Great university took root in downtown offices over drugstore

June 9, 2013

Orlandoan finds fountain of youth in Florida's magical waters

June 5, 2013

I enjoy the names given to objects folks collect: Disney fans gather Disneyana; aficionados of old Florida seek Floridiana. A few years ago, Orlando graphic designer Rick Kilby found himself on a search for "Poncebilia"—images of Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer who gave Florida its name 500 years ago.

Scottish tales in Florida inspired publisher who valued 'Gatsby'

May 26, 2013

In recent weeks, news reports have been awash with the latest cinema version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." Reviewers have pondered whether Baz Luhrmann's direction and Leonardo DiCaprio's incarnation of the enigmatic Gatsby are worthy of the 1925 novel now deemed one of American literature's masterworks.

Annual calendar contest shines spotlight on cozy Rosemere

May 19, 2013

Photographers, it's time to take your best shots for Orlando's annual Historic Preservation Board calendar.

History fans dive into past through modern social media

May 12, 2013

Logging on to the behemoth social-media site Facebook, I can become overwhelmed. I see a picture of a dear cousin I need to write. Ah, the guilt. I see, in the stack of ads at right, a picture of a celebrity and the question "Is 60 the new 40?" Ah, the pull of gossip.

Rare tours of fabled mansion help preserve Zellwood's history

May 5, 2013

A rare window to Central Florida's past opens May 11 when one of the area's most fabled mansions welcomes visitors in a fundraiser for the Zellwood Historical Society.

One dry April long ago, the rainmaker sat by Sand Lake

April 28, 2013

During another April many years ago in Orlando, Dr. Philip Phillips brought the rainmaker to town. It was 1939, and dark war clouds loomed over Europe, but the real sky remained bright over Central Florida. That meant waterless, worrisome weather for citrus growers.

Leu House opens doors to the past and mysteries of historic cemetery

April 21, 2013

When Herb Piper was a young engineer living in Satellite Beach in the 1960s, he would join family members on weekend expeditions to a nearby fish camp owned by a relative's friend. Piper could never have guessed that some 50 years later he'd be welcoming visitors to the historic home of that camp owner: Harry P. Leu.

Stroll through private gardens, reunite with Marks Street chums

April 14, 2013

April blooms with historical fun, as Lake Eola Heights neighbors present their biannual garden tour Sunday, April 21, and Marks Street Elementary School alumni gather Saturday, April 27, to share memories.

A lost eatery, 500 years of food and a Floridian's response

April 7, 2013

Digging into the mailbag, we range from a favorite lost lunch spot to sweeping sagas involving Florida's past.

Pulitzer Prize winner sheds light on the walls that shape our world

March 31, 2013

On a recent morning walk, my heart sank as I passed a massive pile of boards, the remains of a two-story wooden building that had stood for almost a century.

Washington bound? Take an orange-juice break at Florida's 'embassy'

March 24, 2013

It's a busy time in the nation's capital, where the National Cherry Blossom Festival continues through April 14. If you venture to Washington this spring or any time, consider paying a visit to Florida House, now celebrating 40 years as our home away from home on Capitol Hill.

'Awesome artist' Joy Postle blazed trails for Florida wildlife

March 17, 2013

As a child, I pored over my grandparents' "Reader's Digest," especially the feature called "My Most Unforgettable Character." Joy Postle, who died in 1989 at 93, sounds as though she would have made a great subject.

Sweeping new history of Florida spurs questions about us and the folks Up North

March 10, 2013

I'm writing during a visit with friends in a college town on Maryland's Eastern Shore. We've just heard a lecture about a little-known saga in which hundreds of Africans from a captured slave ship were held in Key West in 1860 and then shipped to Liberia. A third of them died on the voyage. It's a gripping story.

Readers share mouth-watering memories, musical mystery from Orlando's past

March 3, 2013

Flashback readers send delicious memories and a query about a mysterious record.

Service marks end to bloody feud that began with sheriff's death

February 24, 2013

If she thought about it at all, Susan Arline Williams figured the old gun stored away in her daddy's closet was a wartime souvenir.

Classic children's book, 'Cracker Kitchen' highlight tasty heritage

February 17, 2013

My friend Bonnie served fresh strawberry pie last week, and I am still thinking about it. These ripe, red treats from the fields of Florida can't be beat.

Ghostly ruins reveal one Florida plantation's surprising reality

February 10, 2013

Not everything was better in the "good old days." That includes tours of historic sites.

That's some cup of tea: Strong, black brew boasts rich history in Florida

February 3, 2013

I drink too much coffee. And I make it strong. It's so strong that members of my family have been known to take a sip and tactfully slip around the corner to the popular shop sometimes known as "Charbucks" in search of a kinder brew.

When it comes to Florida milestones, we're in a history-making year

January 27, 2013

Before we leave the first month of 2013, it's a good time to note that we've entered a bonanza year for Florida anniversaries. To begin with, happy 500th birthday to us! The Spanish explorer Ponce de León landed on Florida's shores in 1513.

Despite bullets in Miami, FDR conquered Central Florida in open motorcade

January 20, 2013

Preparations for the 57th Inauguration on Jan. 21 inspire recollections of storied presidential visits to Central Florida.

Readers reflect on vintage shopping, Yothers' style and Marks Street school days

January 13, 2013

Flashbacks from late 2012 inspired readers' reflections about last-minute holiday shopping; the new book "Lost Orlando"; retired journalist Jean Yothers, who recently celebrated a birthday; and Orlando's Marks Street school.

