By James Cusick, Rachel Laue, and John T. Foster – When did people first begin to regard Florida as a winter sanctuary and a place to relocate and set up a homestead? After decades of giving credit for this trend to the railroad barons of the 1880s, scholars are…
By Bridget Bihm-Manuel – In 1935, Franklin Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to alleviate the unemployment caused by the Great Depression. It was primarily a public works program and the laborers who participated were responsible for the construction of thousands of bridges, buildings, parks, roads, and other structures…
By Rachel Laue – The life of an activist is often unconventional, but few more so than long-time peace movement advocates, John and Martina Linnehan. When the couple met in 1969 they were both in holy orders. Martina, a nun with the Sisters of St. Joseph in St. Augustine, and…
By Lee Hoffman – The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a major experiment in the 1930s that aimed to put people back to work. It established a legacy that can be found speckled across the landscape in national, state and local parks. In 1933, as the hardships of the Great…
By Ma Gabrielle Bernasol – This year marks the seventeenth since my family immigrated to Florida. Despite living so many years in the Florida, my time working with the Florida History Collection has made me realize that my knowledge of the state is still in its infant stages. Since the…
By Rachel Laue – The pioneer settlements of nineteenth-century Florida were rife with hardships and potential dangers. Settlers contended with adverse weather, fires, wildlife, and accidents often far from the help of modern conveniences, medical care, or other people. In the settlement along the Manatee River, there was another, more…
By Lee Hoffman – What is the Great Speckled Bird? The Great Speckled Bird was an underground alternative press publication. The South, historically, has been characterized as a monolithic legislative echo-chamber painted in All-American red. It should not be forgotten that southern legislatures have been historically associated with violent rhetoric…
By Rachel Laue and James Cusick – The P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History has started a new collection on LGBTQ+ publications in Florida, focusing on newspapers or periodicals published during the 1970s and 1980s. At the core of this collection is an 18-month run of The Weekly News (TWN),…
By James Cusick – In the 1920s, the small movie production company of Norman Studios, in Jacksonville, Florida, became a vehicle for starting the careers of numerous African-American actors and actresses. Prominent among them was John Lawrence Criner (1898-1965), a member of the famed New York acting group…
By Rachel Laue and James Cusick – For Veterans Day 2021 we highlight those who served in the 868th Engineer Aviation Battalion of the U.S. Air Force during World War II. This African-American unit supported the 5th Air Force in the Pacific Theater between 1940 and 1945.
