1
100
1
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https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/330b481d11752c95bb7ee8e364ce2778.mp3
f2fba4678f31251f7f6dec05c9a55f83
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/41846bbdf8d53b88ff0b72258acdde63.pdf
845d9983bdb4a30744de4c4b8047cc8f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Seminole County Centennial Celebration Collection
Description
The Seminole County Centennial Celebration Collection contains digital items related to the 100 year celebration of the creation of Seminole County. Items include ephemera distributed before and during the celebration, photographs, and other digital items.
Seminole County will turn 100 years old on April 25, 2013. This centennial benchmark is being commemorated as Seminole Celebrates A Century of Success with a 100-day celebration beginning January 16, 2013, and will conclude with a community-wide Centennial Festival planned for April 20, 2013.
Seminole Celebrates will highlight the county Points of Pride and is designed to celebrate Seminole County's heritage while embracing its future. Collaboration among the business community, faith-based organizations, art and historical societies, civic groups, and educational institutions will provide our residents with numerous fun family oriented events and activities over the 100 days of celebration.
Contributor
<a href="http://www.celerysoupsanford.com/" target="_blank">Creative Sanford, Inc.</a>
<a href="http://www.goldenrodhistoricalsociety.com/" target="_blank">Goldenrod Historical Society Museum</a><a href="http://www.goldsboromuseum.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.goldsboromuseum.com/" target="_blank">Goldsboro Historical Museum</a>
<a href="http://www.sanfordwelcomecenter.com/" target="_blank">Historic Sanford Welcome Center</a>
<a href="http://www.lakemaryhistory.org/" target="_blank">Lake Mary Historical Museum</a>
<a href="http://www.usgennet.org/usa/fl/county/seminole/Geneva/museum.htm" target="_blank">Museum of Geneva History</a>
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>
<a href="http://oviedohs.com/" target="_blank">Oviedo Historical Society</a>
<a href="http://www.ruralheritagecenter.net/" target="_blank">Rural Heritage Center</a>
<a href="http://www.sanfordfl.gov/index.aspx?page=108" target="_blank">Sanford Museum</a>
<a href="http://www.publichistorycenter.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">UCF Public History Center</a>
Alternative Title
Seminole Centennial Collection
Subject
Seminole County (Fla.)
Goldenrod (Fla.)
Sanford (Fla.)
Lake Mary (Fla.)
Oviedo (Fla.)
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/30" target="_blank">Seminole County Centennial Celebration Collection</a>, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Creative Sanford, Inc., Sanford, Florida
Goldenrod Historical Society Museum, Goldenrod, Florida
Goldsboro Historical Museum, Goldsboro, Sanford, Florida
Historic Sanford Welcome Center, Sanford, Florida
Lake Mary Historical Museum, Lake Mary, Florida
Museum of Geneva History, Geneva, Florida
Museum of Seminole County History, Sanford, Florida
Oviedo Historical Society, Oviedo, Florida
Rural Heritage Center, Geneva, Florida
Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida
UCF Public History Center, Sanford, Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="http://apps.seminolecountyfl.gov/centennial/index.aspx" target="_blank">Seminole County Centennial Celebration</a>
Curator
Marra, Katherine
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
<a href="http://apps.seminolecountyfl.gov/centennial/index.aspx" target="_blank">Seminole County Centennial Celebration</a>
<span>Francke, Arthur E. </span><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39871004" target="_blank"><em>Early Days of Seminole County, Florida</em></a><span>. [Sanford, FL]: Seminole County Historical Commission, 1988.</span>
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Oral History of Mart Tucker
Alternative Title
Oral History, Tucker
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Christmas (Fla.)
Gainesville (Fla.)
