Jacksonville's Two Civil War Burnings

At some point, most of us who live in Jacksonville learn about the fire of 1901 that destroyed most of the city. That's why I was surprised to learn of two other fires in the city's past, both during the Civil War. Neither fire was as destructive property-wise, but I think the argument could be made that both of these fires were more destructive to relationships between locals that extended to the rest of the country. These fires were burnings rather than an accidental fire like in 1901.

My Guides to Jacksonville

I've met several people thinking of relocating to Jacksonville, and I often tell them to check out my website for my guide to the city. Except I did just that myself and realized it's not that easy to find, so here's a guide to my guides. 

Also, if you're thinking of moving here and want to hire an actual guide, that can be arranged. Use the contact form to work out the details. Or ask your realtor to take you everywhere...they love doing that.

Arlington Mural an Enigma and Kind of Silly

I've driven past the Arlington mural along the Arlington Expressway plenty of times by this point, and I'm still trying to figure it out. I know, it's art and individual and abstract, etc. But it's still supposed to mean something. To the artist, to residents, and to visitors. I'd like to make an attempt to decipher what the Arlington mural means in all or any of those contexts so that I can better explain it those who look to me for answers.

Florida Tourism - The Destination Funeral

I was trying to find out what happened to the lovely 33-acre May Mann Jennings Park over on the North Side when I had this great idea for tourism in Jacksonville. It's mostly because Streetview of the park seemed to only show the Evergreen Cemetery, which kind of shares (or overruns) the park. In fact, COJ says the May Mann Jennings Park has "been returned to a natural, undeveloped state." For those of you who don't know government code, this means there's no funding for a park in an industrial/hood area of town. Anyhow, my search for a forgotten gem of a park was thwarted, but the cemetery next door got me to thinking about Florida/Jacksonville tourism, and I wondered if anyone had ever considered a destination funeral. 

Karen Protests For Justice in San Marco, So Now We're Good

[I began writing this article BEFORE Mayor Lenny Curry participated in a march led by Leonard Fournette and decided to simultaneously begin dismantling Confederate monuments in Jax. More on that at the end.] 

I am in favor of being able to protest for something in which you believe. I don't tend to do it myself, but that doesn't mean I think it's wrong, unless someone tosses a Molotov Cocktail onto my car. Luckily, that's never happened to me. Anyhow, I saw that there was a squeaky clean protest in San Marco. Karen was there. Dougie E Doug Marrone was there. Probably OK Boomer and a several others. So it was mainstream and nice. Maybe like going to a farmers market. That's why I ask myself the following questions. Does this mean something is really going to change? Does it mean those with relative power expressed some empathy and now it's all good? Does it mean people are just really bored right now?

Three Decades and Then No Pet Headstone

I know it kind of seems like news that a man who buried his pet 30 years ago could not find the headstone in a local pet cemetery. It's almost like the news stories about underrepresented minority cemeteries or poorly maintained veteran gravestones. Almost. It's a poodle that dies 30 years ago. If the owner had visited the grave each year for the past three decades, the headstone would not be lost. 

One Giant Leap for Local Teachers

Florida teachers should be riding the 50th Anniversary of the space program fervor. Space travel is pretty cool, whether it happened a half-century ago or last week. Kids are interested in us going back to the moon and even to Mars. Good teachers use interest and enthusiasm to help teach kids, so take that giant leap, whether you're teaching elementary school, middle school, or high school.

Florida's Lost City of Travertine

I was perusing old Florida newspapers when I came across a 1927 article that mentioned Jacksonville. In the article, it was implied that "travertin" could be found only in Italy and Florida. However, I can't find any modern evidence that this stone was ever found in Florida at all.

Duval or DuVal or du Val?

I was just on an insurance website that listed DuVal as the county we're in. Some people go by DuWhatever, while others use DuSomething. Still others are du Frenchplace. So, I wonder what the deal is with Duval.

Checking Off One More Year Without Sweetest Day

It was late October last year when I realized I'd missed Sweetest Day. This year, as the calendar turned to mid-October, I knew it would happen again. How could I possibly miss this important day once again? Well, it's partially because people in Kansas (last year) and Florida (this year) don't seem to know that there's a second Valentine's Day, roughly half a year after that holiday.

Florida's National Guard: Since 1565 - We Went There

I know history is important to Floridians, but this one seems to be a bit of a reach. Our National Guard unit (at least on the license plate) professes that it has been established since 1565. When I saw that, I figured it was referring to some kind of Colonial National Guard in New England. Nope, it's ours, with all of its ups and downs over the years.

Who is J. Allen Axson?

This is a series New Jax Witty is undertaking in order to learn more about local history through the names used in public places around town. Today's mystery name is J. Allen Axson. There's an elementary school named after this individual, but I can find very little about him (I assume) online.

What If St. Augustine Asked Me To Add Context To Confederate Monuments?

Here's a thought. What if St. Augustine asked just regular people to help add the "context" that the city has deemed necessary in order to keep from moving Confederate monuments? The city has appointed some academics in order to do the job, and I can only imagine the meetings. Someone will quote Howard Zinn, and then another academic will attack that supposition. Another might want to bring up Winthrop Jordan's The White Man's Burden, which will also be shot down. Then another professor will quote his or her own book, and before long, each will in turn quote themselves. Most likely half of the profs will have copies of their treatises with them with pages pre-marked. And when it all shakes out, they won't have a better context than an average guy like me.

Luminaries: A New Old Christmas Tradition in Florida

When we exited our Christmas Eve church service this year, the walkways were lined with paper bags with candles inside. One of the other church members identified the objects as luminaries, but I was interested in the birth of this Christmas tradition. It was not something we saw in Wisconsin, and not something we noticed in Kansas, so I wondered how the tradition got started.

Local Haunts - A New Jaxperience

I was stuck with a weekend lineup that did not interest me, so I tuned into Local Haunts, mostly because of the cheesiest intro ever. It's a local Jax version of Ghost Hunters or the like. Steve Christian and Pamela Theresa are the stars of this show, and it's something. Steve is the tech guy and Pamela Theresa is the medium, meaning she can communicate with spirits without gear. The rest of the crew fits well into the stereotype of what a paranormal investigation team might resemble. What I mean is they seem legit in some way, like they LARP hard on non-investigation weekends. Or work as zombie or UFO-abductee extras in local college films.

Historical Places - Mosquito County, Florida

I love it when people are literal in naming of places. Obvious names, like Steep Canyon, are more fun than British aristocratic names, like any number of Jamestowns. Even modern desires to somehow connect with ye olde England leads to stupid modern subdivision and cookie-cutter home names like The Kensington.

Are There Any Rare Books at The Jacksonville Public Library?

I was doing research on local history, and I figured maybe the library would have some books for me. I was kind of right, maybe. I found a rare books page https://www.jaxpubliclibrary.org/rare-books-manuscripts . It seems to list a few books, but only a few. And all the links are dead. No pdf versions of the books or image galleries.

The Sketchy History of Fort Caroline

I took the tour of Fort Caroline with my kids' school. It was an interesting tour, but I wondered a bit at some of the history being taught, so I researched it on my own. Basically, it's a time of sketchy history, and probably the best accounts are buried in France or Spain, but I figured I'd weigh in on some what I learned.