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, […]
The Way We Were: Dottie S. Dorion
Dottie Dorion is a Long Island native, born Dorothy Simpson in Floral Park, New York in 1934, but she has lived in Jacksonville for over five decades. She came here in 1971 from Puerto Rico so that her husband, George, could build a laboratory for his family’s company, Bacardi. Prior to their stint in Puerto […]
The Way We Were: Jack Lanier
Jack Lanier arrived in Jacksonville in a stranger’s truck more than eight decades ago. He became known as an inventor and a collector. He is a ceaseless worker, a self-made man. Most extraordinary of all is that he will turn 100 this month! Lanier was born on June 15, 1922 in Matter County, Georgia where […]