Description
An pral history of Mart Tucker, conducted by Stephanie Youngers on November 10, 2010. In the interview, Tucker discusses the various towns and cities that she resided in, her college education, her career as a typist, her family history, her children and grandchildren, her husband's career, her involvement in the Seminole County Farm Bureau and the 4-H program, and opening Tucker's Farm and Garden Center. The interview also includes commentary from her husband, Cecil A. Tucker II.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction<br />0:00:18 Biographical information<br />0:02:33 Living in Holopaw<br />0:05:51 Family life<br />0:11:58 College education and career as a typist<br />0:18:21 Children<br />0:19:44 Living in Marion, Seminole, and Orange counties<br />0:23:36 Seminole County Farm Bureau and 4-H<br />0:27:21 Opening Tucker€™s Farm and Garden Center<br />0:32:05 Grandchildren<br />0:34:17 Family history<br />0:40:07 Closing remarks
Abstract
Oral history interview of Mart Tucker. Interview conducted by Stephanie Youngers at the <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>, Sanford, Florida.
Type
Sound
Source
Tucker, Mart. Interviewed by Stephanie Youngers. November 10, 2010. <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>, Sanford, Florida.
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
<a href="https://get.adobe.com/reader/" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>, Sanford, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/44" target="_blank">Seminole County Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Coverage
Orlando, Florida
Christmas, Florida
Holopaw, Florida
St. Cloud, Florida
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Citrus Heights, Sanford, Florida
Tucker's Farm and Garden Center, Sanford, Florida
Creator
Youngers, Stephanie
Tucker, Mart
Date Created
2010-11-10
Date Modified
2014-10-01
Date Copyrighted
2010-11-10
Format
audio/mp3
application/pdf
Extent
412 MB
166 KB
Medium
40-minute and 49-second audio recording
19-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Stephanie Youngers and Mart Tucker.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by the <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>
External Reference
Sanford Historical Society (Fla.). <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/783150094" target="_blank"><em>Sanford</em></a>. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2003.
Antequino, Stephanie Gaub, and Tana Mosier Porter. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48909411" target="_blank"><em>Lost Orlando</em></a>. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Pub, 2012.
Edwards, Wynette. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/53015288" target="_blank"><em>Orlando and Orange County</em></a>. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2001.
Akerman, Joe A. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2647695" target="_blank"><em>Florida Cowman: A History of Florida Cattle Raising</em></a>. Kissimmee: Florida Cattlemen's Association, 1976.
Transcript
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>My name is Stephanie Youngers. Today is November 19, 2010, and I am interviewing Mrs. Mart Tucker and Mr. Cecil Tucker here at the Museum of the Seminole County History. How are we all today?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>We’re doing great.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Just fine [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Good. Well, we’re going to start where and when you were born.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Okay. I was born in Fort Pierce. January 19<sup>th</sup>, 1932.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And when did you come to the area here?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well—here?</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Did you move around a lot before you moved to the Seminole/Orange County area?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No. I remember—the thing that I remember first was when we moved to the two-story house on Lake Barton—Little Lake Barton Road<a title="">[1]</a>—out just outside of Orlando. And we lived there for about 12 years, I think. And then Daddy, of course—he was going up and down the state when the tick eradication was on. And when that was over, he then became a foreman of the ranch south of Christmas. And, so when he was in the tick eradication, he never knew where he would be moved to another place. And so we rented the house that we lived in for about 10 or 12 years.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>But, this[sic] was[sic] the [World] War [II] years, and you couldn’t find housing in Orlando. And somebody found that house, and bought it, so we had to find another place. And couldn’t go out to the ranch, because there was no school bus going there.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>How far was the ranch from civilization?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, it was 18 miles south of the main highway.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, wow.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>That was 18 miles south of Christmas. And Christmas was 20 miles from Orlando.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow. And you went to school in Orlando?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yes. Well, when that house was bought. If you worked for the company, they would give you housing in Holopaw. And the ranch was—that he was foreman of—was…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Osceola County.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, it was in Osceola County, but it was owned by the Holopaw outfit. And therefore, we went to Holopaw. And we lived there. Best year of my life—well, not really.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>But I had lots of fun out there in Holopaw. Mother was—helped to do out the—what is it?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>The commissary. Food stamps.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No, the—food stamps and things. Still the war—we still had that. And that was in the commissary. So I’d come to the commissary and I’d help the guys put cans up in that grocery department, and then I’d go to a guy that cuts up all the meat, and I’d do help there. And then at the end of the week, they would do their hand in their pocket and give me out some change. And I still have the .22 rifle that I bought with that money.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, my goodness. So, the commissary—that was like the grocery store?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>That was out in Holopaw.