Cathy Slusser

Cathy Slusser is a second generation Floridian who grew up in St. Petersburg, but spent holidays and vacations with her grandparents who lived in Manatee County. She moved to Terra Ceia Island in northwest Manatee County in 1979. Cathy fell in love with history upon reading Eugenia Price novels in Middle School. When she traveled to St. Simons Island, Georgia and saw the places those characters lived, she knew that the subject of history could be alive and exciting. Ever since that time, she has made it her goal to share that message with others.

She has a bachelor’s degree in history from Furman University and a master’s degree in history from the University of South Florida. She has worked for the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court’s Office for twenty-nine years and is Director of Historical Resource. In this role, she supervises five historical sites, the Manatee Village Historical Park, the Manatee County Historical Records Library, the Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez, the Palmetto Historical Park, and the Manatee County Agricultural Museum, as well as Manatee County Teen Court. Cathy has two grown sons, Rob and Tim, a fabulous daughter in law, Miranda, and a daughter of the heart, Christina. She married her husband, Glen, a third generation Floridian in 1981. She enjoys horseback riding, fusing glass, felting and writing. Cathy is passionate about preserving Manatee County’s past and telling its stories to residents and visitors of all ages.