Genuine Florida

Here’s a great brochure from the 1950s for the Naples Beach Hotel.

Erstwhile Swampy stops at one the more fascinating architectural wonders in Florida, Top of the World, in Clearwater. The dozens of condo buildings throughout the sprawling property each has a unique construction. Each building has a location name as do the streets.

Just past the guard is the world as above. Beyond the world are the senior adult only community that is stuffed with amenities.

Probably the greatest of which is the construction of the multi-family homes. Built in 1947, these structures are pure concrete block and built for permanence. There’s probably not a hurricane that can come to disturb these buildings.

Swampy went to get a haircut and stopped at Jim’s Barber Shop in Orlando. Jim has been cutting hair in Downtown Orlando for 45 years. One of his early haircuts was mine, Rob Smith. That was my first haircut 44 years ago. Jim originally worked with a group of barbers just down the street where he cuts now by himself on W. Church Street in Orlando.

Jim is an Apopkan and is a nut about fishing. One of his hobbies is collecting lures. Above him is part of his collection.

Update: Unfortunately for all of us who were the recipients of Jim’s sharp cutting skills and gentle good humor, Jim passed away August 5th, 2008. He will be greatly missed.

Here’s a bit of history of what I remember of Jim’s barber history: 
Jim had apparently started cutting the year before cutting my hair in 1963. I know he worked with the barbers that worked on Church Street. I don’t remember the name of the shop. It was located on the back side of McCrory’s that faced Orange Avenue. The other barbers eventually retired or left that shop and Jim took it over sometime in the mid-80s. When the McCrory/Woolworth block was doomed to extinction around 1990, Jim moved to a little spot just outside the parking garage for the old First Federal, now a County government building, also facing Church Street which he stayed in until a few weeks ago..

After the many, many Florida mysteries I’ve read T.J. MacGregor was one I hadn’t taken in yet. My first of her series is ‘Kill Flash’. ‘Kill Flash’ is second in the P.I. duo series and is very good. Set in the Miami area, this series involves a husband and wife P.I. team. They find themselves trying to solve the deaths of the crew of a movie shooting in the area. The unknown killer picks off one and then another until the conclusion. That’s where the disappointment comes in as the killer holds back to get caught in a rather easy writing device that concludes the story. Still the book is very well written and the interplay among the characters brings you closer to them.

This is a neat set of essays mostly about books and authors that set their stories in Florida. Nifty tidbits of info up to the book being published in 1997. Lots about John D. MacDonald, T.J. MacGregor, Carl Hiassen, Edna Buchanon and the many other mystery writers. This is before Tim Dorsey and Jonathan King.

Swampy (on the bottom in the bush) makes a trip to Stephen Foster State Park. Here he is way down upon the Suwannee River.

Here’s where the Florida Trail goes through Stephen Foster State Park. The orange mark on the tree is called a “Blaze”. The orange stripe is specific for the Florida Trail vs. other trail colors across the country. The blazes are what you follow while walking or hiking the trail. That’s Florida’s foremost hiking expert, Sandra Friend, and owner of Genuine Florida.

Below is Swampy with the native Florida azaleas by the Suwannee.

Was driving around the Rotunda development in Englewood March 23rd, 2008 and was quite surprised to spot this bobcat wandering around this house. As I snapped photos he trotted off to a nearby wooded spot. A British couple bicycling by said to me that they’ve seen bobcats walk across the Rotunda golf course.

The Chamber of Commerce in Punta Gorda is also the 1903 former home of A.C. Freeman. He was  quite the business man in Charlotte County and thus had one of the grandest houses at the time. His story, what I could quickly find of it, reminds me of Mr. Breckinridge, the merchanile store owner in Richard Powell’s book, ‘I Take This Land’, that was fictionally set in the same area.

Below, believe it or not, the VERY large sculture below sits in front of the building above. The combination is odd. The statue was dedicated in 2006 and is named ‘Calostimuku’.

This is Carousel Realty in Port Charlotte on U.S. 41. Established in 1963, this realty company has managed to keep its sign despite huricanes.