Ostrich onslaught

Ostriches have been on my mind lately. On Saturday, my mother sent me this wonderful vintage postcard in the mail. Then on Sunday I heard a story on the news about the Florida legislature trying to muster enough courage to eliminate some of the silly tax exemptions that exist in our state, like the one on Ostrich feed. I doubt this will generate much revenue even if it is revoked, because their aren't many ostriches in Florida. But there used to be...

Casper's Ostrich and Alligator Farm was a Florida roadside attraction from 1946 to 1982 just north of St. Augustine on US 1. According to Roadside Paradise by Ken Breslauer, William Casper opened the business in 1934 as a commercial alligator farm. It became an attraction eight years later when Casper allowed the public to see his "over 8,000 alligators... flamingos, Macaws, ostrich harness racing and the South's largest air conditioned gift shop."


They promoted the attraction with large 12X18 brochure highlighting the ostriches. The copy reads: "You've Hears About Them... You've Read About Them... Possibly You've Seen Them In One of Several Motion Pictures Or On Television. NOW You Can See The World's Only Racing Ostriches." The brochure also references a "famed Jacksonville 1914 ostrich race track" which must be the one on the postcard. The large 3-color advertising piece also contains black and white images of alligators, alive and skinned, Galapagos Tortoises, emu, ostrich eggs, peacock and other exotic birds.

Image from State Archives of Florida

As with most of Florida's original attractions, business took a nose dive when when Americans started taking the interstate highway system instead of the old highways like US 1. So today vintage ephemera is all we have to remember this place where visitors could watch giant birds pull jockeys around a race track. To purchase a great T-shirt with the Casper's logo on the front, visit the Vintage Roadside site.

William Casper from State Archives of Florida

Image from State Archives of Florida

MLK, Jr. in St. Augustine

While in St. Augustine over Thanksgiving I noticed a sign in front of the Hilton that noted the site was the location of a sit-in by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1964. One thing I really love about that city is the layers upon layers of history and I was pleasantly surprised to find some twentieth century history, right there near the restaurant where we were having breakfast.

But after a little investigation, it turns out that perhaps the city of St. Augustine downplays this episode of its past, because it is pretty ugly. 

1964 marked the 400th anniversary of the creation of St. Augustine and the city wanted to mark the occasion with a celebration funded by the Federal government. As the city was still heavily segregated at the time, and its economy depended on tourists from up north, King saw an opportunity to draw attention to the civil rights movement started in the city a year earlier by the local NAACP. The movement, led by a local dentist, featured sit-ins and demonstrations and led to counter demonstrations by the KKK that resulted in the outbreak of violence.

The protests went on and the violence increased and in May of 1964 MLK and the Southern Leadership Conference tried to get federal intervention in the city to ensure the rights of protesters to march in safety. The situation culminated in two events at the Monson Manor Lodge, located where the Hilton is today. On June 11th MLK and 7 others were arrested at the motel's restaurant after being denied service. And then a week later, when they returned to try to desegregate the pool, the motel manager poured acid into the water to prevent them.

The effects of the events in St. Augustine culminated in the announcement of the creation of a state sponsored biracial committee to review the issues of the troubled city. The committee never met, but it's formation allowed the civil rights movement to move on to Alabama. And the publicity generated by the events in the nation's oldest city helped to end the filibuster in the US senate over civil rights legislation. 

I wish Dr. King would have lived long enough to see history being made tomorrow. 

Click here to read about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1964 visit to Orlando.