Tuesday 4~Our Town

 Our Town  

The Caboose in our historic downtown

Hello! This is Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we ask just 4 questions each week in an effort to get you blogging, thinking and learning about others.

Maybe we can discuss the town you live in. It might be nice to find out more about where you live and why you live there. Sometimes we just fall into a place and other times we \choose.
Here's a chance to sing the praises of your town or uncover it's faults.. have at it!


1. What are the good points to living in your town? Could you interest us in moving there?

Well, you'd have to want to live in North Central Florida, which is not in the tourist belt of Florida, thank goodness! It's a rather rural community without any real claim to fame, but there is that small town feel to it, and there are lots of lakes and wooded areas and it's still not terribly expensive to live here. But it's definitely not fancy. There are more manufactured homes on dirt roads in this area than there are "real homes" on paved roads.  We are fortunate that our manufactured home happens to be on a paved road!  And even though our own "Still Waters Pond" is still very dry, little by little we are getting more rain and we hope by the end of the summer we will see our pond restored back to its original beauty.

 

This is one of many little lakes in our community...Lake Lagonda.

2. Are the things you need convenient to your home? (shopping, library, schools, entertainment?)

We have a local small grocery store, a public library, elementary-high school, several Dollar General Stores and gas stations/handy stores, thrift stores, a McDonalds, Dunkin' Donuts, Taco Bell, and some other small privately owned cafe's. Our doctor's office is also very convenient, as is also the CVS Pharmacy, and the nearest hospital is about 15 miles away. Also in the city that is 15 miles away is a Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and all the basic things you need to survive. Restaurants, Publix, and many other kinds of businesses. We are centrally located between two cities, Palatka to our east, and Gainesville to our west. And St. Augustine is about an hour away to the east.  Also, we can get to the beach on the Atlantic coast in about an hour, or we could go to the Gulf Coast on the west also in a little over an hour, so we truly are in a prime location. Thankfully the hurricanes do not impact our area quite as seriously as they do closer to the coasts.  

One of our newer shopping experiences in our community is this "Trading Post at Deep Creek":

And as I've mentioned before, our son actually works there part time and also has a booth inside where he sells some of the wooden craft items that he builds.

It's a fun and interesting place to visit and shop!

There's also another newer store in town, Blue Pond Market, and it is similar to the type of store our family once owned known as "Dixie Cottage", for those of you who remember that season of our lives!

It is named "Blue Pond Market" because our little town was originally named "Blue Pond", and this old house has been here since the "beginning of time", so to speak.  

"Interlachen, Florida, was originally known as "Blue Pond" from roughly 1852 until the 1880s. The settlement earned its name from one of the area's clear, spring-fed lakes, and was established when early pioneers, including Pennsylvania native Dr. O.S. Whipp, built log cabins along its shores. [1, 2, 3]"

And yes, our son does sell some of his wood working products there as well!

Currently it is only open on Saturdays, so don't come during the week expecting to shop there or you will be disappointed!

3. Did you choose your town or did you just end up there?

We chose to move here when our son married a sweet young lady who lived here. We fell in love with the little church where they got married and the people here, and we wanted to live closer to our son. Our previous home was about 30 miles away and in a very rural community without very many amenities for "older folks like us".  Once both our sons moved away from there, we just felt like we were too far from civilization, so we sold our home there and moved here.

Our church, Interlachen Methodist Church

4. Is your town known for any special foods, activities, places or people?

Our town is named "Interlachen" (click HERE for link to the town information), which means "between the lakes".  There are many lakes in this area, and so it is popular for fishing and for people seeking a place away from the cities. But it is definitely NOT touristy or very commercialized, which we do like.  We have the basics that we need here, and we prefer that it stay that way and not get too big.  Regarding special food, the only thing I can think of is there is a large Blueberrry Farm here where people can come and pick their own blueberries, blackberries and strawberries in season.

Our town does have a great 4th of July celebration every year, and this year looks extra special:

HERE is a LINK to a previous post I wrote about our town in 2023. and I have just completed the updates over there, so you may want to check it out.   There are a lot of pictures of our community in that post that you may find interesting if you haven't been a blogging friend for that long. (And some new ones have been added as of 6/18/2026).

All in all, we do like our little community. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but we really don't want to see the kind of growth here that they are experiencing a little further south of us.  We'd prefer to keep this one of Florida's "best kept secrets".  

And besides all this, I would never have had the opportunity to have our sweet friend "Blackie" come and sit beside me while I write if we'd never moved here!

He's got his paw on my journal that says "With God all things are possible" , Matthew 19:26! 

Yes, that's so very true, Blackie...so very true!

Good night friends. I hope you enjoyed hearing about our town.  Now let's go check out where everyone else is living over at https://tuesdaysplace.blogspot.com/2026/06/our-town.html

Tuesday 4~Off to Work We Go

 Off to Work We Go...

Welcome to Tuesday 4 started by Toni Taddeo and kept going in honor and memory of her.
This week we go back 5 years to ask again about work....

This week is about work.

