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ORAL HISTORY

Carl McCaplan - Oysterman and Driver for Leavins Seafood

Carl McCaplan’s family has relied on of the Apalachicola Bay for generations. Born in 1968, Carl practically grew up on the water. He remembers going out to oyster with his father when he was just eight years old. As a teenager, Carl moved away, looking for a different life. But the people and the place drew him back. He returned to Apalachicola and invested in his future. In the late 1980s Carl worked with the Oyster Association to replant the oyster beds. Twenty years later, oystermen are now harvesting those areas. The bay has provided for the McCaplan family, and it provides for Carl’s family today. He spends five days a week oystering. The other two days a week, he drives a truck for Leavins Seafood, delivering oysters throughout the state. It’s work that he loves in a place that he loves.