Casey Piket

Casey Piket is third generation born in the Miami area. Born at Doctor’s Hospital in Coral Gables, Casey’s family roots date as far back as 1899 in Miami. His paternal grandmother’s side of the family was in the citrus business in Apopka, Florida during the Freezes of 1894-95. The devastation of these freezes led to the Combs family eventually leaving Central Florida to the newly formed City of Miami in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

Casey’s great-great grandfather, Jay Combs Jr., worked with his brother, Walter Hughes Combs, in Miami’s oldest funeral home. The Combs family would become both business and civic leaders in the young City of Miami for much of the twentieth century.

Jay Combs Jr would play a key role in the census enumeration that extended the city limits of Miami to include what was then called North Miami, Buena Vista and Edgewater in April of 1913. He worked with Justice W.C. McCall to ensure a proper counting of new and existing citizens of Miami.

Casey’s grandmother and parents were born South Florida. His grandmother and father both graduated from Miami High School. His grandmother, Hatte Faye Combs, graduated with George Smathers and Gardnar Mulloy in the class of 1932. His father graduated from Miami High in 1958 and went on to get his degree from University of Miami.

Casey’s maternal grandparents moved to Miami in the late 1930s and ultimately settled in Coral Gables. His maternal grandfather, Raymond Casey, was entrepreneurial founded several notable businesses in South Florida. Miami Produce, South Florida Dairies and Fort Lauderdale Produce were three businesses that were started and run by his grandfather. Raymond also briefly ran a popular restaurant on Biscayne Boulevard until the late 1940s.

His mother graduated from Coral Gables High School. She grew up in close proximity to the University of Miami. However, she attended college in Gainesville and maintains a fondness for the University of Florida.

Given his deep roots in Miami, Casey developed an interest in researching and writing about Miami’s history. He started the Miami-History Blog in 2012 and maintains several social media sites to share and engage those interested in Miami and South Florida history.

As a former student of Dr. Paul George in his South Florida and Florida History classes, Casey and Paul have worked together to create compelling video content for the Miami History Channel. Both Paul and Casey look forward to entertaining and educating the Miami History Channel members of a place that the founders cherish.