Authors

nid: 2262
uuid: 26dd6ea1-0df6-40ee-b738-cc3477bb846a
path-alias: /authors/ben-dibiase
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title: Ben Dibiase
firstname:
Benjamin
lastname:
Dibiase
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Director of Educational Resources at the Florida Historical Society, Cocoa, Florida

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Linkedin - Ben Dibiase
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https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ben-dibiase/38/79a/95
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nid: 2264
uuid: 596e69df-acfc-401e-a159-d94f03bb4803
path-alias: /authors/rachel-wentz
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title: Rachel Wentz
firstname:
Rachel
lastname:
Wentz
body-summary:
body-text:

Dr. Wentz was born on the island of Oahu, the daughter of a naval captain, and it was this transient existence that instilled in her a love of travel and a fascination with human culture. Her earliest memories are of her years spent on the islands of the Philippines; a period during which she experienced a myriad of injuries, thus also instilling in her a fascination with medicine.

After graduating from high school, she began studying anthropology at the University of Central Florida, but became restless and redirected her studies to becoming a paramedic. It was while performing her clinicals at Orlando Fire Department that she was first introduced to firefighting and was immediately hooked. She attended the Central Florida Fire Academy, returned to college and completed an associate’s degree in Emergency Medical Services, and was then hired by Orlando Fire Department.

Although the field of emergency medical services was exciting and gratifying, Wentz was unable to shake her inherent restlessness, nor her interest in anthropology. While working for OFD, she returned to UCF and completed her bachelor’s in anthropology, then went on to complete an AS in Fire Science, a master’s in public administration, and numerous specialized fire training courses. She quickly rose through the ranks of OFD, becoming only the third female in the department’s history to achieve the rank of lieutenant. She was two months shy of being promoted to district chief when her career suddenly turned. After eleven years with OFD, she retired from the department to pursue a master’s and PhD in anthropology at Florida State University.

She is now a bioarchaeologist, trained in the analysis of human skeletal remains. Her research focuses on ancient disease and population health and has been featured on the History Chanel, the Weather Chanel, and in Archaeology magazine. 

 

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Website by Author
links-url:
http://rachelwentzbooks.com/about-the-author/
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nid: 2266
uuid: dfdaa619-660a-45a0-a3cb-b3cd9cad1b34
path-alias: /authors/armando-mendez
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title: Armando Mendez
firstname:
Armando
lastname:
Mendez
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body-text:

Armando Mendez was the author of the 1994 book Ciudad de Cigars: West Tampa

A West Tampa native, he went to work in 1930 in the cigar industry, learning to hand roll cigars at a time when Tampa's cigarmaking business was thriving. His career in the industry lasted 12 years, but his affection for cigars never died.

Mr. Mendez later worked for Redwing Carrier Co. and retired as superintendent of maintenance after 22 years. On his retirement, his interest in West Tampa history turned into one of his greatest accomplishments.

"The publication of Cicudad De Cigars: West Tampa, which was published in 1994, was a fulfillment of a dream that was very important to him," said his son-in-law, Frank Putrow of Clearwater. His book details the lives and hardships of the early cigarmakers and the history of West Tampa from 1892 to 1925. The publication received recognition from both the Tampa Historical Society, which awarded Mr. Mendez special recognition for his lifetime commitment to preserving and promoting the history of West Tampa, and from the Florida Historical Society.

Mr. Mendez was a member of the Centro Asturiano Society, the Centro Espanol Recreation Committee, the Circulo Cubano De Tampa, the Tampa Historical Society, the Rare Fruit Council International and the Tampa Coin Club.

Armando Iglesias Mendez, local Tampa historian and author of Cicudad De Cigars: West Tampa, died Tuesday (July 15, 1997) of natural causes at St. Joseph's Hospital. He was 82. He was laid to rest at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park, 2860 Sunset Point Road, Clearwater. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the Florida Historical Society.

