When Janet Naughton and I wrote the 2023 novel, The Crystal Ball Chronicles, about West Palm Beach’s murdering and embezzling postmistress, Lene Clarke, there was one significant research finding we couldn’t include in the book. Early on, our intention was to use the actual names of all the people involved…
In 1923, when Rose Wilder Lane worked in publicity for Near East Relief (NER), they assigned her to collaborate with Agnes Evon, an NER nurse. Evon had responded to the Burning of Smyrna, which started on September 13, 1923. Smyrna (today Izmir) had been part of Greece, and Greece had…
I did my first prepress promotion event yesterday for Unbreakable Healer, Dr. Mabel E. Elliott’s biography. St. Catherine’s Greek Orthodox Church in West Palm Beach was opening their annual Greek festival. As I approached the church, I looked up and saw a lone white dove perched on the telephone wire…
On February 8, 1881, the Elliott family, living at Graven’s Cottage in Tottenham, London, England, welcomed a baby girl—Mabel Evelyn Elliott, the tenth child to be born in the family that would eventually number fourteen children. She is truly one of the most fascinating women I have ever encountered. The…
Venetian Pool in Coral Gables is one of the best-kept South Florida secrets. Located off of Lejeune Road, the 1923 dream of George Merrick conjures up the boom time of the 1920s. The pool is refilled each day with cool spring water from the Biscayne Aquifer. Enjoy the waterfall or…
The state of Florida,through its 171 years, has amassed quite a collection in the state archives. In order to make much of the collection accessible to the public, the State Library & Archives started the Florida Memory project. The site contains thousands of photos, maps, videos, audio clips, and postcards. One of the newly…
Ocala has one of the best collections of old time Florida houses in the state. If you are a fan of Victorian architecture, both Ocala and Gainesville have some real beauties! Instead of the Mickey and Minnie routine, take a step back in time and enjoy Old Florida. From the…
Today I explored a secret place, hidden in the backwoods of Central Florida, one of the grandest mansions of the Gilded Age. Zellwood is a small hamlet situated about five miles southeast of Mount Dora. I had gone there with a friend to explore the area where Byrd Spilman Dewey…
Did you ever wonder how Florida became a tropical paradise? Much of that credit goes to two brothers from Manatee County, who started a tropical nursery business in 1883. Pliny Reasoner made his way to Florida as a 17 year old, buying 40 acres and starting a tropical plant business….
Upon my first visit to Jacksonville on a business trip several years ago, I was quite struck that there were so few old buildings and houses in the downtown area. My first thought was that all the old buildings were demolished t0 make way for new, larger, buildings. I researched…
