The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-11-08
DEFUNIAK SPRINCSISBEST
KNOWN CITY IN West FLORIDA
Is Also One of Most Beautiful, Best Kept and
Most Wholesome Community in Entire
State of Florida.

7 ono whose habit 1t has been Throughout
! the past ten years, to direct his talent,
| and the flow OF his money, into chan
nels selected for the purpose Of endeavor
ing to make two blades of grass to grow
| where but one grew before"
was at DeFuniak Springs last Thurs
day and was afforded access to examin,
Bob McCaskills books-not by him, bu
| by his confidential clerk and office man.
ager-and there written in these books
was the surprising information that dur,
| ing the years 1919, 1920 and 1921, Mr.
McCaskilI spent in the publication o.
| booklets setting forth the marvellous un.
! developed resources of West Florida
and for the purchase Of ADVERTISING
| space in newspa pers and magazines
| throughout the country. to be used for
the same purpose as the booklets which
he has published, the sum of s49,S77. 80
| Nor was a dime of this approximately
| $50 10000 expended in salaries or for
general expense in the conduct of Mr.
McCaskill's advertised enterprises in
cluded in that account-not even the
salary Of a 100000 per year advertis-
ing expert employed by him for two
years, during the period covered
DeFuniak Is Headquarters.
True. not all Of Mr.. McCaskilTs de-
velopment enterprises were conferred i'm
mediately around DeFuniak. However.
his office headquarters are located there,
and every piece of literature which has
been issued by him and every newspa-
per or magazine advertisement which he
has published, has borne a DeFuniak
Springs date line.
Bob McCaskin, like the founders Of
DeFuniak Springs We're, and as his
EoF l1z J-.Fo I,
and has really been ten years ahead of
his time in his development undertake
ings. II was he who first discovered"
the remarkable blueberry orchard Of NJ.
A Sapp's, of which I wrote a story for
The Journal last week, and assisted Mr.
Sapp in finding satisfactory market for
the product of his orchard-Mr. Sapp is
my authority for the statement-and it
has been he who has throughout thu.
past five years, in season and out Of sea-
son, advocated the planting ard culture
OF Satsuma oranges throughout West
Florida-an industry which is now being
developed upon a prodidgious scale in
every county in West Florida.
'It is human to err etc, and Bob
McCaskll has made his mistakes but
since have had access to his books and
nave SEEN practically every pamphlet
which has been issued under his name
I am convinced that any errors which
he has made have been errors of judge
raert, and not errors designed. And I
know that the development which he
las accomplished. much of which have
seen, far outweighs any errors of judge
mint OF which he may in the past hav..
been guilty.
Bob McCaskill is dreamer and
or IF nj 6rh ha ic ,,C,
asst and his far sightedness which has.
in so many cases, proven So karats fine.
appeals to another who has drempt
dreams of a West Florida redeemed. a
West Florida developed into the garden
spot of all Florida, as really uncanny.
Now. let's revert. for just n paragraph
or two, to DeFuniak Springs, as a COM
munity; and as I saw it last week.
1 repeat: From my observations. l can
not believe that the citizenship of De-
Funiall, s a whole, fully appreciate the
marvellous possibilities wrapped up in
the soil Immediately surrounding then
town.
Mines Of Wealth.
Upon every hand, to one who has be-
come accustomed to observing such
things, there are mines Of untold and in
calculable wealth. Immediately surround
ing DeFunak, and except in a very des-
ultory way. these mines are still I'M
worked The soil of the territory is pc
Cuiarly adapted to truck farming; to
Satsuma orange and BURBERRY culture;
t. the culture of the sand pear; to the
culture Of peaches and half dozen othe~
crops, not to mention its
possibilities of production of all of the
staple agricultural crops indigenous to
the soil of the section. But there is little
O: any development in any of these lines.
True, I saw, when I was there last
beautiful peach orchard of
approximately forty acres. which is be-
ing cultivated by Walton Land & Tim
Der Company. some two miles south of
the town; also that I saw several, more
or less restricted areas. cultivated to sew
town and within n stones throw almost
Of the Chautauqua tabernacle, I was
shown one of the most beautiful and
prolific Satsuma orange groves that it
has been my privilege to see in my wan
Jerings through West Florida. 1t is the
property of Wash Dannelly, and consists
Of approximately thirty trees about six
years old. Every tree in the grove,
which occupies its owners front yard,
was loaded with fruit, and with the fruit
on five or six. kumquat, a half dozen
pineapple Valencia oranges and two or
three grapefruits, Mr.. Dannelly will real
ze between $500 and $500 from his nina |
ture grove this year. However. he owns
five acres of ground surrounding his
home and has already set one acre OF