Category Florida History
Flashback Friday: The first US National Wildlife Refuge
We mark the return of Flashback Friday by celebrating the anniversary of the oldest National Wildlife Refugee – Pelican Island which is just outside Sebastian. As we discussed last week in reviewing the film Wind Over the Everglades the bird trade was becoming a poacher’s paradise in the early 1900’s as the demand for feathers […]
What we are reading: South Florida demolition through the years
As someone who grew up in southeast Florida, this slideshow from the South Florida Sun Sentinel was an incredible trip down memory lane.
Movie Review: Wind Across the Everglades (1958)
Turner Classic Movies recently showed the 1958 movie, Wind Across the Everglades , a story of the Audubon Society and bird hunting in the early 1900’s. Bird hunting was a staple of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s as the use of feathers for women’s hats was the fashion of the day. Poaching was a […]
March 7, 2000: Session kicks off with March on Tallahassee
Legislative session beginning on March 7 reminds me of 2000 – when as a staffer I had to get to the Capitol before 7 am as did everyone else working in the building because of a massive justified protest – that by Floridians against Governor Jeb Bush’s attempts to gut civil rights protections for African […]
The Mackle Brothers – makers of modern Florida?
Florida’s growth spurt after World War II, which really intensified in the 1960’s and 1970’s transformed the state from sleepy backwater to largely urbanized mega-state. Elliot, Robert and Frank Mackle and the General Development Corporation are often forgotten today for whatever reason, but before Walt Disney seriously contemplated placing an amusement park in the state the […]
A brief history of political racism in Florida
Yesterday we discussed the parallels in antisemitic rhetoric between President Trump and President Nixon. Since so much has been made of President Trump’s purported racism, a political history here in Florida is in order. At least a twentieth century history. In 1916, Sidney Catts was elected Governor of Florida after being denied the Democratic nomination in […]
RIP Jim Williams – Florida political legend
Editors note: Jim Williams former Florida LT. Gov who made his name by courageously opposing the Cross Florida Barge Canal passed away in December. By Robert Buccellato Jim Williams was my friend. I can’t claim that I was the nearest or the dearest to him. But, we got along very well during the three and a half […]
50th anniversary of Apollo 1 tragedy
Today, 50 years ago tragedy struck Florida and the American space program. Less than five years after John Glenn orbited the earth and more than two years before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the moon, Apollo 1 caught fire and killed three astronauts at Cape Canaveral (which was still known as Cape […]
Apalachee Massacre: The English invasion of Florida
On this day in 1704, the English invaded Florida. The Carolina-based English colonists and their native American allies invaded Spanish-held Florida. Former Carolina Governor James Moore led the invasion on behalf of the English colonists. They were resisted by the Apalachee Indians who resided in the Big Bend region and were allies of the Spanish […]
Holiday book recommendation: Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen
The story of the African-American members of Congress during the Reconstruction era is often forgotten. The long standing Dunning School of history made every effort to paint reconstruction as a mistake and portray that the only way to truly reconcile the nation was to let white southerners do what they want in the region. Thus […]
The Florida Squeeze 