Winn Dixie has announced that they are closing an additional 35 stores as part of their Chapter 11 restructuring. Looking over the list of current locations and their future status, the only location in Polk County to be closed is store #602 in Bartow. The Bartow store is located at 1050 N. Wilson Avenue.

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January Dennison, owner of Technology Research Consultants was named the 2006 Florida Small Business Person of the Year by the Small Business Administration. The Haines City based firm manufactures avionics products. You can read more about TRC on the Central Florida Development Council web site.

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The big news this past weekend was the 'accident' at Cypress Gardens. Initial reports were that a child had fallen off the Triple Hurricane and had been airlifted to Tampa. That's all we had the first night. Of course speculation ran wild. As of today we now know that the young boy stood up on the ride as part of a dare. The ride restraint system did not fail.

You know that if CG was 'at fault' that the boy's family would be filing suit shortly, but how about the reverse? Cypress Gardens should sue the boy for lost revenue related to his 'dare'.

From a press coverage standpoint, Jen has a great post comparing media coverage of this accident to recent Disney accidents.

Update: The family is filing suit against Cypress Gardens.

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Bill Rufty talks about the 'squabble' for the Florida State Senate Presidency that involves J.D. Alexander and Paula Dockery among others. My only addition to this story is a comment by one of J.D.'s staffers at Richard's Coffee in Winter Haven a few weeks ago. While talking talking with a group of people she boasted loudly, "My man is going to be State Senate President." It seemed a bit over the top at the time.

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Over at Out of Bounds, Greg Eno has a post about some historical Detroit Tiger moments in Lakeland specifically related to baseball managers. Greg looks back to 1966, '73, '78, '80, '85, plus many more years with anecdotes related to the Detroit Tiger's manager. Here's an item from 1966:

Spring training in 1966 meant the harbinger of one of the worst seasons in Tigers history - and not because of anything that happened on the field. Manager Charlie Dressen was throwing one of his famous chili parties for his team. The manager would make a vat of chili and help the players enjoy it - a real bonding kind of thing. Only in '66, Chuck Dressen felt a twinge in his chest after the party and it turned out he had a heart attack. Eventually that summer, Dressen would take ill with cancer, too. His replacement, coach Bob Swift, also fell ill. And thus the Tigers became the first - and only - big league team to lose two managers in one season to illness. Sadly, both Dressen and Swift died within weeks of each other. Not a good year, 1966.

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Thomas Oldt does a good job of exposing the Polk County Opportunity Council's cluelessness in his latest column, but this quote says it all:

If ever there were an organization that needed professional guidance, it's PCOC. That they don't want to spend $9,000 for a consultant but will spend upward of $20,000 for their legal defense speaks volumes about their priorities.

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A recent USAToday article titled, 10 Great Places to Discover the 'Hidden' Florida, lists Lakeland as a destination:

The grocery-store chain Publix is based here, and its "philanthropic-minded" contributions include Hollis Gardens, which "reproduces botanically every part of the state." There's Lake Mirror, the "town's jewel, with a gorgeously ornamented lakefront from the '20s, with a walkway all the way around." Fans of Frank Lloyd Wright shouldn't miss the campus of Florida Southern College, the architect's "largest single installation in the world."

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Does anyone else out there in cyber world notice that the headlines in newspapers including our community news source are sensationalized? Take for instance today, Lakeland Electric reduced the fuel charge for customers by $3.45 per 1,000 kWh and there was one person in the audience that wanted to talk about a completely different issue.

Utility's Fuel Surcharge Reduction Fails to Impress was the headline. By the headline you would think that the entire community was against the reduction. The member of the audience wanted to talk about the dividend that Lakeland Electric pays the City. A privately held utility pays dividends to stock holders. A municipal utility pays dividends to its stockholders who happen to be the taxpayers or residents of the community.

This is not a practice that is unique to Lakeland. It is very common for municipal utilities to pay some sort of payment in lieu of taxes. This includes not only electric utilities but water, waste water and solid waste as well. These practices assist communities to expand the level of services without continually raising taxes.

If you are really going to write a story about it and try to inform your readers wouldn't you mention other municipal utilities in the State that do the same thing such as Gainesville and Tallahassee? I am all for Freedom of the Press and our First Amendment Rights but give us the whole story and not just a sensationalized piece of it.

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Just what you need on your body, a Polk County tattoo:

I found this via a MySpace group. If you remember I saw somebody a few months ago with a Polk County tattoo, but it wasn't this one.

