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Features: Levy County History
May 1st, 2003

Features: Levy County History
April 24th, 2003

Features: Candidates Colson and Hodges Queried
April 17th, 2003

Features: Candidate Quates Queried
April 17th, 2003

Features: Levy County History
April 12th, 2003

Features: Levy County History
April 8th, 2003

Features: Levy County History
April 3rd, 2003

Features: Levy County History
March 27th, 2003

Features: Levy County History
March 20th, 2003

Features: Levy County History
March 13th, 2003

Features: Levy County History
March 6th, 2003

Features: Wild Life and History at the Levy County Courthouse
March 5th, 2003

Features: Levy County History
February 27th, 2003

Features: Levy County History
February 20th, 2003

Features: History Come to Life
February 19th, 2003

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History Come to Life

History Come to Life

Maureen Landress


Toni Collins as Maria Tresper

Dressed in period costume, and speaking with wit and passion, Toni Collins (Levy County's Historic Records Coordinator) enraptured the audience attending the Cedar Key Historical Society's "living history" presentation.

Ms Collins portrayed a woman named Maria Tresper, with the use of a "diary" that was a compilation of information gleaned from historic records, and her own journalistic skills. Maria Tresper and her husband George had operated a plantation at Clay Landing, on the banks of the Suwannee River during the Civil War. They also owned a home on Way Key, and conducted other business ventures in the Cedar Key area.

The life of Maria Tresper was one of wealth and privilege, but all that changed when Florida seceded from the Union. There was profit to be made from the ensuing war, and her husband soon became enmeshed in the role of blockade-runner. As was the case of most women in that time, Maria knew little of her husband's business affairs; but his continual absence left her with little choice but to learn to manage this masculine chore.
Maria's story was rife with details of the horrors of war, and the effect it had on the families of Levy County.

As the story unfolded through the voice of Toni Collins, the audience could feel the fear, loneliness, and uncertainty that must have been a part of everyday existence for Maria Tresper. When the last words of Maria's tale were spoken, and Toni Collins closed the cover of the journal, the audience burst into applause. An hour had flown by that felt like only minutes.


Toni Collins reading from the "diary" of Maria Tresper

Following the presentation, Toni answered audience questions, and gave suggestions on where to find resources and additional information on the history of Levy County. She also spoke of the importance of historical records, and the on-going efforts of Clerk of Court, Danny J. Shipp and the Levy County Commissioners, in maintaining the County's historical records.

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