Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

I am not a car person but I'm aware that, this Sunday, the 107th Indianapolis 500 will take place.  I'm a hoosier so, when I was a girl I attended the Indianapolis 500 every year.  Not to see the race, mind you, but to spend the day in the infield with my friends having fun.

Carl Fisher was the guy who started it all.  He was passionate about cars.  He was a promotional genius and a flamboyant guy who made millions and lost millions.  I have always associated Carl Fisher with Indianapolis and the 500...

1919 Dixie
Highway

...until this week.  My son gave me a book for Mother's Day about the 25 most important men and women (yes women too) who shaped the state of Florida.  Carl Fisher is one of them.  I had no idea.

Early on Florida was a decidedly inhospitable place.  Getting here (like the exact place I am right now) was almost impossible,  The original settlers had to literally hack their way through the jungle.  Then, when Henry Flagler and Henry Plant built the railroad, things changed.  After that, along came Carl Fisher.  He set up a network of highways, most popular being the Dixie Highway that's still going strong today.

Carl Fisher was an eccentric guy who had his ups and downs but it took entrepreneurial spirits and visionaries like him to tame Florida.  I'm grateful.

The book I'm reading is called "Florida Made - The 25 Most Important Figures Who Shaped the State."


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