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yes. Because you didn’t have to go to town if you need clothes or, if you need…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>That was P. V. Wilson Lumber Company. Big outfit.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, okay. Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>And they’re not there anymore. Not at all.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>No. they’re not. Do you know—what is the school that you attended?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, I went to the school in—what is it? I had it down here. The city that was…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Holopaw.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No, no, no. They had to go out.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Fort Pierce?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>St. Cloud?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>St. Cloud. St. Cloud. Rode into there.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>That’s still quite a drive. I’ve been down that road.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yes. It was.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And they had a grammar school there, or…</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No. I don’t think so.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>What—in St. Cloud?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No. in Holopaw they did.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>But in St. Cloud? Did you attend grammar school? Or was it a large school? Or was it a small place?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Just regular. St. Cloud.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>It wasn’t that large.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Wasn’t anything like Orlando. But it was bigger than Holopaw.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And you all lived in Holopaw for a year?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Just a year.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>When did you—where did you go after you left there?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, when we left there, the ranch was just officially our home. But Mom and us—well, there’s[sic] four girls at the time—had not yet finished all high school. So we went into Orlando and rented in Orlando until my twin sister and I…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, you’re a twin, too? Wow.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Tell us about your brothers and sisters.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, hm. Well, Sally [Albritton] and Betty [Albritton]. Helen [Albritton] was the oldest. And then I had a brother, Boots [Albritton], that[sic] was about, I guess, four years younger than she. And then there was two sets of—Sally and Betty. And then there was Miriam [Albritton] and Margaret [Albritton].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So two sets of twins? Goodness.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Two sets of twins. Twenty months apart.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, my goodness.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>You can figure why I guess she had her tubes tied. Didn’t need any more kids. And what else did you…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Well, just tell us about your brothers and sisters, because that…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>Did you all help out at home a lot on the ranch?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, see, we didn’t live on the ranch. I was privy to be able to—well, in the sixth and seventh grade, Daddy would go out for two weeks in the summer. And even then, on Wednesday, he would let me ride. I’d cow-hunt with him. I sat up on horse, and all that. He was my dad, but you took care of whatever you was supposed to do. So I loved to cow-hunt. We’d ride all day. We’d ride all morning and then have lunch and take a snooze before we rode some more. So you could get tired of it, but I didn’t.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>How about your brother?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, my brother, Boots—he was out at the ranch. He married and was out at the ranch. But he—he didn’t stay there very long. Thing of it is, you have to not let hollerin’ at you bother you, because when you’re having to do something, or things are quick—and Daddy hollers at you to do something—you don’t get out of sorts, because that’s just the way it is. But he couldn’t take it. And so he went into Orlando there.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Now, did your other sisters do this with you too?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>She was, um—Mart<a title="">[2]</a> was the only boy.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>They didn’t. They didn’t never come out to the ranch when for—you know, like I did.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Her dad said that he had a pretty good cowhand in her until I came along and started courting her and messed it up [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>] Oh, well, you could have jumped in and helped us. No.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>When you went to the high school in Orlando, were you part of any groups or anything there? Did you have any kind of social functions that you attended?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, I was athletic. So we had a group—a club—that I was head of. And as far as us girls that were athletic were concerned, we stayed after school and played the different sports that were available at that part of the year.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>What were some of the sports that y’all played?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Speedball was one. Of course, basketball. Volleyball.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Softball?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah, yeah. Softball. I was pitcher. But my main thing in high school was sports. And that and makin’ honor society.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>What about rifle team?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, I forgot about the rifle team.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>You were on the rifle team too?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, we had a rifle club. I got a picture home, shows this old, oh, eight or ten boys and girls up there with their rifles, out from the school building there. Now, can you imagine? They’re letting people bring rifles to school today? [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, yeah. Were the boys a little put off by the fact that you could shoot a rifle?