POLKcast: A Polk State history lesson with Polk County Historical Preservation Manager Myrtice Young [TRANSCRIPT]
Polk Cast Transcript – M. Young
[Myrtice]
00:00:00.600 –> 00:00:03.160
Interesting connection though
though to the Bartow Airbase.
00:00:03.180 –> 00:00:07.800
The first of post state college students
started their career at the Bartow
00:00:07.800 –> 00:00:10.080
Airbase, as did Buz Aldrin. Make.
[Music]
00:00:10.080 –> 00:00:10.530
It.
00:00:10.530 –> 00:00:14.320
Do another kinda freeform rock and
go make solo. Maybe want a tapa toe,
00:00:14.320 –> 00:00:18.080
just another kind of freeform rock
and go make solo. Maybe want toe.
[Madison]
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Welcome to Polk Cast Polk State College’s
official podcast. I’m your host,
00:00:29.960 –> 00:00:31.000
Madison Fantozzi.
[Leah]
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And I’m your co-host Leah Bartholomay.
[Madison]
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And today’s guest is the person you’d on
your Polk County history trivia team and
00:00:38.920 –> 00:00:41.520
students. If you’re doing
research on Polk, listen closely.
00:00:41.840 –> 00:00:45.760
We’re joined by me Young, the historic
preservation manager for Polk County.
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She graduated from Polk State College
with an associate and science degree in
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1970, and later returned to complete
an associate in Arts in 1980.
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In 2005, she was named a Polk State
Distinguished Alumna. Welcome Myrtice
[Myrtice]
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Thank you. It is just a pleasure and
a real joy to be back on this campus.
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I feel like a student today.
[Leah]
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Aww, that’s great. I love that. It’s,
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Has it been a while since
you’ve been back on campus?
[Myrtice]
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The last time was Wise
and witty women. Mm-hmm.
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<affirmative> that was hosted on this
campus probably was maybe two years back.
[All]
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Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
[Leah]
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Oh, that’s great. So you
still visit once in a while?
[Myrtice]
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I do.
[Madison]
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<Laugh>. Great. What’s your favorite
thing about campus or what, you know,
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brings back some memories?
[Myrtice]
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You know, just being on this campus
and thinking back the, you know,
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those early years when I was here and
just that feeling of being so grown up
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and growing up in Little Cocoon town
of Lake Wales and then coming to Winter
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Haven and there’re students from so
many other cities and areas and you just
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feel like, wow, you’re in just this big
college campus. <laugh> really cool.
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And it just is a great memory. Aww.
[Madison]
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Yeah. Awesome. Well,
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will you share with our listeners what
your role entails as the preservation
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manager for Polk County?
[Myrtice]
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Oh, I’m so proud to tell you about that.
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So the Historic Preservation Manager
role was established in 2010,
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and the purpose was to serve as the direct
liaison between the Polk County Board
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of County Commissioners and the Polk
Historical Commission to manage the
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operations of the historical
museum and research library.
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Primary objectives are to accomplish
the museum’s mission of collecting
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and preserving and documenting items
that are important to Polk County’s
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history.
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That mission was established actually
by the Florida legislature in 1937
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by establishing the Polk
County Historical Commission.
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We also are tasked with the, uh,
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responsibility to develop and promote
Polk County as a heritage tourism
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destination,
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and then to leverage the relationships
between the Polk County History Center,
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the Polk County Historical Commission,
the Polk County Library Cooperative,
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the Polk County Historical Association,
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and all the county-wide historical
associations, organizations,
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and the state, regional,
and national associations.
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So to bring that study and interest
and engagement of history together
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under one umbrella. Wow.
The History Center, that.
[Leah]
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Is a big undertaking. <laugh>.
Well, what led you to this position?
[Myrtice]
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You, it, it’s an
interesting opportunity. Uh,
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at really a very mature
point in my career.
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I was actually working in another
position and I was invited to participate
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in a task force that was established
by the Polk County Board of County
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Commission. And that was in 2009.
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And the purpose of that task
force was to evaluate the,
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the county’s endeavors in historic
preservation. What should we do?
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The questions were what should we be
doing with the building that beautiful
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historic building, How should
we accomplish that mission?
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That was established in 1937.
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So after the task force concluded
its recommendations and assessments,
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had the opportunity actually to think
about applying for the position.
