July 2023 – Jacksonville Blogger

Principal Blocker of Jacksonville

In the Basement of Bethel Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida classes were held in 1892. Sarah A. Blocker was the instructor with the Reverend Matthew Gilbert and others involved in the programs.

Sarah A. Blocker, Public Domain, Library of Congress

The school was effectively born in 1897 when members of the Bethlehem Baptist Association began the Florida Baptist Institute in Like Oak, Florida. At some point, the association under the leadership of Matthew Gilbert took a part of the group to Jacksonville developing the Normal the Florida Baptist Academy. Classes were held in the basement at Bethel in Jacksonville, Fl.

Bethel Baptist, Jacksonville, Fl (Ramey)

From 1896 until about 1940 Nathan Collier presided as President of the school. There is also a Collier-Blocker Junior College in Palatka.

Of the many teachers at the school over the years, Rosamond Johnson, a Jacksonville native and composer taught and during that time composed the music bearing the name “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”. From that poem his brother, James Weldon Johnson composed music and has been named by many the “Negro National Anthem”.

Rosamond Johnson, Public Domain, Library of Congress

There have been many students to come out of this school including Eartha White, Howard Thurman, Harry Moore, and more.

According to records, the school relocated to St. Augustine and occupied the “Old Hansen Plantation”, a 400 acre land area. In 1918, it was renamed the Florida Normal and Industrial Institute and in 1942, it merged with the Live Oak school which effectively closed its doors. Again, the name was reworked being named Florida Normal Industrial and Memorial College in St. Augustine and yet again, by 1968 a new campus opened with the name of Florida Memorial College moving to Dale County. In 2004, the name was amended to be Florida Memorial University.

Sarah A. Blocker was principal of Normal, Florida Baptist College in the 1900’s in Jacksonville, Florida.

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources: Wikipedia, Florida Women’s Hall of Fame, New York Public Library, UNF collections, Library of Congress.

Category: History, People, Schools | Comments Off

July 15

Friends of the Public Library

Ricki is a volunteer at the “Friends of the Public Library” store. She counts and adds up the cost of books purchased at the facility located on University Blvd.

The last time I went to the store she checked me out. Today, she recognized me with a “You’re back” attitude and helped me again today.

Thousands and thousands of book are stored there. Some are donated from private owners and others are weeded out of the Public Library System. If you’ve never been to a “Friends of the Public Library” sale, it’s a must. Throughout the year, there are book sales at different and various libraries and then there is this great place where hours are set on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

This is a must-go place. If you’re a member which costs $20 a year, you get BOGO on all store items all year long. It’s definitely worth it! Then there are the book sales where you can get full bags for low prices and if you’re a member, a BOGO. Go to their website at FJPL . Org or drop by 3435 University Blvd. Jacksonville, Florida and get you some deals! If you go, say hi to my new friend “Ricki”.

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Category: Books/Documents, History, Visit This | Comments Off

July 14

Noble Hull, Politician Dies in Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville has had its share of politicians. Noble A. Hull settled in Jacksonville, Florida in the latter 1860’s and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery. In his 50’s he served as the 6th Lieutenant Governor of Florida and as a member of the Florida House of Representatives.

Noble A. Hull

Hull was born on March 11, 1827 according to Find A Grave. He was born in Little York Georgia on a plantation and attended schools in the nearby area. By 1845 he was buying and selling general store items and developing a business sense.

During that time Columbia County was growing and out of the growth came Suwannee County where in 1858 Hull became the first sheriff. He later served in the Florida House of Representatives during the Civil war years of 1860-1861. During this time period he married Eleanor C. Sturdivant and they had had one daughter. It was his time during the Civil War that brought Noble to Jacksonville, Florida. He served as captain of Company H, the first Florida calvary.

After the Civl War Hull became lieutenant governor of Florida in 1877 and was elected to the U. S. House of Representative in 1879. This election was not without conflict as his opponent contested the election and according to Wikipedia “succeeded him in 1881”.

Following his term in Congress, Noble served as assistant postmaster in Jacksonville, Florida and clerk of court from 1888-1900.

Democrat, Noble A. Hull died in Jacksonville, Florida on January 28, 1907. He is buried next to his wife, Eleanor in Evergreen Cemetery off of Main Street.

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources: Findagrave, Wikipedia, Photo: Bill Price FB grab.

Category: Government, History, Military | Comments Off

July 13

Photographing 700 E. Union St. 100 Year Old Bldg.

