Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GLADES GUARDIAN
In a state known for iconoclasts, no one can hold a candle to Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
Not just for her quirks, but for her drive. A persistent, unbreakable force, she fueled one
of the longest conservation battles in US history.
Born in 1890, Douglas moved to Florida after her failed first marriage. She worked for
the Miami Heraldand eventually as a freelance writer, producing short stories that are
notable for both the quality of the writing and their progressive themes: Plumes(1930)
and Wings(1931), published in the Saturday Evening Post,addressed the issue of Glades
bird-poaching when the business was still immensely popular (the feathers were used to
decorate ladies' hats).
In the 1940s, Douglas was asked to write about the Miami River for the Rivers of Amer-
ica Series and promptly chucked the idea in favor of capturing the Everglades in her clas-
sic, The Everglades: River of Grass. Like all of Douglas' work the topic is remarkable for
both its exhaustive research and lyrical, rich language.
River of Grassimmediately sold out of its first print-run, and public perception of the
Everglades shifted from 'nasty swamp' to 'national treasure.' Douglas went on to be an
advocate for environmental causes, women's rights and racial equality, fighting, for ex-
ample, for basic infrastructure in Miami's Overtown.
Today she is remembered as Florida's favorite environmentalist. Always immaculately
turned out in gloves, dress, pearls and floppy straw hat, she would bring down engineers,
developers, politicians and her most hated opponents, sugar farmers by force of her
oratory alone. She kept up the fight, speaking and lecturing without fail, until she died in
1998 at the age of 108.
Today it seems every environmental institution in Florida is named for Douglas, but
were she around, we doubt she'd care for those honors. She'd be too busy planting her-
self in the CERP office, making sure everything was moving along on schedule.
Homestead & Florida City
Homestead is not the prettiest town in the USA. After getting battered into rubble by Hur-
ricane Andrew in 1992 and becoming part of the expanding subdivisions of South Miami,
it's been poorly planned around fast-food stops, car dealerships and gas stations. A lot of
Mexicans have moved here seeking farm work (or moved here providing services for farm
laborers), and as a result, if you speak Spanish, it's impossible not to notice the shift in ac-
