Sunshine State

by Sarah Gerard

  Santa Lucia, Ray. Pinellas County Point in Time Homeless Report: 2015. St. Petersburg, FL: Pinellas County Homeless Leadership Board, 2015.

  Satter, Beryl. Each Mind a Kingdom: American Women, Sexual Purity, and the New Thought Movement, 1875–1920. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.

  St. Louis Magazine. “All the Kings’ Children.” September 2015.

  St. Petersburg Evening Independent. “Council Delays Gateway.” February 8, 1974.

  St. Petersburg Times. “Birds: Our Responsibility.” December 23, 1974.

  ———. “Council Says It’s Willing to Meet Nov. 10 with Seabird Sanctuary Founder.” November 2, 1982.

  Stanley, Kameel. “Officials Once Again Mulling over Homeless Problem in St. Pete, Pinellas County.” Tampa Bay Times, July 14, 2014. http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/officials-once-again-mulling-over-homeless-problem-in-st-pete-pinellas/2187247.

  ———. “Homeless Issues Again Becoming Problem in St. Petersburg, Consultant Says.” Tampa Bay Times, June 5, 2014. http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/homeless-issues-again-becoming-a-problem-in-st-petersburg/2183195.

  Stewart, Nikita. “Obama Will Seek $11 Billion for Homeless Families.” New York Times, February 6, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/nyregion/obama-to-propose-11-billion-to-combat-family-homelessness.html?_r=0.

  Stiff, Robert. “City’s Stand on Sanctuary Is for the Birds.” St. Petersburg Evening Independent, December 1, 1982.

  Stroud, Matt. “The Indian Express: How an Amway CEO Landed behind Bars Halfway around the World.” Verge, January 18, 2013. http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/28/4472608/the-indian-express-pyramid-scheme-investigations-amway-herbalife.

  Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary. Fly Free, newsletter, edited by Tara L. Gallagher, Summer 2008.

  ———. Fly Free, newsletter, edited by Jennie Hale, Spring/Summer 2014.

  ———. “Our Birds . . . By the Numbers.” February 8, 2012. Accessed via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine on September 21, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20120208090710/http://www.seabirdsanctuary.com/Home_Page.html.

  ———. “Volunteers.” October 24, 2008. Accessed via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine on June 3, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20081024051951/http://www.seabirdsanctuary.com/Volunteers.html.

  Tampa Bay Times. “Memorial for Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Employee Set for Sunday.” September 8, 2010. http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/memorial-for-suncoast-seabird-sanctuary-employee-set-for-sunday/1120338.

  Taylor, Mel. “Save Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary 2012.” YouTube video, 12:04, posted by Get Smart Digital, June 19, 2012. https://youtu.be/fOJAzoN_OqQ.

  Thomas, Robert McG., Jr. “August A. Busch, Jr. Dies at 90; Built Largest Brewing Company.” New York Times, September 30, 1989. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0328.html.

  Thompson, Stephen. “Pinellas Authorities Evaluating Homeless Diversion Program.” St. Petersburg Tribune, October 28, 2013. http://www.tbo.com/pinellas-county/pinellas-authorities-evaluating-homeless-diversion-program-20131028/.

  ———. “Pinellas Launching Program to Deal with Chronically Homeless.” St. Petersburg Tribune, July 8, 2013. http://www.tbo.com/pinellas-county/pinellas-launching-program-to-deal-with-the-chronically-homeless-20130708/.

  Ulferts, Alisa, and Abhi Raghunathan. “Police Slash Open Tents to Roust the Homeless.” St. Petersburg Times, January 20, 2007. http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/20/Southpinellas/Police_slash_open_ten.shtml.

  Unofficial Amway Wiki. “Yager, Dexter & Birdie.” Last modified January 5, 2015. http://www.amwaywiki.com/Yager,_Dexter_%26_Birdie.

  US Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2015 AHAR: Part 1—PIT Estimates of Homelessness in the U.S. Washington, DC: 2015.

  ———. HUD 2015 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs Homeless Populations and Subpopulations, State Name: Florida. Washington, DC: 2015.

  US Department of Housing and Urban Development, US Department of Veterans Affairs, and US Interagency Council on Homelessness. Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness in 2015 Fact Sheet. Washington, DC: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2015.

  US Department of Justice. “Justice Department Files Brief to Address the Criminalization of Homelessness.” News release, August 6, 2015. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-brief-address-criminalization-homelessness.

