Category: A Southern Boyhood

Recollections by Dr. Tracy D. Connors of his growing up in a Jacksonville, Florida neighborhood, North Shore.

Water, Water Everywhere: Just a “Typical” Gator Homecoming in the Sixties

July 5, 2016A Southern Boyhood, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.University of FloridaTracy Connors

Just A Typical Gator Homecoming? Water, Water (balloons) Everywhere! I would have to call it a form of temporary insanity that gripped the 60 or so residents of Georgia Seagle Hall as we feverously prepared for Homecoming 1960. The normally studious, well-behaved, Seagle do-gooders were preparing a racy display to cover the front of … Continue reading Water, Water Everywhere: Just a “Typical” Gator Homecoming in the Sixties →

Flags and Futures

June 16, 2016A Southern Boyhood, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.Tracy Connors

-Citizenship: Still a vital competency- If we fail to instill the core values that reinforce love of freedom and democracy, we risk losing the behaviors originating with those core values—the actions and leadership vital to protecting freedom and democracy. If we fail to develop the competencies needed by citizens of a democratic republic, we will … Continue reading Flags and Futures →

It’s Still a Grand Old Flag

May 22, 2016A Southern Boyhood, Log Entries, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.Andrew Jackson High School, Jacksonville Florida, kirby smith junior high schoolTracy Connors

-North Jacksonville 48-star School Classroom Flag Honored- Remarks by Dr. Tracy D. Connors, CAPT USN (Ret) during opening ceremonies for 60th Reunion of the Andrew Jackson High School Class of 1956 on May 21, 2016. Tonight we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the class of 1956 finally escaping from Andrew Jackson Senior High school. Before … Continue reading It’s Still a Grand Old Flag →

Crape Myrtle Miracle

April 13, 2016A Southern Boyhood, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.boy scouts, crape myrtle, Jacksonville FloridaTracy Connors

Crape Myrtle Miracle Crape Myrtle Miracle is a multi-part recollection by Dr. Tracy D. Connors. Additions to the story will be published regularly, typically about once a week. Bookmark your browser to make it easy to follow the miraculous, but true, story of how curiosity about where a friend was disappearing to on Monday nights … Continue reading Crape Myrtle Miracle →

Jacksonville University Vision: to provide the means and the mentors where we could fulfill our dreams

January 20, 2016A Southern Boyhood, Jacksonville University, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.Andrew Jackson High School, Charles E. Bennett, frances kinne, Jacksonville Florida, jacksonville university, U.S. NavyTracy Connors

From the Main Gate at NAS Jacksonville to Moussorgsky’s “Gates of Kiev” Just before I graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in 1957, I had been offered an appointment to Annapolis by Congressman Charles E. Bennett, but a physical was required. When the Navy Corpsman told me that Annapolis required at least 20/100 correctable to … Continue reading Jacksonville University Vision: to provide the means and the mentors where we could fulfill our dreams →

Big Jim, the steam-throated metronome for daily life in Jacksonville, Florida

October 11, 2015A Southern Boyhood, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.Andrew Jackson High School, Big Jim, Big Jim steam whistle, history, Jacksonville Florida, North Shore, North Shore SchoolTracy Connors

If you grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, particularly on the north side, you knew that it was not your pocket watch, or your wristwatch, or even the old grandfather clock in the corner that was in charge of your life, it was a 32-inch copper steam whistle that had been installed at the municipal “waterworks” … Continue reading Big Jim, the steam-throated metronome for daily life in Jacksonville, Florida →

The Iceman

July 12, 2015A Southern Boyhood, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.florida, horse drawn wagon, ice man, northshoreTracy Connors

The Iceman delivered much more than ice to this North Florida neighborhood in the late 1940s. He brought a friendly smile, generous heart, and icy gifts that have continued to offer solace from feverish thoughts after all these years. I was very busy during World War II..trying to avoid being “drafted” (into Kindergarten). I was … Continue reading The Iceman →

Hunting and Gathering on the North Shore

July 11, 2015A Southern Boyhood, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.childhood, Jacksonville Florida, North Shore, North Shore SchoolTracy Connors

Long before PBS or Nova or the Nature Series, there were reports of bands of bipedal primates roaming the cottage-y territories of the otherwise peaceful inhabitants in North Jacksonville. The reports were true. More shocking was the fact that these orgies included mulberry mashes, persimmon plucking and even fig orgies in the Holiday’s back yard. … Continue reading Hunting and Gathering on the North Shore →

Pearl Street Peel Out

July 2, 2015A Southern Boyhood, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.Jacksonville Florida, North Jacksonville Baptist Church, North Shore, Pearl StreetTracy Connors

In ancient Rome, when booty was piled up, the Latin term they used was pilare, to plunder, or to “pile up booty.” That meaning was derived from the word pila, or “pile” (think pillar). As time moved forward, as time inexorably does, “peel” acquired additional nuances, all derived from the “pile up” original meaning. For … Continue reading Pearl Street Peel Out →

My First (deliberate) Sin…

June 6, 2015A Southern Boyhood, Tracy D. Connors, Ph.D.Tracy Connors

Estelle Stephens was my first grade teacher. The First Grade Classrooms were on the first floor to the right of the main entrance to North Shore Elementary School— PS #70 — in Jacksonville, Florida. Our classroom was right across from The Office–the Principal’s Office, at the time, Mr. E. L. Loundsbury, an older (with silver … Continue reading My First (deliberate) Sin… →

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