From the past, this present A look at the Everglades National Park, by Times writer Jeff Klinkenberg. Home Weather Lottery Classifieds Sports Comics Interact Area Guide AP Wire Ongoing Stories

"The clear burning light of the sun pours daylong into the saw grass and is lost there, soaked up, never given back. Only the water flashes and glints. The grass yields nothing." --Marjory Stoneman Douglas [AP photo/Miami Herald: Al Diaz] Spirit of Florida's Everglades dies at 108 By CRAIG BASSE © St. Petersburg Times, published May 15, 1998 arjory Stoneman Douglas, grande dame of the Florida Everglades and the state's pre-eminent conservationist, died at her Miami home Thursday. She was 108. "The years caught up with her," said William T. Muir, a lawyer and family friend. Douglas died in her Coconut Grove home of 72 years. As she requested, her home will be turned into a state museum and her ashes will be scattered over the portion of the Everglades National Park that bears her name in a public ceremony on May 23. Read the story Though expected, the loss of a hero still stings By JEFF KLINKENBERG © St. Petersburg Times, published May 15, 1998 had one of the last "come in, sit down, would you like something to drink?" interviews with Marjory Stoneman Douglas. It happened in 1992, and I was as nervous as a kid reporter. Mrs. Douglas was one of my heroes, the person who had done the most to try to save the Everglades, a place I had loved and explored since childhood. Her landmark book, The Everglades: River of Grass, was considered the Bible by people who cared about natural Florida, including me. Still, the aristocratic Mrs. Douglas could be daunting. Blind and virtually deaf, she already had entered her second century on the planet, and she was notoriously cantankerous. Click here to continue More from the Web From the past, this present -- Times writer Jeff Klinkenberg's story on the 50th anniversary of the Everglades National Park. In Memoriam, a Miami Herald look at the spirit of the Everglades -- includes slideshow of her life and projects. Friends of the Everglades -- Visionary of the Everglades -- from the American Parks Network A fight near triumph -- from the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel A classroom's tribute -- A sixth grade class's project is an homage to a savior of the Everglades. Friends of the Everglades -- founded by Mrs. Douglas in 1969. 50 Most Important People in Florida's 20th Century -- a biography by the Lakeland Ledger.

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