I have to go out to the University of West Florida to the special collections in the basement of the library to see the old papers from around here. If you want to have anything preserved for future reference, Dean DeBolt (head of the collections) is the best packrat and item saver for researchers I know. He'll save anything. We have some of the later ones on microfilm at the Genealogy Library but most went to UWF years ago.

While browsing at UWF, with gloves and itchy fingers, I came to a local newspaper from 1922. Now, it's on microfilm but then, it wasn't. I found the obituary for my GGGrandfather who served in the 8th Florida Infantry. As far as I know, it wasn't saved in any family Bibles like many others were but yet it was on the front page of our local paper. That's when the papers said "Confederate Veteran" and didn't care who didn't like it.

Pam