What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Tuesday 4: Your Town Updated

 This week's Tuesday 4 is once again about "Your Town". I didn't have time to put anything new together so I will attempt to update this post I did a few years ago to bring it up to date. Some of these questions may be different than the most recent version of "Your Town".

Your Town


Welcome to Tuesday 4 begun by Toni Taddeo and continued in her honor.



Let's talk about your town this week!

1. Do you like your town? Is it a city, town ? Can you describe it for us?
First, let me share a couple of links with you that will give you the history and other information about our little town. If you click on these links, you will see everything you need to see and then some.
Town of Interlachen  ,  https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com/interlachen-florida.html

And after you have looked at those sites, I will show you a few of my own pictures from around town.
But to answer your  questions: 
  • Yes, I do like our town. It is a small town, but big enough to cover our basic needs like a decent grocery store, doctor, wonderful church,  2 Dollar Generals, gas stations, mechanic, schools for those who still have children in school, and beautiful little lakes interspersed in and all around us; Hence, the name: Interlachen, which literally means between the lakes.

2. Are there any special points of interest in your town?

I personally like the little old historical part of our town where it originated back in the mid 1800's.  However, there really aren't any businesses in that part of town anymore...just the city hall and a park and the museum and some old buildings, oh, and of course our church, First Methodist, and the old Congregational Church I do wish more had been done to preserve and revitalize  the old downtown area, but "progress"  for our town developed out along the highway, as is the case in many small towns across our country...and the original downtown gets bypassed and forgotten.

Here are a few pictures from around our historical downtown area:


This little park/caboose is where the original train depot used to be.

This building below used to be a hotel back in the highlight days of our little town, before the "Big Freeze" in the 1890's that wiped out the citrus industry in this north/central part of the state. Here is a quote from the town website:

"The Town of Interlachen was settled in the late 1870’s when the building of a railroad opened the area. It developed as both a citrus growing center and a winter resort. When severe freezes in the 1890’s made it apparent that commercial citrus production was not economically viable, the town evolved into a retirement haven and later a bedroom community for Gainesville and Palatka."


This building below used to be a general store and post office. Sadly, it has fallen into decay and it is very sad to me that it was not preserved.  More recently, since this picture was taken, there were tenants living in this building and sadly it caught fire in the upper story and is now condemned and waiting to be demolished I assume.  There is yellow tape around the building and it has been condemned. That makes me very sad.


This picture below is a replica of that building in its glory days, and this can be seen in the town museum:


The woman who runs the museum and the historical society literally made this replica, and it is very detailed and interesting. You can see more close-up pictures of this "doll house" and other items found in the museum and around town in this previous post: https://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/2018/07/walking-down-memory-lane.html


The museum is housed in this building, "Interlachen Hall", which is one building they did manage to preserve:



Here are a few of the old homes in the historical area:
(I believe this one is actually for sale, if you are interested)  Update: No, it is sold now! 




And of course, you've seen lots of pictures of our church before. This little church is the main reason we ended up moving here in the first place...that, and the fact that our son and his wife live here too...




3.Does your town have parks, restaurants?

Restaurants are few...We have this fairly new restaurant, "True Grits", (with a John Wayne theme), and we often go here after church with church friends and family for a late breakfast/early lunch.    (See below...we don't go here as often now as we once did).

Probably our more favorite place is this "Hog Wild Cafe", but it doesn't serve breakfast...just lunch and dinner (BBQ).  But it is a fun place with lots of interesting things to see and they are more accommodating for our large groups:


We were happy to find the fireplace warming up the restaurant a couple of weeks ago when we had a raw, wet, chilly day:


This is the interior, which, as you can see, has lots of interesting stuff to see as well as good food.

It is also where I got to enjoy this sweet kitty on my lap on the front porch this past Sunday while we waited for them to open the doors at 11:00 a.m.:

Oh, there is another restaurant in town, "Nana's Cafe", but we don't go there very often as it is a bit of a "greasy spoon" kind of place. However, a lot of the local old timers do like it. The food is good...just needs some freshening up inside...  It is now Nanna's Country Cafe', and it has been sold to new owners and has been updated and we usually go there every Sunday after church with church friends!
And a Poppy's Cafe and Bakery, which is a small little place only open Mon-Fri. from 8-2.  Only been there a couple of times.    Poppy's has been sold, but nothing new is in there yet  so it is an empty building.

Oh, and we do have a McDonalds, Domino's Pizza, and a Chinese Take out place.
Update: and we are going to have a new Taco Bell in town soon I hear! (2023).

Update 2023: And thanks to our son and daughter in love, our town now has Dixie Cottage! 
And even though our kids no longer own this furniture/decor/gift store, they are still vendors there and have contributed to the overall interest in coming to visit our little town!

Okay, back to the town...We have good schools, K-12.
This is the high school:


And the middle school:

And I don't have a picture of the elementary school, but it is a nice modern school too.

