The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-02-20
Letter from Florida.

st. Petersburg, Fla, Feb. IA, rs.
Editor Reporter Thinking that
many of your readers would be in
terested in a short article on Florida,
its accessibility, climate, etc, ! will
give you few facts and figures re-
garding this land of sunshine and
flowers.
don't suppose there is one in
thousand of our American people
who realize that right at our very
doors, as it were, and within AS
hours from Chicago is land where
| the dreary winter days may be pass
ed in a climate like that of June in
the north, amid the roses, pOinSet-
tiaS and many other varieties Of
beautiful flowers, orange and grape
fruit groves. bananas and other semi
tropical trees on every hand, straw
berries and all kinds of fresh gar
den vegetables to supply the tables
aud cater to the wants and tastes OF
all. This is all to be found here in
mid-Winter. Now as to this part;"u-
lar spot on the map Of Florida, st.
Petersburg is about three hundr, i
miles south of Jacksonville. on a
peninsula washed on the west by
the waters Of the Gulf Of Mexico inG
on the east by those Of Tampa ljaE-
1t can justly claim to have the finest
climate to be found on this continent,
This city is also called Sunshine City.
To back up its name the editor Of
the evening paper here offers to give
away the entire edition on any dag
the sun does not shine, and the
record for the past two years is that
he has had TO give away his paper
only eleven times To those who
now or in the future contemplate
spending a winter in Florida, ! would
advise them not to fail to go as ia"
south as this, if they wish to enjoy
to the full. warm sunny winter.
Jacksonville, ST Augustine and other
cities of northern Florida nave mary
cool and unpleasant days and You
will miss the flowers and the orange
groves of this section if you stop
there. Here we have winter pOru-
lation of about 10000, OF these about
$4,000 are tourists, and are largel.
of the so-called middle class. fairly
wcl-to-do people who come here Tor
solid comfort and to escape TIE riSOrs
of a northern winter. T.. They come
oftimes in groups of8a dozen fam
and thus with congenial neiShbors
and friends, enjoy church privileges,
taking in excursions to the Gulf OF
Mexico or on the adjoining bay,
bathing, fishing or gathering shells
on the beaches, visiting the nearby
orange groves, the winter days glide
by. The aged are rejuvenated, tax
ing on a new lease of life, the inva-
lids, strengthened by basking in the
sunlight day by day, the rheumatic
helped as they claim by drinking
from the sulphur and other medirin-
al springs of the neighborhood and
all or them unquestiOnably benefited
by being able to be out of doors i'll
the sunshine and balmy air through
the entire winter. This city is des-
tined to be a beautiful American
city though only about twenty-one
years old, the beautiful palm and
camphor trees adjoining the side
walks, having attained much growth.
The streets are nearly all one hum
dred feet wide, eighteen miles or
more brick-paved, with sixty miles
or more of octagonal cement side
walks, many stores and sixteen
churches within a radius of one mile
from the center of the city. Its cen
trail avenue is a veritable white way,
with a grand electrical display. 1t
also has about completed the finest !
opera house in the state.
Many may say with such a mild
winter that you have had so far, |
what is the advantage of going south? |
TO such would say this: sleep out |
on our veranda every night and have
escaped all colds, grippe or pneu- |
monia. From letters and papers re-
ceived from the north see that there |
has been an unusual amount of sick |
ness and many deaths. So take it |
all in all ! think we have the best of |
it and are glad we are here.
Nora Biggs.
If a man can look as far ahead as