Today is Gasparilla Day
Nothing says Tampa more than Gasparilla Day. It's been a Tampa celebration since 1904. The pirate ship Jose' Gaspar, filled with "pirates" invades Tampa and takes over the city.
Legend has it that Jose' Gaspar operated in the Tampa area and plundered ships on the west coast of Florida. In the old days when I was young the invasion and parade always coincided with the Florida State Fair.
If you have lived in Tampa for any length of time chances are you have participated in Gasparilla Day. It is a day long festival with parties everywhere.
There be pirates
Hundreds of boats follow the Jose' Gaspar across the bay to her dock on the Bayshore
Thousands line the street for the parade down Bayshore and into downtown Tampa
Even the Mayor shows up
The ship and many of the floats are manned by "Krewes" which are clubs that operate throughout the year and many of the Krewes are very involved in charity work in the area
Gasparilla Day...a Tampa tradition
Pro wrestling was a big deal when I was a kid, a much different sport than it is today. In the old days it was so good and so believable you actually could believe it was real. There were so many stars and personalities.
The voice of wrestling was the great Gordon Solie. His deadpan interviews with the wrestlers were instant classics.
Back then wrestling was a mainstay in Tampa. Tuesday nights 8:30 at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory. The place was packed every Tuesday night with a raucous crowd. It was an electric atmosphere. A relatively small old building, you were always right on top of the action.
The Florida Heavyweight Championship belt
Championship Wrestling from Florida started in 1961 with the great Eddie Graham at the top and it ran successfully until 1987
Here are some of the greats from back then with the two best pure wrestlers first
Jack Brisco
Dory Funk Jr
Terry Funk
A very bad dude...Harley Race
The Nature Boy Ric Flair
Ric Flair and Gordon Solie
Don Muraco...from Macawawa Maui
From Moscow Russia...The Great Malenko
Buddy Colt
Dick Murdoch
Mike Graham
Dickie Slater
Cowboy Bill Watts
We close with The American Dream himself Dusty Rhodes...everybody wanted Big Dust...the Bucs, the Rowdies, all the baseball teams...he could run like a deer...jump like a gazelle..his fist covered your whole face
These were the golden days of professional wrestling and a lot of us boys from back then have great memories of them
Thanks again to my cousin Alan for the idea..
That was what Success magazine called Henry B. Plant in 1898. Mr. Plant was born in Connecticut in 1819. He moved to Augusta, Ga in 1854 and worked in a management position at Adams Express, a railroad company. After the Civil War he began buying and linking up bankrupt rail lines throughout the South. In last weeks blog I discussed Henry Flagler's railroad on Florida's east coast. Mr. Plant went about bringing a railroad to Florida's west coast.
He formed the Plant Investment Co. in 1882 and began acquiring existing lines and laying new track. In 1884 the first steam engine arrived in Tampa. He built over 1100 miles of tracks. He built the line out to the water where he dug out the channel, built a dock and the Port of Tampa was the result. His steamship company began regular runs from Tampa to Havana. The railroad and steamship enterprises became the Plant System. Interestingly one of the investors in Plant's company was...Henry Flagler
Thanks to the Plant System Florida's tourist industry began to boom. Like Flagler on the east coast, he also built hotels along his railway. The most spectacular was the Tampa Bay Hotel which opened in 1891 at a cost of nearly three million dollars.
The hotel remained open until 1930 when the Depression forced it's demise. In 1933 the University of Tampa moved into the facility and remains there today
In the late 1800's Mr. Plant went about promoting Florida at World's Fairs and other expositions and published and distributed promotional material all over the world.
By 1898 no other person had done more for the advancement of Florida, and Tampa than Henry Bradley Plant. That is why Success Magazine named him the "King of Florida"
Henry Morrison Flagler...If you live in Florida or even if you have visited here you have likely come across something with the name Flagler on it. It might have been a street, a hospital, a museum, a college, even a County...maybe even a statue..
The great man's influence is felt all over Florida.
Henry Flagler was a very wealthy man. In 1867 he and John D. Rockefeller started a little enterprise called Standard Oil. By the late 1800's Standard Oil had monopolized oil refining in the United States making Rockefeller and Flagler incredibly rich.
In 1878 Flagler's wife became ill and her doctor advised moving her from New York to a warmer climate, so they boarded the train and wound up at the end of the line in Jacksonville, Florida.
Returning two years later after his wife died he made his way to St. Augustine. He saw great potential in Florida which at the time was largely unpopulated and undeveloped. He started buying small rail systems and making his way down the east coast of Florida. Towns sprung up as he extended the railroad, finally winding up in an area around Biscayne Bay where he developed another town. The residents were so happy they suggested he name the little town Flagler...he said he would rather name it an old Indian name...Miami..
He built hotels along the way
The Ormond Hotel in Ormond Beach
The Ponce De Leon in St. Augustine
The Breakers in Palm Beach
The Royal Poinciana in Palm Beach
In 1905 the United States announced it was beginning construction of the Panama Canal. Flagler saw the possibilities of trade opening up when the Canal was complete so he decided to extend his railway to Florida's deep water port in Key West. The idea of building a railroad across 128 miles of water dotted with a few islands became known as Flagler's Folly.
Construction began in 1905 employing hundreds of workers in the massive undertaking
Terrible living and working conditions made construction difficult and three hurricanes destroyed parts of the railroad during the construction years. Many workers lives were lost during construction.
Finally on Jan 22, 1912 Henry Flagler, in declining health, rode the train into Key West
Flagler planned to build a hotel in Key West to go along with the railroad and the beautiful Casa Marina was built in 1921
Henry Flagler died on May 20, 1913...it was said after his death...." But that any man could have the genius to see of what this wilderness of water, sand, and underbrush was capable and then have the nerve to build a railroad there is more marvelous than similar development anywhere else in the world"
The Labor Day hurricane in 1935, the strongest storm to ever hit the United States, destroyed a large part of the railroad in Islamorada and it never recovered. The right of way was sold and the Overseas Highway was built. Some of the old railroad still stands today and is used for fishing, biking and walking paths
One of my favorite views of the old railroad at Bahia Honda
I'll close with the amazing Seven Mile Bridge and a thank you to a great man...Henry Flagler..
Thanks also to my cousin Alan for suggesting this subject.
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