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Over at the Polk Art Mafia MySpace group Ellen has posted this little item about Winter Haven receiving 10 sculptures for public display as part of the Annual Florida Sculpture Competition:

I'm not sure if you know this or not but this is just a little information that I can pass along if you're not aware. It doesn't have much to do with your fundraiser but it'll make downtown a bit more interesting.

This year Polk Museum of Art and the City of Lakeland have teamed up with Winter Haven to have 10 sculptures from the Annual Florida Scultpure Competition be displayed in Central Park. The sculptures will be installed in April. So...Downtown should be looking a bit cooler soon. You guys will be getting some of the biggest sculptures because you guys have the room to display them. Here in Lakeland, short trees get in the way. :) It will be a great exhibit. Lakeland will also have 10 that will be located on Lemon Street, as usual.

The outdoor sculpture display in Lakeland is always a great public display of the arts, I'm glad to see part of it coming to Winter Haven.

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Something we all know...Publix has ranked once again as the top supermarket in customer satisfaction. It's the twelfth year in a row that they've topped the list.

Looking at the ACSI site Publix beat out Supervalu, Kroger, Winn-Dixie, Albertson's, Safeway and Wal-Mart. Missing from the list are the smaller upscale stores like Fresh Market and Whole Foods. My friends that shop at either one of those stores rate them much better than Publix. Of course Fresh Market and Whole Foods are skewed to a different market and they have far fewer locations (Whole Foods has 8 stores in Florida).

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Looking to trace your roots in Polk County? You might want to check out the Polk County Florida Genealogy Yahoo Group. With 106 members and over 1000 messages it's a pretty active group.

There is also the Polk Historical and Genealogical Library.

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Writing on his Indians.com diary Ryan Garko says this about the WH:

As for the rest of my day, there is really not too much else that goes on. Most of us stay at a hotel right by the Chain of Lakes complex, and there is not too much to do but play some video games, watch movies and go out to dinner. If you like Chili's, Applebee's and the Outback, then Winter Haven is the place to be. Other than that ... well, Opening Day is only 38 days away.

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The City of Lakeland will have the Grand Opening of Westside Park on Saturday, March 4, 2006 from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Westside Park is located at 1800 West Oakhill Street. There will be live music, refreshments, children’s activities including face-painting and displays on hand from the Lakeland Police Department as well as the Polk County Sheriffs Department.

This newly designed 22.6 acre park features four soft-ball fields, three picnic shelters, paved walking paths, half basketball-court, swings, playground equipment and restroom facilities. This well-shaded and much needed addition to the park system was funded in part by the City of Lakeland, Polk County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. It truly is the result of a collaborative effort.

This park is a gem for the area but we have experienced vandalism at the park during the building phase, including the burning of a pallet of modular playground equipment and repeated graffiti taggings. It is a shame because this area needs a park like this and the kids in the surrounding area need a safe, fun place to play. Hopefully, the area will take pride in the park and the vandalism will cease once the park officially opens.

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Flickr user avaloncm has posted some old Florida photos found at an estate sale. One of them is the Publix 'Salad Patch' float from the 1966 Gasparilla Day parade.

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Over at Indians.com reporter Anthony Castrovince checks in from Winter Haven with a few restaurant related tidbits:

Winter Haven often gets blasted as the purgatory of Spring Training sites. But hey, last I checked, it's a tad warmer than 16 degrees, and it still has the following local establishments worth checking out, should you make the trip down here to see the Tribe:

1. Andy's Igloo. Before I came down here, I heard from several sources that this little diner provides the best milkshakes on the planet. Dare I say, it lived up to the hype. So much so, in fact, that I might have to name my first-born child Andy -- boy or girl.

2. El Norteno. Mexican food at its finest. But if you're in the over-21 crowd and you get the same bartender my crew had, efforts to order certain beverages might go unfulfilled by the language barrier. I recommend sticking with the international language that is "Corona."

3. Pasquale's Pizza. OK, confession time. I've yet to have a chance to check this place out. But enough people have recommended it that I have no choice but to believe it's the real deal. I guess you could say it's the Andy Marte of pizza joints.

