XO
Smiles,
This is my Sister Coral, or as we all call her...COR COR! The above photograph was styled by Mommy, who made it clear she considered this Baby to be a Princess to reign over all of the bounty that my parents harvested from the Sea....the child is bedecked in Shrimp Net, and surrounded by Saws from Sawfish, Conch Shellls and Turtles, and of course the Coral her name came from. Could not resist this one too! Baby Turtle Soup anyone? Isn't she just adorable? And she is just loving it! Can you just imagine giving a child a TURTLE shell to play with nowadays???? And so Mommy would promote the business and Coral would keep her company. Note the Angel on the sign, for angelfish...wow, that would be one heck of a fine nowadays! Coral grew up along the docks, playing with her pet pelicans. She had the finest of everything, Her clothing from New York... Puppies replaced the Pelicans...but then.... I came along......A little sister for the princess! Cor Cor and Daddy look...very Happy! Yes Very Very Happy! But that's OK, they just put me to work! No fancy dresses for me! I still love red, and sneakers....I was always the tomboy of the two of us, they called me "Little Toni" for good reason... Sometimes we all worked together But then Cor Cor grew up and did big things on her own...she started a baton twirling group called the 'Conch Town Twirlers' that at one point would include 60 girls. These were just a few of her "Conch Town Twirlers" getting ready for a parade to be held on Duval. This is Greene St. The building on the left would be the old Key West Citizen building.. Another parade Yet another, this one a Christmas Parade! Then she went on to open the Body Shop. The Body Shop was a fitness center located at the Key Wester Hotel, which is where the Hyatt is now on South Roosevelt. I love the signs above thier heads! Then, with many other adventures behind her, including marriage - Cor Cor joined me working in the bar. Here she is posing with Padelia, the skeleton that Daddy always called his 'first wife', till the day I saw his REAL first wife scold him for it.... Then she became 'Coral MGR' and created her own frozen drink...the Coral Reef! And after many years of bartending, Cor Cor is now semi-retired....Here we are celebrating her birthday. It's rare that my only FULL sister and I get together, but I can't wait to see what wonderful adventures in business she comes up with next. I promise to keep you posted, but I just had to show off the wonderful pictures that sum up her years so far, We Love You Cor Cor! P.S. And Coral, Thank You for always forcing me to have our pictures taken through the years, I think this one was around 1978. And I'm really, really glad that my looks couldn't kill.
XO Smiles,
9 Comments
10/23/2012 10:40:03 pm
I just wanted to take a minute to let you know how much I enjoy your blog/page.We moved to Ft.Myers from Tx in 2001 and have been traveling to KW since then. I first met your dad in 2002. I saw him at the bar in 2001, but was too nervous to say hi! I really enjoyed talking to him from then on. thanks again & have a great day! stephanie
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Thank you Stephanie
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Iris Flores
12/1/2012 10:45:44 am
I love seeing all these pictures~~~~~~~~~~~~wonderful ! God bless you and Coral !
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Diane Dillier
7/26/2015 04:35:29 am
Hey Toni, just wanted to drop a line about how much I loved seeing those pictures, and they wouldn't of been the same without the great captions!!! I've known Princess Coral for over 20 years and have meet your awesome father many years ago too. My best Happy Birthday wishes to a great friend, and thank you so much for her wonderful life's memories, so many things I've never known about her, such as a captain twirtler....
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Jolee Vasquez
7/26/2015 06:50:45 am
Wow, I didn't know Coral was a baton twirler too! It would be so fun to get together and revive this mostly lost art! Living in the public eye makes it easy to lead the parade and in my case vice-versa. Wonderful, wonderful pictures. Thank you for sharing them!
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Cathy Waldbott
7/26/2015 08:05:21 am
Coral, You're one of the sweetest gals I've ever known and I hope to always stay friends with you forever. You're a very special person. Happy Birthday and many, many more!
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Cathy Waldbott
7/26/2015 08:11:07 am
Cor Cor...I had no idea you had such a rich history! How amazing your story is! I would love to come down to Key West and interview you for about a year and write a book about you! Your story fascinates me.
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Ellen Hanrahan
7/26/2015 11:18:56 am
Toni, I loved this post! Treasured memories & more to come! Wish Coral happy birthday for me! BTW, loved that 70's sass!
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Wendy Tucker
7/27/2015 02:25:40 am
Wonderful memories for a "birthday girl" and her "little" sister! About those doughnuts?? What an adventure it has been watching you both over the years! Happy Birthday, Coral
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