Earl Armstrong was born in 1944 in Pilot Town, and now lives in Boothville. He is a cattleman and runs 1,200 head on a dozen islands his family owns. His father and grandfather grew up at Pilot Town, as trappers, fishermen, and tenders of the Coast Guard's navigation lights along the channels. He and three partners bought four crewboats and a 160' supply boat in the 1980's, and "lost money for seven years" before selling the boats, two to Chevron and two to buyers in Venezuela.