Early one morning in 1925, Hugie fell in love with a tall, brown-eyed girl as he passed her place on a cattle drive. He courted this girl, Oleta Brown, with no success at first, but finally they were married in 1927. Their daughter retells their story from vivid accounts they gave of their childhood, courtship, early years of marriage, and struggles during the Great Depression.

This unusual, richly illustrated guidebook details Florida's historic pioneer and cracker villages, describing the homes, work-ways and folk-ways of the states early settlers, through preserved and tangible objects and structures. Across the state, dedicated local historians and community groups have carefully preserved and moved 19th- and early 20th-century structures, including both homes and workplaces, to specially created villages in order to display the lives of Florida pioneers. The tools, houses, farms, gardens, barns, sugar and turpentine mills, churches and schools that are gathered into twenty separate sites are described here, for the first time in a single volume. Through the rich collections of household utensils, mills, and structures, the visitor can appreciate the details of the everyday life, work, hardships, and recreation of past generations of Floridians. The book is an indispensable handbook and guide for the casual or dedicated historic tourist as well as for parents and teachers seeking to expose young people to the vanishing lifestyles of Florida's pioneers. Contact information, hours, special events, and detailed descriptions of each structure at the sites provide the casual or dedicated visitor with both practical facts for arranging trips, and the specific family histories of the pioneers who built and lived in the homes.

A Land Remembered has become Florida's favorite novel. Now this Student Edition in two volumes makes this rich, rugged story of the American pioneer spirit more accessible to young readers. Patrick Smith tells of three generations of the MacIveys, a Florida family battling the hardships of the frontier. The story opens in 1858, when Tobias and Emma MacIvey arrive in the Florida wilderness with their son, Zech, to start a new life, and ends in 1968 with Solomon MacIvey, who realizes that his wealth has not been worth the cost to the land. Between is a sweeping story rich in Florida history with a cast of memorable characters who battle wild animals, rustlers, Confederate deserters, mosquitoes, starvation, hurricanes, and freezes to carve a kingdom out of the Florida swamp. In this volume, meet young Zech MacIvey, who learns to ride like the wind through the Florida scrub on Ishmael, his marshtackie horse, his dogs, Nip and Tuck, at this side. His parents, Tobias and Emma, scratch a living from the land, gathering wild cows from the swamp and herding them across the state to market. Zech learns the ways of the land from the Seminoles, with whom his life becomes entwined as he grows into manhood. Next in series > > See all of the books in this series

A Florida Pioneer is a book about the adventurous life of Josef Henschen, Swedish immigrant to Florida in the 1870s. Henschen was a young medical student in Upsala, Sweden when, in 1871, he was asked to recruit and bring over a large group of Swedish laborers to Florida. The group he brought went to work at Henry S. Sanford's plantations in Seminole County. There the Swedes founded the New Upsala settlement, and many Swedish descendants in central Florida have their roots in this colony. Josef fell in love with Florida and stayed there for nearly sixty years, until his death in 1930. He became one of the four financiers of the Orange Belt Railroad, and he gave the city of St. Petersburg its name. This book contains many of Josef's letters and paints a fascinating picture of Florida pioneer life. Gary Momino, Professor of History at the University of South Florida, calls A Florida Pioneer "An extraordinary document...a historic treasure."

The Florida pioneer cow hunters gave birth to the cattle industry. Florida, discovered by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon in the 1500s, left behind cattle that roamed the peninsula hundreds of years. In the 1800s, new settlers gathered-up the scrub cattle and bred them with their herds. As cracker whips snapped, cow hunters rounded-up their herds and drove them by the thousands to coastal markets on the old cracker trails. It was a dangerous passage. The legendary cow hunters are todays ranchers. This book is about the past and the future of ranching in Florida as a new generation takes over the reins with some heirs choosing another profession and selling the family ranch. I hope the reader will reflect upon the valuable lessons these ranchers reveal about history and survival.

This is the story of one of the earliest Japanese Americans to settle in Florida. How did a poor Japanese immigrant transform himself into one of south Florida's most generous millionaires? He bowed to the earth, gave thanks to the Florida moon, and grew pineapples! Here for the first time in book form is the inspirational story of George Morikami, a true Florida pioneer. In the early 1900s, young Sukeji "George" Morikami lived happily with his family in a quiet Japanese fishing hamlet. But when his true love's parents refused to let him marry her, he was crushed. He left to find his fortune in America, never to see the Japanese moon again. Penniless and unable to speak English, George arrived at Yamato, an upstart farming colony in what is now Boca Raton. George's dreams of earning enough money to return home, buy his own land, and claim his beloved would never be realized. Destiny had other dreams--American dreams--in store for George Morikami. Today, his legacy lives on at the beautiful and unique Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach. Next in series > > See all of the books in this series