The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-07-21

Six wears ago Haines City was
something in the nature OF frontier
jumping-off place-raw and very una.
trictiye. as it appeared from the rail-
road station. In an article written
in 1911 | told of man who had De
come interested in the lands ABOUT
Haines City through advertising. The
written and printed words and the
facts they were supposed to state ap-
pealed to him and so he came down
to look the place over. His first I'M
pressions of Florida were not good;
the country all looked unattractlve
and desolate. and when he got OIL the
train at Haines City he was utterly
discouraged If there had been an
other train out that evening he
would surely have taken it, and ms
impressions of Florida would not
have been complimentary to this
State. Instead he was obliged TO
make the best of it; the hotel was
not bad and the people he met there
were clear-cut high-class business
men. and he was enough impressed
with what they had to say to resolve
that he would at least give them
chance to demonstrate, and so he
went out the next morning to look the
country over, and the next evening he
wired his son at Omaha, asking him.
if, in case he bought some land,
would he come down and look after
It, The response was quick and to
the point, and the son is here now,
successful fruit-grower very well
contented on his grove-home, on the
outskirts of the town.
visited Haines City again this
week and the Transformation from a
raw railroad station to almost city
! is marvellous, if such things can be
called marvellous in this rapidly
growing Florida. Those who know
Central florida know of the beauties
of Florence Villa, Winter Haven and
Lucerne Park. and cannont pay
Haines City greater compliment
than by stating that the back country
is of just such a nature as in these
other famed fruit-growing sections,
and the city itself promises to be one
that will be on a par with Winter Ha-
ven itself in short time. Haines
City has good railroad station, a
! fine bank, row of brick business
houses, a city park, electric light and
ice plant and a packing house and
fruit products plant, of which more
will be said later. Haines City is on
the main Dixie Highway, the county
has built its quota of sand as phalt
roadways right up to the town limits
on the south, and is in sight to the
north, and this paving will be built
through the city in very short time.
The center of the town and all of the
radiating streets are now made of the
famed red clay of that section, but |
predict that the time is not far dis.
tant when all of this surfacing will
be of sand-asphalt The park is right
near the station, and adds to the ar.
tractiveness of the place in this park
is "rest-house." built by the club
women of the town, to which all per
sons waiting for trains are invited.
The country round and about
Halnes City is of the rolling type. and
contains literally hundreds of clear.
water lakes. One of the largest
lakes in florida is found nearby-Lake
Hamilton. with its thirty-five miles Of
shore line. Sometime ago I told of
the plan of the residents of this
part of Polk County to connect all the
lakes in the neighborhood by canals
IN order to afford intercmmunication
with boats and this plan is being car.
ried out, and Lake Hamilton will
form part of this chain. All tbese
lakes are famed for fishing and 7
am told that Lake Hamilton was
Grover Cleveland's favorite fishing
ground.
Mr.. J. W. Sample and his brother
Mark, together with three or four
more brothers, all doctors. believe
except J. W., are responsible in a
great measure for the development Of
this country, as they were large land.
owners, expert fruit growers and
their efforts first brought in de-.
siraole class of settlers, and their ey.
periences enabled them to helm malo
the settlers successful in their now
endeavors, SO that we now 600 nro,