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Sunland Tribune Volume 17 Article 1 1991 Full Issue Sunland Tribune Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/sunlandtribune Recommended Citation Tribune, Sunland (1991) "Full Issue," Sunland Tribune: Vol. 17 , Article 1. Available at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/sunlandtribune/vol17/iss1/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sunland Tribune by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Table of Contents DeSOTO OAK, TAMPA UNIVERSITY FAÇADE Sketch by Will K. Hagerman INSIDE FRONT COVER POISED FOR THE FUTURE By George B. Howell, III, President, Tampa Historical Society 1 TAMPA’S FORGOTTEN DEFENDERS: THE CONFEDERATE COMMANDERS OF FORT BROOKE By Zack C. Waters 3 THE TAMPA AND THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD, 1853-1884 By Canter Brown, Jr. 13 SUNLAND PROFILE OF CAPT. JOHN PARKER TRIBUNE By Spessard Stone 21 Volume XVII November, 1991 PROFILE OF LLOYD DAVIS By Spessard Stone 25 Journal of the TAMPA’S EARLY LIGHTING AND TRANSPORTATION TAMPA HISTORICAL SOCIETY By Arsenio M. Sanchez 27 Tampa, Florida THE FAN: EL ABANICO, AMBASSADOR OF LOVE KYLE S. VanLANDINGHAM By Tony Pizzo 39 Editor TAMPA’S GREAT FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION 1991 Officers By Tony Pizzo 41 GEORGE B. HOWELL, III THE DAMNEDEST TOWN THIS SIDE OF HELL: TAMPA, 1920-29 (Part II) President By Dr. Frank Alduino 43 BARBARA REEVES BABE RUTH AND HIS RECORD “HOME RUN” AT TAMPA Vice President By James W. Covington 47 JEAN ANN CONE REMINISCENCES OF TONY PIZZO Recording Secretary The Sights, Sounds and Smells of Ybor City 50 LOIS LATIMER A SYNOPSIS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE IN TAMPA AND THE Corresponding Secretary ROLE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE A. FRANK SMITH By Robert W. Saunders 51 Treasurer SPANISH LYRIC THEATRE CELEBRATES ITS 32ND ANNIVERSARY Board of Directors By JoAnn Haskins Cimino 62 Ralph Beaver OUTLAW CEMETARY RAMBLE 67 Mary Brown Charles Jordan YMCA TIME CAPSULE 70 James Judy George Lackman OLD TIMERS REUNION 71 James Marshall Raymond Miller 1991 D. B. McKAY AWARD WINNER: USF PROFESSOR GARY MORMINO Anthony Pizzo By Hampton Dunn 72 Arsenio Sanchez Nancy Skemp HAMPTON DUNN RETIRES AS EDITOR OF SUNLAND TRIBUNE Margaret Smith By Leland Hawes 73 Lee Touchton Kyle S.VanLandingham KYLE VanLANDINGHAM NEW EDITOR OF SUNLAND TRIBUNE 75 Executive Director REMINISCENCES OF CAPT. JAMES McKAY, JR. 78 Debra Teicher MEET THE AUTHORS 88 Headquarters 245 S. Hyde Park Avenue 1991 SUNLAND TRIBUNE PATRONS 90 Tampa, FL 33606 Phone (813) 259-1111 TAMPA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ROSTER OF MEMBERS Nov. 1, 1991 91 “BENNY HAVENS” From the Tony Pizzo Collection, USF INSIDE BACK COVER Cover photo. The Tampa Bay Hotel, built by Henry B. Plant opened in 1891. The building, which now houses the University of Tampa, celebrated its centennial in 1991. The Sunland Tribune is the official annual publication of Tampa Historical Society, distributed to members each year. Non-members may receive limited edition issues by contacting the Society at 259-1111. Individuals interested in contributing manuscripts for consideration should send them to the headquarters no later than August 1 of each calender year. The Sunland Tribune Committee will review, accept or reject articles and will return all photographs and materials not selected for publication. All manuscripts should be no more than twelve double-spaced typed pages in length and should include footnotes, lists of sources as well as captions for all photographs submitted. The President's Report POISED FOR THE FUTURE By GEORGE B. HOWELL, III you the membership. The key element of our efforts this year has been partnership. Successful programs and fundraising events were developed and carried out through partnerships with the H. B. Plant Museum, the Tampa/Hillsborough County History Museum, Inc., the Florida Historical Society, Mosaic, Inc. and many others. We have found strength and unity of purpose in the bonds made during the year and will continue to build on these new relationships. In July of this year, a partnership was forged which may have an impact on the Society and our community like no other before it. Your board of directors adopted unanimously a resolution to pledge our ef- forts and resources to the Tam- pa/Hillsborough County History Museum, Inc. We have embraced as our own the mission of this organization to develop and build a first class history museum in Tampa; it is a mission very closely akin to our own. It is our ultimate goal to help facilitate GEORGE B. HOWELL, III establishment of a temporary museum and, President ultimately, construction of a new building within the very near future. The trustees of Marie Antoinette once said of history: this organization should