You Just Can Not make this Up

May of you know that we purchased and restored the Judge Leo Stalnaker Plantation, in Ybor City.  The home was built with and filled full of love over 100 years ago. In 1922, for Christmas, Judge Leo Stalnaker purchased a grand piano for the family and placed it in music room. Mrs. Stalnaker taught the neighborhood kids how to pay piano in this room. This piano is still here and plays beautifully today. We were very lucky as the 4^th owners of the home to make contact with Gianna, the Granddaughter of the Stalnaker’s. Her Mom grew up and was married in this home. One day Gianna brought us an unbelievable, fantastic gift….. She gave us 2 of her Mom’s homemade record collections of 78rpms.  They looked like a photo album but there were sleaves to insert 78 records. Her Mom had typed out the names of the songs and even a table of contents. Just imagine these actual records were played in this same room over 70+ years ago!!!! It gives us happy chills just to think about it. Some of the records were missing or broken and a couple had been exchanged but almost all of them were here!!!! There was a Mercury 78 rpm record #5901, titled “Life is a Beautiful Thing” recorded by Sophie Tucker in 1952!!!! Listen to the song and you will see why Sophie was such a Huge Gay Icon. In the words she chooses, you can see, she was actually giving a pep talk to not only her straight fans but the LGBT too.!!! The words are as true today as in 1952.   Below is a photo of this record on our Brunswick Phonograph in our music room. Here is the link to the song “Life is a Beautiful Thing” by Sophie Tucker.

Carrie and myself were together for 2 years in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Then in 1980 Carrie said that we were moving to some place called Tampa??? On one of our very 1^st outings, our professors at USF told us to go to The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. Here is a photo of us on that 1^st visit in 1980.  Over the years we have been back 100’s of times. As for many families, the must do restaurant, when visiting Tampa is the Columbia. All our family; parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters, then nieces and nephews, now great & great-greats have been here. Not only great food, interesting atmosphere and deep in history, the Columbia are generous community supporters. Last year they made a nice donation to Tampa PRIDE. Thank you, Richard Gonzmart.   Who would have ever thought that 42 years later we would be living in Ybor City, within walking distance of The Columbia Restaurant? Now every time we drive by and see people taking photos it makes us SMILE!!!!