1. Describe the best job you ever had why was it good? (if it was awful, tell us about that instead)

Of course, I am retired now, and I love it! I've worked many kinds of jobs in my lifetime, mostly in either schools or churches, doing everything from being a teacher's aide to being a school bookkeeper, a head of the housekeeping department at a beautiful resort in New Hampshire, a marketing and reservationist for a stables at a Bed and Breakfast in NH, a District Manager for Fuller Brush in Ohio, bookkeeper for a Christian camp, and my final job as a Church Administrator for a large church. Not to mention being a Pastor's wife for close to 30 years, while also sometimes working full time and raising 3 sons.  I also used to sell Stanley Home Products, Fuller Brush, and Watkins Products door to door. I even tried my hand at selling Encyclopedia Brittanica...but that's another story!

My favorite "job" was being a mommy and wife (now going on 56 years!)  My husband's work in the ministry meant that we moved quite often...but God always provided the right jobs for me as needed. I am thankful that when our babies were small and before they went to school I was able to be home with them most of the time, except for those little part time sales jobs where I was able to work around my hubby's schedule so we never had to put the kids in daycare. That was a huge blessing. We didn't have a lot materially, but we had what was most important to us...family time together. 

Now that I am retired I don't mind "work" that is taking care of my home and family...preparing meals, doing laundry, keeping the house reasonably cleaned...and I especially don't mind it if people come alongside and help out now and then.  I love our home and enjoy doing things to make our home more comfortable and welcoming...decorating for holidays...entertaining friends and family...even though as I get older my body wears out quicker, I still enjoy doing these things and wish we could do more of it.

2. How did you learn to do your job?

On the job training for all of them!  Although I did take some college courses, I did not complete a degree. Every job I had I just had to learn on the job as every place was a little bit different and had different methods and computer programs to learn. I am thankful that God quickened my mind and helped me learn what I needed to do. 

3. You are now in charge of your town's public relations committee.. Tell us why we need to move to your town.  Here's a link to our town website.

Oh my...well...if you love small town living in a semi-rural environment and yet close enough to a major University and hospitals to get excellent medical care...(University of Florida//UFHealth-Shands Hospital)

... if you want to escape the winters up north and live in a milder semi-tropical environment...close enough to either the Gulf of America coast or the Atlantic Ocean beaches to enjoy them, but far enough away to escape the worst of the hurricane weather

...a peaceful community away from the overly crowded central/south Florida tourist traffic and noise, but close enough if you really want to go there (why???), easy access to both Florida interstate highways (75 and 95) to go north or south without having to fight that kind of traffic daily and only when you really need to travel any distance

...if you don't mind a community that isn't gated or has bothersome and expensive HOA rules, but keeping in mind that the majority of homes in this community are either manufactured or old

...if you don't mind having to drive a few miles (around 15 miles) to do most of your shopping or going to restaurants...but you can get your coffee and donuts at Dunkin Donuts or Tacos at Taco Bell or hamburgers at McDonalds or eat at either of our two local family restaurants (Nanna's Country Cafe' or True Grits) right here within a 3 mile radius, and we do have a small town grocery store and several Dollar Generals to choose from

...if you like small town schools and churches (and we have practically every kind...Global Methodist, (this is the church we attend shown below:)

Southern Baptist, Assembly of God, Catholic, Episcopal, Non-Denominational, LDS (Mormon), Congregational. You name it, we've got it! 

Also, our little town "Interlachen", which means "between the lakes",  is surrounded by lakes and good fishing...and the St. John's River is not far if you want to head out to the ocean or just enjoy cruising down the river and doing lots of fishing or sight seeing.

As a matter of fact, hubby and I took a walk down by this little lake and park the other morning. This is right in the old historical section of Interlachen.  This is just one of the many lakes all around our town.

So if all of that sounds good to you, then come on down! But I recommend you come and check it out in person first...there's a lot of not so wonderful stuff here too, just like in every town. It just all depends on what you are looking for in a place to call home.  And if you hurry, you can participate in the annual 4th of July Parade and day of "fun, food & entertainment", with a great fireworks disply at 9:00 p.m....and hopefully the rainy weather that is on its way won't wash it out!!

4. It's lunch time! Build your perfect sandwich for us.. what's in it and on it and what's in our cups?

Oh my! I'm not a huge sandwich eater, but I do love a good BLT, or a hot ham and swiss with sauerkraut and mustard on pumpernickle bread, toasted in my little toaster oven.  And if you come here, your choice of beverages would be either Sweet Iced Tea, or Unsweet Iced tea, or a combo of unsweet tea and unsweet cranberry juice (my favorite), or water.  We don't keep sodas here unless we know company is coming, and we don't serve any alcoholic beverages here either. Oh, we do have coffee or hot tea available anytime.   

 However, I must say that I had a wonderful beverage last evening, thanks to our hostess Annie. Last week Annie posted HERE a recipe for an Ice Cream Soda.  I was so appreciative of that recipe as she had mentioned it previously and I had commented how much I missed having them. I remember getting them at the Woolworth's Soda Fountain many years ago when out shopping with my mother.  Well, I just so happened to have all the necessary ingredients, even Club Soda, because hubby had bought some for me thinking it would help my indigestion. I must say I liked it much better in a Chocolate Ice Cream Soda! LOL.   Thank you Annie!!

