You have to REALLY want to visit Kenansville. It's not the kind of place you stumble upon. I have wanted to visit for years, so I took the lonely stretch of 441 north from Yeehaw (instead of the Turnpike) to...
Old South Bar-B-Q Ranch
Weary travelers for four decades were kept awake by the funny signs and nourished by the taste of this Clewiston oasis. There aren’t many roads more desolate and monotonous than going south on US 27. Once you pass Lake Placid,...
Lastinger Family were first to settle pioneer Lake Placid
Joshua Berrien Lastinger decided that his idea of a garden paradise was the wild lake country of southern Highlands County. One of the few surviving photos of Lake Placid’s first white settler, Joshua Berrien Lastinger, comes from a 1904 family reunion....
Lyman Twins of Altamonte, famous Vaudeville stage actors
The comedians settled in Seminole County after retiring from a 15-year career, thrilling audiences nationwide. It’s not every day that genuine celebrities move to town! The citizens of tiny Altamonte Springs were delighted when the famous “Lyman Twins” decided to...
The Last Cowgirl of Lake Mary
Griffin Farm is the crown jewel of Lake Mary’s midtown. Until recently, it was the lifelong home of Lillian Humphrey Griffin. Two nights ago, I was picking up dinner at ZaZa’s in the convenient new live-shop-work hotspot in Lake Mary....
Rounding Wagner’s Curve
Hidden beneath suburban Winter Springs is the old village of Wagner and its once-infamous dead man’s curve.
Webb’s Citrus Candy: Central Florida Favorite since 1928
What started as two women making tropical treats for their friends was made stalwart by the Taylor and Webb families. As a kid growing up in South-Central Florida there was always great promise venturing north on US 27 toward the...
Tom the Turkey of Pabor Lake
Every town needs a mascot. In the Pabor Lake, it was a friendly fowl who narrowly evaded becoming Thanksgiving dinner. Every town needs a mascot, and the Pabor Lake Colony had a right-friendly one named Tom. Arguably the fowl became...
War of 17–92: Casselberry v. Fern Park
Gordon Barnett’s Fern Park was riding high until Hibbard Casselberry incorporated a new town smack dab in the middle. Ask your average Seminole County resident: Where is Fern Park? If they have even heard of it, they’ll probably tell you: South of 436...
Bear Hops on Cedar Key Bound Train
The baggage master of an 1887 passenger train was surprised to discover a large, hairy hitchhiker.