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June 16, 2002Summer BookwormsIn deference to the strange custom of saving good reading for the summer, following are some reviews of new books written by friends about history. I lead off with "Canaveral Light," by Don David Argo, because it is delightful reading whether or not you are a history buff. His is the most difficult of all popular writing because it is history presented as a novel -- or is it a novel built around real people and events of long ago? No matter. The book is entertaining and/or instructive -- what ever suits you on any day this summer. The principal characters are Douglas Dummett, a wealthy plantation owner; and Mills Burnham, the first lighthouse keeper at Cape Canaveral. They became good friends during the Seminole Wars and were instrumental in settling Florida's east coast Indian River area. Dummett is the son of a wealthy New England planter who came to Florida to establish his own plantation enterprise. He is a slave holder and the son of a slave holder. He falls in love with a Leandra, a beautiful slave, and takes her as his common-law wife. They create a family of several children. Throughout their life together, Dummett is at odds with his love of their children, the southern sanction against the manumission of slaves and Leandra's insistence on formally conveying freedom to their offspring. Matters come to a head when their son is sent to Yale and encounters discrimination and proscriptions. The turmoil created by this "neither white nor black, neither free nor slave" existence leads to suicide. Burnham is a middle class northerner who comes to Florida seeking opportunity on a new frontier. Through Dummett's connections, Burnham is appointed keeper of the Canaveral Light. He brings his family to the frontier and furnishes a quiet, family contrast to Dummett's turmoil. The book concludes with the upheavals of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Not only is "Canaveral Light" a masterpiece, it is Argo's first venture into literature. Heretofore, he wrote short articles of area history as a hobby. He is chair of the Math Department at Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Fla. He currently is working on a second book also set in the Indian River area. "Canaveral Light" is the first history/novel to be published by the Florida Historical Society Press. The hardcover book, 304 pages, may be ordered for $23.95 from the Society's Print Shoppe, 435 Brevard Ave., Cocoa, FL 32922 - or by phone (321) 690-1971 - or on-line through the Print Shoppe webpage. * * *The best local history to be published here in many years is "Front Porch Stories" by Kathryn H. Sandige of Port Charlotte under her maiden name Ella Kathryn Hendry. Kathryn is a retired teacher and artist who set out to compile a family genealogy. Fortunately for us, she soon realized her research was recalling a fascinating way of life nearly forgotten. She cloaks a minimum of "begats" with a treasure trove of anecdotes. Francis Asbury "Berry" Hendry was a scout during the last Seminole war. He married Ardeline Lanier and located at Fort Meade. There he started his own cattle herd at the headwaters of Peace River. During the Civil War he was active with others in supplying beef for the Confederate army - shipping cattle from Charlotte Harbor town. He was appointed a captain in the Cattle Guard charged with fending off Union foragers from Fort Myers. Capt. Hendry in 1870 moved his herd to the abandoned Fort Thompson on the Caloosahatchee River east of Fort Myers. There he built his herd to 50,000 animals and hired many "cow hunters" to manage them. He is considered to be one of the first "cattle barons." Of great interest are the letters and memoirs of the Hendry settlers. Capt. Hendry in his old years wrote long letters to newspaper editors recalling his first-hand experiences. A must-read is his account of Capt. Robert Johnson's daring dash through the Union blockade of Charlotte Harbor. He took off with a cargo of cotton for British ships waiting at Cuba. His old schooner was chased all the way into Havana harbor by a propeller-driven Union boat. Favorable winds enabled Johnson to keep just a few yards ahead of cannon shots. In Havana, the two ship captains tied up near each other. They exchanged graceful salutes and pleasantries until the Yankee proposed a toast to defeat of "rebels." Johnson threw his wine in the face of the proposer. That night, Capt. Johnson slipped his moorings and dashed back to Charlotte Harbor with a cargo of badly needed medical supplies. "Front Porch Stories" is generously illustrated with old photos augmented with sketches by the author. The personal memoirs, alone, are worth the book's price of $24.95. Its 264 letter-size pages are soft covered. It can be purchased at All Books in Punta Gorda. * * *Though much has been written about Thomas A. Edison, no one until professor Irvin D. Solomon has concentrated on the great inventor's connection to Fort Myers. Dr. Solomon, a professor of history at Florida Gulf Coast University, has put together a valuable collection of rare photographs of Edison and his friends at his winter laboratory and home. "Thomas Edison: The Fort Myers Connection" provides a brief summary of the inventor's career already well known from countless others books. Solomon's approach is different. He writes: "The genius of Edison -- and his contribution to modern technology - are integral to the history of the modern world. He is best known for his work in sound recording and electric lighting, but his 1,093 American patents also included pioneering work in numerous other scientific fields. "Edison had gained worldwide acclaim by the time he established a winter home in Fort Myers in 1885. Until his death in 1931, Edison spent many winter seasons in Fort Myers at his estate, known to his family and close associates as his 'Florida Eden.' "Today, Fort Myers recognizes Edison as its most famous 'snow bird' and has made him a central figure in its civic promotion. The city now honors Edison's memory with a winter Festival of Light culminating with a popular parade of Light and Pageant." Solomon points out that numerous, important local places have been named for Edison - a street, community college, mile-long bridge, and major shopping mall. Most notable is the Edison-Ford Winter Estates and laboratory museum that draws over 300,000 visitors annually. The priceless contribution of this book is the 193 photographs that the author has gleaned from the Edison-Ford historical society. Included are views of Edison with Henry Ford, Harvey S. Firestone and John Burroughs who often shared vacations together at Fort Myers. Charlotte County folks will be particularly interested in the view of the paddle-wheel steamboat Thomas A. Edison. For many years it ferried passengers between Fort Myers and the railroad at Punta Gorda. Copies of this soft-covered book can be ordered for $21.99 from Arcadia Publishing at toll-free phone 1-888-313-2665. * * *An unusual "sort-of history" book is "Uncle Monday and Other Florida Tales" written and edited by Kristin G. Congdon and illustrated by Kitty Kitson Petterson. It is a collection of folk tales and yarns from a variety of sources. Congdon says she compiled the 50 stories for children, youth and adults -- and a resource for parents, educators, librarians and scholars. This is a big, diverse audience, but the ladies K seem to have succeeded. The tales were gathered from Florida's multitude of cultures - Native American, African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Cracker white and Hispanic. The book is divided into six parts:
Folklorists will enjoy the title story about a runaway black slave with vodou power who lived among the Seminoles. He turned himself into an alligator to avoid being caught again by white men. Personally I prefer the yarns that old-timers tell such as the "Cape Sable Cats." When the cane growers there were over-run with rats, Gene Roberts proposed buying cats. A collection was taken, and Roberts sailed to Key West to buy felines. He posted a sign offering 10 cents each for cats. In no time, he collected 400 cats. He said the 90-mile trip home - with all those yowling, squirming animals - was the worst he had ever made. Upon touching shore at Cape Sable, the cats lept from the boat and ran helter-skelter in all directions. No one knew what happened to all those cats, but the rats also disappeared. Included in "Uncle Monday Tales" are two about Cowboy Bone Mizell and one about Acrefoot Johnson that my readers have already met. However, all good yarns - somewhat if not mostly true - bear repeating. Congdon is a professor of art and philosophy at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Petterson, of Winter Park, Florida, is a former college teacher of art. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. This book can be ordered from the University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, Miss.-- or via website www.upress.state.ms.us. * * *ALSO NOTEWORTHY Three other specialized books by friends are excellent reading if you are interested in their subjects.
Author: Lindsey Williams |