#AGDSB | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jennmoslek36 · 5 years

Text

NOVEMBER 2018

ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS & one Category 3 Hurricane (Michael) later, here we were again. As we drove the main stretch of road, toward our hotel, we could only see bits & pieces of our surroundings. It was too dark to see the extent of the damage done to the area, however, in spite of the darkness, a familiar silhouette began to take shape before us. It was the tall brick smokestack of the South Campus & it was still in one piece; In fact, it didn’t appear to be damaged at all! My adrenaline started going but I knew that it was way too late to do anything tonight. Not knowing the conditions we were walking into, we played it safe & skipped our traditional 1st night pic in front of the school. As we pulled into our hotel, it was packed…Work trucks filled the parking lot & there was a ton of activity on the hotel property. Yet another sign that you’re dealing with the aftermath of a major hurricane. We found our room, unloaded & got ready to settle in for the night. Of course, me being me, I opted to spend a few minutes walking around the property to see what, if any damage had been done.

findingflorida.blog

THERE WASN’T A lot to see OR a lot that you actually could see as it was pitch black & many of the streetlights were still busted or missing. It was also freezing cold, so I gave up pretty quick & went back to our room to read some of the Dozier notes I had brought, until I fell asleep.

♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤

SUNDAY ~ DAY 1

AS EAGER AS I had been to get to the school, we spent a majority of our day walking downtown Marianna. I’m not going to really get into that portion of our trip but if anyone is interested, I will post those photos either to the GRAVEAdventuresFL Facebook page (info below) OR as its own photo gallery here on findingflorida. What I will say is that even though our trip had marked about a month since the hurricane, there was still quite a bit of cleanup & rebuilding left to be done. Most of me felt bad. BUT only for the good people of Jackson County. Sadly, those that were the innocent & had absolutely NO knowledge of the evil that had taken place in their beautiful little town got stuck eating the double helping of Karma that those responsible for taking or destroying thousands of lives had coming. We moved through within an hour & were on our way out when E pointed out a church with an old graveyard on the property.

findingflorida.blog

IT HAPPENED TO be the same church & graveyard that I had seen on our way into town. Now one thing about Marianna; There is NO shortage of churches packed into a small radius! They are on every corner, so if a “Come To Jesus” is what you’re needing, you can take your pick of where you want to have it. There was something about this particular church that had us pulling over & within a minute OR two, stepping into what we thought was just a tiny graveyard. It would be anything but ordinary. There was a reason we were compelled to stop & if we couldn’t figure out exactly what that reason was, we would get some unexpected help.

findingflorida.blog

WELCOME TO SAINT LUKES

WE FOLLOWED THE brick path, through the entrance & started looking around. You could tell that the little graveyard had been well cared for, at least prior to the hurricane. Even the oldest headstones looked pretty decent compared to most places I’ve seen in the past. “Fun” Fact about Marianna; Apparently they take way better care of their old graveyards than they did of the children that they used to generate revenue for their little town…Just Sayin’….

WE DIDN’T GET far before our eyes were drawn to a huge tree that was lying across several of the graves. It was massive up close with the base & the roots still attached; It was almost as if a giant had & pulled it out of the ground like an average person pulling a weed. It was insane to see, especially when paired with the visual of the two old headstones broken beneath it. Add the gigantic gaping hole now in the place of a number of the plots, you’ve got yourself quite the disturbing scene.

findingflorida.blog

ONE FOR ALL & ALL FOR…MILTON??

NOW I HAVE been to over 250 cemeteries (the exact number is actually 273 but who’s counting?) just in the State of Florida, taken thousands of pictures hoping to help with preserving their history, so this one wasn’t really anything special in my opinion. I definitely couldn’t figure out why we were wasting what little time we had meandering around an old church graveyard…Until a series of events took place that let both of us know exactly why we had been brought there. Unfortunately, before I can talk about those events, I have to talk about them…

findingflorida.blog

“THEM” WOULD BE the Milton family & anyone who’s been following this blog OR knows the history of how the Arthur G Dozier School for Boys (OR the Florida Industrial School as it was originally known as) came to fruition is aware that it started with a “Milton.” Specifically Senator William H. Milton as he was the catalyst for making sure that Marianna would win the bid to have the reform school built in his hometown & him, along with his grandson W.H. Milton, would campaign to raise the funds to make this happen. In fact, the Milton family as a whole would be staunch supporters of bringing “Reform “ to the panhandle & even donated much of the land & additional funds necessary to make it happen. The Milton’s were in it up to their eyeballs & “Spoiler Alert”…They got their damn “school.” After the opening in 1900, Senator Milton would continue his support by pushing Bills & requests through the Senate, paving the way for the staff to beat, rape, torture & murder ANY boy they chose without ANY consequences. The Milton name remains firmly planted in Marianna to this day, their mark on everything from churches to law firms…But still NO apology note to the Dozier boys OR their families. That is definitely the one & only mark I’d like to see!

THIS SMALL TOWN sure has some kind of sick hero worship thing going on BUT us Non-Stone Age “City Folk” refer to people like the Miltons as child abusing A-Holes! I won’t bore Y’all with Milton Family “Fun Facts”, so let’s just move on.

findingflorida.blog

AN EYE OPENING INCIDENT

ON THE OTHER side of that fallen tree stood the well cared for headstones of the Milton Family. Grandma, Grandpa, their children & grandchildren had been laid to rest peacefully, ALL with lovely little poems & epithets, acknowledging their “accomplishments” & family. I can assure everyone that the Milton Family had a much different farewell than those who had been at the receiving end of their legacy.

Senator William H. Milton

Photo via classmates.com

I STOOD THERE looking over each marker, stopping in front of W.H. Milton. Now I totally realize just how childish this is going to sound BUT I took a minute to give him a piece of my mind…Actually several minutes. Completely pointless, YES! Totally worth it, Hell Yeah It Was! I was at the end of my internal berating session when I heard it…

”DO YOU SEE IT?”

IT SOUNDED LIKE a woman’s voice, possibly even a child. You could hear the tone as well as the rise & fall of it. As I looked over to my right to say something sarcastic to E (Who was standing only a few feet away) I stopped. She was deep in thought studying one of the grave markers. Instantly I knew…She didn’t say it. She looked over at me & asked me if I said something. “NO! I Thought You Did!” We pretty quickly established that neither one of us had spoken & that we heard the EXACT same thing at the EXACT same time. It was seriously amazing! We both began wandering in different directions trying to figure out What “IT” was that we were supposed to see. It would be E that would actually figure it out & call me over to have a look…

WELL FANCY MEETING you here Mr. Arthur G Dozier…And you brought the fam! All joking aside, it really was a disgusting display of how valued these evil men were over the children that they were supposed to be caring for. To be blunt, The Miltons & The Doziers have a cushy place to spend eternity while the boys that they had been responsible for are buried on the school’s property in unmarked graves. It’s a fact that to this day pisses me off. Maybe the voice we heard didn’t want us to miss this as it knew that it would light a fire under my ass.

♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤

SKULLS IN THE WOODS & A GHOST FROM THE PAST

THE LAST STOP of our 1st full day in Marianna was the North Campus of the school. It was late in the day, leaving us with little time to really accomplish anything but at least we could see a little bit before it was dark. We took the fork to the left, driving up the hill in the direction of the hospital. It was hard to miss the destruction that the hurricane had caused. Approximately 90% of the trees were completely gone OR broken, the remnants were spread out all over the property. It was shocking to me that I could stand on the hill at the North Campus & see almost all of the South Campus. I could actually see more beyond the South Campus fence than I had ever seen before…Which frustrated the Holy Hell out of me because I wanted nothing more than to get inside of that fence!