Visit to Ringlings' mansion offers echoes of a 'Downton Abbey' world

January 6, 2013

I'll admit I'm a bit obsessed with television's "Downton Abbey," returning to PBS tonight (Jan. 6) for its third season.

Before we sail into Ponce land, let's salute some milestones of 2012

December 30, 2012

We're about to plunge into a mega-anniversary year, marking 500 years since Ponce de León named Florida in 1513. But before we leave 2012, let's tip our Flashback bonnet to a couple of milestones noted this year.

It's almost Christmas Eve: Dad's time to start shopping

December 23, 2012

My dad's holiday shopping season began on Christmas Eve, when he would escape from his grocery store, head home in his ancient blue pickup, and retrieve the stash of cash he kept under the towels in the bathroom closet.

Forget Brenda Starr: Orlando's 'girl reporter' blazed trails of wit, wisdom for real

December 16, 2012

I come from a family of newspaper readers. So, in the mid-1950s, my childhood self found Jean Yothers' "On the Town" column at the breakfast table, among the cinnamon-toast crumbs. It was every bit as delicious a treat.

New book celebrating Florida's food and farms makes for tasty gift idea

December 9, 2012

Books make great gifts for history fans, so let's continue a seasonal "Flashback" tradition with a gift idea: a handsome hardcover titled "Field to Feast: Recipes Celebrating Florida Farmers, Chefs, and Artisans," recently published by the University Press of Florida.

Was Marks Street your Orlando school? Get in touch and help make all-years reunion happen

December 2, 2012

The charming, coral-colored building at 99 E. Marks St. in Orlando has been a senior center for more than 25 years, but it was a school for even longer, from 1925 to 1965.

Big store's Orlando debut dazzled holiday shoppers 50 years ago

November 25, 2012

As the seasonal shopping frenzy kicks off, this tree-hugging old hippie has a confession. As much as I oppose holiday hysteria and conspicuous consumption, I have a fondness for department stores.

We had real first Thanksgiving, special pumpkins

November 18, 2012

My family once had a neighbor, a belle of the Old South, who was fond of the phrase, "Of course, you know . . . ," which she would usually follow with a juicy disclosure.

Lauded historian to speak on Winter Park's Gilded Age roots

November 11, 2012

"This is the prettiest spot I have seen in Florida," President Chester Arthur said about Winter Park in 1883.

Teen clubs along I-4 corridor helped fuel rise of Southern rock

November 4, 2012

As Bob Kealing notes in his new book, most folks who drive by Orlando's Loch Haven Neighborhood Center have "no idea how it used to rock."

We're on a roll at 'piney pit stop of the paranormal' in Lake Wales

October 28, 2012

October's a great time for road trips in Central Florida. And it's also the time of year for all things spooky and fun — all of which explains why I could be found in Lake Wales on a recent afternoon, rolling my car backward on the slope that's long been called "Spook Hill."

Grant honors historic school that Flagler's railroad brought to rural Osceola

October 21, 2012

With its tall white columns and wide green lawns, the Palm Beach mansion that Henry Flagler built for his bride Mary Lily Kenan was hailed in 1902 as "more magnificent than any private dwelling in the world." Originally called Whitehall, it's now the Flagler Museum.

At Orlando Museum of Art, great American artists capture Florida's past in paint

June 3, 2012

At the Orlando Museum of Art through mid-July, you can take a visual trip through Florida's history with some of America's finest artists as your guides.

Visit to great Ybor City inspires visions of old dark deeds among the 'Goodfellas'

April 14, 2012

Strolling behind tour leader Scott Deitche through Tampa's Ybor City on a spring evening, I found my feet in the present but my brain back in a dark past — say, Nov. 10, 1936.

Early job helped put 'Pappy' Kennedy on path to history-making career

January 12, 2012

Recently I came across a century-old photo that speaks to both the longevity of our area's tourism business and the opportunities it afforded Central Floridians.

Resolved for 2012: A renewed appreciation of places that matter

December 30, 2011

Residents of tourism meccas often trade stories of the surprising things visitors can do or say.

Holiday of snowmen and Santa inspires that ol' smarty-pants style down South

December 26, 2011

"The sun is shining, the grass is green, the orange and palm trees sway." We may seldom hear those introductory lines to Irving Berlin's holiday anthem "White Christmas," but that's how the song begins.

Exhibit mixes glimpses of turbulent times with memories of a bygone Winter Park

December 5, 2011

In late 1968, I donned a fake leopard-skin pillbox hat and white gloves to visit a Richmond, Va., department store, where I hoped to impress folks with my sophistication and gain my first credit card.

Walt Disney's ties to Central Florida reach back far beyond debut of Magic Kingdom 40 years ago

October 28, 2011

Folks who write or talk about Central Florida's past have often quipped that our area has a fascinating history "B.D."—Before Disney.

Maitland Art Center: Meet the enigmatic, authentic Seminoles

March 29, 2009

Seminole: The word is everywhere in Florida, from college jerseys to gambling casinos.

Over the river, through the woods, to that town of the spirits we go

October 28, 2007

For decades, Orlando-area folks have taken a drive to visit the remarkable Volusia County community of Cassadaga, which scholars deem the oldest active religious community of its kind in the Southeast.

'The heart of Maitland'

October 7, 2007

Folks "seeking health and wealth" couldn't find a better home than Maitland, Florida, an enterprising copywriter wrote about 1890.

Jewish pioneers gathered at family grove for High Holy Days

September 16, 2007

Last week, we started a fresh year on the Jewish calendar, when the HighHoly Days started at sundown Wednesday with Rosh Hashana, the New Year of5768.