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This is not the first column about Florida history and culture to appear in FLORIDA TODAY. Many longtime residents of east central Florida fondly remember the articles of Weona Cleveland.
For more than 40 years, she has written about the people, places, events and even the plants that make our area unique and have brought us to where we are today.
Cleveland’s articles first appeared in the Melbourne Times in the 1970s, and later in this newspaper. Her reflections on local history, as told through the eyes of everyday people, earned her a dedicated following of readers.
Some of Cleveland’s best newspaper articles from the past three decades are collected in the new book, “Mosquito Soup,” published by the Florida Historical Society Press. Publication of the book was made possible by the Kellsberger Fund of the South Brevard Historical Society.
Like most Floridians, Cleveland came here from somewhere else. Born in 1925, she moved to Melbourne from Atlanta in 1961. The following decade, she started writing for local newspapers. Her previous books and booklets include “Melbourne: A Century of Memories” (1980), “Crossroad Towns Remembered: A Look Back at Brevard and Indian River Pioneer Communities” (1994) and “A Historical Tour of Melbourne” (1999).
In addition to her numerous articles and other writing projects, Cleveland researched and wrote the text for most of the historical markers throughout Melbourne and Eau Gallie. She says that her proudest personal accomplishment is the walking tours of old Eau Gallie and Melbourne that she gave for many years.
In 2006, the Brevard County commissioners named Cleveland the first Honorary Brevard County Historian. In 2009, Cleveland received the Julius Montgomery Pioneer Award from Florida Institute of Technology for her research on the local African-American community. In 2011, the South Brevard Historical Society recognized her accomplishments with an Honorary Lifetime Membership.
“Mosquito Soup” is a collection of Cleveland’s articles about pioneer life in Brevard, Osceola, Orange and Indian River counties, including stories from Haulover Canal, Cape Canaveral, Bovine and Rockledge. She takes the reader to cemeteries and individual graves that provide clues to the history of Merritt Island. We hear personal accounts of the 1919 fire that destroyed downtown Melbourne. We meet people like Archie Phillip, who began working as a gardener for Carrie and Ella Rossetter in 1966, and later became their chauffeur. We learn about a tragic airplane wreck in the waters off Melbourne Beach in 1928, which draws comparisons to the Challenger disaster 58 years later.
There are hundreds of other fascinating stories in the book.
Although she is in her 89th year, “Mosquito Soup” is not the final achievement of Cleveland’s long and distinguished career. Even in retirement, she continues to write about the local history and culture that she loves. She frequently writes for the Indian River Journal, published by the Brevard County Historical Commission.
In the most recent edition of the Indian River Journal, Cleveland writes about traditional folk remedies passed down for generations in Melbourne’s African-American community. By interviewing longtime residents, Cleveland discovered that if someone stepped on a nail, bacon fat was placed on the foot because it “drew the poison out.” Cobwebs were used as makeshift bandages to help speed the healing of cuts. To reduce a fever, castor bean leaves were put on the head.
The work of Weona Cleveland continues to inform and enlighten readers.
