The paper no longer exists. But it didn't die because it gave its product away free. It had to cough up only 295 times in 76 years, fewer than four times a year.
It circulated throughout Pinellas County, the coastal strip running from Tarpon Springs in the north to St. Petersburg. And to this day Pinellas gets an average of 361 sunny days a year.
Forty years ago, when the free giveaway was in full swing, Pinellas made the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest stretch of daytime sunshine: 768 consecutive days (Feb 9, 1967, to March 17, 1969.)
But it's not only the sun that brings visitors here in droves. The other lure is the beaches, something like 50 km of the best sand in Florida, on a dozen barrier keys running from Clearwater Beach to Pass-a-Grille. This combination has made Pinellas County -- now marketed as Florida's Beach -- the biggest single vacation destination on Florida's Gulf Coast, attracting 3.8 million visitors a year.
Many of those visitors are Canadians, mostly Ontarians, drawn by the extra attraction of the Blue Jays in Spring training in Dunedin.
It's a far cry from the situation only a couple of decades ago when this area was a somnolent retreat, peopled mostly by retirees. The cynics called it God's Waiting Room or Wrinkly City. Then, in the 1980s, it caught fire, adding major league sports, top class museums and galleries, new hotels and condos, and dozens of other attractions.
So, although yes, there are still plenty of grey and blue-rinse heads here, there's also plenty to interest the average, younger visitor too. There are the beaches, of course, and baseball (the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, the Yankees across the bay in Tampa and, a bit farther south, the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton and the Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota).
If past trends persist, by the height of the season in February, one in every six visitors to Pinellas County is a Canadian.
They won't want to spend all their time on the beaches or at a ballpark. And here they're in luck for that boom that started in the '80s made the area the cultural powerhouse of the Gulf Coast.
There are nearly 40 museums. The Salvador Dali houses the largest collection of the surrealist artist's work outside of Spain and it's planning to move into a new $35 million US building in 2010. Meanwhile, you can find it at 1000 Third Street on the St. Petersburg waterfront.
Boxcar No. 1130695-5 is a heartbreaking exhibit in the Holocaust Museum, a sad reminder of man's evil. In this 8-metre long railcar, a marker says, up to 100 people were "stuffed,'' on their way to the concentration camps. Many suffocated on the way.
The Florida International Museum is the home to a permanent collection devoted to the life and career of President John F. Kennedy and his family, and hosts top-tier travelling exhibitions.
Great Explorations! is a children's museum with the emphasis on discovery and creativity, primarily with a science bent. It even organizes birthday parties and themed sleepovers.
Two interesting little museums in Tarpon Springs, the historical museum and one called Spongerama, tell how the seaport was settled by Greek divers, who harvested the rich sponge beds in the gulf. The town is still very Greek. Try any of the restaurants for a treat. And there are great deals on real sponges.
MORE INFORMATION
There are scheduled and charter flights to both Tampa International Airport, on the east side of Tampa Bay, and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International on the beach side. If you're driving, it's about 2,400 km from Toronto. For more information, visit floridasbeach.com or call toll-free 1-877-352-3224. General tourist information on Florida is available at visitflorida.com.
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