When you’re flying across the Matthews bridge and come to the bottom at the first intersection, you look right and see a huge red water tank atop a massive, long cement monster of a building, you’ve arrived. That is the old 700 East Union Street storage and commercial building. For years, according to Chris Sandstrom, seamstress and artist in her own right noted there were spaces there for creative efforts over the years. She said, “We had quite the community of business people there”. Who knew that for years and years the area was used for businesses, artists and more to sell and work on their crafts!

Photographers standing in front of the proposed new look for 700 Union St.

In 2018, it was bought by Columbia Ventures LLC and five years later photographers were invited to take a couple of hours to photograph the old building til’ their hearts content in order to preserve some of its history.

According to records, the 7.99-acre site was bought for $4.5 million and is being renovated into apartments, housing units and a restaurant. On the day we arrived the place had been completely gutted and inside walls were going up. Also, the earth-movers were clearing out the grounds for parking space and yard renovations. There was a lot going on. As Sandstorm said, “Soooo much history in that building”.

The day went off without a hitch. Photographers, and even wanna-be photographers like me went to the main office, signed waivers, promised photos of some sort and spent a hard-hat-day walking the span of this age-old building for a couple of hours. Before walking on the site, all visitors saw a safety video, had specific instructions by employees about the do’s and don’ts and each person was given a safety hat.

The photo-tour was guided by three employees, Ryan, Ormondo, and Tore, spending about 20 minutes spent on each floor with the bonus of walking beneath the old water tower on top. On every floor, a reminder of safety instructions were given to ensure well-being.

Photographers then were let loose to walk anywhere there was not caution tape. The thoughts were that through the eyes and lens of many photographers, they may capture some of the history in order to preserve it in a long-lasting way. Photos will possibly be used for wall space, in foyers, apartments, offices and more.

Certainly, historians should be thrilled that not only is the building being repurposed but even history such as the photograph of old bottles, wall cracks, metal doors, old light switches, locks, and even old rivets have been documented.

The next time you’re flying across the Matthews Street Bridge, look right and you’ll see preservation at its finest. Oh, and ‘A shout-out to Columbia Ventures for having such a vision so as to preserve a building built in 1913 and even with vision to preserve the nuts, bolts, bottles and more!

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources: Jacksonville Daily Record, Duval County Tax Records, Wikipedia, Personal Visit.

Category: Buildings, Business, History | Comments Off

July 12

My Mother at the Switchboard

My Mother spent time as a “Number Please” person. Sometime after 1940, my grandparents, Clifford and Lula Long moved from Estill, South Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. My grandfather’s family had lost the family farm and he needed work. They moved to Jacksonville where he would work on Liberty ships on the St. Johns River in the Duval County area. My grandmother, Lula was a stay-at-home-mom.

Switchboard. 1940’s (Beaches Museum. Photo-Ramey).

At that time, my Mother was engaged to my Dad who was overseas serving in the Army, 7th Armoured Division. My Mom, Geneva took a job with Southern Bell and worked at a switchboard fielding phone numbers all day long. When a light would appear on the switchboard, my Mother explained, she would take a plug from the bottom of the switchboard and insert it in the hole representing the phone number and say “Number please”. With that, someone would give her a phone number to call and she would connect the caller to the number where it would ring. During that time she used her own connections to make calls by sometimes calling other towns and sometimes even dialing the phone call herself. In the photo, you can see a phone with a dial on the side of the switchboard.

Geneva Long Vaughan (Riverside area- 1940’s)

Switchboard operators had an alphabetical listing of names from which to look for numbers if a caller did not know the number. Those listings with a red dot by their names were unlisted numbers and not allowed to be given out.

Switchboard 1940’s (Beaches Museum- Photo- Ramey).

My Mom was employed with Southern Bell in Jacksonville, Florida for several years.

Interesting too is that my Dad was the administrator in charge of the telephone switchboard operators at Cecil Field Naval Air station during his some 35 years employed there.

See you tomorrow ,

Nan

Category: Family, History | Comments Off

July 3

American Legion and Military Heroes

Serving two tours in the Middle East is no small feat. On a day that the first woman mayor was sworn in at the Jacoby Center in Jacksonville, Florida, I met and talked with another woman trailblazer, Commander, Toshiko Moultrie of Duval County who did just that. She was a part of two tours; Operation Enduring Freedom and the war with Iraq while serving in the Army.