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And I did.
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And I was thrilled to have been selected
as this historic preservation manager.
00:04:06.020 –> 00:04:08.240
And I just tell everybody,
it was a wonderful,
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wonderful culmination of a career
path all in Polk County to bring me
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to historic preservation as my
mature and final career. Oh.
[Leah]
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That’s awesome.
[Madison]
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Really, really cool. So when you
went to go do your education,
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why did you choose Polk
State College way back then?
[Myrtice]
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You know, that is a question that is a
great question to answer. First of all,
00:04:29.660 –> 00:04:32.800
all my needs were met and accessibility.
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I just wanna emphasize accessibility
without going into all the details of my
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life,
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the circumstances of my life didn’t
allow opportunities to travel out of the
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state or to go to
another major university.
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So here I am at home at this point,
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I’m a young mother and I
have very much a desire to,
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to earn a college education.
So here we are at the time,
00:04:56.360 –> 00:04:57.760
for me it was Polk Community College,
00:04:58.060 –> 00:05:01.400
and you mentioned that I first started
with an associate of science degree.
00:05:01.400 –> 00:05:06.400
I had the opportunity to get technical
education to prepare me for a career,
00:05:06.820 –> 00:05:10.720
and then later I realized I wanted
to advance that and finish, you know,
00:05:10.720 –> 00:05:11.880
get a bachelor’s degree.
00:05:12.090 –> 00:05:15.920
So I was fortunate enough to come back
and earn the associate of Arts degree,
00:05:15.950 –> 00:05:19.840
very available. All I had to do was
walk back in the door, complete that,
00:05:19.840 –> 00:05:23.840
and then finish that launched into
the completion of a bachelor’s at the
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University of South Florida.
00:05:25.090 –> 00:05:28.480
So it was accessibility and
then just everything I needed,
00:05:28.480 –> 00:05:31.720
all my educational career
needs were met right here.
00:05:32.230 –> 00:05:36.120
That’s great. And such a small
town and to offer so much.
[Leah]
00:05:36.430 –> 00:05:38.200
That’s so great. Well,
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we touched on this a little bit about
you being on campus today and memories
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that have come back of you
being a student. Is there,
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how has the campus changed
since you have been here
00:05:49.650 –> 00:05:50.310
as a student?
[Myrtice]
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Well, there are more
buildings. <laugh>. Yeah.
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I noticed even as I was driving
around and weaving around what I,
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in my mind remember as the pathway
to the parking lots, you know,
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now you have the collegiate college
and there are athletic buildings and so
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many more buildings, but the
footprint is still that familiar,
00:06:09.080 –> 00:06:10.160
friendly footprint. Yeah.
[Leah]
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So when you were here,
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is there anything that sticks out in
your mind as something that was like a
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historical event that happened
here or something that
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you, that you remember? Like what is
your most poignant memory of being here?
[Myrtice]
00:06:26.090 –> 00:06:27.120
There’s so many,
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but one in particular I’d like to share
with your students and since we’ve
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already dated me, it’s okay for
me to go in back into history.
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I think that’s the theme today.
Right? So, um, like I said,
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young fresh student on
the campus, July, 1969,
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we arrived on campus that day.
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Obviously I was taking summer classes
and there were TV cameras set up and all
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the common areas and along the walkways
and the purpose of those cameras,
00:06:52.690 –> 00:06:54.840
as we were attending classes that day,
00:06:54.900 –> 00:06:59.080
the Apollo 11 mission was
journeying to the moon. Wow.
00:06:59.180 –> 00:07:03.280
And so we were able to come
to class and watch those TVs,
00:07:03.540 –> 00:07:08.080
big black and white TVs, you
know, as we, um, anticipated the,
00:07:08.080 –> 00:07:12.960
that astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil
Armstrong were preparing to take those
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first steps on the lunar surface.
00:07:15.690 –> 00:07:19.760
So that experience and memory occurred
for me while I was here on campus.
00:07:20.100 –> 00:07:21.480
And it just, as you said,
00:07:21.680 –> 00:07:26.120
resonates with me today because now
we’re beginning to have that conversation
00:07:26.280 –> 00:07:28.440
about a second lunar landing.
00:07:28.820 –> 00:07:33.240
And I thought all those years ago I had
the joy and the experience of joining
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other students as we watched that
occurring Wow. At the Polk community campus.
