Part of our heritage

[harbison]

 
Part of our heritage

Our Florida is a four season wonderland with cultural treasures stretching from north to south and all parts in between. In Northern Florida we have the Forest Capital Museum State Park: The Museum, opened in 1968, pays homage to Florida's notorious longleaf pines:Nearly 5,000 products manufactured from pine are on display. In 1972 Senator Pete Gibson's family added yet another cultural treasure to the exhibits, the Cracker Homestead:In the southern most part of Florida we find Key West. Earnest Hemingway called Key West home. He lived and wrote here for more than ten years:Hemingway found solace and great physical challenge in the turquoise waters that surround this tiny island. Today Key West is a good reason why Florida is known as the Fishing Capital of the World:Now, let's take a close look at the rich history of Central Florida. John LeVeque, a Frenchman by birth, found work as a cabin boy in a Spanish Galleon, 1836. Heading for the New World his ship was attacked by pirates. LeVeque was invited to join the pirate crew as a galley slave in return for his life. Cold and afraid he accepted their offer. Within a decade he went from Galley Slave to pirate himself, and then from First Mate to Captain of his very own pirate ship. In his entire career as a pirate the fortune he had amassed totaled one chest of "Pieces of Eight" and Spanish doubloons. The chest was hidden right off the beach on an island on Florida's West Coast, an area he would often times visit when he had to hide out for a while. This un-named, isolated, island would someday be named Madeira Beach. One day, Taking only a small boat, meager supplies, and his treasure map he headed for his hideout on Madeira Beach where he planned on digging up his treasure and continuing on to New Orleans. As he sailed North into the coastal waters he noticed a storm on the horizon. Recognizing the storm as a hurricane, LeVeque held back and waited overnight as the hurricane ran its course. The next morning, September 27, 1848, he found that the hurricane had cut his long skinny island in two. His treasure map was useless. The storm had destroyed the very area of the island where his treasure had been buried. As he sailed through the new pass he realized his treasure had been lost forever. Since that day, in honor of John LeVeque's discovery and maiden passage through the waterway,  the inlet has been known as John's Pass. LeVeque lived out his days to see his isolated island become a quaint fishing community.In 1980 Wilson Hubbard helped convince the city to permit building of a public waterfront boardwalk along John's Pass. Captain Wilson Hubbard was a man of vision. He was instrumental in the development of the larger community of John's Pass Village. In 1982 and 1983 Hubbard added quaint boardwalk shops around his Marina:John's Pass Village and Boardwalk has become a popular attraction while retaining its feeling of a rustic fishing village where people can still fined humble lodging and enjoy's Florida's simple pleasures such as strolling along the waterfront, dolphin watching, nature cruising, and of course, catching and eating fish:Something for one & all: Ever hear of a floating bar? Nothing new to Madeira Beach: Welcome to:   At night the entire Boardwalk area is party-time:   Today, due to the coronavirus, the entire area is all but: Hopefully, some day soon, we will get back to: Our Florida is a four season wonderland with cultural treasures stretching from north to south and all parts in between. 

[njbob49]

Thanks for sharing some pics of happier times Bob.  Fishing is completely shut down in NJ except for private boats. We will get through this. You take care of yourself and be extra careful. 

Tight Lines,
Bob G   

[harbison]

Thank you sir!   Same to you & yours.