Category: History

Chipola College 75th Anniversary

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Chipola College is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year! Chipola is the third oldest college in Florida AND the third smallest. Many of those on campus believe its small size is one of the best things about the school as it allows the faculty to truly reach every student. President of Chipola College, Doctor Sarah Clemmons, says that one of the stand-out changes the college has experienced in its last 75 years is its name change: “When we began offering Bachelor’s Degrees, it offered such wonderful opportunities, especially for the students in our five-county service area,” Clemmons said.(1)

To honor their 75th year, Chipola leaders are focusing on celebrating with current and past students. Additionally, they are working to build stronger bonds with alumni. They want to help forge connections between alumni and their old classmates, as well as assist alumni looking to help mentor current students. 

Visit Chipola College’s website here to learn more!

Caribe Family Festival

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This Saturday from 12pm – 6pm, the FAMU Way Market Area will be hosting Caribé! Also called A Festival of Colors, this event celebrates the history, culture, music, and folklife of the Caribbean islands. Guests are encouraged to express their creativity by creating and wearing masks and costumes for the parade. The event is FREE and will feature a parade in which guests are allowed to partake in, music, dance, food, performances, vendors, displays, and more!

Featured performers include: DJ RRane, Gyasi Clarke, The Forgotten Coast Dancers, DJ Dean, Excellence Dance Studio, Breanna Jade, DJ Zoe, Miriam Watkins & the Tallahassee Salsa Dancers from Studio D, Elio Delgado, DJ Ju, Lion Steel Band from Leon High School, DJ Vizyon, and DJ Stan Man. It is being produced by the Tallahassee-St. Maarten Foundation with partial funding from Leon County/Visit Tallahassee.

Jackson County Turns 200

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Jackson County is turning 200, and the city is hosting a Bicentennial Celebration Festival on August 13th. The Festival will include food trucks, games, live music, a farmers’ market, history, inflatables, vendors, and more! Entry to the festival is free, as are the games. However, be sure to bring money for the food trucks, farmers’ market, and merchandise vendors. Parents, please note that some kid-friendly activities involve water – plan accordingly. For more info: email darbyshired@jacksoncountyfl.gov or contact the County Administration at (850) 482-9633. 

National Cheesecake Day

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Did you know that National Cheesecake Day has been celebrated on July 30th since 1985?! That’s over 30 years of the classic sweet treat being honored. Looking for a fun Florida-flavored cheesecake to enjoy today? Try the following Florida Orange Cheesecake recipe:

Ingredients: 

  • 2 cups of (finely ground) vanilla wafer cookies
  • 1/3 cup of golden brown sugar
  • 6-7 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 4-6 Florida oranges (or 1 cup of fresh orange juice)
  • 1 cup of sugar, divided
  • 2 Tablespoons of finely grated orange peel
  • 4-8 ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 container 8-ounce sour cream 
  • 3 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • 5 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2-3 oranges, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
  • 1 1/2 cups of water
  • 1 1/2 cups of sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Directions:

  1. 2 hours prior to baking, remove the 4 packages of cream cheese and 5 eggs from the refrigerator to bring to room temperature.
  2. Set the oven at 350 degrees and position the rack in the middle of the oven.
  3. Finely grind 2 cups of nilla wafers. Add wafers to a medium bowl. Add 1/3 cup of packed golden brown sugar. Melt 6-7 Tablespoons of butter. Add 6 Tablespoons to the mixture. If the mixture is still dry add 1 more tablespoon.
  4. Press the mixture together with your fingertips, combining the three ingredients. The mixture should be damp.
  5. Press the crust mixture on the bottom of the pan and create a 1” border up the side of the pan.
  6. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until set and the edges are golden brown. Allow the crust to cool.
  7. Wrap 4 layers of foil tightly around the outside of the pan so that it is completely waterproof as it will be put in a water bath.
  8. While the crust is cooling, make the filling. Zest 2 Tablespoons of orange zest from the skin of the oranges. Then juice 4 medium oranges to create 1 cup of orange juice – alternatively, use 1 cup of boxed orange juice.
  9. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of orange juice, ¼ cup of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of orange zest and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to a simmer. For 10 minutes, let the mixture simmer reducing to ¾ cup. Chill until cool.
  10. Meanwhile, using a mixer, beat the 4 packages of (room temperature) cream cheese and ¾ cup of sugar until smooth. Then mix in 1 cup of sour cream, 3 tablespoons of flour, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Beat in the 5 eggs one at a time. Finally, mix in the cooled orange juice mixture.
  11. Pour filling into the cooled crust.
  12. Next, take a large roasting pan and place the aluminum foil-lined spring form pan inside. Then, pour hot water around the spring form pan, so that water rises halfway up the sides of the pan.
  13. Place in the oven. Bake for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
  14. Remove the cake from the roasting pan and discard the foil. When it is cool, cover the cake and place in the refrigerator overnight.
  15. *Optional step. To make the orange topping, slice 2-3 oranges, in 1/4 inch thick slices.
  16. Combine 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a saucepan. Take the vanilla bean, split it open lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the water and sugar mixture. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add the orange slices and simmer until translucent, typically around 25 minutes. Remove the oranges from the heat and let cool on a paper towel.
  17. When oranges are cool, arrange them on top of the cake.
  18. Take a pastry brush and dab some of the remaining syrup on top of the oranges and over the surface of the cake to create a shiny coating.

