2016 11:49am

Ehsan Hemmati from Kermanshah, Iran

nice informative photo.

9 Jun 2016 5:39pm

L'Angevine from Angers, France

bien

10 Jun 2016 1:52pm

FUJIFILM FinePix HS30EXR
1/850 second
F/5.6
ISO 200
9 mm

sponge
diver
4185