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Tampa Bay Times, Obituary▼Ciudad De Cigars: West Tampa
links-url:
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1997/07/18/armando-mendez-cigar-historian/▼https://myfloridahistory.org/fhspress/publication/ciudad-de-cigars-west-tampa
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nid: 2267
uuid: e3b8b57c-4408-4fa4-9417-fd74cbcfda65
path-alias: /authors/nick-wynne
pathautostate: 0
title: Nick Wynne
firstname:
Nick
lastname:
Wynne
body-summary:
body-text:

excerpt from author's website —

Nick Wynne is a native of McRae, Georgia, but has lived in Kansas, Alabama and Florida much longer than he spent in his home state. He graduated from Telfair County High School in 1961 and spent three years in the United States Army. He served overseas in Asmara, Eritrea, Ethiopia. He received his Bachelor of Science in Education in 1969, a Master’s Degree in History in 1970 and his doctorate in 1980 from the University of Georgia. He taught at Southern Technical Institute (now Southern Polytechnic State University) from 1970 until 1980. After a brief stint as the Executive Director of the Wyandotte Child Care Association in Kansas City, Kansas, he taught at the University of South Alabama for two years and then taught at the University of South Florida. In 1987, he became the Executive Director of the Florida Historical Society and retired from that position in July 2008.

Wynne currently resides in Rockledge, Florida, with his wife, Debra.

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Author's Website
links-url:
http://nickwynnebooks.com/
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nid: 2268
uuid: 77ec352f-1c30-42c2-8456-4d3c6b022546
path-alias: /authors/james-j-horgan
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title: James J. Horgan
firstname:
James J.
lastname:
Horgan
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excerpt from wikipedia —

James J. Horgan, PhD was a history professor at St. Leo College in San Antonio, Florida for 35 years, a historical society president, a Florida Historical Society board member, a prolific author and an NAACP chapter founder. He is listed as a Great Floridian. He was head of the History Department at Saint Leo College from the 1960s through the mid 1990s until just before his death due to cancer. Dr Horgan was loved and cherished as professor, friend, neighbor, intellectual (member of the Tampa chapter of Mensa), Civil Rights leader and philanthropist.

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links-text:
Wikipedia - James Horgan▼The James J. Horgan Heritage Society
links-url:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Horgan▼http://advance.saintleo.edu/page.aspx
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nid: 2270
uuid: 019314f4-efa2-4bbb-b21f-2b5046bdd8af
path-alias: /authors/kelly-reynolds
pathautostate: 0
title: Kelly Reynolds
firstname:
Kelly
lastname:
Reynolds
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body-text:

Kelly Reynolds for many years brought Henry Bradley Plant to life on the stage and he managed to convey the excitement of Plant's life in the book Henry Plant: Pioneer Empire Builder.

Although he was raised on the east coast and attended Eaglebrook School at Deerfield, Massachusetts, Kelly Reynolds moved to Hudson in 1949 when his parents bought the Nathan P. Seymour House on Prospect Street, the house that has been owned by Western Reserve Academy since 1994. His father, Clarence Reynolds, was a DuPont executive, while his mother, Juanita Walker Reynolds, was a native of Mississippi, related to President James Knox Polk, and had an interest in the arts which she seems to have passed along to her son, Kelly. There were also two daughters in the family, one of whom attended Laurel School.

While at Western Reserve Academy, Kelly was described as “one of Reserve’s colorful characters” and regularly appeared in various Christmas plays and dramas, such as they were in the 1950’s. He played young Abe Lincoln in “A Story Told in Indiana” in 1954, a play directed by Mrs. Hallowell (wife of the Headmaster) and featuring Andrew C. Ford ‘55 as Johnny Appleseed. The summer before his senior year Kelly went on a hitch-hiking tour of the west, had an appendectomy in El Paso, and had to be sent home on a train. He ignored the school regulations and took a car full of fellow students to a game at University School in Shaker Heights, and got into deep trouble with the administration, an episode recorded in his essay, “Confessions of a Day Boy” in Without Reserve, the book published in 2005.

