It was suggested on my Old Florida Facebook page that I solicit comments for the smells that best reflect the essence of Old Florida. Here are the responses:
Coppertone. Noxzema after the Coppertone didn't work.
Night blooming jasmine or Natal Plum citrus blossoms in the
spring; Confederate jasmine.
When you were on your way to the beach and you're starting
to smell that salt air.
Coconut scented suntan lotion, fish... and that earthy,
swampy smell on the rivers.
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| Maxwell House Quality Control, Jacksonville, 1950s, State Archives of Florida |
Maxwell House
coffee traveling the freeway in Jacksonville
and roasting Bustelo coffee in Hialeah.
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| Paper mill in Port St. Joe, 1954, State Archives of Florida |
Everglades pines when the sun first hits them in the morning. Hot asphalt as it rains...freshly cut grass.
Paper mills.
Sulfur water. An oyster flat at low tide. Red Tide.
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| State Archives of Florida |
Burning off the cane fields. Old time, real Florida
tomatoes. And
boiled peanuts.
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| State Archives of Florida |
Palmetto flowers, Spider Lilies in the swamp, Speckled Perch
or Bass on the beds... for me the stinky Anheuser Busch Brewery, low tide estuaries,
Deviled Crabs, smoked mullet.
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| State Archives of Florida |
The smell of seashells forgotten in the backseat of the car.
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| State Archives of Florida |
Smoked fish and orange
blossoms. Oyster roasts!
The smell of fresh
cane juice slowly turning into cane syrup
on a cool November morning in North Florida.
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| Plant City Strawberry Field, State Archives of Florida |
Guavas cooking to make guava jelly.
Strawberry fields in
Plant City when the fruit gets ripe.
Magnolia blossoms and gardenias. Mangroves! Oak wood smoke.
Muck fires!
Leaf tobacco in an Ybor City hand rolled.
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| Etsy |
Orange blossom perfume. Hot Krispy Kreme donuts. The Wonder
Bread factory in Tampa.
Mold and mildew. Wildfire breeze, fresh cut pines, lemons,
Wax Myrtle,
Cypress, the "left overs" from the neighbors catch tossed
in the ditch.
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| State Archives of Florida |
"Off" mosquito spray. A/C unit that hasn't had its
filter cleaned in a long time. An
oyster bar after a college football victory
celebration. Roach spray. Kerosene heaters. Burning melaleuca trees. The smell of mullet frying in an un-air conditioned restaurant.
Frangipani in old town Key West early in the morning.
Afternoon rain showers, you could almost tell time by their
arrival.
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| State Archives of Florida |
When the Cuban neighbors invited you over and roasted a
whole pig on a pit all day and you took turns turning it...
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| State Archives of Florida |
Seaweed baking away in the sun. The smell of Clorox bleached
shells. Bait, brine and slough.
Pine needles, crushed Palmetto bugs, pool chlorine, little
motel rooms on the highway, golf course on a summer night, mosquito trucks, wet
Oak leaves, bait wells, backyard cookouts, horse stalls, well water, fried
seafood, citrus groves in bloom, mucky spoils islands, fresh lime in iced tea,
smoke from fireworks on the 4th of July, turtle tanks at Kresges.
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| State Archives of Florida |
Rotten citrus, bog/muck fires, swamp or dead fish smells
around lakes,
hot tar paving roads.
Pastures of grazing horses and cattle. Tea olive blossoms.
Exhaust from the races and fresh turned soil.
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| State Archives of Florida |
A family
fish fry, cornbread baking, the earthy smell of the
Everglades. Salt water and diesel.
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| State Archives of Florida |
The dirt around the
earthworms in the bucket, and then on
your hands when you're fishing at the river. The smell at the docks after the
shrimp boats come in. So many more!
Dear God, Florida smells good!
Awesome post.
ReplyDeleteYou just about covered everything, I'm a native Floridian and experienced it all!
ReplyDeleteMy childhood inFL the all the pics bring back memories
ReplyDeleteMade me remember my childhood inFL On this rainy day in TX thanks
ReplyDeletestumbled on this page, love it. the smell of the Donald Duck orange juice factory signaled we were getting closer to Disney World!
ReplyDeleteCrushed palmetto bugs smell like cinnamon.
ReplyDeleteRemembering all these smells makes me "homesick" for the old days.
ReplyDeletethe smell of cut St Augustine grass... the starfish you found on the beach that's been on the bathroom counter for a few weeks...the smell of the mosquito truck we would run behind...pine straw baking in the sun...
ReplyDeleteWONDERFUL!
ReplyDeleteAnd may I add- the Ocean Grill in Vero Beach when you walk in.
Sulphur water
ReplyDeleteALL these comments take me back. This FL native had a smile on my face reading them!
ReplyDeleteah, yes I remember it well.
ReplyDeleteThey left out one smell well known to old South Florida....bread baking at the Holsum bakery on South Dixie Highway...a local smell like no other. As a native Floridian, I too, remember almost all of those listed...ah nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteYou got most of them (I lived a block from that Wonder Bread Factory in Tampa)! But you forgot the smell of the orange juice factories in Pasco and the paper mill in Palatka.
ReplyDeleteI still use Coppertone suntan lotion...... Used it today @ the beach! Addicted to the fragrance ������
ReplyDeleteThe smell of the Gordon River lapping up on the small boat docks on the backside of The Gordon Pass Fishcamp south of Naples ca. 1949. I guess it was pretty awful, objectively, being probably composed of rotting fish parts, mangrove buds, and fiddler crabs, living and dead; but it's the one thing that sticks in my mind strongest, after all these years.
ReplyDeleteThe smell of stink bugs. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI was a young child, but I still remember it well. Also the Coppertone smell.