With a $5,000 state grant and local sponsorships, the Flagler County Historical Society is organizing Bunnell History Day, with the inaugural all-day event scheduled for June 7. Society members outlined the plan to the Bunnell City Commission as an effort to use history to focus attention on the city’s identity and enduring impact on the county.
Flagler History
Daisy Henry Street Now Glides Through the Heart of Bunnell, Along Carver Gym Late Pastor Championed and Saved
This morning, a stretch of four blocks of East Drain Street, along the gym’s ballfields on one side and family homes on the other, became Daisy Henry Street, so renamed for the former city commissioner and pastor by a city that wanted to “honor a legacy,” in the words of City Manager Alvin Jackson, and bolden Henry’s already distinguished mark on Bunnell’s history.
Flagler Beach Will Declare April Sisco Deen Month in Perpetuity as Scholarship Takes Historian’s Name
The Flagler Beach City Commission on Thursday is set to be the first city to declare April “Sisco Deen Month” in perpetuity, in honor of the archivist and long-time member of the Flagler County Historical Society, who died last August at 83. Deen was a Flagler Beach resident.
St. Mary Catholic Church in Korona, a Legacy of Immigrants, Is Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The community of Korona’s St. Mary Catholic Church (also known as the St. Mary Mother Church) at 89 St. Mary’s Place in Bunnell was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on Jan. 25. The structure meets several NRHP requirements for historic significance including: architecture, ethnic heritage (European, Polish), and exploration/settlement. The very unique Shrine of Saint Christopher, a short distance north of the church, was also listed as a contributing resource.
When Sisco Deen Reconnected Descendants to the Local Legacies of General Hernández, Bings and MalaCompra
The late Sisco Deen and his wife Gloria played a central role in exhuming history and reconnecting descendants and state historians with the local legacy of General Joseph Hernández, who owned a plantation residence in what became Bings Landing Park and was the first Hispanic in Congress.
At Sisco Deen’s Memorial, Tales of When Jail Saved Him from Dissolution and a Jeep Shook Him Overboard
More than 130 people turned up at Cattleman’s Hall at the Flagler fairgrounds for the Quaker-style memorial and life celebration of Claude Sisco Deen, the veteran, archivist and self-made historian who exhumed much of Flagler County’s documented history and died at 83 on Aug. 31.
Sisco Deen, Giant Archivist and Historian of Flagler County from One of Its Original Families, Dies at 83
Claude Sisco Deen, Flagler County’s premier archivist and a leading historian of local families and culture, died Thursday evening in Palm Coast a little after sunset. He had been the research maven behind Flagler County’s centennial in 2017, was that year’s Flagler County Veteran of the Year, and built unparalleled databases of local family histories and historical documents.
In a First for Flagler’s Black Heritage, Espanola Schoolhouse Is a Step Closer to National Register Listing
The Espanola Schoolhouse will be the first piece of Flagler County black history to be recognized nationally for its historical significance to education and black ethnic heritage.
Mary Ann Clark, Resolute Founder and Leader of Innumerable Flagler Institutions, Dies at 91
Mary Ann Clark’s eclectic leadership, tenacity, verve and love for her community founded, fostered or shaped many of Flagler County’s cornerstone civic and cultural organizations over the past four decades.
If Your Ancestors Took Part in Flagler’s 1920 Election, AAUW Wants To Hear From You
American Association of University Women (AAUW) Flagler wishes to extend an invitation to the descendants of the women of Flagler County who were recognized and listed, by the Flagler Tribune, on October 21, 1920, as “Qualified Voters” for the November 2, 1920 General Election.
Martin Tucker, Rancher and Bulwark of Pioneering West Flagler Family, Dies at 70
Leslie Martin Tucker Jr., father of School Board Chairman Trevor Tucker, cousin of Bunnell Commissioner Elbert Tucker, rancher and owner of Sun Country Pest Control, died Wednesday.
Nat Reed, Adviser to Governors and Presidents Who Left His Imprint on Flagler’s Environment, Dies
Nat Reed, who died at 84, co-founded 1,000 Friends of Florida. His stewardship led to Flagler’s progressive comprehensive plan and greenway and environmental successes.
Judge Kim C. Hammond, Legend From Seminole Gridiron to Flagler Courtroom, Dies at 72
Judge Kim C. Hammond was appointed to the bench by Gov. Bob Graham in 1979 and spent his entire judicial in Flagler County, where the county courthouse now bears his name.
Boots, Stetson Hats and Tommy Guns Dress Up Flagler Sheriff’s Centennial Celebration
Some 200 people gathered at the Flagler Sheriff’s centennial, including the families of eight sheriffs and three former sheriffs themselves as a torrid sun sweated out many memories.
Palm Coast’s Paul Renner is to be House Speaker in 2022 in Historic Boost for Flagler
Renner will serve in the powerful post for two years, starting in 2022. Local governments anticipate having more pull with state government appropriations.
