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SAMUEL PROCTOR ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM at
the University of Florida
AL 46A Side One
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C: 'Mr. Murphree, what's your full name?
M: Albert Alexander Murphree.
C: And what's you address?
M: 403 NE 6th Avenue
C: And your telephone number?
M: 376- 6409
C: The time is approximately 2:00 on Mrch 30, 1973, and ay name is
Martha Cline. The topic of interview is Gainesville in the 1920's,
Mr. Murphree do you recall the construction of the Boulevard?
M: Oh yes, I forget how many years ago that was, but uh, I remember
more distinctly than the actual construction, what it was like before.
Uh, that was my favorite hunting ground with my bee-bee gun "4 ,t 4w ts -
It was a marsh, uh, a jungle in which, through which the Sweet Water
Branch ran, and beyond it were rolling _I_ hills that Major Thomas
used to use for his dairy, for his her4,,:for his cows in the dairy.
The old dairy, by the way, as I thought of it, is one of the houses
now standing on the Boulevard, one of the ones OT't IRA i~
C: Oh is it? That's interesting.
M: Uh, the other half of the dairy, it was a barn and dairy uh, is the house
just behind it, which is Dr. Ricard lives in it.
C: Okay uh, why did they decide to build the Boulevard? Do you know?
M: It uh, as a, as a development um, a housing development uh, uh, I forget
now who was uh, who bought the property from the major, although I
think the major owned property in this too. Umr, I think it was the
Perishes', uh, I'm pretty sure that it was. So they uh, they plowed
AL 46A Side One
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out the streets and lots and it was, when. it was completed, then
the,uh, the most, uh, fashionable: part of the residential districts
in Gainesville.
C: When they, first Built it, is that when. they put in the Duck Pond,also?
Xh Um hum, yeah
C: Let's see, do you remember'how long it took to build the Boulevard?
M: No, I don't.
C: Okay, let's see...
M: It would not have taken too long, though. All they had to do was
to, to clear out the marsh, the, the uh hammock, which was long, but
which was very narrow, which stretched to 11- from, uh,
uh, from uh, what used to be called seminary, East Seminary Street, uh
which is now, uh, Fifth, NE Fifth Avenue, uh, all the way, uh, north
and to the west to, uh, the uh, shopping center, which was, uh, just
a marsh or a hammock also. And uh, that, that section of town was, uh,
drained by the, the sweetwater branch, as it was called.
C: Let's see, were any recreational activities, uh, did they, did any
recreational activities go on on the Boulevard?
M: Uhm... probably a great many, I don't, uh, not all the time were
officially, ur, none that I know of, 1-
C: Did children play on it? Was it like a, almost a playground?
M: You mean after it had become the Boulevard?
C: Um hum.
M: Uh, well, to the extent that they do now. They drove their bicycles,
skated on the sidewalks. Uh, they played football, uh, on the uh,
on the green, on the grass of, where it was wide enough. As for example,
AL 46A Side One
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in front Dean Matherly's house. Dean Matherly's house is situated
between, um, or what used to Be his, house, Between, uh, Sixth Avenue
and uk, and Seventh. And uR, quite a fewr, u, boys who later became
sta;~gsat G.K.S. played, ub, football there when they were young.
C: 014y. 'Do you thing that the'RBoulevard Ba.s changed much. in fif ty years,
forty-five years?
:; t, no, not, not too much. Not veryuch. Ui, I think it un, well,
us~asw. 1' would y\T r1 .
C; Do you thinK that the construction of the Boulevard made the way
of life change for people who lived around it or the surroundings?
I We&ll, you see there was no one living, ui, around. Because that
was- all ua, ,virgin land, un-built on, uh, from the uh, from the
foot of uh,. street, wich ir> tBe street that r live on
.-, Un, By the foot I mean, just uh, two houses to
the east of, uh, our house, which was theC nr -AOl6just
opposite the, uh, parking lot of the Santa Fe school, formerly
S~i oP-1 LLit ttHotel Thomas. Um, from that corner south of
W)
us, east of us, uh, there were no houses to the east until the, oh,
&2kr~'cei I) 0 ''.j(J4( RVfl ci<
Ly except for spare shacks here and there
4J)-I C4 x a until you got to the, uh, Waldo Road.