Pasquale's has become a favorite of this blogger :-)

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Charlie Crist has announced his Polk County campaign team. From the Crist site (I'm leaving out the long titles...):

Honorary Chairman: Senator Paula Dockery

Honorary Vice-Chairman: Colonel Grady Judd

Chairman: Alci Maldonado

Co-Chairs: Marilyn Butler, Mark Garces, Rick Garcia, Marisa Judd, Clifton P. Lewis, Linda Logan, Mike Logan, Robert Luna, David Maldonado, Carol Platt, Shane Platt, Alfredo Santos, Dr. Sergio Seoane

One question....where's Michael Holley?

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This morning at the coffee shop I ran into an old friend, she said that EP was a 'daily read' for her. We're flattered...so welcome our loyal reader :-)

Seriously though, we do have more than one reader. Daily traffic ranges between 125 and 200 unique visitors with close to 300 page views per day. Considering our target market that's pretty good for this little blog.

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Must have been a slow news day in Winter Haven this past Sunday (2/19). For the majority of the day there were no local features or news on the News Chief web site:

I know they just had some staff changes in the online department so perhaps that's the cause. On the other hand, the paper only has a few 'local' articles each day. The majority of the paper is wire/syndicated content.

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Just received a message from Chris McArthur, one of the owners of Black & Brew Coffee House about the opening this past weekend:

Black & Brew Coffee House & Bistro opened this passed Thursday with a bang. So much for a soft opening. Local bands, Woodale and Pemberly played accoustic sets on Friday and Saturday nights. Both nights were "standing room only."

Black & Brew has been in the works for over a year now. Chris & Mike McArthur began putting together their business plan in November of 2004. Though the brothers encountered countless obstacles, their hard work is paying off.

Black & Brew features a menu of outstanding coffee, espresso, and blended drinks, along with gourmet sandwiches, wraps, salads, and paninis. The menu also features the brothers' spin on the old fashioned coffee house, a beer & wine selection.

Live blues, jazz, blue grass, or accoustic music will be provided every Friday and Saturday night, beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday night is open mic night, beginning at 7 p.m.

Hours of operation:
Mon-Wed 6:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Thursday 6:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Friday 6:30 a.m. - midnight
Saturday 10 a.m. - midnight

I'll have to check it out next time I am in Lakeland.

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The Cleveland Indians will hold BBQ at Cypress Gardens on Friday, March 3 from 4:30-10:00 p.m. The GRAND SLAM BBQ will feature the entire Indians spring training roster who will be present to sign autographs and mingle with the fans.

Tickets for the event are $65 (or $30 for Cypress Garden's pass holders) and include admission to the park. You can purchase tickets at the Cypress Gardens Group Sales Office or call 863-324-2111 and select option 3.

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The Ledger has slowly been expanding their new media offerings over the past few weeks. The most recent item is a audio walking tour of a new exhibition at the Polk Museum of Art. Readers can download the MP3 file and listen to museum executive director Daniel Stetson describe the Pop Art 1956-2006: The First 50 Years.

Last year the Atlanta Journal Constitution created a series of podcast tours of the new Georgia Aquarium.

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Flickr user dubsyuh has posted a series of photos from around Polk County taken with an old Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash. The main focus of his shots are old signs including this one of Andy's Igloo.

You can view his entire photoset here.

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USAToday has published 30 Spring Training Tips, including these local mentions:

9. Snag 'em

One of the best places to snag a baseball is in Winter Haven, Fla., where the Indians train.

During batting practice on the first practice field, Indians regularly go deep to fans waiting on a slight hill.

This camp also offers a great opportunity for autograph-seekers. The first field the Indians reach after leaving the clubhouse is about 50 yards away. Other fields are 250 yards away, giving fans plenty of time to ask for autographs before and after practice.

14. Other roads to avoid ...

• Think U.S. 17 in Florida looks like a direct route from Fort Myers, Winter Haven and even Kissimmee and Orlando? Have all day? You'll be hard-pressed to find an out-of-the-ordinary place to stop for lunch.

• I-4 between Tampa and Orlando has improved immensely, especially the part between Tampa and Lakeland. But the interstate is still notorious for its slow drivers, and it often gets ugly about the time you reach the interchange with U.S. 27 about 25 miles south of Orlando.

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Former Lakeland resident Ryan Gilchrest, now a writer for the Macon Telegraph, is blogging from Daytona Beach during the lead-up to the Daytona 500. In a recent post Ryan discovered the free wifi service at Crispers:

In my continuing quest to find free wireless, I've traded in the dim interior and bad service of Denny's for the bright colors and tasty cuisine of Crispers.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Crispers. It started up in my hometown of Lakeland, Fla., when I was in junior high school. I remember when it was this little sandwich place next to the movie theater. Now they have something like 70 locations in Florida.

