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shadow of doubt, they had seen something unusual and were two very scared men. I called the Sheriff and he came down and questioned these two men. His remark to me was "This is too much for me to handle", and he called in the F. B. I. My midnight, the entire area was swarming with soldiers, Coast Guard and intelligence people. No one was allowed out of their homes. What these two men had scen was a large tank filled with fuel
oil	to where it would just float. It had broken loose from a tow line fastened, and just as these men were casting their nets it began to move and pull this tank to deep water. This was what these men had seen. This tank and others found later, were destined for the German submarine operating in the Gulf of Mexico. The boat towing this tank was overtaken and on board was found many supplies for the submarine, even to a New Orleans daily newspaper. What happened to these traitors I never did find out; they were not local people but from another State.
Also captured were two men operating signals from the second floor of the Hotel at Clermont Harbor. Thus ended the submarine menace in the Gulf of Mexico, thanks to two well-known alcoholics. For reasons of security, all these men saw was a large dog playing in the water, and I doubt if they ever knew the great service they gave their Country during the time of war.
By now my family increased to six children living, and two deceased. The war was over and the antique business was doing well. I was advertising nationwide, shipping to all parts of the U. S. A. Also, I was making frequent buying trips, mostly in the eastern states. It was getting harder to renew my stock as years passed. Then without warning, the Hurricane of 1947 made a total wreck of both my home and business. In six hours time, what had taken years to build was wiped out. I was not alone; all of Clermont Harbor was more or less a wreck. What we would have done without the massive help of the American Red Cross, I do not know. They were here at once and what a massive job they accomplished.
And now for the enormous task of cleaning up the mess, and then to rebuild. The light house, being round, weathered the hurricane without damage, and seeing that a round building would withstand wind and water better than the conventional types, I decided to rebuild my home round, thus it is named the "Round House". This was later proven a wise move, and the round part withstood an even greater hurricane, "Camille" of August 17,
1969. For the next several years, all of my time was spent rebuilding, this time, mostly of concrete and steel in place of wood. Also, I raised the first floor level to above the high water level of 1947. in 1948, my mother died. She had been in poor health fcr a number of years.