The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1918-01-04
Mrs. Ballard On OcaIa and OcaIa's
Golf Course

Golf Course
The following from the pen of Mrs.
Maude Littlefeld Ballard, the friend
of the west coast, was part of solid
page the Brooklyn Eagle devoted to
her story of interesting places in Flor
ida. last Thursday:
just off from the beaten track of
tourist travel between Jacksonville
and the Florida west coast is Ocala,
town that thus far has not been la
heled tourist town." though ii has
all the attractive features that The
northern visitor travels tar to End.
The personal story OF Ocala is inter
woven with the most picturesque pc
riod Of Florida history
Long before Tampa mad become
the capital OF south Florida. long be
fore St Petersburg mad emerged from
its infancy Of a village buried in sand
into its present position as the most
famous tourist town" OF the south,
before Belleair, the most fashionable
winter resort OF the west coast was
even thought OF. and when Fort My
ers was little more than hunting
camp for the northern sportsman,
Ocala was well known 10 the people
Of the north who had leisure to travel.
This was in the days when the rail
roads conveyed the traveller 10 Jack
sonville and felt that their whole duty
to the southern visitor was fulfilled
In grateful cOntentment. to have es-
capped the snow and biting cold of the
north, most of the vacatiOnists remain
ed in Jacksonville, but those who
knew of the tropical country that lay
beyond continued by boat into the re-
giOns of wilder beauty
Up the ST. Johns River Into Central
Florida
All the destinations of boat travel
were then combined in the trip that
led the traveller from Jacksonville up
the st. Johns river and Oklawaha into
central Florida The broad. bowed,
shallow draft steamers nosed their tor
tu0us way SO quietly up the big river
that even the bird and animal life OF
The river banks was undisturbed by
the coming of the visitors The huge
alligatOrs that now hide in the inlets
of the st. Johns and Oklawaha then
lay banked up like fallen timber along
the shores OF the river and the bril-
liantly plumaged birds that were as
unafraid as a Gagged canary now dart
into the dense tropical underground
at the approach of the river steamers.
But in spite of the evolution of tray-
ed from enforced boat transportation
TO that of railroads and automobiles,
the charm of the trip into central
Florida is never lost.
In the very heart of central Florida
is Ocala, and if the visitor is wise he
will make headquarters in one of the
excellent hotels till he has seen the
surrounding country and visited the
"shOw places" nearby. This means a
winter in Ocala, for there is a never
ending number of places 10 see and
things to do. The golf course alone is
allurement enough to keep the golfer
busy for season trying to make low
enough scores to show his northern
friends. The Ocala golf course is the
gift of Clarence Camp to the town Il
by chance the visitor to this golf
course be BroOklynite he surely
would think that section of Pros
pect Park had been transpIanted TO
Florida for his especial benefit Not q
sign of Florida sand is to be seen any
where. Soft, short-cropped grass GOV.
ers the whole nine holes of the links
and big spreading oak trees shade the
billy knobs that border the course. In
the center OF this park is d building
that must be called a club house just
because habit has made us call an
abodes OF the golfer club houses, but
this one is so artistic within that one
resents the appellation.
Miss Carita Camp Gives All Dav pic.