I don’t remind myself enough that God’s Holy Word says, “The Wages of Sin is Death”. There are so many ways in which this is true. It is not only so that we would die physically because of poor choices but things in our lives that were living and thriving die because of the bad choices we make. That is why people go to court, to detention, to jail. That is why relationships die or thrive. That is why people have good or bad credit; a good name or a bad name. That is why people are trusted or not, hired or fired, honored or dissed; loved or hated. One way in which we live, we perpetuate life or because of poor choices, death.
Sammis, 1887
John Sammis wrote in 1887 these words: When we walk with the Lord in the light of his Word, what a glory he sheds on our way! While we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey. Refrain: Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share, but our toil he doth richly repay; not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross, but is blest if we trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Sammis-PUBLIC DOMAIN
We want the living in our lives. We must make the choices in our lives that the things of God thrive and live within our person and on our time on this earth. This will occur because we simply “trust and obey the living Christ”.
It is true in my own life that death came because of a poor choice I made here or there. Over the years, I look back at bad choices that I have made and behind them are the deaths of something as a result. This is my life and there is no reason to tell of my wrong-doing and there are too many instances, Lord forgive me but…this morning, I remember and will choose this day whom I will serve. It will not be the evil one. It will be the “I Am”, the Creator of all, the Lord God Almighty.
It has closed. After 30 years in Jacksonville, the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum clicked the lock and will no longer service the Jacksonville area. Karpeles manuscript library was begun by David Karpeles’. He had a love for old documents and began a collection which ended up being placed in about a dozen libraries in the United States.
Karpeles closing week. Grandson and I visited to find a metal detector scanning premises.
Jacksonville’s library was housed in the old 1921 building built by Marsh and Saxelbye once was used for First Church of Christ in Springfield. David Karpeles died in January of 2022. The Jacksonville location closed in January of 2023 as will others around the country while Karpeles’ daughter, Cheryl Alleman, and her brother, Mark Karpeles downsize and reorganize. It has been reported they will go from 15 manuscript libraries to 10 over time.
Manuscripts laying on the stage the week of closing.
For thirty years, Jacksonvillians and guests could visit and find rare and authentic documents such as the first printing of the Ten Commandments from the Gutenberg Bible (c 1455), the famous E=MC2 formula by Einstein, the original manuscript of Roget’s Thesaurus, the sheet music of the Wedding March, Abraham Lincoln’s signature of 1861, the Apollo Translunar trajectory plotting America’s space flight and more. Through the years manuscripts were transferred from one library to another rotating the authentic pieces so many could view them in glass cases.
East Coast founding c 1500’s10 Commandments first printed by Gutenburg PressTaxation without Representation document
The library opened in Jacksonville in 1992 and closed its doors here in January of 2023. I am told there is a small library nearby that can be visited. It is being touted as “the smallest walk-in-museum in the United States” and is located in the Nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine.
Mini Museum in St. Augustine, Florida-Opened 2023
You should check it out. I’m going to….
See you tomorrow,
Nan
Location:
St Augustine location for Karpeles Mini Museum-
St George’s Row- Unit L
106 St. George St.
St Augustine, Fl 32084
9:am-10:00 pm daily
FREE
Old location of the Jacksonville Karpeles-101 West 1st Street ( formerly 1116 North Laura Street)
The most secure depository in the world is said to be that of Fort Knox. It is operated by the United States Department of Treasury. It seems to me and I’m no security expert, that the original three banks of downtown Jacksonville could have given Fort Knox a “run for the money” in terms of security back-in-the-day.
Diebold vault workers (Sass Collection-Diebold via Jacksonville Blogger)
There are, at this moment still, in 2023, huge vaults under banks in downtown Jacksonville. If you take the Gary Sass tour you can see at least two and actually walk inside of one of them. Don’t close the door because if they can’t open some of the safes that have been there since 1877, they may not have the combination or key to the huge circular tumblers that open the vault. On the tour you can walk under the city streets , in tunnels prepared for vault use in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s by Jacksonville bankers.
