Tales of Old Florida

by Frank Oppel (Editor), Tony Meisel (Editor)

One hundred years ago, Florida was a wilderness of swamp and beach, dense forest and abundant wild game. Undiscovered, except for a few pioneer sportsmen and hearty farmers and ranchers, the state was still a frontier. True, a few towns flourished on the fishing and the Caribbean trade, but it was generally a sleepy place, far removed from the later boom of the 1920s.

Here is a collection of original articles and stories of the old Florida, of hunters and Indians, the development of the sportsman's paradise, the vast canvas of nature prior to the coming of the condominium.

Illustrated with rare drawings, photographs and engravings, this book will recreate a paradise that can never be again.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Southern, Historical, American History

477 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Bob Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Swamps Were Alive to the Sound of Buckshot

This is a set of 40 magazine articles written between 1870 and 1911 about Florida or rather, too often, about wiping out Florida’s marine and land wildlife for fun. Rich Northerners and Englishmen contribute articles about cruising the coasts. Actual life in Florida, its history, any but perfunctory mention of the Indian inhabitants are there only by accident. Occasional reference is made by a few more conscious writers to the devastation that had begun, but killing fish, alligators, birds, snakes, and turtles is de rigueur here. If that’s what turns you on, you’re gonna love this one. If anyone is hungry, let them hunt and fish, for sure. But killing hundreds of fish for sport? Using wildlife for target practice? These things appear to have been common back in the “good old days” when Whiteman was devastating a continent. And if that wasn’t enough, “use” was found for anything that could bring in a buck, like sponges, coral, or egret and spoonbill feathers.
Back in the days of “old Florida”, say in 1890, about middle point in the period covered, the state had 391,000 inhabitants. Today, there are over 21 million, a 55-fold increase in 130 years. What is left? Florida, despite some beautiful natural spots still preserved, has become a plastic, Disney-infested place, with polluted rivers, algae blooms, vast paved areas, and congested settlements that may soon be permanently flooded. It’s the retirement home for anyone who can’t stand winters. (Not that I blame them for that too much!) The amazing bounty of nature, the beauties of a place absolutely not like any other in the USA, almost vanished now, will come to life for you, but…. For a glimpse of that long-gone place, you might get hold of this book with its great number of excellent engravings and lithographs, and its rather poorly-printed stock of photographs. It needed a map as well. I invested a few bucks in T.O.O.F back about ten years ago, but am not so glad I did.
Out of the forty articles, one is a humorous description of a gun-running expedition to Cuba in 1897, another covers an expedition in 1907 across the Everglades by power boat. Birding expeditions and turkey hunting, an old-style lawn tennis tournament, “exploring” up palmetto-lined rivers, and a conservationist’s description of appallingly wasteful agricultural and forestry practices round out the book. Then there’s one which gives the extremely racist view of an old Southerner about Black citizens who would have been better off remaining slaves. Oh, yeah. Lemme outta here. Well, it gives you another side of “old Florida”, doesn’t it? I realize it was a different time, but are you going to love reading it today?

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have this book because come to find out my great, great grandfather wrote several chapters in this book (J.M Murphy). I like it but did not love it. I bought it out of curiousity of my ancestor's writings. Having said that, I am a history buff and love hearing about how the average Joe in late 1800's Florida handled certain activities(IT's ironic but I could be wrong but most Floridian's do not participate in these activities. In Fact, some of them are illegal , I believe.)

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a compilation of articles and stories that are in the public domain. Some of them can be a bit dry so I'm reading a chapter every now and then rather than plowing through the whole book.

[Steve Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compilation of old stories and articles about Florida - mostly prior to the 1920's. Interesting but only to history buffs (like myself) - mostly because the writing is kind of dry and arcane for the 2000's. Less 'tales' and more 'remembering's and interviews of old pioneers'. Still - it's a nice $3 book to take out occasionally and read a chapter of. More if you are a Florida history buff - maybe even critical - because it's not REVISIONIST! SO BE PREPARED - if you are one of those PC types who want to tear down all the old statues of old white men (lol) - you're going to hate this one. Ha ha ha.

[ArcticRaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate that history is preserved in articles written at the turn of the century, with no distortion. However, the writing style is archaic (to be expected, obviously) and rather dry. If you like reading old manuscripts, you might like this. I didn’t read them all, just enough for a taste. I’m not even sure the editors intended it to be read the way you would a novel. It’s more like the chicken soup for the soul books, where you can pick and choose to your heart’s content.
Three stars because some of the articles are just plain boring, but it’s not a complete waste of time. No one should feel guilty for not finishing this book.

[Max Bergmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I try not to ever leave a book unfinished, but here I have to make an exception, as this is not the sort of book one reads for fun. I went into it expecting some interesting folk tales, not a collection of reprinted newspaper articles from the 1800s. This is probably a fine reference book if you are interested in that sort of stuff, but it's not the kind of thing you read through, so I won't.

[Clair Schaler · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's rare that I think a book so unworthy of finishing. I hope many of these terms and ideas die a second death.

[Natalie]

I was in St. Augustine last weekend and found this book in the giftshop of the Castillo de San Marcos. I was instantly enchanted and had every intention of purchasing it upon leaving. Unfortunately, my dearest beloved was obsessed with finding that Perfect Camera Shot on the second story turret, and we ended up getting kicked out because we were there past closing. I didn't get the book, and I couldn't find it in any of the other five thousand souvenir shops in town.

*ETA 1/3 - Barnes and Noble had it on their bargain shelf. Score.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just read first first tale....all tales are reprints of what was written in the early days of Florida. The first tale was quite dry and I learned nothing new. So I'll put it on the shelf at the bayhouse and perhaps read some more tales in the future. Having read "The Swamp" and "A Land Remembered" this year, I think I may have had enough of FL history for a while.
Goodreads description:

When Florida was a wilderness, only the brave chanced the swamps, alligators, hurricanes and the lush, tropical forest - an amazing contrast to the vacation paradise of today.

[Pennylane3465 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains numerous stories by various authors. I haven't completed the book yet. I've read about 3/4. Some stories are better than others. If you'd like a look into what things were like in old Florida, you'll enjoy this book.

[Pam]

07/05/08 rec via pbs