The Way We Were: Martha “Molly” Holmes King
Martha “Molly” Holmes King arrived in Jacksonville at nine years of age in February 1941 from her birthplace in Birmingham, Alabama. “Now, I’m 91 and three fourths,” she said, and she lives in the same house that she had grown up in on Harvard Avenue in Ortega. Molly was raised an only child; two siblings […]
The Way We Were: Hooshang Harvesf, Ph.D.
Dr. Hooshang Harvesf came to the United States from Persia as a young, educated man in the early 1960s but took his schooling even further by completing the Ph.D. program in economics at The University of California, Berkeley. His father had always stressed this advice: “Get an education first. Then, do whatever it is that […]
The Way We Were: Cookie Davis
Carranna Shirley Faling was quite a long name for such a cute little girl. It was a mouthful for a mother to say, too. The year was 1941, when Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead were popular comic strip characters. They had a daughter named Cookie. So, Cookie Faling it is, her mother had decided. Since there […]
The Way We Were: Marlene Goodwin
Marlene Goodwin is a Jacksonville native, as were her father and his parents. She entered the world in 1936 at St. Vincent’s Hospital. She was the youngest of seven children and had a sister 18 years her senior who served as a second mom. Growing up on Colonial Avenue in Lakeshore, Marlene enjoyed playing hopscotch […]
The Way We Were: Elizabeth “Betty” Poag Reed
Elizabeth Poag, now Betty Reed, knows Jacksonville from the top down: she was born in 1944 at the second location of St. Luke’s Hospital on the corner of Boulevard and 8th Streets, grew up in Northside, spent time in Arlington and Southside, and has lived in the Mandarin area for the last 40 years. Growing […]
The Way We Were: Connie Toney Andry
Connie Toney Andry was born on May 1, 1952, the fourth in line of six. “Two boys, two girls, two boys,” she said. Her paternal grandparents, Tom and Mary Toney, had owned several commercial and residential properties along San Marco Boulevard. Her family lived in one of the apartments above Gene’s Barbershop that is now […]
The Way We Were: Rita Danese Taylor
On May 4, 2022, Rita Danese Taylor turned 100. For decades, it has been her habit to spend the entire month celebrating her birthday, and this year was no different. In late May, 180 guests gathered at Prince of Peace Parish Hall on Bennett Road for a party. A dozen people had travelled from various […]
The Way We Were: Deanna and Mike Lissner
Deanna and Mike Lissner are a Jacksonville couple who believe strongly in giving back from the bounty they’ve been blessed with. For decades, they’ve been devoting their time, talent, and treasure to their beloved Jewish community and beyond. They’ve gone from being high school sweethearts to 62 years married. They’ve brought forth children and grandchildren, […]