[Madison]
00:07:38.150 –> 00:07:38.640
What.
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A cool connection. I love that. Wow.
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So has Polk State ever
crossed paths now in your job?
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Have you ever done any research or
have Polk State pop up in any of your.
[Madison, Myrtice]
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Projects? In so many ways You know,
00:07:51.280 –> 00:07:53.840
certainly Polk State College
is such a vast resource.
00:07:53.840 –> 00:07:58.720
Everybody that’s listening this podcast
today knows that cultural opportunities
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and educational continuing educational
opportunities just, you know,
00:08:03.120 –> 00:08:07.080
a resource in so many ways to the
community. And for me though, in my job,
00:08:07.080 –> 00:08:07.920
most recently,
00:08:08.220 –> 00:08:13.080
one experience I had was working actually
with your office and I’m so pleased
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and proud that Polk State College
distinguished alums were featured in a
00:08:18.200 –> 00:08:20.840
traveling portion of
the Smithsonian exhibit.
00:08:21.100 –> 00:08:25.600
And Ed Smith presented a
deeply thought-provoking
00:08:25.600 –> 00:08:27.640
discussion on the electoral college.
00:08:27.940 –> 00:08:31.640
And I can remember thinking that was
probably one of the most important
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community engagement themes
that we added to that exhibit,
00:08:36.000 –> 00:08:38.480
is having an opportunity to talk
about the electoral college.
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And he did just such a
fascinating job of explaining it,
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why it’s important and
why it should continue.
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So where would I have been
that day without Polk State
College resources to help
00:08:48.880 –> 00:08:50.680
us with that very interesting exhibit.
[Leah]
00:08:50.790 –> 00:08:52.680
That’s awesome. Well, um,
00:08:52.810 –> 00:08:56.440
do you know any interesting
history about Polk State?
[Myrtice]
00:08:56.710 –> 00:09:00.560
Well, one of my, a fun
fact that I have, yeah,
00:09:00.560 –> 00:09:04.400
it’s most likely on your website, but
it’s fun for me because when I go around,
00:09:04.400 –> 00:09:08.160
I talk about a historical timeline
of Polk County. I always add this,
00:09:08.160 –> 00:09:11.000
I wonder if it’s because of my
own personal pride. <laugh>,
00:09:11.490 –> 00:09:14.560
we all know probably Polk State
College has had three names.
00:09:14.880 –> 00:09:17.560
First it was Polk Junior College,
00:09:17.940 –> 00:09:22.080
and that started at the
Bartow Airbase in 1964,
00:09:22.080 –> 00:09:25.040
which I think is such an
interesting, um, part of the history.
00:09:25.220 –> 00:09:28.480
And then we grew up to Polk
Community College at this campus.
00:09:28.480 –> 00:09:32.440
And that’s my early history
with Polk, um, with Polk State.
00:09:32.500 –> 00:09:34.880
And then of course now
Polk State College as
00:09:34.880 –> 00:09:39.560
We moved to a four-year college
and interesting connection to
00:09:39.560 –> 00:09:44.320
though, to the Bartow Air Base. I’m
really into the aeronautical and the,
00:09:44.320 –> 00:09:46.240
um, lunar program these days.
00:09:46.800 –> 00:09:51.720
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin started
his aeronautical career
00:09:52.370 –> 00:09:55.200
as a young aviator at the Bartow Air Base.
00:09:55.340 –> 00:09:57.720
And he was trained as a young pilot there.
00:09:58.170 –> 00:10:03.040
So the first of Polk State
College students started
their career at the Bartow
00:10:03.040 –> 00:10:04.800
Airbase, as did Aldrin.
[Leah]
00:10:05.140 –> 00:10:06.000
Wow. That’s.
[Madison]
00:10:06.000 –> 00:10:07.960
Great. That’s impressive. I had no idea.
[Leah]
00:10:08.110 –> 00:10:10.440
I think only the name
changes on the website,
00:10:10.620 –> 00:10:13.480
not that as specific at
seeing or welcome knowledge.
[Madison]
00:10:13.570 –> 00:10:15.040
We should add that to our marketing.
[Leah]
00:10:15.960 –> 00:10:20.520
Actually the shield in Polk State College
has three lines and that represents
00:10:20.520 –> 00:10:21.720
the three name changes.