If you are ever in Florida, and you like a good soup, sandwich and salad place, I highly recommend Crispers.

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At Tuesday's Polk County School Board meeting Superintendent Gail McKinzie announced that the schools would block (and have been blocking) all access to MySpace.com from the district's network. I can understand the PCSB not wanting to see all their bandwidth used by kids checking their MySpace profiles (not to mention the distraction it provides) but framing it as a 'safety issue' is way off base. From the Ledger article:

McKinzie said the ban is about student safety.

"This is a site that many young people access on their home computers," she said. "And it's been a cause of concern on the part of educators and parents because of the possibility that adults may contact children by obtaining personal information on the site."

So how will blocking access at school stop any of this? Just because they can't use the site from school grounds isn't going to make them stop using it. They'll just go home and continue to use it, or go to any location that has wifi. MySpace adds 65,000 new users every single day. It IS the social network for the majority of kids. Perhaps the next quote sheds some light on the issue:

"If the student wants to do it, and they want to do it under their parent supervision, that's fine," McKinzie said. "But we don't want that liability."

Yep, liability. The PCSB wants to shift the responsibility to the parents, which once again sounds good, but how many parents 'supervise' their child's MySpace usage?

I know the PCSB has good intentions, but it won't work. Kids will find a way around it.

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Overheard at the coffee shop this weekend:

I wonder why the new Super Wal-Mart in Winter Haven is so much nicer than the new Super Wal-Mart in Auburndale? Does Wal-Mart think the customers in Auburndale are less sophisticated? Or perhaps it's because there's more competition in the Winter Haven market with two Publix locations a few miles away. In Auburndale there is only one Publix in town.

It got me thinking. I remember seeing a Goldman Sachs retail study a few years ago that compared the interiors of Wal-Marts in various foreign countries. In locations where Wal-Mart faced local competition the stores looked amazing inside. Better than any store I'd ever seen in the U.S. Once the competition was gone, Wal-Mart focussed less on the appearance of the store interiors.

I can understand seeing a huge difference in stores that were built years apart, but the Winter Haven and Auburndale locations opened within a year of each other.

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I left downtown Winter Haven shortly before 6 p.m. last night and stopped at Long's Gift Shop (the local Hallmark vendor) to pick up one final Valentine's Day card. One problem, they closed at 6. Why?

I assume the greeting card business spikes around the holidays that usually require cards and I think that Valentine's Day is a big one on the calendar. Closing at 6 p.m. the night before the 'big day' is not a very wise business decision. As I got back in the car and decided my next stop I saw no fewer than six other people walk to the door and then turn right around, taking their business elsewhere. And chances are they will take their business elsewhere for good.

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Spring Training officially starts when pitchers and catchers report later this week. For the Detroit Tigers, picthers/catchers report on Wednesday, Feb. 15th and position players report on Monday, Feb. 20th. The Cleveland Indians start on Thursday, Feb. 16th with pitchers/catchers reporting followed by position players reporting on Tuesday, Feb. 21st.

For Cleveland fans Indians Intelligence has on off-season review of the Indians.

Update: The Detroit Tigers Weblog is also looking forward to Spring Training

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Pizza Central recently opened in downtown Winter Haven. Located on Main Street, Pizza Central is your standard pizza joint. The style of pizza is similar to Winter Haven's former pizza king J. Burns (if you remember them) or Pizza Connection in Auburndale. The crust is thin and the pie is cut into squares rather than slices.

A friend and I went for lunch a few weeks ago right after they opened. The single-slice servings didn't look too appealing in the case so we went with a whole pizza to split between us. To their defense, knowing how much pizza you should prep for lunch counter service is a tough call. Hopefully once they've been open for a few weeks they'll figure out the sweet spot.

The pizza was good and arrived relatively quick considering that we ordered off the menu. The square-cut style was not what my friend expected. It's always good to mix up pizza styles that way you don't wear yourself out on one brand. The interior is a bit blank, but that too should change with time. At the time of our lunch they took cash only (they now take most major credit cards), which we didn't realize till we went to pay. Luckily I was able to walk a block down the street to the ATM.

For you Lakeland readers it's no Pizza Palace, but Winter Haven will take any downtown dining that we can get.

