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Dade City Grammar School

Parade celebrates Stanley Burnside’s ‘Big 100’

June 2, 2020 By Doug Sanders

There was a big drive-by parade on May 23 in Dade City, to honor Stanley Burnside on his 100th birthday.

Stanley Burnside took it all in, as he turned 100 — and the community turned out to celebrate with him — from a social distance. COVID-19 did not stop them from letting Burnside know they appreciate him. (Doug Sanders)

Those gathered were there to celebrate the century-mark of a man who served as the Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller. Both he and his father held that post. They served a combined 68 years — for a total of 17 consecutive terms.

Stanley Burnside’s life spanned a century in history ranging from Model-T Fords to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was just 7 when he saw men lay down the bricks on 12th Street to the Dade City Grammar School, now known as Rodney B. Cox Elementary School.

In 1937, he marched with the graduates of Pasco High School.

He was in the Army Air Forces during World War II — serving in the jungles of New Guinea and in the Philippines, on the Island of Corregidor.

People lined up to wish Stanley Burnside, the former Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller, a happy 100th birthday.

He was a family man. He had three children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

He worked as an accountant for James Emmitt Evans, giving him a front-row view into the makings of one of the largest bulk orange juice concentrate distributors in Florida’s history.

He coached Little League, too.

Over the span of 100 years, he left a huge imprint, evidenced through 200 tributes to him, posted on Facebook.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at .

Published June 03, 2020

R.B. Cox Elementary celebrates 90 years

March 1, 2017 By B.C. Manion

A lot of notable things happened during 1926.

Queen Elizabeth was born. A.A. Milne published Winnie-the-Pooh, and Tampa Theatre opened Tampa’s first air-conditioned building, in downtown Tampa.

Calvin Coolidge was in the White House at the time, and people could buy a dozen of eggs for 56 cents, a dozen oranges for 34 cents, or a porterhouse steak for 29 cents a pound.

It’s also the year that Dade City Grammar School opened.

The structure, built in the Collegiate Gothic style of architecture, was later renamed to honor Superintendent R.B. Cox, a former principal, who lost his battle with cancer in 1973.

With its Collegiate Gothic architectural style, R.B. Cox Elementary has offered a dignified presence in Dade City for nine decades.
(B.C. Manion)

The school, at 37615 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in Dade City, is hosting a 90th birthday celebration on March 5.

The event features a dinner of baked ziti, salad and dessert, with tickets selling for $7 each.

Besides the meal, there will be music by the Pasco County High School jazz band, and a video of interviews of students and teachers, with connections to the elementary school, said Principal Claudia Steinacker.

Visitors also will be able to walk down memory lane, perusing historic photographs and reading “Did you know?” factoids, gathered from people associated with the school through the years.

The event will serve as a fundraiser to help pay for some projects at the school, which serves 465 children from Early Head Start through fifth grade.

For instance, the school would like to makeover a space between the main building and the media center — converting it into a courtyard where students and families can gather, Steinacker said. Other ideas include purchasing picnic tables, to give visiting parents a place to eat lunch, and buddy benches out near the playground.

The school also would like to turn a space near the primary classrooms into a play area for the children.

“We’ll prioritize what we want to start with, based upon the funds, and then we’ll just continue moving forward as we try to raise those funds,” the principal said.

Besides the dinner, the school will be raising money through a baked goods auction, and it has sold vendor spaces to vendors who will be selling items at the event.

“We chose to do it on a Sunday, so we could make it a little bit special,” Steinacker said, noting she didn’t want people to feel rushed.

The idea is to give people a chance to gather, to reminisce and to recognize the school’s special role in the community — where it has been the focus of education for generations of children, she said.

“Even if they don’t want to come necessarily to eat, even if they just want to come to be able to walk, and see and visit — we just really want everyone to have the opportunity to see our amazing school and learn about the history that this school has,” Steinacker said.

“It’s a great opportunity to say, ‘Come celebrate.’

“If you have time and you want to support us, you want to volunteer, the door is open. We need that.”

“This is a special place. We want people to be able to celebrate what a special place it is,” Steinacker said.

Dade City’s motto is “Proud Heritage, Promising Future,” the principal said.  “We definitely are striving to give our kids that promising future,” she added.

This will be the school’s second celebration to mark its ninth decade of operation. It had a celebration in the beginning of the school year, and it plans to have another one at the end of the school year, when it plans to bury a time capsule.

R.B. Cox Elementary 90th birthday party
Where:
37615 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dade City
When: March 5, 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $7 per plate for lunch of baked ziti, salad and dessert (To-go containers will be available)
Details: R.B. Cox Elementary is hosting a party to celebrate the school’s rich heritage in Dade City. The event includes a luncheon, music, a baked goods auction and a chance to see historic photographs,
More information: Call (352) 524-5100, or visit the school’s website, RBCES.Pasco.k12.Fl.us.

