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Some Stuff I Wrote (2001) H. Morris Williams

to win, I am READY to serve you.” He then arranged for the official voting ballot to list his name

as “Tom ‘READY’ Davis.”
U. S. Senator: Local realtor Finley Moore once ran an unsuccessful campaign against then

U. S. Senator Claude Pepper. Finley promised to sing “Suwannee River” from the steps of Capitol
Hill if he won, but he lost. Many years later, Finley’s son Jimmy (CHS 1950) twice ran for state
Commissioner of Education in Washington state.

An “Only”, A “First”, A “Most”, And A “Youngest”: Marlin Feagle is the only elected

county attorney in Florida. Mary Childs was the first woman elected Clerk of Court in our county.
Judge Archie Buie had the most years of full-time public service - twenty-eight as county judge and
six as county attorney, for a total of thirty-four years. Judge Vernon Douglas was our youngest

County Judge.
Railroad And Public Utilities Commissioner: W. B. (Babe) Douglass won three four-year

terms to this powerful statewide position. He died in office. His son George later became mayor
of Lake City.

Early Football

July 13,1993

Here is a chronology of early Lake City football based on old “Reporter” articles and

supplemented by information from Bob Harkness (CHS, 1920).
November 27,1902: This is the first mention of football. Florida Agriculture College was

scheduled to play Stetson University in Deland. The Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad
advertised an excursion to the game for $20.

October 15, 1910: This is the first report of a Lake City high school game. Columbia
College (successor to Florida Agriculture College which had moved to Gainesville to become the

University of Florida) defeated Columbia High School in a practice game, 17-5. A touchdown was
then worth five points. Word-of-mouth accounts over the years have stated that Thomas H. Bates

(later a local physician) scored that very first CHS touchdown.

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