Category: History

Florida State Road 29

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 13, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. There’s a road that runs in a general north-south direction in inland Southwest Florida between U.S. 27 at the north-end and U.S. 41 at the south-end. It’s a rural historic intercounty state highway that I’ll be driving a short 14-mile stretch of frequently in the future – including tomorrow morning. It’s how I’ll get to and from the Fort Myers area to and from my new home in the Sebring area.

At the base of this 14-mile stretch of Florida State Road 29 is the historic city of LaBelle – just inside Hendry County from Glades County (to the north). It’s the county seat of Hendry County and its 2ND-largest city (after Clewiston). LaBelle has a population of right around 5,000. Its origins go back to the late-1880s along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. LaBelle has a couple of nicknames – “The Belle Of The Caloosahatchee”, and “The City Under The Oaks”.

I’ve only driven through LaBelle a handful of times over the past few years. I’ve never actually gotten out of my car to walk around and explore the historic downtown district along the river. I’d like to do that during a future drive-through.

The remainder of the 14-mile stretch of Florida State Road 29 traverses Glades County farmland and raw unspoiled nature. It’s a beautiful scenic drive en route to and from U.S. 27.

I’ll be enjoying that beauty early tomorrow morning as I head home from the Fort Myers area. What am I doing there today and tonight ? Stay tuned. I’ll reveal that this #SundayScripture.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll share a couple of beautiful photos of the lake in my new neighborhood. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Caloosahatchee, Florida, LaBelle

Blogging Driving Geography History Home Mail Travel

Sebring Historical Society

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 9, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It is Day 21 of the closing process of my new retirement / forever home up near Sebring in scenic Highlands County Florida. 3 Thursdays ago I toured 5 condos in my dream 55+ neighborhood, and I selected the 5TH and final one as the best of them all (by far). So far so good with the entire process. I’ve reviewed and signed so many electronic forms over the past several weeks. That process appears to be drawing to a close. I’ll be physically present in Sebring for final closing day, and I’m sure that I’ll be signing even more documents on that day – retro-style – via “wet-ink” (pen-to-paper). Memo To Self: Don’t drink coffee that morning. (I want my signatures to be legible – not scribble.)

It’s no secret that I wish to be a museum docent when I grow up (retire), and I’ll be doing that with the Sebring Historical Society. I met with the Operations Director inside their main building a couple of days after I made that purchase offer on my condo. I actually walked over to their museum, and it was locked shut. I then walked over to the next historic building / house over that they also use (for socials and banquets), and it was also locked shut. So I had no choice but to head over to their main building to ask why.

I didn’t realize it at first, but the guy that greeted me was the same guy that greeted me exactly 2 years earlier during Presidents Day Weekend of 2021. (Read all about that remarkable day here.) It took him a little while longer to remember me. We talked for a good hour about my upcoming relocation and retirement, and my eagerness to become a member of the Sebring Historical Society. I wish to serve and participate in their regularly-scheduled meetings, events, and tours. He actually gave me a copy of the script for the closed museum. (It was closed because he didn’t have a docent available to work that day.) He told me to study it and personalize it to my own liking.

It was another great and impromptu meet-and-(re)greet, and when I walked away I was absolutely certain that I wanted to serve alongside the members of the Sebring Historical Society at my earliest opportunity (right after I start moving up there). I’ve already added some upcoming events to my schedule !

Several days after I returned to my current home I sat down at my computer, and I went “old-school”. I typed an old-fashioned letter to the Sebring Historical Society thanking the Operations Director for talking with me for an hour about everything. I reiterated my eagerness to serve to preserve, protect, and promote Sebring history. I also filled-out the application form to become a member, and I wrote out a check for the first year’s membership dues. It all went into an envelope – addressed and stamped – and placed in my neighborhood’s USPS mailbox. (Just like we used to do it “in the olden days”.) Writing letters is such a lost art form, but I continue to embrace it. Blogging is sort of like writing letters – the modern way.

