Despite an increase in traffic and growth, Seffner retains its quaint community character.
By RAINNEY YARAS
Published September 3, 2004
I am a native Floridian born in Tampa. My family moved to the Brandon area in 1966 when State Road 60 was just a two-lane highway.
I moved to Seffner in 1977 when it was a quaint community with cow pastures and orange groves. Back then, Seffner was still considered country. The post office was opened in 1884. Actually, the community existed for several years as "Lenna City," but the name was abandoned due to the similarity to Leno, a town in western Florida.
The community's name was then changed to Seffner after the first postmaster, Fredrick P. Seffner. With the coming of the railroad, Seffner had its first store and post office open in 1884, about the time its first school opened. It became a prosperous little town and has not looked back. I have seen the community change so tremendously that sometimes it is hard to recognize. It has grown from 5,371 people in 1990 to 37,000 people in 2001.
One of the biggest problems that I see is traffic, traffic, traffic. We are so busy building homes and businesses that we don't seem to consider the roads and traffic problems. Seffner still has a small community feel, but that is changing fast.
For instance, at the corner of Kingsway and Windhorst roads, we have two grocery stores, one drug store and a variety of small businesses. It is very convenient, but it is very congested. One jewel that my family has found in the Mango/Seffner area is our local church, Christ Center Fellowship. The church is a small community church that has a wonderful group of people who are truly giving and caring individuals. The entire Seffner area is full of churches that have large and small congregations of people who are "community minded."
Families and children are very important here. Just drive by the parks on the weekend and look at all the activities - football, softball, cheerleading and basketball to name a few. I think this says it all about the citizens of Seffner.
The Greater Seffner Area Chamber of Commerce's Pledge: As I go through the day, everyday I will ... 1. Recognize at least one instance of good in others.
2. Be thankful for at least one thing.
3. Do one thing to make our family, our community or our world a better place to live.
Life and our homes are what we make them. Get involved in your neighborhood and community and you will be blessed.