[Myrtice]
00:10:22.510 –> 00:10:24.240
I didn’t know that. Yeah, thank you.
00:10:24.240 –> 00:10:27.600
And I have something else to brag about
when I go talk to the community about
00:10:27.600 –> 00:10:31.040
the history of Polk County,
<laugh> and the three bars. Yeah.
00:10:31.110 –> 00:10:35.080
That’s what I love and admire about
design and marketing brains. Yes.
[Madison]
00:10:35.550 –> 00:10:38.360
Well that is my new favorite
fun fact about the college.
00:10:38.360 –> 00:10:42.840
But Myrtice do you have any
favorite historical facts
about Polk County as a whole?
[Myrtice]
00:10:43.950 –> 00:10:45.040
I do. You know,
00:10:45.110 –> 00:10:49.880
I I love the grit and the
grace of the people who settle
00:10:49.880 –> 00:10:53.200
Polk County, their stories,
how they found their way here,
00:10:53.200 –> 00:10:58.160
how they survived in the early mid
18 hundreds with mosquitoes and
00:10:58.160 –> 00:10:59.800
storms. And I know, how.
00:10:59.800 –> 00:11:00.760
Did they do that? No ac.
00:11:01.370 –> 00:11:06.120
No ac I’m always fascinated when you
think about the early settlements in Polk
00:11:06.120 –> 00:11:11.000
County that the towns developed around
the industries that attracted people
00:11:11.000 –> 00:11:15.880
here. So of course the first or the, the
forts, the fort towns like Fort Meade,
00:11:15.980 –> 00:11:19.840
and that was a fort that occurred
during the period of the time of the
00:11:19.840 –> 00:11:23.680
development of the Zachary Taylor
Roads and the Seminole Conflicts.
00:11:23.860 –> 00:11:27.680
And then they’re the mining towns with
the early history of the phosphate
00:11:27.680 –> 00:11:30.800
mining. So towns like Brewster
and those towns that are,
00:11:30.800 –> 00:11:32.920
we call them heritage towns
that don’t exist anymore.
00:11:33.180 –> 00:11:34.960
And then the railroad towns, you know,
00:11:34.960 –> 00:11:39.680
the beginnings of the railroads in county
as Henry Plant brought the railroad
00:11:39.790 –> 00:11:44.200
from Kissimee down to, um,
down to the Tampa area.
00:11:44.380 –> 00:11:48.680
And we see the whole northern part of
the county developing. And it’s just,
00:11:48.780 –> 00:11:52.960
you know, those kinds of facts, the way
the county developed, the fact that we,
00:11:53.000 –> 00:11:54.840
we had in the 1917 area,
00:11:54.840 –> 00:11:59.560
the Great New Roads Project and that
footprint don’t laugh, you’ll say, Oh,
00:11:59.560 –> 00:12:00.560
that’s why it’s congested.
00:12:00.580 –> 00:12:04.560
The footprint of the road
system that we created in 1917.
00:12:04.560 –> 00:12:08.240
Our friends over in the transportation
planning office tell me that footprint
00:12:08.510 –> 00:12:11.560
that our very brilliant, um,
00:12:11.960 –> 00:12:16.400
leaders in 1917 created is the footprint
of our transportation network today.
00:12:16.540 –> 00:12:21.320
And what that did was it created a
connection to all of those towns so
00:12:21.320 –> 00:12:25.920
that early things like
distribution and early, um,
00:12:26.160 –> 00:12:27.080
businesses could start.
00:12:27.080 –> 00:12:32.000
And so just those kinds of facts
about the way the history of
00:12:32.200 –> 00:12:34.520
the county started. And
I’m just always fascinated,
00:12:34.520 –> 00:12:38.000
it’s interesting to me that
John Vincent Atenastoff,
00:12:38.000 –> 00:12:41.920
who grew up over near Mulberry in the
little phosphate town of Brewster,
00:12:42.090 –> 00:12:44.840
is credited from the beginner of the,
00:12:44.930 –> 00:12:49.640
he created the first design for the
computers now amazing. Think that,
00:12:50.070 –> 00:12:53.040
I mean, how we operate
today and what that means,
00:12:53.060 –> 00:12:57.040
and that the creator of that
concept grew up in Brewster.
