Entrepreneurs in Central Florida have access to some great resources to help them start and grow…read moretheir businesses. One of the newer resources available is the Central Florida Disability Chamber. Unlike most chambers of commerce that I am aware of, the CFDC will actually help qualified individuals prepare a business plan and possibly even help them to locate some funding to help get things going. Beyond these great services, the CFDC also does a lot of awareness work by educating the public of the resources available specifically for individuals with differing abilities. The staff is friendly and passionate about serving the community. A great win for Central Floridians!

The weather outside may not be frightful, but Christmas in Florida can be so delightful. While…read morebalmy breezes and swaying palms may not be everyone's idea of a typical Christmas, Floridians have found some pretty unique ways to celebrate the season. And, for those who just can't do without ice and snow, we have that too... we even have a town named Christmas. Yes, Virginia... there really is a Christmas, Florida. Florida may not see much snow, but the small post office near historical Fort Christmas sees plenty of activity prior to the holidays. People come from miles around to have their Christmas cards postmarked "Christmas, Florida!" If you go, expect to wait in longer-than-usual lines for what has become a holiday tradition for many. Christmas, Florida, is a strip of highway 50, east of Orlando, with an overly large post office and a number of local attempts at the theme. Christmas pennants hang from every telephone pole, there's a Christmas trailer park, a perennial fully decorated evergreen tree, religious grottoes, and a small but ominous locked Christmas Museum, apparently open only by appointment or at special events. There are a few things Christmas is famous for one being the post office but that's another review another is Fort Christmas that's also another review then there's the most famous person coming from Christmas noooooo it's not Santa it's James Wheeler a.k.a. Tex. American Sculptor James Hughlette "Tex" Wheeler's Headstone, located in the Fort Christmas Cemetery in Christmas, Florida. Mr. Wheeler is best known for his sculptures of the famed racehorse Seabiscuit and the jockey who rode him to fame, George Woolf at Santa Anita Park in California as well as a statue of Will Rogers at the Will rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma. If you ever have the opportunity to stop in you should it like stopping in to see the the world's largest ball of twine or the largest frying pan you know it's gonna be on your bucket list now :-)

As a fan of both architecture and history, I will sometimes come across a jewel like this two…read morestory, red brick building located at 209 North Oak Avenue on the corner of West Commercial Street, in Sanford. It is in Sanford's historic commercial district. The PICO Building is a historic two story redbrick building built in 1886-1887 for the Henry B. Plant of Plant Investment Co. Henry Plant was a prominent 19th-century businessman, entrepreneur, and investor who played a crucial role in developing Florida's transportation infrastructure and economy. He is best known for building a vast network of railroads and steamship lines, collectively known as the Plant System, that connected Florida to the rest of the United States and the Caribbean. He also built several hotels including the former Tampa Bay Hotel which is now home to the Henry B. Plant Museum and the University of Tampa. The Turkish style of the PICO Building resembles Plant's Tampa Bay Hotel. The purpose of the PICO building was to serve travelers arriving in Sanford on the Plant railroad and steamship lines. President Calvin Coolidge stayed at the Pico Hotel when he came to Seminole County in 1929. The building was designed by local architect William T. Cotter who drew inspiration from the Romanesque Revival and Moorish Revival styles of architecture. It was built by the H. M. Papworth Construction Company. You can see the Moorish influence in the intricate geometric patterns, including stars, polygons, and arabesques. The first floor of the hotel had a restaurant, a store, a reception area, and a guest's lounge. Guest's rooms were located on the second floor. On the right side of the building there is an entry to second floor with beautiful original door. The building is characterized by high ceilings, original wooden floors, and 9 fireplaces throughout the interior. The windows have horseshoe and ogee arches. Originally the PICO building was adorned with an onion shape dome on the right corner on top of a decorative bartizan tower but sometime in the 1950's it sustained significant storm damage and was ordered to be removed by the city. In 1906, the building was remodeled and sold to the Takach family, Hungarian immigrants who operated the restaurant next door. Mr. Plant was a fan of their food so he let them take over the PICO building for their restaurant which operated for the next 50 years. After that the building was used for law offices. On June 15, 1976 the PICO Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The building is currently for sale for $1,645,999 and it comes with an osprey nesting in the chimney! The property is fitted for office space but it could it also be turned back into a hotel or even a museum.

Crossroads is a nice neighborhood in the Waterford Lakes area. It is close to major highways,…read moreshopping, supermarkets, restaurants and other things that make a neighborhood attractive. Another nice thing is that it is located right beside the Waterford Lakes community park.

