Sweetheart Rollerskating Rink 1972-1973

Toughest kid in the room.

Bill Yates - Hillsborough County, FL - 1970s - Camara Democratica

Hormones

Sneaky little bastard.

Pompano Beach, FL - 1984 - Steven Martin

Rambles Through Our County

I can confirm that Florida is 90% swamp and alligators. Please, do not come here. We will fight the alligators for you.

Educational Game from Schaefer & Weisenbach Litho. - 1890 - @ Big Map Blog

Lazy Bones

Accordion party on a shantyboat? It's like they could see my dreams. 

The Caloosahatchee River between Fort Myers and Clewiston - Florida - 1947 - @ Florida Memory

On Its Own Turf

Are you out of your cotton pickin mind? Oh, hell no.

no information available

from Florida Fresh and Other Slices,

which I do not mean to keep borrowing from,

but the photos he posts are just so good.

The Family Neptune

The family that dives together, thrives together. 

Esther Williams and family, mid-1950s
somewhere in Florida

from Florida Fresh & Other Slices

Action

Amused by the guy, mystified by the doll cake.

Tampa, FL

1950s, photographer Bobby Smith

from USF Libraries

(I almost never double up on a source

so quickly, but I was really taken

by this collection.)

Biggest Stash Box Ever

I'm not big on cigars, but who can pass up a Cuban?

Tampa, FL

1937

from Florida Fresh and Other Slices

Back Seat Driver

This is what a real backseat should look like. I mean, you could raise a family in there. Room to stretch out.

Tampa, FL

1950s, photographer Bobby Smith

from USF Library

invisible PLAGUE GERMS

I can picture someone designing this flier. "What's scary? Bombs. No, that's not enough. INVISIBLE PLAGUE GERMS!" Look, I've been bombed in Tallahassee plenty of times - it's not that bad.

Tallahassee, Florida

1954

from Florida Memory

Tropical Living

I'd like to spend a summer in an RV park like this. There are still a few around - a little shabbier, but still just as pink and blue. Maybe work in the local bait shop. Work on the ol' novel.

Sarasota, Florida

1950s, I'd guess

from House of Hawthornes

Junior Minstrels

Sometimes you can just hide things out in plain sight.

Florida State College for Women,

Tallahassee, FL

1930

from my friend Anna

Tallahassee Cityscape

The opening shot in my movie.

Tallahassee, Florida

quite a while ago

from FSU Heritage Protocol,

which my friend Anna suggested

Brandishing a knife in jest

Those two on the right have got to be the two most looking-alikest people I ever saw.

Eastpoint, Florida

ca. 1898 to 1912

from the State Library and Archives of Florida

Boy, riding an elephant at Wakulla Springs

North Florida never did look much like an African jungle. Rest in peace, Johnny Sheffield.

Florida

1941

from Florida Memory

posing with whale bones

When the hell were there ever whales up by St. George Island? I've seen plenty of dolphins from there and a shark or two, but a whale would blow my mind.

St. George Island, Florida
1898
from State Library and Archives of Florida

Al Zaebst wrestling a wild alligator

Yeah, we wrestle alligators all the time down here in Florida. Just hop off the boat in our street shoes and get to 'rasslin.

Weeki Wachee River, Florida

1949

from State Library and Archives of Florida

Grounded on Dog Island

This one is beautiful, but I'm mostly posting it because of a personal connection. For those who don't know, Dog Island is a small, sandy island just off the North Florida coast. There's no bridge, no stores, no cops, just a few houses and a public dock. My friends and I will be spending 5 days there later this summer, if the oil slick doesn't coat the beaches and a hurricane doesn't wipe it clean. A week of pirate life is a good thing.

Dog Island, Florida
1899
from State Library and Archives of Florida

up to no good

Disney notwithstanding, Florida has always been an outlaw territory. One suitcase, two guns - what kind of trouble do you think these boys are chasing?

Eastpoint, Florida
Between 1898 and 1912
from State Archives of Florida

On the Ocklawaha

I haven't tried it on a paddlewheel, but I can tell you, friends, there is no better way to spend a pretty, warm day than going up and down a river in Florida.

Ocklawaha, Florida
1902
from Blue Monocle Photos

*photo "printed using a color lithography process invented in the 1880s in Switzerland that allowed the creation of very high quality false color prints with remarkable clarity."