The Northeast Journal’s longtime contributor and resident historian, Will Michaels, was honored by the Tony Jannus Society at their annual banquet, Saturday, November 12 at the Vinoy Hotel.

The Special Award was presented to Will, president of the nonprofit Flight 2014, Inc, in recognition of his instrumental efforts to bring the Benoist Airboat back to St. Petersburg through a life-size monument at the St. Pete Pier, near the exact spot of Tony Jannus’ famous flight in 1914. Will is one of five people to receive this prestigious award since the society was founded.

In addition to preserving the legacy of Tony Jannus, the Tony Jannus Society also offers financial assistance to college students pursuing studies in aviation and conducts an annual essay contest for high school students to encourage careers in aviation.… Read More

Joshua Ginsberg is a man of mystery. The author of Secret Tampa Bay: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure (2020), Tampa Bay Scavenger (2021), and Oldest Tampa Bay (2022), his work delves deep in the strange or lesser-known bits of the Bay area.

Ginsberg’s writing career was catalyzed by the sudden death of a friend while he was still a resident of Chicago. “Seven years ago, I was stunned when my closest childhood friend, Steven, died,” he explains. “I had been talking with him late one night, making plans to see him and his family, and I got a call the next day that he had died.… Read More

Cathryn Sweatt has lived in her house on Sixth Avenue North for over 70 years. She moved into her two-story home with her mother, Thelma Cleo, her father, Pearley, and her brother, Paul Wayne in 1946. Cathryn was born in Inverness, Florida, and then moved with the family to the south side of St. Petersburg in 1943 where she attended Southside Junior High School before finally settling in the Old Northeast three years later.

When the Sweatt family moved into the neighborhood in 1946, the block the house is on didn’t look too much different than it does now. “The apartment building on Sixth Avenue and Second Street wasn’t there, but most of the homes and bungalows were already there,” said Cathryn.… Read More