Light-up McIntosh December 15
Light-up McIntosh will begin at the Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. The event will host Santa Clause and an area choir from six local churches will sing.
01.16.07 -- LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Preserving the historic ordinance
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
The following e-mail was written to Councilman Lee Deaderick and sent to the editor with a request that it be posted on the blog. This letter is printed verbatim. I have removed some of the HTML formatting because it was not legible in blogger after a straight cut and paste. The blog welcomes letters to the editor. The content of this or any opinion posted on the site does not necessarily reflect those of the editor.
From Fred DelRusso:
My wife wrote this for Lee for the good of showing him why we believe in fixing the historic paperwork and not abolishing all that hard work those ladies have done.
Dear Lee,
I wrote the paper below out of love for McIntosh.
I hope it will give you some understanding of the value we place on preserving the Historic District.
We realize that not everyone sees the town this way, but everyone we have ever introduced to McIntosh has fallen in love with it and its old time look and ways.
A Historic Trust
I believe we are blessed with a loving duty. I believe we have been entrusted to preserve a way of life for our children.
HISTORY
History is our children’s Heritage, their inheritance. It is what we leave behind and how we will be remembered. Our story, who we are and what we care about, is the only real treasure we leave our children. How will anyone remember our story if there is nothing left to reflect it?
Sadly, so many believe that history is dead, the past is done, gone and no longer relevant. But, History, our children’s heritage, provides examples, over and over of people who through their hard work and their dedication for a better way of life changed the world. Many were Pioneers who left comforts of one life to make new lives of a very different kind in a new place.
We in McIntosh are fortunate to live in a very small place that still lives on the edge of that history. We still have the good fortune to be surrounded daily by evidence of those who came before. Many of their children still live among us and have embraced the trust to preserve their heritage. What of US that follow them? Will we be less faithful? Are we to discard our children’s heritage?
TRUST
Trust involves faith and caring. The dictionary says it is “firm reliance on honesty, dependability, strength, or character of someone or something.”
The “someone” in this case is US. Our children trust US to love them and in our love, to provide for them, to educate them and to provide good examples of “honesty, dependability, strength, and character”.
The “something” is McIntosh, its trees, its people, its houses. I believe this one small town embodies all the good we wish for our children. We can rely on its dependability, strength and character to provide a good example.
Can we be relied upon to provide the same?
The face of McIntosh is shaded by trees that lived and watched as pioneers broke ground and tamed a small piece of this tropical land. They provide beauty that is envied by every visitor to our small town. So much of our state has been raped and pillaged, scraped clean to make room for more and more houses, more and more people. We, in McIntosh, enjoy a luxury few can afford.
Will our children be fortunate enough to have what we have? Our trees, how can we not care for them? When you speak with the people of McIntosh, what do you see? Every person in this town lends it character.
By our actions and by our non-actions we show our character and how that character supports the trust we have been given. I believe the elders of our town displayed examples of “honesty, dependability, strength, or character” by preserving a way of life. Shall we do less?
When you see our old houses, what do you see?
Do you see their beauty? Do you want the children to have beauty in their lives?
Do you see the ingenuity of their builders? These houses were made to take advantage of natural airflow and light, and they are an engineer’s delight. They are designed to provide comfort in a world without air conditioning and electricity. They have large rooms, high ceilings, big windows and porches. Yet, in outside communities, people discard this for small rooms with windows that do not open, walls that must be insulated to preserve the air conditioning that consumes yet more electricity. They subject their families to prison-like conditions in the name of progress. They cannot appreciate the beauty of the environment because they cannot see it, feel it or smell it. They cannot know their neighbors because they are shut away from them. Is this to be our children’s heritage?
Do you see the strength of the old houses? They have persevered for over a hundred years. What new house built today will last that long? Ask anyone who has worked on one of these houses and you will hear that it is a labor of love. It is also a labor of discovery, because so few today know or understand why they were made the way they are made. The strength and resiliency of the materials used is no longer even available. We can only try to duplicate and preserve. Do we have the character and determination to do this or shall we simply stand aside and let it slip away?
Do you see the character of the old houses? Bits of decoration and workmanship abound in the columns, porch rails, fish scale, and other decorative brackets and hardware. The heart pine, practically petrified, was hand worked and cut for beams, rafters, floors, stairs and exterior siding. It was attached with nails stronger than anything you can buy today. These houses were made to last for generation to come. Their builders built for their children and for those to come after them. What are we building for our children?