C: OG, Hmq,
M: And, so that i. other words, that is> the city, limits.
C; B'U; ..
MI: Imt that easterly' div3ectan.
C: Alright.
X: Northeasterly\ direction.
C: im hum=. What were weekend activities in the 1920's. What did you do
AL 46A Side One
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for fun on the weekends?
M: Well, there was, there weren't -the -tFings-t-tat uh- -uh, .that exist
today tr t JC that we could enjoy\ T"I, there was a -movie
house at tahe ''R f .' g- what 'used to he called East aiL., now
is%, now' it is known. as 1st Avenue, east, uih, northeast and southeast,
-um, 1st Street, I Believe, u-, it runs parallel to the uh, Main Street.
Present aitn Street was West Main and ut, the street to the east of it,
parallel to it was East 'Main, was terminated as it does today have the
-u Big building that 'uh, -uR, probably would be the post office. Well
'ui, yea -tul, near the post off ice there was the 6 C theatre. So
we could go to see the movies. Oh we played baseball, football, what-
ever was, uh, played in the season. ULU, we, suppose everyone did. All
thie children had to, uR, depend upon themselves more than, than some
external activity to uh, by external I mean, some, some show or some
organized activity or I should say. Had to depend upon our own, uh,
invention for, uh, anything rather than some, uh, organized activity.
C: I see. Did you have any school and church social life, like your, did
you have school activities or church activities?
M: UK, not uh, in the organized way that they are today. The church did
have, -un, sunday school, of course- They had acti tties_, u, -most we
could find on Sunda-ysq.,. take: picnitc, .ut -u., that was about all.
C; ztthub, Ih- see. Were..hQlidays atny dife ent right during -the 192-0'5
Christmas or lewP egr were-they anmoae of likeM a family occasion.
SC- i, i -t'thokthey' were less cougercialized, um than they are today.,
And -theefore, -more of a family affair., -T, But -uB-, aside from that,
and -uni, aside from the, the decorations', which we did not have, uh, then-,
AL 46A Side One
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the kind of decorations, uh, I think there's little difference between
Christmas then and today. TUR, one had to go out to the woods to get
his own tree, one couldn't go downtown to Buy one, and --uR there weren't
any electTri lights to, to put on the tree- Candles we used, were fire
hazards. -But -ui, tae effect was just as pretty, if not prettier.
C: 1hJ FTm. Did you maRee all your ornaments...
T1, I? was asking you if you made all your ornaments for like, your
Ch itst4as- tree.
M: Nb, -uN one could euy ornaments in. the. stores, althougbi alot of them
were -made as now.
C: T "tuhB, see. UE, do you have any -memories of the Hotel Thomas
being Built?
M: UR, not the original structure which was Major Thomas' home and which
he purposely Built large in order to take care of the overflow from
the Whitehouse Hotel, uh, which, uh, used to be on, uh, NE 1st Street,
where the Citizen's Bank is now, across from the Methodist Church.
But then he, uh, he enlarged it, he added on to, to the original build-
ing so as to cover the width of the, the whole block in which it was
situated. Uh, that part of the construction, uh, I do remember.
C; Letl see, urn... did you... were. there a lot of social life -uilt
around te- 9btel ThRmatqs- when it ws, A hotel?,
-MS QItyes,
C: -S-ere?
1M: TV, i,- it-'ad a good dining /arom a4nd ub, thre -were ;vistors from the
__nort__.__ _oi)__-. t tie University often, emusie for
dances, and -uh, there was something going on all the time. The football
AL 46A Side One-
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teams that came to GaiEgesyille'l to playthe. Uniyer4Sty of Florida
would, mU always stay\t-ere, -there was no where. else. for -thew to
stay" ...
C: It hsum.
M; ..,so -u, very few~ girSrl. know tIati.
C: hIT huR. During football season, was- it, you know', more. active ox...
N; OI yes.. 'UTF huu, mucraore- so than lnow.
C: ORay', do you remember any people who worked there who might still be
alive. Cause like-, we'd lie. to interview these people.
