Key West, Florida True Tales from 1979

The Long Lost Crew is happy to announce our first fan winner for our blog contest. Mike S. sent in a beauty of a story about some wild days in Key West, Florida. Make sure you send your stories into our blog Remember That Place. You could win free gear, too! And now, let the stories begin!

Back in '79 I decided to take some time off college to "find myself" and as luck would have it I found myself in Key West and almost immediately ran out of money.  I had construction experience and was able to secure a job on the Shark Channel bridge as the new bridges were being built at the time.  I was living in the back of a '63 Chevy pickup truck at Boyds Campground on Stock Island. Several of your tee shirts bring back memories, some good and some a bit lurid. The Boca Chica Lounge was on Stock Island and it's reputation was so bad I never set foot inside the place (it was well known as a "gun and knife" club and strangers were looked down upon. One night we were in town and heard music inside the Monster and decided to check it out.  The bouncer told us that we didn't want to go inside, which even piqued our curiosity all the more.  He said "I'll let you take a look inside and then you can decide if you want to stay"  I walked in and my midwestern eyes were quite shocked to see drag queens, guys dancing together and pretty much an everything goes atmosphere.  I walked out and told the bouncer that he was right and we headed down and wound up at Captain Tony's which became a regular watering hole.  I spent several nights sitting at the end of the bar and talking to Captain Tony, he'll always hold fond memories in my mind.  I left the Keys in May of '79, came home, finished college and headed straight back to Key West as it had grown on me.  I had brought my tools with me and was able to secure a job as a carpenter on the Boca Chica bridge project and was making quite good money for the times.