Kissimmee, Florida traces its name to the Jororo tribe, among the first to settle along the river valley. Riverboat captains, entrepreneurs, and speculators found Kissimmee and nearby Lake Tohopekaliga irresistible, and soon settlers followed. The 1880s marked this city's first brush with tourism, as the Tropical Hotel became the largest resort hotel south of Jacksonville. As the cattle town struggled to survive floods, the Depression, and downtown neglect in favor of spillover Walt Disney World business, committed citizens fought back and spiritedly rekindled the town into a favored tourist spot.
In 1879, the new post office south of the steamboat wharfs on Lake Jesup was named Oviedo for a city in northern Spain to blend with the old La Florida. Oviedo has grown from a farm town to become the cultural and commercial center for Black Hammock, Geneva, Chuluota, Snow Hill, Slavia, Jamestown, Gabriella, Mills Lake, and Taintsville ("taint" Oviedo, "taint" Chuluota). Around Oviedo is more than a title--it is a sense of place. Lakes, rivers, and conservation lands surround Oviedo, forever preserving its frontier Florida heritage. Neighboring University of Central Florida has drawn professors, engineers, and tech-development professionals to spin-off office parks. The city and business and community groups, including the volunteers at TOPP (the Oviedo Preservation Project), maintain the rural heritage and protect old structures in and around Oviedo. In a state where many cities look exactly like the next, no matter how many university professors and high-tech engineers live in Oviedo, downtown's free-range and well-fed chickens prove the town still has its celery- and sod-farming traditions.
Today, diverse women of all hues represent this country overseas. Some have called this development the "Hillary Effect." But well before our most recent female secretary of state there was Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve in that capacity, and later Condoleezza Rice. Beginning at a more junior post in the Department of State in 1971, there was "the little Elam girl" from Boston. Diversifying Diplomacy tells the story of Harriet Lee Elam-Thomas, a young black woman who beat the odds and challenged the status quo. Inspired by the strong women in her life, she followed in the footsteps of the few women who had gone before her in her effort to make the Foreign Service reflect the diverse faces of the United States. The youngest child of parents who left the segregated Old South to raise their family in Massachusetts, Elam-Thomas distinguished herself with a diplomatic career at a time when few colleagues looked like her. Elam-Thomas's memoir is a firsthand account of her decades-long career in the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Service, recounting her experiences of making U.S. foreign policy, culture, and values understood abroad. Elam-Thomas served as a United States ambassador to Senegal (2000-2002) and retired with the rank of career minister after forty-two years as a diplomat. Diversifying Diplomacy presents the journey of this successful woman, who not only found herself confronted by some of the world's heftier problems but also helped ensure that new shepherds of honesty and authenticity would follow in her international footsteps for generations to come.
Visitors flock to Central Florida for its mild winters, pristine waterways, and proximity to Atlantic and Gulf beaches, and in the heart of Central Florida lies Altamonte Springs, the largest city in Seminole County. Taking its name from the many spring-fed lakes and sand hills that make up the area, Altamonte Springs is now home to more than 40,000 residents. Developed into a winter resort town in the late 1800s during the area's first tourism boom, Altamonte Springs became a sunny playground for the wealthy and an oasis for those requiring a "healing" environment in which to recuperate from various ailments. Times were good, but this was just the beginning of the once tiny village's growth and prosperity. From the era when rolling pineland along the lakes drew the first settlers to the area that would became Altamonte Springs, this community has attracted visitors and new residents from far and wide. The early railroad transported winter tourists who sought the medicinal qualities of local springs, and this influx of people led to the development of many businesses, including Fuller's Store, the grand Altamonte Hotel, and the Jasmine Theater. After surviving the challenges brought about by the Great Freeze of 1894-1895, the city continued to grow, and its citizens, with an unyielding spirit, continued to work, worship, socialize, and raise families in the community they called home. Today, Altamonte Springs is the bustling retail center of Seminole County.
In the heart of Central Florida lies St. Cloud, an amiable city with a bright future and a colorful past. Located in Osceola County, only a short distance from the Sunshine State's most-visited tourist attractions, the city has benefited greatly from its unique locale. But long before the city attracted sightseers, it was a booming sugar exporter and a haven for retired Civil War veterans. The town, named for a Paris suburb, was incorporated in 1911 as a "soldier's colony" and was touted for its "health, climate, and productiveness of the soil." Today, St. Cloud celebrates its diverse population, ideal location, and agricultural history. Original images, including scenes from the 1917 fire, underscored with informative text abound in Images of America: St. Cloud. Revealed inside is the impact that Hamilton Disston and the many army veterans who settled here had on the city's development. Highlighted in this delightful photo journal are communities such as Alligator Lake, Narcoossee, Runnymeade, and Ashton that are uniquely St. Cloud. Showcased are the diverse people, places, and events that make St. Cloud an enjoyable place to live and visit.
