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July 2026 Focus: Florida Tales and Legends The old Mercedes Hospital on Virginia Street Key West (now a guest house and one of the known "haunted" buildings in Key West)
Florida Memory c1990 |
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by Jeff Klinkenberg Florida is a civilized place with eighteen million residents and all of the modern amenities one might expect: fine universities, art museums, world-class restaurants, and luxury accommodations. It is also home to panthers, bears, rattlesnakes, and alligators. In this collection of essays about Florida culture—the things that make Florida “Florida”— Jeff Klinkenberg sets his sights on the contradictions that comprise the Sunshine State. With a keen eye for detail and a lyrical style, Klinkenberg takes us meandering through the swamps and back roads of Florida, stopping to acquaint us with the curious and kooky characters he meets along the way. |
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by Caren S. Neile Florida boasts mysterious tales that stretch back more than twelve thousand years. Dive into the lives of the proud Wakulla Pocahontas and the Ghost of Bellamy Bridge. Meet local lawbreakers like John Ashley, as well as transplants like Ma Barker and Al Capone. Stalk stumpy gators or Hogzilla as they prowl Florida's swamps and suburbs. Discover the quintessential Cracker cowboy and the Barefoot Mailman, plus the origin of names like Boca Raton and Orlando. Storyteller Caren Neile, PhD, shares myths, legends and folktales that reflect the diversity of characters and cultures that make Florida such a fascinating place. |
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by Annette J. Bruce Drawn from Florida history, folklore, and fiction, this collection of stories tailor-made for telling will entertain, inspire, and astound readers and listeners of all ages. Cracker Jack is up to his old tricks: putting one over on his Yankee schoolteacher; confounding a census taker; and convincing a befuddled farmer that its not Saturday but Sunday (and if the preacher finds him working on a Sunday, well, there'll be you-know-what to pay!). In a place called Dogbone, its really not that unusual to see a glow-in-the-dark man running naked after a driverless truck with two barking dogs in pursuit. It even made Ed Grady an honest-to-goodness churchgoer. |
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by Ron Milione The Himalayans have the Yeti, Native Americans have the Sasquatch, and Floridians have skunk ape. “They’re just so elusive and so rare,” said Dave Shealy, a skunk ape researcher. Skunk ape is a creature described to be similar to bigfoot, named after its smell and appearance. It’s said to be a man-sized ape. The skunk ape has been reported on since the early 1800s, with a family in Key Largo going to the sheriff’s office in the 1970s, claiming the skunk ape was stalking them. A bill was even penned in 1977, calling for the protection of skunk ape. It did not pass. Skunk ape reports have been issued in the Miami suburbs throughout the years. The skunk ape is said to lurk in Florida swamps and forests. There’s never been a recorded attack on a person by a skunk ape by anyone here in south Florida. However, over the years, there’s been plenty of people who disappeared into the Everglades. |
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Sunshine State Monsters: Cryptids & Legends of Floridaby David WeatherlyFlorida--The Sunshine State. A tourist mecca with shining beaches, theme parks for children and adults alike, and monsters! Water monsters are everywhere from sea serpents to lake monsters, to a famous creature said to lurk in the St. Johns River. The vast Everglades are home to invasive snakes, massive alligators, and the elusive Skunk Ape. Big cats prowl, strange things fly overhead, and lost species may still thrive in hidden corners. Grab your sunglasses and join in as we investigate Sunshine State Monsters.
