​Florida is loaded with colorful place names:

• Fisheating Creek
• Alligator Alley
• Yeehaw Junction
• Choctawatchee Bay

And here in Manatee County, a seven-mile-long road called Moccasin Wallow.
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Such an evocative name, hearkening back to the state’s pioneer roots and plain-spoken culture. Such names should be appreciated for their historic value in the same way that we revere classic buildings, such as the Manatee County Courthouse or Gamble Mansion or the Duette School. Part of our heritage. READ MORE

By DAVID KLEMENT
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“Nose in a book. He’s always got his nose in a book!”

That is one of the expressions by my late mother that I vividly recall, 70-some years later. That reading – a love for reading – would be a subject of scorn speaks volumes about the life of a child growing up in a farm family.     READ MORE