“The trouble with panthers is they can’t change. With the whole world changin round it, old panther got no choice but to go on bein a panther. It can’t reason like you and me -- can’t decide to earn its livin a little differently.”

Central Florida, November 2004. Upon hearing this admonition from his dying grandfather, young cowman, Bodie Rawlerson, doesn’t hesitate to promise the old man that he won’t be like the panther. Though he hates change, fears it more than anything else, he vows to do whatever necessary to carry on the family legacy of raising cattle on the land he so dearly loves. But unbeknownst to Bodie, forces are already in motion to render his promise impossible to keep. Within days of his grandfather’s passing, these forces of human (and inhuman) nature will convince him that nothing lasts forever, that change is life’s only certainty -- that time and chance do indeed rule us all.

River Road Stories is a little masterpiece of story telling. Mary Eschbach, a Rockledge resident, captures life along the Indian River as only a resident can. What a wonderful way to celebrate a way of life that has passed us all by! --Patrick Smith, author of A Land Remembered

There are some authors and some books that you start to read with interest and finish with envy. River Road Stories is such a book. Packed in a few pages, Stories manages to describe in great detail the daily humdrum and occasional excitement of a young girl's life along the Indian River Lagoon. At the same time, River Road Stories is a song of praise for a lifestyle that is largely gone, but which exists forever in the mind of the author. Once you read River Road Stories, you'll become part of the past. --Nick Wynne, PhD, The Florida Historical Society

This is intended to be a faithful reproduction of the original, with background information added as a Introduction and to accompany some of the sketches. Sawyer's expectation was that his drawings should eventually illustrate a manuscript which would describe the maritime history of Florida. In a small way it is hoped this book, in his memory and seventy-five years later, may that purpose.

2018 David C. Brotemarkle Book Award Winner

Frank Thomas writes and performs songs about the history, people, and places of Florida. Songs such as Old Cracker Cowman, The Flatwoods of Home, Spanish Gold have earned him a loyal following. In 2013, Thomas was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.

This songbook, which features lyrics and chords, is the only printed collection of songs by the legendary Frank Thomas. There are more than 80 songs in this collection, with introductions by Frank Thomas, Ann Thomas, and Lisa Thomas.

Thomas' Florida roots run deep. His family has lived here since the late 1700s, participating in the Seminole Indian Wars and the Civil War. When Frank Thomas returned to the Sunshine State in the 1970s, he met Florida Troubadour Will McLean, who encouraged him to write songs about Florida. Thomas joined other folk musicians such as Gamble Rogers, Paul Champion, and Bobby Drawdy in their efforts to preserve Florida stories in song.

Thomas has gained a reputation for strongly encouraging other performers to write songs about Florida history and culture. He performs regularly at the Florida Folk Festival each Memorial Day weekend, and at venues throughout the state.

Archaeology as a discipline is well established in Florida, but that wasn.t always the case. Travel back to when archaeological sites were curiosities on the landscape and speculation as to their origins thrived. Searching Sand and Surf explores the roots of modern archaeology in the state, as seen through articles published in the Florida Historical Quarterly. Witness the evolution of contemporary archaeology in Florida and trace the development of the discipline through some of its most influential voices.