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The Southern Frontier: A road-less, watery wilderness, uninviting to all but the most stouthearted and adventurous. As great cities were springing up in places like St. Louis, Denver, and San Francisco, the lower peninsula of Florida endured. Here, the panther, the alligator, and the bald eagle remained safe from the restless, meddlesome hands of civilization, continuing as they had for eons past. Renegade Indians, pirates, hurricanes, and man-eating animals - not to mention venomous snakes and bloodthirsty hordes of mosquitoes - reigned supreme. It took a certain kind of person to boldly venture into such an inhospitable environment where a man had only himself and his family upon which to depend. Tales of Old Florida takes the reader back to a singular time and place that will never be seen again. |
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LIBRARY AND TAMPA BAY AREA EVENTS: |
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Cecil Beach Conference Room - 4th floor Meeting is a hybrid meeting. The speaker is TBD. The meeting will be in the Cecil Beach Conference Room in the Florida History and Genealogy Library at the John F. Germany Public Library. Alternately, you can attend via Zoom webinar. |
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Sunday, July 12 - Saturday, July 18 Locations throughout the City of Tampa Recognizing the need to document and preserve the development and unique heritage of Tampa and its government, the City of Tampa Archives was founded in 1987. Archives Awareness Week was established in 1992 by the City of Tampa Archives Advisory Committee. During this week, local archives come together to present their collections through exhibits and programs that convey the value of archives in the identification, preservation and conservation of historic records. |
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HCPLC Programs for Archives Awareness Week
Tuesday, July 14, 2:00 - 3:00 pm C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library - Matthew Gregory Community Room Learn about this community-crowdsourced collection, the focus of the collection, and the steps to contribute content to this digital archive Tuesday, July 14, 3:00 - 4:00 pm C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library - Florida Sentinel Reading Room Learn how to properly handle and store old family photographs and documents for long-term preservation. Participants will get demonstration on the digitization process and hands-on-practice on preserving their 2D treasures. Friday, July 17, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Public Library - Ada T. Payne Community Room A Join us for an engaging and interactive discussion led by a museum educator from the Tampa Museum of Art. Saturday, July 18, 11:00 - 12:00 pm John F. Germany Public Library - Cecil Beach Conference Room Land Records are not an obvious choice for genealogical research. During a time when vital records were not well kept, they can be one of the few records to have names of ancestors and family names. Saturday, July 18, 3:00 - 4:00 pm John F. Germany Public Library - Cecil Beach Conference Room Take a tour through the Florida History and Genealogy Library's microform collection and discover how these resources can help you with your historical and genealogical research. |
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It’s 1985 and Ronald Armstrong, known in the magic mushroom trade as “Trip,” takes a “sober” job as a driver for a retired Tampa mobster. His boss, Charlie Wall, has survived four attempts on his life, the last one in 1955. When Charlie falls into depression, Trip rebuilds his boss’ self-esteem by convincing him people still want him dead. What neither of them know is that an aging hit man has decided to finish the job he botched 30 years earlier. The Everlasting Life of Charlie Wall is based on a real-life Tampa mobster and includes Charlie’s first-person account of his life of crime and the loss of the woman he loves. Three strong and determined women, Katrina Carey, Ava Corral and Angie Castellano, play key roles in this story. Everlasting Life is both a love story and a mafia adventure, brimming with humor and heart.. |
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Author Robert Redd dives into the stories you won't find in any orange juice-dispensing Florida Welcome Center. Swaying palms, sandybeaches and the promise of a good life have beckoned generations toFlorida. But the Sunshine State's allure is appealing to the upstanding and vile in equal measure. A key member of the Abraham Lincoln assassination conspiracy moldered in Florida soil -- the same goes for the failed assassin of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Henry Flagler pushed the Florida legislature to alter divorce law so he could extricate himself from one marriage and start anew with a woman nearly four decades his junior. The Ashley Gang left a trail of bank robberies, stolen cars and dead bodies across South Florida. And from bootleggers to land boom con men to especially aggressive insurance fraudsters, Floridians have a history of making money the dirty way. |
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Florida Food Forest Cookbook is the resource cooks need to use the produce they grow or buy to create healthy, easy-to-prepare, zero-waste meals. For those looking to convert their lawns and backyards into healthy food forest gardens (using the author's Transforming Florida Yards), this companion cookbook gives 345 sweet and savory recipes and menus for 20 easy-to-grow, sustainable plants that are free of pesticides, herbicides, toxins and additives. Recipes - containing no more than 6 ingredients-- are quick and easy to prepare. |
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by David E. Sumner
Florida’s citrus growers have battled freezes, diseases, and hurricanes for 150 years and never given up. After the 1895 freeze almost destroyed the industry, they fought back and replanted. A series of freezes in the 1980s again devastated the industry. The citrus canker and citrus greening diseases have destroyed thousands of acres since the 1980s, and growers are still recovering. New scientific breakthroughs offer signs of hope and a recovery for the industry. |
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ON DISPLAY IN THE FLORIDA HISTORY & GENEALOGY LIBRARY, 4TH FLOOR OF THE JOHN F. GERMANY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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 Hillsborough State Bank |
Florida Banking Records Collection The Florida Banking Records give insight and context to the history of Florida's economy. They date from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. The records come from several banks of historical significance and include Hillsboro State Bank, Bank of Dunedin, First Savings and Trust Co., and SunBank. The records were stored for several years in a warehouse and were scheduled to be destroyed. In 2014, a SunTrust bank employee asked the Florida History & Genealogy Library if they would accept the donation. In 2021 the library started an in-house preservation project. This includes cleaning, repairing, and cataloging the records.
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One Hundred Ten Years of Knowledge: a Look Back at the Library History Collection. The Early Years of Tampa/Hillsborough County Libraries from the Library History Diagital Collection. The video display features photographs and articles out the early years of libraries in the city and county. . |
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