Kelly went on to Stanford where he studied drama, but earned his B.A. at San Francisco State where he majored in English literature which he later taught in Florida. After spending about six years as a social worker in New York City (where his widowed father lived), he went to Florida in 1970 with his wife, Reda, and their young son to live in Bradenton where he spent the rest of his life. He taught at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and later at the University of South Florida. He became interested in the life of Henry Plant, a pioneer railroad builder, who opened the west coast of Florida to development. Kelly had already portrayed Sen. Claude Pepper from the FDR era, and in the late 1990’s brought Henry Plant to life as a character and traveled around the state portraying the Gilded Age millionaire empire builder. 

His show was a popular attraction from Key West to Hilton Head (and all the places in between) and he even brought a shortened version to WRA one year for Reunion. A book followed, published by the Florida Historical Society, and can be found in the John D. Ong Library. In later years, Kelly and Reda raised whippet dogs for racing on their six-acre farm near Bradenton.  Kelly died in late 2018 at age 83.

Reynolds was familiar to Manatee’s Snead Island since he frequently appeared in the persona of the legendary millionaire, complete with cutaway coat, cane and gloves.

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Kelly Reynolds▼Kelly Reynolds
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Kelly Reynolds▼Kelly Reynolds
links-text:
Henry Plant: Pioneer Empire Builder▼Remembering Kelly Reynolds '54
links-url:
https://myfloridahistory.org/fhspress/publication/henry-plant-pioneer-empire-builder▼http://wra-pastandpresent.blogspot.com/2018/12/remembering-kelly-reynolds-54.html
videos-description:
Henry Plant Show
videos-url:
http://youtu.be/_tiN2788gcs
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nid: 2661
uuid: 2e1d7a8a-a795-4f9f-8539-fdc1a50bc295
path-alias: /authors/william-culyer-hall
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title: William Culyer Hall
firstname:
William Culyer
lastname:
Hall
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William Culyer Hall, a native of Lakeland, is a fith generation Floridian. He is author of the novels September's Fawn, The Trouble With Panthers and Florida Boy.  The Trouble With Panthers was the winner of the Florida Book Award for Best Popular Fiction. The father of four sons, he and his wife Cheryl live in Rockledge, Florida.

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William Culyer Hall at the Brevard Museum
links-text:
Facebook - Willam C. Hall
links-url:
https://www.facebook.com/william.c.hall.54
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nid: 2773
uuid: 4991ce3d-11c5-4f94-9488-61e35a1c83d1
path-alias: /authors/john-and-mary-lou-missall
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title: John and Mary Lou Missall
firstname:
John and Mary Lou
lastname:
Missall
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John and Mary Lou Missall are award-winning historians and authors whose primary work focuses on the Seminole Indian Wars. These were the longest, costliest, and deadliest of all the nation's wars against Native Americans and spanned a period of more than forty years. 

Their historical works include The Seminole Struggle: A History of America's Longest Indian War from Pineapple PressHistory of the Third Seminole War 1849-1858 (co-authored with Dr. Joe Knetsch) from Casemate BooksThis Torn Land: Poetry of the Second Seminole War from the Seminole Wars FoundationThis Miserable Pride of a Soldier: The Letters and Journals of Col. William S. Foster in the Second Seminole War from the Seminole Wars Foundation and the University of Tampa PressThe Army Is My Calling: The Life and Writings of Maj. John Rogers Vinton from the Florida Historical Society Press, and an Enhanced Edition of Woodburne Potter's classic The War in Florida. They also have articles published in The Encyclopedia of War and American Society.

Their works of fiction include Elizabeth's War a novel of the First Seminole War, and Hollow Victory a novel of the Second Seminole War, both from the Florida Historical Society Press. Both books have won the prestigious Patrick D. Smith Award for Florida Fiction from the Florida Historical Society. Their latest novel is What We Have Endured, a story of the Seminole Wars co-authored with Tribal Chief Justice Willie Johns.

John and Mary Lou are also co-authors of Just Havin' Fun, the biography/memoirs of legendary oil well firefighter Boots Hansen. John has produced three volumes entitled An Ancient Tale New Told, retelling the stories of Shakespeare in prose, using the original text for the character's conversations.

