[QUOTE=John_W;1764603]When I was 12 in 1962, my 6th grade class went on a field trip to Tarpon Springs and they took us out in a boat. It wasn't very big, maybe ten of us at a time, and we watched the hard-hat diver go down and bring up a sponge. They still have the tours.
Tarpon Springs is home to a Greek Community and part of their heritage was hard-hat diving for sponges. There use to a very famous Greek Restaurant at the harbor in Tarpon Springs called Louis Pappas. It first opened in 1925 but I found that it closed in 2005. We had another very popular one in St. Petersburg (Pasadena), but it also has closed. They still have smaller locations in Clearwater and Tampa. So if you see a 'Louie' Pappas Restaurant, it's excellent Greek food.
Thanks for the great photos! They brought back so many memories for me, too. I used to love sponge painting with my 3 kids. We had a ball decorating their rooms together. That’s how I knew sponges were harvested in Tarpon Springs. But WOW...I thought bell scuba suits were left behind long ago. I’ll keep a lookout for Pappas. TY
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