The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-12-24
OCALA NOW AND THIRTY
CHRIsTM4AsES AGO

Every once in awhile hear some
one wonder why Ocala IS so unpro-
gressive; so slow in comparison with
other towns
This is my thirtieth Christmas in
Oca1a. / will try to review what the
town was Christmas eve, 1892, and
let you compare it with the little city
OF today, and decide for yourselves
if it is unprogressive, and if its
growth hasn't been solid.
Like Ocala, have been twitted for
being slow, and sneered at because /
have stayed in one town and remained
on one job for over quarter of a
century. But nearly half my years
had gone by before ] came to 0cala;
] had wandered over large portion
OF America; had been in states by
the dozen, seen cities by the score
and towns and villages by the hun
dred; and if have remained in 0cala
so long tits because have found the
place is good, and never since COM
ing here saw the time when was
certain | could find a better.
If you are born in town, the first
point in your recollection is your
home; but if you come into it at. any
time after you began to sit up and
take notice you will date from where
you came in and where you had your
first meal and first nights rest.
It was the first Sunday evening in
December that / swung off the Flor
ida Southern train at the chicken
coop of depot that then stood back
of the Ocala House L. 1t was little
brick den, not much bigger and not
near so good-looking as the Kun
back" service station that now stands
on the first corner south of it. The
Florida Southern was narrowgauge
railroad. 1t ran one passenger train
each way a day, from Palatka thru
Ocala tci Brooksville. This passenger
service was about equivalent to that
now given by trains nine and ten be-
tween Leesburg and Jacksonville. The
line is now a broadgauge, with four
first-class passenger trains per day
between Jacksonville and St. Peters
burg, and the Leesburg- Jacksonville
train, the Homosassa train and the
train to and from Wilcox through
Gainesville daily, beside the tri-
weekly service to Lakeland and to
Wilcox via Dunnellon.
The SIeaboard was then the Florida
Central & Peninsular. 1t ran two
trains daily thru Ocala between Fer
nandina and Tampa, and two between
Jacksonville and Tampa. The train
to and from Fernandina was a full
passenger train, taking Pullman
from the Jacksonville and River
Junction train at Baldwin coming
southwest, and releasing another
Pullmari 1t the same point to the east
bound train. At that time the road
from Jacksonville to River Junction
was the main line of the system. To
to Tampa thru Ocala. The night
train between Jacksonville and Tam
pa was mixed several freight cars,
a combination baggage and jimcrow
car, a passenger coach and a sleeper.
There was no mail clerk on the train,
but closed sacks for and from the
principal points were carried. 1t was
owing to the Stars efforts that, this
train began doing a regular mail
seryice--the Star in 1897 requesting
Mr.. S. NJ. Sparkman, then congress
man from the first district, in which
0cala was then located, to have a
mail clerk put on the train, which he
did, and the train soon after discard
ed its freight cars and became the ex-
cellent passenger train it now is. The
read now the Seaboard, now runs
three first-class trains each way, from
Jacksonville to Tampa, daily-two of
them, The limited, as fine trains as
there are in the South-beside the
elegant Suwanee special in the tourist
season. The f. c. & r. then had a
comparatively new passenger station,
the one which, shabby and inadequate,
was torn down few years ago.
There was another road. the Silver
Springs. 0eala & Gulf, from 0eala to
Homosassa with a branch line to In
vernessi. It had a little depot west
of the Pond street crossing. but took
passengers at the F. G. & P. station.
The F. c. & P freight depot was
about half its present capacity, and
the yard not more than third. The
Florida Southern had the same
freight. depot uptown the Coast Line