However, Interlachen does have a lot of poor families scattered throughout out community.  Our county is one of the poorest in the state.  Our church is active in supporting local ministries in the community, like this Soup Kitchen, which feeds the hungry Mon.-Fri. at noon:


And there are several food banks and thrift stores. Our church has a thrift store and we often just give clothing and items away to those who are truly in need of them.



We also provide coats for children in the fall, and school supplies to the elementary school children as well as Christmas gifts for every child in the elementary school. It is a  wonderful ministry provided through the generous giving and love by our very small church of loving people.


4. Do you think your town needs changes to make it better and if so what changes would you make?

Well, every town needs improvements I am sure. Ours could use some better roads for one thing. We still have many dirt roads throughout our community, and a lot of very run down old mobile homes that are abandoned out in the less developed areas.  I wish something could be done to remove a lot of them that are uninhabitable.  I also wish our historical section could be preserved better and some interesting shops be opened that would attract more visitors and shoppers to our community. 

Other than that, I really don't want it to grow too much more or it will lose that small town feel that I love.

Okay, now, let's go visit our other bloggers over at Tuesday 4 and learn more about their towns!  Thank you, Annie, for continuing this tradition!!

40 comments:

  1. I loved my "visit" to your town. What a beautiful, sweet place it looks to be. And your church is so wonderful to help in the community so much! What did Lily Grace think about that little dollhouse? She would have a great time playing with it!

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    1. Oh my, Holly! You know, Lily Grace has never seen that lovely old doll house at the museum! You've given me an idea for her next adventure!! I know she would love it...however, I don't think there's any "playing with it". It's quite protected as it is so authentically designed. I am glad you visited. We do appreciate and love our little town and especially our church.

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  2. I loved learning more about your little town!

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    1. Thank you, Martha! It isn't anything too exciting, but it does have it's own charm and history, which makes it interesting and unique. Just not quite as quaint and quirky as where you live! LOL. That was fun.

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  3. How beautiful some of those homes and buildings must have been in they heyday. I enjoyed reading about your town.

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    1. Thank you, Cathy. Yes, I am sure they were beautiful back then. I just hate to see these old homes and buildings decay and fall down, but I can't do much about it. I wish there was some wealthy person who would love to revitalize our little town. But I love it here either way. Thank you for visiting. I enjoyed learning about your town too! I was so surprised to find that you lived in Ohio!!

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  4. Interlachen looks and sounds remarkably like Coosada! I love that 2-story home and would love to peek inside. Except then, I'd probably fall in love with it and where would THAT leave me? (LOL) Backroads communities are the best!

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    1. I think you can look that house up on Zillow..https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/104-E-Boyleston-St-Interlachen-FL-32148/2075132738_zpid/ And there you can see all the details and see why you probably DON'T want to "fall in love" with it. LOL. But if you wanted to come here I would certainly pull out the "Welcome Wagon". Come on down!

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    3. Thanks for this link, Pam! I think I'd still enjoy living there -- provided we were 40 years younger and had the expertise to renovate. I've probably been watching too much HGTV!

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    4. I know what you mean, Myra. I would LOVE to renovate an old house. I love the charm and character they possess that newer homes just cannot duplicate. But they do take LOTS of money to restore and maintain, so that is what keeps me from it. It's all we can do to maintain our 2003 manufactured home! LOL. Have a blessed day...and keep watching HGTV and DIY...they do have some great ideas!

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  5. Thank you for sharing. Those are some beautiful old homes you showed us. I would love to have the time and money to invest bringing an older place back to life.

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    1. Yes, Anne, I would also love to be able to do that. But it would definitely take some large investments to do so at this point as so many have become so run down. There just doesn't seem to be enough interest in revitalizing the old downtown, so I fear it will just keep deteriorating until it is gone. But thank you for visiting and encouraging us to at least think about it!

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  6. Very nice town. I guess not enough people to revitalize the old downtown and that's sad. So many small towns changing so fast. I am happy you found such a nice place to settle and such a lovely home near family. God bless!

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    1. Thank you, Annie. I wish I could afford to restore the old buildings downtown and revitalize that part of the community. It could be very charming, but it would take a small fortune to do so. So I will be content to live where we do and enjoy what we have and be thankful for it!

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  7. Your town sounds like an interesting place.

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    1. Well, I think it is, although it is small and it does have its issues. But we are happy here.

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  8. You are blessed to live in such a lovely place, Pamela. Yes, I'm sure things could be done, as you mentioned, to make improvements, but as we know, that takes money. Maybe a benefactor with ties to the community will step up!
    Blessings!