Published March 1, 2017

 

Brick roads preserve a sense of history

May 25, 2016 By Doug Sanders

When four people tripped and fell during Dade City’s Church Street Christmas celebration in 2000, the incident triggered an unexpected outcome.

The strollers were enjoying a holiday outing when they stumbled across holes in the street where asphalt paving had worn through to the brick street beneath.

This company logo is frequently found on the brick streets in Dade City. In 1933, the Southern Clay Manufacturing Company had contracts with Miami, Jacksonville, St. Augustine and St. Petersburg. At least 80,000 bricks were made daily for streets. The company also made fire and chemical bricks, clay sewer pipe, various construction bricks and telephone line conduit. (Photos courtesy of Doug Sanders)
This company logo is frequently found on the brick streets in Dade City. In 1933, the Southern Clay Manufacturing Company had contracts with Miami, Jacksonville, St. Augustine and St. Petersburg. At least 80,000 bricks were made daily for streets. The company also made fire and chemical bricks, clay sewer pipe, various construction bricks and telephone line conduit.
(Photos courtesy of Doug Sanders)

The city’s director of public works, Ron Ferguson, reported at a January 2001 City Commission meeting that no one was injured.

But, what to do about the holes in the street?

According to records obtained from Angie Guy, Dade City’s city clerk, a consensus was reached.
The city’s historic preservation advisory board recommended that city crews “strip asphalt from Church Avenue” and make repairs with salvaged brick and new brick, if necessary, “to significantly enhance historic preservation in Dade City.”

The City Commission agreed to the brick restoration “after considerable discussion and on recommendation of staff.”

Removing the asphalt without damaging the bricks would prove to be no easy task, according to a St. Petersburg Times report from some 16 years ago.

“With all the work that has to be done just on a daily basis, we did not think we could do it,” Ferguson told the newspaper.

On April 5, 2001, the city started a “pilot program” with five city employees, a Bobcat Skill loader, a Caterpillar backhoe, a 10-yard dump truck, and some improvised hand tools.

In his progress report to the City Commission, Ferguson indicated that a 2-inch layer of asphalt had been cleared on Church Avenue from Eighth Street to 17th Street.

Work was done “after 9:30 a.m., to allow school traffic time to leave the area,” Ferguson’s report said.

Stanley Burnside, born in 1920, and his father Archie Burnside, served a combined total of 17 terms as the Pasco County Clerk of the Circuit Court. The younger Burnside graduated from Pasco High School in 1937.
Stanley Burnside, born in 1920, and his father Archie Burnside, served a combined total of 17 terms as the Pasco County Clerk of the Circuit Court. The younger Burnside graduated from Pasco High School in 1937.

Additional equipment was needed to clean “fine pieces of crushed asphalt and dirt” by using a tractor equipped with a water tank and the city’s street sweeper.

It cost a total of $4,133.78 to expose the layer of red bricks that had been laid more than 70 years ago.

Each one of the bricks was from the Southern Clay Manufacturing Company, in Robbins, Tennessee.

Ninety-six-year-old Stanley Burnside lives near Church Avenue, which is the only street in Pasco County designated a national historic site.

To him, the brick streets bring back memories of a different era when people were riding in Model-T Fords and Warren G. Harding was the 29th President of the United States.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, Burnside agreed to walk the two blocks from his townhome in downtown Dade City to the corner of 12th Street and Meridian Avenue.

Standing at the same spot as he did in 1927, he is photographed with Rodney B. Cox Elementary School over his right shoulder.

“I was 7 years old, but I still remember them laying down the brick by hand,” Burnside recalled.

From Meridian Avenue heading north, the brickwork was laid without any mortar and was headed straight to what was then the Dade City Grammar School, at the far end of 12th Street.

Burnside often walks past this same corner on his daily walks, which sometimes gives him time to think about the brick streets in Dade City.

“You might say they last forever,” says Burnside, who celebrated his 96th birthday on May 23.

Over the years, maintaining the brick streets has posed its share of challenges.

City Manager Ben Bolan described some of them in a 1988 interview with The Tampa Tribune.

Because of the difficulty in finding skilled labor to do the maintenance work, Bolan recommended that Fifth Street and 10th Street be repaved, due to sections of those brick streets being uneven, creating a potential hazard, if drivers didn’t slow down.

But, the consensus of the City Commission was the same then as it was for Church Avenue.

“(The Commission’s) general philosophy is that there will never be another brick street paved over in Dade City,” Bolan was quoted by the newspaper 28 years ago.

And, to this day, there hasn’t been.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at

Cox Elementary is turning 90

April 20, 2016 By B.C. Manion

R.B. Cox Elementary School is turning 90 and the school wants the community’s help to help detail its history.

The school is preparing a 90th Year Celebration for alumni, current students, current and former staff, families with connections to the school and members of the Dade City community.

