Another weekend is looming—anticipate BBQ, friends, hair and nail session and maybe some Greek festival while I’m at it.

STILL CAN’T LEAVE THE HIGHLANDS:

Today we’re doing a town that even I haven’t heard of before:  TRILBY, FLORIDA (a course)

Located on US 98 close to where it  joins 301 is this town which was “formerly an active railroad crossroads.”  (BACKROADS OF FLORIDA/Waitley).

An earlier name for the town was Macon. The newer name Trilby was in use by 1895, although the Macon post office was not renamed Trilby until 1901. Trilby was named after the heroine in George du Maurier‘s novel of the same name.  (First published in 1894, the story of the diva Trilby O’Ferrall and her mentor, Svengali, has entered the mythology of that period alongside Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. Immensely popular for years, the novel led to a hit play, a series of popular films, Trilby products from hats to ice-cream…http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/788085.)Trilby Railroad magnate Henry Plant changed the name of the town because it duplicated the name of Macon, GA. He has been quoted as saying he wished to name it “after the heroine of a story which has lately deeply moved me.” Trilby was incorporated as a town in 1901 and again in 1913. Because of the loss of its railroad industry, it has declined into a residential community for Dade City, and also for the Tampa Bay region

1895 an African Methodist Episcopal Church was established to serve the spiritual and likely early educational needs of the African Americans of Trilby….located a small lot situated along the railroad tracks at the north end of town. .. It was next to this church that the African American people of Trilby established their own cemetery as burials were not allowed in the local white cemetery.

The Country Cemetery or Trilby African American Cemetery, as it is known, dates back to Pasco County’s sawmill days and before. During these times it was typical for the African Americans and whites to live on separate sides of the community and this segregation applied to Trilby, which is evident through the two separate cemeteries.  These two sides were usually separated by the railroad tracks that ran through the community.  http://www.trilbyfl.com/Trilby/colcem2.htm

1897. The Trilby Methodist Church is organized, according to a historical marker, which reads: “Trilby Methodist Church – organized by the Rev. T. H. Sistrunk in 1897 and built by the 12 charter members a year later, this original frame church and steeple of pioneer design has long been a center of community activities. Moved from near the railroad coal chute to the present site about 1920, it was remodeled in 1978. The pulpit, handmade by John Spinks, is still in use.”   http://www.fivay.org/trilby.html    Described in Florida Backroads as “one of the cutest tabernacles you’ll find anywhere.”

http://www.fivay.org/markers/trilby_cemetery.jpg

SOME COLLECTIBLES (SEE MY STORE ABOVE—JUST CLICK ON store)  from the days Railroads were big in Florida

Vintage Railroad Photo – Florida East Coast $13.45

May of 1925, at about 1:00 in the afternoon, a fire started upstairs in Brad ham’s Dry Goods Store, and the whole town, on the west side of the tracks, went up in smoke. Bucket brigades were formed, but the stores were already gutted. The Dade City Fire Department raced to Trilby in a Model T fire truck to put our the fire. When they arrived, they found all the water hose had unreeled and had been left alongside the road. The fire was finally extinguished around 5:00 in the evening.    H. Mills tried to start another store in the Masonic Temple and the post office was moved into the bank building, but it was useless. Trilby would never again be the same.

Trilby, now only a community, had no use for such a large depot and so it was torn down considerably and remodeled.  By the fall of 1927 the job was completed and …is now exhibited at the Pioneer Florida Museum. In about 1927, the Trilby State Bank closed because of bankruptcy and never opened again. It burned a few years later.

The Trilby Depot was discontinued in January of 1976. .. it  (was)…moved to the Florida State Fairgrounds as part of their “cracker village.” Thanks to the Pasco County Commission it was finally conveyed to the Pioneer Florida Museum Association.   http://www.trilbyfl.com/history/boomtown.htm

“…what thrills me about trains is not their size or their equipment but the fact that they are moving, that they embody a connection between unseen places.”
― Marianne Wiggins

Hello–still trying to struggle back from my Halloween open house—I’m down to a few livable rooms…but am making progress.   Am on the 3rd Outlander Book (Voyager) and I will not tell you what is going on as I hate spoilers but OMG…you gotta read the books, it will make the time going faster till April 4th

Claire:  I can not marry you, I do not even know your real name.

Jamie (with a smile):   James Alexander Malcom McKenzie Fraser.

check on my store above for some fine purchases—it brings you this blog.

