Florida Stories - Billie Martini

Billie Martini and Paul Roat

Billie Martini arrived on isolated Anna Marie Island as a teenager in 1944 after her father was discharged from the Navy following World War II.

She soon fell in love with the tropical surroundings, met the man she would marry and spent decades skeptically watching development and politics evolve the island into one of Florida's most popular resort areas.

Here, she tells her friend Paul Roat, the news editor at The Islander, about the colorful history of the area, including a unforgettable fish story that captured a 'giant seahorse' and visitors' active imaginations.