AS WE PULLED off the path, we walked over in the general direction of where we had used the fallen tree as a bridge to get to the infirmary the last trip. This time we didn’t make it to the infirmary as something caught our eye, diverting our attention away from that area. It was another section of fence that was missing & as a number of trees were gone, you could just make out the outline of something fairly large.

findingflorida.blog

IT WOULD TAKE a bit just to get through the tangle of vines, branches & other debris blocking the way. It also didn’t help that we were nearing dusk & it had started to rain. It wasn’t even 5 minutes into our hike when the words were spoken that NO person trudging through the woods at dusk EVER wants to hear were spoken…”OH MY GOD, THERE’S A SKULL!” I looked over at E, who had actually found it, & started backing myself out of vine Hell! As I walked over to her, she quickly clarified that it definitely wasn’t human. That had me breathing a sigh of relief! The whole mission for this trip was to find proof that there was additional boys still buried on the property & as badly as I wanted to walk out of there with that proof, I didn’t want to find it this way…I’m almost 100% positive that E completely agreed. When I finally got over to where she was, I was a bit creeped out. It was clearly the skull of some type of dog but what kind, we couldn’t be sure. The odd thing about it was that it was lying in the woods in the wet & mud & yet it looked to be in good condition. Not just good but almost bleached. We chalked it up to another sad victim of the storm & started to move forward again…And then I saw the next one & then the 3rd. A few feet away E would find the 4th & 5th.

NOW I AGREE that this could have been caused by the storm OR even other wild animals, however, I highly doubt that in either of those scenarios everything would have been left in a pattern. If anyone missed the final word of the previous sentence, YES, I said pattern. As in a semi circle type placement that almost appeared like they were “guarding” the front of the structure that we had been working to get through. Since they were way too far apart to get a picture of all of them together, I’ll leave you with this visual:

~PICTURE A RITUAL WHERE SALT IS PLACED IN A CIRCLE OR EVEN AT THE THRESHOLD OF A DOOR…OR TRY THIS ONE; AROUND THE PERIMETER OF YOUR HOME…

♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤ ♤

A BRAND NEW DISCOVERY

ANIMAL BONES AND thoughts of rituals aside, we had to keep going. After a few more minutes of struggling we finally stepped into a small area that was somewhat clear & stood there, in shock, in the dim light & drizzling rain looking up at it…OH…MY…GOD…

findingflorida.blog

I THINK WE were both in shock. I know I was! I had been in this area 2 other times, literally right next door to the massive brick building that I would later identify as “Washington Cottage” & had absolutely NO clue that it was right next to me. What remained of the once 2 story structure was unbelievable. The entry way had a huge concrete porch framed by 2 massive columns. After climbing the large steps, we were standing on the covered patio, sheltered from the rain. There was so much debris that it took about 10 minutes just to figure out what it all was. To me it looked like it was tons of branches, leaves & mud combined with broken & discarded furniture from inside. There was also pieces of the actual structure that had broken away & fallen onto the patio.

WE DID EVENTUALLY make our way through the front door, which was one of the things lying on the patio, & when we did it was unbelievable! Unlike the dorms that we had previously explored, this one was pretty empty & the fact that we could easily identify the floors as being concrete showed how much cleaner the inside of the Washington Cottage was than damn near every other building we’d ever been in. It was E who pointed out one of the biggest differences…The cottages we had been in on previous occasions were the traditional red brick, inside & out, while the cottage we were currently standing in had tile walls. It was more than a little strange but I also know that when it comes to the Arthur G Dozier School for Boys, absolutely NOTHING shocks me anymore…Well, almost nothing!

findingflorida.blog

AS IT TURNS out, exploring the the Cottage wouldn’t take all that long. The inside was basically a smaller model of the other cottages with the exception of those tile walls. The main room was flanked on either side by similar enclosed stair cases leading up to the now totally collapsed 2nd floor, causing so much debris that even the most skilled explorer would be hard pressed to get up those steps. I know I never even a gave it a thought. For some reason I didn’t feel that there was anything that we needed to see up there anyway. Our time had shrunk to literally minutes. It was almost dark, raining pretty hard & the temperature was quickly plummeting. Since we weren’t able to access the one other room inside of the cottage (OR I should say what was left of it!), there was only one other way to go…Out the back. So that’s what we decided to do. As it turns out, there wasn’t much to see behind the building either. There was a smaller slab of concrete that served as a possible patio & you guessed it…More Woods! The woods were so thick that we had issues just getting around the outskirts of the building, there was NO way in Hell that we would be able to get through that mess at night. It would be yet another task that would have to wait until the following day.

findingflorida.blog

LEAVE THE NOT KNOWING FOR ANOTHER DAY

ON OUR WAY back to the car there were random things just sitting around. Another old filing cabinet rusting out in the open, discarded bottles & other trash, some looked to be more recently discarded than others but all proved that people did still frequent the area. Who knows what evidence of the past had been destroyed while the locals were hanging out, knocking back a few. We had no way of knowing what we were standing only a few feet away from BUT I can assure you that this time we would be leaving with proof in our hands…

TO BE CONTINUED…

☆ IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW WERE HOUSED AT “THE FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS” AKA “THE ARTHUR G DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS” OR THE OKEECHOBEE SCHOOL FOR BOYS, PLEASE REACH OUT VIA HERE AT findingflorida.blog OR ANY OF THE CONTACT INFO LISTED BELOW!!☆

Want More “Finding Florida?” BE SURE TO “SUBSCRIBE”!

FOR PRIVATE CONTACT SEND EMAILS TO: [email protected] FOR ALL DOZIER SCHOOL INFO GO TO:

http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com &

http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERIES & ADDITIONAL LOCATION INFO FOLLOW ME ON FB AT: @GRAVEAdventuresFL

INVESTIGATING DOZIER: A Trail Of Of Destruction ~ Pt. 1 NOVEMBER 2018 ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS & one Category 3 Hurricane (Michael) later, here we were again.

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 4 years

Text

I FOUND MYSELF in the odd position of being inside of a place that I really didn’t want to be in BUT knew that it was important for me to be there. To my knowledge, I was the first person NOT directly involved OR impacted by this tragedy (OR one of the handful of press reporting on it) to step foot inside of the Whitehouse & I’m almost certain that I’m the 1st person to enter since it had been sealed in 2008…Well, myself & of course those “random unknown vandals” that are still on the loose.

WHILE I DO consider myself lucky to be able to help, this was one of those times when being “first” was definitely NOT something that I was excited about. If anything, I felt angry, sad & disgusted because had evil NEVER crossed the paths of these boys, this place would be nothing more than a bunch of abandoned buildings that yet another small town decided to let nature have its way with. Believe it OR not, I’d much rather be boring people with random photos of old cemeteries, instead of driving everybody in my world bat sh$t crazy with my incessant need to help get justice…Especially if it means that the events of Dozier NEVER happened! caged in AFTER SPENDING A considerable amount of time taking video of the front room, I could NO longer stall. It was time to see the rest. CLICK FOR VIDEO: Whitehouse Damage THE HALLWAY WAS not very long BUT the amount of horror packed into it was neverending. It was dimly lit, however, it was still easy to see the 3 narrow openings lining each side. They were doorways. I stepped through the 1st on the left & found myself standing in a room not much bigger than a broom closet.