Today we’re looking at toy collectibles:

1971 Fred and Barney Plastic Banks/ Pair of Flintstones Hanna Barbera Retro Toys  $50.00

Antique RoadShow Insider: “…vintage toys…they’re forever innocent, often colorful and always appealing to our playful side.  When in top condition, they’re valuable too.  (Sept. 2014)

Matchbox toy cars UNUSED boxed   $61.35

Matchbox is a popular toy brand which was introduced by Lesney Products in 1953 and is now owned by Mattel, Inc. The brand was so named as the original die-cast Matchbox toys were sold in boxes similar in style and size to those in which matches were sold. Subsequently the brand would encompass a broad range of toys including larger scale die-cast models.   During the 1980s, Matchbox started to switch to the more conventional …”blister packs” that were used by other die cast toy brands. The box style packaging was re-introduced for the collectors’ market in recent years, particularly with the release of the “35th Anniversary of Superfast” series in 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox_(brand) 

Collectible IDEAL SHIRLEY TEMPLE Doll ” Stand Up & Cheer” In Original Box ~ 1982   $68.00 

Shirley Temple was easily the most popular and famous child star of all time. She got her start in the movies at the age of three and soon progressed to super stardom. Shirley could do it all: act, sing and dance and all at the age of five! Fans loved her as she was bright, bouncy and cheerful in her films and they ultimately bought millions of dollars worth of products that had her likeness on them. Dolls, phonograph records, mugs, hats, dresses, whatever it was, if it had her picture on there they bought it. Shirley was box-office champion for the consecutive years 1935-36-37-38, beating out such great grown-up stars… By 1939, her popularity declined. Although she starred in some very good movies…her career was nearing its end. Later, she served as an ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.
– IMDb Mini Biography By: Ken Severson     http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000073/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

 

 

 

 

 

Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs Disney Rubber Vinyl Squeaky Dolls  Complete Set Lot Carrying Case 1978  $80.00

 In the Brothers Grimm version, the evil queen stepmother asks a hunter to take Snow White into the forest and kill her (this also happens in the Disney movie). However, in the story, she asks him to also bring her back Snow White’s heart and liver. He can’t kill Snow White, and so brings back a boar’s heart and liver as well. The queen eats the heart and liver, believing them to be Snow White’s…In the book, the queen tries twice unsuccessfully to kill Snow White. The third time, when the queen gives her the apple (just like in the movie), Snow White faints and can’t be revived. She is placed in a glass coffin. A prince comes and wants to take her away ,,,. The dwarves hesitantly allow it, and while she is being carried, the carriers trip, causing the poisoned apple to become dislodged from Snow White’s throat. She and the prince, of course, get married. The evil queen is invited. As a punishment, she is forced to wear burning-hot iron shoes and dance until she drops dead.   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/the-real-story-behind-eve_n_4239730.html

rare 1930s Deans Rag Mickey Mouse velvet doll w pin

$850.00

For more than nine decades, the name Walt Disney has been preeminent in the field of family entertainment. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to today’s global corporation, The Walt Disney Company continues to proudly provide quality entertainment for every member of the family, across America and around the world.   http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history

A Mickey Mouse toy (die-cut with jointed figures made in Germany) recently sold at Hanke’s Americana & Collectibles sold for $20,221.

Arcade Deluxe Andy Gump cast-iron toy auto, 7 inches long, near mint, possibly best known example, est. $8,000-$12,000.

Andy Gump was a star character at the popular comic strip The Gumps, created in 1916 by Sidney Smith.  it ran for 42 years and nspired all kinds of related products, including the toy car above.  The die-cast auto with whited painted wheels was in remarkable condition, showing just minor wear, it brought $9,000 at Morphy’s Auction.  (Antique Road Show).

Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of toys, and personal entertainment depended on individual ingenuity and imagination – think up a story and go live it for an afternoon.  Terry Brooks

Now that the election is over all I can say for the governor results is there was no best man to win….I voted for the one I thought was the least worst.

OK now the best man….Outlander rules

of course he’s no where near Florida we only just have the weird ones here and not in a good way.

Since weird Floridians (did you see where they arrested a 90 year old man–along with a couple of pastors—for feeding the homeless in public—OMG I live in a bad, embarrassing, dream) have been in the news and the ballots I decided if I could find some others that might be interesting (and less dangerous to my over-all-well-being.)

MAGGIE BELL:

Described as a “genuine Florida Cracker Queen and psychic extraordinaire”  Ms. Bell and her husband, John, came to the town of Lake Monroe in the late 1800s.  Lake Monroe which was along the Lake of the same name and not too far west of Sanford  was a “thriving faming community” then (now it is a post office and a zip code).  Maggie conducted seances on her porch, sessions that drew many witnesses who never found any trickery that would account for what they saw. “Chairs simply floated about the parlor while voices would emanate from the walls.”    She conducted automatic writings and would gather buckets of white sand from the cemetery and sprinkled it over farmer’s fields which apparently grew much better after the treatment. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2000-10-29/news/0010280549_1_maggie-bell-carlson-florida-cracker

After loosing her husband to another she took up drink and her abilities diminished and with the diminishment of her powers her popularity began to drift away.  She passed away in the 1920s.   But several of her friends reported her returning for visits after this departure and at least one claimed her daughter of seven was healed from a serious illness by Maggie years after her death. (STRANGE FLORIDA/Carlson)

So Maggie though strange seems to have been beneficial to the community.  Naw she’d never make it in politics.