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I opened up today's Ledger and found a profile of my step-uncle Dewey Tomko. It's a great in-depth piece.

One thing I will always remember is seeing Dewey at my wedding. Dewey was in Vegas for a poker tournament that weekend but flew back on a red-eye came to my wedding then flew back out that night. He always puts family first.

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The Central Florida Technology Partnership and the Tampa Bay Technology Forum will hod the 3rd Annual Fast & Furious Partnering Conference at The Lakeland Center in Lakeland, Florida on March 2, 2006 from 1:30 – 6:00 PM. Up to 50 companies representing the digital media, software & information technology services, modeling, simulation & training, optics & photonics, e-learning, and bioscience sectors are expected to participate. From the Metro Orlando Innovators blog:

Each of the presenting company spokespersons are given 2.5 minutes to give their elevator speeches and discuss partnering, business development, or even funding needs. Audience members receive a program that provides them with additional information on the companies, including full contact information to facilitate follow up. After the presentations, all Conference attendees are invited to a cocktail reception in an adjacent exhibit hall, where presenting firms and sponsors have booths set up for product demonstrations and interaction with company spokespersons.

I took part in the event last year and received a few good leads from the session. Even if you don't want to present you can just watch the presentations. The session is a real eye-opener for people that feel there isn't much 'tech' in Central Florida.

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This Sunday's edition of The Ledger features a multi-story feature on growth in Polk County. The series of articles is a must-read for residents, but alas, those that really need to read it, probably won't. Here is the complete list of articles:

• The Lure of Polk
• As the County Grows in Population, the Only Constant is Change
• Polk Needs More Classrooms, Teachers
• Lack of Water Could Make Development Plans Dry Up
• Ever More Vehicles Crowd and Slow Polk's Not-So-Open Roadways
• More Jobs, More Business, and More People Who Miss the Old Days

Unfortunately it's illegal (sort of a poll-tax) but everybody that plans to vote in the county commission race should be required to read this.

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Here are a few Polk County links from around the web-world.

• With the Winter Haven 'Smoke on the Water' BBQ contest this weekend, BBQtv has some video of last year's event.
• Robert has his Florida editorial round-up posted.
• USF Lakeland's Library has a blog.
• FishingWorld has coverage of the Fishers Of Men Winter Haven Chain National Championship.
• ResistanceMedia claims to be Central Florida's only independent media....get in line.

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One of the side benefits of the East Polk edition of The Ledger is the occasional Sunday column from Thomas Oldt. Tom's writing is great and really matches his unique personality. To date myself a little bit, I had Tom, er.. Mr. Oldt as a substitute teacher in high school.

If you're from Lakeland and you never read 'the other side' of the county, take some time to look-up Tom's column online.

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The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta recently had a record setting fund-raising campaign with a total of $76.5 million raised. Although UPS lead the overall corporate donations with $4 million, Publix associates had the highest average contribution:

Publix Super Markets and its associates contributed $3.8 million. The average employee gift of $250 is more than six times the industry average of $40.

Publix has always been very supportive of the United Way in each community they work in and the United Way of Central Florida is no exception.

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The Discovery Educator Network was recently in Polk County doing some training for the Polk County School Board.

This Wednesday, the three of us had the pleasure to visit the Polk County Public Schools and witness their extraordinary efforts to roll out unitedstreaming, providing nine full-day workshops to teachers across the district. Kay Teehan and Peggy Koren have done an incredible job informing and inspiring teachers on ways digital media can enrich teaching and learning.

In one of those six-degrees things, I was in Jackie Huba's session at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association Conference last month and there was a member of the DEN there.

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Imagine my shock when a new blog appears in my RSS watchlist for 'Lakeland' and the name of that blog is 'Lakeland Highlights' - a blog written by the Lakeland City Manager. A quick click-thru shows me it's not Doug Thomas of Lakeland, FL, it's the blog of Bob Wherry, city manager of Lakeland, TN. Oh well.

I also know that Kevin Cook is smart enough not to use Blogger if/when Doug starts to blog.

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EP reader Fred Koehler sent in this posts/question.

First I'd like to say kudos to everyone who comes to this site for taking an active role in the development of Polk County. (Especially those who see forums like this as an informal part of our system of checks and balances.)

My question for the day is about information privacy, what the ever-changing law has to say about it, and what we as citizens can do to protect our private information.

