SMPS Annual Meeting draws leadership, award winners

SMPS Annual Meeting draws leadership, award winners

Newly appointed SMPS President, Desiree Bailey of the San Marco Bookstore presents Immediate Past President Chris Woolston a plaque for his hard work and dedication as President. San Marco’s most engaged and active stewards were on hand to celebrate a wrap up of accomplishments and goals attained during a year fraught with difficulty due to […]

Jacksonville’s million-dollar bridge celebrates 100 years of service

Jacksonville’s million-dollar bridge celebrates 100 years of service

On July 1, 1921, 5,000 automobiles drove across the first bridge built to cross over the St. Johns River to connect the north bank of the river to the south bank. That may have been nearly every car in Jacksonville, as reported in Jacksonville’s Architectural Heritage by noted local historian Wayne Wood, because only about […]

Great turnout, inspired spaces highlight RAP Garden Tour

Great turnout, inspired spaces highlight RAP Garden Tour

Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP) took a bold step and forged forward with its first Garden Tour 2021, as locals begin making way out of pandemic mask mandates to enjoy more local activities and events. From exquisite yard art in the “Art Garden – Avant-Garde Yard”, to a Jacksonville Jaguar gameday sanctuary at “Made for a […]

Donors Dive In: Three generations of families make waves and impact Bolles swimming

Donors Dive In: Three generations of families make waves and impact Bolles swimming

Members and friends of the Tarver family were the first to jump into Bolles’ new pool, named the Tarver Pool, in honor of Jack Tarver, grandfather of Missy Pearson, who, with her husband, Josh Pearson, has five children who graduated from or are attending The Bolles School. The Tarver family’s generous gift made the pool […]

The Way We Were: Karen Buskirk

The Way We Were: Karen Buskirk

Some people give selflessly, not expecting any reward or return. They give because they believe that giving back is the only way to truly effect positive change. Karen Buskirk is one such person. “You can gripe and complain all you want, but if you don’t give back to make the community better, then you’re not […]

The Way We Were: Dr. Christian Berdy

The Way We Were: Dr. Christian Berdy

Since 1975, Dr. Christian Berdy has been a well-known Jacksonville periodontist, a specialist in the treatment of gums. His life can be characterized as one of perseverance and selflessness. Berdy’s parents were born in Austria and met in a Jewish refugee center in France in the late 1930s. Berdy was born in occupied France in […]

Local Folks: Kellie Turner

Local Folks: Kellie Turner

They’re not “crazy cat ladies” even though they’ve been called such. “We’re clearly not crazy. We’re just empathetic. We have hearts,” said Kellie Turner of her and other Jacksonville women’s efforts at TNR. TNR stands for Trap-Neuter-Return. It’s a process of humanely reducing the number of free-roaming cats in the neighborhood. A cat is trapped […]

Local Folks: Clark LaBlond

Local Folks: Clark LaBlond

Clark LaBlond did not grow up in Jacksonville. It took him until 1995 to return to the Bold City after hip hopping from California to Minnesota to Jacksonville then Chicago and, finally back to where he now calls home. This traveling man attended school in California where he swam competitively, played football, was in Indian […]