Early Banks in Jacksonville (Florida Memory via Jacksonville Blogger)
It has been suggested that the vaults were so big, they were put in the ground first and the banks built on top of them. For years they were used to store three of the biggest banks in Florida’s money. When the downtown Jacksonville boom burst, the vaults were left unoccupied and unused.
The Barnett Bank of Jacksonville opened on the corner of Forsyth and Main in 1877. It would become the largest commercial bank in Florida with an excess of 600 offices and over $40 billion in deposits. The buildings with vaults beneath them still stand.
The Atlantic National Bank began in 1903. Banking efforts have changed hands over the years and today it is called Wells Fargo.
The Florida National Bank opened in 1905 which would become the 2nd largest bank in Florida at some point. All of those banks used the vaults for transferring money.
Through the years there have been many changes. There was the Great Fire of Jacksonville, Indian ‘wars, the Civil War, but one thing that has not changed is the huge vaults that once provided safe storage for the millions and millions and million of dollars, certificates and actual gold stashed in them for safety. Of course, there is no money there(that we know of) but the vaults are safe.
The tour begins by going underground and walking through several tunnels. The tunnels, for the most part look like office walls and walkways until you realize you’re under Forsyth Street, and then Julia Street and you look to see how the path goes down.
When you get to the end, you walk through a door to see a huge Diebold vault. This company was known for it’s security of money, valuables, records and more late in the 1880’s. It’s truly an “ah ha” moment when you see the huge gold-bronze looking safe. It makes you want see more, turn its tumblers and close the door. In the vault area, are old lock boxes that individuals would rent, some that are still closed and no one knows the combinations or have keys to the century old relics. If confederate money is in there, there is no value anyhow. Right?
Recently, I read on a blog that Annie Lytle Housh, former teacher and principal of School number four, which was once called Riverside Park School and now called “Annie Lytle”, lived so close to the school that she could see the children at play. Unable to find that home in any records under her single or married name, I did research to find that Anne Housh lived off of Post on Hershell Street. The more I thought about it, stood on the street where she once lived, and looked towards the school, the more I realized that it could be true that she could see “children at play” on the school yard if…. Yes, children could be seen and heard by her from her front porch if the present walls of Interstate 10 were not there, no trees blocked the school yard and the homes in front of her house on Hershell were not there at the time.
Annie Lytle School # 4- Interstate 10 above(Ramey Collection).
In many descriptions the school is said to “overlook Riverside Park”. That being the case, Annie Lytle could indeed watch and even listen to the children on the playground as she lived in the house overlooking the park from north to south in the neighborhood of the school in which she taught and was principal for over 35 years.
Annie Lytle (Yearbook Photo)
Even now, the Riverside area of Jacksonville, Florida is a quaint area with unique homes and many with sustaining presence for our city. Many important and upstanding people of Jacksonville’s history have lived in and around the Riverside area over the years such as former Mayor Jonathan Greeley, Captain William James, millionaire John Murray Forbes, Art collector, Nina Cummer , Senator Wilkinson Call and more. Annie Lytle would have good company in the Riverside area going forward.
Annie Lytle House 1940( Ramey Collection)
Mrs. Annie Lytle Housh was by the account of the 1940 census record at least 62 when she lived at that address on the North side of the Hershell Road address with her older sister, Elenor Lytle, and her younger sister, Mary with her husband Charles Roberts.
Lytle lived in the center of this Hershell Street. The school is to the northeast of this photo.
Riverside Park School has had quite a history over these more than 100 years. Prior to a school named in the former principal’s honor, there was an 1891 wooden schoolhouse at that location and was referred to as, Riverside Grammar school. There is a park in the front yard of the school thus the name “park” fit it perfectly.
In 1915, the Duval County Public Schools set up a bond program of $1 million to build new schools. Public school number four was one of them and artchitect Rutledge Homes would complete the job in 1918.
Annie Lytle (Preservation Office Photo)
Annie Lytle became principal at the school and in the 1950’s its name was changed to Annie Lytle Elementary School Number Four. The school rocked along for many years but when the busy interstate was literally built in its front yard, the noise from all of the traffic caused educators to realize the school was no longer usable for learning. The children could not hear themselves think.