1938-2017
James E. Gardner, ITT President
And Palm Coast Founder, Is Laid to Rest
James E. Gardner, who died May 5 at age 78, led ITT as it built Palm Coast between 1978 and 1990, and served on or led innumerable civic and business organizations.
For Flagler County, A Powerful Note of Atonement For Injustices Toward Many Amid Celebration of a Century
Flagler County marked its centennial on Saturday and Monday with celebrations that included words of a proclamation acknowledging half a century of injustices toward minorities in the county.
County Seeking Photo Contest Participants to Mark Flagler’s Centennial
Prizes include $200 for Best of Show, as well as first-, second- and third place prizes by division of $150 – $100 – and $50, respectively. The deadline for submission is Monday, April 10.
Palm Coast Community Center’s Walls Crash As Shovels Ordain Much Bigger Successor Building
Work crews put destruction on display at the old Palm Coast Community Center today, just after the city council marked the $7.8 million rebuilding and tripling of the site with a groundbreaking ceremony.
Commissioners Uneasy With Flagler’s Bail-Out of Agriculture Museum and New 400-Acre Park
Flagler County government would pay off an $185,000 museum mortgage and grant it $25,000 a year while acquiring more than 400 acres of the museum’s land, calling it an “extension” of Princess Place Preserve.
Maxine Kronick, Fierce Doyenne of Local Arts and Children’s Theater, Dies On Approach of 80
Maxine Kronick, actress, special events coordinator and arts champion, had co-founder Theaterrific in the late 1980s in Palm Coast, a theater program for poorer children, and remained involved in local theater at Buddy Taylor Middle School and elsewhere.
Gail Wadsworth Holds Court A Final Time as Flagler’s Political World Pays Tribute to Legacy
Almost a dozen judges, innumerable elected officials, most of the courthouse staff and many others gathered today to bid farewell to Clerk of Court Gail Wadsworth, who retires after four terms and lifetimes of local politics.
For George Hanns, 24 Years As Commissioner End With a Long Goodbye and a Biting Roast
The county administration gave George Hanns a farewell reception Monday afternoon, with some 100 people in attendance and touching moments mixing with humor and a colleague’s roast.
Lory Yazurlo, Owner of Defunct Pig Sanctuary, Is Killed In Van Fire on John Anderson Highway
Lory Yazurlo, the 53-year-old owner of what was once a sprawling, 20-acre pig sanctuary in western Flagler, was killed early this morning as her van caught fire on John Anderson Highway, not far from her mother’s house. A paraplegic, Yazurlo was in the van, unable to get out.
Demolition Devours Another Chunk of Old Palm Coast as Backhoes Blitz ITT Building
The massive building at 1 Corporate Drive had been ITT headquarters in Palm Coast’s nascent days then office and classroom space for the school district’s adult education programs. The building had its uses but was never a good investment for the district.
Florida’s Black Cowboys: An Exhibit Tours All Flagler Schools, Bucking Stereotypes
The Florida Black Cowboys exhibit, produced by the Agriculture Museum, opens a window on a little-known part of Florida and American history. The exhibit will appear at every Flagler County school.
Bob Abbott, Ex-Flagler County Commissioner Who Straddled Downturn Years, Is Dead at 70
Bob Abbott had defeated long-time commissioner Hershel King to serve one term on the Flagler County Commission, from 2006 to 2010. He’d made the Flagler Beach pier his second home before his illness set in.
A Beloved 85-Year-Old House on East Moody Is Leveled in Heap of Surprise and Consternation
The demolition of the stately house at 401 East Moody Blvd. in Bunnell Monday shocked many, but time had run out after more than two years of warnings by the owner that he wanted the property cleared.
FHP’s Cpl. Pete Young, Flagler’s Longest-Serving Cop By Far, Earns Singular Medal
With 500 traffic homicide investigations and into his 5th decade in law enforcement, Pete Young is the longest-serving uniformed cop in Flagler-Palm Coast. He has no plans to stop.
Rick Look, Long-Time Flagler Sheriff’s Chief Deputy and Cop’s Cop, Dies at 65
Rick Look had been chief deputy for over seven years until three years ago under Sheriff Don Fleming, had two Purple Hearts and 42 years in law enforcement until his last four years’ battle with illness.
Sgt. Larry Jones, One of Flagler Sheriff’s First Black Deputies, Retires After 30 Years
Jones’s career has straddled the best and worst of the county’s history. When he was hired in October 1984, Jones was only the fifth African-American deputy hired in Flagler County, which only a few years earlier had been the last county to desegregate its schools in Florida.
As Committee Tours Old Courthouse, Size and Financial Viability Loom Larger Than Repairs
Wednesday’s tour was the first time most committee members had a chance to see the building from within. The Flagler County Commission earlier this month appointed the seven-member committee to recommend what to do with the 50,000-square-foot courthouse, as the county is no longer willing to be its caretaker.
Now Leery of Old Courthouse, Bunnell Fears Money Pit and Talks of Giving It Back
With two commissioners ready to give back the old courthouse to the county, Bunnell opted Monday to get more solid bids on what it would cost the city to turn the problematic building into its city hall, but the city administration drew a bleak picture of finances that cannot bear new burdens regardless.
