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APR 2 51989 <br />BOOK 76 FAGE 602 <br />over to Recording Secretary Susan Phillips, who presented a <br />20 -minute slidefilm presentation of the still beautiful gardens. <br />Chairman Wheeler commended the Preservation Society for <br />their magnificent presentation. <br />Diana Latta, vice president of the Preservation Society, <br />wished to take us through a journey of time that would paint a <br />picture back when Ponce de Leon landed in Florida.... <br />I'D LIKE TO TAKE YOU ON A BRIEF JOURNEY. <br />A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME. <br />A JOURNEY THAT - HOPEFULLY - WILL PAINT A VIVID <br />PORTRAIT IN YOUR MINDS OF WHAT DEDICATION, PRESERVATION <br />AND FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF GROWTH CAN DO. <br />THE YEAR WAS 1513 AND PONCE DE LEON HAD ARRIVED IN SEARCH <br />OF THE LEGENDARY FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. <br />IN A COASTAL HAMMOCK NOT FAR FROM THIS FAMOUS EXPLORER'S <br />LANDFALL - A FIFTY YEAR OLD LIVE OAK TREE STOOD BOLDLY <br />AMID A COLLECTION OF SWAMP MAPLE, PALMS, AND PINES - ALL <br />OF THIS BOUND TOGETHER LIKE THE PAGES OF A ROMANTIC <br />NOVEL - WITH AN INTRICATE WEAVING OF MORNING GLORIES, <br />MOONFLOWERS, SPANISH MOSS, AND WILD GRAPE. <br />THE AWESOME BEAUTY OF RARE PLACES SUCH AS THIS WOULD SOON <br />CREATE A REPUTATION FOR FLORIDA AS THE PLACE TO GET AWAY <br />FROM IT ALL - TO RELAX AND RETIRE - BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, <br />REMOVING MUCH OF THIS UNIQUE HABITAT IN THE PROCESS. <br />YET - NOT EVERYONE WAS BLIND TO THE DESTRUCTION. <br />THANKFULLY, THERE WERE CITIZENS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS WHO <br />CARED ENOUGH TO PRESERVE - AND BECAUSE OF THEM - WE HAVE <br />MUCH STILL WORTH SAVING TODAY. <br />SOME 400 YEARS AFTER THE SPANISH EXPLORATION A REMARKABLE <br />VENTURE WOULD BEGIN IN THIS VERY SAME COASTAL HAMMOCK, AND <br />THE LIVE OAK THAT STOOD "THE OLD MAN OF THE JUNGLE" WAS NOW <br />BETTER THAN 450 YEARS OLD. <br />AND A NEW AGE WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN. <br />ENTER ARTHUR GLENN MCKEE - AN ENGINEER AND NATURALIST OF <br />GREAT IMAGINATION, CARING, AND WISDOM - WHO UPON SEEING THIS <br />INCREDIBLE PLACE SOUGHT AFTER AND ESTABLISHED A <br />PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CREATIVE GENIUS OF WALDO SEXTON TO <br />PRESERVE AND AMPLIFY THE BEAUTY OF THIS UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT. <br />TOGETHER THEY FORMED THE McKEE-SEXTON LAND COMPANY FOR THE <br />SOLE PURPOSE OF CREATING A UNIVERSE OF NATURE FOR ALL TO <br />ENJOY. <br />THE PLACE - MCKEE JUNGLE GARDENS. <br />WHAT THESE MEN SAW ALMOST 60 YEARS AGO WAS A NEED TO PROTECT <br />THESE LANDS FROM DESTRUCTION - A NEED SO COMPELLING THAT <br />MCKEE WOULD DEDICATE HIS FUTURE TO THE CREATION AND <br />GUARDIANSHIP OF THIS VERY SPECIAL PLACE. <br />12 <br />