My Home Sweet Home

Arlos Ogg, viewed  the picture of a small house surrounded by empty fields, it made him chuckle. “This is my house." 

The very house I am sitting in right now.

To the east of the house, at that time, lay the largest grapefruit grove in Florida. But there were no trees around Crest Lake itself, so Ruth, his lovely wife, helped plant the first tree there.

The photographs of  Arlos Ogg became more popular after he married Ruth, a young Swedish woman, who colored his black-and-white pictures with oils. Although this art form all but disappeared with the advent of color photographs, it required great skill to produce results, and Ruth had a rare talent for it. George Eastman considered her among the top ten oil colorists in the country

All of the flowers that she used in arrangements and exhibition were grown by the Oggs in their back yard, including magnolias, roses, kumquats, orchids (they had 300 at one time) and kapok blossoms.

During a sheduled open house in Feb, 2015, a neighbor who lives in Crest Lake recalled Babe Ruths visits and told of a party they attened at the Ogg home. The party celebrated the blooming of an orchid that bloomed at night, once evey ten years. And the house was crowded with neighbors sharing in the passion of the Oggs.

They also enjoyed the fruits of the banana, papaya and pineapple trees they husbanded. Ruth won many blue ribbons in contests sponsored by the Garden Club, which she helped found.

To the right are portraits of Ruth, colorized by Ruth.

Ruth’s grandmother, a 98-year-old at the time of the photograph, is a Swedish princess who had lost her title for marrying the “commoner” she loved. Faces of honest and upright folk pass through Ogg’s hands, people from another age, even though it was less than a century ago.

There was nothing that Arlos Ogg would not and did not photograph, from celebrities such as Babe Ruth to the “meanest cat I ever saw,” an animal that had won first prize at a celebrated English show. Two of his photographs were displayed at the World’s Fair in New York in 1939.

When baseball immortal Babe Ruth visited Clearwater in the late 1940s, Ogg recorded the event. Ruth is shown here with then Mayor Joe Houze.

Neighbors still recall Babe Ruth visiting the community and his visits with his friend Ogg in his home on Laura Street in Crest Lake. Imagine when you ask your friend, "How does it feel to tread upon the same hardwood floors upon which 'The Babe' walked?

War 
Ogg was one year too young to be conscripted for World War I and one year too old for World War II. But he “did his bit” anyway. When World War II broke out, the Air Corps took over the Biltmore (in Belleair) as a training area. The colonel in charge asked Ogg to take a photograph of the first troops arriving.

After the shoot, the colonel called him into his office and said he wanted to fingerprint him. When Ogg asked why, he was told, “As of now, you are the official photographer for the Air Corps, the Marines, the infantry, the Coast Guard and all the military officials in this area. We have checked you out and found that you are probably one man we can fully trust.”

The military even conducted meetings in the back room of Ogg Studios, always with Ogg in attendance. The only FBI office in the state at that time was in Miami, and so the military had a phone line installed that ran directly from Ogg’s back office to the FBI office. He participated in secret work for the Air Corps in Clearwater and the Marines in Dunedin.

A Back Story
Living in a home with a back story like this makes this home One of a Kind. Knowing there is a tangible connection directly to events of importance and significance emanating from your very own home can be nothing short of inspirational.

This neat-as-a-pin home is currently available for qualifed buyers to see. 

Please let me know what impressed upon you as you read this blog.
What was your take away?
Leave your comment below.

If you want to see this home, you know what to do.
Pick up the phone and give me a call.

Best of success,
Annette Lawrence, Broker/Associate
Remax
Palm Harbor, FL
727.420.4041