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Title: Married Couple: The Monkey Girl and Alligator Skinned Man.
Abstract/Description: This is an early photo of Priscillar Lauther and Emmit Bejano, who were known by various professional side show names through their long career in the carnival industry: most frequently The Monkey Girl and the Alligator Skinned Man. They met in the 1930s and eloped to become married in 1938. They had one son, who died at an early age, and a second son that they adopted in the 1960s. They, like many carnival workers moved to Gibsonton in the 1950s, bought a one acre plot of land and a mobile...
Show moreThis is an early photo of Priscillar Lauther and Emmit Bejano, who were known by various professional side show names through their long career in the carnival industry: most frequently The Monkey Girl and the Alligator Skinned Man. They met in the 1930s and eloped to become married in 1938. They had one son, who died at an early age, and a second son that they adopted in the 1960s. They, like many carnival workers moved to Gibsonton in the 1950s, bought a one acre plot of land and a mobile home and called Gibsonton home for the rest of their lives. Emmit died in 1995 and Priscilla died in 2001. A feature article on the couple can be found at this web site: https://showmensmuseum.org/carnival-sideshows/percilla-the-monkey-girl/.
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Identifier: HCC0101GIB054
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: Original Al Tomaini Boot Memorial.
Abstract/Description: After Al Tomaini's death in 1962, his wife, Jeanie, placed a 35 inch boot outside of their home, as a memorial. This picture is of the unrestored boot. When Jeanie died in 1999, the property was sold to Mosaic Company and shortly after that, the boot went missing. To honor the family Mosaic, with the help of Gibsonton residents, created a park on the site of Giant's Fish Camp, and today a full size replica of the boot is on site to memorialize Al.
Identifier: HCC0101GIB031
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: Roosevelt River Map (Bullfrog Creek).
Abstract/Description: One of the more interesting facts to come out of the development of Gardenville Resort area in 1910 (which preceded the founding of Gibsonton, south by more than a decade) was that the developer W. D. Davis of Tampa renamed Bullfrog Creek to the Roosevelt River. While the renaming was not official (and didn't stick), it was a marketing ploy to play on the popularity of former President Teddy Roosevelt to garner interest in his new community of Gardenville. Note the platting of lots on both...
Show moreOne of the more interesting facts to come out of the development of Gardenville Resort area in 1910 (which preceded the founding of Gibsonton, south by more than a decade) was that the developer W. D. Davis of Tampa renamed Bullfrog Creek to the Roosevelt River. While the renaming was not official (and didn't stick), it was a marketing ploy to play on the popularity of former President Teddy Roosevelt to garner interest in his new community of Gardenville. Note the platting of lots on both side of Roosevelt River which was done to sell lots to fund the resort area planned for the beach area between the Roosevelt River and the Alafia River. The community didn't prosper long and was ultimately merged into Gibsonton
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Identifier: HCC0101GIB053
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: The Human Blockhead.
Abstract/Description: Melvin Burkhart, shown in this 1978 file photo, in Gibsonton, Fla., was known in the carnival circle as "The Human Blockhead" for his ability to hammer a spike into his head through a cavity behind his nostril.
Identifier: HCC0101GIB023
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: U S Phosphoric Plant near Gibsonton.
Abstract/Description: Early photo of US Phosphoric Plant in Gibsonton Florida along the Alafia River.
Identifier: HCC0101GIB050
Format: Image (JPEG)

Bullfrog Creek (1)	+ -
Gibsonton (1)	+ -

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