Dan McCarthy, Sr. Arrived in fledging Okeechobee, then called Tantie, fresh out of college in 1911. His father in Nebraska had purchased land sight unseen, and sent his son to Florida to survey the land.

Dan, Sr., decided to remain in Okeechobee instead of returning to Nebraska, and he soon embarked on a career as a merchant. He borrowed $1,000 from his father and was the first one to open what today would be called a supermarket. He constructed a building on the northwest corner of N.W. Park Street and N.W. Fifth Avenue. He built it in 1915 and it contained three stores: a grocery store, a clothing store and a combination hardware and feed store.

There was no paved road between Okeechobee and the cost. A trip to Fort Pierce took several days for more than a decade. Everything was ordered and came by rail. Even with the train, there was nothing until you got to St. Augustine.

One story told about Dan, Sr. Was by his son, Dan, Jr. In 1917, the fishing industry was going full blast on Lake Okeechobee and there was a tremendous amount of trot fishing. So, feeling he would have no trouble selling them, his father ordered an entire boxcar load of fish hooks. The company from which he purchased the fish hooks sent a salesman to find out why anyone would want an entire carload of hooks. He told the salesman, "I’m going to sell them, but if they (the company) are concerned, I’ll pay for them now." His credit had been well established, so the salesman was flabbergasted when he next discovered that Dan, Sr. Wanted to pay him in cash. His son recalled that his father always sent cash in the mail to pay for the inventory he purchased for the store.

Dan, Sr. Was a very large man and it was quite difficult to find clothes to fit him. Mr. Anthony had a department store that would measure and fit the man who wore a size 54 jacket, had a 19-inch neck and 37-inch long arms. His hands were so large, his son said, he could hide a baseball in this hand.

So, once a year he would make the journey to West Palm Beach to get his clothing, and to go to confession, since there was no Catholic priest coming to Okeechobee at that time. The trip would start with a boat trip part way down the east side of the lake. From there, he would walk the rest of the way. Dan, Jr. Said the trip took three days each way. Dan, Sr. Would love to tell the story that one time when he went to confession at a church in West Palm Beach, the priest began to chastise him because it had been a year since he had last went to confession. He laughed as he related the story, but never told the priest he had walked three days to make it once a year.

At the outbreak of World War I, he wanted to enlist in the Army, but he needed someone to run the store for him. The likely candidate was his brother J.D. (Dave), who still lived in Nebraska and had a heart condition. Dave and Celia McCarthy arrived in Okeechobee and Dave was associated with the store until his retirement and death. When Dan, Sr. Returned after the war, he married and had lost interest in the store. He sold the store to Dave.

Dan, Sr. Began to build houses and was also a plumbing contractor. Some of the houses he build were in the Berry Gardens and his son said a couple of them are still standing. He was also responsible for stating the bottled gas industry around Lake Okeechobee. Glades Gas in Okeechobee, now operated by his granddaughter, Monica McCarthy Clark operated, and the company in Clewiston operated by Dan, Jr. continues to be a thriving businesses.

The two Irish brothers and Dan, Jr. Related a story to illustrate the sense of humor that existed between the two brothers. "Dave was five years older than Daddy," he said. "people would ask if Daddy was any kin to Uncle Dave. Daddy would say, "I understand we are distant relatives. He is the oldest and I am the youngest of 17 children." It wasn’t true of course, but it made a story because they were teasing all the time. Dave was red-headed and almost baldheaded. Daddy has a mass of coal black hair. If you saw them together, the facial features were alike, but if you was them apart, you would wonder if they were related or jut both had the same last name." Dan. Dr. remained an active citizen in the community for 53 years until his death in 1964.