NEAR THE TOP of the back wall was a small rectangle that allowed just enough light in to avoid being in total darkness. There was grating secured to the opening which casted a creepy pattern on the walls.

a room with NO view

ONE OF THE most disturbing things about these wannabe windows was how from the outside they looked full size. Whether they had originally been OR not, I don’t know BUT my gut tells me that they were intentionally built this way as to fool the outside world into thinking that all was on the up & up. THE NEXT TWO “rooms” were similar. The 4th had what looked to be some type of spigot coming out of the wall & the last room on the right had a toilet in the back corner. It then dawned on me that these were tiny jail cells. I looked more closely at the door frame & could see thick, rusted metal joints where the doors had once been attached. I WAS WELL aware of the claim that the Whitehouse was built specifically to be used for “solitary confinement”, however, the place wasn’t fit to hold animals let alone children. As I crossed the hall to enter the last room, I noticed a broken wood panel that sectioned off the hallway from a slightly larger room in the back. Carved into the wood were a bunch of names… “We Were Here” I RAN MY hand over the wood & closed my eyes for a second…And nearly peed my pants when a voice broke the silence! “I don’t think you’re supposed to be in here.” It was my husband (Did I mention that the hubs had come with me? No? Well it’s probably because he stayed in the car 95% of the time we were there!) who had apparently come in behind me. Even he was a shocked, commenting on how extreme it was to put children into such inhumane conditions. WELL NO SHIT…

THINGS CAN ALWAYS GET WORSE! YES THEY CAN! I would have NEVER believed that after what I’d already seen BUT I had yet to go into the horror that was the last room, so I had NO clue what was waiting for me…

the last room on the left

IT WAS THE 6th & final room (I’d find out at a later date that this wasn’t the last!) The last room on the right. This time there was a door on the back wall that led to the outside, although it appeared to be sealed off from the inside. The floors were caked with layers of muck but it was the back, right corner that had me concerned as on top of the old debris there were a bunch of pine needles, some of them singed, were arranged into a pile. There were cigarette butts stacked in & around the pine needles & ALL of it was covered with some type of oily substance. In the moment, I didn’t really know the importance of what I was looking at BUT I would soon enough…

THE ROOM WAS something out of a horror movie! If you want to see what it’s like fro the comfort of your own home, you can check out the movie “Saw”…You’ll get the picture. EVERY one of the 4 walls were covered with old stains…There were blood stains as well as stains that I’m pretty sure came from vomit if the smell was any indicator. Additionally, I noticed some paint in several places throughout the room. The pattern showed that it had been dripping down the walls, drying in the process. The paint was dark green, the exact shade of the outer trim was painted.

AND THEN THERE were the handprints…NOT just Handprints BUT also claw marks. So Long & deep that it was as if they were embedded into soft clay instead of the hard surfaces of the walls. They were everywhere. There was even one that looked like it was gripping the door frame, as if they were trying to prevent someone from dragging them off.

AFTER SPENDING A considerable amount of time inside of the hell hole called the Whitehouse, I honestly couldn’t stand to be inside of it for even one more minute. I felt that I had gotten as much evidence as I could get. I walked out with 2 videos & at least 200 photos. I took another few minutes to take a few more of the back & sides of the building, focusing on a particular depression in the ground. I had been given info from several former students that remains may be buried next to the WH. The depression was a perfect rectangle & the grass on top was brown. The grass all around this one spot was full & green, making it really stand out.

WHETHER OR NOT this is a grave, I really can’t say BUT I will say that I wouldn’t be shocked if it was.

A SIGN FROM BEYOND? I WAS BUMMED that it was almost time to leave. There was roughly 1200 acres that I wanted to explore & I knew that there was NO way I would be seeing even 1 entire acre. Every trip leaves me with the fear that something major will happen before I can get back. This time wasn’t any different. The ONLY bright spot of this trip were the big, beautiful butterflies all around me. In the past, it has always been still & quiet. NO animals (sans the freaking snakes!), NO crickets chirping, NO birds singing. Other than the constant buzzing of the prehistoric sized mosquitoes there was NOTHING!

IN MY HEART I’d like to believe that they were a sign of good things to come…Maybe even sent by the boys who had yet to make it home. In any case, it was encouraging to see a little bit of life in such a dark place.

PANDORA’S BOX IS WIDE OPEN A WEEK LATER I was back home editing the photos I had taken & decided to send an email to “M”, who had given me the info about the vandalism of the Whitehouse. I explained that the original photos he’d received (the same photos he’d sent to me) did NOT accurately depict the amount of damage that had actually been done. I also told him about the empty containers of flammable liquid that I found stuffed under a work trailer just a few yards away from the WH (Remember that oily residue & the singed pine needle in the WH that I mentioned earlier? Makes more sense now, doesn’t it?). The response I got was a mixture of excitement & frustration, along with a request to see the photos that I had taken.

flammable liquid

OF COURSE I immediately agreed & spent the next few days going through them all, picking out what I felt were the most important & numbering each one. I then created an index that included a description of every single photo & emailed everything as requested. Initially I held back on sending the videos that I had taken because I have tremendous respect for this man & his family…The last thing that I wanted to do is cause them ANY more pain.

IN THE END, I mentioned that I had them & finally decided to send them. CLICK FOR VIDEO: Whitehouse Video OUT OF THE SHADOWS WHEN I FIRST emailed those photos, I knew that they were going to be turned over to officials as proof that Marianna was still as corrupt as ever, however, it never occurred to me that the watermark on those photos would basically “Out” me! Fortunately, “M” caught it & was nice enough to ask me if I was Ok with having people know where they came from. I took a minute to consider the impact of my name being out there & decided to go for it. I told him to send everything as. I’d much rather know & be prepared than not know & be ambushed. If I made the decision at least I’d have some control (At least I hope!!) over the situation. AS OF TODAY, those 30 photos & 2 videos are continuing to create quite a stir around Tallahassee. In an email that I received around Thanksgiving, I was informed that “M’s” phone started ringing off the hook within 24 hours of him forwarding everything. He also told me that what I was doing was important, that I was doing a great job & it would be me & my generation that would ultimately see this through to the end once he & all of the others were gone. That made me sad to hear as I want him & the other WHBs to see a resolution in their lifetime. They deserve their happy ending. *CLICK LINK FOR MORE PHOTOS* Dozier Nov 2019 Full Album HIS WORDS MEANT so much to me. This is why I will continue to fight with them, even on the hardest days…And I will do my damndest NOT to let them down.

☆ IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW SUFFERED ABUSE, PASSED AWAY, WENT MISSING OR WITNESSED ANY WRONGDOINGS WHILE AT “THE FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS” AKA “THE ARTHUR G. DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS” OR THE OKEECHOBEE SCHOOL FOR BOYS, PLEASE REACH OUT AT findingflorida.blog OR ANY OF THE CONTACT INFO LISTED BELOW!!☆

PLEASE SUPPORT FINDING FLORIDA BY”SUBSCRIBING”&”SHARING” FOLLOW FINDING FLORIDA:

FOR ALL DOZIER RELATED INFO: http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com AND http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com FINDING THE WHITEHOUSE Pt. 2: The Inside Of A Torture Chamber I FOUND MYSELF in the odd position of being inside of a place that I really didn't want to be in BUT knew that it was important for me to be there.

