[ bird caws ] [ progressive rock music plays ] im jamie colby, and today i am off the beaten path i mean way off the path in the swampy lowlands of southCentral Florida. These dense marshes once harbored seminole indians and runaway slaves and, more recently, alligator poachers. Now theyre home to an oldtime florida family and a very strange inheritance. Howdy. Well, hi there. Hi. Im jamie. Nice to meet you. But whats a nice girl like you doing in the middle of nowhere in Central Florida . How do you know im a nice girl . [ laughing ] oh, i shouldnt say that. Im patty register, and my mom, marietta, passed away in 1996. She left me an inheritance with a lot of bite and with a lot of hoops to jump through. Yes, patty inherited alligators from her mother. But if only it were that simple. It rarely is with family businesses, and gatorama, the kind of oldfashioned roadside attraction you mightve run across in florida 50 years ago, is more complicated than most. Patty runs gatorama with her husband, allen. Patty and i, we met when we were 14 years old in junior high school. It was kind of funny because i told my best friend, i said, thats the girl that im gonna marry. Their son ben is gatoramas official crocodilian wrangler. Hi. Hows everybody doing today . So, wheres everybody from . Tennessee. Ill count slow for you. Ben cant resist bringing a reporter from new york into the show. Come on up here, crocodile. Come on. Hes got that evileye thing going. Come on. Come on, come on. Up, up, up, up. Yeah whoowhoo [ applause ] tourism is about half of gatoramas business. I could see a vest out of this. I think you need to get me one. [ chuckles ] the other half is farming gators for skins and meat. The value of the skin would probably be around 600, maybe 650. This pile alone could be worth more than 5,000. [ countryfolk music plays ] so, how do you hatch an enterprise like this . Therein lies the tale of a strange inheritance, one that involves native floridians both four and twolegged, starting with pattys dad, dave thielen. My dad was a person who was perfectly at home in the swamp. Mom was more of a city girl. [ poprock music plays ] way back in the prehistoric era, circa 1970, dave returned to Central Florida after retiring from the army. Hed served 20 years, including a tour as an infantry commander in vietnam. He and marietta, his wife of 18 years, buy a nice house in haines city. Dave tries a few different businesses selling worms, crop spraying. Nothing really clicks until he runs into an old swamp rat hed known as a kid cecil clemons. He was one of the best trappers ive ever run into. He had 15 wives. 15 . And i knew three of them. Cecil had bulldozed a patch of swampland, erected a cheesy tourist attraction, and named it gatorama. If the truth were known, gatorama was just a front. A front . For the gator business. A front because, in 1967, alligators are listed as an endangered species. Trapping or killing them becomes a federal crime. The hunters around here were happy to bring him little alligators for 3 and 4 apiece, and he was turning those right around and selling them on the black market for like 200, 300 apiece. By the mid 80s, cecil is getting on in years. He wants his old pal dave to take gatorama off his hands. Dave is intrigued, especially when he finds out that alligators are about to come off the endangered species list. Gator farming will be a legal business. He offers cecil 300,000 bucks for the whole operation. Old cecil snaps at the deal. Your wife mustve been thrilled when you told her you were gonna move here. Oh, she [ chuckles ] she fought me tooth and toenail. [ slow Country Music plays ] and maybe she was right. When i came here, i thought this was a farm. It was no farm at all. The incubator was a little old box right back there. In the house . In the house. [ insects chirping ] there was roaches, rats, and even snakes running around in this building. Marietta wants nothing to do with it. Shed rather live someplace with sidewalks. She wouldnt come down there. First of all, she was afraid. And second of all, it was sort of beneath her dignity. [ laughs ] it took about six months for her to make the adjustment and move down here. And what did he tell her . Come on, marietta. Were going. [ chuckles ] the couple hope their three kids will get involved. My mom and dad always had the feeling that, if you werent here on the farm, you werent working. My idea all along was that i could build something that i could pass down to my family. That was always in the back of your mind . Always in the back of my mind. Oh, its in the back of his mind, all right way back there. When it finally gets to the front of daves mind, this strange inheritance muddies the water. I think, in that process, it opened up a lot of resentments. Thats next. And later. What are you saying . Wheres my mama . Hes saying, mama. Wheres my mama . But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. How many teeth does the typical alligator go through in a lifetime . 20 to 30, 200 to 300, or 2,000 to 3,000 . The answer in a moment. You do all this research on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. Your Insurance Company raises your rates. Maybe you shouldve done more research on them. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Liberty mutual insurance. Potsc in unison drive russ, leland, gary yes. Gary i have a ford f150. Michael ive always been a ford guy. Potsch then i have a real treat for you today. Michael awesome. Potsch im going to show you a next generation pickup. Michael lets do this. Potsch this new truck now has a cornerstep built right into the bumper. Gary super cool. Potsch the bed is made of highstrength steel, which is less susceptible to punctures than aluminum. 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It was apparent after just a little bit of time that there was some money to be made here. After her initial reluctance, daves wife, marietta, jumps in and brings with her a good head for business. She keeps the books and runs the tourist operation. Oh, i couldnt have done it without her, couldnt have done it without her. Together, they transform gatorama from a rundown eyesore into, well, an attractive attraction. [ birds singing ] by 1990, gatorama is making a profit, but its a grueling life for a couple approaching their 60s, living far from friends and family. Did she ever describe to you what she felt like living here, doing this . Being here on the register seven days a week, and she would hardly ever leave. Did she feel trapped . No one trapped her. She allowed herself to be trapped here. Dave needs some help, so he approaches his daughter patty and her husband, allen. Pattys the only one of his kids interested in running the business. The idea was that we were gonna come work for a year, they would pick up and move back to haines city, and we would operate the business. The couple are ready for a change. Pattys running a daycare business in haines city, and