'M; IJTa no. You see, it's Been turned into a school and uh, uh don't think
-un, tRere's anyone'who, anyone there who formerly was employed at the
Hotel. I do see, uh, uh, one of the uh, uh, one of the pages that
used to work there, uh, but he's retired. I just can't recall hs name.
Uh, but he uh, I guess he worked 1 1 rk uA t. see him
riding on a bicycle from time to time. Uh, Ramp was his first name.
C: Hamp?
M: Hamp.
C: BI-a-m-p?
M: K-a-m-p, this was his nick name, uh, it "s not his real name. But what
uiK, what his- last name. wa~ -1 do not R ow'.
C; Oh, Iz see.. Do you remember any like- tradesmen, other than, not working
at tlie~f-otel Thomas, just around Gainesvjlle, or maids or yardsmea,
del'ves~en., -uh, tRat worked durian thej 192Q0'
M; T4, yes\ I guess- Gainesv tile- wa sall, enough that -uK, -then, fo~ one.
to -ka -uE anyone, an1snat. TBI, now-when we go downtown wei4 eight /C1
v set & SQtAi -\ cr-( J 5vJ
AL 46A Side One
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C; (Laughterl
M; I suppose, I3 knew- all the businessmen.
C: Well, do you know any that are still alitye. cause we would also
like, to interview tese people.
;: MTh, yeah, trere are a large numBer of tRhem \ lt
ST
Thofias, and ua, one tEat comes to iand. The uh, uh, most of them
who, who worked or who had, uR, owned, -uF, stores around the, uh,
\square have 'etied. 'Um, But ult, and ub, it would take me sometime
to, to uK search fiy memory to try to remember more, But u....
C: Let me come Back to that.
; Okay.
C: Ih, How did you purchase food in the. 192Qs? Did you go to grocery
stores or...
M: Yes, there were no chain, stores here-, But there were excellent grocery
stores. George Dell, I remember is one. He's, uh, he's dead. His
son Charles is, uh, is still living here in Gainesville. Uh, where
the other boys are I'm not sure, the other sons of George Dell,
S'h' Bis grocery was, uh, situated, uh-, across from the
court house- on East tlain, street, lst Street. Uh, -- i 7 1kl/
Later_ B.Heoyed to, i-u, a building p o the edge..of the. Sveetwater braachi
at th, tiBL, foot of theilluh, ewon. eesity A;yenuei uniwere, whee
nowvtere i' a u a, au automobile- shop -there, -iu, not a -shop .ut a
-uhs, salesmen, I forget the nape. of thei ara that was sold thTere, -But -uh,
you kn.ow..,
AL 46A Side One
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C: U bhuh.
MT: ..,close to the lIary. t"'''s a car likeP-uK....
C; Fords?
M; It IAy... ] t not sure, I' believe it s..
C; 'Ji, let's see. Were grocery store a lot different than they are
today?
M: a, they were smaller and, ul, the food was, uh, seemed to be fresher
hj r 1CA ^r -i/jP e M V _ -_
-.ecause: -t was o iemie-trro the city. And
certainly ,rucT cheaper than today,. Uh, the ub, service was sort of,
1EAIn. i those days one could e+l up the grocery store and, uh,
order 8Cti tyrei (Yx- -,4 C * t- 4 g C !/f
There were other grocery stores Besides George Dell's but uh, uh,
^ '"" - -
C: Let's see, how did you store food when you brought it home?
MI: ow, how did what?
C: How did you store the food, like did you have, um...
M: Well, Before the ur, advent of the electric refrigerator there were
ice Boxes.. The ice man would come, u1, every othe day I. believe
and -uR fill up the. Box with ice, top part of it nd tbhen. '\ LC
~Y'I f ro ^ j we used for for press, for food, perishable. food.
Ca Let s'see, was -the ice trucK, or WRatever it was, wa9 it an .automobile.
or pulled around y a, Mule or wnat?
U; Urm, well at first .was a wagon, and -uh, Bys, wien. we.were little Boys>
weused to follow It and cup our fands-underneathI the, -uR, saw,"'
to get the shaving eat them.l
-- a h m
AL 46A Side One
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Tbat was aEMig spopQt.