  Van Sickler, Michael. “St. Petersburg City Council Passes Street Solicitation Ban.” Tampa Bay Times, June 3, 2010. http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/local/st-petersburg-city-council-passes-street-solicitation-ban/1099765.

  Wealth Generators. “Dexter Yager.” WallStreetGenerators.com, April 18, 2016. http://wallstreetgenerators.com/dexter-yager-the-amway-legend/.

  Wikipedia. s.v. “Amway.” Last modified May 20, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amway.

  ———. s.v. “Mary Baker Eddy.” Last modified February 20, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Baker_Eddy.

  “Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit,” Rule: 68A-9.006, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida Administrative Code & Florida Administrative Register. Effective date July 1, 2013. https://www.flrules.org/gateway/RuleNo.asp?ID=68A-9.006.

  Williams, Deborah. “World-Renowned Sanctuary Most Definitely for the Birds.” Sun-Sentinel, March 25, 1990. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1990–03–25/features/9001310440_1_birds-heath-spread.

  Willis, Derek. “To Understand Scott Walker’s Strengths, Look at His Donors.” New York Times, February 11, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/upshot/to-understand-scott-walkers-strength-look-at-his-donors.html?_r=0.

  Windsor. “Windsor Fact Sheet.” Accessed June 9, 2016. http://www.windsorflorida.com/app/uploads/2016/03/Windsor-Fact-Sheet.pdf.

  Young, M. Scott, and Kathleen A. Moore. 2014 Point-in-Time Housing Survey. St. Petersburg, FL: Pinellas County Homeless Leadership Board, 2014.

  Other Sources

  Anthony Catron, Raymond Young, Charles R. Hargis, et al. v. City of St. Petersburg. US Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 2011, no. 10–12032 658 F.3d 1260 1264.

  Beitl, Adrianne. Email to the author, October 28, 2015.

  ———. Interview by the author, Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Indian Shores, FL, July 12, 2015.

  Bolden, George. Interview by the author, (swah-rey), St. Petersburg, FL, January 30, 2016.

  ———. Welcoming statements, (swah-rey), St. Petersburg, FL, January 30, 2016.

  Dale. Interview by the author, Bayou Club, Largo, FL, July 16, 2015.

  DeChant, Dell. Letter to Emma Curtis Hopkins College provisional board, March 1, 1992.

  ———. Letter to Emma Curtis Hopkins College board, May 15, 1992.

  ———. Letter to Patricia Gerard, July 13, 1992.

  ———. Letter to Unity-Progressive Council higher education subcommittee, June 5, 1994.

  ———. Letter to Unity-Progressive Council higher education subcommittee, June 6, 1994.

  Deed of sale from Zeta G. Bobbitt to Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Inc., February 7, 1997 (filed February 11, 1997). Pinellas County, FL, deed book 9606, page 1237.

  Divorce certificate, Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Pinellas County, circuit civil no. 74–9383–07. Clearwater, FL, December 19, 1974.

  Doty, Kevin S. Letter about Ralph Heath, October 29, 2015.

  Emma Curtis Hopkins College. Board meeting minutes, April 16, 1993.

  ———. Board meeting minutes, July 15, 1993.

  ———. Checklist for temporary licensure, July 1992.

  Eslick, Micki. Email to Robin Vergara, June 14, 2012.

  ———. Interview by the author, Eslick’s home, November 4, 2015.

  Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Inspection report, April 30, 2014, Pinellas County, FL, ref. no. FWSW14OFF5258.

  ———. Inspection report, June 17, 2014. Pinellas County, FL, ref. no. FWSW140FF7972.

  ———. Inspection report, Ma
y 5, 2016, Pinellas County, FL, ref. nos. FWSW16OFF006622 and FWTB16CAD012948.

  Gerard, Eric. Interviews by the author, phone, March 20, April 11, and May 12, 2016.

  Gerard, Patricia. Interview by the author, home of Patricia Gerard, Largo, FL, July 11, 2015.

  ———. Interviews by the author, phone, March 15, March 28, and May 8, 2016.

  ———. Letter to Emma Curtis Hopkins College board, July 2, 1993.

  ———. Prayer journal, 1992.

  Godwin, Jennifer. Interview by the author, home of Robin Vergara, Indian Rocks Beach, FL, July 24, 2015.

  Gregory, Lar. Interview by the author, phone, November 29, 2015.

  Guastella, Jimbo. Interview by the author, phone, November 27, 2015.

  ———. Interview by the author, Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Indian Shores, FL, August 3, 2015.

