The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-01-30
4 PROPHETIC VISION Of
THE OCKLAWAHA vA||FY
(By Peter Stanley

cemebr, while the fine business men
of Ocala were paying worthy tribute
to Mr.. H. S. Cummings of Rodman,
upon the occasion of his formal en-.
trance into their city with the novel
motor railway coach service inaugu-
rated by him over the Ocklawaha
valley tracks that connect Ocala and
Palatka, and incidentally the east and
west coasts, there entered the spa
cious dining hall man who was ac-
cidentally unobserved by the hundred
fine men of Ocala and Palatka who
were speech-making over a luncheon
worth two dollars per, and subject
of vital Importance to each of the
splendid little cities represented. The
man in question was modestly clad
and Of little apparent Importance to
the business world. His manner was
unassuming, his step just little un.
steady, and his speech fragmental Of
better days that had passed Quiet.
ly making his way to the other side
of the spacious dining hall he seated
himself at one of the regular tables
and possibly ordered pie and coffee.
This was E P. Rentz, the man who,
in the palmy days of his business life,
built the Ocklawaha Valley railroad,
but was never able to make it sue
ceed.
That afternoon, as his mind vague
ly caught the realities of the success
of the road under the .receivership of
Mr.. Cummings, Mr.. Rentz remarked:
This was my dream! This was MY
dream!" And deep down in his heart
he thanked God for the man who was
able to do with his vision what he
was unable to do.
But, all aboard!
h Let's take spin on this all daylight
trip-another of the novel trails of
Florida-and perchance we will catch
a vision that some good practical
brain will some day make over into
reality.
AS we move across the big expanse
of cutover lands from Palatka south
into the air, but there are also many
realities. There are fine clusters of
interesting trees here and there
pine, palmetto, poplar, gum, ash-oh,
they are too numerous to be named!
There's a dozen stately pines, their
smoky-green boughs waving high up
above everything" and singing sweet
nothings to the gulf breeZes as they
pass juse beneath the boughs of the
/ pines are numerous heads of cab
bage palms with their great fan-like
leaves rustling in accompaniment 70
the song of the pines. Underneath
the trees is the long native wiregrass
from which peeps million little
dainty flowers that have grown all
winter under the protecting care of
the fine grasses. These millions of
pretty little flowers, each hanging in
the early morning with crystal dew
drop, reflect every tint, hue and color
of the sun, moon, stars and sea!
Grand! Absolutely beautiful!
And yet We hear someone say: I've
never seen that, and I've been over
that road dozens of times"
Five hundred men went down the
east coast before Mr.. Flagler, but
none of the five hundred ever SAW
the east coast!
II Look! Look! What's that? Tuf
keys! Wild turkeysl Gee! How fine
and glossy and beautiful! A furry
among the passengers reaching for
guns, but-too late. This train does
not stop for occasion of his kind.
4 They are fixtures on the daily time
card" we are told.
II Now we have moved into stretch
of fine open lands A mile out there
is large herd of range cattle grazing
at will. Horsemen with quick ami
mails and spurs and whips round them
up about twice each year-once in the
spring, for the purpose of marking
and branding the calves; once in the
fall for the purpose of sorting out the
beef that is marketable.
II Here's a higher elevation of land.
What is it? A blackjack ridge" This
is what the yisionless man and the
scoffer have always called barren
waste" But, there are no barren
wastes. Stick peg here, for we are
going to need that very spot "terect-
ly."
And here's a fine stream of ever
flowing water-a creek, a rivulet--or
something at least with possibility.