C; Sounds liMeo what my father -used to do, 1T3, lets -ee. Pa~ ealti~ e
any, diff eent during the 1920"- than $t Ti' now. Do you think t-tat
the, uh, that it was~more formal tehn or more faamil ?.
'M; No, thlin would depend on the family.
C; Lets see, im, ow- did...
'; then, than now...
C: What?
M: I' said then than now.
?
C; I see. How was, uh, your house lit, the lights,
M: i electricity ,.
C: Was it like as well lit as the current houses today?
M: Was it what?
C: As well lit as our current houses today.
M: Oh, oi yes... un, perhaps the lights would go often, would go off more
often. Umn, cause the uh, the plant doesn't uh, produce as many. But
uh, well the only difference was uh, that uh, at first, uh, there no
switches, wall switches, and one would have to walk- n to the, uv,
,middle of the room, they ,ad to stu ble. oyer alot of furniture to group
to find the cord to -~itc' thek ligKt, -Biut, -uL othew te, -uh not
-mucW die fence,
C; -'- see-. Are you still lhyingy i-th ouse that you liyed i. thena?
l: Nbt _t-teihouse that, -ub, we.... y, fatnhea liyed in., X-li, :'tut tie house
that sBFe -uhR, tfiat we owr,, wfiiciR situated aBout two blocks- from -there...
AL 46A Side One.
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C; But it's an old Rouse also?
IM; FM=?
C: I's t an old house also?
Mr Yes-, -m um.
C: Do you think that, -u...
"M It goes Back to at least 1900 or to the 1890's. It was at one time
thea only, hospital there was- in Gainesville.
C; Or, you re living in what used to Be a hospital?
Mi: 11m am._ -_. Im where they
operated. Uh, there weren't many rooms, a large... sufficient number
of rooms to allow convelescents to stay there very long, But uh,
-most of, uR, practice took care not in the hospital but in the houses.
Whenever an operation was needed, uh, was necessary they did use this
building, this, this house that we live in and there was another house
uh, later, so used which uh, which is still standing on Roper, it used
to Be called Roper, uh, /off) (IC and uh, which is now uh,
uh, it is now the uh, I forgot the, uh 7th, 7th Street, used to Be...
now 7th Street used to be called Roper Avenue.
C; Let's see um, .. do you thino that your house has changed -uc4h l1e,
in th. year s gone- By.
: TUfr, no not -very -muc.
C: Let' .see -uR]... do you /releher any, otbe1 nospttals'j. s -this-, was
your- hbuse a hospital,. during t. ,
Ni Rb, th was an n earlier -' '- .
C: Theeweren't any Rospitals during the 1920 s?
S" .. n, my -emory's a little weak here Alachua
eA
AL 46A Side. One
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General had not Been. built at that time. Umr, I"r' not surejust what
was used as a hospital thel,. I.' call -tt, ,Ru, ,during the 1Q' :, ,
the ealy, 20(s when had my' tonsils, taBex out -that, uf, -that I was
carried to Jacksonville to a Bospital there. I: thiFn tons iectomyS
probA1Y, tRoughR were done in ________ just as' all Births were
takea care of l j if '(
C: Did doctors- aRak ousecalls then?
,M: Oh, yes. Yes, they t-e m1edLcie-.
C: CChBackle YeaR, I guess that would be unusual today.
M: ProBaBly miraculous.
C: Lets see uh, about how many doctors were there during the 1920's?
Were there as much as we have today?
M: T'ere were about two or three.
C: Is that all?
M: Uh, I remember Dr. Hodges, Dr. Etshop, ub, Dr. Tildman, Dr. i'O"N_
I think they all were practicing the same time. '/ .
But then you must remember the population of the town was...
C: A lot smaller.
M: ...around 64Q70,9O 3 then.
C: hBuhi, let s see-m... Do you weameqle any drug stores;that you had
in Gaieeasvi'le.
M: Yes, UR, 'Videll's, wptcR is' st4l standing on the corner .of the court
-house- sqCrue.- TI o. t-he --outhi, 1, southeast corner wavs, u&, l1cColough-s
and -u, and -tRhe.-uF, -then.t e.1 1u, Block, 'u, directly\ north of the-, of
tealt in tape. I
AL 46A Side One
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M: As I was saying, uh, across from the court house to the north, uh,
was another, ui, drugstore called _Iotaford's, and uuh-that was about,
-about- it.
