Protect Rural Florida

05/29/2026

LOST & FOUND FRIDAY

This week’s search comes from Kelley Strickland.

Kelley is looking for information about her great grandfather, Reuben Barfield Strickland.

Family stories say he died in either 1907 or 1908, just before her grandfather was born in Lake Butler. Her grandfather was told that his father was buried in the Dekle Cemetery in Lake Butler, but Kelley has never been able to find records that confirm the story.

She’s also researching her great grandmother, Lorena Lattice “Tiece” McKinney, who appears in records under several variations including Lorena, Lorana, Lattice, Tiece, and La Tiece.

Included in these photos are Reuben Barfield “R.B.” Strickland, a handwritten family note stating that R.B. Strickland Jr. died in 1907 and was buried in Lake Butler, A.C. Strickland and Mary Ella Rimes Strickland, and a photo of Tiece McKinney’s sister, who the family always called “Miss.” Kelley says Miss raised her grandfather from about age five onward.

If you recognize any of these names, photos, family connections, or have information about the burial location of Reuben Barfield Strickland, leave a comment below.

Sometimes the missing piece of a family story is sitting in someone else’s photo album, family Bible, or memory.

05/29/2026

Lost & Found Friday is today and this week we have quite a few stories to share.

Today’s posts include family names connected to the Strickland, McKinney, Wiggins, Waldron, Padgett, Sweat, Langford, Dees and Herndon families, along with several old North Florida cemeteries and communities.

Sometimes the smallest detail from the right person helps connect pieces that have been missing for generations, so if you recognize a name, photo, cemetery or story today, jump in.

05/28/2026

Reading it now 💚💚

I've been revisiting my dad's novel, A Land Remembered, to refresh my memory as it moves toward a television series. The following passage at the end of chapter 30 really hit me.

"One night as Zech listened apprehensively to the lonesome cry of a wolf, realizing it was a harmless lone voice and not a pack, he wondered what the future held for old adversaries like wolves and bears and for all the creatures that depended on the land for survival. He remembered that night years ago when he had witnessed the ritual of animals peacefully sharing the life-giving water, some inborn instinct telling them they must share and conserve to survive. Perhaps animals are smarter than men, he thought, taking only what they need to live today, leaving something for tomorrow. Even the hated wolf kills only for food and only for immediate need. Maybe it is man who will eventually perish as he destroys the land and all that it offers, taking the animals down with him.

As he thought of these things and the unknown future, he realized one thing was certain: if the wilderness shrinks, pushing more and more men together, there will be explosions without end. Some will yield, but others won't, and someone will be hurt. It will never be like the animals sharing water."

He wrote this in the early 1980s, and it reads like he was describing 2026.

The animals sharing water is a quietly devastating image. No drama, no sermon — just the observation that wolves and deer drink from the same source because instinct tells them they must. And then this: "Maybe it is man who will eventually perish."

He doesn't say it with anger. He says it with sorrow. That's what makes it land so hard.

He wrote that over forty years ago. It is completely current today.

I felt a great deal of sadness reading this — not just because I miss him, but because he was right and we didn't listen.

If you haven't read A Land Remembered yet, now is the time — before the television series arrives. You really must read the book first, the way it was meant to be told — page by page, word by word.

Get your copy at ALandRemembered.com

You may also want to visit our other site at https://patricksmithonline.com/. ~Patrick D. Smith, Jr. (Rick)

05/28/2026

Such a great opportunity 💚

Growing up around a bunch of mechanics, I learned a lot by holding a flashlight wrong and getting yelled at 😂 but I also learned a lot of things that’ve saved me a ton of money over the years.

With how expensive repairs are getting now, I know there’s probably a lot of people ages 16–20 who could use both the help and the knowledge.

So starting next Friday, I’m opening one spot every other Friday at Griffis Garage for somebody who wants to work alongside me on their own vehicle, mower, four wheeler, or family equipment while learning hands-on mechanical skills in the process.

This isn’t just half-off labor. You’ll actually be involved in the repair, asking questions, troubleshooting problems, and learning how to work on your own stuff instead of just throwing parts at it.

Smaller repair jobs only. No major engine/transmission work or huge tear-downs.

One spot available every other Friday.
First come, first serve.

To sign up, message the page with:
• Name
• Age
• What you’re bringing
• What work it needs
• Photos if possible 🔧

05/28/2026

Most people don’t realize O’Leno State Park sits on the remains of an old Florida town called Leno, originally known as Keno, that once stood along the Santa Fe River in the 1800s. The town had grist mills, a sawmill, cotton gins, a hotel, general store, and ferries crossing the river. When the railroad bypassed Leno in the 1890s, the town slowly faded away and eventually became “Old Leno,” later shortened to O’Leno. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps helped turn the area into one of Florida’s first state parks. A lot of the stonework, historic buildings, and the suspension bridge people still visit today came from that era. Then there’s the Santa Fe River itself, which disappears underground at O’Leno before resurfacing more than three miles away at River Rise. It’s one of the most unique places in Florida and still feels like a piece of old Florida somehow holding on.

05/27/2026

💕💕💕

05/27/2026

North Florida is still in a serious drought, and this latest SRWMD report shows just how bad it’s getting. Some rivers hit record low flows in April, parts of the Santa Fe and New River reportedly hit zero flow, groundwater levels are extremely low, and most of the District is now classified in Exceptional Drought (D4). People act like Florida has unlimited water just because it rains here, but reports like this are a reminder that it doesn’t work that way.

05/27/2026

Looking at photos like this always makes me wonder how connected people around North Florida really are without even realizing it. These photos were shared with me by Chris Rose II and include family and community photos from Waldo and Alachua County from the 1940s and 1950s. The man in uniform is Eddie Earl Wasdin (1908–1974), and the large reunion photo was taken around 1952 at the old Smith house on what is now 301 in Waldo. Chris was able to identify several people in the photos, including Eddie Earl Wasdin, Edna Erlene Wasdin, William Thomas Wasdin, Francis Estelle Wasdin, Herbie Brown Jr., Jerry Wasdin, Thelma Bay, Durwood Dorch, and Mae Trieste. That’s why I asked him to let me share these publicly. Because somebody on this page may recognize a face, a last name, a family connection, or remember stories connected to these people or this area. So take a close look through these photos and the names listed. You never know whose family story might cross paths with yours.