Meandering through Orange, Lake, and Seminole Counties, this "purest form of Central Florida nature," as described by one of its champions, is also bordered by some of the region's most densely populated suburban sprawl. The Wekiva River makes up some of the best protected waters in the state with laws designed for its preservation, as it is recognized as a regional "jewel" and a resource worth saving in public trust as parks, preserves, and forests. Today visitors who paddle, boat, and hike here discover a sanctuary that seems unchanged since its earliest history, when ancient tribes piled fresh water shells, sand, bone, and pot shards to create midden mounds, and when Clay Springs and other early settlements helped draw river traffic and railroads hauled out its forest products. Its cooling springs have provided recreation for generation after generation.
In the heart of Central Florida lies St. Cloud, an amiable city with a bright future and a colorful past. Located in Osceola County, only a short distance from the Sunshine State's most-visited tourist attractions, the city has benefited greatly from its unique locale. But long before the city attracted sightseers, it was a booming sugar exporter and a haven for retired Civil War veterans. The town, named for a Paris suburb, was incorporated in 1911 as a "soldier's colony" and was touted for its "health, climate, and productiveness of the soil." Today, St. Cloud celebrates its diverse population, ideal location, and agricultural history. Original images, including scenes from the 1917 fire, underscored with informative text abound in Images of America: St. Cloud. Revealed inside is the impact that Hamilton Disston and the many army veterans who settled here had on the city's development. Highlighted in this delightful photo journal are communities such as Alligator Lake, Narcoossee, Runnymeade, and Ashton that are uniquely St. Cloud. Showcased are the diverse people, places, and events that make St. Cloud an enjoyable place to live and visit.
Kissimmee, Florida traces its name to the Jororo tribe, among the first to settle along the river valley. Riverboat captains, entrepreneurs, and speculators found Kissimmee and nearby Lake Tohopekaliga irresistible, and soon settlers followed. The 1880s marked this city's first brush with tourism, as the Tropical Hotel became the largest resort hotel south of Jacksonville. As the cattle town struggled to survive floods, the Depression, and downtown neglect in favor of spillover Walt Disney World business, committed citizens fought back and spiritedly rekindled the town into a favored tourist spot.
Compiled from the literary estate of the singer who brought a wildly lyrical poetry of the damned to the world of rock 'n' roll. Includes unpublished poems, drawings, photos, and a candid self-interview.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jim Davidson is a Christian businessman and a native of Gould in Southeast Arkansas. His career as a public speaker, author, and motivational consultant has spanned more than forty-five years. Some of his many awards and achievements include: Arkansas Salesman of the Year, Chairman of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce's Diamond Club sales organization, Justice of the Peace in Pulaski County, Chairman of Speakers Bureau of the Pulaski County United Way, Leadership Gavel recipient as voted by members of his Dale Carnegie Class, and honorary member of the DECA & GCE Clubs of Arkansas. He has also been presented with the "Good Neighbor Award" by the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and is the 2010 "Distinguished Service Award" winner for Conway Public Schools. In November 2013, Jim was given a Senate Citation and the Conway Community Service Award by Senator Jason Rapert during a ceremony at the Faulkner County Library. In 1980, Jim began writing and producing a daily radio program titled "How to Plan Your Life." It has been broadcast by over 300 radio stations coast to coast and heard by thousands of people each weekday. Later, in 1995, he also began writing a weekly newspaper column for his hometown newspaper, the Log Cabin Democrat, in Conway, Arkansas. With over 375 newspapers in thirty-five states running his column since its inception, it is believed to be the most successful self-syndicated column in the history of American journalism. Jim was a staunch member of the Conway Noon Lions Club for over 20 years, holding every leadership position and winning all their awards, including twice being named a Melvin Jones Fellow, the highest award in Lionism. He also served as Chairman of the Annual Golf Tournament and the Harlem Ambassador Fundraiser Event. Publisher's website: http: //sbprabooks.com/JimDavidson
The first-ever collection of interviews with this well-known, prolific writer whose books include twenty-two volumes of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction published over a period of thirty-six years
Publishers Weekly called Jim Harrison "an untrammeled renegade genius," a poet who performed "absolutely brilliant and outrageous things with language.
Originally published as two separate volumes in 1969, Jim Morrison’s first published volume of poetry gives a revealing glimpse of an era and the man whose songs and savage performances have left an indelible impression on our culture. Intense, erotic, and enigmatic, Jim Morrison’s persona is as riveting now as the lead singer/composer “Lizard King” was during The Doors’ peak in the late sixties. His fast life and mysterious death remain controversial even to this day. The Lords and the New Creatures, Morrison’s first published volume of poetry, is an uninhibited exploration of society’s dark side—drugs, sex, fame, and death—captured in sensual, seething images. Here, Morrison gives a revealing glimpse at an era and at the man whose songs and savage performances have left their indelible impression on our culture.
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