I am still researching the newspapers over the years but have gotten side-tracked once more. There is just so much information hidden within those old newspapers they have fired my imagination into creating a fiction story inside the Blanche hotel itself. It may even bloom into a series of historical mystery adventures. I have joined a virtual writers group (since we are all still self-isolated) that meets once a week on Zoom. Through the encouragement of these local ladies, I have started a 1900s historical fiction story set inside the Blanche Hotel.
Since I started my non-fiction book research in 1901 I have decided to set this story in 1903 just after the great Florida State Fair held in Lake City the month after the grand opening of the hotel itself. The story centers around two lady travelers who are probably some of the first snowbirds and a local young woman who is a maid at the hotel. They encounter a mysterious code and seek to solve it before spies do damage to the area and even the country. The pictures below also inspired part of the story. They are the only was, so far, that we can find that shows the inside of the hotel during this period. They are obviously a little later than the story still it gives you an inkling in how things might have looked.
Local Writers and Local History Books
Another great historical fiction account of the city involves the town itself. One of Lake City’s prominent local published writers, LL Eadie, has published a cute little story about the great Seminole warrior called Halpatter Tustenuggee or Alligator Warrior. He was a prominent figure during the Seminole Wars and the naming of the town where his village was located. Now, from what I have found out from the writer, the Alligator Warrior mentioned in the other textbooks and articles that show a picture of Halpatter is not really him. The one that has a picture is another native American from a different tribe fighting during the same war. There are no known pictures of the actual Halpatter Tustenuggee that in all her years of research has been able to find. CLICK HERE to purchase a copy of the book on Amazon and below is the promotional video. Please support us local published writers by purchasing our books, sharing them with your friends and family on social media and writing reviews.
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