Historic Englewood Florida
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Page 20 Historic Englewood Guide 2022 By DIANA HARRIS SUN CORRESPONDENT Eugenie Clark and her fam- ily made an impact on people who lived in Englewood while the lab operated here from 1955 to 1960. Fred Gottfried was the son of one of Englewood's pio- neers, Ferdinand Gottfried. He was a part-time resident of Englewood for decades and remembered the Cape Haze Lab during its earliest days. He recalled his most unique visit to the lab during an interview years later. "After the Bass lab closed, a little later we had another laboratory — strictly marine — at Cape Haze," he said. "A world-renowned marine biologist, Eugenie Clark, was in charge. "I had been introduced to her and became friendly, she was very personable, ex- tremely interesting, and from time to time I would stop by to ask her questions about marine life that interested me. "One day she identified a strange, rare jellyfish I had seen — about four inches long and shaped like a violin. She knew immediately what it was. "I met her coming out of the post office one day. She told me to come down to the laboratory the next day, they had just captured an uncom- mon shark and had it in their holding tank. "So the next day I stopped by and Eugenie was all in a dither. Her assistant was gone for the day. The uncommon shark had died overnight, it needed to be dissected right away before it deteriorated. She asked if I would help her. "Of course, I had never done anything like that, but I said I would gladly help if she allowed me 30 minutes to go home and change clothes. I was coming from Punta Gorda where I had business and was all dressed up. I knew she was afraid I would run out on her. "When I returned, she handed me a pair of yellow waders and we were soon standing knee-deep in blood. I was afraid the other sharks nearby would charge us, but none did. "First she cut out an eye and then she split the carcass and took out a piece of the liver. She knew exactly what she was doing." Fred said it was an aston- ishing experience. Dr. Clark amazed him. He said if you saw her walking down the street, so petite and pretty, you would never believe what she did for a living. "That was a rare adven- ture," said Fred, "and my visit to the laboratory that day enabled me to brag about how I once was an assistant to the great marine biologist, Dr. Clark." Clark's presence also had a cultural impact on the Englewood of the late 1950s. Clark's mother, Yumico, a Japanese immigrant and avid swimmer, came to Englewood and opened a restaurant. Longtime Englewood resi- dent Pat Smith remembered it well. "When I was growing up here in the 1950s, all the kids in town could use chopsticks correctly because the 'in' restaurant at the time was the Chidori, a wonderful Japanese place in Grove City," Smith said. Englewood memories of Eugenie Clark and the Cape Haze Lab Chopsticks arrive in Englewood PHOTO COURTESY OF MOTE MARINE LABORATORY Eugenie Clark, a marine biologist, ran the Cape Haze Marine Lab in the late 1950s. She quickly became known to many in the small Englewood community. PHOTO COURTESY OF DIANA HARRIS Otto Gottfried packs celery on his farm for shipping in 1919. The little boy watching is Fred Gottfried. A few years later, marine biologist Eugenie Clark called upon Fred to help with an emergency shark dissection.