allens a sonar operator on a nuclear sub. The last two years i was in the navy, i only saw my family for 60 days. When i left haines city, the look on bens face just tore me apart. So patty and i made the decision that i would go ahead and get out the navy. We would come down and go to work for her mom and dad. Did it end up being what you thought it would be . No, it was totally different, out of our comfort zone. We were trying to get our feet wet and figure out exactly where our part was gonna be within the family structure, the business structure. And as allen discovers, wrangling these 600pound, 10foot carnivores is not without its hazards. What happened to your finger . Crocodile bit it off. A crocodile bit it off . Is that just a day at the office . That day, it was. [ both laugh ] working with pattys dad, allen learns the ins and outs of the gator business and to keep his fingers away from their mouths. We spend all of our time trying to make sure our alligators are happy, theyre fed well, they have healthy skins. And remember daves first incubator, a wooden crate in the living room . By 1994, soninlaw allen has helped build a new one. It can handle up to 3,000 eggs at a time. [ baby alligator clucking ] so, jamie, you are in luck. We have some baby alligators that are hatching out. Theyve got to be cute. They are. Want to put these on. I feel like a surgeon. Just the Slightest Movement will cause them to move. Oh, oh, oh here comes one yep. Hes born its his birthday. Hey, you. Can we name this one jamie . Absolutely. What are you saying . Wheres my mama . Hes saying, mama. Wheres my mama . By the mid 90s, patty and allen are putting in long hours, seven days a week, to make gatorama a success. They assume that pattys parents will eventually retire, leaving them to take over. But there are no concrete plans. [ dramatic music plays ] then, in august 1996, after a year of battling cancer, pattys mom, marietta, dies at the age of 64. She even worked the last day that she was alive. When they buried her, they buried half of me right in the same grave with her. In his grief, dave walks away from gatorama, leaving daytoday management to allen and patty. And heres where the inheritance part of this strange inheritance gets really complicated. Mariettas 50 of gatorama passes to a trust, which dave controls. Upon his death, their three children will each inherit an equal share. [ Country Music plays ] the arrangement leaves patty and allen in limbo. Theyre running the business, but have no say in what happens to it. Im trying to figure out a gentle way to say that it might be sold out from underneath us. Allen and i knew that we had to do something to ensure that we would be able to carry on. Dad gets that, but he wonders if the fairest thing might be to sell gatorama to the highest bidder and set money aside for all three siblings equally, not make an inside deal with patty. My father was so concerned about being fair to my brother and my sister, even though they had not contributed to the farm very much. Was that a tough one for you . I really pondered over it and struggled with it. Dave decides hell come up with what he thinks is a fair price for his empire no special deal and make an offer to patty and allen. What did dad tell you he wanted to buy it . He wanted a Million Dollars. Whered he come up with a Million Dollars . It was just something he pulled just out of the sky. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. How fast can alligators run on land about the speed of an olympic sprinter, a riding lawn mower, or a kid on a tricycle . The answer in a moment. 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[ countryfolk music plays ] i see you have friends. Yep, we have the alligators are over here to your right. And on the left over here is the only breeding colony of american crocodiles in the entire country. Good business . Everybody that wants a crocodile, they come to us, whether its disney or busch gardens. After patty registers mother dies in 1996, she and her husband, allen, take the leading role in running gatorama, a Central Florida tourist attraction and alligator farm owned by pattys family. Allen and i had already spent 10 years here, and we were getting to the age that it would be very difficult to start another career. But at the time, patty shares only a half interest in gatorama with her brother and sister a strange inheritance from their mother. Their father, dave thielen, owns the other half and still controls the business. Allen and i knew that we had to do something to ensure that we would be able to carry on this business and farm. Patty and allen feel the best solution is for them to buy the business from pattys father and siblings lock, stock, and gators. But at what price . Whatever they do will affect the finances and feelings of the entire family. As i talk to families in the inheritances, i realize some things go really, really well and sometimes not so well. What was the case with this inheritance . I think, in that process, it opened up a lot of resentments. Its the kind of conflict that happens often in familyowned businesses. Could pattys siblings get more money for their inheritance if gatorama were simply sold to an outside buyer . And where would that leave patty and allen, who have been running the place . Patty and i were concerned that, upon her fathers passing, that it was gonna be sold out from underneath us. We felt like we needed to protect ourselves, and so we negotiated with her father for years and. And we didnt want to pay any more than it was worth. What did dad tell you he wanted to buy it . He wanted a Million Dollars. Whered he come up with a Million Dollars . It was just something he pulled just out of the sky. Right. Its a tugofwar. Patty and allens years of sweat equity at gatorama are at risk. We had a lot of difficulty coming to an agreement, and finally his attorney suggested that we hire a appraiser to come out and appraise the business. So will an impartial opinion soothe hurt feelings and make everyone believe theyre getting a fair shake . What do you hope happens to this place . Well, i hope that it can continue on in the family. Things became more difficult in our family relationships. Of course, sometimes you just dont know how to let go. This gator, does it know i went to university of miami . Its looking at me. Yeah, i think he likes you. Thats next. My experience with usaa has been excellent. They always refer to me as master sergeant. They really appreciate the military family, and it really shows. 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[ theme music plays ] now back to strange inheritance. In Central Florida, patty and allen register continue to work long hours at gatorama while they wait for a professional appraisal of pattys familys strange inheritance. They hope the dollar figure will be low enough that they can afford to buy out the rest of the family and high enough so theres no blood in the wa