by Pastor Jesse Wilson
Chokoloskee Family Church
When my wife and I moved to the Everglades in 2019 to take the pastorate on Chokoloskee Island, we figured the change from one rural area to another would be simple. We were in for quite a surprise! Coming from Brooksville, Florida, to the heart of Everglades National Park brought with it a few surprises.
We immediately fell in love with the communities that make up the Ten Thousand Islands. The friendliness of the people was a welcome change, having lived mostly in much larger areas, such as Tampa for over a dozen years. Then we moved to a smaller community—if twenty thousand residents can be called small. The move to Brooksville gave us a taste of rural life, and we loved it.
Pulling into the golf community where we had bought a home, on any given night, we would see deer, raccoons, feral pigs, the occasional fox, a few baby alligators, and lots of rabbits! What we never saw were any black bears. That is surprising since Florida is home to some four thousand black bears.
So, when we moved to the Everglades, we expected to see wildlife because, well, you know—we were moving from one rural area to another. Living here in the Everglades, we got used to seeing alligators on 41, deer off Turner River Road, turtles crossing the road on 29, and various species of birds. My wife saw a fox or a coyote one morning while driving to work on 41 toward Naples.
We were told when we moved down here that there were black bears in the area. Of course, we never saw any up close or far away for the first few years. That all changed one Monday while visiting a member of our church, Carl Nicholson.
Carl works at Wooten’s Airboats and has wrestled alligators, tended to the lions and tigers in their exhibit, and entertains those who take rides on his airboat. While at his house that morning, we looked across the pond, and there stood one of the largest black bears I had ever seen. And he was staring back at us as well—before deciding we weren’t exciting enough for him and wandering off.
Carl didn’t seem to care too much that a bear of that size was living behind his house. You see, up to that point, Carl had sent me various videos of black bears on his property, or he would call me on FaceTime for some live-action scenes that seemed straight out of a movie.
Carl would show me the black bear on his property, then proceed to chase it off by making loud screaming sounds as he ran toward the bear! One night, after having packed his freezer full of deer meat that had been processed for him, Carl was awakened by some loud noises coming from his porch—the porch where his freezer stood. The freezer that he had earlier filled with fresh deer meat.
As he looked out the window, there was the furry beast—a black bear that stood over seven feet tall when standing up and weighed hundreds of pounds. He had managed to open the freezer and help himself to a delicious amount of fresh deer meat.
The sensible thing to do would have been to make some noise in hopes of scaring off the bear while standing safely inside the house. But this was Carl—the one who had wrestled alligators, fed lions and tigers, and hunted down some large pythons. He decided the best course of action would be to confront the bear like David confronted Goliath.
So, he opened his door, jumped out onto his porch, and started yelling. According to Carl (and verified by his wife, who is trustworthy), the bear nearly fell over in total fear. Then, in what can only be described as something out of an old Clint Eastwood movie, the bear took the nearest exit off Carl’s porch—and it wasn’t the stairs he had walked up. He made a new exit, right through the porch side rails and toward the woods.
According to Carl, that specific bear has never been back to check the freezer!
Rumor has it there’s a black bear in the Everglades still running for his life—a black bear who met a man named Carl, who defended his porch, his freezer, and his deer meat!
Yes, there’s black bears in those Everglades!
Photo by Carl Nicholson
Pastor Jesse Wilson Bio
Jesse Wilson is an ordained minister with the Church of God and has dedicated over 28 years to ministry. Alongside his wife, Charity, he has pioneered two churches, served as an associate pastor, and worked in street ministry. Since April 2019, Jesse and Charity have led Chokoloskee Family Church, bringing their passion for revival to the 10,000 Islands community.
Jesse holds an associate degree in theology and is a published author of Christian devotionals and children’s books. His writing reflects his deep faith and belief that good triumphs over evil, dreams can become reality, and doing the right thing leads to positive outcomes. His love for storytelling extends to screenwriting, with aspirations of seeing his faith-based stories brought to life on screen.
Jesse and Charity have been married for 32 years and have two grown children, Caleb and Jessica. Jessica and her husband, Tukey, serve alongside them in ministry.
