Tag Archives: Valerie Kennedy-Grisham

The “Pantheistic Mysticism” of the Delius House

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The Delius House at Jacksonville University has served, at times, as international pilgrimage site. Today it feels forlorn. Saved once, 60 years ago, it feels in need of salvation again. Moved from Solano Grove in 1961, it’s the cottage where the English composer Frederick Delius said he first “felt the urge toward music.”

Recalling Book Burnings at Jacksonville University

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The 1970 Jacksonville University yearbook, the Riparian, was a collector’s item before the year was out. That fraternity members burned the book helped. So did the national news of JU’s president’s threatening to withhold the editor’s diploma. Half a century later, JU grads treasure it as an almost sacred object.

When Artis Gilmore Led a Whole City to the NCAA Championship

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In 1970, Jacksonville University marched toward the NCAA championships, David v. Goliath, and enraptured its city in the process. Sports Illustrated called JU a “transformed junior college” and Jax the urban heart of the Okefenokee Swamp. The first page of the yearbook caught the front of one shoe, nothing more: Artis Gilmore stood 7’2″, but some added six inches for his afro.

Recalling the Childhood Terrors of Mr. Peanut

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Something wasn’t right about him, the 54-foot-tall man-legume who looked down at children in their parents’ cars. Some kids just remember the joys of popping roasted peanuts into their fizzing Cokes at the Planter’s Peanut Store. The giant Mr. Peanut on Arlington Expressway didn’t last long, but oh how he left his mark!