I moved my family here to enjoy a life anchored a little bit in the past. We wanted to know our neighbors. We wanted to live in a small town with tree-lined streets. We wanted to build a future for our children and our children’s children. We love the beauty of the houses, enjoying those that have been renovated and those we hope to see renovated. We understand that not everyone wants to live in an old house, but for us, the charm of the old home is irresistible. It is almost a physical pain to see old homes neglected. We understood coming in, that we were buying a part of history and that we would be caretakers of that history. We are in the historic district and we believe in the rules that preserve these homes.
If we had not wanted a historic home, we had all of Florida to choose from to live in.
We chose McIntosh. Please help us preserve the beauty and wonder that is Historic McIntosh in a world that is changing so quickly.
Our Children have so little to hold onto that is held fast with a firm reliance on honesty, dependability, strength, and character. We can teach our children the importance of taking care of the old.
Like us, our houses each have a story to tell. If we do not preserve these stories, who will remember? How will our children remember us? Strong? Caring? Faithful? Full of Character? Dependable? Will we be able to rely on them? Have we done our duty to teach them honesty, dependability, strength and character?
Please help us preserve a bit of our children’s heritage by supporting McIntosh’s Historic District Designation.
Most Sincerely,
Susan DelRusso (with Fred, Chris and Cody)
posted by Cher @ 3:19 PM,
5 Comments:
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At January 17, 2007 9:06 AM ,
said...
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To: The DelRusso
The Land Development Code plus the Ordiance in place before the new one protects the Historic District I believe everyone in the Town of McIntosh wants to protect the Historic District. But everyone does not see it the same way as 3 or 4 persons on the board.
You are fairly new in town so let me tell you the past history of the H.B. has been trouble un call for a lot of people in the district just as the Bronsons.
"firm reliance on honesty, dependability strength or character of soemone or something"
that statement does not make me in favor or the ordiance. The meat of the ordiance is the subject. -
At January 17, 2007 3:12 PM ,
said...
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Ok so you believe that the ordnance needs some rework correct? Then there is no need for abolishing it. I believe that the ladies who have worked on this ordnance are not perfect or professional ordnance writers nor are we but at least they have made a start at it and if we abolish it we are saying that none of them did their job correct at all. That is wrong. I believe that there is not a single person in this town who can write any ordnance perfectly to where it doesn't need any revisions. It can be reworked, I do agree it needs to be but I totally disagree with throwing away their work, that is going backwards. I have seen a lot since being in this town and when it comes right down to it is a hand full of people who are against each other and it doesn't matter what they do they will always go against each other for personal reasons it is so clear that anyone can name them. I do live in the Historic district and respect these old homes I am right now in the middle of registering mine with the federal government. The only reason I am here is this little Historic Town. I believe that the few people who don't like each other should take it out on themselves not the whole town. Abolishing this ordnance is an insult to all of the people who have worked on it. This Historic ordnance needs some work yes lets just do that and move on we have other things to do good things for a change. ,Fred
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At January 17, 2007 8:53 PM ,
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WOW, applause!!! Susan that was beautiful and I agree whole heartily!!!! S.Dowie
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At January 17, 2007 9:46 PM ,
said...
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I wish that more people could have the insight that Fred and Sean have. There is a very small segment of this community that will do anything, and I say again, ANYTHING to get what they think is good for them. If anyone on the "other team" is for something, they are against it. If someone is friends with one faction, they become a target of the other...... JUST LET IT GO!!!! To all outward appearance, this is a friendly little town, but there are those few that screw it up....no matter the cost.
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At January 18, 2007 8:57 AM ,
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Now that you say that just imagine the possibilities this town could have if they just work together?
Editor
Editor and Publisher:
I'm Cher From McIntosh, FL I'm a graduate student at the University of Florida working on a master's degree in Mass Communication. While I was finishing my undergrad degree in journalism last year, I reported on McIntosh, Fla. for an in-depth reporting class. I figured that the reporting and the public record files should go somewhere people can access them. Reporters don't report to keep the information they find to themselves. Some of that reporting is included here in a forum that allows response. McIntosh suffers because with no news coverage, the local government and the rumor mill have too much potential to run rampant over residents. I moved to McIntosh in the fall of 1999. My profile
About This Blog
The primary purpose of this blog is to accurately reflect what happens in town public meetings and dispel rumors. I record the meetings and make them available for download. One of the goals of this blog is to offer residents a place to voice opinions. The comments, views and opinions expressed there are not necessarily those of the editor.