C; Do you remember any -umeedicine sed th n.-tat they aAen't -used not, or
4edic ines that came in to Being -used -te
-N: TUm, no -un, !_e Memher specifically, ui, any
newr dji'cQvery/. i ^. Ui, -magimne castor oil was used
C(LugBte?.I
Thnt was- a, standard remedy,. Whenever a child had a stomach...
C: Did you get that in your orange juice?
M: O, if oranges were in season, we didn't have any concentrated orange
juice in those days.
C; Lets see, um, were there private schools in uh, Gainesville at that time?
M: Yes, there was one on, uh, East Main Street, uh, which is the present
Main Street. Um ...
M: Yes... the most famous, uh, and, uh, from... for a long while I guess
it was the only one, private- school was uh, TeBeau' s, T-e--e-a-u was
Tebeauts, uh, which was an old framed house, in a spacious;, uh, Beautiful
landscaped lot on the corne~ of, uM, see IT'e neyer gotten used to these
streets, and avenues- Wviclt ,' stroQngly, dsapproved " hen
-they' changed from -the old naresq to -th. depersonalized nwbKers and
aveanes and- streets, 1t, this, -this would -he-u, 3st street, -uh, soutR,
Southeast, On -tlhe corner of lain e teet and 3rd Street $i, was-th~is
school was, -tha house and -tre lot, I-t occupied a full city Block.
AL 46A Side One
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And -ub, 4any~ any people, well naowrr today .went there, well knowa in
Gai esyille,
C: Lets see, -m.,. what otBhe public school were there-?
'M: UFT it was a girls' school, I" should say. Ul the 20's you're talking
gbEaut?
'M: T', tiere was only the Gainesville HIghi School, this- was before
P, K.. ounge: Rad iheen buit.
C; Ifh rdtd children get to school tn the 1920's'
"Mi They walRed, or if, uh, their family' had a car and they :1ved far away
they would uEh, fe taken there. Or they would uh, ride their bikes or
skate.
C: S5ate to school?
M: That's right.
C: Okay. Let me make sure, we won't start till it goes out.
M: 've Been seeing your light.
C: It doesn't light up or anything, the Brown goes out.
M: Oh, I see, when the Black part disappears.
C: Okay, uh, did you hayve any ceretatq dress' code?
ED 'OF.^SIDE ONE
AL 46A Side. Two
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C: Did you- Fhee. a certatm, d&resws code. for -Fiena you went to school?
M: 2hm, not one that was, -u1, described Eg-yt scbol, :But uh, sOomething
sort of conventional, you RIow'\ h, PytU )11 certain,
certainly ore formal tana W.o TfHugBnuh- that S teetL/ /e e'[.
-bu would see all extremes except -uN the. extremes of nudity, that
now- are accepted as proper.
C: Let see, what kind of courses dtd you study.
9; tut -u, girls- and Boys- were- lie, i-, then, were like girls and boys
eoday. TfIey, they wore, tfey wanted to wear, they insisted upon
wearing what their peer group wore.
D: Let' see, what...
': What was that last question?
C; Let's see what kind of courses did you study?
M: The uh, I don't think the cirriculum has changed too much. Um the
usual subjects, uh, reading, writing, mathematics, history, english.
C: Do you think that you had more homework then than like the students
are getting now?
M: I... since my children are all grew-up some years ago, I, I'm not sure
what is b-eing required of students today, hut uh, I. suspect that uuh, that
there wasmore demanded of studet,-t hem thn is true today.
C; -Let me- see-, how long did you go to school each day?'
4!t- \I' cae..a ut the. $e-lengtFi.Lo tiee
C4 e e-thE school .arers ..ahut .the- same.j
/X; 'LI -hum.
AL 46A4 Sde Two
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C; WhAt did you do like during theR sumere hlidays' when you didn't go
to school.
1: Well, we:-K, did )various thi~igs, -uaf you're speakIng of -yself?
C: -Uiim h
9; Wei -ub, used to enjoy, going to the eeachR, JackSonvikle,, or to the
mountatt s around Ashville. And then, -uh, several summers we spend
SL BRoys geotia, 7V Uf/AL .
