The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-02-11
BLACKFOOT MAN IN
FLORIDA WRITES HOME
r.. T. Drollinger Writes of Many
Places, Snow Banks, Sticky
Mud, Everglades and
Ocean Baths

''Daytona Beach. Fla, January 81.
Editor of The Republican,:
Dear Sir: AS we have been gone
from home almost two months and
having quite few friends in Black
fot and surrounding country, thought
possibly they might be glad to hear
from us and to know that we are
still on earth.
IF you feel like publishing this
in whole or part, all well; IL not, we
will not feel hurt as | know editors
have lot of things to contend with
and are compelled to use their own
Judgment lots of times when people
think they should have done other
wise.
1 1.-THE first thing will tell you,
while think of 1t, is that 1t writing
here the paper is much damper and
uses up the pencil so much faster
than in Idaho that one must sharpen
it several times before they finish a
very long letter.
After leaving home on December
Is, we went to St. Louis to visit my
sister and thru Wyoming and Kansas
found quite lot of snow, much more
than we had at home. After leaving
St. Louis we went to Champaign to
visit my son, via Springfield and De-
cature and found plenty of black
sticky mud. If you have ever been
in Illinois you know what it means.
Shortly after we arrived there the
snow fell to almost foot deep and
in a few days was gone. Then we
had more mud, sleet and rain and
do think that Indiana and Illinois
can take the cake when 1t comes to
the most varieties of weather in "a
hours.
Land is worth all the way from
$3.50 to $210 an acre, but would
seriously debate the matter before
accepting one of their farms and be
compelled to live on it all the time.
We visited several places in Illinois
and Indiana before starting south.
Coming here via st. Louis, Louisville,
Lexington, chattanooga, Atlanta and
Jacksonville. We stopped off at all
the places mentioned and just missed
the big fire at the union depot at
Jacksonville by one day, which you
no doubt read about, destroying $40,-
900 of baggage, which belonged to
tourists.
There are thousands of people
here who came from all the states
east of the Mississippi river and you
can scarcely mention town of any
size but what has its representative
here and | never saw such a gather
ing of old and middle aged people
anywhere. Not many sick, but peo-
pie who in few years will have
passed over into the great beyond
and seem to be waiting to be sum-
mond for their final accounting. AS
for old maids and widow women the
woods are full of them.
"Daytona Beach is located just
across the Halifax river from the
town of Daytona about mile and
which is reached by walking, street
car, or boat, as you like, according
to the condition of your system. Both
places have several thousand popu-
lation, residents and many more who
are here for six months and less.
"A number of fine hotels, which are
four and eight stories high, and very
large building, most of which have an
annex and then there are some small I
er hotels and rooming houses. Many
very fine residences which are worth
from $4,000 up and, of course, there |
are plenty of smaller ones. We are
located on the ocean front where we
can see and hear the waves continual |
ly and when one wishes to take dip
all you have to do is to don your
nfxy ~ Nr.+6 ~
meet the waves while you people |
are watching the weather conditions
and wondering if it will be any cold
er tonight. You should have had |
my picture in my full dress suit |
when the first big one struck me,
but after you are in while it is fine
and one is loathe to leave the water.
This is a grand beach about 80 miles
long, smooth dis floor and yester-
day bein Sunday we sat on the front
porch and saw people and autos con-
tinually going by until one gets tired
of looking at them. No ruts, mud |
or chuck holes so that the cars can
run rast as they can turn their wheels
without danger.
This is the cleanest place I was
ever in; at ordinary work once wash
ing your face and hands is sufficient
for the day and you can wear your
shirt so long that you begin to think
that possibly some will wonder IL
it is the only one you brought with
you. once heard of a man who,
is was said, went to California and
did not have to change his, SO l can
now see why. The reason of this
is the soil is very fine white sand
on the beach and quite ways inland
and there is enough moisture in it,
which comes from the ocean, that it
seems to remove the dirt from ones
clothing and all the rolling around
in 1t will not soil the finest clothing,
brushes out easily One would
naturally think that nothing would
grow in such soil, but this is where
you are mistaken for there is any
amount Of vegetation growing, large
trees of different kinds of wood, the
names Of which have not made my
self familiar with; yes both hard and
soft. Immense forest that you ride
through from Jacksonville to Dayton
and do not know how far south,
which I will find out later as ex-