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 4 years

Text

FOUR YEARS IN THE MAKING

ON A CHILLY morning in early November, under a clear blue sky, we pulled up to the South Campus of the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. This would be my 7th trip to the school BUT this time would be very different! This time I wouldn’t be standing outside of the fence that surrounded the South Campus, trying to concoct a scheme to get inside because there was NO longer a reason to do so. While the tall fence remained in place, the gate keeping the world from finding out the truth was gone. I was FINALLY going to get inside! It was ALL happening on my 41st birthday…Talk about having a full circle moment! THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE WE DROVE RIGHT onto the main road that wound its way through the 1200 acres that made up the South Campus…And straight into the line of sight of a Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy who was exiting the campus. Well Damn, Here it was! I had fought for 4 years for access ONLY to be thrown back off when I was only feet inside! I held my breath & braced for a confrontation…It NEVER came! The deputy never even slowed down. He just looked over at us, saluted & nodded. WTF is up with this place??? An Old Guard Shack At The South Campus Entrance AS WE FOLLOWED the road up a steep hill, I tried to take it all in. There were buildings as far as the eye could see & a bunch of dorms off in the distance. Remnants of the havoc that Hurricane Michael had unleashed on the Panhandle were still visible everywhere BUT for the most part, this side of the road appeared to be in much better shape than the side that was the North Campus. WHEN WE FINALLY stopped, I got out to try to get my bearings. As I stood there & took everything in, I was amazed at how different it all looked closeup…And then I happened to look up & was surprised to see that I was standing under the AGDSB water tower. It was so massive that it looked like it was next to the sun.

MY PRIORITY WAS to find the Whitehouse & photograph it. A little over a month before, I had been given info that the WH had been vandalized. Upon being called out on this, an official responded to to a WHB (whom I’ll be referring to as “M” from now on) regarding the issue by sending a half-ass promise to look into the matter along with several photos of the outside of the small building. Unfortunately, the photos were taken from a good distance away & ALL of them were at an angle, so you couldn’t see much…Other than the yellow crime scene tape around the outside. For some reason “M” had been kind enough to forward me the entire interaction, photos & all. That was the exact moment that I had decided it was time to make another trip to Marianna. TAKING A DETOUR THERE ARE A number of things that the Arthur G Dozier School For Boys are known for (besides child abuse & murder). One of those things is the campus print shop. Initially, the print shop was used to print campus publications like “The Light”, however, it soon became another way to exploit the boys in order to make money by offering up printing services all over the State of Florida. At one point, ALL of the printing for our fine politicians in Tallahassee came out of Dozier…Guess that’s one way to get politicians in your back pocket… Boys Working In The Printshop ~ 1950’s

THE BUILDING AS a whole seemed to be holding up well, although a number of the windows had been broken. I stepped inside into a small room that was empty except for some type of equipment on the floor in one of the corners.

THE ROOM TO the left was large & bright with concrete floors. It looked like a garage with its big bay doors. Of course, those doors were broken BUT hey, at least the view of the property behind it was unobstructed.

ON THE OTHER side was a small, L-shaped room. It was dark & the focal point of the room was some type of old printing machinery that was still bolted to the wall. Directly across from it was a door that stood partially open. I peeked in BUT there was NO way in Hell that I was going all the way inside because it was pitch black! I pulled out my flashlight & used it to scan the room. I was able to make out some shallow sinks on one side & a bunch of metal racks on another. A 3rd wall had some type of long, man made wooden table against it. Maybe this was an area used for photo development?

HAVING SEEN ALL there was to see, I exited out the same way that I had come in & started back up the steep concrete path. It was as I reached the top of that incline that I saw it.

A TIME CAPSULE FOR EVIL

THE MOST NOTORIOUS building at the AGDSB sat at the top of a hill, its white cinderblocks forming a perfect square. Looking at it from the outside one might think it was just another empty structure, quite possibly passing right by it…Except for the bright yellow crime scene tape framing its perimeter.

FEELING THE URGENCY to get to it, I started to run. It was when I was only about a foot away that I noticed the that the front door was slightly ajar. I was totally confused because that door should have been padlocked as the building had been permanently sealed back in a small ceremony back in 2008. I quickly closed the remaining distance & sure enough that door was open! But it wasn’t just open like somebody forgot to shut the door on their way out, it had been kicked in. In fact, whomever had broken in had used such force that the steel plate holding the padlock in place had been torn from the door, taking the wood with it.

IN MY OPINION, it was complete overkill considering that the OPEN padlock was hanging from the door frame, leaving me to believe that it was an inside job & the intention was to make it look like vandals came along & broke in.

front door damage

WHY GO TO such lengths to make people think that this was a random attack? Why even bother to vandalize the WH at all?? It’s been sitting here, locked up tight for over 11 years now & suddenly people are going to start strolling onto the property, bypassing 100 other buildings that were NOT secured, ONLY to come upon this postage stamp sized building, kick in the door & start wreaking havoc on the inside?? Oh, and let’s NOT forget that since Hurricane Michael, the AGDSB South Campus has had a new tenant; The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office…Located a mere 317 yards away from the WH! I CAN GIVE 2 words to sum up my thoughts on the random vandal theory; BULL SH$T!!!

I WAS SO pissed that I didn’t even realize that I had stepped inside. If I had to describe my 1st impression in 3 words, I would say it was filthy, musty & cold. It felt like the air inside was electric…Charged with decades of hate & fear. The front room ran the length of the building & wasn’t very wide. There were 2 good sized windows, letting plenty of the late afternoon sunlight in, so it was well lit…Of course after taking a look around I almost wished that it wasn’t.

THE ROOM HELD a small bathroom at one end & the dirty concrete floor had trash, including an empty cigarette pack that was too clean to have been there for long. An old fire extinguisher was lying on the floor next to the front door & there was graffiti on the walls which made me wonder exactly how long had this door been open?

WANTING TO DOCUMENT everything I saw, I took out my phone & started taking video. I spent a few more minutes in the front room making sure to capture the kicked in door, the graffiti, the garbage left behind, etc. & then stepped through the open doorway into that hall…What I saw will be with me forever.

TO BE CONTINUED…

PLEASE SUPPORT FINDING FLORIDA BY “SUBSCRIBING” & “SHARING”

FOLLOW ON:

FINDING THE WHITEHOUSE Pt. 1 ~ Exposing A Lie… FOUR YEARS IN THE MAKING ON A CHILLY morning in early November, under a clear blue sky, we pulled up to the South Campus of the Arthur G.

1 note · View note

jennmoslek36 · 4 years

Text

TO THE OFFICIALS AND CITIZENS OF MARIANNA, FLORIDA:

I AM WRITING this to implore you to step up and finally do the right thing regarding the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys (formerly the Florida Industrial School). For years, representatives of Marianna and its residents have spent much of their time and energy disputing and distorting the facts of this situation. You have put maximum effort into denying what happened at Dozier and at times have flat out lied/covered up the details of the horrendous events that took place for over 100 years while an entire town chose to look the other way.

MILTON AND DOZIER were given proper burials and rest in peace in a well kept graveyard. Both are memorialized with marble headstones & elaborate monuments, surrounded by their families. The same cannot be said about Dozier’s “students.” They were dumped into the ground secretly, under the cover of night. NO beautiful headstone confirming their short existence on this earth. NO family there to say goodbye. NO pomp and NO circumstance for them because in the eyes of Marianna, they meant nothing.

