Jacksonville Reflections - neighborhood benefactor (#0044)

Besides a wonderful old oak, note the palm trees on the left. This is the site of what had been a sprawling, relatively modern, home, with central air (still uncommon back then), a carport large enough for two new Cadillacs, and a very large yard with a big pool and a boat house back on the creek. Though the people who lived there were relatively wealth from owning a small grocery chain, they were very open about their pool being a social center for the entire neighborhood. I didn’t realize at the time how unusual it was for the owners to let the pool be the site for neighborhood mothers to bring their kids in the evenings or weekends for barbecues and swimming, and for the kids being able to use the pool independently during the day. It was like a privately-offered community center.

The family’s origin as farmers may have been part of their openness – I remember multiple episodes of sitting down around bushel baskets with the matriarch and her maid, joining in the shucking of a bushel of peas.

(Part of a photo-essay series on personal history and race with keyword FlaAla0518)