00:12:57.300 –> 00:12:58.800
And it’s just then the,
00:12:58.800 –> 00:13:03.040
the leaders in the county
and the statesmen like, um,
00:13:03.040 –> 00:13:07.560
Spessard Holland who was, you know,
he forged through the 24th Amendment,
00:13:07.560 –> 00:13:09.000
which set aside the poll tax.
00:13:09.010 –> 00:13:13.640
So I’ve heard people like Adam Putnam
before say Polk County is the center of
00:13:13.640 –> 00:13:14.100
the universe.
00:13:14.100 –> 00:13:18.160
And I think that’s the fact that I just
enjoy so much is that we really are the
00:13:18.160 –> 00:13:18.993
center of the universe.
00:13:19.010 –> 00:13:23.480
So much about Polk County is important
and essential for our history as it
00:13:23.480 –> 00:13:25.440
created what we have today. Wow.
[Madison, Leah]
00:13:25.550 –> 00:13:28.680
That’s very true. That, that’s
awesome. We are the center of the.
00:13:28.880 –> 00:13:33.480
Universe. We are the center of
the universe, Polk County. Think.
00:13:33.480 –> 00:13:33.960
About that.
[Madison]
00:13:33.960 –> 00:13:34.800
That should be our slogan.
[Leah]
00:13:35.360 –> 00:13:37.520
<Laugh>. Um,
00:13:38.050 –> 00:13:43.040
so I actually was watching some
of your YouTube videos on the Polk
00:13:43.040 –> 00:13:47.960
County Heritage Trail. Can you share a
little bit about the project with us?
00:13:47.960 –> 00:13:48.793
And.
[Myrtice]
00:13:49.230 –> 00:13:52.960
That’s one of the most exciting things
that we have to offer for people who are
00:13:52.960 –> 00:13:54.680
interested in history and you know,
00:13:54.680 –> 00:13:58.280
even people who don’t even know they’re
interested in history to be able to
00:13:58.280 –> 00:14:02.080
drive around the county. And
we created a navigational tool.
00:14:02.350 –> 00:14:07.160
It’s set up so that you can
do this in five full-day road
00:14:07.160 –> 00:14:09.840
trips to find sites around the county.
00:14:09.840 –> 00:14:14.680
There are more than 300
significant historical sites
that helped tell the story
00:14:15.010 –> 00:14:17.520
of Polk County’s early
beginnings and our history.
00:14:17.780 –> 00:14:21.520
And so this little tool gives
you pictures, has a map,
00:14:21.540 –> 00:14:25.960
and provides opportunities for you to
find very special places like Saint Anne
00:14:25.960 –> 00:14:27.600
Shrine over east of Lake Wales.
00:14:27.600 –> 00:14:32.440
It has a wonderful history about the
French Canadians who moved down in the
00:14:32.440 –> 00:14:36.040
winter months to thaw out. So just
great little things like that.
00:14:36.040 –> 00:14:40.240
And the challenge was we have this
beautiful building over in Bartow,
00:14:40.240 –> 00:14:43.440
the museum and the library,
the county is vast.
00:14:44.010 –> 00:14:48.880
So I thought we need a way to take
people beyond the walls of the museum out
00:14:48.880 –> 00:14:52.920
and about around the county to actually
discover history on the site where it
00:14:53.040 –> 00:14:53.520
happened. Wow.
[Leah]
00:14:53.520 –> 00:14:53.960
That’s.
[Myrtice]
00:14:53.960 –> 00:14:55.120
Great. That’s what that’s for.
[Leah]
00:14:55.510 –> 00:14:56.520
Yeah, I was,
00:14:56.710 –> 00:15:00.560
I was amazed at how interested I was
after I started watching the first couple
00:15:00.560 –> 00:15:03.680
episodes. There was the kissing, uh.
[Myrtice]
00:15:03.860 –> 00:15:05.640
The kissing gen spring story Springs.
[Leah]
00:15:05.640 –> 00:15:06.840
Yep. Mm-hmm <affirmative>
that was so great.
00:15:06.870 –> 00:15:09.600
Just about weird things
that you would never know.
00:15:09.740 –> 00:15:12.080
And they’re right in your backyard. These.
00:15:12.080 –> 00:15:13.800
Right here. Great stories.
