Brad Bertelli: Steward of Florida Keys History
Brad Bertelli is a local historian, author, and storyteller who spins colorful articulate tales with rich factual details about life in the Florida Keys.
“I like to think of it as history with a spoonful of honey,” said Bertelli, also author of ten books including two about snorkeling in Florida and in the Keys, two separate titles about “Key Largo” and “Islamorada,” and his popular series “Florida Keys History with Brad Bertelli.”
He also co-wrote “A Locals Guide to Bloodline: 50 Famous Film Locations in the Florida Keys.” A previous work, “Wrestling Alligators,” won a Key West Writer’s Guild Award. For a decade, he wrote history columns for local publications.
“My wife is very forgiving.”
He first spotted his wife of 17 years, Michelle, when she pulled into the parking lot of the former Bentley’s restaurant in Islamorada. She had moved to the Keys three days earlier.
Bertelli worked there. “I told my manager, ‘If she’s coming in for a job, hire her,’ “he recalled. Michelle was hired. They married in 2009.
A love of islands is what eventually lured him to the Keys from Huntington Beach, California.
In his mid-20s, Bertelli planned a trip to St. Croix to visit a friend (Hurricane Hugo struck there) and then to Hawaii (one airline went bankrupt and he lost a separate ticket). He bought a $100 one-way air ticket to Miami, hitchhiked to Fort Myers with a backpack and ended up at Captiva Island, where he waited tables and tended bar at a large resort for several years.
After returning briefly to California, Bertelli earned a full scholarship at University of Miami to pursue creative writing. He then moved to the Keys, working for 10 years as a waiter at Lazy Days and teaching part-time at the Keys’ community college.
In 2013, he became Islamorada’s Keys History & Discovery Center’s first hire and curated the museum for eight years. Since 2022, Brad has worked as an independent historian sharing his engaging stories through speaking engagements, books, newspaper columns, and his Facebook group Florida Keys History with Brad Bertelli.
The Plantation Key resident is in his second term as a commissioner for the Monroe County Historic Commission.
“Everything I do is history. I know a lot, but the more I learn, the less I know.”
Keys Traveler: When did you first come to the Florida Keys and why?
Brad Bertelli: I moved to Plantation Key in 2001. I had just graduated from University of Miami with an MFA degree in creative writing and wanted to finish my great Florida novel. The road has forked a bit, but one day I’ll get back to it.
KT: What aspects of the Keys environment or way of life matter most to you?
BB: I like the warmth, the small-town feel, and the rum-friendly vibe.
KT: Who or what inspired you to become passionate about respecting and protecting the Keys’ natural world?
BB: I was working on a snorkeling book and every captain had a different story about the “history” of whatever reef we were exploring. I became curious about the true stories and started doing my own research. It was like a new world opened up. The more I learned about the incredible breadth of local history, the less I wrote fiction and the more I began writing about the Keys.
KT: How does that passion influence your work or profession?
BB: At heart I am a storyteller. Working as the curator at Islamorada’s Keys History & Discovery Center afforded me the opportunity to share some of these great histories on a spectacular scale. Since leaving the museum, I have worked even harder to learn about the Florida Keys’ colorful past. These are important stories that cannot be forgotten and I am doing what I can to keep them alive.
KT: What are some of the ways, personally or through your work, that you connect with and/or help protect the local environment and unique lifestyle? BB: For a decade I wrote a history column in local newspapers. I continue to write books. I’ve been called an enthusiastic speaker and give talks around South Florida and the Keys. In 2024, was asked to give the closing keynote talk at the Ernest Hemingway Seminar in Ketchum, Idaho. Daily, I share historical tidbits through social media.
KT: What keeps you energized, challenged and focused on your path?
BB: I’m always learning. I believe what I am doing is important. Some 1,700 islands make up the Florida Keys, but they are all connected. There are a lot of stories out there. Some have never been told before. I’ve dedicated myself to tell as many of them as I can.
KT: What do you hope your positive environmental actions will accomplish?
BB: I work to reveal a side of the Florida Keys that is too often overlooked. I hope to leave locals and visitors alike with a deeper understanding of the island chain and the fragile environment we all share.
KT: What message do you want your actions and example to communicate to people you encounter?
BB: To help people understand the history of the world around them and how interesting this island chain really is.
KT: What’s your favorite natural or eco-friendly activity in the Keys?
BB: Getting on a kayak and paddling out to Indian Key Historic State Park. It is my favorite island in the Keys. Getting out there and around the island chain’s only ghost town never ceases to amaze me.
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