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 The heyday of Florida's sponge diving industry occurred during the 1930s and 1940s. For most of Nick Toth's youth, the industry was in decline, due to red tides and the increased use of synthetic sponges. But, in the 1980's the sponges in the Mediterranean died, and the Florida market recovered. There's a very healthy demand for Florida's Rock Island wools. They're considered to be the best sponges in the world, very tough and very soft. They're used in manufacturing in the ceramics and paint-making industries as well as by individuals. One sponge a foot across wholesales for up to fifteen dollars.
 "These helmets are a part of the past," says Nick Toth. A past that, in Tarpon Springs at least, may go on forever. But who knows? Divers in the Mediterranean are having to dive deeper and deeper to find sponges, and the old-timers like to believe that Tarpon springs will rise again to reclaim its prominence.
If it does, Nicholas Toth will be there. And Anthony will look down and smile. |
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© Nick Toth, 2001
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