Barracuda Key is a real place, located about nine miles west of Key West, Florida. In 1959–60, My grandparents sailed to Florida (via the Mississippi River and New Orleans), but not as far south as the Keys. However, visiting the chain of islands was likely on their original itinerary, which included sailing to the Bahamas, as per a profile that appeared in the Chicago Tribune’s Sunday Magazine.

Ironically, their plans changed due to a downturn in Kreigh Collins’ business affairs—as the 1950s drew to a close, the Tribune dropped KEVIN THE BOLD from its stable of comic strips.

While Barracuda Key is real, the story told here with Ponce and Snake (and Dr. Estella Mosa) is obviously fiction.

To be continued…

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For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.