Very recently I dropped by to take some photographs of the old school. I walked the entire outer premises of the fenced building. I myself could hardly think due to the tremendous noise from traffic, fast-paced cars and automobiles zooming past above where I stood.
Annie Lytle school served the Riverside area for many years until an interstate road would disrupt its success and bring about great loss. At one time, the building, programs, events for learning was on a grand scale. The beautiful façade and the stately columns would serve the Jacksonville area well until it was closed in 1960. For at least a decade after closure, it was used as storage for the school system. It was condemned in 1971 and yet still some thought they might could rescue it from demolition. In 1980 the Ida Stevens Foundation bought the dilapidated school for $168,000 in hopes to put condos or living space there but eventually let it fall to tax default where it was picked up by Tarpon IV LLC in 2011 for a tax deed sale of $86,600.
Annie Lytle school was given the designation of an historic building in the year 2000. There were hopes someone would save it. In 2005, a team lead by Tim Kinnear, was formed calling themselves the “Annie Lytle Preservation Group”. For years they cleaned and did what they could to hold on to the dream to save the school but of late, the property seems too far gone and while many tried to save it, nothing substantial has come to fruition. From numerous break-ins, horrible graffitti, a fire, torrential rain coming onto the roof and it caving, the school is in such disrepair it is unfortunately, more than likely it is doomed.
Annie Lytle House was born in Ohio on December 31, 1871. She began her teaching career at Riverside Grammar School at the age of 17. She would teach and become the principal spending at least 35 years there. The school closed some three years after her February 21, 1957 death. She is buried at Evergreen Cemetery.
Annie Lytle House Grave (Ramey Collection)
We’re still hoping for Annie Lytle Public School Number Four.
The Woodstock Park area where Annie R. Morgan School sits is bounded by McDuff Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, Edgewood Avenue and West Beaver Street. Because of the outgrowth of the resurgence after the 1901 Great Fire of Jacksonville, neighborhoods around the city began popping up and the Woodstock area was one of them . It was located west of the city and platted in 1917.
Annie R. Morgan- School # 21
According to “thejaxsonmag”, there were “three major rail yards and shops operated by the Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line, and Southern Railroads”. It was beginning to be a busy neighborhood with a need for homes and schools.
Annie R. Morgan Class Ms. Padgett, teacher (Paxon Facebook)
In 1915 Duval County voters approved a $1 million bond issue to build a dozen elementary schools. In 1919, School # 21 was built at 964 St. Claire Street. It was known as the Seaboard Shop School. According to the obituary of longtime principal Ruby Johnson, “there were four rooms, which now house the principal’s office, media center, teacher’s lounge, and the classroom adjacent to the principal’s office and auditorium”.
Annie R. Morgan, (Ramey Collection)
According to Ms. Johnson, Maida Lipscomb was the first principal assuming the position on May 8, 1917. On May 10 that same month, Miss Annie R. Morgan “was appointed to fill Miss Lipscomb’s place.” The details of this are unknown.
Records indicate that October 8, 1926, the Woodstock Parent-Teacher Association began. The name was changed in 1959 to Parent Teacher Organization with Mrs.Frances Austin serving as the first president.
Mrs Ruby S. Johnson came to the Woodstock school in 1935 and became principal upon the retirement of Miss Morgan in 1945. Ms. Johnson served Annie R. Morgan from 1945-1971.
She was followed by Mrs. Mildred Marshall. Other principals serving at Annie R. Morgan school were: Jon Thompson (1974), John Grieder (1976), Christine Solomon (1987-1991, Doris Deprell, Skip Hatcher and others.
It is believed that Annie R. Morgan was born in 1880. She graduated from Quincy Academy Teacher’s Institute as discovered by Richard Gainey the admin for the Annie R. Morgan Alumni Facebook page. Her relatives were as found by Mary Browning, an Alumni member, were Robert Marcellus Morgan who is buried at Evergreen cem, F. F. Morgan of Quincy, Fl. , George M. Morgan of Mobile, Al, Sister- Eva M. Blalock, Tallahassee, Fl.
