10 FOGHORN FOGHORN FOCUS Recently, Captain Louis Skrmetta of Ship Island Excur- sions sat down to talk about the company’s history. The young man waiting for the trolley was his great-great uncle, Nick Skrmetta, and as Louis put it, “he lucked out.” The man he met was Lorenzo “Laz” Lopez, a prominent figure in the thriving Biloxi seafood industry at the time, and he offered Skrmetta an entry level job at his processing plant. Nick quickly rose to be one of the best employees, lead- ing Lopez to ask the young immigrant if there were more people in his family he could bring to America to join the company’s workforce. Pete Martin Skrmetta was only 18 years old when he came to Biloxi in 1903 and began working with his Uncle Nick in Lopaz’s plant and crewing sailing schooners bringing in the daily catch. Louis explained that everyone in the family, even the children, worked in processing plants. “My grandmother was a little girl standing next to her mother, standing on crates, picking shrimp,” he said. “That’s the way it was when they first came over here and worked their way up.” By the early 1920s, Peter Martin owned his own 58ʹ, die- sel-powered schooner lugger he named the Pan American. He chose the name for the pride he had in being an Ameri- can citizen and in honor of the opportunities that he found in his new home country. At the same time that Peter Martin was building his first boat, prohibition fell upon the country, outlawing the production, importation, transportation, and sale of al- cohol. The enforcement of the laws along the Gulf Coast was lax and tourists flocked to the region. A small island, roughly 10 miles south of Biloxi, was renamed Isle of Ca- price and a resort was built, offering not only alcohol but gambling and a lively dance hall. Peter Martin became one of several boat operators who ferried guests to the island, offering up to three trips a day. In 1926, a round-trip ticket to the island cost one dollar per person and on the vessel, passengers could enjoy food and highballs made from bootleg whiskey. In the evening, jazz bands, roulette tables, and slot machines transformed the excursion boats into float- ing parties. The business proved so fruitful, that Peter Martin extended the Pan American to 76ʹ, added a sec- ond deck, and increased seating to accommodate over 150 passengers. The heyday of the Isle of Caprice lasted only a few years. An ill-fated combination of storms, strong currents washing against its shores, and a growing interest in harvesting the protective sea oats that held the sand in place, led to the island sinking beneath the Gulf waves by 1932. While the Isle of Caprice was gone, Skrmetta had discov- ered the economic potential of the excursion business and in 1932 he formed the Pan American Association, purchasing property on the eastern end of nearby Ship Island with plans to build his own resort. Using timber from abandoned buildings on the Isle of Caprice, he built a small beach pavilion and dock, and by summer, was fer- rying guests to the new resort. The area grew in popularity with its natural white sand, clear water, and the gambling and drinking that still thrived. Gambling wasn’t just for resort guests. Skrmetta family lore has it that Peter Martin once gambled and lost the Pan American in a dice game one evening. Fortunately, he won it back the same night. In fact, Louis still remembers slot machines on a later boat, the Pan American Clipper, and at the snack bar on the island. By the early 1920s, Peter Martin owned his own schooner lugger he named the Pan American. He chose the name for the pride he had in being an American citizen and in honor of the opportunities that he found in his new home country.
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