R.B. Cox Elementary School, formerly known as Dade City Grammar School, is turning 90 this year. To celebrate, the school is asking alumni, current students, current and former staff, families and members of the Dade City community to help collect photos, anecdotes and memorabilia to help detail the school’s past. (Courtesy of Fivay.org)
R.B. Cox Elementary School, formerly known as Dade City Grammar School, is turning 90 this year. To celebrate, the school is asking alumni, current students, current and former staff, families and members of the Dade City community to help collect photos, anecdotes and memorabilia to help detail the school’s past.
(Courtesy of Fivay.org)

To help get ready for a series of celebrations that will begin in September, efforts are underway to collect photographs and other mementoes that will be used to help provide a glimpse of the past.

The school also is seeking alumni that are interested in being interviewed to be part of the school’s montage video, according to a news release.

Founded in 1926 as Dade City Grammar School, the school was renamed to honor Superintendent and former Principal Rodney B. Cox after he lost his battle with cancer in 1973.

The first event is set for Sept. 30 at the elementary school, 37615 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., in Dade City.

Anyone who would like to share photos or memories, or who would like to be interviewed, is asked to email .

For additional information, visit their Facebook page, or call Margaret “Megan” Fortunato at (352) 524-5100.

Published April 20, 2016

Ornaments reveal history, raise money

October 23, 2014 By B.C. Manion

When the Dade City Garden Club began selling an annual holiday ornament to raise money for the club, the decoration was simple: a two-dimensional square.

That didn’t matter.

The ornament’s theme — the Historic Pasco County Courthouse — touched a chord among area residents and quickly sold out, recalled Pat Carver, who was involved in getting the ornament sales off the ground.

The Dade City Garden Club sells a holiday ornament each year to honor a local place or organization. Proceeds help pay to maintain the garden club’s facilities and support its community projects. (Courtesy of Dade City Garden Club)
The Dade City Garden Club sells a holiday ornament each year to honor a local place or organization. Proceeds help pay to maintain the garden club’s facilities and support its community projects. (Courtesy of Dade City Garden Club)

When people bought the ornament, they would say things like, “This was the room where I got married,” or, “this was where my mother was a secretary,” Carver recalled.

The garden club didn’t originate the fundraising idea, but it recognized its potential, Carver said. Jackie Preedom, a fellow garden club member, heard about it when she attended a convention. Since then, the ornaments have been popular with the community.

“There are people who anxiously look forward to what the next ornament is going to be,” Carver said.

That’s because Dade City is a place where people still feel a connection with each other, and with the town’s landmarks and institutions.

“We love our community,” Carver said.

Apparently, the idea of selling an annual ornament to raise money for the club has had staying power – the tradition has been going on for two decades now.

Proceeds help pay expenses to maintain the garden club’s building, grounds and botanical garden to support club projects, according to club member Sally Redden. Those projects include floral, horticultural and environmental programs, flower shows, garden tours, and civic beautification projects.

The entire garden club votes on what the ornament should feature. Each is accompanied by a card stamped with a picture of the ornament on the front and contains a brief historic account on the back.

This year the garden chose to pay homage to the Pasco County Fair. Like the garden club, the fair has deep roots in the county. Both got their start in 1947.

Fairs in Dade City date back to 1915, but there hadn’t been any for a long time. The Pasco County Fair evolved from the Pasco’s participation in the Florida State Fair, according to the ornament’s fact sheet, and was designed to showcase county resources.

Rancher D. E. Cannon led the efforts, with the help of Jimmy Higgins, George Nikolai, Bob Williams and Joe Collura. They found a 40-acre tract along State Road 52 and raised $3,500 to purchase the site.

The Kiwanis Club and the Chamber of Commerce were instrumental in helping raise the money from local businesses and the community.

The first documented Pasco County Fair began on Jan. 20, 1948.

Ornaments are available for purchase through garden club members and at the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, 14112 Eighth St., in Dade City.

The ornaments are $22 each, and checks should be made payable to the Dade City Garden Club.

Here are some of the ornaments the Dade City Garden Club has sold over the years:
1994: Pasco County Courthouse
1995: Dade City Grammar School (Cox Elementary)
1996: Dade City Garden Center
1997: First Presbyterian Church of Dade City
1998: Historic Pasco County Courthouse
1999: Dade City Woman’s Club
2000: Pioneer Florida Museum
2001: Edwinola
2002: St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
2003: St. Leo Abbey Church
2004: First United Methodist Church of Dade City
2005: National Guard Armory
2006: Atlantic Coastline Railroad Depot
2007: First Baptist Church of Dade City
2008: Williams/Lunch on Limoges
2009: Pasco High School
2010: Lacoochee School House at the Pioneer Museum
2011: Pasco Packing Plant
2012: Pasco County World War II Memorial
2013: 1913 Pasco High School
2014: Pasco County Fair

Published October 22, 2014

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