On This Day in History

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On July 29th in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Act (NASA) was established. The establishment of NASA was largely a response to the launch of Sputnik and the beginning of the ‘space race.’(1) In the 1960s, NASA had the budget, the political will, and the momentum provided by the Cold War to create a moon program that lead to Americans landing on the moon in the small span of eight years. Nowadays, there are a few motivations driving the interest in American space travel: national prestige, geopolitical power, economic opportunity, and scientific knowledge.

Unfortunately, the private sector of space travel (think Jeff Bezos and Elon musk) is receiving more funding than the public sector aka NASA. This is largely due to an increasing sense of ambivalence towards space travel amongst the majority of America; space travel is subjected to the whims of politics and there are more immediate concerns planetside for citizens to worry about. However, NASA does have a number of exciting research programs and missions in place. Additionally, there is a current moon effort named Artemis. NASA recently announced that they are aiming to send a crew to orbit the moon in May 2024, and land astronauts on the surface in 2025. American astronauts haven’t been on the moon since 1972, and Artemis is designed to allow them to plant another flag, build habitats, and apply new knowledge of the lunar surface to use for future missions to Mars. 

First Woman to Hike All 11 National Scenic Trails

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Arlette Lann has become the first woman to hike all 11 National Scenic Trails on July 11th! Lann moved from Holland to Massachusetts, and has hiked around 19,000 miles to complete all the National Trails. She finished her record-setting hike at the Ice Age trail in Potawatomi State Park in Wisconsin. The other 10 Scenic Trails are as follows:

    • Appalachian Trail: a 2,180-plus mile-long public footpath in the Appalachian Mountains.
    • Arizona Trail: stretches more than 800 miles across the entire length of the state, from the U.S.-Mexico border to Utah.
    • Continental Divide: stretches across the United States approximately 3,100 miles between the borders of Mexico and Canada.
    • Florida: a federally-designated recreation trail of about approximately 1,500 miles.
    • Natchez Trace: five sections of hiking trail that runs roughly parallel to the 444-mile long Natchez Trace Parkway scenic motor road in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
    • New England: covers 215 miles from Long Island Sound, across long ridges, to scenic mountain summits in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
    • North Country Pacific Crest: spans eight states, including Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wyoming.
    • Pacific Crest: covers a distance of 2,650 miles through California, Oregon, and Washington, all the way to the Canadian border.
    • Pacific Northwest: travels more than 1,200 miles through Montana, Idaho, and Washington, before reaching the Pacific Ocean near Cape Alava.
    • Potomac Heritage: travels through D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

 

Chipley History

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The city of Chipley, Florida is one of the highlights of Washington County. Chipley became the county seat of Washington County in 1927 and is involved in the majority of the economic development for the region. 

Originally called the community of Orange, Chipley was renamed in 1822 in recognition of railroad businessman and Florida State Senator William Dudley Chipley. This was the same year the Pensacola & Atlantic (later the L&N) Railroad was completed just beyond the town. Additionally, a monument of W.D. Chipley was put up in 1988 next to the Washington County Historical Society Museum. The museum currently offers a walking tour of the historic downtown. 

Spring Equinox Celebrations

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Today is the Spring Equinox, an annual date celebrating the arrival of spring. The dawning of spring brings warm, windy days, blooming flowers, and more light. It has been praised for eons around the world in various ways. For instance, in ancient Egypt, the Festival of Isis was held to celebrate the arrival of spring and rebirth via the worship of the goddess Isis. In Iran, the celebration of the coming of spring is called No Ruz which means ‘new day.’ It is a day dedicated to cleaning the house, repairing old items, and bringing in fresh flowers. Ostara is another beautiful spring celebration, often marked by nature worship, rituals, and fulfilling food. 

Palindrome Week

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A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of characters which reads the same backward as forward. The first palindrome was written in Latin and traced back to ancient Rome; they have also been found in ancient Sanskrit and Greek. Additionally, palindromes have been found as graffiti in the remains of the city of Herculaneum. Herculaneum was buried in volcanic ash circa AD 79 by Mount Vesuvius, Italy. The last week of February is a week of palindromes:

 

Family History

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Are you interested in learning more about your ancestry? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ History/Genealogy Library is now open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00am – 2:00pm. Call 482-8159 during these hours to arrange an appointment to use their services. All services are completley free including Family Search and Ancestry.