The Way We Were: Roxie Horne Merrill
Somewhere in Ortega there is an old tree that may still have the initials “R.H. + R. H.” carved into its trunk. “We were just 12 years old,” recalled Roxie Horne Merrill, “when Rogers “Tiger” Holmes and I had a crush on each other.” Today, both Roxie Merrill and Tiger Holmes are well-known, highly respected […]
Way We Were: Tom Howe
There is a plaque on the wall in Tom Howe’s spacious Lakewood living room that says, “If You’re Lucky Enough to Live on the Water, You’re Lucky Enough.” That saying reveals a great deal about the man, who, today, enjoys a panoramic view of the St. Johns River and has spent a lifetime traveling the […]
Way We Were: John & Sheila Hamilton
Sheila and John Hamilton describe the Venetia neighborhood in which they lived for 57 years as a “compound.” Its residents live there a long time, so long, in fact, many have owned two homes there – a starter home and then a family home. “They don’t move out, and now their children are moving back […]
Way We Were: Lee Beger
Lee Beger, Ph.D., is convinced she got her creative genes from her father. Directing is in her blood, history shows. When her mother, Pearl Lee Lowery from Georgia met her father, Arthur Stewart from Alabama, they had both recently moved to Jacksonville. Pearl worked for a linen company. Arthur had been moved to Jacksonville by […]
Way We Were: Blanche & Daniel Coffman, Jr.
Whether traveling to an airshow, a college reunion or to see their children and grandchildren scattered all over the world, Dan and Blanche Coffman have been taking to the sky in their Cessna 172 since 1993. “You’re 60 – get yourself an airplane,” Blanche said to Dan. A former naval aviator, Dan got his wings […]
The Way We Were: Hannah Himmelfarb Gavronsky
In January Hannah Gavronsky celebrated her 98th birthday surrounded by her children, and several of her 13 grand- and 12 great-grandchildren. Turning 98 may not seem particularly remarkable at a time when the fastest-growing segment of the population are those 80 and older, however, Hannah’s life might well have ended in 1939 when her family […]
Way We Were: Marvin Glenn Hollis
Marvin Hollis, 93, has been coming and going almost from the time he was born. Fifteen months after he was born Nov. 4, 1924, his mother passed away. His siblings – two brothers and a sister – were 10, 13 and 15 when he was born. He was raised by his grandmother until his father […]
The Way We Were: Jane Condon
Jane Condon’s maiden name, Sharp, is an excellent fit for the woman who successfully led three Jacksonville schools for the arts. The English idiom “sharp cookie” describes one who is intelligent, bright, and sharp enough to identify attempts to deceive or mislead. Jane’s strong, innovative, astute and insightful leadership as principal of Douglas Anderson School […]
