Category:  Historical Fiction

Synopsis of Lydia and Scrabblin’

The stories and anecdotes are substantiated through research and detailed maps of the actual areas. The simple style of narration reflect the modest times and humble people.
The first book of the two book series, Lydia , begins with eighteen year old Lydia Jane Hamilton caring for her five siblings after the death of her mother in 1900, six years earlier. Her father and uncle worked in the mills in Iddo, Florida. When they closed, they decided to take a friend’s advice to move down to Narrows, Florida because land was cheap and they could grow two crops a year. During the thirty day monotonous trip by wagon, Lydia reflected on the last six years when her mother, brother, grandmother and grandfathers died, as well as how these tragedies affected her father. Along the trail, the family observed the turpentine industry, and encountered the Suwannee River and the dying settlement of Ellaville, Florida. They learned about the tobacco industry in Live Oak, Florida, from two old gentlemen in the general store. They were amazed by the opulent town of Palatka and its wharfs along the St. John’s River, and met Henry Ford, who had started auto racing in Ormond Beach, Florida. Lydia’s sister, Ollie, always brightened up the journey with her antics, like the time when they had a shopping spree for bathing costumes in Titusville, Florida. On the thirty-first day, they finally reached Narrows and their destination to a farm called Hardscrabble on the Indian River.
Lydia soon learned the ins and outs of living on an island in the Indian River. Her father and uncle discovered the farming methods unique to the area. After Melvin Mathis’ wife died of consumption, Lydia and Melvin fell in love and began their marriage by living in a tent at the edge of the river with Melvin’s three children. As they cleared the land by hand, they were plagued with hordes of mosquitoes and sand flies. Friends, neighbors and family worked together to plant and harvest green beans and other vegetables which were transported across the river by flat bottomed boats to be shipped to northern markets. The local Primitive Baptist Church was the center of the young people’s social life led by Ollie, whose sole mission in life was to arrange as many marriages as possible, while searching for the man of her dreams so she could have a store bought wedding gown. After she married Melvin’s brother, her new mission was to have a baby girl. Lydia ends with the impending threat of a corporate farm invasion and subsequent environmental and financial decline.
Scrabblin’, the second book of the series begins when E. Nelson Fell arrived from the north and bought up large amounts of swamp land west of Sebastian, which was to become Fellsmere Farms. Lydia’s brother, Lonnie, was a naturalist who was opposed to Fell’s development because he thought Fell was draining the land and killing the trees and animals. To Lonnie’s delight, in 1915, the area flooded and destroyed the entire enterprise. Two years later, Lonnie got married and was drafted into the service in World War I. Before he was deployed overseas, he fell victim to the 1917 pandemic and died at age 21.
The influx of conglomerate farmers forced local truck farmers to sell their land and to move south. Melvin and Lydia’s guava grove was the only thing that kept them from selling out. Finally, they decided to try farming in Okeechobee.
Farming in Eagle Bay became torturous, due to flooding and two hurricanes, which caused them to lose everything and to accept the realization that they needed to return to Narrows. Melvin and Lydia met Pogie Bill, the sheriff in Okeechobee, and learned about the catfish industry from a feisty neighbor. The political turmoil back home came to a head when a new county, Indian River, was formed from St. Lucie County. The land bust after the hurricanes caused a depression in Florida. The pressures from the large farmers finally made Melvin sell the island property in Narrows and to move to the mainland, ending an era in truck farming forever. With their five remaining children, Melvin and Lydia started a new life as citrus farmers.









Synopsis of Lydia and Scrabblin’

The stories and anecdotes are substantiated through research and detailed maps of the actual areas. The simple style of narration reflect the modest times and humble people.
The first book of the two book series, Lydia , begins with eighteen year old Lydia Jane Hamilton caring for her five siblings after the death of her mother in 1900, six years earlier. Her father and uncle worked in the mills in Iddo, Florida. When they closed, they decided to take a friend’s advice to move down to Narrows, Florida because land was cheap and they could grow two crops a year. During the thirty day monotonous trip by wagon, Lydia reflected on the last six years when her mother, brother, grandmother and grandfathers died, as well as how these tragedies affected her father. Along the trail, the family observed the turpentine industry, and encountered the Suwannee River and the dying settlement of Ellaville, Florida. They learned about the tobacco industry in Live Oak, Florida, from two old gentlemen in the general store. They were amazed by the opulent town of Palatka and its wharfs along the St. John’s River, and met Henry Ford, who had started auto racing in Ormond Beach, Florida. Lydia’s sister, Ollie, always brightened up the journey with her antics, like the time when they had a shopping spree for bathing costumes in Titusville, Florida. On the thirty-first day, they finally reached Narrows and their destination to a farm called Hardscrabble on the Indian River.
Lydia soon learned the ins and outs of living on an island in the Indian River. Her father and uncle discovered the farming methods unique to the area. After Melvin Mathis’ wife died of consumption, Lydia and Melvin fell in love and began their marriage by living in a tent at the edge of the river with Melvin’s three children. As they cleared the land by hand, they were plagued with hordes of mosquitoes and sand flies. Friends, neighbors and family worked together to plant and harvest green beans and other vegetables which were transported across the river by flat bottomed boats to be shipped to northern markets. The local Primitive Baptist Church was the center of the young people’s social life led by Ollie, whose sole mission in life was to arrange as many marriages as possible, while searching for the man of her dreams so she could have a store bought wedding gown. After she married Melvin’s brother, her new mission was to have a baby girl. Lydia ends with the impending threat of a corporate farm invasion and subsequent environmental and financial decline.
Scrabblin’, the second book of the series begins when E. Nelson Fell arrived from the north and bought up large amounts of swamp land west of Sebastian, which was to become Fellsmere Farms. Lydia’s brother, Lonnie, was a naturalist who was opposed to Fell’s development because he thought Fell was draining the land and killing the trees and animals. To Lonnie’s delight, in 1915, the area flooded and destroyed the entire enterprise. Two years later, Lonnie got married and was drafted into the service in World War I. Before he was deployed overseas, he fell victim to the 1917 pandemic and died at age 21.
The influx of conglomerate farmers forced local truck farmers to sell their land and to move south. Melvin and Lydia’s guava grove was the only thing that kept them from selling out. Finally, they decided to try farming in Okeechobee.
Farming in Eagle Bay became torturous, due to flooding and two hurricanes, which caused them to lose everything and to accept the realization that they needed to return to Narrows. Melvin and Lydia met Pogie Bill, the sheriff in Okeechobee, and learned about the catfish industry from a feisty neighbor. The political turmoil back home came to a head when a new county, Indian River, was formed from St. Lucie County. The land bust after the hurricanes caused a depression in Florida. The pressures from the large farmers finally made Melvin sell the island property in Narrows and to move to the mainland, ending an era in truck farming forever. With their five remaining children, Melvin and Lydia started a new life as citrus farmers.