In addition to regularly-scheduled monthly and quarterly events – the Sebring Historical Society also hosts all-inclusive day-trips around the local South-Central Florida region. Future #TravelThursday editions will highlight these trips, and perhaps my trip highlights may even appear on the Sebring Historical Society Facebook site.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about South Florida State College in Avon Park Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Florida, History, Museum, Sebring

Blogging Driving Geography History Military Travel

Miami Military Museum

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date October 27, 2022

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of Fridays ago I visited the Miami Military Museum for the first time ever. It’s located about a mile west of Florida’s Turnpike off SW 152ND Street in South Miami-Dade County Florida next to Zoo Miami. In fact if you reach the parking lot of Zoo Miami – then you’ve gone too far. Make a right-hand turn just before the parking lot at the sign that leads you to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum. (They share the same parking lot.)

At the present time the museum is only open for 3 days per week – Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – from 10 AM to 4 PM. They prefer that you call them in advance to schedule an appointment to visit the museum.

I did that, and I got there at around 10:30 AM on that Friday. The Executive Director of the Museum and one of the museum docents greeted me downstairs. The former proceeded to informally interview me about my military and civil service history. He then picked-up a microphone, and he proceeded to announce my grand arrival military-honors-style through the entire building’s sound system – like I was a V.I.P. That was an extra special nice touch.

After that welcome the museum docent took me upstairs (via elevator), and he guided me through all of the various rooms of displays. The museum has only been open for a couple of years, so they are a work in progress. It looks like they are constantly receiving new items for display, and they are trying to figure out what to do with them all. I had a good conversation with my docent, and he displayed many qualities of a docent that I wish to have when I do what he does elsewhere. He opened-up more as he went along, and he even extended the tour outside around the perimeter of the property. They have big plans for good stuff inside and out !

If I were not moving away and retiring next year then the Miami Military Museum would be a great place for me to serve. It’ll be a great place for me to visit in the future when I come back to Miami-Dade County for visits.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll stay in Miami-Dade County, and I’ll try to figure out what other tourist attractions I wish to visit before I move away from here. Let’s keep traveling together.

Blogging Driving Food Geography History Travel

Henrietta Texas

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date October 6, 2022

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I revealed that I spent quality time with family in and around Wichita Falls Texas. It’s an annual tradition for me every late-September to visit for a few days, and celebrate the wedding anniversary of my Aunt (by blood) and Uncle. This year was their 66TH !

Following an early Lunch at a local Mexican restaurant (another tradition) we went on a short road-trip (another tradition). This time we headed 20 miles ESE along U.S. 287 into Clay County and the small city of Henrietta (the county seat and population center). A little over 3,000 residents call Henrietta home, and it’s one of the oldest settled areas in the region – going back to the mid-19TH Century.

We visited the Clay County 1890 Jail Museum & Heritage Center – presented by the Clay County Historical Society. For those of you who have been following my #TravelThursday posts for awhile – you’ll know that not only am I a big fan of local historical societies and museums that they run, but I also plan to be a member and volunteer at a few upstate here in Florida once I retire and relocate.

Me, my cousin, and her husband were treated to an excellent docent early on a Friday afternoon. The museum is only open for 8 hours per week (4 each on Thursday and Friday), and we exclusively occupied 2 of those 8 hours. The docent showed us everything in the museum. (There’s a lot to see inside downstairs and upstairs.) I was studying our docent intently. I hope to be as good as her when I resume being a museum docent. She definitely enjoyed her museum, and she absolutely loved to talk about it. That’s the type of docent that I like !

On this visit to the Wichita Falls area we also drove over to Archer City – the county seat of Archer County (south of Wichita County). We visited a church lot where they were selling pumpkins and gourds.

We also drove all around Downtown Wichita Falls – the county seat of Wichita County. There’s a lot of history downtown – much of it mere memories with the original buildings left behind vacated. There are plans to continue to revitalize it with new cafes, bars, restaurants, events, and opportunities.

This was my 11TH visit to the Wichita Falls area to visit family over the past 9 years (since 2013). Each visit brings family love, good food, and pleasant surprises. I always look fondly back – and forward to – my next visit.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll present a tribute to a place that I visited 9 times and spent 17 nights from 2011 to 2020. It’s an island that will never be the same again due to the catastrophic destruction of Hurricane Ian. I’ll look back at those fun times on #FortMyersBeach on the Southwest Florida coast. Let’s keep traveling together.