George Watkins, Part 2
Florida's Forgotten Coast
Florida's Forgotten Coast oral history collection includes twenty-one interviews documenting the seafood industry in Franklin County, FL, with an emphasis on Apalachicola, plus two interviews relating to tupelo honey. Original Collection Housed at Archives & Special Collections at the University of Mississippi and online at www.southernfoodways.com.
Shelley Chance
George Watkins's family has been in the Apalachicola area since the late nineteenth century. They've witnessed the sponge trade, the loading of cotton boats, and a booming seafood industry. When George was a eight years old, his grandfather began taking him out fishing on weekends. Right then, George knew he wanted to be a fisherman. Over the years he has harvested just about everything the bay has to offer. But one day George decided to take up beekeeping. He says it was because he just liked honey. Like everything else George does, he threw himself into beekeeping with a passion. He started small, but soon he was the top tupelo honey producer in the area. For George, it's not just about the tupelo. It's about the river that nourishes the trees that make the blossoms that make the bees make such wonderful honey.
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