WELCOME TO THE SEBRING HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Automobile Racing

 

Ulmann, Alec. The Sebring Story. Philadelphia: Chilton Book Company, 1969. The inside story of the first 19 twelve-hour endurance races held in Sebring, written by the track’s leading official.

 

Breslauer, Ken. 12 Hours of Sebring: The Complete Record Book of America’s Greatest Sports Car Race. 40 incredible years of racing history, from the amazing story-book first race in 1950 won by a Crosley Hot Shot to the dominating win by Nissan in 1989.

 

Automobile Quarterly. Volume One. Number Two. Summer 1962.

 

Automobile Quarterly. Volume One. Number Four, Winter 1962-63.

 

Biographies

 

Gustat, Jennie B. His Band Marches On: The Story of Peter Gustat. New York: Vantage Press, 1954. Peter Gustat’s wife Jennie writes about the beloved leader of the Sebring High School Band. The students called him “Prof”, an affectionate term which expressed not only respect for his musical abilities but also appreciation for the wise counsel he was always ready to give. 

 

Pyatt, Bufrod Horton. Tall Green Grass: Stories All About South Florida Living in the 20th Century. Self-published, 1996. An Autobiography.

 

Satterwhite, Altha. The Good Doctor: The Life of Dr. J.R. (Jim) Satterwhite. Columbus, GA: Brentwood Christian Press, 1997. Mrs. Satterwhite writes about her husband’s early experiences as an Army doctor in Japan, and about their joint experiences in Japan later in life as medical missionaries.

 

Tinsley, Jim Bob. Florida Cow Hunter: The Life and Times of Bone Mizell. Orlando, FL: University of Central Florida Press, 1990. Anecdotes about the celebrated Bone Mizell, the subject of Frederic Remington’s painting “A Cracker Cowboy”, originally reproduced in the August 1895 issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine.

 

Tuck, Dennis. From the Piper Cub to the Concorde SST, A Life and Love of Flying. A 1945 graduate of Sebring High School, Tuck details his career as a test pilot of both military and commercial aircraft, including the Concorde SST.

 

DeSoto County and Arcadia

 

Lane, Jr., George. A Pictorial History of Arcadia and DeSoto County. St. Petersburg: Byron Kennedy & Company, 1981. 

 

Economy

 

Morris, Robert Allen. Welcome to Florida: A Different Look at the Sunshine State. Winter Park: Orchid Springs Publishing, LLC, 2015. The turpentine, cattle ranching, commercial fishing, and citrus industries described in this book were predominant sectors of Florida’s economy and provided the economic base for the Florida that exists today,

 

Electric Cars

 

Taylor, Barbara E., The Lost Cord: The Story Tellers History of the Electric Car. Columbus, OH: Greyden Press, 1995. Includes the history of the Vanguard Company of Sebring, one of the first electric car companies, and the Vanguard Electric Sports Coupe built circa 1974. 

 

Family History & Genealogy

 

Harp, Irell Smothers. Home Is Where My Family Is. Irell S. Harp: 2008. The author recounts her family history, and her own history growing up in Avon Park and Sebring. 

 

Harshman, C.C. Col. in collaboration with Mavourneen Harshman, The Harshman, Hashman, Hershman, Hersman Family. A History and Genealogy. Vol. I and II. Berkeley, CA: Self-Published, 1976. 

 

Hendry, Ella Kathryn. Front Porch Stories: Tales of the Hendry Family, Pioneers in Florida’s Peace River Basin. Witty sketches by the author and other family members, historical photographs, and stories written by F. A. Hendry.

 

McClelland, Clifton A. Silas and Penelope (Anderson) McClelland and Some Descendants 1790-1987 and Several Allied Families. Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, 1987. The genealogy of several South Florida families.

 

Fiction

 

Bayles, Adora Mitchell. Defection at 60. Baltimore, MD: Publish America, LLLP, 2011. Ms. Bayles, a Sebring native, talks about her personal difficulties growing up and in her marriage, how she overcame those difficulties through counseling, and how she carved out a new life for herself in Connecticut.

 

Bayles, Adora Mitchell. Wagons South! Utah: Bookman, 2005. Saga of two Sebring pioneers, their roots and their humble beginnings. Based in part on the author’s family history.

 

Richmond, Millie. Papa’a Promise. Self-published, 2014. 

 

Robertson, H. Steven. Ranch Boy. Danbury, CT: Rutledge Books, 2002. Ranch Boy chronicles a young man’s self-discovery as he struggles to define his character and set the course of his own life in rural Sebring. 

 

Rudasill, M. Carlton. The Ultimate Paradigm. Tallahassee: Literary Lights Publishing, 2002. A young woman experiences a murder. She waits to testify at the trial, hidden in the heart of the lush Florida wilderness. It is only a matter of time, before the murderer discovers her. On the run for her life and at the end of all hope, she discovers the ultimate paradigm. And with it, she finds the secret that could save her life and give her love everlasting. But will she accept it?

 

Smith, Patrick D. A Land Remembered. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, 1984. The story of three generations of the MacIvey family, from dirt-poor Crackers to wealthy real estate tycoons, in an epic portrayal of the American pioneer, will to survive. A rich rugged history of Florida’s pioneer spirit.

 

Golf

 

Florida Historic Golf Trail: A Florida Heritage Publication. Tallahassee: Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, 2015.

