OCKLAWAHA, FL (352Today.com) – A hundred years of lake life met one of the FBI’s most famous gun battles on the same stretch of water this weekend.

The two have shared this shoreline for generations. Locals will tell you that Lake Weir has long been the backdrop for both cold drinks and high drama. On January 16, 1935, federal agents surrounded a rented lakeside house just an eighth of a mile from what is now Gator Joe’s Beach Bar & Grill. Inside were Kate “Ma” Barker and her son Fred. What followed was the longest shootout in FBI history, a four- to six-hour firefight that ended with both Barkers dead. Crazy to imagine, right?

(Those familiar with the story may not know that there is a heavy metal band named after Ma Barker and the boys: Maylene and the Sons of Disaster.)

Agents had zeroed in on the hideout after intercepting a letter that casually mentioned a local celebrity: a massive alligator known as “Old Joe.” That same gator later gave the restaurant its name. The place opened in 1926 as Barnes’ Beach, later operated as Johnson’s Beach, and eventually became Gator Joe’s in honor of the 15-foot legend who ruled the lake until a hunter named Vic Skidmore finally took him in 1952. One of Joe’s feet still hangs on the wall.

Over the decades, the building has shifted with the times, from a barefoot beach hangout to a family-friendly waterfront spot serving island cuisine and cold drinks on the water. It has survived ownership changes, reputation cleanups, and the steady pull of Old Florida nostalgia. The historic Barker house was floated across the lake by barge in 2016 and now sits on Carney Island, still bearing the scars of that 1935 battle.

This Saturday, the restaurant celebrated its full century with live music all day long on the sand, water slides, and of course, gator tail. As the party kept on despite a rainstorm, an out-of-town visitor, Danny Jiskoot, stopped to share that he traveled from Orlando specifically for the lakeside occasion.

“I had gator tail, gator tacos,” Jiskoot said. “They’re really good.” It was his first visit, and he admitted the place surprised him in the best way. “I wasn’t sure what I was gonna get into. I was thinking it was a dive bar, and it’s kind of a nice dive bar. I like it.”

Self-described Gator Joe’s regular Greg Kudela, who lives over in Summerfield, has been coming for 12 years at least once a month. “We love the atmosphere and the drinks,” Kudela said. The history seals the deal for him. “The history is something else. I mean, Ma Barker’s and stuff, it’s good to have something like this. I’m glad I’m here.”

General Manager of Gator Joe’s Kaylee Storm felt the milestone just as deeply. To her, the 100th anniversary means “100 years of memories with families.”

“My favorite part about working here is the atmosphere, the lake, it’s just happiness,” she said.

Regarding its history and whether it has been preserved well, Storm didn’t hesitate.

“Yes. Ma Barker’s, because they moved the house instead of tearing it down,” she said.

According to Storm, people still come in asking about it all the time. But on a day packed with live music and lake views, the biggest attraction was the water slide, she said.

Her hope for the place going forward is simple and fitting for a century-old lakeside landmark: that it’s going to be here for another 100 years.

A century later, the same lake that once hid the Barkers and a giant alligator still serves up frosty drinks, fried gator, and the kind of easy Florida afternoons that keep people coming back. The shootout is long over, Old Joe is reduced to a foot on the wall, and the Barker house sits quietly across the water on Carney Island. Yet the spirit that drew people to this stretch of shoreline in 1926 is still very much alive, served with a side of tacos, a view of the lake, and the promise that Gator Joe’s isn’t done making memories yet.

(All photos by Jamie Berube)