Humans of the Keys

Scott Franzen, Marathon

In 1980 I came to the keys to work on the lobster boats. It was, like, the 1800's. We got our crew from the Idle Hour bar which were just waking up with a hangover.

We went to the beach to find a boat load of Haitians sitting 100 yards off shore waiting for the sherrif to es**rt them in. The only way they could enter the U. S.

We then started for the buoys and the traps. The coast guard cutters came through with their 50 caliber guns searching each boat for drugs. We pulled traps all day then headed back in.

The ma*****na bales were floating onto the beach very water tightly wrapped. We’d eat and then head to the spunky monkey to relax if you could call it that. Arguing with the various people was a given. Most of them had knives and didn’t play around. Listened to Whale ,had a few more drinks then stumbled back to our apartment which was on key colony beach to get a few hours sleep and get ready for day # 2. What a great time to be alive in the keys. 😉.

Fred's dressed and ready for the Holidays!

Thanks to Marathon resident Ashley Elgersma for this beautiful shot of the me from last night while she drove home from work 🎄so peaceful.

Don Bailey

“I have been on the front page of the local paper about 5 times. The Keynoter, I think.

My billboard on Adam’s Cut has been there since the 1970’s, with one exception of about 6 months.

My Billboard?

What happened is, I had worked 14 years for Harry Ridge and I had resigned to start my own carpet business. I had a little store at 660 NW 98 Street, Miami. A couple hundred thousand cars saw that building every day, but customers couldn’t find me because they had to go down 7th Ave and you couldn’t see the building from 7th Ave; it was blocked by 2 tall buildings.

I had to do something to let people find me.

Burt Reynolds came out with his Cosmopolitan centerfold in 1972. I never met him, but my friend, Lee Corso was his roommate along with Ron Fraser. My two friends told me all about Burt and how he always got the beautiful girls and they just hung around him and would scoop up dates! I said ‘Damn, that’s what I should do. I should pose like Burt Reynolds and people will find me!’

I had started as a janitor at the Harry Ridge store, then truck driver’s helper, truck driver, salesman, manager, and finally vice president, all by the time I was 25. I really hustled! So anyway, I didn’t have the money to paint the sign, I had just started my business with a limited amount of money. My brother was a pictorial artist working for a billboard company. He did it for free. My billboard is all me, in Burt Reynold’s Cosmo pose.

I got 3 – 5 people a week in my shop. The first day after the first billboard went up 20 women came in!
They wanted pictures with me, my autograph. I continued getting 15 – 25 women a day coming into my shop. I outgrew that store within a year, I had to move to a bigger shop at 14831 NW 7th Ave which was right on 7th and I put that sign on the side of the building. That area was kind of remote back then but they started coming to my new shop.

My first 3 billboards were in the Keys. The first ones were in the n**e, like Burt’s, but they eventually made me paint a little bathing suit on it. It led to tremendous growth. I expanded to 5 stores, sold 1, and we are a 4th generation shop.

We were in Ziggy and Mad Dog’s once when Al Golden, head coach of UofM was there with about 4 of his coaches and their wives and then another table had Gary Dunn (played for Pittsburg – 3 Superbowl rings - and owns the OV, Ocean View and a great friend of my Sons who played with Gary), and Joe Zagacki (voice of the Miami Hurricanes) in there. I called Randy Kasowitz, the owner at the time, over and said you have 3 great celebrities here tonight! He said ‘Don, nobody wants a picture with them, you’ve had about 6 pictures taken with you in the last hour. You’re the celebrity, not them.’ I replied ‘Say it again Randy, I want my wife to hear that!’ When we go to Ziggy and Mad Dogs, people still want their pictures with me.

I decided to update the sign. I put me 40 years later. Then I decided I wanted to update it again, I wanted my son on there.

This is the story of my Billboard.”

To read more about this unique man and his generous and helpful spirt towards minorities and those less fortunate, please check out his book The Don Bailey Story; From truck driver to Multi-Millionaire with Jim Martz. Don has bought houses and cars for people, as well as many other acts of kindness!