be applauded for "There is nothing new, only what we forget. their efforts and supported by the " It is with this thought in mind that the community at large. original founders of the Tampa Historical Society, Inc. in 1971 set forth their mission In order to support the costs of our new "to bring together those people interested in endeavors, fundraising has been a priority history, and especially in the history of this year. Generous grants from both the Tampa and Florida. " Your board has Saunders and David Falk Foundations have searched diligently over the past year to allowed us to expand our programs and determine how we can best fulfill our focus on the future. A major membership obligations to the Society's founders and to drive is currently planned to begin before year's end. I hope all of our members will not only continue their support but also generate new memberships through friends and family. Our headquarters at the Peter 0. Knight cottage will be undergoing a facelift in 1992. The home has been fumigated, the grounds refurbished, and with the help of a recent designation by the City for eligibility as a Community Contribution Tax Incentive Program, we intend to raise $60,000. to renovate the building and preserve this jewel of Hyde Park. Your board is poised and committed to the opportunities that lie ahead. We ask for your support and we welcome your comments. I would like to thank our supporters and benefactors, our partners in history and the officers and board of directors of the Society for a memorable year of fun, hard work and accomplishment. Respectfully yours, George B. Howell TAMPA'S FORGOTTEN DEFENDERS THE CONFEDERATE COMMANDERS OF FORT BROOKE By ZACK C. WATERS Second and Third Seminole Wars the Tampa garrison provided a haven of safety for the region's pioneer settlers. However, by 1860 the United States Secretary of War determined that Fort Brooke had outlived its usefulness and transferred the fort property to the Department of the Interior. Captain James McKay, a prominent Tampa businessman and politician, unsuccessfully tried to purchase the fort but did manage to lease the property from the United States.1 McKay took control of Fort Brooke on 1 January 1861, but his term of possession was shortlived. On 13 January the Gainesville mail carrier brought news of secession and the creation of "the free and independent country of Florida." The town of Tampa went wild in celebration. The quiet Sunday routine was shattered by cheer- ing, parades, speeches by politicians, prayers by the clergy, and the firing of the Fort Brooke cannons. The next day the post was occupied by the Florida State Militia under the command of Colonel William Iredell Colonel William I. Turner 2 20th Regiment Florida Militia Turner. Photo from Edge of Wilderness by Janet S. Matthews William I. (often mistakenly listed as "J") Turner, born in Virginia in 1812, had enlisted in the United States Army at age Fort Brooke was established as a military sixteen. He served in Florida during the outpost on the east bank of the Hillsborough Second Seminole War, and was wounded in River in 1824, and for the next thirty-five the neck during one of the battles with the years played a vital role in the growth and Indians. Turner was discharged from the development of southwest Florida. Tampa United States Army in 1837, and lived in had its beginnings with the businesses which Alachua County for several years, sprang up around the fort, and during the accumulating a substantial herd of cattle and agent at Fort Brooke and Fort Meade, and several slaves. During the Third Seminole with the end of hostilities sold his holdings War, Turner served as a Quarter master's near Gainesville and moved to Hillsborough known of the troops who manned the fort during Florida's national period. They were undoubtedly ardent secessionists in civilian dress, armed (if at all) with the weapons used to fightBilly Bowleg's warriors.4 Notions of a peaceful withdrawal from the Union were soon dashed, for on 17 April news reached Tampa of the firing on Fort Sumter. A flurry of military activity ensued throughout the state, and Tampa was no exception. Turner supervised the construction of a series of earthen breastworks during this period, running from Fort Brooke to a nearby Indian mound. "The trench was equipped with carts that were used as ammunition carriers. The waterfront was further protected with the emplacement of five guns." During the first year of the war many of the residents of Tampa gave wholehearted support to the Confederate cause, and the citizens and their slaves Captain John T. Lesley 4th Florida Infantry probably aided the militia in the construction Regiment 5 Photo from Tampa Town by Tony Pizzo of the city's defenses. Turner's military preparations were designed to protect against the Federals, but the first County.