EDWARD LEEDSKALNIN

Ledskalnin built this amazing (and open to the public) “castle” of coral in memory of a girl who jilted him just prior to his wedding day in Latvia.  He left his home and wandered through Europe and Canada before settling in Washington state for awhile where he developed TB and moved to Florida at 31 years-old.  Here he purchased land and began his carvings in memory of his lost love.

Ed was as secretive…(and) He never told anyone how he carved and set into place the walls, gates, monoliths, and moon crescents that make up much of his Castle. Some of these blocks weigh as much as 30 tons. Ed often worked at night, by lantern light, so that no one could see him. He used only tools that he fashioned himself from wrecks in an auto junkyard.  He died in 1951 (the Castle became a tourist attraction in 1953).   http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2056

To this day the theories on how Ed managed to build this ranges from the supernatural to dumb luck.  Whatever and however he remains a name in the odd and unusual to this day, now days he could have ran for political office.  No wait he actually accomplished what he set out to do and did it without broadcasting the fact–nah never work out as a Florida office holder.

WEIRD FLORIDA COLLECTIBLES THAT MIGHT BRING YOU STRAY CASH:   And don’t forget to check out my store—click above for some wonderful purchase possibilities.

I’m back…what with two days of all out push for my open house and Monday I was just digging thru the mess that was my house yesterday I have been neglecting my blog…but here I am again…

OK YOU KNOW THE DRILL

First Jamie Fraser—this isn’t really a love scene, it’s Claire taking care of his injury and Jamie looking like he wants to take care of Claire.

Did you see the Fallstreak on the news today?    The cloud appeared over Victoria, Australia on 11/3/14 and inspired a lot of Independence Day references and speculation on alien invasion all over the networks and internet as well.    Actually:  The Fallstreak Hole, or hole punch cloud, occurs when part of a cloud’s water droplets freeze into ice crystals and fall below the cloud layer, according to the Cloud Appreciation Society.    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-03/photographers-catch-rare-fallstreak-cloud-formations-in-victoria/5863482

Man has long been watching the skies for everything from the afore mentioned alien to religious origins.   It us believed that  the Great Pyramid in Egypt,  as well as  Stonehenge (built 800 years later in what is now  England) were both used for astronomical observations.  And though they didn’t know it then the skies they observed could very well make a radical difference on this planet.  For instance if our sun should cool, it will swell to a dozen times its present size and the earth would be at worst swallowed up and even if that doesn’t happen it would be impossible for life as we know it to survive.  (Reader’s Digest STRANGE AND UNUSUAL FACTS).

And this study of the skies often wasn’t appreciated.    ” Galileo  alienating not only the Pope but also the Jesuits… He was tried by the Holy Office, then found “vehemently suspect of heresy“, was forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest…”  He supported Copernicus’ theory that the earth was a mere planet revolving about the sun, this theory and his book were missed by the Catholic Church until Galileo 75 years later drew their attention to the work and his book (CONCERNING THE REVOLUTIONS OF THE CELESTIAL BODIES/printed 1542) was placed on its index of prohibited books (only removed in 1822)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

This massive sunspot could be seen during viewing of the eclipse.

And another more immediate issue are  sun spots and flares,  with the biggest sunspot in many years (24) roamed across the face of the sun, releasing solar flares along the way in mid-October.

A solar flare is a sudden flash of brightness observed over the Sun‘s surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release…They are often, but not always, followed by a colossal coronal mass ejection.  The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona of the sun into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day or two after the event..X-rays and UV radiation emitted by solar flares can affect Earth’s ionosphere and disrupt long-range radio communications. Direct radio emission at decimetric wavelengths may disturb operation of radars and other devices operating at these frequencies.    Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare

OUT OF THE WORLD ITEMS THAT MIGHT LIGHT UP YOU WALLET IF YOU HAVE ONE LYING AROUND:

1827 Antique Astronomy Book Farrar Sun Planets Moon Gravity Orbits:    $375.00

Paulette Guinet moon & star  50s hand made in France Mardi Gras cat eye brown and gold sunglasses with rhinestones

$901.77

Car seat and muffler hit by the Benld meteorite in 1938, with the meteorite inset. An observed fall.

And it’s been a very busy three months  with September’s event:   Residents in Nicaragua were awoken by a thudding boom hours after warnings that the 2014 RC ‘pitbull’ asteroid was due to skirt close to the earth.   Scientists…believe a small meteorite from the asteroid actually hit the wooded area near the capital Managua, leaving a crater.  http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/508388/Meteor-Hits-Earth-Nicaragua-Asteroid-NASA-Warning

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris, from such sources as asteroids or comets, that originates in outer space and survives its impact with the Earth’s surface. It is called a meteoroid before its impact. A meteorite’s size can range from small to extremely large. When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate that energy, thus forming a fireball, also known as a meteor or shooting/falling star.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite