Glenn Simmons
Master skiff builder (1916–2009)
Glen J. Simmons (January 14, 1916 – July 21, 2009) was an outdoorsman and guide who became notable as a master builder of skiffs, the "vessels used to navigate the Everglades," The skill made him a "Florida Local Legacy" and the winner of the Florida Folk Heritage Award in 1995.
Simmons was born January 14, 1916, in the Florida City, Florida area and raised in nearby Homestead, Simmons "spent much of his life in the glades, alone or with other gladesmen, hunting alligators, deer and turtles, as well as fishing"; his family, "like most poor farmers and settlers in the region, lived 'from hand to mouth' during the depression" that followed the Florida land boom of the 1920s.
Starting at the age of 12, Simmons built pole-powered skiffs used to navigate the Florida Everglades prior to the advent of fanboats; originally made of cypress wood, the craft boats were used for hunting and navigation. Simmons earned a living by "hunting, fishing, banana farming, and guiding newcomers."
An interest in writing about his experiences in the Everglades led him to approach Laura Ogden, a professor at Florida International University for help in writing a book: the collaboration led to the 1998 publication of Gladesmen: Gator Hunters, Moonshiners, and Skiffers (ISBN 9780813015736).
Simmons' story was the inspiration for the name and the music of the Florida band Nate Augustus and the Gladezmen.
Simmons died on July 21, 2009.
“Glenn Simmons” enters the record as master skiff builder (1916–2009). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Glenn, Simmons and Master can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5569108. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1916, 2009, 1995 and 1998.
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This entry incorporates text from “Glenn Simmons” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.