Cocoa Florida was my favorite destination in the late 30’s and early to mid 40’s. My mother’s sister Margaret Lyons, who Charles & I called Goggie, lived there with her husband “Cap” J. P. Lyons who had been an Artillery Captain in WW I. They lived in the “Doghouse” a comfortable cottage built on pilings on the north side of their dock in the Indian River just north of downtown Cocoa. At the end of the dock was the Boat House which housed a speed boat and a second story dedicated to guest quarters where I always stayed. The mainland part of their property was a large citrus grove where they later built a home after a hurricane swept away the dock and its buildings.
I had all of the citrus fruit I could eat and I ate plenty. It was a paradise! I would fish from the dock for saltwater trout by casting plugs, day and night. And the fishing was fabulous. One night I witnessed a most memorable natural event. A bottle-nosed dolphin, which we called a porpoise, got into a school of mullet and created an extraordinary sound and light show next to and under the dock. The dolphin wheeled back and forth through the fish, hundreds of which were jumping and creating an extraordinary sound. The phosphorescence of all the activity lit up the night. It went on until the dolphin finally had its fill.
Cap bought a piece of property across the Indian River on Merritt Island which he called “the Jungle”. George Archer, an African American with a keen sense of humor, was responsible for taking care of the fruit and all else on the properties. He and Cap planted “alligator pear” trees, which we learned later to call avocados, on the cleared “Jungle” land. We also used to drive out to Cocoa Beach and the old pier at Cape Canaveral. Before or during the war, the Banana River Naval Air Station was constructed as a base for the Martin Flying Boats which patrolled for German submarines off the coast. I saw several fires resulting from torpedoed tankers off shore. That brought the war closer to home but it did not scare me - I have to admit that I was thrilled by it all. All of that land is now part of the Kennedy Space Center.
Jim, the Lyon’s only child, came to Cocoa after the war with his wife Nan. Sadly there was some sort of a break between parents and the younger couple which was never repaired. My mother blamed Nan. Years later after both parents were dead, I was in the area at an Air National Guard camp at an Air Force Base in Orlando. I met with Jim. He wanted to tell me their side of the dispute but I refused to hear him out. I regret that but remain convinced that, as the recipient of all of his parent’s property and wealth, Jim should have worked harder at restoring the relationship. I know that he also prospered as a result of the construction of The Kennedy Space Center and all of its infrastructure.
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