CELEBRATIONS
19
His father, Joe Sr., moved down from Sumter County, Ga.,
in 1923, in hopes of finding work with the Florida East Coast
Railway. Eventually, he did hire on with the railroad, but in
the early years he helped build Ocean Drive and State Road
A1A, his son said.
“He did manual labor, the hard work,” Joe said. “He was
a sharecropper in Georgia, so he had always worked hard.”
The senior Idlette met and married Nancy Cookley, whose
ancestors were slaves in South Carolina. William Cookley,
Nancy’s father, came to the area in the 1890s and picked
beans on John’s Island farms.
Idlette Jr. grew up living mostly in housing provided by
the railroad. In the early years, his mother harvested beans
and tomatoes. The railroad had a retirement plan and offered
free health care at a company-owned hospital in St.
Augustine, along with railroad passes so that people in need
could get there.
But Idlette Sr. left his railroad job in the mid-1940s, and his
son went to work in a Winter Beach packinghouse to help
support the family.
The first school for blacks, known as the Gifford School,
stood on the east side of U.S. 1 around 38th Street. Because
of its location at the southern end of Gifford, it was dubbed
the “low end school,” Bernice said. Until 1938, it offered
only the first six grades.
“The high school kids went to Fort Pierce and the parents
were responsible for getting them there,” Joe said.
High school classes were added at the school, and in 1952
a more modern but still segregated Gifford High School was
built on 45th Street. That’s where Idlette Jr. graduated from
in 1953. Bernice graduated in 1955. Both were the first in their >>
Idlette Jr., who was featured in a 1970s newspaper article, took a courageous
stand against school segregation in the 1960s.
The Passion of Christ
Presented By The:
Catholic Communities of
St. Anastasia Church
&
San Juan Diego Centro
Monday, April 3rd at 7:00pm
Our Christian community is looking forward to
bringing to life for all ages, the Salvation Jesus Christ
has won for all of us, on the Cross.
Families will experience a real life reenactment of
unconditional love, while leaving with a renewed
sense of hope, a broader understanding of being
loved and a deeper realization that we are not alone.
Come and see the One who has always loved you. Photos by Marcos Photography
Tickets at Sunrise Theatre Box Office 772.461.4884 or www.sunrisetheatre.com
/www.sunrisetheatre.com
/www.sunrisetheatre.com