C; Did you go by car when you went to the beach and to the mountains.
':M; Oh, by car to the beach, by train or car to the mountains, and uh,
By Boat out of Jacksonville to Nova Scotia.
C; Do you think that the condition of roads then are any worse than they
are today or about...
M: Oh, there's no comparison.
C: Chuckle.
M; Uh, in the twenties to uh, to get to Jacksonville, one had to take a
dirt road, uh, by way of Palatka and St. Augustine, well, there was, uh,
the old No. 1 consisting of a, of a brick pavement wide enough for one
car to proceed on. When you met a car coming from the other direction
you bad to, u.,: pull oyeq into thie sid4e and- Epe--that -ftwould not
JhF -deep enough to get you- tuck, 50o it was an. all day, trip By, car
th ien. fa QAinesayile, to Jacksonyille,.
C; Lest Teeu ah:, do you ae Omt any iTppmtant Iusnessesa i the co unity
during i the 1392C( ?
X: Tar, well,:eadk' hardware .vA- a very large._ for a town this'
-size. There. was also a competing Thomas' Bardware on the other side of
AL 46A Side Two
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the square,. TJh, Wilson's was a large.department store then.and
now'. Uhn, these are the larger ones that IT recall.
C; Was-Wilsons. as Big then.as it is now?
g; Same, same size, same Building.
C: Oh, 4ust have Been a really, ig department store for then.
Let"s see umi, do you reme~Ber a Hbtel'.elly, the Seagle Building?
,14 Theh-iHtel Kelly at the- SeagleBui'lding?
C; Wll, it's the sae thing, it was Built to Be the Hotel Kelly?
1 \lt- was built to Be a hotel But, -uh, it never was completed until many
years later, it never was a hote, ir
C; -r 4 -\ 'd do you remember it being like
\standing there on the frame...
M: Yeah, it"s like any of the other Boom-time buildings scattered all over
/Florida. that was begun and never finished, with no window panes.
CT; U~, do you think that the salaries and wages then were a lot different
than -they, are now'?
M4 A lot what?
C; A lot different than they are now?
14 Uh-, yes, they. were much. smaller_ but -then they, we hadD ought 0
deal -more thanh it. does today
C: \I'iagine..So Sreally, it roab86ly, c compare s -aout the same sap 'c/ '
>y -that V.estion- is a....
C; B-Hard one.
-: :.. .is-ah hard one 'Jecause th-re". so /anyiyariations in it. Th, as for
teaching- no. Teachers~.ire' not, -uh', paid as much then as
AL 46A Side Two
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they are. today. They, were -underpaid then as they are today, also. iTh,
biat still there has. Feen some improvement U-,2 e- lThe the, uh,
'7P {rt c^r^ i uh. h-u,.wead aBout 3,000 .en, -uh..
Cq \hat does'that compare to today?
S AS- compared to aRout, uh., well 17,000 to 20,000 here today. Urn, r
started to, teaching as an instructor for $1,700 a year, and we
managedd to live off that, DS- t e economy has changed.
C; It really has. Letts see -um, what kind of city government did we have
during the 1920's.i
,g; It was about the same as it is now. 'Uh, .there was a .mayor and there
was a city council, and they' took care of the city.
C; Iid.you have any kind of laws aBout.Sunday sales?
.4 IUT,- I.' not *i V iuiew-ocz there were laws prohibiting
Sunday, sales, But uh, there were a few' Sunday sales vade. TUh, fewer
stores then were open, -uh, outside of the drugstores: uh, ; M
C; \Were there any, kind of laws,..
4 I d on't thifnnkthis was 0'% I t
=2- trade.
C; \ats .theie...
tA L4%tct. c.
C Okays. T th, the, was there, was there any kind of like laws -asBut liqoor
:here?
,M: Yes, -uh, well in the twenties, let's see how. T-Jh, yes, the prohibition
AL 46A Side Two
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bill had-.een passed, so...
C; WUh, do you, do you know if any other place lilke-Htel Thomas or
Sor had, you know liquorr?
oM; p, m-im, ell there were, thEre wrere Bootleggers then, :But uh, as
tthey~ got, -as there were later, But -uh, this was a, no, there were
no open stores where you.could walk in.