John has been a life-long student of history, studies Shakespeare, and has taught astronomy courses. Mary Lou has a B.A. from Indiana University and an M.A. from California State University. 

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John and Mary Lou Missall
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John and Mary Lou Missall
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Author's Website
links-url:
http://www.missall.net/
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Seminole Wars
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nid: 2951
uuid: 77548fe9-09ea-4673-a282-e7adadb23bc0
path-alias: /authors/nancy-lowden-norman
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title: Nancy Lowden Norman
firstname:
Nancy Lowen
lastname:
Norman
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Nancy Lowden Norman is the Executive Director of The Atlantic Center for the Arts.

A veteran of the organization, she leads the vision of one of the top nonprofit artists' communities in the world, with input from stakeholders including Trustees, its national artistic advisory board, members and the community at large.

Lowden Norman oversees daily operations and artistic and fiscal management, and is responsible for a premier residency program, management of Arts on Douglas Fine Arts & Collectibles Gallery and diverse and quality community programs offered through ACA at Harris House. She has experienced over 100 residencies as part of Atlantic Center's Artists-in-Residence Program, and engaged the community through arts education programs and summer art camp for youth, multigenerational events in Arts & Wellness, and exhibition opportunities for outstanding Florida artists.

An advocate for Atlantic Center for the Arts and the field of Artists' Communities nationwide, Lowden Norman completed the Certificate in Philanthropic Fundraising from Rollins College Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Center, Winter Park, FL, and the Leadership Development Program at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC. She received her MS in Mass Communication from San Diego State University, her BS in journalism from University of Florida, and is on the Board of the Volusia County Cultural Alliance. She has presented at conferences including THE CREATIVE AGE, Global Perspectives on Creativity and Aging presented by the National Center for Creative Aging in Washington DC, the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, and the Alliance of Artist Communities, among many others. She is also the editor of the book "Doris Leeper: Legacy of a Visionary," published by the Florida Historical Society in 2017.

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Nancy Lowden Norman▼Nancy Lowden Norman
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Nancy Lowden Norman▼Nancy Lowden Norman
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nid: 2953
uuid: 83d58a4c-edb3-43a7-aa2e-f8c90c30d838
path-alias: /authors/peggy-bulger
pathautostate: 0
title: Peggy A Bulger
firstname:
Peggy A.
lastname:
Bulger
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Peggy Bulger is a folklorist and served as the director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress from 1999 to 2011, when she retired and moved to Florida to continue work on personal projects.

A native of Albany, New York, she graduated from The Milne School in 1968 and she received her BA in Fine Arts from SUNY at Albany in 1972; her MA in Folk Studies from Western Kentucky University in 1975; and her Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. Her dissertation topic was on Florida folklorist, author, and activist Stetson Kennedy ("Stetson Kennedy: Applied Folklore and Cultural Advocacy"), which was published as a book of the same name in 2017, the first comprehensive biography of Kennedy, with a contemporary essay by Paul Ortiz.

She began her professional career in Florida by serving as Florida’s State Folk Arts Coordinator in 1975 and became administrator of the Florida Folklife Program from 1976 to 1989. As Florida’s first state folklorist, she was the prime creator of the Florida Folklife Collection, which later included the work of several prominent folklorists. The collection, today housed at the State Archives of Florida, features many Florida folk artists such as singer-songwriter Gamble Rogersbasket maker Lucreaty Clarkblues performer Moses Williams, and painter Pharaoh Baker.

After helping to establish the Florida Folklife Program, including apprenticeship programs, and producing educational videos and publications, workshops, exhibits, and creating the Florida Folklife Collection, Bulger left in 1989 to work as the Folk Arts Director and Senior Program Officer for the Southern Arts Federation in Atlanta. In 1999, she was named director of Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center – only the second person to hold that post since the Center’s creation in 1976. (Florida folklorist Alan Jabbour was the founding director). Bulger retired from her position as Director of the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress on December 31, 2011.

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Peggy with Stetson Kennedy
links-text:
Wikipedia - Peggy A. Bulger▼FHS Website Tags
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Bulger▼https://myfloridahistory.org/tags/peggy-bulger
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