More than Ever, Glades

Just like the roiling waters that flow through Moore Haven from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee, the rumor mill is churning in this tiny Glades County town.

Don Dyer hears new ones every day.

"I guess they are putting in a Jiffy Lube and a car wash down here," says Dyer. "A guy told me we're going to have a McDonald's and a Walgreens, but I don't know when."

The 61-year-old, with a sun-weathered face accentuated by a silver-white mustache, has lived in the Moore Haven area since moving from Indiana 26 years ago. A former auto-plant worker, Dyer now spends his days fishing around Lake O and puttering in his garage, repairing boat motors for locals.

This laid-back lifestyle gives him plenty of time to keep up on the latest news-and the news lately seems to be all about new businesses, new homes, new people coming to this rural county a 90-minute drive east of Fort Myers.

"I'm sure it's going to change. Everything changes," Dyer says with a chuckle. "If it's for the better, that's great. If it's for the worse-well, you just have to go with the flow."

That's good advice for the approximately 11,000 Floridians who call Glades County home. County leaders, local business owners and developers around the region all agree: Glades County is about to shake off the years of shame from being the Sunshine State's poorest county as the business and development opportunities there heat up.