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, no. No.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>No? They liked that? They weren’t afraid?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>I still have the rifle. Oh, when I was in Holopaw, and the guys—well, did I say that? And the guys, when they would give me money…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And you bought your .22.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah, that’s when I bought that .22. When I was in the eighth grade. So…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, wow. And they let you buy it all by yourself?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>See, can’t do that anymore either.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>[inaudible] Right, yeah. That was better days.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Yeah. And from high school, you went to University of Florida. Did you do that right out of high school, or did you take some time in between?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No, I went right out of high school and I was going to major in animal husbandry. And, when did I see you first?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>The summer before you went up there.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, I can’t…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>You saw him here back home?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>When my sister and I graduated from high school, then the ranch was our home. And that’s where I lived. And our post office was in Christmas. We’d go into Orlando to get groceries and stuff, and so one of those days before I went off to college, got the mail, came out and told Mom, “Oh, I saw the postmaster’s son. He was waiting—in there waiting on customers.” She said, “Oh, you should have told him you’re one of the lucky ones. You’re going to be in Reid Hall.” And I was really surprised that Mother would want me to—but I knew what—she was afraid I was going to get homesick at university and didn’t know anybody, and at least I would know one person. Of course, since I was a beginner there, I had to go a week early for the week of orientation. Well, it just so happens there’s this guy sitting on the steps of the big building we were waiting for something, the next thing to be done. But because he was a transfer student…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>I had to go to orientation too.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>He had to do the same. And so that’s where I really met him. And, of course, we went to the frat[ernity] house and met all those guys.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Yeah. He said he used to invite you to dinner every week to come have dinner with him and all the boys there.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Of course, he made sure to tell everyone one of them—oh, man. Whole house full of guys, you know. He told every one of them, “Hands off.” Never did give—well, he was out of town, he had to go home for his teeth or something, and old McGregor—tall, lanky fellow—asked me out. And I had already planned to do ironing and what not, but I said, “No.” That was the only…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>The only opportunity you had. He hadn’t gotten a word yet at that point.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah. He hadn’t gotten to the frat house yet. But that was great. And I went that one year. But if I really wanted to go again back, I’m sure money would have been able to be found. Mother had an operation that took what normally would have sent me, but by then, I was…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Sidetracked.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, yeah. I was wanting to get a job and save up money so that whenever we were—we were getting pretty close, and so I didn’t mind not going back to work there. I worked there and I forget where it was in Orlando, but then we were married.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Jacob’s Packing House.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah. That’s it.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So when he finished out his education up there…</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No, when he finished his—see, he had his first year in Orlando. Second year when I was up there too, and then the third year before—which way was it? We got married before he was graduated from college.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So, did you stay down here?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Yeah. You did. You stayed one year working at Jacob’s.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>After we were married?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>No. Not after we were married, before we were married.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, the next year, then what?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Then we got married and you moved to Gainesville with me.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>And I got a job in the animal husbandry department at Typhus. I was supposed to type this book they were wanting to have. And they ended up finally making it not a book, but something else. And they—do you remember?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>It was a book, but go ahead.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, anyway. That was—we had a lot of fun up there. One professor’s—of course I was a typist. They would give their handwritten stuff, and I would type it up. So I typed up this test that was going to be given out. And I went back to the fellow and I handed him the typed thing. And I had his handwritten, I says[sic], “Do you want this? I usually give it to Cecil.” He says, “Don’t.” [<em>laughs</em>]</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>At that point, I was working on my Master’s [Degree].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh. They didn’t want him having the test questions.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Of course, she was teasing, but…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Aww.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Those were good men in the ag[riculture] —animal husbandry. Until I was pregnant with Miriam [Tucker].</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>They weren’t good after that?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah. They were, but—then I was no longer working. So, what else is there to be said?</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>When you all had twins too, right?