[Myrtice]
00:15:14.030 –> 00:15:15.160
Such great stories.
[Madison]
00:15:16.330 –> 00:15:18.360
So do you have a favorite landmark then,
00:15:18.360 –> 00:15:22.000
or something that’s on the trail that
you would recommend if someone only had
00:15:22.000 –> 00:15:23.200
time to go visit One thing.
[Myrtice]
00:15:24.390 –> 00:15:24.880
Well,
00:15:24.880 –> 00:15:29.400
of course my favorite landmark is
the old Polk County Courthouse,
00:15:29.840 –> 00:15:33.080
which is the site of the
Polk County History Center.
00:15:33.420 –> 00:15:38.040
The building served as a center of
government for Polk County from,
00:15:38.250 –> 00:15:42.480
um, the, the building that we’re
in now was, um, dedicated in 1909.
00:15:42.930 –> 00:15:46.720
It was designed by architect E.C. Hosford,
00:15:46.940 –> 00:15:51.800
who is credited for designing the
beautiful neoclassical design of
00:15:51.800 –> 00:15:55.960
many, several courthouses throughout
Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
00:15:56.380 –> 00:16:00.560
And the beauty about the story and
the connection to that building,
00:16:00.780 –> 00:16:03.520
the neoclassical design is that Mr.
00:16:03.520 –> 00:16:08.400
Hosford actually spent a period of his
life in Polk County and is credited
00:16:08.400 –> 00:16:12.240
for designing the, um,
several buildings that are,
00:16:12.240 –> 00:16:15.600
have become very historically significant
and particularly in the Lakeland area.
00:16:15.870 –> 00:16:19.520
Some houses, some schools
and other business buildings.
00:16:19.520 –> 00:16:24.480
One in particular the people might
recognize is that the same architect that
00:16:24.720 –> 00:16:28.720
designed the beautiful
neoclassical building that
we’re in also built the school
00:16:28.720 –> 00:16:33.560
that is the Lawton Chiles was the
high school on South Florida Avenue.
00:16:34.050 –> 00:16:37.560
So several, um, E.C. Hosford um,
00:16:38.190 –> 00:16:41.040
design buildings. Ours
of course is my favorite.
00:16:41.260 –> 00:16:44.320
But my invitation is by visiting us,
00:16:44.450 –> 00:16:48.360
we have an entire display
of the collection of all
that architecture and we can
00:16:48.360 –> 00:16:52.880
give you lots of information and send
you on your way to discover all that
00:16:52.880 –> 00:16:56.600
beautiful architecture around
the county. And on one Saturday,
00:16:56.600 –> 00:17:00.240
each month just give us a
call. We offer a curated tour,
00:17:00.630 –> 00:17:02.400
a guided tour of the building.
00:17:02.490 –> 00:17:07.120
So you get to go behind the scenes and
learn about the architecture, the design,
00:17:07.120 –> 00:17:10.960
the neoclassical design,
the courtroom, the floors,
00:17:10.960 –> 00:17:15.280
the design of the tiles and the
floors. So that’s my favorite landmark.
00:17:15.280 –> 00:17:16.320
Wanna share it with.
00:17:16.320 –> 00:17:17.280
Everybody? That is.
[Leah, Madison]
00:17:17.280 –> 00:17:21.000
Very cool. We’re gonna have to take a
field trip, Leah. We will. I love that.
[Leah]
00:17:21.290 –> 00:17:26.040
So you deal with a lot of history and a
lot of buildings and a lot of places and
00:17:26.200 –> 00:17:29.640
locations. Are there any famous
hauntings in Polk County?
[Myrtice]
00:17:30.120 –> 00:17:34.400
<Laugh>? I asked that all the time.
My favorite dimension is Spook Hill.
00:17:34.560 –> 00:17:39.560
There you go. <laugh> Spook Hill is my
favorite to recommend. Oh, Spook Hill.
00:17:39.770 –> 00:17:42.840
In Lake Wales listed on the
National Register Historic places.
00:17:43.370 –> 00:17:46.440
So for this particular time of
year, take a trip over there.
[Leah]
00:17:47.240 –> 00:17:47.890
<Laugh>. Okay.
[Madison]
00:17:47.890 –> 00:17:52.000
It is fun. <laugh>. I’ve
done it. <laugh>. Um,
00:17:52.000 –> 00:17:54.360
so what has been the most
rewarding part of your job?