This week I went to get the front end of my car aligned. Normal, everyday thing, right? I took it to the Goodyear in Bartow, which is close to where I work. The gentleman who took my keys at the desk started asking me for information and plugging it into his computer. Name, telephone number, make and model of vehicle – I stopped him when he asked for my address. "No thanks" I said.

"Well you have to give me your address," the gentleman responded. "The computer needs it." I told him kindly that the computer did not in fact need my address and when he got defensive about it I told him I could easily take my business elsewhere. "Fine," he said. Then he stopped me for a moment and showed me a printout with someone else’s address on it. "Everyone has to give their address," he explained. I told him that I wasn’t everyone. Then he tried to rationalize why the computer needed my address, because they wanted to send me coupons in the mail for oil changes. I said I wasn’t interested in coupons.

In the end I thought better of the place and picked up my keys before they started work on the vehicle. And let me say that I certainly don’t blame the guy behind the counter; he only knows what they teach him in Goodyear school. What I do want to know, however, is what right companies like Goodyear (and many others) have to refuse or stall service based on an unwillingness to give out personal information.

And while we’re at it, what does the law say about companies asking for my personal information with the intent to use it for marketing purposes? (I.E. sell my name and phone number to people who sell car accessories for my make and model of truck.) Am I just a schmuck who needs to get over it? Is there no real harm being done? Or is there truly some value to keeping private information private?

The way I was treated when I questioned the status quo made me feel like John the Savage in "Brave New World." Why are you causing a scene? Everything we are doing is for your benefit. It is irrational to resist. Now take this pill and everything will be better… In the end I took my truck to a mom and pop tire place and they didn’t ask for my address; they just did the work, charged me less than the other guys, and then thanked me for my business. Go figure.

-Fred Koehler is a graphic/web designer and writer in Lakeland, FL. He is an FSC alumnus and a recently returned Peace Corps volunteer. He is a member of the Imperial Polk Advertising Federation and a United Way Community Investment volunteer.

It's an interesting issue. I know I always get frustrated when the cashiers at places like Toys-R-Us ask for your phone number each time you check out. I decline each time.

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This past weekend I went out to the Backporch Restaurant to eat lunch. It had been a few years since my last lunch out there, and almost 15 years since I worked at the restaurant while in high school. Much has changed, yet much has remained the same. The quaint restaurant is part of the ever popular Barn and Stable shops that sit a few miles outside of Lake Alfred, FL. The restaurant and shops are owned by the Wales family. For a number of years the Wales also ran a summer camp at the ranch called Lazy W and sponsored a Lakeland summer league soccer team call the Double T We-Wa's.

If you haven't been to the restaurant they have a unique ordering process. Patrons fill out a paper menu via check-boxes and put their name and table number on a post-it note. Your food is then delivered in a small picnic basket. When the restaurant was much smaller there were no table numbers. Patrons just wrote their names on the post-it notes. This led to a popular prank among the staff...handing a basket with a fake name to one of the servers, then watching as they walk aimlessly around the restaurant saying, 'Steve?......Steve?.....Steve?"

The menu is still the same, but the quality of the food is constant. The popular sandwich combination includes a gourmet sandwich and your choice of soup, salad and dessert. The menu lacks a vegetarian sandwich, but that's ok because salad combination provides you generous helpings of all the salads plus a dessert.

Each day features unique soup, salad, sandwich and dessert options that supplement the daily menu. I've been a fan of the French Country Vegetable soup since I was a kid. When I worked there in high school I once asked Tom Wales what the recipe was, he told me it was a family secret. I'm not sure if he was serious or was just kidding with me because later that day when the soup was running low he told me to make some more. He then proceeded to tell me the recipe. I make a large pot of the soup at least once a year.

The restaurant is only open from 11 till 3, Tuesday through Saturday (Closed Sunday/Monday) during the season. Next time you're looking for something a bit different for lunch make the short drive out towards I-4 on Hwy 557. It's worth the trip. Phone: 863-956-2227

Update: Man About Town blogs about his recent visit to The Barn.

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Don't ask how I stumbled upon this, but it is interesting. The Shadowlands (warning cheesy mid-90's web site) has a list of haunted sites in Florida. From the very long list are these local haunts. It's entertaining reading.

Babson Park - Webber College - Girls Dorm. - Many girls and employees have seen a dark shadow in the second floor of the dorm building.

More after the jump...

Continue reading "Polk County's Haunted Places" »

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