 

Indians in Florida

 

Writers’ Project, Works Projects Administration, State of Florida. The Seminole Indians in Florida. Tallahassee: Florida State Department of Agriculture, 1939. Includes chapters on The Seminole Today, Seminole Tradition and Character, and Laws, Customs and Occupations, as well as a history of the Seminole Indian wars.

 

Boggess, F.C.M., A Veteran of Four Wars: A Record of Pioneer Life and Adventure and Heretofore Unwritten History of the Florida Seminole Indian Wars. Arcadia: Champion Rooms, 1900.

 

Moore-Willson, Minnie, The Seminoles of Florida. Philadelphia: American Printing House, 1896. Chapters include “Facts of Earlier Days” and “The Present Condition and Attitude of the Seminoles”.

 

Ryan, William. I am Grey Eyes: A Story of Old Florida. Flagler Beach, FL: Old Kings Road Press, 2008.  Historical fiction.

 

Woodward, Thomas S. Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek or Muscogee Indians. Alabama, Tuscaloosa: Weatherford Printing Company, 1939.

 

Local History

 

Levey, Elaine, and Larry. A Family Album of Highlands County. Sebring, FL: News-Sun, 1997. An entertaining look in photos and text that highlights events and activities that define Highlands County.

 

Lewis, Doris. The Kissimmee Island. Self-Published: 1993. A history of Kissimmee Island, a stretch of land about 35 miles long on the west side of the Kissimmee River from Kissimmee Lake to Istokpoga Lake on the south.

 

Maxwell, Leoma Bradshaw. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida: 1880-1980. Avon Park: Historical Society of The Old Settlers Association, Inc.: 1980. The author sets the record straight on the reasons why Oliver M. Crosby, founder of Avon Park, settled this area and why the town failed financially under his leadership, despite his honest character.  

 

Pollard, Jr., William C. Avon Park Lakes History: A Community in Highlands County. Avon Park: Self-Published, 2016. 

 

Stein, Teresa. Florida Cracker Tales, Vol. 1. Lake Placid: Placid Publishing House, 1995. Stories of life in the “good ole days” when the pioneers settled Florida, including early adventures from Key West to Tallahassee and from the Everglades to Jacksonville, and many Florida towns in between. 

 

Stein, Teresa, Heritage of Our Heartland. Lake Placid: self-published, 2008. A collection of stories and photographs of the pioneers who settled Florida’s Heartland.

 

Vickers, Audrey. Heartlands History. Sebring: Self-published, 1992. A collection of historian Audrey Vickers’ articles which appeared in the Sebring News-Sun in the 1980s.

 

Memoirs

 

Macbeth, Verna Weems. School Days, School Days. Ms. Macbeth’s recollections and reminiscences of teachers and fellow students at Sebring High School.

 

Dale, Nancy. 21st Century Challenge: Preserving Native Florida. Self-published, 2017. Each person in this book had a dream that came to fruition. For example, former SHS Board member Marvin Kahn played a pivotal role in the re-creation of the Florida Cross-State Cracker Trail Ride, which has been held annually since 1987 and draws hundreds of riders each year. 

 

Poetry by Local Authors

 

Schumacher, Cynthia. Creekstone Crossings. Mount Dora, FL: Link Stationery and Printing Co: 1993.

Soul Candles. Thomaston, ME: Northwoods Press: 1998.

Butterfly Excursions. Leesburg, FL: Sapphire Expressions, 1996.

Seeds from Wild Grasses. Clayton, Georgia: J & M Printing: 1988.

Wellspring Legacies. Franklin, NC: Macon Printing: 2000.

Firefly Encounters. Self-published: 2007.

 

Macbeth, Verna Weems. Around the World in Eighty Rhymes. Miami, FL: Alfalit International, Inc., 1996.

 

Satterwhite, Altha. Another Time and Other Poems. Owings Mills, MD: Watermark Press, 2002.

 

Schneck, Aronette. To Paint A Poem. Sebring, FL: The Gurney Agency, 1982.

 

Railroads

 

Mulligan, Michael. Railroad Depots of Central Florida. Arcadia, FL: Arcadia Publishing, 2008. Part of the Images of Rail Series.

 

Sebring, Ohio

 

Bara, Craig S., Sebring, Ohio. Arcadia, FL: Arcadia Publishing, 1999. Part of the Images of America Series.

 

Tourism

 

Wynne, Nick. Tin Can Tourists in Florida 1900-1970. Arcadia, FL: Arcadia Publishing, 1999. Part of the Images of America Series.

 

World War II

 

Yenne, Bill. Aces High: The Heroic Saga of the Two Top-Scoring American Aces of World War II. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1949. The gallantry of WWII fighter pilots Dick Bong and Tommy McGuire and their heroic rivalry is the inspiration for this book.

 

Shettle, M.D., Jr. Florida’s Army Air Fields of World War II. Roswell, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing Co., 2009.

 

Rex Beach Collection (Noted author who lived in Sebring in the later years of his life) 

The Auction Block
The Barrier
Flowing Gold
The Goose Woman
The Iron Trail
Jungle Gold
Laughing Bill Hyde and other stories
Masked Women
Men of the Outer Islands
Money Mad
The Ne’er-Do-Well
The Net
Oh, Shoot!Pardners
Personal Exposures
Rainbow’s End
Son of the Gods
The Spoilers
Wild Pastures
The Winds of Chance
The World in His Arms