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Whether you knew her as "Smokehouse Sally" or Mrs. Peters, she smoked fish in South Florida for over fifty years. The legend of Mrs. Peters began in 1914 when a young girl and her mother came from Troy, Pennsylvania and settled in Biscayne Heights at Little River, now incorporated in Miami. Sally, undaunted by men's work, learned early how to clean fish dockside, thus perfecting a skill which is still the envy of many professional fishermen.
Sally married her childhood sweetheart, Charter Boat owner and Captain, Bill Peters. Together, they continued to operate the Charter boat until a friend from Little River introduced Sally and Bill to their first taste of smoked fish and then taught them the art of smoking. In 1931, Sally and Bill built their own smokehouse at the corner of 71st Street and Miami Avenue. It was the largest smokehouse in Florida at the time.
Mrs. Peters products, including the now famous "Sea Twang," were well known in local establishments throughout Miami. Sally was a great innovator and was the first in the business to use open racks and fish fillets to maximize flavor.
Miami was growing and also becoming congested, so in 1958, Sally and Bill moved north to Jensen Beach in the Rio section. Here amidst the famous fishing waters they bought their home on the St. Lucie River and built a smokehouse where they continued to produce Mrs. Peters Famous Smoked Fish fillets. Sally claimed to have even smoked fish for President Herbert Hoover.
Bill Peters passed away in 1960, but Sally continued operating the business she loved, taking the big Kingfish, the 60 lb. Amberjacks, large Spanish Mackerel, and huge Blue Marlins.
In 1974, Sally became associated with Mr. Bob Werle, who along with his wife and family, recognized the potential of this unique and very specialized business. Mrs. Peters sold the business to the Werles but agreed to stay on and teach them the Mrs. Peters method of smoking fish. Sally was 72 years old then, but could still put all the challengers to shame with her adeptness at using a knife, filleting faster than any employee.
Nothing ever bothered the gray-haired lady with the sea-blue eyes; she just had the best disposition. She was comfortable with customers, swapping fish stories with them or telling tales that made people laugh and set here dangling fish earrings (her personal trademark) swaying as she joined in. She drove an almost antique vintage Ford; like "Barney Oldfield" we'd jokingly say, arriving for work with a jovial laugh, a stylish new hair-do, new earrings, pin or necklace, many of which she made herself, and always eager to meet the first customer of the day.
Having attended the University of Vermont, it is interesting to note that Sally Backer Peters is listed in the book of the Stuart Area Branch of the American Association of University Women, dedicated to Martin County's noted pioneer college and career women.
Not much has changed at the Smokehouse and we continue to smoke fish the way Mrs. Peters taught us, using open racks over direct heat and smoke generated from hardwood found locally. The consistent quality of the Kingfish and other fillets has been maintained and the Mrs. Peters method is taught to every new employee who watches over the smokehouse.
Every business must look ahead and keep up with the customer demands. Therefore, we continue to smoke the highest quality fish fillets and develop new spreads and products which will become additions to the already famous product lines, every year more and more people consider giving Mrs. Peters products as the gift "for the person who has everything".
We encourage you to visit the Original Smokehouse in Jensen Beach and you will get a chance to experience what it was like to purchase delicious smoked products from the renowned Mrs. Sally Peters. |
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