news Peddling Swampland
Historian Jason Vuic Looks at the Past and Present of Florida Development In the 1950s, Florida’s population was 2.8 million. Miami, still a small southern city, was just a winter tourist spot, and the interior was millions of acres of uninhabited prairies of pines and palmettos, home to herds of cattle, and seemingly endless orange groves. Tampa and St. Petersburg were the only large towns along the Gulf coast. Naples was still just a small fishing village, and even Orlando was only a business hub for the surrounding citrus and cattle industry. “The Swamp Peddlers: How Lot Sellers, Land Scammers, and Retirees Built Modern Florida and Transformed the American Dream” by historian Jason Vuic (University of North Carolina Press) shows the transformation of old Florida, from acres of eco-sensitive wetlands, pine forests and cattle ranches, to today’s subdivisions sprawling across the state, devouring natural ecosystems. But that soon changed, and Vuic guides readers through elaborate schemes that became stereotypes nationwide, setting up today’s culde-sac society. Vuic witnessed much of the devel-
FLORIDA MEMORY
By Nano Riley
John’s Pass circa 1946.
opment of the ‘80s from his childhood home in Punta Gorda. “My mom grew up in Inverness and moved to Pittsburgh, where she met my dad, but she missed Florida,” Vuic told the Gabber. “She liked old Florida, but Dad loved modern Florida, so I grew up with a foot in both worlds.”
He remembered Punta Gorda was a mix of old and new, with kids from both backgrounds in his school years. Vuic became fascinated by the endless lots of Cape Coral – miles of roads with no bushiness or agriculture. “Cape Coral used to be affordable,” he said. “There could be a retired cop
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theGabber.com | November 4, 2021 - November 10, 2021
