Originally from Tennessee, Charles Pennycuff's parents moved their family to Eastpoint in 1971. Since Charles first saw the bay at the age of seventeen, he has made his living from it. Over the years, Charles has done it all. He has shrimped, oystered, crabbed, and even grunted for worms. His son, Rex, worked the bay, too. Like a lot of folks, though, they wanted something more reliable. In 1993 Charles opened Fisherman's Choice Bait & Tackle in Eastpoint. He has no employees, only his family.

A. L. "Unk" Quick has been an oysterman all of his life. Originally from Wewahitchka, Florida, his family moved to Eastpoint in 1949, when Unk was just nine years old. He quit school at the age of sixteen and started oystering the very next day. In 1964 he proposed to his wife, Gloria, and she started shucking oysters right away. They have worked together ever since. He catches, she shucks. Some days, they'll go out on the bay together. He catches, she culls. In the off-season they pick up odd jobs and do yard work. Whatever they're doing, they make a good team.

Born to a barber and a beautician in 1942, Corky Richards did not grow up in the seafood industry, but he got in it as soon as he could. Corky's family moved to Apalachicola when he was a teenager, and he immediately got to work on the bay. Using his carpentry skills, he began to make his own oyster tongs. One year in the off-season, a local marine supply company asked him to make tongs for the store. Soon, Corky was making and selling tongs to oystermen throughout Franklin County. Business was so good that Corky opened a woodworking shop.

Janice Richards was born in Eastpoint in 1945 and has been shucking oysters since 1960. Her mother taught her the trade when she was a girl. Early on she learned to take her time to shuck a clean oyster. Janice married her husband, Johnny Richards, an oysterman, at the age of fourteen. They've worked at a handful of seafood houses over the years, and today they work together at Tommy Ward's oyster house, 13 Mile. Johnny gets the oysters, and Janice shucks his catch. But these years of shucking have taken their toll.

Bobby Shiver was born at 13 Mile in 1939. His father oystered and his mother shucked for Miller's Fish & Oyster Company. As a child, Bobby remembers building toy boats out of scrap metal and wood. In the 1960s he began to build boats as a hobby. For years, creating boats was an avocation. Working the bay and building houses was Bobby's vocation. But when he got older, he began learning more about the trade from local boat builders. With a seventh-grade education, Bobby mastered the craft and made hundreds of boats. He never worked from a design.

The son of farmers, Donald Smiley was not born with the bay in his blood. He spent his childhood in the inland town of Wewahitchka, and, as a young man, Donald worked as an air conditioning technician in Panama City. But in 1980 he moved to Franklin County and began oystering. Donald says he made more money in one day of oystering than he could make in a week at doing A/C repair. He harvested oysters for the next thirteen years, until in 1993 the industry was changing so much that Donald wanted out. As a hobby, he started tinkering with bees.

Oringinally from Atlanta, Wes Birdsong and his wife sailed into Apalachicola in 1996. They docked their boat in town at the Deep Water Marina & Boatyard. It soon it became obvious to Wes that the marina needed some attention, so he took it upon himself to become caretaker of the place and help service the boats. Deep Water Marina, once the only working boatyard in the area, serviced all of the commercial fishing boats in Apalachicola. It was also a place for recreational boats to dry dock for repairs. In 2006 the Deep Water Marina & Boatyard closed.

Anthony Taranto is the son of Italian immigrants. His parents, Joseph and Madeline Taranto, met in Apalachicola. In 1923 they opened their own seafood house, Taranto's Seafood, and Anthony was born nine years later. As a kid, Anthony remembers his father employing more than fifty shuckers, mostly African Americans. When he was old enough, he helped pack shrimp. They would pour the shrimp into wooden barrels, pack them with ice, and send them to New York on a train. Anthony took over his father's seafood business as an adult. But today, Taranto's Seafood is closed.

Melanie Cooper Covell is the seventh generation to call Apalachicola home. Born in 1968, she and her four siblings grew up working at their parents' business, Cooper's Seafood. Melanie has been shucking oysters since she was fifteen years old. The family business closed in 1994, when Melanie's father, Fred Cooper, passed away. Still, Melanie continued to shuck. And she painted houses too. In 2004 Melanie married Larry Covell. Together, they opened the Wheelhouse Raw Bar in downtown Apalachicola, where Melanie's brother, Joey, is the cook. His mullet dip is unrivaled.

Born in 1942, Charles Thompson spent thirty-plus years of his life as a shrimper. In the 1980s, he began making his own nets. Soon, though, Charles could see that the shrimp business was changing. In 1998 he decided to sell his last boat. Not wanting to sit idle, he began repairing nets and making new nets for the shrimpers in the area. At that time, other net shops in Franklin County were closing. A local net maker by the name of James Copeland passed his skills and his patterns on to Charles. Soon, Charles had a new demand for his handiwork.