Famous FloridiansMrs. Costanzo’s Fourth

Grade Class2014-2015

NAPOLEONCourageous, intelligent, popular and generous;

Lover of people;Who felt the everglades should be drained;

Who believed Florida should have farms to grow crops;

Who wanted to see more people living in Florida;

Who helped Florida by unifying the state’s universities;

Who will always be remembered for draining the Everglades;

Who once said,”I would immediately enter upon the work of reclaiming of the state of Florida and

make such arrangement for their drainage.”

BROWARD

By Gaby Alonso

OSCEOLA (BILLY)Native American Leader

Courageous, heroic, trustworthy, and responsible;Lover of the Seminoles;

Who felt brave;Who believed the Seminoles should stay where

they want;Who wanted to see the Seminoles treated fairly;Who helped Florida understand the Seminole’s

culture;Who will always be remembered for leading the

Seminoles;Who once said, “They could not catch me except for a white flag. They cannot hold me except with

a chain.”

POWELL

By Max Bendix

MARJORIEAuthor

Kind, generous, joyful and knowledgeable;Lover of books;

Who felt happy when visiting Florida;Who believed flora and fauna of Florida was

unique;Who wanted everyone to enjoy the flora and

fauna,Who helped Florida by writing books about its

unique environment;Who will always be remembered for writing the

Yearling;Who once said, “Who owns Cross Creek? The red

birds more than I…’’

RAWLINGS

By Becca Leeds

MARJORY

Author, ConservationistGenerous, caring, intelligent, and brilliant;

Lover of the Everglades;Who felt the Everglades should be saved;

Who believed the Everglades shouldn’t be sold to developers;

Who wanted to see the Everglades become a National Park;

Who helped save Florida’s Everglades;Who will always be remembered as the savior of

the EvergladesWho once said, “Nothing anywhere else is like

them.They always have been one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never who wholly

known.”

STONEMAN DOUGLAS

By Antonia Awad

JOHNDoctor

Proud, creative, caring, observant ;Lover of humanity;

Who felt passionate about caring for people;

Who believed in helping people;Who wanted to see people treated

properly;Who helped Florida become cooler by

inventing the air conditioner;Who will always be remembered for

cooling things down;Who once said, “Nature would terminate

the fevers by changing the seasons.”

GORRIE

By Teij Shah

Zora Neale Author, Civil Rights Activist

Ambitious, courageous, heroic, strong;Lover of literature;

Who felt Blacks should be treated fairly;Who believed she could change the way people

see Blacks;Who wanted her books to inspire her readers;Who helped Florida show and celebrate the

culture of African Americans;Who will always be remembered for showing the importance of working class African

Americans;Who once said, “Mama exhorted her children every opportunity to jump at de sun. We

might not land on the sun but at least we would get off the ground.”

Hurston By Grace Burke

JUANExplorer

Adventurous, risk taker, courageous, and ruthless;Lover of exploring;

Who felt passionate being the governor of Puerto Rico;

Who believed in the Roman Catholic Religion; Who wanted to discover the Fountain of Youth;

Who helped Florida by discovering it; Who will always be remembered for discovering

Florida;Who once might of said, “I claim this land for

Spain!”

PONCE DE LEON

By Jonas Carvalho

JANETAttorney General

Courageous, elegant, important, and delightful,Lover of Florida;

Who felt the need for justice;Who believed she can change things through the legal

system;Who wanted to see freedom for women;

Who helped Florida in many ways;Who will always be remembered for being the first woman to be appointed Attorney General of the

United States of America;Who once said, “I don’t think it serves purposes. I think the major purpose is to demonstrate that

before somebody possesses a weapon they ought to simply, - it makes sense, that they know how to

safely use it.”

RENO

By Victoria Carrillo

ThomasInventor

Lover of inventing;Who felt good when helping the community;Who believed he could make the light bulb;

Who wanted to see people using the light bulb;

Who helped Florida by giving it light;Who is remembered for inventing the

lightbulb;Who once said, “I have not failed,I just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

EDISON

By Harry Sharma

JOHN JAMESArtist, Naturalist, Ornithologist ;

Creative, intelligent, respectful, peaceful;Lover of birds;

Who felt happy and joyous around birds;Who believed art can change the world;

Who wanted to see and classify American birds;Who helped Florida learn about birds by drawing them

and creating books;Who will always be remembered for his art and love of

birds;Who once said, “Seldom have I experienced greater

pleasures than when on the Florida Keys, under a burning sun, after pushing my bark for miles over a soapy flat. I

have striven all day long, tormented by myriads of insects to procure a heron new to me, and have at length

succeeded in my efforts.”