C; Hbwjb'ig do you think- that the police force was Back, you know, in
the 120 's ?
X: I- don't really know, T would, -uh, I would guess aBbut, -uh, three or
four of them.
C; Do you think,.they', you know, helped the community like, you know, did
they; take care of it as well as...
EJ Oh- yes, I don't think. theymreally had a great deal to do. Traffic
wasn't, -uh-i ig enough- to, to need one to direct it, -uh, .certainly
-uh, even hg there were.no street lights.
C;: When did street lights come into use?
_j '- --- -----
SOh, the I. dff mny pepory''s, -uh-, is griitn.. '_ _-_- iC -u
-g think I-think it was.not until .thee 30's.
C; Th'at'.s interesting. -Bm, let s--.see, did youlhaye a jail?
'M- Yes&
C; a\s .thee. only, one?
c, -as it- in etty, ood tini '.e ie
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M; I, never was in it *- not V, (~f '- :. JUh, it was a .xed lTrick
_iilding with a Beautiful old chinaBerry tree outside in the yard,
s?~Weounded- by high walls. -hm, on the -uh, oh alout a Block south of
-the,fr 0o the post office, ruh, a little to the, a little to the east,
in .the direction of the iuh, of the water works, the city plant.
C; Let"'s -see -uh,,..
-;- Not far frnro the courthouse, actually.
: \What kind of punishment did they-use to, you know-like enforce their
) A
laws?
' W ell, there was imprisonment. And -uh, for our criminal cases there was
uh;_,ha.ngn. Th, I4.not even sure aBout t h Um, yes
\I thinR, I-think the last hanging in Alachua County took place around
192G or -paye year 19 1, 21. Cause I recall, uh, that uh,
it was-_aBout the time that was in.the fifth or sixth grade and -uh,
two or three of -us, uh, were curious to, uih, good witness it. So we,
'we played hooky) and uh, skipped out of school, went down to the jailyard.
/P/rjathe outside of the yard we could see the platform, it was erected
-erected whenever a hanging would take place. I recall a lot of people
\were there to, -uh, to watch it. -Hbwever .when T, when I' got there\1'
chiektened out. (ChucklleL I. heard later from -y, two friends- who, -uh;
\stayeldiin't-. sleep oh. for a-week ortWtTo. They got sick.
(; I,.think thatt e a horriBle experience. Okay, let's .-see -we' ~e planning
a imuseuie tzit, you Roibw, for -aBbut -thei-monthl of MMay ande .were
AL 46A Side Two
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if you had anything we could Borrow- like old newspaper clippings on
t:he hotel .Thomas or on the social life that went on in Gainesyille,
or about the Seagle:Building, aBout the land .Boom or the c-rash of the
stocKmarket, or any photographs of theEBoulevard or Fotel Thomas or
clothes in fashion, cars, or if you have anykitchen.utensils no longer
Sin use, or anything,
1' ~h4,\I don't thing we have any kitchen -utensils, or uh,..
Ci Some that we were thinking of were like coffee grinders or...
pq: No, huhuh t. The iuh, h h clothes, uh, I think, I think they're old
C; Do you haye any photographs of like...
'- 13t~, 1'l11, I'11 have to look. There's a fair amount I haven't seen for
a while. iUh, the uh, uh, no I don't... I can recall a, the fashions
fairly'well. The girls were wearing long dresses, that is .ot the
young girls, the women. There were still, uh, many, of them, /many women
wvt, W ihhad long haitr, or course- this is not so unusual now, But uhv
oi as,. a e ears ago-may- Qenhada short haFr.i t -the4.-u _
\i thi du.itng -ttie late: 20'2Qa, -oBL I would say ahEut 1925 on, -Iuh, -t
-7T-
h1 ,\styles>Bvye chynnged and 1fin, in. some:respects- withmno. ot: too -iPuc
'dif erent from -thie some-:of _tlfc styles that we'vee witnesed d4i g -iths,
pst -two or ^-thBee.t eavs> CI1pehs sRitt s Secrtes yery1ysnrt, not as
shot as-thay are today*-, t- still ye-y e short, and r-uN thRe hai was- stil
ond,<,\ 1 7ea ai .eduai^ a cS l, And -uh, s toief"I cul, well it
was,'Nit -Vas a .period of 2very-mucE li:&, iumi, ub in some regards to the
*( (J q that we've just Been passing through, uti, a period of
AL 46A Si.de Two
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emancipation for the girls and for the Boys too, as far as social
conventions and M rf:t( i'. concerned. '~, girls started
PqQK th, -ijAr d, and uF, -ih,- 'c SK'ATh there waAs *l
( T C iti7$ n f' put upon tfhe, uR, activities' of the Boys and girls
toget-e a T, up mh ys' wore Baggtes, Baggies I think they called them,..