I Corinthians 10:31 

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Proverbs 16:3

"Commit your works to the Lord,

And your thoughts will be established."

Titus 2:7-8

7 "In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, 8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you."

Thanks for joining in!   

THIS link will tell about a special job I had for a "season" in life "Just Horsing Around"  Many of my "old" friends here in blogland may have already read this, but some of my newer friends have not, so you may find it interesting.

I am publishing this early because tomorrow morning we will be headed over to that wonderful university hospital/doctors offices for an important appointment for my hubby with a specialist. Your prayers are always appreciated.  Thank you!

Walking Down Memory Lane

Today we visited the little town of Interlachen again, the same town where we now attend church and where our son and his bride reside.  I've been wanting to visit the historic Interlachen Hall and museum, and we just happened to arrive at the right moment today. 

Here are a couple of links that will give you more information about this quaint little town and its history:

Town of Interlachen website    Link to historic photos of Interlachen

Here a few photos of some of the things I found interesting:  (few to me might be many to you, but bear with me, okay?  :)   )

This is a "doll house" replica of the old "Brush Store", which was the former post office and general store for many years. The building is still standing, but is in very bad repair.  Unfortunately, it has become too costly to restore, so may eventually need to be torn down.

This is a picture of how it looks today:  (it is no longer occupied or having "jammin" sessions.)

This is a postcard view of how it used to look:

I was fascinated by the detail of this "doll house" interior, and took a lot of pictures, but sadly my reflection shows up in many of the pictures as there is a glass covering over the sides of the doll house to protect it...hopefully you will still get the idea:   I was amazed that the lady who was our hostess tour guide is the person who actually created this outstanding display. 

Here are just a few other pictures from inside the museum:

There was much more to see, and we didn't have time to go upstairs today. I hope to go back soon and spend a little more time there. 

After this we went to see the old Lincoln Lane School House building that they are hoping to restore. They were having a yard sale there to help raise funds for the restoration:

Here is the history of this building.  It was the schoolhouse for the "African American" children, grades 1-8, built in 1938.

Exterior of the building...

Interior of the building...all the walls and ceiling were beadboard. This is where the stove pipe went for the pot bellied stove.

The old windows are currently boarded up.

They are collecting old fashioned desks like this to put in this building when it is restored.

Of course I would notice the glass doorknob, which I am amazed is still on this door. They do have another door that covers this when they close it up, so maybe that's why it's still there:

This might be a case for "Closed Doors, Open Windows"....

Yes, I like that thought...they may have closed these doors, but the children who used to have to go here to school were given new windows of opportunity when they closed these doors...and that was a very good thing...

I brought away some "souvenirs" from this little trip. For a donation for the restoration of this building I was able to purchase a couple of interesting things from their yard sale...

#1  I purchased this very lovely white teapot (although upon looking it up I discovered it is actually a "coffee pot" because of its size, but we won't tell anyone, will we? Everyone knows I am a "tea-totaller", and I really don't have any use for a coffee pot!   

It is actually a "Wawel" brand, made in Poland,  vintage "tea" pot, and the pattern is "Elegance Fine China". The only flaw is that the lid has a crack in it that has been glued back together.  I will be on the lookout for a replacement lid if one can be found that is affordable. I am calling this my "freedom tea pot"....since it was purchased at this particular old school house, which reminds me of the freedom that was gained through The Civil War for those who were once bound by slavery...and then it was almost 100 years later that the African American children were finally allowed to attend public school with their white neighbors.

#2 Item that I purchased was this little song book for children:

It was copyrighted in 1899 by A. Flanagan, and this particular booklet was a revised edition published in 1916.  It is filled with cute little songs for children for "primary and intermediate grades".  I found many interesting songs, but this one struck a chord for me today:

And so, in honor of "Doll Day",  (and also because I was in a tea-party mood since I had bought that lovely teapot), I decided to have a tea party with my dolly.  However, I decided it would be especially nice to use my antique Buster Brown child's tea set that belonged to my mother (which she inherited from her older sister).  So here is my dolly tea party:

The doll is one that I had actually given to my mother many years ago, to remind her of me, since I had red hair.  

"Come, my dolly, let us play,

for today is dollies' day;

I will smooth your pretty hair,

Your best ribbon you shall wear.

Would you like a cup of tea?

Sit at table here with me;

Here's a chair, don't be afraid;

Just for you this party's made."

Let Freedom Ring!!

I hope you enjoyed walking with me on this long, rather circuitous journey through a maze of various places and memories.  After all, it is "Summer time, and the livin' is easy..."

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy

Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high

Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin'

So hush, little baby, don't you cry

One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing

And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky

But till that morning, there ain't nothin' can harm you

With daddy and mammy standin' by"

(from Porgy & Bess, by George Gershwin, 1935)

Okay, that's all folks!