GREEK SPONGE FISHERS WON'T GO AGAINST TRADITION
Tarpon Springs, Florida (JFK+50) On April 1, 1926, Associated Press reports that "sails flappd idly in the breeze and dinky engines remained silent yesterday as boats of the Greek sponge fishing* fleet rode at the wharf afraid to venture into the open sea lest disaster overtake them."
Three fishermen of the Tarpon Springs had died after their boat caught on fire on March 17. While five men were rescued, one other is "expected to die from wounds received."
AP says that the colony's tradition "is that disaster lurks for the boat that ventures into the open sea while there is a grave open for a member of the colony."
*sponge fishing involves harvesting natural sea sponges from the ocean floor in areas like Tarpon Springs, Florida & the Mediterranean Sea using diving techniques or long hooks.
SOURCE
"Sponge Fishers Idle in Fear of Death Tradition," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., April 1, 1926, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