( Th h t-t .hat. V Bact. today.
',\ .,...~wle ottoms. .O, are.we on again.? Tm so uh, uh, as I: was' going
to say, -this' period through whticR we are passing has in -many' ways re-'
p-i'oed e. of these years that r was in college.
C; LetkS4 seeu'm, what do you think are the- advantages and disadvantages
off, -ui, living in tReFi boulevard area 'ian tha 192Q's..
'M; Well, u R, I don't know- of any, disadvantages. As the., as 1J said earlier
thFe, -uh it was then regarded I' thint as the nicest section in town, at
least the. newest, not .necessarily the nicest. Uhns, East in. Street,
RiW. today\ i's 1st, NE 1st Street, .-u, was, uh, a very f ire, uR, -yesi
dential -section.. U, as was', -uhi, east Gainesville, certain parts of
east SGaiesvile, In fact, all of tRfe east, east University, .Tniversity
AyeaiueFTd -many fine. houses; on it as you can still -see, In, and what
Snow called Biu, NE-3rd Street, -ui, was' a r, vey good.,,
3R; onev of -thefi greatest -cRanges, you -ased rrezmy opinion. a while ago
that T .aRould Baye thESught of t .once, 'aH, fstee-. h E, aU Rct, s-uR, tEr3e
are. not, -thee~ have-&Bee so ranyT, of ABfeEettful old oagZ tresses t .
-Baiye disappeared ni lorida, Gainesville-,pica~r imore a, shadyvj |
t\ '-t-. today i oa trees.
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C; What do you -think..,
- A1A ll ~ Unjversity Avenue: rom one. end to -the other.,.
C; ,Tee,
.M .,. t -hey'-ere cut down to wetden the street some, some time passed.
6C4 WK4t do you -thkikr.yer tFe. advantages and disadvantages of living in
the Bouleyard area today?
I; JT, well, I' don't -i-h, I -tEfrl, -ub, the -ur;, ul, it's uk, not as presti-
gQua as- it miay\ have BeenI once. 'Th, r tahiFn the uh, the finer homes
-iayeh eexn and are- Being :Bult to the west. And uBi, this has become
thie-ore. fashionaBle, if that's the proper word, it may be called that,
te. center and, itm so far as residential building is c cern U,
.i^ ta -uk /.l, advantageous to live in a certain place ~ iihether
or not the certath place- is adyantageous to live in depends-upon one- "s,
one. taste, onet 't choice. of friends. As manry. people. wamt*t
to live.there it s uFn it s yery individual, 1-uk,individual, uK, personal
opinion.
C; Do you have. any other aspects of life you would lie. to talk, to 4e.
-about during -the 19ZO Q
M; Well -wea-were S G ad f ; Se.L e for heing a rather vild,
-unruly generation., But you look baqck on. it TS ti e~ w, :t e.,were/ tth-te tope,
An- I thitnR-tLis generation -w1. lqo1Z 5ackAc i. somewhat -ti- sae fashiono,
4ltho.gfLyour generaitnRas a afe 'liertie tAat Ae jdanti3e e
st it i was' a,.Y un- period, certainlyy ejoayedji 3a -tthik. you.s;i'l the
Saamedas' your cEhildren grow 1 -up.
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C: 'Well thAink. you very, mucF&tr .Murphree-. for letttag us come. interview
X; -well -. hope I ja~ny~tythig wtliahille.
C: I, tiihnk: you aryve, Ti~s i> s-.hwat 1 waintt ThanT k you.
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