[bobandsherry]

Originally Posted by Nancy in Nokomis

No matter what state you come from you can remember the "good ole days" - where I grew up in NJ it was all farms - not anymore.

I am happy to be in the present day Florida - I really love it here in North Port - still lots of undeveloped land and lots of wildlife - I guess some day I will long for the "gold ole days" that are happening now -

would love to see a thread on the positive side of the new Florida

I hear ya - Disney opened in 1971, back then the suburb I grew up outside of Chicago was mostly cornfields with a few subdivisions. Population was 7,000. Today it's almost 80,000. There was a handful of stores (Zayre and AM/PM were the "big" stores, no industrial. Today there's hundreds of stores, restaurants, and it's a hub for warehouses in midwest. Lots of areas have grown in 40+ years, if it wasn't for Disney it would be interesting to know how Florida would have developed. But there's still lots of undeveloped area in Florida, so guess we might expect it to get even worse

[jwolfer]

Originally Posted by PanzerMan1001

Orlando was settled in the 1850s, however, by the 1920s, the city really took off. The city's first skyscrapers went up in the early twenties, the airport in '28, the citrus bowl in '36, and another airport in '40. Orlando was considered a metropolitan area by 1940, so it is a bit of an overstatement to call it "one giant orange grove". Orange County had 12,000 People in 1890, 30,000 by 1920, and 70,000 by 1940. Although not huge, Orlando and Winter Park were certainly on the map. Most people don't realize this. The city was a cow town in the 1870s/'80s, no doubt, but by 1930, Orlando really had become a big city.

I would not consider Orlando of before 1970 a 'big city" It was a regional city, along the lines of Columbus or Augusta GA. It was not a "Cow town" by any means; Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville were the big cities in Florida

[LarsMac]

When I was in college in Tallahassee, we could drive home driving US-27 to 441, and down 441 all the way to West Palm and Ft Lauderdale, without encountering any significant traffic.

Kissimmee was a wide spot in the road, and Orlando was a podunk little town with a few decent bars.

And you could stop and pick oranges along the way, or go fishing just about anywhere.

The biggest problem with driving the Florida Turnpike was boredom, Or forgetting to check your fuel before getting on the thing.

[trobesmom]

I was 15 when Disney opened. Before that, a lot of Florida was considered a bit "sleepy." I remember going on vacations as a kid, staying in those little motels called Blue Bell Inn, going to Cypress Gardens or Sunken Gardens, or even Busch Gardens, which only consisted of some pretty gardens and an escalator leading up to the brewery. Of course back then if you went on a Sunday drive, you better go to the bathroom before leaving home because all the service stations were closed, lol.

[RedneckRebel]

I wasn't born before Disney entered Florida, but I can tell you, when I was just a kid, Lake County was a pretty rural farm town. Today it is a bustling suburb of Orlando.

But if you want to know what Central Florida was like pre-Disney, read a book called "Clermont, Gem of the Hills" It takes you through the history of South Lake from 1884-1984. It is a very interesting read. You can buy it on Amazon, or what I prefer, just get it from your local library

https://www.amazon.com/Clermont-gem-.../dp/0961262605

[jetdoc3037]

Originally Posted by bobio

We're called Florida People? Try Floridans, or even crackers. Before all the New Yorkers came it was a nice peaceful quite pleace. Not all this constuction going on. We all had some type of farm; with horses or any type of animals like that. We didn't worry about the kids. They would go out all day and we didn't have to worry. Everything was so much nicer...

You mean before 'New York people' came in,

[jetdoc3037]

Interesting post...sadly though you can say the same about a lot of towns in America....