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Goodness gracious.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>We had a little girl first. Then had twins. And Dr. Hoffman from Orlando—he saw to things. I mean, here I was pregnant, but in Gainesville, and we’d come home for, you know—back and forth. And in Thanksgiving—I think it was—came home and stayed.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>But now the twins were born in Ocala. They were born in Orlando, while we were living in Ocala.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>True, true. Okay, so, it’s Ocala still. And he informed me that he’d tied my tubes. He contended with three on the ground, and coming in two’s, I didn’t need—and his financial status at the time, we couldn’t afford to have any more. To me, that was the best thing. That just made life so much easier, to not worry about getting pregnant.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers</strong><br />Right.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Good deal.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Right. And when you all moved back to this area, it was so that Mr. Tucker could take his job at the Extension Office?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Right.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah, when were first in Ocala, and then…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>We were in Ocala for two years. I was Assistant County Agent in Marion County. And then we came here. I was [Seminole] County Agent and we came—I think it was in 1957.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>What else we got here?</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>What else did you do back here? Did you go back to work, or did you stay home?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, what did I do? Cecil?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>You had three children. What do you think you did? [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Alright. We were living out by…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Christmas.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Well, first we lived in Rosalia Drive.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>In Sanford. In about 1960, we moved out on old Orlando Highway.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>We had acreage there—oranges and pasture. Well, that was one. And we had cattle. Cecil was workin’ at the dairy and he—they had calves that weren’t going to be dairy cattle. And we started building up a herd there.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>It was 1956 that we came here.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>But whatever had to be done with cattle and whatnot around the place, I usually did it. Because he had to go to work. We were feeding out—how many? Seven steer? That year?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Well, y’all raised a bunch of heifer yearlings first. And later on it was about 10 steers that y’all fattened up.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>What do you mean, “Y’all?”</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>You [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>In other words, the kids didn’t help out.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /> </strong>Well, they probably had to go to school or something. It was probably wasn’t in the summertime or not. But that’s…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So, you did a lot of work.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, and also, we had some cattle…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Lake Osprey[sp]. North of Osteen.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>And so I primarily would go out there and check the cows or take them feeding. And he wasn’t always with me.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Right.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>We’d do it real nice [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>About 1960, we moved out to Citrus Heights—Ginderville[sp] [Heights], or near Ginderville[sp]. And that’s when we were able to have a lot more cattle she could look after, and the kids could have 4-H projects.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>And really, what was really nice was there was an old house down the way, and Mom and Dad were able to—he kept the livestock market in Orlando. They lived there until finally when he retired. And this little house—with Daddy’s expertise on carpentry and stuff, they made the house a nice little place and lived there.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So you were close to your Mom and Dad. Oh, good.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Mmhmm.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And you were—when you were part of the women’s club for the [Seminole County] Farm Bureau, was that while Mr. Tucker was working at the Extension Office?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>It was after that, when we started a store in 1972. And at that point, I became president of Seminole County Farm Bureau. And it was a law in there that she became chairman of the women’s—deal.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>What did you do while you were on that board there?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>I knew that would be asked. I don’t know. Well, when we would have the whole group would have an annual meeting, and supper, and whatnot. Of course, I was involved in getting all that prepared. Getting tables right and things like that.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Did you help set, like, regulations? Or were the ladies involved in that way?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Not much. Not much. It was primarily just providing information of programs of what was available to them and what was going on.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /> </strong>Okay. Very good.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>But also, when we moved out to Citrus Heights area, you became more active in 4-H. Because the boys became active in 4-H.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And did they raise heifers?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No, they raised chickens.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Chickens and pigs.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil </strong>And they did raise heifers, but they never did raise any to show.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, okay.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>At one point, they won all of the trophies [<em>laughs</em>]. With the chickens at the show.