Deland, Florida
I was a little rushed and didn't look into what the Navy Aviation connection is to this college town, or perhaps just this building. The mural is on a building right at the central intersection of the town, and nearly across from the office of the Chamber of Commerce. The helpful lady at the Chamber office tried to help with my request to know if anything of the local drive-in theater remained. She placed several phone calls, in fact, and we ended up with: nothing still standing. While driving around I did a bit of a double take to find that the school connection is Stetson, and two of the thirty students in my long-ago college traveling scholarship, mentioned here more than once, were from that school. Since there was no drive-in theater and knowing that I seldom find much material in college towns, I headed off for Lakeland and Dade City.
2 comments:
Deland's airport started as a Naval Air Station back in the 1920's. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLand_Naval_Air_Station)
This is actually pretty common in Florida, and not unremarkable along the Gulf coast and into Florida. Year 'round flying weather, a temperate climate, easy access to carriers at sea with the limited ranges of the day, and a relatively uncrowded landscape suitable for airfields and bombing ranges made these areas quite attractive.
Thanks, Derek, that makes perfect sense. And of course CentCom and major drone-running facilities sit right across Tampa Bay from where I spent a week in Ruskin.
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