Tag Archives: Panama City Beach
Meet Teddy, the St. Andrews Hermit
He was here before the condos, before the all-you-can-eat crab legs and long before Thomas Drive was ever mentioned in a country song. He could walk the white sands, fish the emerald, green waters and never had to worry about traffic. Even though Panama City Beach was yet to have a name, he was one of the first residents with the beach all to himself. His name was Teddy. And he was a hermit. Teddy Tollefsen wasn’t always a hermit, but he was always a fisherman. He was born in 1882 in Trondheim, Norway. He left home at 14 to sail the seas and first came to America in 1906 after fishing waters around the world. Tired of working for others, Teddy began fishing for himself, first settling in Pensacola before moving on to St. Andrews where he hoped to try his luck fishing for red snapper. In 1929, the Bahamas Hurricane made an unwanted visit to Panama City and changed Teddy’s life forever. photos, >click to read< 15:59
