Read more about the article Light Up the Night
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive with a sleigh full of gifts at the Port St. Lucie Festival of Lights, eagerly awaited by hundreds of girls and boys and their parents. CITY OF PORT ST. LUCIE

Light Up the Night

Lights, lights, and more twinkling lights herald the start of the holiday season on the Treasure Coast. From parades to a large-scale model railroad, hand-created lighted displays of animals and water, light-wrapped palm trees and Christmas trees, holiday shows, and Santa everywhere, the holiday spirit breaks free after a tough hurricane season finally ends.

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Read more about the article Party Favorites
Ring in the holidays with festive and flavorful recipes. This beautiful wreath is easy to make and bring to any holiday party. DANIELLE ROSE PHOTOS

Party Favorites

As the holiday season unfolds, the calendar fills with opportunities for parties from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Besides the traditional celebrations, we often forget about the gatherings in between each holiday when we need something to serve or take along other than cookies.

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Read more about the article Free festival makes history come alive
A presentation on the Highwaymen artists was the topic of one of the previous sessions of the Treasure Coast History Festival. INDIAN RIVER MAGAZINE

Free festival makes history come alive

When we launched Indian River Magazine nearly 20 years ago, one of our goals was to share significant stories about the region’s history with our readers. Over the years we’ve presented stories about everything from the early Ice Age man in Vero to the Ais natives living along the coast from 2,000 BC to the sinking of the 1715 treasure fleet off our coast. In our last three issues, we’ve presented stories that we hope settle questions about the killing of the notorious Ashley Gang exactly 100 years ago on Nov. 1, 1924.

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Read more about the article Ashley researcher challenges narrative
Steve Carr’s nearly half a century of research into the real story of the Ashley Gang left him challenging many of the common perceptions of the family. GREGORY ENNS

Ashley researcher challenges narrative

Steve Carr’s interest in the Ashley Gang began as a child growing up in Lake Worth, where he would hear his grandfather, William Carr, and friend, Woody Upthegrove, talk about the gang’s exploits.

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Read more about the article DEADLY END
The end of the Ashley Gang came the night of Nov. 1, 1924, when John Ashley, his nephew Hanford Mobley and Ray Lynn and Clarence Middleton were gunned down on the Sebastian River bridge. ELLIOTT MUSEUM

DEADLY END

As November 1924 approached, the Ashley Gang had been reduced to the trio of John Ashley as leader, veteran criminal Clarence Middleton and newcomer Jerold Ray “Shorty” Lynn.

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Read more about the article GROWING UP ASHLEY
The extended Ashley family gathered for this photo taken around 1930. Standing from left are Bill and Bertha Ashley, Mary Ashley Mobley and unidentified man; George and Lola Mario, Marjorie Ashley, widow of Ed Ashley; and Eva Ashley and first husband Peter Jenkins. The children third from left are Carlo Mario, son of George and Lola Mario; Marjorie Ashley, daughter of Ed and Marjorie Ashley; and Lugenia Jenkins with younger sister Patricia, daughters of Eva and Peter Jenkins. SANDRA MARIO PROVENCE ARCHIVES

GROWING UP ASHLEY

Sandra Provence learned a thing or two from her grandmother, the sister of outlaw John Ashley, about how to comport herself as a descendant of Florida’s most notorious crime family.

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Read more about the article Ashley Gang descendants not fond of ancestor
Austin Alderman stands at the spot in downtown Fort Pierce where his great-great grandfather, Ray Lynn, and three other members of the Ashley Gang were laid out and displayed after the shooting on the Sebastian River Bridge on Nov. 1, 1924. The 100th anniversary of the shooting approaches Friday, Alderman says Lynn was estranged from his wife and had been disowned by his parents when he was killed. No family members wanted to claim his body. “He was nothing but trouble,’’ Alderman says. GREGORY ENNS

Ashley Gang descendants not fond of ancestor

As the daughter of Ashley Gang outlaw Ray Lynn, Inez Lynn Hamilton had an unusual —and intentionally misleading — story that she would share with her grandchildren about her father’s death.

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