A Flagler Farewell to 2013: The Local Year in Review
A tornado, plane crashes and mishaps, Flagler County going bonkers for clunkers, a spate of murders in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach’s firehouse follies, Bunnell’s reality show: 2013 is ending not a moment too soon. But first, a review.
A Divided Bunnell Accepts Old Courthouse Despite Mounting Questions About Mold and Other Issues
The 3-2 vote of the Bunnell City Commission was fraught with questions about the conditions of the 49,700 square foot building, which is in serious disrepair, shows evidence of leaks and possibly mold, and may cost upward of $5 million to be functional again, though Bunnell says nit would only refurbish a portion of it at a lower cost.
An Old House’s Fate Divides Bunnell as History, Character and Property Rights Clash
An old house hooked to a demolition order and the property it sits on at 401 East Moody Boulevard are suddenly at the center of a clash between a city commission and residents looking to preserve—if not define—the city’s character along its main east-west road on one hand, and the property rights of its residents on the other. That battle may be determined by how the issues surrounding the house and the property are resolved.
Jerry Full, Palm Coast Founder and Exuberant Environmentalist, Is Dead at 86
Jerry Full, one of the founding members of the Palm Coast City Council, thought, spoke and lived at speeds defying limits, and lived lives as if he would never run out of them. Full died on March 28 in Ossining, N.Y. He was 86.
In Prenup Haggling, County and Bunnell Agree to Split Old Courthouse, With Sheriff in Annex
In an at-times tense joint meeting between the Flagler County Commission and Bunnell’s commission, the two sides agreed to cede the old courthouse to Bunnell for a city hall, but the courthouse annex would remain in county ownership, and be turned over to the sheriff as a new headquarters.
Don’t Talk to an Empty Chair: Flagler Beach Museum Goes Boots and Bling for Bunnell
The Flagler Beach Historical Museum’s annual costume gala fund-raiser Saturday at the Black Cloud Saloon in Bunnell will be paired up with a 99th birthday bash for Bunnell, in preparation for that city’s centennial.
In a Historic Breakthrough, County Will Cede Old Courthouse to Bunnell for Its New City Hall
No money will change hands, though the transaction isn’t quite free for Bunnell or the county, which retains the larger, annex portion of the building, and several building and maintenance rights (and costs).
From the Archives: Palm Coast’s Masonic Cemetery, Where a Cherished Glen Harbors Family Albums
The Masonic cemetery is Palm Coast’s oldest human landmark and the most noble monument to the region’s ancestry, forgotten relics of Indian haunts aside. But it’s been at the margins of care.
Timeline: Hammock Dunes DRI, 1982-2011
Timeline of the Hammock Dunes development DRI from its Admiral-ITT origins through its Ginn-Luber Adler ownership and disputes with the Flagler County Commission.
Jack Hardin, Only Basketball Coach to Take Bulldogs to Final Four (Twice), Dies
Jack Hardin, who taught social science at Bunnell and FPC from the 1960s to the 1980s, had also been a Bunnell city commissioner and ran for school board against Herschel King in 1982.
Long Before the Potato Festival, Long Before Bunnell, Flagler Bred the Mighty Potato
Ahead of this weekend’s Potato Festival in Bunnell, Sisco Deen, the archive curator for the Flagler County Historical Society, traces the history of the potato’s evolution in Flagler County going back to the 19th century.
From DuPont to ITT: A Century of Marketing Flagler County to Northern Chill Migrants
Marketing Flagler County: Sisco Deen tells the story of the DuPont Land Co.’s — and other development companies’ — marketing schemes to get northerners to buy in Flagler County, long before ITT industrialized the process.
From Flagler County to Pearl Harbor: James Brazier Booe’s Story
Flagler’s own Chief Petty Officer James Brazier Booe, son of former Flagler County Superintendent Zeb E. and Ida Coffing Booe, was among the 3,500 Americans killed or wounded at Pearl Harbor. Here’s his story.
Holden House and the Old Courthouse: A Grateful Historical Society and an Update
Flagler County Historical Society President Mary Ann Clark thanks the county commission for the $23,400 renovation, and Sisco Deen relates the latest fixings.
So Long, Sadie Strickland: Bunnell Centenarian Was Told Flagler Would Devour Her in 1927
Sadie Strickland died on Sept. 10. She was almost 101. Her neighbors thought she and her husband would run back to Georgia in 1927. The neighbors were wrong.
Bunnell City Administration Will Occupy County Offices Rent-Free Through 2012
Bunnell will continue occupying a suite of county offices valued at $3,000 a month even though the old city hall is livable.
Ormond’s River Grille Owner Closer to Taking Over Flagler Beach’s Pier Restaurant
The iconic Pier Restaurant’s lease is up in two years. The city owns it. The city will negotiate with a new owner immediately, to the displeasure of locally owned Flagler Fish Company.