OFFBEAT WEBSITES

                 ~ PART TWO 

How many pitchers of juice would these oranges fill?  Here's a fanciful Florida scene from about 1910.  This old postcard is part of the website manager's collection.

CLICK HERE for "Offbeat Websites -- Part One"

Here are some other uncommon websites for Florida history.  Enjoy!

Blasts from the Past 

• MOTORING IN GRANDDAD'S TIME -- Journey back to 1950 Florida, just before the big highway boom.  Peruse an online Florida Driver's Handbook, provided by US-Highways.com.  When Harry Truman was president, you could drive at age 14 in Florida.  However, you couldn't exceed 60 mph on highways during the day or 50 mph at night (but only a single tail light was required).  The limit was 25 mph in business & residential districts when no "special hazards" existed.  As the handbook reminded, "The speed that thrills...  is the speed that kills."

• UP THE RIVER -- A virtual cruise up the Ocklawaha on the Okeehumpkee.  What's the Ocklawaha?  A scenic tributary of the St. Johns River that attracted lots of sightseers during the later 1800s & early 1900s.  The trip's highlight was Silver Springs, an underwater wonderland.  What was the Okeehumkee?  An unpretentious little steamboat that served as one of the best-known vessels to ply the Ocklawaha.  What's all of this have to do with Jacksonville?  Most of the tourists who cruised the Ocklawaha either came through or stayed at "Florida's Gateway." 

• AN 1876 BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF JACKSONVILLE AND AN 1893 BIRDSEYE VIEW -- Two jewels from the Library of Congress.  So detailed that even outhouses & tool sheds are visible.  Fantastic for seeing how Jacksonville looked during horse-and-buggy days.  And the maps were drawn during that time too.  A army of artists walked through town, sketching how each building appeared.  Like puzzle pieces, their individual drawings were locked together.  NOTE: When you get to the website, click on "Florida."  And when you want to zoom in on a specific part of the map as much as possible, just do the following:  (1) Point & click on "Full Size."  (2) Point & click in the circle nearest "Zoom In," which is located at the map's bottom.  (3) Click on "640 x 480" to enlarge the view as much as possible on screen.  (4) Point & click on the part of town on which you'd like to zoom in.   After you do all of this, the area on which you are focusing will be greatly enlarged.  

• PICTURE WINDOWS INTO THE PAST -- Over 25 wide-angled photos of Jacksonville, dating from about 1908 to around 1921.   Give views of the city from atop downtown buildings & bridges.   Furnished by the American Memory Historical Collections.   NOTE:  Be sure to click on each picture in order to greatly enlarge it.   The photos will spill off of your screen, and the detail is awesome. 

• CASTILLO DE SAN MARCOS -- This web page may take a while to download, but it's worth the wait.  It yields a beautiful, map-like drawing of the famous old fort at St. Augustine.  The illustration is both interesting & informative, not an easy combo to achieve.  The picture is furnished online by Reisenett.  

• "BOB LEONARD'S BEST FLORIDA MUSEUMS & HISTORICAL SITES" -- A whimsical site that reviews the finest places to visit in the Sunshine State.  These include forts, museums, historical villages, famous houses, gardens, Victorian hotels, archaeological locations, aviation sites, and weird & unusual places.

For Your Eyes & Ears

• THE SOUNDS OF HISTORY...  Brought to you over your computer!  This amazing web site allows you to play Florida recordings that were made during the 1930s & 1940s.  Rehear lullabies & "jook songs," track-laying chants & children's jingles, quitting time hollers & fish vendor cries, and much, much more.  Furnished by the Library of Congress.  HERE'S AN EXAMPLE:  Two recordings are from a blind African American singer who grew up in South Jacksonville.  She recalled a sermon & chant that were used by children playing church.  The title of her recordings are "Children's Sermon."  NOTE:  When you get to the web site, you can search in several ways, including by keyword & by geographic location.   KEYWORD SEARCHES: Use such terms as "Jacksonville," "Duval County," or any other words you choose to type in.  GEOGRAPHIC SEARCHES:  For Jacksonville recordings, review the following categories: "Jacksonville," "Duval County," "Clara White Mission," "Dyal-Upchurch Building," "Federal Music Project Office," "Home of Mrs. Isabel Barnwell," "Mayport, Florida," and "Shrimphouse." 

