The Way We Were: Dorothy Surrency Rosenbloom
If you were limited to choosing just one word to describe Dorothy Ann “Dot” Surrency Rosenbloom, chances are “longevity” would be the word. Dot Rosenbloom’s long life has been full of long-lived relationships, beginning with her grade school friendship with the boy who would become her husband of 67 years. The 88-year-old Ortega resident was […]
The Way We Were: Helen Peltz Diamond
A “firecracker baby” who was born on the Fourth of July more than 100 years ago, Helen Peltz Diamond has seen more Independence Day celebrations than she may care to mention. This year, however, may have been a celebration for the ages. Knowing Diamond had surpassed her centennial year, more than 100 of her neighbors […]
The Way We Were: Merle Dekle Teate
Although her vision and hearing are fading, once Merle Dekle Teate, 97, of San Jose settles into a favorite chair overlooking her backyard and lake, her Maltese poodle Angel tucked by her side, she’s eager to share timeless memories. Still a lovely Southern lady with the sunniest of personalities, Teate’s home off San Jose Boulevard […]
The Way We Were: Ann Stiefel Joiner Brewster
Ann Stiefel Joiner Brewster will celebrate her 90th birthday in November. She grew up on Avondale’s Hollywood Avenue with her father Clarence, a pharmacist with a Forsyth Street pharmacy and her mother Amy Stiefel. She lived near many friends who all attended school together. She and her friends could not wait to enter junior high […]
The Way We Were: Thema Brown
By Victoria Register-Freeman Resident Community News In her almost 50 years working in the Historic District, Thelma Brown drove school carpool even though she didn’t own a car. She used her employers’ cars. When she began working in the District in 1968, she herself took four buses a day to get to and from her […]
The Way We Were: Joyce Thomas Jones — Part II
By Laura Jane Pittman Last month, retired UNF educator Joyce Thomas Jones shared her earliest memories of growing up in the city of South Jacksonville in last month’s column. This month, we follow Jones through her elementary and high school years, in a charming glimpse of the way things were. Joyce Thomas Jones was […]
The Way We Were: Betty and Tesch Brundick
By Victoria Register-Freeman Betty Blount Brundick likes to point at the letter B cast in concrete above the front door of her home. Her eyes twinkle when she says,” Tesch married me for the B.” The couple met at Lakeshore Junior High School in seventh grade. Betty remembers, “My class opened Lakeshore. For part […]
The Way We Were: Joyce Thomas Jones — Part I
By Laura Jane Pittman Once upon a time, there was an area of Jacksonville called Southside. Now, dear reader, this is not the same Southside we think of today. It was located in the area of South Main Street and what was then Miami Road — in the vicinity of today’s bb’s and Reddi […]
