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'Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams'

By HOWARD TROXLER
Published October 14, 2007

Florida often has been described as a "state of strangers" because so many of us were born somewhere else.

It's been hard for Floridians to develop a shared sense of identity, a sense of culture and tradition, a sense of place.

It's also been hard for Floridians to see themselves as stakeholders in the decisions that face our adopted state.

How many of us, for example, think of the Everglades as "ours"? How many feel a sense of affection and ownership for Lake Okeechobee, for the Panhandle, for the Keys?

This is why I've always been grateful for Floridians such as Gary Mormino, a professor at the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus whose focus is Florida history.

The more we know about Florida, the more it becomes "our" state.

Mormino has a book out called Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams. His book also is the basis of a documentary that will premiere on public television this week.

The documentary is called The Florida Dream, and it will air on most public TV stations in the state for the first time at 9 p.m. Thursday.

It's produced by the Florida Humanities Council and WEDU-Ch. 3 in Tampa. It was made by Larry Elliston, known to Bay area viewers for his stories that used to run on WTVT-Ch. 13, under the title Down Home Florida.

In Mormino's narrative, World War II was the seminal event that led the state into a postwar boom.

More than 2-million Americans trained at 200 military installations here during the war. Some of the troops who stormed the beach at Normandy practiced on the Gulf Coast.

Many of those who got a taste of our climate and our beaches during the war years decided to come back as tourists or permanent residents.

Florida became, as Mormino puts it, "a dream state for the working class." For $30 down and $30 a month, even a Chicago letter carrier could retire to subtropical bliss.

A 1960s survey showed the two most popular attractions in the U.S. were the Grand Canyon and Cypress Gardens near Winter Haven.

Instant cities like Cape Coral sprung up. And if you forgot your checkbook, no problem - developers had blank checks from almost every bank in the nation ready for buyers to sign.

Along the way, the state was carved up and paved, its rivers rerouted and its swamps drained. By 1960, every major body of water was polluted. Fifty species became endangered or threatened.

Today the state's population is 18.5-million (compared to 1.9-million before the war), and Florida is poised to become the third-biggest state. Despite our complaints about taxes and insurance, Mormino notes that the state's biggest challenge in the longer run may be water.

The documentary does not delve into the policy decisions that we face today. But it's a good depiction of how we got where we are. Speaking as one Floridian to another, I hope you'll take a look.

* * *

Tally ho: This week I'll be in Tallahassee watching our Legislature rewrite the state's property tax structure. Keep an eye on TroxBlog for online updates each day. Tuesday's weekly online chat will be a two-hour edition on taxes.

Click on the "Blogs" link at www.tampabay.com, or use the address blogs.tampabay.com/troxler.

[Last modified October 13, 2007, 23:50:59]