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, yeah. They felt kind of bad, I guess. Or we did [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>They raised all the best chickens.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>I can see why. They had the best of help.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /> </strong>They had the best parents. That’s right.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Help ‘em learn.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Good.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, goodness.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>But when we’d have our annual 4-H contest and things, she was in involved in helping us judge things like the lamp contest and making lamps.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>They make lamps? Really?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Yeah, and electrical, you know—learn things about electricity. And she also judged these speaking contests.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>The what?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Speaking contests.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, yeah. Okay. A lot of this I don’t remember [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>That’s okay.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>I remember him, so far [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>That’s important.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>But it’s been really, really great being involved in those kind of things. Being around with the kids, and…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>We—we started the store in 1972. Were you involved in that?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Slightly. I always brought the main attraction of the store. And where did we find that little pig?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>My son-in-law found him. He was a little wild pig. And he was so young that he still had, you know, fawn with half-spots on it. Wild pigs have similar spots as well.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>So he became mine. And did he have a collar on?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Yes.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>A leash. Because when he was littler, if I was going to go mail something…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Or deposit something. Make a deposit at the bank.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>I would take him along down the streets of Sanford and take him in on a leash and finally he got bigger and bigger and bigger. And he’d come up on the porch. I’d chain him up there out of the sun.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>At the store?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah. At the store. But he would come in, I’d bring him in to the store in the car. And he would be in the front seat. And one day I went there, heard someone said, “Hey!” I saw somebody on the corner there with a friend, who went on to work. She told me later she said, “The person said, ‘Was that a pig?’” And she said, “Oh, that’s Mart Tucker. That’s all she can get to ride with her.” [<em>laughs</em>] What a good friend. So a car would stop in the middle of the street from the store and the lady would get out, come up the steps, and give something to Pete right there, and go down, get in her car, and go off.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>It was a daily ritual with her to give him some piece of candy. Something.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Some edible thing.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So they would just come up and give him treats then.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Yeah [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So how long did you have him for?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Until we finally, I quit bringing him in to the…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>He got to be about 700-800 pounds.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow. Yeah. You wouldn’t be toting him around too much.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>So he had a place there, at the barn at the house, and I guess…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>He got an infection. Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Well, he got to be an awfully big boy, so…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil <br /></strong>He did.<br /><br />[<em>phone rings</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>He must have been a happy boy.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>He had lots of friends. Lots of attention.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Excuse me. I forgot to turn this thing off.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>That’s alright.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Let’s see. That was at the store.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So, you helped with the store, doing like all the stock. And, like, when the customers would come in, you’d help them?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah. It’s Cecil and I. we did it all. It was a real enjoyable, and funny. Um, Horstmeyers?</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Horstmeyer [Farm and Garden].</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah, they have it now. Of course, we come in and get our feed there. And we came in and Miss Horstmeyer was behind the counter, and she made some comment about, “There’s the Tuckers.” And her telephone rang and she said, “Tuckers?” Instead of “Horstmeyer’s.” We had the biggest laughs over that. Her calling her own store by the wrong name. Oh, goodness.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And you sold the store to your son first, right? And he just took it over, and did you retire, or did you move on to different things?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, we didn’t do any—I don’t know. You’d have to ask Cecil.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Um, I don’t—I haven’t been—I haven’t thought of that in a while. Oh, goodness. So…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Do you have grandchildren?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yep, we got great-grandchildren. We had Miriam, and then Cecil and John. Miriam is in—still in Christmas. She’s in Christmas. And Cecil III—he lives in a house that was ours in Sanford, and John is on the coast.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Daytona [Beach]?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>No, closer by.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Melbourne?