Weeki Wachee started out as a swimming hole, a natural spring 117 feet deep that feeds the seven-mile-long Weeki Wachee River, which pumps more than 100 million gallons of fresh water into the Gulf of Mexico every day. When Perry built the spring’s theater, he also submerged two airlocks into the rocky base and developed air hoses so swimmers could free-dive 20 feet down. Then he recruited young women, mostly local high-school students and waitresses, to work for him. He taught them the same kind of synchronized-swimming routines that were making attractions like Cypress Gardens so popular — except at Weeki Wachee, they would do everything underwater. Perry’s swimmers learned to drink something called Grapette and eat bananas while sitting on a ledge in the spring. Perry didn’t pay the women for their efforts; they worked in exchange for meals, free swimsuits (tails would come later) and glory...
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 20:42:28 +0000
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