It’s been a week of milestones (and headstones).
There’s so much good stuff happening locally and in our state this week. We don’t need to talk about that war in Iran, the Epstein files or the latest ICE debacle.
Well, we do … but just not right now.
Last Saturday, the Georgefest Grand Parade honored George Washington’s birthday and brought folks from near, far and wide together to celebrate the milestone and America’s big 250th birthday. (See the content list below for more about the local show of unity and patriotism.)
Speaking of birthdays, Florida turned 181 this week!
According to Florida Memory, the state’s library and archives, Florida was admitted alongside Iowa to maintain a balance of power, transitioning from a U.S. territory to a state under President John Tyler, with William D. Moseley elected as its first governor.
River restoration bill clears state House
“Florida has a proud tradition of doing the hard, right thing to protect our heritage — from the Everglades to the Kissimmee River — and the Ocklawaha River deserves the same commitment,” state Rep. Wyman Duggan said on the House floor.
Most of his fellow representatives in the state House agreed. Read more.
More news making history this week
Even a tiger during the National Anthem? No, it wasn’t a visiting president attracting all the attention on March 4. The new Mega-Walmart opened in The Villages.
When are the Oscars? When, how to watch and Florida ties
Visiting LHS, Ken Bragg & Lone Oak
I learned a good deal about Leesburg’s history on Tuesday afternoon.
I got an earful at the Leesburg Historical Society meeting about our area’s progress in education and attended the annual Moonlight Stroll at Lone Oak Cemetery.
Miss Teen Leesburg Ryleigh Mallory and Little Miss Leesburg Zuri Spurlock served free ice cream, and volunteers told stories about burial sites dating back to 1867, including Leesburg’s namesake, Evander Lee, and the Beyers family.
The tour also included the gravesites of Cecil Johnson, whose story inspired the film “No Vacancy,” and hometown hero Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, the World War II airman whose remains were identified and returned home decades after being listed as non-recoverable.
We learned how wild-west sharpshooter Annie Oakley became part of Lone Oak history and one of the cemetery’s least likely claims to fame. Bev Ohnstad, who led our tour with humor and sass, dressed in Victorian garb, said that acquiring Oakley’s furry companion’s remains was quite an undertaking (no pun intended).
At the March 3 Historical Society meeting, Ken Bragg shared that the school he nurtured to prominence, Lake Tech, is now among the Top 250 trade schools in the U.S.
Bragg shared that he has established training programs in more than 40 occupational areas during a 32-year career.
Getting the trade school started wasn’t easy. Bragg had to persuade fiscally conservative state representatives to give up thousands of dollars for a county 10 times smaller than it is today. The amount would be more than a million today.
Lake Technical College in Lake County was established in 1965 following Bragg and the Lake County School Board’s request for a vocational center, with its main Leesburg campus opening in 1968. It started with cosmetology, auto mechanics and business schools.Bragg also established the Business Assistance Center at Lake-Sumter Community College, now Lake-Sumter State College, and served as the school’s manager for two and a half years.
A founder and past president of Leadership Lake County, Bragg, naturally, is a lifelong learner. I felt inspired hearing him speak after work on Tuesday (truthfully, I almost didn’t make it; it was a tough time to tear away).
I’m impressed that at age 88, Bragg continues to stay abreast of what’s happening in local education right down to dollar-and-cents minutiae. He’s even working on an idea to convert a former school building into apartments for teachers. Looking forward to learning more about that.
Do you have an old story or pictures to share about our area’s past? Email either or both to me at jgaristo@USATodayCo.com
Bye for now,
JG
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Milestones and headstones
Reporting by Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial / Daily Commercial
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
