Joe Butler, ca. 1920s–60s
Joe Butler, ca. 1920s–60s
Tallahassee
Acc. no. 2021M.012.012
An avid fisherman and wood carver, Joe Butler made these wooden floats. Butler worked at the Florida Supreme Court as a messenger for the justices from the late 1940s to 1972. While awaiting assignments and in his spare time after work, he carved floats. He gave them to his fishing friends, and some were sold in a local tackle shop. The float, also called a bobber, is attached to the fishing line to hold the lure at a certain depth of water and indicate when a fish has taken the bait.