  Hammock, Rev. Leddy. Email to the author, March 14, 2016.

  ———. Interviews by the author, Unity Church of Clearwater, FL, July 5 and August 12, 2015.

  ———. Letter of invitation to Emma Curtis Hopkins College opening, July 6, 1995.

  ———. “Rejuvenate.” Sermon, Unity Church of Clearwater, FL, July 5, 2015.

  ———. Welcoming invocation of Emma Curtis Hopkins College, Summer 1995.

  Heath, Ralph. Interviews by the author, Greek Village Restaurant, Seminole, FL, November 2, 4, 2015, and Salty’s, Gulfport, FL, July 30, 2015.

  ———. Interviews by the author, phone, August 1, August 12, and June 5, 2015.

  Kraut, Kim, and Greg Vaughan. Interview by the author, Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Indian Shores, FL, July 29, 2015.

  Kriseman, Rick. “State of the City Address.” Address delivered to the City of St. Petersburg, FL, January 24, 2015.

  Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Inmate Information Center, booking no. 4479724. Los Angeles, CA, 2015. https://app4.lasd.org/iic/details.cfm.

  Marbut, Robert. “Follow-Up Review of Homelessness in the City of St. Petersburg: Presentation of Findings and Action Plan Recommendations to the City of St. Petersburg.” Report presented to the City of St. Petersburg, FL, June 5, 2014.

  ———. “Homeless Needs Assessment and Action Plan for Placer County.” Report presented to Placer County, CA, April 7, 2015.

  Marler, George. Email to the author, November 6, 2015.

  Marriage certificate, Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, file no. 88–008792. Williamsburg, VA, March 7, 1988.

  Megan. Interview by the author, (swah-rey), St. Petersburg, FL, January 30, 2016.

  Notice of bankruptcy case filing, US Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida, case number 8:13-bk-1315Q-CED. Tampa, FL, October 1, 2013.

  Osmundson, Linda. Interview by the author, Osmundson’s home, St. Petersburg, FL, July 13, 2015.

  Pavese, Irene. Interview by the author, (swah-rey), St. Petersburg, FL, January 30, 2016.

  Pinellas County deputy. Interveiw by the author, Safe Harbor, Clearwater, FL, July 30, 2015.

  Raposa, Michael. Interview by the author, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Petersburg, FL, January 25, 2016.

  Realtor 1. Interview by the author, Silverthorn Road, Seminole, FL, July 16, 2015.

  Realtor 2. Interview by the author, Eagle Pointe Drive, Clearwater, FL, August 8, 2016.

  Realtor 3. Interview by the author, Bullard Drive, Clearwater, FL, August 8, 2015.

  Rolle, G.W. Interviews by the author, phone, January 25 and January 28, 2016.

  ———. Interviews by the author, Rolle’s home, St. Petersburg, FL, November 3, 2015; Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Petersburg, FL, July 11, July 17, and August 8, 2015, and January 30, 2016; and Williams Park, St. Petersburg, FL, January 24, 2016.

  ———. Text messages to the author, February 4 and February 19, 2016.

  ———. “Things That Break.” Unpublished manuscript, 2015.

  Ronald J. Cooper vs. Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, et al. Civil Court of Pinellas County, FL, Sixth Circuit, 2013. Ref. no. 13–710 CI-8. 18277, 632.

  Smith, Clifford. Interview by the author, city hall, St. Petersburg, FL, January 25, 2016.

  Snapp, Tom. Interview by the author, Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Petersburg, FL, July 19, 2015.

  Spicer, H. Jane. Letter to Emma Curtis Hopkins College board, May 21, 1996.

  Unity. “Daily Word.” July 15, 2015.

  United Church Directories, Unity-Clearwater Church, Clearwater, Florida. 1994.

  Unity-Clearwater Church. Golden Anniversary: 50 Years of Unity-Clearwater 1941–1991, anniversary booklet, 1991.

  Unity-Progressive Council, Inc. A Progressive Reaffirmation of Unity Faith. Clearwater, FL: Unity-Progressive Council, Inc., 1990.

  Unknown author. Letter of response to Alan Rowbotham, June 1994.

  Vaughan, Greg. Interview by the author, phone, October 28, 2015.

  ———. Interviews by the author, Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Indian Shores, FL, July 12 and August 3, 2015.

  Vaughan, Greg, and Kellie Vaughan. Interviews by the author, Salty’s, Gulfport, FL, July 30, 2015, and the Vaughans’ home, Largo, FL, August 10, 2015.

