Crane's 'The Open Boat' Ask any upper-level English teacher to list the finest short stories ever written, and Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" is sure to rank near the top. Mr. Crane's account of surviving the angry sea in a 10-foot dinghy has been applauded since its publication in 1899. You already knew that? Did you know that the story was written as a result of Mr. Crane's own experience of being shipwrecked and set adrift? Yeah? Well, OK, Smarty. Did you know that he washed ashore at ... Read more »
Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach – Plantation Number Nine
Plantation Number Nine The following was compiled by the Junior League of Daytona and was published in 1986 as "Historic Daytona Beach - a self-guided tour." On John Anderson Drive, about six miles north of Granada Boulevard, is the once-famous Number Nine Plantation. In 1876, Chauncey A. Bacon, a Civil War veteran from Connecticut, purchased a homestead that extended half a mile from the Halifax River eastward to the ocean. Bacon named his homestead Number Nine Plantation because it was the ... Read more »
Daytona beach – Pinewood Cemetery
There's nothing "Johnny come lately" about east Volusia County. Folks have been moving here, living here and dying here for hundreds of years. The Halifax area has some wonderfully worn Spanish moss-draped cemeteries as a result. If you've ever felt disconnected from your community, a Sunday stroll through one of these deep-rooted resting places might prove helpful. "Historic Daytona Beach," published by the Junior League of Daytona Beach in 1986, provides us with the following: "Pinewood ... Read more »
Daytona Beach – Oldest Rum Distillery
Marian Tomblin I was flipping through my old high school yearbook the other day, and got to laughing at the various superlatives we had pinned on our classmates. Do you remember who at your school was voted the cutest, the smartest, and the funniest? Volusia County is familiar with superlatives. This is where "The World's Richest Man"-John D. Rockefeller-lived, and where "The Fastest Man Alive"-Glenn Curtiss-received that title after driving his V-8 powered bicycle 136.47 miles per hour on ... Read more »
Daytona Beach – Lillian Place History
Another Article written by our wonderful friend, Marian Tomblin and originally posted in her news column. Marian is the author of "The Mystery at Hotel Ormond," "Where's Capone's Cash?" and "Manatee Moon," all selected for community-wide literacy campaigns. Her latest book, "Bull on the Beach!," is a compilation of historical anecdotes discovered while researching her novels. For more information on Mrs. Tomblin's books or to have her speak at your next meeting, contact her at ... Read more »
Daytona Beach – How Big Tree Road got its name
How Big Tree Road got its name Ever wonder how streets get their names? The next time you're on Big Tree Road, pull into a convenient parking lot and turn off your car. Then (after looking both ways) step out onto the asphalt and back into time. Big Tree Road began as a narrow rut of logs and oyster shells at the edge of the Halifax River. It meandered through matted salt marsh to higher ground, to a forest of oaks and palms crisscrossed with paths worn smooth by the passing of countless ... Read more »
Daytona Beach History – Helen Wilmans-Post
Helen Wilmans-Post Originally Posted: 2007 Jul 13 - 00:04 by our wonderful friend Marian Tomblin. What's in a name? Though the Bard shrugged and wrote "A rose by any other name smells as sweet," Floridians circa 1900 were not so relaxed. As the state grew, municipalities were formed, each enjoying its own identity and small, independent post office. Here in the Halifax area, we had Daytona (just Daytona back then, no Beach) on the mainland, and Seabreeze across the river on the ... Read more »
Daytona Beach History – Mrs. Charles Burgoyne
Day Trip: A bronze bust of Commodore Burgoyne is in the park across from the Halifax Historical Museum, 252 S. Beach Street. Stop by and give him my regards. Day trip: Pinewood Cemetery on Main Street in Daytona Beach. Vandals have done their best to deface this resting place, but it's still worth a visit. "There she is," the crowd murmured. "She's coming out!" Onlookers young and old jostled each other for a glimpse of the woman draped in black. Flanked by two dark-suited men, the petite ... Read more »
Early Days in Daytona Beach, Florida – How a City was Founded Part II
Early Days in Daytona Beach, Florida - How a City was Founded — Part II The story of Mattias Day continued…. “Day and two companions spent several days looking around the Halifax Country, cruising up and down both sides of the river. In his diary, Day noted there were ‘10 million fleas to the square yard.’ He took a before-breakfast dip in the ocean and shouted upon the waves, ‘Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll.’ “Then he came upon the little Tomoka settlement and saw what he ... Read more »
Early Days in Daytona Beach, Florida – How a City was Founded, Part 1
“Early Days in Daytona Beach, Florida - How a City was Founded,” Part 1 This article is compliments of Mrs. Marian Tomblin. I was doing some research on Daytona Beach’s founding father Mathias Day and was stumbled upon this story and my new favorite local writer in Daytona Beach. “Early Days in Daytona Beach, Florida - How a City was Founded,” written in 1951 by Fred Booth to commemorate the city’s (then) 75th anniversary, takes us back to the beginning. “Seventy five years ago today ... Read more »