• "THE GIRL WHO DIDN'T MIND HER MOTHER" -- The recording of an interesting story from Eartha White, Jacksonville's "Angel of Mercy."  It's a moral tale that Eartha had heard from her mother Clara, the namesake of the Clara White Mission.  The recording is nearly five minutes long, and it was placed online by the Library of Congress.  NOTE:  When you get to the web site, press the tab "Geographic Location." Next, go to the tab "Clara White Mission."  After you press on this tab, the tale by Eartha White will be accessed.  BACKGROUND INFO:  Eartha White (1876-1974) was a legendary African American humanitarian, civic leader, businesswoman, & educator.

• FLORIDA FOLKLIFE FOR THE EARS  --  Audio reports that yield details about a multiplicity of ethnic groups in Florida.  This website documents "African-American, Arabic, Bahamian, British-American, Cuban, Greek, Italian, Minorcan, Seminole, and Slavic cultures."  The site is entitled "Florida Folklife from the WPA Collections, 1937-1942."  

• "YESTERDAY'S TOMORROWS IN FLORIDA" -- Did you know that we were supposed to be living like the Jetsons?  That we should all be enjoying such devices as personal helicopters, robots, & picturephones?  This would have been the case if some old Florida predictions had come true.  Take a backward look, at the future, in an audio report from the Florida Humanities Council. 

• FOR MUSIC BUFFS -- Several Florida songs from yesteryear.  These include "Florida Glide Waltzes," "In Dear Old Sunny Florida," and the "Florida Quick Step" (dedicated to military men).   Placed online by the website "Exploring Florida: Social Studies Resources for Students & Teachers." 

• FOR MOVIE BUFFS -- A variety of online movies that give info about Florida history.   Footage dates to 1898, filmed during the Spanish American War.  Furnished by "Exploring Florida: Social Studies Resources for Students & Teachers." 

• EVEN MORE FOR MOVIE BUFFS -- Several dozen film clips shot in the Sunshine State.  Includes a 1914 Confederate reunion in Jacksonville, a silent comedy scene starring "Babe" Hardy in Jacksonville, a race riot in St. Augustine, a wrestling match with an anaconda in Silver Springs, & a color film from WWII showing troop training at Wakulla Springs.  Placed online by the State Archives of Florida.

Last, But Not Least

• "THE INFLATION CALCULATOR" -- For $7,500 in 1933, you could buy a new, two-story house in Avondale.  Considering inflation, how much would this be today?  About $94,000!  Thanks to "The Inflation Calculator," you can convert yesterday's money into today's.  Just type in a dollar amount and then pick a year (all the way back to 1800 if you want).  Need some more old prices?  Try a Florida Times-Union article called  "JACKSONVILLE'S MILLENIUM MOMENT: OCT. 23, 1933", by Jessie-Lynne Kerr.  It reveals the costs of many Jacksonville items in 1933, during the Great Depression.  NOTE: Another inflation calculator is provided at "CURRENT VALUE OF OLD MONEY"  

• MIXING FUN WITH LEARNING -- A cute article that tells about some Jacksonville kids who performed a mock archaeology dig on their school campus.  The piece is entitled "Finding Data by Digging: Teacher Sparks Class Interest," by Phillip J. Milano of the Florida Times-Union. 

CLICK HERE for "Offbeat Websites -- Part One"

Contact the Website Manager

           -- Suggestions?  Comments?  Broken links?

  THANK YOU  

       ... FOR VISITING THE JACKSONVILLE STORY,

        YOUR TIME MACHINE TO THE PAST