7 Questions With Madonna Wise, Florida Historian and Author

 

Madonna Jervis Wise grew up in rural Indiana and her love for history started early. She was fascinated by the history of her family, the Jervis'es, and the legends of her home town in Carroll County. As an adult, she moved to Florida with her husband Ernie and began teaching history to high school students.   In 2010, Madonna started with a simple project of researching the historical valedictorians and salutatorians at Zephyrhills High School, (her daughters were valedictorian in 2001 & 2012 respectively). For the centennial celebration of the high school, they wanted to design a plaque for these students from the last hundred years. As she began researching this history, Madonna became increasingly more excited by the stories of education in this century old school. 740 pages later, her first historical book Tapestry-Zephyrhills: An Anthology of Its History Through Education was published cataloging the history of ZHS from 1910-2010.    Since then, Madonna has gone on to publish numerous books in the history genre and is continuing into genealogy, historical non-fiction, cookbooks and fiction. She has released three books in the prestigious Images of America series with Arcadia Publishing/History Press: Zephyrhills, Dade City, and Wesley Chapel. As a retired principal who also has credential as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, she weaves an understanding of individuals and groups in a diverse array of communities. Her latest two books focus on real historical characters from her research.   In her spare time, Madonna is an avid equestrian, master gardener, and active member of the community. She is the proud mother to three children: Jervis, Mamie, and Rachel; and a doting grandmother to five beautiful grandchildren. Access her web page at https://madonnawisebooks.com/home

1. How and/or when did you get you hooked on history?

I sat at the feet of two very unique and interesting grandfathers- James and Marvin in Indiana! James was a blacksmith in World War I who lied about his age to enter the Army and serve in the calvary at age 16 in the European theatre! I certainly didn't know what Post Traumatic stress was at age six but later came to realize that it impacted him throughout his life!  James brought history to life for me and shared my obsession for horses which still exists today as I am a lifelong equestrian! The other grandfather was a genealogist of sorts and he related tales of our family hierarchy! Marvin's enormous pride in the paternal side of my family caused me to check out his somewhat exaggerated stories and even get me into DAR! Later in my life a couple of profound professors ( Dr Roscoe Frazier from Purdue and Dr Dwight Mickelson from Taylor) really turned me on to research  and more formal historical investigation as I was a first generation student!

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

I revere family history and it is an avenue for sharing and growth! About twenty years ago I created a cookbook entitled "Juanita In Blue" as a way to mourn the passing of my mother! I printed it for my three adult children and included photographs and vignettes from my mother's hometown restaurant! The cookbook which is also published is a source of memory and reflection for our family and my three adult "lawyer" children phone every once in a while to ask me something like "What is lard" 

Further history plays an enormous role in the way I experience day-to-day life!

3. How is/How was history a part of your professional life/career?

I graduated from Taylor University with a degree in history and taught history at the high school level for nearly a decade before obtaining an MA in school counseling and administration. Later I taught history with an online school and nearing retirement  (I retired from both Pasco and Polk Counties and worked as a teacher, school counselor, principal, district administrator, and grant writer for 38 years) I began writing and publishing history books and doing research pretty much full time after retirement although the federal grant writing and writing for six newspapers had honed my writing skills throughout my career.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

The old adage is out there that 'history repeats itself' which may be true but that is not my motivation! To me as a historin and counselor I see the influence on individuals and more recently I have come to believe there are generational components to history in families! The history of a location is essential to understanding a community and I seek that out for myself and others. ( I take this to the limit! When I was first named a public school principal- I sought out every previous principal to interview and for the one deceased principal- I interviewed his wife. I believe knowing the past story is essential to understanding)

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

Frontier history is my favorite time frame! My rural roots brought me face to face with tools and lithics and artifacts and I have always had a desire to figure out the purpose and usage which led to more understanding of life in different periods!

I also gravitate to the years of the Great Depression as I heard so many stories about those 1930 years growing up! Any time I can delve into WPA and the FDR recovery times I am also a happy camper! Around Florida as you probably know - when you see a limesone building such as the ones in Hillsborough state Park etc you will be seeing WPA project work and so many are being torn down now!

6. What led to your interest in Florida history?

A centennial celebration in Zephyrhills perhaps enmeshed me into Florida history! I put together the centennial celebration and was the Grand Marshal of the parade! I wrote two books on the community and then began a program of writing further community books! An extraordinary colleague, Jeff Miller sat up a central Florida website  https://fivay.org/ and we collaborated again and again on research almost daily! ( This sounds like your Histocrats!) A few years later Arcadia Publishing and History Press wanted me to write an additional book on a growing area known as Wesley Chapel and I resisted because it was a desolate and unpopulated area and I really didn't think there was adequate info! After some coaxing I found descendants of about five of the original homesteaders and through personal invitation- I interviewed the families and they allowed me to scan their photographs and letters and papers! We even drew a progressive map of the community collectively It solidified my love of Florida history and I've gone from there!( Many of the family members I interviewed became surrogate families and unfortunately many have passed now but there were about five who phoned me once a week with a new finding or 'great' story about a cracker whip or where someone else was  buried or whatever! They were endearing!

My best selling book is "A Haunted History of Pasco County" which I was recruited to write! This is where the folklore piece comes in as many of the findings involved superstition and customs.

7.        Please discuss your most recent and/or upcoming projects?

My latest book (#15) is out in November and is entitled "Lakeside Inn- Legacy of Mount Dora." It is without a doubt my most researched piece and it tells the story of Florida and particularly Mount Dora from the viewpoint of the oldest continuously operating Inn in the state of Florida! Alexandra and Jim Gunderson recruited me to write this book and they allowed me to look through the archives of the 140 year old Inn which included the over five-month stay at the Inn by former President Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace in January of 1930 just after he left office! The Coolidge story was very confused with Calvin's 1928 and 1929 Florida visits so I digressed in the book to discuss his 1928 excursion through Florida to attend the Pan American Conference in Cuba and his 1929 visit to dedicate Bok Tower! The book is comprehensive and it predates the Inn which began in 1883 with even prehistoric discoveries! The Lakeside Inn project really solidified my interest in thematic history which I've always known was a love! The book took me to a great interview that Ben Brokenboke did for the Florida Historical society on Coolidge and super consultation experiences with UF and Rollins and great folks! I am anxious to get the proofs back any day! The Gundersons also own the Hacienda Hotel in New Port Richey and love history! The story of the Lakeside Inn is quite intriguing as it encompasses the 'orange culture' and Chautauqua! I am so thankful that the Gundersons wanted me to be diverse because I covered the unvarnished view of history with the Groveland issues and more!