Scott Hartzell signing books

Scott Taylor Hartzell stopped by the store yesterday to drop off some posters for his upcoming book signing at the store. Scott's new book is Remembering St. Petersburg: Sunshine City Stories, published by History Press. His first book, St. Petersburg, Florida : An Oral History, is part of the Voices of America series, and was published by Arcadia Publishing in 2002.

Scott is well known in St. Petersburg for his history columns published in the Neighborhood Times section of the St. Petersburg Times for almost 10 years.

Scott is originally from New Castle, Pennsylvania, but he has been in St. Petersburg for 20 years. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, and served as editor of the school's newspaper. Later he served as a correspondent for the Times and other local papers.

Scott's columns in the Times focused on people, structures and events that influenced the region. His stories were peppered with historical facts and coments from locals who have experienced the city's growth.

We met Scott last spring when we shared a table at the Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association's Garage Sale. Scott was signing books for patrons and we were offering our $3 books. After all, it was Saturday and that's when we have $3 books in front of the store. (Indeed, $3 Book Saturday is a growing phenomenon! Worth checking out!)

Anyway, that particular Saturday we moved the festivities down to Westminster Presbyterian Church on 11th Avenue NE, headquarters for the HONNA event. What a fortunate occasion. That was the same day Josephine* met David Wm. Leonard. David, who is known as the painter of Olde Florida, was working on Moonrise, Tampa Bay 1884 at the time. Josephine saw it and it was love at first sight. He wasn't even finished with it and she was ready to take it home with her. David subsequently did finish the painting, making it even more brilliant than it was in its unfinished state, and Josephine eventually did take it home with her.

*Out of consideration for her privacy, we're not including Josephine's full name. She knows who she is. Nobody else really needs to know.

Anyway, back to Scott. He's coming to the store Saturday, August 26, for a book signing. You'll have a chance to chat with him about his book and get an autographed copy. He'll be in the store fromm 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Stop by and see him.

David will be painting out front that day, too, (weather permitting), so plan to stop by and check the progress of his new work.