[Myrtice]
00:17:55.020 –> 00:17:59.640
You know, one of the, um, I
I I’d really just say the,
00:17:59.660 –> 00:18:04.040
the connecting people to
the stories of Polk County.
00:18:04.490 –> 00:18:07.400
We had one time in exhibit from,
again, from the Smithsonian,
00:18:07.640 –> 00:18:11.280
it was called Journey Stories. And
it was a story of people, you know,
00:18:11.280 –> 00:18:15.760
the push and pull as people came
to the United States. And um, we,
00:18:16.030 –> 00:18:18.080
when you host a Smithsonian exhibit,
00:18:18.080 –> 00:18:22.280
you’re challenged to also tell the story
as it relates on a local, uh, level.
00:18:22.460 –> 00:18:25.320
And so we created the
local stories of people,
00:18:25.320 –> 00:18:26.880
their journey stories to Polk County.
00:18:27.140 –> 00:18:31.840
And I think that really is the
great joy of taking the facts
00:18:31.840 –> 00:18:36.120
of history and realizing
behind each of those facts,
00:18:36.120 –> 00:18:40.880
there’s a journey story. Someone
was involved, someone came here,
00:18:40.880 –> 00:18:44.920
someone was motivated, someone
invested their life in their family,
00:18:44.970 –> 00:18:46.240
in the development of Polk County.
00:18:46.340 –> 00:18:49.520
And that’s really the joy in
discovering those journey stories.
[Leah]
00:18:50.750 –> 00:18:54.720
Well what does it mean to you
to be a, a distinguished alumna?
[Myrtice]
00:18:55.710 –> 00:18:58.720
Well, you know, the word that
comes to mind is gratitude.
00:18:59.310 –> 00:19:03.800
I am Polk proud and, you know,
being a distinguished alumna,
00:19:03.800 –> 00:19:08.560
Polk State College just embraces all
of me. You know, we talked about,
00:19:08.560 –> 00:19:10.080
you know, my young life,
00:19:10.700 –> 00:19:15.520
the bumps and the successes and
the questions and the indecisions
00:19:15.540 –> 00:19:20.440
and the very hard decisions and the
es that, you know, in your young life.
00:19:20.440 –> 00:19:25.280
Embracing all of that part of me,
my personal life and my family life,
00:19:25.740 –> 00:19:26.760
you know, my career,
00:19:26.760 –> 00:19:31.520
everything about me is
embraced in being a Polk County
00:19:31.520 –> 00:19:32.300
citizen.
00:19:32.300 –> 00:19:37.040
And I think the gratitude that I
have is being able to be identified
00:19:37.730 –> 00:19:41.120
as a distinguished alumni
of Polk State College,
00:19:41.320 –> 00:19:46.160
which really represents the foundation
of the heritage of home and the heritage
00:19:46.160 –> 00:19:48.200
of all of us who have been here. So it,
00:19:48.200 –> 00:19:53.160
it’s just gratitude and pride
in having a name that embraces
00:19:53.160 –> 00:19:54.760
the foundation of Myrtice Young.
[Madison]
00:19:55.770 –> 00:19:57.160
Amazing. Well,
00:19:57.160 –> 00:20:01.280
it’s been so great to learn more about
you and about the history of Polk County
00:20:01.280 –> 00:20:02.880
and Polk State in particular. I mean,
00:20:02.880 –> 00:20:06.640
we’re just so thankful that you came
to join us for our season three of Polk
00:20:06.640 –> 00:20:07.400
Cast. And.
[Myrtice]
00:20:07.400 –> 00:20:09.120
Thank you so much for inviting me.
00:20:09.120 –> 00:20:12.120
And I invite you to come
visit at the History Center.
[Leah]
00:20:12.330 –> 00:20:15.520
Oh man, definitely. That is a must make.
00:20:15.520 –> 00:20:15.850
It.
[Music]
00:20:15.850 –> 00:20:18.800
Another kinda free form.
Rock roll. Make solo.
00:20:18.800 –> 00:20:22.760
Maybe want to tap toe just another
kind free form. Rock roll. Make solo.
00:20:22.760 –> 00:20:23.720
Maybe want toe.
00:20:30.430 –> 00:20:30.920
Yeah.