Toshiko Moultrie served in the U.S. Army (Photo: Ramey)

According to the Navy Military site, Operation Enduring Freedom “officially began 7 October 2001 with American and British bombing strikes against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Initially, the Taliban was removed from power and al-Qaeda was seriously crippled, but forces continually dealt with a stubborn Taliban insurgency, infrastructure rebuilding and corruption among the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, and Afghan Border Police.” This campaign was in “response to the September 11, 2002 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people” in New York City.

Not only did Moultrie serve in Afghanistan but she also served in Iraq. Based on information from several sources including Wikipedia, “The United States officially declared its combat role in Iraq over on 31 August 2010, although several thousand troops remained in the country until all American troops were withdrawn from Iraq by December 2011; meanwhile, American troops also engaged in combat with Iraqi insurgents. In June 2014, however, US forces returned to Iraq due to an escalation of instability in the region, and in June 2015, the number of American ground troops totaled 3,550. Between December 2011 and June 2014, Department of Defense officials estimated that there were 200 to 300 personnel based at the US embassy in Baghdad.

Moultrie was in the military from February 27, 1987 until her retirement on January 31, 2023.

Her service has not stopped even yet as she serves at her local American Legion post # 197. The American Legion is known for its service to veterans and their families. It provides assistance with rehabilitation, PTSD concerns, VA services, family relocations, housing and other military related needs. Post # 197 also partners with Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Mayo Clinic and other businesses willing to assist those in the military.

Honors to her and those who have been willing to serve.

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources: Navy. Mil, Wikipedia

Category: Government, Military, People | Comments Off

July 2

First Female Mayor of Jacksonville Vows New Day…

The first female mayor of Jacksonville was sworn in on July 1 ,2023. Donna Hazouri Deegan was born in Jacksonville, Florida on February 28, 1961. She became the first woman to be elected as mayor of the Bold New City of the South on July 1, 2023.

Judge Swears in first Female Mayor Donna Deegan (Photo- Ramey)

Jacksonville is believed to have been petitioned to become a city on June 15, 1822 according to city records. Documents and information are sparce regarding the early history of the city and certainly many papers were lost in the Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901. What information has been gathered has come from newspapers and other papers not affected by the fire.

The first mayor of Jacksonville was William Mills. He began his term in 1832. During the Civil War there was no mayoral leadership due to the military taking command. In the early years of Jacksonville’s existence it had small towns within a town. There was Brooklyn, East Jacksonville, Fairfield, LaVilla, Riverside, Springfield and more…. Each had leadership of its own until in 1887 when a new charter gathered areas together with one mayor serving two terms.

Donna Deegan speaks to Inaugural crowd (Photo-Ramey)

Over these some 200 years, only men have served as Mayor until this year when Donna Deegan was elected on May 16, 2023. At her swearing-in on July 1, 2023, she used her cousin, Tommy Hazoui’s Bible marking the first time a woman would hold the office of Mayor for Jacksonville, Florida. Tommy Hazouri, her cousin had served as Mayor from 1987-1991. He too was a Democrat.

The New Mission

The Deegan Administration will be guided by the principle that every person should have a voice in City Hall and a seat at the table. Ourculture will be an inclusive one where we encourage collaboration between leaders from all walks of life and who look like Jacksonville. Transparency, accountability, and innovation will be at the center of our decisions as we build a bridge to the next generation and industries of the future. These values will guide the next chapter in Jacksonville’s history and the culture that we will strive to create.

Mayor Deegan is committed to a comprehensive review of opportunities and challenges facing Jacksonville and identifying policy solutions that give every person the opportunity to have a good quality of life. To fulfil that pledge, the transition team is forming a series of policy and outreach committees charged with developing plans that move forward Mayor Deegan’s vision of a healthy, safe, resilient, inclusive, and innovative city that works for all of us.

Focus Areas

Infrastructure
Health
Economy
Public Safety
Arts, Culture, and Entertainment
Constituency and Community Outreach
Military and Veteran Affairs

The race was a divided race however, Deegan has asked for the city to come together in unity so as to have the children of Jacksonville live in a city that “fully see’s them” and where they can reach their “full potential”.

In her Inauguration speech, she said that “love won” in this election and encouraged those listening to help her complete the task of growing the city to “rise”.

Deegan’s inauguration was complete with calling on God for help, having set goals to meet and to look forward to a new day. We can only judge a person by their work, decisions and how they govern. Yes, “It is a New Day” in Jacksonville, Florida.

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Category: Government, History | Comments Off