Published by former Mayor George Gardner November 23 2011
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George Gardner 57 Fullerwood Drive St. Augustine FL 32084 |
Lealísimo y Valeroso
Rare honor - St. Augustine city title discovered
The translation is "Most Loyal and Valorous," has been since 1715, and should be a part of official city documents, St. Augustine Historical Society Senior Research Librarian Charles Tingley says.
"Only a small percentage of Spanish cities have titles due to their service to the Crown," he notes. "(This) was given due to the heroic actions of St. Augustine citizens during the siege of 1702 as part of the War of Spanish Succession."
That siege lasted nearly two months - November-December, 1702.
Tingley, St. Augustine Columbus Commission Director Janis Williams, and the late Luis Arana, Historian for the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, did the research in 1991. While the royally authorized coat of arms was put into use, the title was forgotten.
Tingley says most titled cities are recognized as loyal, noble, etc., but one went overboard. The Very Noble, Very Loyal, Very Heroic, Very Charitable, Always Heroic, and Immortal City of Zaragoza - in English, Saragossa.
City Manager John Regan says the city's letterhead and other official forms are being redesigned to include the title. | |
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Passing of a
good friend
Limelight Theatre patrons would ask "You know you have a rooster on your railing, right?" And theatre staff would respond, "Why, yes, his name is Cogburn."
Limelight's casts and crew recently laid to rest, beneath the Limelight sign, this longtime greeter to performances.
If you hear a faint crowing, or notice a rooster feather floating on the breeze, know that Cogburn's spirit lives on. |
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The turkey gets the last word after Thanksgiving - Grease.
St. Augustine and St. Johns County are partnering to collect used cooking oil and grease on Monday, November 28, to decrease the risk of clogging home and public sewer lines with congealing grease and oils.
Drop-offs at Francis Field on West Castillo Drive and 3000 Industry Center Drive off SR 16 will be open 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. Information here or contact Glabra Skipp with the city 904.209.4284 or Stacy Kowlsen with the county 904-209-2662.
Image: http://ecosumo.wordpress.com/2008/11/
2011 Toys for Tots
The fire department and the police department are looking for toys - for the 2nd Annual Toys for Tots Christmas Train.
A Florida East Coast Railway train, in cooperation with the Marine Corps campaign, will be stopping at the Sebastian Way Crossing north of St. Augustine December 10, 2011 at 8:45 am to pick up toys from the community.
Drop toys off at St. Augustine's police station or fire houses.
Fall Arts & Crafts Festival
Art created from lace to limestone and crayons to crystal, by more than 150 artists from around the USA are juried into this 46th annual art festival at Francis Field. Sponsored by the St. Augustine Art Association, Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. details at www.staaa.org. |
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Habitat helping Lift Up Lincolnville |
Seven hours, a dozen volunteers, gallons of paint and nearly 200 plants later, Lennette Pembleton was allowed outside last Saturday with the call, "Move That Bus," to see the results of Habitat's first Lift Up Lincolnville effort, a transformation of her ML King Avenue home and yard.
"I don't know how to thank you," said the teary eyed 87 year old longtime member of Lincolnville Crime Watch and other organizations in her home neighborhood.
Knowing that Lennette spends many days on her front porch, keeping an eye on the neighborhood, volunteers moved a concrete bench from her back yard for her to sit amid the flowers and ground cover, designed by Michelle Regan of the Greenery, a landscape architecture graduate and daughter of City Manager John Regan.
Habitat, in cooperation with the St. Johns Housing Partnership, has lined up five homes to continue its part in the city's Lift Up Lincolnville effort. View the YouTube video. |
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Reader responds |
Wrestling with renters
A reader of the recent Report item on rental property has a solution he's found effective:
"Get the name and phone number of the landlord. When the party cranks up at 1 a.m., call the landlord. Calmly inform him or her that you are a neighbor of their rental property where the tenants' party has been disturbing the peace for several hours, in violation of the city's noise ordinance.
"Tell the landlord that you thought he/she would want to know about illegal activity taking place before you call the police. Also pledge to call the landlord every time this happens in the future, to keep him/her informed.
"The landlord may yell and swear at you. You just stay calm and say something like, 'Yes, I thought you might be as concerned about this as I am. Would you like me to have the police contact you as well to discuss it further?'
"There were varying degrees of annoyance from three owners I've called in different areas I've lived, but in all three instances, the property owners told me they were unaware of the problem until I called." |
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Salvaged cannons face years of rehab |
Those numerous cannons we see about the city, caked with sea crust, some stabbed into the ground like pylons, might have been restored to their original design but for the impatience of their discoverers. 
The St. Augustine Lighthouse's archaeological maritime program (LAMP) displayed a better idea last Friday - the patient conservation of two cannons brought to the surface last summer, enough patience, so far, to lift off the sediment and find the manufacture date on one - 1780.
"It can take years to reach complete stabilization," Lamp Archaeologist Dr. Sam Turner explains. "Iron cannons are porous, and have to be gradually brought out of the salt water environment they've been in - in this case for more than two centuries."
The cannons in last Friday's presentation, a 4-pound long gun (shown) and shorter Carronade, were returned to their baths for continuing conservation after unveiling ceremonies at the Lighthouse, the date and their designs offering further clues to the life and fate of the Storm Shipwreck discovered a year ago off St. Augustine's coast. |
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History's highlight
'The Revolution ended here' | |
3 years, 9 months, 18 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
Lighthouse Executive Director Kathy Fleming was emphatic during special ceremonies Friday night: "The American Revolution ended here,"and the shipwreck from which two cannons were recovered might have been a British warship or merchant vessel bringing British refugees here in those last chaotic days of British occupation.
A summary in Friday's event program notes that St. Augustine was the last foothold of the retreating British occupation in the new America.
You may believe that there were only 13 Colonies in the American Revolution, but that is not the case.
During this time St. Augustine was the capital of East Florida, a British Colony, the 14th such colony in the Americas, the 15th being West Florida.  
At the same time that Florida - East and West - were added as colonies, the British also added Grenada (16th through 1950) and Quebec (17th through 1791). These colonies remained loyalist; many loyal subjects from American colonies fled to them.
Refugees from Charleston and Savannah fled here. East Florida was home to British Governor Patrick Tonyn. Governor Tonyn lived in the Pena Peck House on Saint George Street. Today that house is run by the Women's Exchange and owned by the City of St. Augustine.
From this house, Governor Tonyn was in charge of "packing up" the colonies. He was the last Brit to leave what would become the United States of America.
From here he closed out everything south of New York. While a Treaty of Paris returned Florida to Spain in 1783, Tonyn didn't leave until 1785. Between 1783 and 1785, a Spanish Governor, Vincente de Manuel Zespedes, ran Spanish East Florida from Government House.
The two men hated each other and taunted each other, writing letters from their houses only 100 yards apart. Zespedes was the brother in law of the "Spanish Lafayette" (a French General widely credited with helping General Washington), Bernardo Galvez, Governor of Louisiana (Then part of West Florida).
Galvez was a also great friend and aid to Washington, blocking the entire Mississippi and Gulf Coast from British control. Without Galvez, The Patriots might not have won, and the shipwreck described Friday might not have existed.
Holiday gift idea: Fascinating historical acounts in St. Augustine Bedtime Stories. Click for further information on the series. |
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The St. Augustine Report is published weekly, with additional Reports previewing City Commission meetings as well as Special Reports. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and Commissioner (2006-2008) and a former newspaper reporter and editor. Contact the Report at gardner@aug.com |
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