A Marco Pioneer Christmas Dinner

On Saturday, December 17, the Marco Island Historical Museum took participants back in time to celebrate Christmas the way Marco’s pioneers did by creating ornaments and holiday crafts. Families with small children enjoyed making ornaments just like the pioneer children made with the help of museum volunteer, Paula Stiffler. 

The Marco Island Historical Museum’s Pioneer Era in Marco (1870-1960) has an entire exhibit dedicated to this time period. Alarge poster shows the Tale of Two Villages - Marco on the North and Caxambas to the South - in the 1870s.The intrepid pioneers settled in the North and South ends of what is now Marco Island.   

Notable families such as Orida, Saloma, and Rosalie Olds grew up together in Marco’s tropical island wilderness. The environment was harsh and demanded that they fish, hunt, and grow crops. As they grew into adulthood, they continued to grow, pack, and sell fruits such as Indian mangoes. 

According to Gail Davenport, a museum assistant, the Pioneers of Marco Christmas dinnerincluded fruits that were in season, such as mangoes, guavas, or even local berries.They caught fish and huntedgameand whatever they could find – people were less picky then. Here are samples of what was on the dinner table: 

Mangoes. The Olds Family specialized in mangoes. They planted, harvested, crated, and shipped to markets in Key West and Fort Myers. They grew the fancy varieties of East Indian mangoes, and they also sold budded mango trees. The mango tree grew well in Marco’s tropical weather and was most likely a common backyard fruit tree.The fruits were made into preserves for personal consumption, traded, or sold. 

Alligator Pear. Another name for avocado, this fleshy fruit is what we now enjoy in guacamole. The bumpy skin resembles that of an alligator, which may have contributed to it being called “Alligator pear.” They were first introduced in Marco Island in the early 1800s andwere an extensive food source. 

Chokoloskee Chicken. The white ibis was known to the pioneers as a “curlew,” but some lightheartedly referred to it as the “Chokoloskee chicken.” 

This bird was abundant in South Florida and made for an easy meal for hunters.  The plumage craze of the 1890s, which saw Ibis and other birds slaughtered by the thousands for their feathers, drastically reduced the population. Luckily, the Ibis is a protected species of special concern in Florida today. 

Florida Manatee. Though it isunthinkable today to harm a manatee, it was once a menu item on the pioneer’s dinner table and considered a food source. During hard times, it was the “meal of last resort.”   

Guava. This fruit is grown on trees in tropical and subtropical climates and was introduced to Florida in the mid-1800s.Though overshadowed by the mango, avocado, and citrus trees, guava fruits were important to settlers. They made guava preserves during the summer and sold them at the Heights Hotel. 

Mullet. This fish is caught in large nets and salted for trade. Mullet was also a major part of the local fishing industry. Smoked mullet is a common way to prepare the mullet, and the roe (eggs) is a popular delicacy. 

Sea turtles. During the early pioneer era, sea turtles were a major part of the seafood industry. Catching a sea turtle was as simple as turning it over on its back.   They caught it alive and brought it to market in Key West. It was easy to find and each sea turtle yielded dozens of eggs. Sea turtles also made for large batches of turtle soup. Today, loggerhead sea turtles and all four other sea turtles found in Florida(green, leatherback, hawksbill, and Kemp’s ridley) are federally protected. 

The typical pioneer Christmas meal would have been more naturally sourced, using locally grown vegetables, fruits, and even edible wild plants. If there was hunted game, it would have been preserved by smoking or salting methods.