YOU HAVE CONTINUALLY painted CHILD ABUSERS, SEXUAL PREDATORS and MURDERERS as town heroes. Arthur Dozier is NOT a hero (nor are his predecessors, successors and ALL of the other disturbed individuals that spent countless hours abusing young boys). Senator W.H. Milton is certainly NOT a hero as it was he who started Marianna down the path of destruction, fighting to have the school built in Marianna and springing into action each time an FISB/AGDSB superintendent approached him with some “innovative” way to increase the school’s profit. YOUR TOWN HAS canonized them, protecting and defending them and ALL of the others involved. Arthur Dozier was given a memorial on school grounds; The same grounds where countless children were raped, beaten and murdered. The school became his legacy, eventually bearing his name. But sometimes fate has a way of biting back as Arthur Dozier, the man, will now forever be synonymous with a notoriously brutal reform school.

THERE ARE PEOPLE in Marianna who know and have the power to finally give these families closure and yet you choose to keep your secrets buried. I ask you, where’s the humanity in that?

YOU BELIEVED THAT you were untouchable. As the decades passed, the views and practices of the world were ever evolving but NOT in Marianna. You stayed true to your cruelty, convinced that the laws protecting children were NOT for you to follow. You almost got away with it, however, you became over confident, leaving behind many witnesses. They were victimized BUT they are NOT victims. They are survivors and they are brave. They WILL now be YOUR undoing. You call them liars but have you asked yourselves what purpose it would serve for NOT one, NOT ten, NOT fifty BUT hundreds to step into the public eye and tell millions of strangers that they were abused in the most heinous of ways? Having worked with abused children myself, for many years, I can assure you that there isn’t ANY. Of the many ways one can gain notoriety, publicly declaring yourself a victim of the most horrific abuse imaginable is NOT very high on the list. Having hundreds speak of the same instances is unheard of.

IT WAS YOU that caused these men to go to the public. It was YOU that set these events in motion. YOU had an opportunity to listen to these men, acknowledge their pain and suffering, empathize with what they had gone through and offer a sincere apology. By failing to do even one of these things and continuing to taunt, slander and bully, you threw gasoline on a fire that has been smoldering since the day that the very first adult fist was raised to strike a child residing at AGDSB. YOU have nobody to blame but yourself. Your behavior is shameful.

YOU SAID THAT there were NO undocumented burials on school land and yet the remains of 24 boys were found in unmarked graves on the property, with evidence that there are many, many more. Even after that YOU still minimalized the situation, intentionally setting out to deceive.

WE ALL KNOW that there are former Dozier staff in your community that shouldn’t be free and definitely should NOT be within 50 miles of ANY child.

SOON THE ENTIRE world will have heard of Marianna, Florida and the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. You can’t change the past, however, What you now need to decide is what you will be known for from this moment forward. Will you forever be known as the town that did nothing while children were tortured and murdered OR will you be the town that refuses to allow its dark history to define it. The sins of the father do NOT have to be passed to the child.

I CHALLENGE YOUR town to come together, admit to what has taken place and issue a sincere apology to ALL affected by what took place at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. It’s time for you to let go of the reigns as they don’t belong to you…They never really have. What’s happened can NO longer be covered up. You are NO longer in charge and with so many people standing behind the survivors, you are starting to lose what little control of the situation that you have left. Take a moment to let that sink in, swallow your pride and step aside. If there is anyone having an issue with this request, remember this:

WE ALL KNOW what you did and we are ALL watching you…

PLEASE SUPPORT FINDING FLORIDA BY “SUBSCRIBING” & “SHARING”

FOLLOW FINDING FLORIDA: FACEBOOK: FIND PAGE: fb.me/findingfloridablog MESSENGER: m.me/findingfloridablog INSTAGRAM: findingflorida.blog YOUTUBE URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsnmCP5RB2BHct4mTb4FWZQ CONTACT ME AT: [email protected] FOR ALL DOZIER RELATED INFO: http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com AND http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com

AN OPEN LETTER TO MARIANNA… TO THE OFFICIALS AND CITIZENS OF MARIANNA, FLORIDA: I AM WRITING this to implore you to step up and finally do the right thing regarding the Arthur G.

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 5 years

Text

IT’S BEEN A few weeks & now that a bit of the shock has worn off, I suppose it’s time to address the giant, rotten elephant in the room that is the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. So here goes nothing…

☆ ☆ ☆

JUDGING BY THE NUMBER of messages & comments I’ve received, I’m pretty sure that most of Y’all already have already heard about the newest discovery at the Dozier School for Boys, located near the Florida Panhandle. If for some reason you haven’t, allow me to fill you in on the events that unfolded on a warm Spring morning, a couple of weeks into April. But first, I need to quickly graze over one particularly disturbing event that happened in November of 2018, during one of our trips back to the tiny town of Marianna, Florida.

THE FIRST GRAVE?

IT WAS DURING that trip last Fall, our 5th, that we found what we believed was a possible grave shaft. We took photos & videos of the spot as well as the area surrounding it. Something in my gut told me we had found something hugely significant BUT finding a person that I could trust enough to pass the evidence to was proving to be a daunting task . Whoever this person was, they definitely couldn’t have ties to the school, the City of Marianna OR Jackson County. I feared that I wouldn’t find anyone that fit the bill, So I kept what I had to mostly to myself…For awhile.

I FINALLY BIT the bullet & emailed a journalist who has reported on Dozier from the beginning. I explained what I we had found & after a brief exchange over the next several days, I finally sent him photos on Google Earth showing the approximate location. Even though I felt I could trust him, I still held back the exact coordinates of that spot…I may be a newcomer to this situation BUT I’m definitely NOT a fool!

BREAKING NEWS!

ON THURSDAY APRIL 11th, I received an email from Whitehouse Boy, Bryant Middleton. He was responding to a previous email regarding some documents that I had sent to him several weeks prior. Our conversation was pleasant as always BUT it was the last few sentences that had me hollering “WTF??”

“DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE 27 NEW GRAVES THAT WERE JUST FOUND AT THE SCHOOL?”

OH MY GOD! The only response I could come up with was to ask for details. “Who found them?” “Where were they??” I don’t know why, but for some reason I assumed that they were located on the South Campus. The answers came quickly; They were discovered by an independent survey company testing for possible contamination on the grounds…Approximately a few hundred yards from Boothill. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I replied:

“THAT’S THE AREA THAT WE WERE IN LAST NOVEMBER!”; “THE AREA WHERE WE FOUND A POSSIBLE BURIAL SITE!”

I’M SURE THE uncovering of even more graves totally frosts the asses of the older generation of Marianna residents…I can live with that.

☆ ☆ ☆

WHAT NOW?

THE NEXT LOGICAL step is for whatever agency taking the lead, hopefully USF, to begin the process of obtaining the appropriate clearance OR permitting needed to complete additional testing on those 27 anomalies. This initial process is merely a formality as most, myself included, are pretty damn sure that these “anomalies” are graves, PERIOD. We’ve ALL heard the saying “If It Looks Like A Duck…”

WELL QUACK FREAKING QUACK….

OUR NEW GOVERNOR seems to be on board with finding out the truth, promising to make Jackson County cooperate with any investigation necessary to get to the bottom of things.

IF GOVERNOR DESANTIS is really serious about trying to make this right, he needs to order a complete investigation of ALL Dozier property, including The Okeechobee School for Boys. The use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) will be the key to FINALLY bringing the lost boys of Dozier home.