Annie R. Morgan-2nd left (Florida Memory), (Richard Gainey Collection).
She lived at 305 East Duval Street when she was teaching and later lived on Wolfe Street in the Murray Hill area when she served as principal.
The homes at 305 East Duval are gone. The YMCA is being remodelled.( Ramey Collection).Homes just down from 305 Duval are still standing. (Ramey Collection).Homes in the Murray Hill area on Wolfe Street. ( Ramey Collection).
Ms. Morgan retired in 1945 at the age of 65. Her date of death and burial is unknown.
Tiffany Green began her teaching at Annie R. Morgan, taught at Woodland Acres Elementary School became an Assistant Principal and Principal. She is the current principal of School number 21, Annie R. Morgan.
If you have any details to add to this school history, please contact me.
See you tomorrow,
Nan
Sources: Paxon Facebook page, Sources: Ruby S. Johnson obituary, Ennis Davis of The Jaxson Magazine, United States Census, Richard Gainey, Mary Browning, Christine Solomon, Personal visit.
Please contact me if you have any additional information to add to this history. TY.
So, If you’ve never seen a NASA external fuel tank up close simply drive across the Shands Bridge and look ashore on the far right side. You don’t even have to get out of your car. You will see a yuge, yes….huge orange capsule-looking thing. That, my friend, is a NASA fuel tank AND…. If you visit it, you can get in a geocache…. YUP. There is one there at the end of the fuel tank. SO! ( If you don’t know what geocaching is…google it. It’s basically treasure hunting from your phone).
NASA fuel tank in Green Cove Springs, Fl
It is rare to see a fuel tank because when they go into space, they tend to burn up when they re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. In addition, they don’t use these any more…
According to reports from Roadside America, the tank is “longer than the Statue of Liberty is tall and built in the 1970’s.” The most Angeles Times says that it is 153.8 feet in length and “taller than a 15 story building”. So, if you want to see something as long as Lady Liberty is tall, this is your stop and it’s free in Green Cove Springs, Florida, just over the county line.
Notice the fuel tank is still on the original trailer…
When I was at Kennedy Space Shuttle back-in-the-day, I saw this item on display. My understanding is that after the space shuttle era ended in 2011, they had this as a museum artifact. Some time around 2013, it was loaded on a barge, trailer and all, and carried to this Green Cove Springs boat yard. It’s still there.
Just for reference…(NASA photo)
I don’t know of another fuel tank that you could see except for that of the one at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. This one is a free look. You have to pay to see the one in CA. Take your pick, ya’ll.
The day I was there a Dad was field tripping with a family member. (Permission granted to take pic.)
See you tomorrow,
Nan
Sources, RoadSide America, California Science Center, NASA
See it here- 3939 Reynolds Blvd, Green Cove Springs, Fl ( I don’t know how long it will be here. It’s been here at least since about 2013 but…who knows?)
We found a geocache in the log box of the NASA shuttle fuel tank…
Many of you like to treasure hunt. Geocaching is the new treasure hunting event. In a nutshell, you create an account with Geocaching or another app that offers treasure hunting by phone and you follow treasure hunters in your area who put out different treasures. Some offer free stuff, others simply allow you to find the treasure and login by writing your geocache name. Generally, a pen or pencil is left at the geocache site with a login paper in a secure, box or container.
We wrote our geocache name inside the geocache paper left inside the container…(We left a bracelet).
It’s really a lot of fun. Recently, we visited the external fuel tank from NASA just outside of Duval County City limits in Green Cove Springs. While we were there looking, we happened upon a geocache in a box at the foot of the external tank. While we did not look it up, we did sign the log in the box and logged in to confirm we were there.
You need a geocache account and name to login your visit…
You can do this too. Some geocache apps are free while others cost to be a member. Google geocache and go from there. It’s really neat and definitely an adventure every time you try to find the treasures. Geocaching is world-wide now so you can go to most any town, state or country and find different geocaches.
See you tomorrow,
Nan
Geocache . com or other apps that provide the same service. Some are free. Others are paid subscription.