This particular day was the once a month "Party after 5" event at Downtown Sanford. It's good only…read moreif you like a street carnival ambiance with very little choices on food and music. I rather walk around and enjoy the stores open late and spend my money in one of the nice restaurants that do offer some very good specials during the night.

This historical marker sits basically on the corner of Orlando Avenue and Harmon Avenue and…read morecommemorates the birth of this section of town when Walter Washington Rose platted this land in November of 1924. The name "Orwin" was a combination of Orlando and Winter Park, which I found interesting. This area must have been so different back in 1924 and in the over a century that has passed, this area would be unrecognizable to the people who first came to this area. We must remember the footsteps that brought us to where we are today and this was a great bit of info on the history of the area

I always enjoy discovering historic churches, and Carpenter Gothic architecture is one of my…read morefavorite architectural styles. Traditional Gothic architecture originated in Europe during the Middle Ages, between the 12th and 16th centuries. Its soaring spires, pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses created magnificent cathedrals designed to fill with colorful light streaming through stained glass windows, symbolizing heaven itself. Carpenter Gothic is the North American interpretation of that style. Popular during the 19th century, it borrowed the steep gables, pointed arches, and decorative Gothic details but recreated them in wood rather than expensive stone, making the style practical for rural churches and country communities. It seems to have been especially popular in Central Florida. I recently visited another Carpenter Gothic church in Mims, although that building is now used only for special events rather than weekly worship services. The Ocoee Christian Church is a beautiful example of this architectural style. Ocoee was chartered in 1925 after growing from a small citrus farming settlement near Lake Starke, but the church predates the city by more than forty years. Established in 1883, it is believed to be the oldest Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) building in continuous use in Florida, with the congregation worshiping in the same sanctuary since 1891. The church's story began in the home of General William Temple Withers and his wife, who wintered in Ocoee after the general's health declined from wounds he suffered during the Mexican-American War. Wanting to establish a Christian Church in the growing settlement, they helped organize the congregation. Although General Withers passed away before construction of the sanctuary began, his widow and children fulfilled his dream by completing the church on land donated by Captain and Mrs. H. Bluford Sims. The sanctuary exemplifies Carpenter Gothic craftsmanship, and its simplicity is exactly what makes it so special. Built on a traditional Gothic floor plan in the shape of a cross, it has remained unchanged for over a century. The original wooden floors and pews are still in use today. The church's stunning stained-glass chancel windows were crafted in Belgium, shipped across the Atlantic to New York, transported to Jacksonville, then by boat to Sanford, and finally carried by oxcart to Ocoee, where they were installed by a Belgian artisan. The original church bell was cast in 1891 by the Shane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, MD. While the beautiful architecture is to be admired the church is also connected to a dark chapters of Florida's history, the 1920 Ocoee Massacre. At the time, nearly half of Ocoee's residents were African American. On Election Day, a Black man, Mose Norman attempted to exercise his constitutional right to vote but was violently confronted by a white mob. He sought refuge at the home of his friend and business associate, July Perry, a respected farmer and labor broker who held an important leadership role within the community. The mob surrounded Perry's home, where his wife and children were also present, and a gun battle erupted. Norman and Perry's family managed to escape, but Perry was seriously wounded and arrested. The following morning, a white mob dragged him from the Orange County Jail, brutally beat him, and lynched him near the home of Judge John Moses Cheney, who had publicly encouraged African Americans to register and vote. As racial violence spread through Ocoee, members of the Ocoee Christian Church locked the sanctuary doors to shelter Black residents from the mob outside. The church itself came under gunfire, and bullet holes can still be seen on the property today, serving as a silent reminder of the massacre. By the time the terror ended, much of Ocoee's Black community had been killed, displaced, or forced to flee, and within a year, the city's African American population had been almost entirely driven out. In recognition of both its architectural beauty and historical significance, Ocoee Christian Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. This church checked every box for me. It is a beautiful example of Carpenter Gothic architecture, an important piece of Florida history, I love knowing that this remarkable landmark is still a living church, welcoming worshippers every Sunday for traditional services led by Rev. Thomas A. "Tuck" Norvell.

We visited for a Permit we needed for electric work on our home and from the phone call to the…read morevisit here was a great experience. The people were kind and very helpful. We were able to get all of our questions answered, and a lot of clarifications before we even submitted the application for the permit paid and everything. Overall, great service.