SO FOR NOW, I’m gonna say that I’m cautiously optimistic. Nobody knows what the outcome will be BUT there’s one thing that I know for sure…

I think it’s time to take another trip to Marianna.

♤Please Consider Helping In The Fight For Justice By Signing The 1st Petition: https://www.change.org/p/jenn-moslek-re-investigation-of-the-arthur-g-dozier-school-for-boys♤

PLEASE SUPPORT “FINDING FLORIDA” BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING PART OF THE FF FAM!

FOR PRIVATE CONTACT SEND EMAILS TO:

[email protected]

FOR ALL DOZIER RELATED INFO:

http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com

AND

http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com

FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERIES & ADDITIONAL LOCATION INFO FOLLOW ME ON FB AT: @GRAVEAdventuresFL

NEWS STORY LINKS:

ABC ACTION NEWS: https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/crews-discover-27-more-possible-graves-near-dozier-school-for-boys

https://www.abcactionnews.com/orange-white/acc-news/florida-state/gov-desantis-asking-for-clarity-on-more-possible-graves-at-dozier-school-for-boys

DAILY MAIL UK: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6932095/Surviving-students-hellish-Florida-reform-school-flogged-bits-metal.html

TAMPA BAY TIMES: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/2019/04/11/more-possible-graves-found-at-dozier-school-of-boys/%3ftemplate=amp

THE LOST BOYS OF DOZIER: The Truth Shall Set Them Free… IT'S BEEN A few weeks & now that a bit of the shock has worn off, I suppose it's time to address the giant, rotten elephant in the room that is the Arthur G.

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 5 years

Text

JUNE 19TH, 1954

AFTER BEING DECLARED “incompetent” by a Jackson County court, a 15 year-old boy is transferred into the custody of the Florida State hospital; Within 48 hours of his arrival, he is pronounced dead. But Cause of death? Well that would depend on which page of the boy’s file that you’re looking at. Only one of many questionable things that could be found within the roughly 200 pages that I was handed back in August of 2018. By the time I read through the content, I would be so confused that I would have to go back & read through the pages two more times, spending considerable time on each individual page taking notes; So many things failed to make sense, reminding me just how evil what we were dealing with was.

THOMAS HERBERT WIGGINS

BORN TO OLLIE & Jeffie Wiggins in March of 1937, Thomas Herbert Wiggins was the youngest of 2 boys. His life would begin in Opp, Alabama but the Wiggins family would eventually relocate to the Florida Panhandle to continue raising their boys. At 1st they would report only seeing subtle differences between their oldest & youngest sons. Where Thomas’s big brother was very social & outgoing, Thomas was extremely introverted, preferring to be by himself. He showed no interest in playing sports OR becoming involved in other activities, unlike his sibling who excelled in both sports & academics & was also popular amongst his peers. While this may have been reason to give pause for a moment Mr. & Mrs. Wiggins didn’t panic initially, however, by age 11, Thomas began showing signs of extreme paranoia. He started to fixate on his food being poisoned. His course of action would be to refuse food, often go days without eating.

The Oshner Clinic ~ 1950

WHEN THOMAS’S “SPELLS” became violent, his parents would finally seek help for their son. He would 1st be evaluated at Oshner Clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana.

WHILE HE WAS there, Dr. C. Harrison Snyder & staff would perform extensive testing before issuing their findings & recommendations to the Wiggins family. Dr. Snyder reported that ALL tests were normal, including his cognitive functioning & intelligence. He recommended that Thomas be kept at home & receive plenty of love & positive attention from his family as well as be returned to his previous school where he was thriving & happy. In a nutshell, Dr. Snyder stated that being loved & cared for by his family within the security of his home would be key to Thomas being successful in life.

IN HIS FINAL statement, the doctor requested to be notified within a month’s time of Thomas’s progress. I can say with confidence that they didn’t follow up with the Oshner Clinic as specified. I’m also positive that the Wiggins’ decided that keeping their family intact would not be an option as a little over 2 years later, he would be committed to the Florida State Hospital & when removed by his father, just 3 months after admission, they would send a letter to the medical director reporting that they were looking at boarding schools.

OTHER THAN THAT letter there is nothing else recorded about how Thomas was doing OR his whereabouts for over a year until he was sentenced to the Dozier School for Boys in September of 1953. It’s easy to wonder:

WHERE THE HELL WAS THOMAS WIGGINS FOR THE YEAR IN BETWEEN??

PAGE BY EXCRUTIATING PAGE

IT WOULD BE an impossible task to list out every page of Thomas’s file in detail BUT what I am going to do is list out some of the more interesting & questionable items that I’ve seen. For the sake of everyone’s sanity, I’m only going to talk about some of the more questionable details leading to his 1952 commitment to the State Hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida through when he would become an inmate at Dozier in September of 1953. Everything after will be covered in the next couple of posts.

Anyone interested in reading it in its entirety can click here:

Wiggins Case File

SO LET’S START with the basics….

WHAT IN GOD’S NAME IS THE DIAGNOSIS??

I COUNTED NOTHING short of half a dozen different reasons for Thomas’s commitment to the Florida State Hospital in 1952. That’s right SIX different diagnoses, ALL independent of one another, each listed on separate areas of a form OR on a completely different form altogether. Though most were pretty common by today’s standards, one REALLY stuck out like a sore thumb. See if Y’all can figure out which one I’m talking about…

1) Schizophrenic

2) Agressive Psychosis

3) Dementia Praecox

4) Homosexuality

5) Vivid Hallucinations

6) Mental Incompetency

DOES ANYTHING ON the list jump out at you?? If you said number 4, you’re definitely NOT alone! When I saw “Homosexuality” listed as a diagnosis, I was stunned…At least initially. It didn’t take long for the shock to wear off & everything started to make sense. I’ll cop to the possibility that Tommy may have had some serious mental health issues BUT it was all too clear that the family’s major concern was that he may be gay.

THIS PARTICULAR “ISSUE” had got me thinking; Was Thomas gay & the fact that he was unable to express this the reason for some of these other issues that he was having OR did these other mental issues exist within him already, only to be exasperated by the frustration that he must have felt not being able to be his true self?

UNFORTUNATELY, WE WILL probably never know the answer & even if we did, it’s far too late to help Thomas now.

THE PROOF LIES IN THE INCONSISTENCIES

OFFICIALLY LABELING THOMAS’S “problem” would NOT be the only inconsistency. I have to bring up one of the most careless, idiotic mistakes that someone in an official capacity can make; Getting a patient’s date of birth/age incorrect on forms inside of their chart. I wish I could say that this was just a one time deal that was due to a typo BUT it wasn’t.

THIS PARTICULAR INDISCRETION became a common occurrence over a number of Thomas’s documents. His year of birth was changed from 1937 to 1938, even at one point listing his birth month as May instead of March. His age often fluctuated. For example, one form would list Thomas as being 14, however, another would show his age at 15, even though the completion date on both matched.

IN ALL ACTUALITY, the entire file was so chaotic that it took forever to get through. Every time I’d begin scanning a page, I’d notice something odd & have to stop to make a note about it. For instance, I’d read a doctor’s comment about how Thomas was only apt to self harm & then the next page would have that same physician noting that his “Propensity was to harm others.” My personal favorite was when the attending physician reported that there was really nothing outstanding about Tommy but immediately goes on to state that “Tommy is extremely ill.” Did this educated physician, who was the Medical Director of the Florida State Hospital, realize that he contradicted himself on a regular basis? If he DIDN’T, he’s an idiot & if he DID than he’s a jackass…Either scenario made poor Tommy up shit’s creek when it came to receiving ANY type of reliable treatment.

