Once known as Kissimmee Municipal Airport, Kissimmee’s Gateway Airport once served as an Army Airfield. It is important to recognize this history and highlight an artifact that is preserved in Osceola History’s Archives, a Layout Plan for the site from 1944 equipped with a rifle range and barracks. Built in the 1930s, plans for the municipal airport soon evolved as the quickly growing U.S. Army […]
76 years ago, a young James “Bud” Fraser made the exciting waterway trip from Fort Lauderdale to Kissimmee in a handmade rowboat built from plans in an issue of Popular Mechanics magazine. Bud added some extra power with the addition of a 5-horse kicker motor borrowed from a friend. He remembers they did much epic planning for this 4-day adventure which he shared with Osceola […]
A former teacher turned spiritual advisor, Bishop Osie England, or “Miss Osie” was born April 7, 1877, to Adolphus W. England and Nancy A. Riley in a log cabin in the hills of Ross County, Ohio. As one of the middle children amongst four siblings, she experienced some heath issues, such as meningitis and rheumatism, but was blessed with familial support. When she was detained […]
Mrs. Theresa R. Helms was born in Narcoossee in 1912, where her father was a citrus grower who owned 10 to 12 acres. She graduated from school after losing her father, but her mother was determined to have her daughter achieve higher education. During this time most young people were expected to start working. It should be noted that few students, black or white, even […]