The Duval County School Board purchased 14 acres of land in 1955. An elementary school was built and named Mary McLeod Bethune. It opened, and operated for over forty years, closing in 2001 due to concerns of contaminated property. The land had once been known as Brown’s Dump located at 4330 Pearce Street which included some 50 acres. The school had been built on a parcel of that land.
In talking with Anthony who lives behind the school on Bessie Street, the land was tilled, new dirt brought in and the area cleaned up which he said he watched over the years from his own back yard. The school remains closed and use of the property is still being discussed in 2023. There is a “for sale” sign on the corner of the land.
In happier days, the school was a welcome organisation when it was built in the mid 1950’s offering hope for the future of the children in the area. It’s name sake had a history of giving and caring which honoured the community.
Mary McLeod Bethune was born in South Carolin on July 10, 1875. She died in Daytona Beach on May 18, 1955 and is buried there in Volusia County, Fl. She is credited with having been an educator, and “most influential” woman. In 2022, a statue of her was unveiled in the National Statuary Hall inside of the United States Capitol.
NMAH Archives Center
Scurlock Studio Records
0618
Series 4.5
Box 318
Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune sitting in chair, 3/4 length frontal, wearing striped suit with corsage. Scurlock # 41883
The National Women’s History Museum wrote the following about Mary Mcleod Bethune:
“In 1904, her marriage ended, and determined to support her son, Bethune opened a boarding school, the Daytona Beach Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls. Eventually, Bethune’s school became a college, merging with the all-male Cookman Institute to form Bethune-Cookman College in 1929.”
The school merged with the Cookman Insitute of Jacksonville in 1923 thus known as the “Bethune-Cookman University”.
Florida Memory notes that when she began her school she had “$1.50 in her pocket.”
If you go to the 1894 Old County Jail in Green Cove Springs, Florida, you can see the con-artist escape the building. Well, you can imagine he’s escaping because he sure looks it! This is a great place to visit. Check their website to see the dates and times they are open. It’s free to visit and includes a park as well. The two ladies, Visry and Victoria who greeted us were a bonus and so informative and helpful.
Inside you can see old documents, such as the Fleming Will ( as in the Fleming Island fame) and huge city books with the town’s history and even artifacts of escapees, sheriff’s and odd enough, info about the Lynyrd Skynyrd band members. (You know, the guy who wrote the song “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama”.
Check it out here: 915 Walnut St, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
There is no way to tell the Spiritual condition of a person except for by their life. It is by our heart and true faith that we live and die. The story of Vincent Van Gogh is brilliant yet tragic.
The scripture says in 1 John 5:11-13 “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Only God knows if Van Gogh found the peace he needed.
Van Gogh self portrait.
His artwork lives on world-wide and now in Jacksonville, Florida in a magnificent display of color, movement and art. The “Beyond Van Gogh” project is a display of over 300 pieces of his work put together using basically a light show.
It is the first showing of any kind in the newly purchased First Baptist Church auditorium located on Beaver Street, which was sold in 2022. The company who bought it is using it as an “event center” and will be bringing in other programs such as King Tut and more. For now, it is hosting Van Gogh’s work and due to the success of its showing, it has been extended twice.
When you walk in, there is a bar where liquor can be purchased and a cashier who will take your money or scan your electronic ticket on your phone. ( God must be crying about his Church but that’s a story for another day).
They take walk-in’s however, encourage reservations. There were eight of us.
Go with friends. You’ll have fun.
Right away, there are at least 10 foot lit up panels telling of Van Gogh’s life which amounts to highs and lows of him trying to find success. His father was a protestant preacher and Van Gogh even thought he might follow in his father’s footsteps and preach but he did not find that to be successful for him.
Through many trials and even business dealings with this brother Theo, he came to the realisation that he was indeed an artist.
This show provides the proof. Only God knows of Van Gogh’s relationship with Him. I pray he found that.
This event seems a bit pricy but if you go with a great group of people or the one you love, you’ll find it worth the cost.
Go with the one that you love… You’ll love all the more.
Go Here-NoCo Center-712 N Hogan St, Jacksonville, FL 32202