IN SPITE OF Thomas’s illness being described as dire, it ultimately didn’t prevent his father from discharging him only a few months into his treatment. Though we have no record of what happened during his year away from FSH, we can assume that he continued to decline…OR as I see it, he wouldn’t stop being gay. Thomas would resurface again BUT this time he wouldn’t be receiving hospital care, he would be sent to a brutal reform school located in Marianna, Florida where he would live out the remaining days of his way too short life.

TO BE CONTINUED…

♤Please Consider Helping In The Fight For Justice By Signing The 1st Petition: https://www.change.org/p/jenn-moslek-re-investigation-of-the-arthur-g-dozier-school-for-boys♤

☆ IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW SUFFERED ABUSE, PASSED AWAY, WENT MISSING OR WITNESSED ANY WRONGDOINGS WHILE AT “THE FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS” AKA “THE ARTHUR G. DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS” OR THE OKEECHOBEE SCHOOL FOR BOYS, PLEASE REACH OUT VIA findingflorida.blog OR ANY OF THE CONTACT INFO LISTED BELOW!!☆

Want More “Finding Florida?” BE SURE TO “SUBSCRIBE”!

FOR PRIVATE CONTACT SEND EMAILS TO: [email protected]

FOR ALL DOZIER RELATED INFO:

http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com

AND

http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com

FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERIES & ADDITIONAL LOCATION INFO FOLLOW ME ON FB AT: @GRAVEAdventuresFL

INVESTIGATING DOZIER: THOMAS Pt. 1 ~ The Road To Commitment JUNE 19TH, 1954 AFTER BEING DECLARED “incompetent” by a Jackson County court, a 15 year-old boy is transferred into the custody of the Florida State hospital; Within 48 hours of his arrival, he is pronounced dead.

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 5 years

Text

IT HAS BEEN about a year now since my involvement with the Dozier School For Boys began taking over my world. Kicking off the whirlwind was my need to get my hands on the school’s student ledgers. I won’t rehash the entire adventure but what I will say is that it took many frustrating nights online, several emails to the Archivist, the potential of an $600+ bill to get digital copies & finally an 8 hour round trip before I’d actually have what I wanted…Well at least a quarter of what I wanted!

HAVING ABSOLUTELY NO clue what I was looking for, I spent the next several weeks trying to organize what I had. Almost immediately number of very distinct patterns began jumping out at me. The same sentencing judges over & over again, the SAME sentence length OR lack there of & a crap load of blank spaces; Specifically under the “WHEN/HOW RELEASED” columns. One would expect that any institution handling children would be required to keep detailed & accurate records of ALL of its charges, especially when it comes to their last known whereabouts BUT that would make too much sense, now wouldn’t it…

THE INFO THAT I had gotten was only from the latest volume of the ledgers & didn’t even make a dent in the number of boys that had been shoved through the doors to be reformed. I knew there were hundreds OR even thousands of names in those books. I maybe had a few hundred at the most. By now, I had gotten used to what I like to call the “Hurry Up & Stop” method of researching. Basically I’d need specific info, finally get said info ONLY to start looking it over & promptly figure out that I needed additional material OR even worse, I’d need something entirely different altogether. In this case, I had just assumed that I’d eventually be making another trip to the Archives; That is until I ended up becoming involved with Bob Straley & taking over his website…And right there on one of the site pages was a link to the detailed, handwritten notes that WHB Mr. Andrew Puel had spent hours putting together.

Mr. Andrew Puel At The State Archives…Sitting In The EXACT Same Spot That I Did When I Was There!

NOT IT!!

WHEN I SAW that link, I was beyond thrilled! I was finally going to have something reliable to validate what I had come up with! I had spoken with Andrew at Bob Straley’s memorial service & knew that any research he had done would be the best & most accurate info that I could possibly get. When the page loaded, it definitely did NOT show what I had been hoping for; In all actuality, it showed nothing but this:

ODDLY THE INFO was missing! I started clicking on some of the other older links on the website & sure enough, there were quite a few that led to nowhere. I don’t know why it gone OR where it went, only that it’s not there. I tried not to get to aggravated, thinking that there had to be a hard copy among the thousands of documents that I have. I spent the next several weeks going through EVERY page, folder, digital file, etc. & found nothing. Bob kept everything, so to say I was puzzled that he wouldn’t have a copy of something so important was a huge understatement. I did another look through, literally taking out every piece of paper, one by one; Still nothing.

Well Damn….

AN EVENING IN GAINESVILLE

ON A FRIDAY in late February, I made the 3 hour trip to Gaineville. With me was a small black bag filled with what I believed to be the most important material related to the Arthur G Dozier School for Boys. I pulled up to a beautiful home, tucked back in a quiet sub division that was surrounded by forest. Standing outside was a familiar face, Mr. Bryant Middleton. The “Whitehouse Boy” greeted me with a smile & a brief hug before inviting me inside to meet his wife. Both graciously spent several hours telling their personal story of Dozier & how the WHB’s Organization was founded. They were both lovely people & I was grateful that they had been so willing to meet with me & be as open as they were. When we finally moved into the dining room to look over the things that I had brought, I began pulling things out. I yanked a folder out that had been wedged inside of my over full bag & a stack of papers fell out. The stack was stapled together & folded in half. I picked it up to see what it was & as I unfolded it, my jaw hit the floor!

OH…MY…GOD…It was a hard copy of the list of missing boys! The same list that I had just spent weeks trying to find! The stuff inside of that bag was the stuff that I pulled out & reviewed quite frequently & there’s absolutely NO way that I would missed that thick stack of ledger pages! I slid the stack across the table, explaining to Bryant why I was a bit stunned at finding them. He thought it was strange as well. I’m not going to get into the specifics of my time with the Middletons in this post, although I will say that I’m very fortunate to have met with them. They’re great people & they continue to work toward keeping the future from repeating the past.

WHERE COULD THEY BE?

OF COURSE THERE is minimal info on the boys on this list. What is known is that most were listed as escaped but never recovered. A lot lacked permanent homes OR guardians, so there wouldn’t have been any concerned parents wondering about the whereabouts of their lost boy. It should also be noted that the last place they were seen was the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. That leaves so many unanswered questions; Could ALL 185 boys on that list have actually successfully escaped & moved on to a better life? Even if that did happen, would it be possible that NOT 1 single child ever be heard from again? I suppose it could be possible for some BUT for All 185? I seriously have my doubts & given the history of Dozier, I’d say that’s highly unlikely. Especially considering the significant proof of other burial sites on the school’s 1200+ acres.Whether or not they continued life after Dozier OR their lives were taken at the school, they each deserve to be recognized. I’ll let them speak for themselves….