  Vergara, Robin. Email to the author, November 10, 2015.

  ———. Email to von Gontard brothers, August 2, 2012.

  ———. Interview by the author, Vergara’s home, July 24, 2015.

  Vickery, Shelley. Interview by the author, Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Indian Shores, FL, July 12, 2015.

  Walls, Chris. Interview by the author, Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Indian Shores, FL, July 14, 2015.

  Whitaker, Bob, and Campbell Whitaker. Letter to members of the Emma Curtis Hopkins College steering committee, June 29, 1994.

  Whitney, Ruth. Interview by the author, phone, March 31, 2016.

  Wiggins, Carolyn. Email to the author, November 24, 2015.

  Endnotes

  Mother-Father God

  1. Leddy told the story of the disciples asking Jesus to hush the children: Hammock, interview, March 14, 2016.

  2. One night in 1978, my mom went to a biker bar in South Tampa to hear the Mad Beach Band: P. Gerard, interview, July 11, 2015.

  3. One day, she was supposed to meet the man who was installing new carpet: Ibid.

  4. Leddy Hammock had taken over as co-minister just the year before: Unity-Clearwater Church, Golden Anniversary.

  5. invited my mom to meet them, too: P. Gerard, interview, March 15, 2016.

  6. Increased industrialization was reducing the demand for men’s physical labor: Satter, Each Mind a Kingdom, 8.

  7. inspired the rise of moral reform groups largely led by women: Ibid., 22.

  8. The number of women in higher education also increased dramatically, as did the number of women in the workforce: Ibid., 21.

  9. research in the scientific and medical fields was raising questions about the unseen world: Ibid., 49–51.

  10. Germ theory, popularized in 1876, introduced the general populace to the theory that sickness was caused by outside forces, not internal weaknesses: Ibid., 51–52.

  11. The debate gave new, scientific validation to more general fears of contagion: Ibid., 51.

  12. Many women saw hypnotism as an opportunity to bring about a new era in which mind ruled matter: Ibid., 52.

  13. their claims to power had previously been based upon self-sacrifice and spiritual superiority on the grounds of moral purity, reinforcing the association of women with the “feminine heart”: Ibid., 30–31.

  14. Mary Baker Eddy traveled from Rumney, New Hampshire, to Belfast, Maine, to see a famous healer named Phineas Parkhurst Quimby: Ibid., 62.

  15. Quimby had reportedly cured thousands of people around New England: Ibid., 60.

  16. Eddy was the youngest of six children: Rogers, “Mary Baker Eddy and the American Dream.”

  17. a quick-tempered and punishing father: Wikipedia, s.v. “Mary Baker Eddy.”

  18. suffered from a nervous sickness that resulted in fainting episodes: Rog
ers, “Mary Baker Eddy and the American Dream.”

  19. She treated chronic indigestion with a strict diet of water, vegetables, and bread: Wikipedia, s.v. “Mary Baker Eddy.”

  20. Eddy had turned to allopathic medicine and alternative therapies such as homeopathy and hydrotherapy to treat her mysterious illnesses: Rogers, “Mary Baker Eddy and the American Dream.”

  21. Eddy’s first husband died suddenly in 1844, when she was six months pregnant: Wikipedia, s.v. “Mary Baker Eddy.”

  22. she became interested in mesmerism, animal magnetism, Spiritualism, clairvoyance, and the stories of Jesus as a healer: New World Encyclopedia, s.v. “Mary Baker Eddy.”

  23. Eddy’s second husband promised to become the boy’s legal guardian: Rogers, “Mary Baker Eddy and the American Dream.”

  24. he never followed through, and Eddy lost touch with her son for the next twenty years: Wikipedia, s.v. “Mary Baker Eddy.”

  25. Her new husband was unfaithful . . . he would eventually abandon her: “The Life of Mary Baker Eddy,” Mary Baker Eddy Library.

  26. For the next three years, Quimby tutored Eddy in his brand of mesmerism, and they kept in close touch until his death in 1866: New World Encyclopedia, s.v. “Mary Baker Eddy.”

  27. To treat these cases, he would furnish his patients with reinterpretations of Bible stories he’d penned himself: Satter, Each Mind a Kingdom, 60.

  28. What appears to exist as the material world is an illusion caused by another creative force: “mortal mind,” or human thought: Ibid., 62.

  29. It believes in evil and, by believing in it, manifests it in the illusionary world: Ibid., 63.

  30. as children of Divine Mind, humans have godlike abilities and can overcome the appearances of evil: Ibid.