The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-05
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

 trip, Edward Barrett, Jr.. and Nat Lynch how Florala got it's name. It ftook them a minute or two to figure it out but when they did, they thought it was fine.
 I asked Nat if he had crossed over into the Florida line when he showed up for dinner after a swim in the lake. He said NO, but I took bath in Flo rala water" for he had been told that the dividing line between the states passed through the center of the lake In spite of the tenth commandment could not help wishing that Birming- ham might fall heir to such @ body of water as faces the Colonial hotel at F'lorala. Its value in dollars and cents would run up into hundreds of thousands of dollars, while the amount of pleasure it would give cannot be estimated. I hope the dam at the Bir- mingham Motor and Country club will he repaired, for We need a large body of water near the city for swimming and boating purposes.
 
 F1ora1a like Audalusia has had a wonderful growth In 1890 its popu- lation was 75; in 1910 it had reached 2,43s; today it is well beyond 5000. It came into being like Andalusia through the lumber industry, but like it, now has around 1t substantial and grow ing farming section which fnsures it e. the progress which Is coming through the /cut over lands being devoted to agriculture
 Now the citizens of FIorala are both hospitalble and enterprising as was evidenced by their coming up in cars to take the Alabama Press associa- ton down for a banquet; and the love- ly part of 1t was the Andalusians were glad to have them do so. To show that the Florallans are good sports they made editor Dugger of Andaiu- sia toastmaester of the splendid enter tatnment which they had so 1aviehly supplied
 I may have been mistaken but 1t appears to me that while the cities of Covington county were alive to their own progress, yet there were no jeal- ousies but that all of them were ready to get together on the biggest question of magnifying the country as a whole. | If this spirit continues to prevail | nothing can retard Its progress for 1t has tha ha o1ix +o and it has the soil, and with these three used advantageously there is | no telling what it's future holds Speaking of climate it is a big as- set and at F1oraIa 1t is unsurpassed. It is only a short distance to the Gulf. which insures a temperate and uniform climate all the year round Gulf breezes kiss the landscape in summer time as we found out, and being so far south, winters most chilling blasts are tempered and shorn of their cold | and strength before they reach the | lovely little lake city
 Florala is city of churches. yet I was told that the church buildings were not large enough to hold the members. | The county high school is one of the chief attractions. Both it and the city | schooi buildings are up to date, each of them having a fine corps of teach | CTS and competent superintendents. l The city misses it's fine opera house 1 which was burned, as was also the au- | dltorlum which was built out on the fo I poses. The Masons have bought a lot ] and will build a handsome lodge build ing with a hall large enough for all public gatherings.
 F'lorala has ample banking capital
 to take care of it's well kept stores and US progressive plants. A QRmpany has
 been organized under the name of Lakeview Hospital Co.,, and has se-
 cured a beautiful site for the hospi-
 tai in east Florala, overlooking Lake
 Jackson. Florala boasts that it is one 1 or the best farm produce and cotton markets in south Alabama, and keeps
 an eye out to enlarge it's territory and
 increase its trade.
 It Is generally the rule. however, that
 rne things of which town is the 1 proudest and makes the most of when
 visitors are shown over it. are the sights which to him are not so attrac- | tive as some of the views or things they count as of little value. Now for me Lake Jackson dominated Florala J and while I was glad to see it was | alive commercially and supplied with l churches, schools, stores and plants.
 a fine newspaper the things which
 mas an eternal charm for me was the
 great body of pure water at its very 1 doors.
 The minute I got out of the auto I | made for its shores. Edward and Nat
 beat me, and were soon in a boat try-
 Ing to row it. but as it was hemmed
 In safe little pool. knew that they could have the time of their lives l without taking any risk, and so waited for them to tire themselves
 out, which boy like, they soon did, and
 made a bee line to the hotel to try
 and borrow bathing suits, or get holes and bait to fish.
 strolled for half mile up the rail- road track which skirts the lake to
 the bathing place and found a lot of
 happy bathers, men, women and child
 ren enjoying the nice cold clear water waited quite a while and thinking the boys had failed to get any bathing
 regalfa l made my way quietly back to the hotel; but they had been up town and some merchant had given
 them suits and so they got to go in
 after all as MT. Barrett went with them
 I passed grove of oaks near the hotel in which band stand stood. and
 was certainly gem of a place for