Micanopy, northwest Fla. 2018. Paul Goldfinger ©. The owner stays open until tourists drive off.
Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net
In the 19th century, the town of Micanopy, Fla. prospered with agriculture; in sequence came cane sugar, cotton, vegetables, oranges and lumber.
In 1836 there was a battle with the local Seminole Indians. The US Army showed up to rescue the town, and a fort was built. There were settlers and some slaves in the town. But later the town’s founder Moses Levy, a Jewish immigrant from Morocco, encouraged schools and opposed slavery.
These days (December, 2018) it is a tourist town on the National Historic Register. Antiques used to be big in Micanopy, but now millennials hate that old stuff. It is a fine place to visit and explore for a couple of hours.
Last year I bought a T shirt, but this year they were sold out. The town panhandler hit me up, and a young couple were posing for a professional wedding photographer. I snapped a couple of frames from a distance; the groom looked at me and gave me a grin and a thumbs up.
A guitarist was playing outside some shops. He said that he has made some country recordings. A hat on the ground collected some change and bills. Christmas decorations were scattered about.
Micanopy is near Gainesville (U. of Florida) and had a population of 600 in the last Census.
BOB DYLAN: “The Man in Me.”
Bob Dylan. Photographer unknown.