Volunteering together after 60 years of marriage

This month, Billie and Larry Hayward, active and admired volunteers at the Jacksonville Historical Society, celebrated a milestone—their 60th wedding anniversary. They were married in 1956 at a Friend’s (Quaker) Meeting House in rural Indiana. The marriage took place the day after Billie graduated from nursing school. Unique to the Quaker service is memorization of the vows. Larry forgot the “in sickness and in health” portion, said Billie, but the marriage clearly worked with the couple enjoying decades together—and in more recent years, volunteering together.

Following the marriage and a degree in agriculture, Larry entered the U.S. Army and was sent to Camp Darby, Italy, where Billie worked as a civilian nurse. A return to the states led Larry initially to the insurance industry and an MBA in Bloomington, Indiana, where Billie gave birth to daughter Shelly.

Larry began a 30 year career with Amoco Oil Company, and Billie, with a master’s degree now in hand, served on the faculty at Wayne State University and later in a private counseling business. Many relocations followed with time in Holland and Kalamazoo, Michigan, and later in the Detroit area.

When retirement time came, they selected Chapel Hill because it reminded them of a mini Ann Arbor, but more importantly, their daughter, Shelly, worked nearby at Duke Medical Center.

The Virgen del Congost

National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 through October 15th. It is celebrated during this time every year because it commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the shores of Bimini (Bahama Islands) on October 12, 1492. Although Columbus was not Spanish, the King and Queen of Spain paid for the journey that would open the American continent to European colonization. It would take another 73 years for Pedro Menendez de Aviles to sight the shores of St. Augustine on September 8, 1565. For 236 years Spanish was spoken in Florida, 41 more years than English!

The JHS collection contains artifacts and manuscripts that document not only the two Spanish Colonial Periods (1565-1763 and 1784-1821) but the important ties between the First Coast and the Spanish speaking countries to the east and to the south. One of these items is a model of a Spanish schooner donated to the Society by Olga and William Joos.

The Virgen del Congost, a small schooner of three masts, was built in the shipyards of Arenys de Mar in 1874. Arenys de Mar ... [Read more...]

September 4, 1922: James H. Doolittle, later known for his WWII achievements and heroics, takes off from Pablo Beach, now known as Jacksonville Beach, to begin a record breaking transcontinental flight time in fewer than 24 hours.

His average speed was 100mph and his actual flying time was 21 hours and 18 minutes. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after setting the speed record.

September 10, 1934: Bartram School opens as Glynlea School on this day.

According to the Glynlea School pamphlet, it was "situated between Big Pottsburg and Silversmith Creeks. It was organized on the country-day plan, including thorough college preparatory work with a well-rounded program of extra-curricular activities. All students studied French, English and Latin, mathematics, history, and science courses to meet the requirements of the leading women's colleges" of the time.

The grounds included a tennis court, swimming poop, and riding ring, ample space for basketball and other activities.

The tuition fee for attending the school was $1000, but could be reduced in cases where students returned to their homes on the weekends.

"The school relocated in the spring of 1938 to its permanent campus on Little Pottsburg Creek and was renamed Bartram School. In 1991 it merged with The Bolles School and became the current middle school campus and home of the girls boarding program (from The Bolles School website).