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>That’s south. What is it, right down Cheney Highway? Um, Titusville.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Titusville?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Titusville. When, let’s see. I was trying to think, I guess Drew, his son, one of his sons, moved up to Titusville and he wasn’t going to be left behind from being around his grandchildren. And so they moved up. And they live in that area. So it’s real nice. Drew has four children—two boys and two girls. So John and Pam just make do over there profusely. [<em>laughs</em>] Which is really nice. So, we’ve spent time over there ourselves.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>You like it over there on the coast?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah. It’s nice. Yeah. We were talking about John and Pam and the kids there.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>I had asked Mrs. Tucker what she did once the store closed. If y’all retired, or if you just kind of—what you did.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Well, we sold the store to my son. And when we moved out to Christmas, we just spent more time working on the ranch. So. And that went on, we were pretty much full time on that until Mother—well, my dad passed away in ’95, and in the next couple years Mother came to live with us. And Mart looked after her for the next 10 or 12 years.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Mother lived to be 101, one month, one week, and one day old.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>She was the one. She was quite a lady.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And how about your parents?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, my dad passed away. I don’t know when.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Well, he was in his late 80s. And then later, your mother came to live with us, and she was in her 90s when she passed away.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>She was living the little house, where she did when we were in Sanford. And my sister Betty was living with her when, after Daddy died. And keeping care of her. And it was getting to be a burden for her. So I just had her and Mother to come on over to our house and she would be looking after Mother, but she wouldn’t have that, you know, burden of having to do all the shots of making decisions that she had us to be able to do that too. And…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Well, I was going to take you back a little bit, because Mr. Tucker told me your maiden name was Albritton. And I know that’s real prominent down in the South Florida area. I know that the families would run cattle and different things. Was your family involved in that kind of thing as well?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, yeah. And, of course, Daddy—he was—how long was he foreman of the ranch south of Christmas?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>15-20 years.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>The thing of it is, he was involved in the tick eradication, and then whenever that was over, then he got the job of being foreman of that ranch. And so…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>But his family, the Albrittons, were raised around Polk County/Hillsborough County area.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, I was thinking of another—I can’t think of it. Where the Albrittons came from, I mean most of them were…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Well, some came from that area.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Okay. What’s the name of the area you’re talking about? [<em>laughs</em>]</p>
<p><strong>Cecil </strong>Pine Level in Pine Crest. Plant City.</p>
<p><strong>Mart </strong>Oh, okay.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Arcadia. By the way, Arcadia was named after Arcadia Albritton.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>That’s really neat [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>] Oh, something came on my mind.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>But Mart’s family came from—there’s two lines of Albrittons. There’s fence-cutting Albrittons and hog-stealing Albrittons. She’s from the fence-cutting Albrittons. [<em>laughs</em>] That’s another story.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Yeah. Yeah. Because cattle people move their cattle up and down the state of Florida, according to the weather. Weren’t any fences anywhere. People fenced their yard in, and things. And then whenever the—what is it? The people that put the fence across?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Oh, the, uh…</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Phosphate…</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Phosphate mining.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>That came in. And so they didn’t want cattle going through, and they put a fence over, and so a group of men went and tore the fence down. And there was a big shootout there.</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>Well, the second or third time that they tore the fence down was when the shootout happened [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>I think we talked about that too.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Oh, did you? What else?</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Do you have anything else that we didn’t talk about that you want to talk about?</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Don’t know. No, I don’t guess so.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Okay.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Guess we’ve got everything.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>How about you, Mr. Tucker? You want to add anything?</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>No. I think we did pretty good[sic].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Alright, then. Thank you very much, Mrs. Tucker.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /></strong>Well, you’re welcome.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /> </strong>And Mr. Tucker.</p>
<p><strong>Mart<br /> </strong>I hope it’ll be worth having [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Cecil<br /></strong>[<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, it will. Yes, ma’am.</p>
<div><br /><div>
<p><a title="">[1]</a> Correction: Barton Road.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="">[2]</a> Correction: Boots.</p>
</div>
</div>
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Tucker, Cecil A. II
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