Original print date: Nov/Dec 2004 About this story Charles Chaires, the son of Floridaâs first millionaire, despite his vast inherited riches, proved unable to deter his wife Marthaâs affections for his nephew, Ben. The illicit union produced a child and…
Original print date: Spring 1987 The names of some of Tallahasseeâs most familiar landmarks can be traced to two patriarchs who came here in the early 1800s. Betton Hills, Meginnis Arm (the road name is spelled with one âsâ) Lively…
Original print date: Spring 1984 There once was a year in which Alabama offered to buy Florida’s Panhandle — and Florida almost agreed to sell! It was in 1869 that representatives of Alabama and Florida actually signed a cession agreement…
Original print date: May/Jun 1995 It was a time of conjecture and even mystery. Strange words like “scoria,” “ash,” “pumice” and even “volcano” seemed to hang on every lip. All eyes strained toward the southeast where, some 30 miles distant…
Original print date: Fall 1984 When folklorist J. Russell Reaver talks of the legends and lore of North Florida, nature listens. A thunderstorm appeared just minutes into an interview at his Tallahassee home. Then the power went off, shrouding his…
Original print date: Nov/Dec 1993 The letter was angry in its tone âĤ ââI am a production expert with street smarts. I want those idle rich in Killearn to dig up that blasted golf course and plant potatoes. They arenât…
Original print date: Fall 1987 The John H. “Ben” Phipps family is one of the few “Yankee” plantation owners to put their roots down in Tallahassee and become a part of the community. Through their personal efforts and the Phipps…
Original print date: Winter 1982 Tallahassee may not be the biggest media market in the state (Nielson ranks it 135th in the nation), but it still has a variety of radio and TV stations to entertain and inform its residents.…
Downtown Curbside Market in the 1910s, located where City Hall is today Original print date: Nov/Dec 1997 The son of a physician and a physician himself, George Saxon Palmer watched Tallahassee grow from a sleepy little town of 5,637 in 1920…
Porches remained popular through the latter 20th century as evidenced by photo, taken in 1968. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory Original print date: Sept/Oct 1994 For many Southerners, their “front rooms” are places for end-of-the-day discussion, those stolen…
Welcome to The Buzz, Tallahassee Magazineâs column created to share whoâs where and what theyâre doing. While we try to flit around with all of Tallahasseeâs social butterflies, the Buzz canât be everywhere. Send the skinny on your next soiree…
When I first met Joseph Kuciauskas eight years ago, he was able to operate the joy stick on his wheelchair and, surrounding a pencil with a fist, he could, painstakingly, produce a legible script. His muscular dystrophy had contorted his…
Original print date: Jan/Feb 2005 In our search for an ideal community, thereâs no need to go to the drawing board. In the heart of Tallahassee, the area now called Midtown is what urban planners strive to create: a living,…
Original print date: Spring 1983 Can you name all seven of Tallahasseeâs downtown parks? If so, youâre unusual. Many people donât realize that there are seven parks, or that each is named for an individual. Originally the strip that encompasses…
Original print date: Fall 1987From cotton to quail to upscale living — each of these in turn has typified Bradfordville, the north Leon county community where 150 years of history lie just beneath the surface of daily life. Not much…
Florida First Lady Ann Scott adheres to a basic guideline when dressing up the Governorâs Mansion for the holiday season: Adornments are best kept simple.