AUDUBON

By Fernando Ciobotaru

DAVIDGovernor

Valuable, vivid, patient and Jewish;Lover of Florida;

Who felt the need for statehood in Florida;

Who believed Florida should be a state;

Who wanted to see Florida become part of the U.S.A;

Who helped Florida by pushing it into statehood;

Who will always be remembered as Father of Florida’s railroad;

Who once said,” I hope my life will never end!”

YULEE

By Dylan Duran

MARYCaring, thoughtful, intelligent, and

generous;Lover of education;

Who felt the need to help children and adults learn;

Who believed everyone is smart in their own way;

Who wanted to see everyone have the opportunity to learn;

Who helped Florida’s education system;Who once said,” I’m going to read! I’m

going to read!”

McLEOD BETHUNE

By Esther Eneke

CHARLESBusiness Man

Smart, flexible, artistic, and courageous;Lover of art;

Who felt passionate about collecting and enjoying art;

Who believed plants should be preserved;Who wanted to see beautiful landscaping;Who helped Florida by preserving plants;Who is remembered by Deering Estate at

Cutler;Who once said, “Beautiful landscaping is like a

beautiful life.”

DEERING

By Connor Gebhart

HENRYBusiness man

Intelligent, international, business minded, and successful;

Who felt strongly about bringing the railroad and steamboat to Florida;

Who believed in the beauty and development of of Florida;

Who wanted to see improvement in railroads;Who helped Florida by transporting plants;

Who will be remembered for transporting and constructing hotels;

Who once said, “He is one of those remarkable men who mastered all conditions.’’

PLANT

By Jorge Freund

LUE“Orange Wizard”

Persevering, knowledgeable, courageous, flexible;

Lover of Oranges;Who felt proud of his accomplishments;Who believed in making a better orange;Who was inspired to visit Florida when he

was a young man;Who helped Florida develop better

oranges;Who will always be remembered for his

contribution to the Florida industry;Who once might have said, I believe in a

tastier orange.

GIM GONG By Paulino Mercenari

JULIAEntrepreneur and Businesswoman

Persevering, proud, patient and intelligent;Lover of Miami;

Who felt a railroad would benefit Miami;Who believed swampy Miami could become a great

city;Who wanted to see the tracks and train finally in

Miami;Who helped Florida become known as a paradise;

Who will always be remembered fondly as the ‘Mother of Miami’;

Who once said, “I could not do what would confine me constantly indoors or at a desk.”

TUTTLE

By Grace Wheeling

DON VICENTESmart, skilled, successful, and intelligent;

Lover of making cigars;Who felt happy with the cultural influence

on his city;Who believed in a larger cigar industry for

Miami ;Who wanted to increase the Cuban culture

in Miami ;Who helped Florida’s cigar industry thrive :

Who will be remembered for his contribution to cigars and Ybor City ;

Who once might of said, Making a city is hard, a factory too, but with effort the job

can be done;

MARTINEZ YBOR

By Fernando Franco

JOHNConservationist

Persevering, patient, determined, and hardworking;

Lover of coral reefs;Who felt he could work hard to preserve

the Everglades;Who believed he could restore the coral

reefs;Who wanted to see the Everglades and the

coral reefs preserved for future generations;

Who will always be remembered for helping to preserve the coral reefs and the

Everglades;Who once said, ‘’National Parks don’t come

into being overnight.’’PENNEKAMP

By Sofia Casado

JOHNArtist, Circus owner

Artistic, empowering, international, cultural;Lover of art and culture;

Who felt art was another way to express yourself;

Who believed in all types of art;Who wanted to see different art & culture

around the world and to entertain with circuses;Who helped Florida by creating jobs and providing

entertainment;Who will always be remembered for the most

successful Ringling Brothers’ circuses in America;Who once might have said, All culture and art

should be respected.

RINGLING

By Jacob Rodriguez

HENRYBusiness man

Generous, loving, grateful, and adventurous;Lover of his family and Florida;

Who felt he could make a railroad that extended to Key West;

Who believed in transportation;Who wanted to see Florida develop a proper

city;Who helped Florida by helping to create a new

city;Who will always be remembered for bringing a

railroad to Miami;Who once said, “ Very well then, go to Key

West.”

Flagler

By Hernan Rodriguez