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    1. Thank you, Martha. We do love it here, but it grieves me to see the disrepair of so many homes out in the back roads around town. Someday this town will start to really develop and I expect those lots will be sold and someone will demolish those old trailers and put up new homes. I don't know if I'll live that long, but someday it will happen, especially since they are finishing this highway. In some ways I'd just as soon it stay the same. I know...I can't have it both ways. LOL>

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  9. We need better roads too. There's too much money being spent on social programs instead of on the infrastructure. It's really wicked how our Governments have wasted our money.
    We're really familiar with Interlachen. Guess I told ya how Steve's Great Grandfather, Charles Cain Hudson, Sr., was the Mayor, once up a time. When we lived in Jax we drove down one day and took pics of all the places he was supposed to have been. One place was his former home. He also started a Baptist Church. Pretty cool. Steve never knew his Hudson clan. It's sad, that.
    Wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing. Blessings. xx

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    1. I hope you and Steve will come back someday and explore again, this time with us! Yes, there is First Baptist Church here, and also a small independent Faith Baptist Church. There's also a large Catholic Church, Episcopal, and Assembly of God in addition to our Methodist Church and the Congregational Church. So we are pretty well covered in churches. I am sorry you husband never knew his father's family. but it's not too late to claim his kinship and explore his roots. Oh, my high school English teacher was a Mrs. Hudson, in Tavares, FL. I forget what her husband's name was, but she was quite the icon at our school for many years. Eula B. Hudson. Known for her pinches if you didn't do something right. She was tough, but fair. She also taught Spanish, and sang in the Methodist Church choir. I will never forget her. Her husband may have been related to your family. Wish I could remember his name. Not sure I ever met him. I want to say something like Bryant Hudson, or that may be her son. Anyway, you just never know who you might be related to!

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  10. Your town sounds perfect. Thank you for sharing the history and the pictures.

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    1. Thank you, Debby. I am not too sure I would call it "perfect", but it is pretty close to "perfect" for us. We are thankful to be here and count our blessings every day. Especially when I look out the window at our pond and see the birds and geese and the sunset...then yes, I guess you could call it "perfect". Thank you!

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  11. grin--I know that house is for sale. I also know all about your area, smiles. Thank you Pamela for making me smile.

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    1. I know you do know, and I wish there was a house here that would be perfect for you so we could get you down here to help make a difference in this community! Oh, I noticed a sign at our WM (Palatka) yesterday that they are hiring! Just thought I'd mention that if you wanted to transfer... although I KNOW you want to do something else if at all possible, but just thought I'd mention it. Would LOVE to see you smile!! :)

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  12. Thanks for the great tour of your 'new' town! I sure wish someone would buy that building and bring it back to its original beauty... like shown in the museum! I am always sad to see historical building falling apart and being torn down. I love that picture of you and the cat on your lap!! xo

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    1. Thank you, Terri. Yes, I wish someone with DEEP pockets could restore that old building, but now that they have had a fire, I think it is beyond repair...it was already in what I thought was a condemned state, and they let tenants live in it, and then this happened, so I think it is due for demolition. Makes me sad. And yes, I enjoyed holding that sweet kitty in my lap. It was a special moment that made me feel very relaxed and content. That must be your secret to life...you have those sweet kitties to hold and calm you down! Have a blessed day my friend.

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  13. I enjoyed the virtual visit. It seems these days that many old towns are being lost to disrepair or if someone comes in to fix things it grows too much and becomes cookie cutter like. I think you and I could make a good team for preservation.

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    1. Oh, wouldn't that be fun? I wish I had the know how and the $$ to make it happen. I have the desire and the dreams, but nothing to back it up. Maybe that's where the teamwork comes in! Glad you enjoyed the visit.

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  14. Looks like a wonderful town. I love historical towns with all there charms.

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    1. Thank you, Lisa. So do I. I just wish I knew how to preserve all the "charms" before they disappear completely!! Welcome to my blog! I believe this is the first time I've met you here. Thank you for stopping by! I hope you will come back again soon!

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  15. I love your town pictures :) historical towns are the coolest. thank you for sharing

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    1. Thank you, Gina. They are interesting and fun. I just wish I could do more to help keep it that way! Hope you are doing well. Been praying for you. Let us know when you are moving back "home". You are in my thoughts daily.

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  16. What a neat town. I love the pictures. Loved your answers! Have a nice week.

    https://lorisbusylife.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank you! It is a neat little town. We are thankful to be here. Hope you are having a nice week too.

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  17. What a lovely post, and an enchanting place seen through your fabulous snapshots. What a pity the old general store/post office couldn't have been preserved.

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  18. It sounds like a wonderful town to retire in and enjoy a quieter pace of life. Inebthing I noticed in your narrative is just how many changes have occured since you moved into town. Even on my street, there have been countless changes since I moved here. For the most part, they are good changes

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  19. Such a cute town. Regine

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  20. I enjoyed this town tour, Pam, and it is nice to "see" the places where bloggers live and what's in their area. Admittedly have fallen behind in blog reading in recent weeks, and was unaware that Benton and Rose no longer owned Dixie Cottage. I wish them well in their new venture(s).

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  21. Glad you joined in with lots of details and photos!

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Thank you for visiting here today. I would love for you to sign my guestbook and let me know you stopped by. I always enjoy reading your comments and words of encouragement! May you be blessed as you go on your way. Please come back and visit again soon.