It’s brag time.
He says: "Lake Lucy Tales MUST be preserved. As a Floridian, I both treasure this book, and cry when I read it. The book describes life in the area just west of Orlando Florida, from 1914 to at least 1954. It describes a Florida I never saw. No need for air conditioning, because the dense trees converted the sunlight into plant life. Swimming in the local watering hole, instead of paying $40,000 for a pool ….
"The book has a chapter on a guy named Ralph Sias [Peggy Lantz’s father], who was pretty darn adventurous..... Ralph contrived a wire contraption to climb a 90-foot pine tree on his property.
"I came to Orlando in 1998, so I have memories of walking down the road, walking by a woods and having the temperature drop 5 degrees. This is as close as I get to the Sias family experience. Today all those woods are gone. Today, walking a mile to Seven-Eleven is an experience in heat stroke and dehydration.
Reading this book, I cry for my Florida....This book is a treasure."
— Steve Litt
Thank you, Steve.
This book was originally written just for distribution to the Sias family members. It began as a little photocopied and stapled book done at a print shop with answers to questions from family and neighbors about who lived where and when. It included my essay from college days and the memories my father told me about. Then I found papers among my grandmother’s things, and I encouraged others of the family to contribute their memories, and the book grew a little, then a little more. It had several reprintings as family members sent me their essays. Many of the contributors have now passed on; I am glad to have their memories.
When the little independent publisher, Woodsmere Press, wanted to pursue it, I was delighted. I found old photos, which are included in the Woodsmere Press publication, and an early photo of Lake Lucy surrounded by longleaf pine trees that was used for the wrap-around cover. Woodsmere Press added an ISBN number, and it is now copyrighted and copies are in the Library of Congress and available on Amazon.
And from me, if you wish.