LIVING HISTORY
get $35 to $45 — Crackers are gonna gator hunt!” she says.
“That’s just the way it was and that’s what we did. We gator
hunted!”
Wall recalls the precise way they subdued these mammoth,
iconic creatures.
“We used a .22 and you’ve got to know exactly where to shoot
them — right in the eye—or you can’t kill them,” she says.
The prized part of the gator was its hide or belly that they
sold. They carefully skinned it to avoid cutting a hole, or it
would reduce the price of the hide. Large older gators that
had big hides or button hides were considered less valuable.
“We killed many gators — not to eat — but for the pure
money — for the hide. It bought many a pair of shoes and
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RICK CRARY
In 1975, the couple purchased and restored the Seminole Inn. On the National
probably built the Baptist church here in Indiantown,” she
says with a wink and a smile.
BUILDING FAMILY AND BUSINESS
Eventually in 1962, the Walls partnered with Jack and Faye
Williamson to start their own business, WW Lumber, in Indiantown.
After three years, the Williamsons sold their half of
the business to the couple, and today the lumber company is
thriving with six locations in central and South Florida.
In 1975, the couple also purchased and restored the Seminole
Inn in Indiantown. Built in 1926 by S. Davies Warfield,
the historical mission-style hotel had been neglected and
fallen on hard times.
RICK CRARY
The Indiantown inn, which was built in 1926, provides several sitting areas including an inviting lobby with a fireplace to read or chat.
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Register of Historic Places, it offers dining and accommodations.
IRIS WALL COLLECTION
As they grew up on the ranch, Wall imparted a love of horses to her daughters,
Terry, Jonnie and Eva.