☆☆☆☆☆☆

JOSEPH WILK – 17 JAME HENRY COLSON SMITH – 16 BEHARD STEPHENS – 15 JOHNNIE J. RICHARDSON – 17 AB DURDEN – 16 WILLIAM RICHARD WHITE – 16 MONROE ROGERS – 16 NOWLA (SONNY) VENOS – 16 BERNARD WILLIAMS – 15 WILLIAM NICOLAS BURNETT – 15 FRED RUSH – 16 HORACE MECHOM – 16 J.W. HARRILL, JR. – 14 EDWARD MATTHEW MITCHELL – 17 LARRY DAVIS – 14. ALFONSO DEWEY DAVIS – 16 JAMES ARTHUR HARELL – 13 CARROL PITTMAN – 15 CARL HUBBARD REWLS – 14 RICHARD PEUDRY TYLER – 15 HAROLD OLDS – 14 LYNVILLE RAY – 16 LAIRD WILDES (age unknown) ALFRED SMITH GOODSON – 16 QUINCY LEWIS – 16

☆☆☆☆☆☆

ZANE HOPKINS – 12 ROBERT WALKER – 13 WILLIE FRANKLIN FARROW – 13 EUGENE JOHNS – 14 GABE BELL – 15 WILLIAM DEWARS – 15 LELAND LLOYD BRADY – 16 JASPER ALLEN HOLDER – 15 WILLIAM JOHNSON – 16 GEORGE HENRY ABBEY – 16 HARRY L. SAULS – 15 BEN BUNDRICK – 15 LOUIS VALOIS COUTURE – 16 ROBERT GILBERT ALBRITTON – 16 LAUDRIC BASKIN – 17 JAME HENRY COLSON SMITH – 16 JOHN JOSEPH COOGAN, JR – 16 ARINAUDO MACHIN, JR – 16 JULIAN GREEN – 15 CARL UNDERHILL – 16 WILLIAM DANIEL HATCHER – 17 DWIGHT SPRINGER – 14 JASON EDWARD LOGAN – 15 PAUL HERSHEY, JR – 17 CLARENCE C. RAULERSON – 16

☆☆☆☆☆☆

EVERETT BRADDOCK – 15 HAROLD EUGENE NORMAN – 16 RICHARD RUSSEL TODD – 14 EDWARD POOLE – 14 BILLY RAY BURNS – 16 MARCO GUTIERREZ – 14 WALTER C. GREEN – 16 LEON MANNING – 16 LEONARD JAMES NELSON – 16 GODSON WHITTAKER – 15 ROBERT GORDON – 15 ROBERT LAURIN GODDARD – 15 KENNETH LEE YORK – 17 TRUBEE BYRD – 17 ROWANE HOLLIDAY – 16 BOBBY WHITEHEAD – 15 WILLIAM EDWARD LEGGETT – 16 ROBERT HELGRAN – 13 OSCAR EUGENE MCCURDY – 16 WILLIAM RIVERA EMANUEL, JR – 16 JOHN LENNARD NAVE – 16 JACKIE CREWS – 16 ERNEST WOODARD – 16 ARTHUR KENT PATTERSON (aka William S. Johnson) – 14 DAVID EVANS HARRIS – 16

☆☆☆☆☆☆

JOHN HARRIMAN – 16 GB IRWIN – 14 HOWARD MCCALL – 17 OSCAR LEE CALDWELL – 14 JD THOMAS – 13 GEORGE F. CLAY – 13 WILLIS BUNYAN – 16 JAMES CAMPBELL – 15 BERTRAM THOMPSON – 16 WILLIE JAMES MURPHY – 17 SANDY JONES – 15 RALPH HALL – 16 MELVIN FALSON – 13 HERBERT LEE COVINGTON – 14 LUKE BENJAMIN – 16 TOMMIE L. WOOTEN – 15 WALTER ADAMS – 15 DAVID JONES (aka Cockran) – 15 EDWARD BROWN – 14 EDWARD DEMERRITT – 16 WILLIAM JENKINS – 13 MATEO BENARD COLUMBUS – 14 WILLIE C. MITCHELL – 13 CLARENCE MORTON, JR – 15 JOSEPH JOHNSON – 16

☆☆☆☆☆☆

CURTIS WILSON – 10 EUGENE FULLER – 16 THOMAS BOWERS – 15 LEON DUNBAR – 16 DAVID EAGLETON – 14 HENRY JUNIOR JOHNSON – 14 EDWARD FOSTER – 15 GEORGE EDWARD THOMAS – 17 ODIS SINGLETON – 16 JAMES WILEY BRYANT – 14 CURTIS DOWNING – 15 WALTER LEE NIXON – 15 JOHN TYLER – 16 ELMORE JOHNSON – 15 HENRY MELVIN JONES – 16 DOCK SMITH – 15 ROBERT LEE KING – 16 WILLARD LAMAR SHELTON – 16 ROBERT HAYS – 16 CHAS W. CHAMBERS – 16 RUSSEL HUTTON – 15 HOWARD CAYWOOD – 15 BOBBY HAYES – 16 BILLY CAUDELL – 16 WALTER R. HAYES – 17

☆☆☆☆☆☆

ARTHUR KENT PITTEBON(?) – (age unknown) WILLIAM P. NUNES – 16 EDWIN T. FINNIE – 15 MILTON LEDBETTER – (age unknown) LEROY SMITH (aka Leroy Gregory) – 17 JOE RODRIGUEZ – 17 BENARD MIXON – 15 ROBERT WESLEY DAVIS – 16 PAUL DAVID HUGES – 12 ROY JOHNSON – 13 LENARD JAMES LOTT – 16 JERRY LLOYD – 16 GABRIEL THURMAN – 16 ROBERT LEE BOSTIC – 14 GEORGE HILL – 13 JOHN ALBURY – 14 NATHANIEL TURNER – 15 LEO COLLIER – 17 TEEVESTER JAMES – 15 FLOYD RILEY, JR – 17 GEORGE NELSON – 15 NORMAN MCAULEY – 15 LYLE MACK PAULK – 16 EDWARD GIBSON – 14 WILLIAM EDWARD CORTEZ – 16

☆☆☆☆☆☆

ROBERT CHRISTMAN – 16 HUBERT BERRYMAN – 15 CHARLES LACGUEY – 16 CHARLES EDWARD KIDDY – 15 JOHN CHARLES CLANCEY – 15 DANNY LEE BOWMAN – 16 HOWARD GEORGE FAGG – (age unknown)

ROBERT ALTON SINGLETARY – 17 ELLIS MARLOWE HASKIN – 16 JAMES PHILLIP SLAWSON – 16 JAMES JOHNS – 17 BENARD JACKSON – 14 ARLISS BLACKMON – 15 BENJAMIN UDEL – 13 NATHANIEL BOWLES – 16 ROLAHO LYLES – 16 CLARENCE BOBBY BROWN – 15 WILLIE BRADFORD – 16 BILLY JACKSON – 13 RICHARD GILLYARD – 14 LEONARD WHITEHEAD – 15 FREDERICK NATHANIEL HARREL – 16 HENRY MCLENDON – 17 SAMOLE DARBY – 17 WILLIE LEE DOUGLAS – 15

☆☆☆☆☆☆

MOZELL BRADLEY, JR – 16 J.C. STEPHENS – 15 CHARLES BROWN – 15 GRANT BERNARD KEMP – 13 RONNIE FRANKIE ROSE – 16 JOE EDWARD ALLEN – 15 VICTOR STEPHEN GRICE – 16 TOMMY COOK (Mathias) – 15 JERRY COOK – 16 JOHNNY LEON WRIGHT – 16

IT’S AN ENTIRELY different feeling you get when you’re able to put names to the children you’ve been speaking of….

♤Please Consider Helping In The Fight For Justice By Signing The 1st Petition: https://www.change.org/p/jenn-moslek-re-investigation-of-the-arthur-g-dozier-school-for-boys♤

☆ IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW SUFFERED ABUSE, PASSED AWAY, WENT MISSING OR WITNESSED ANY WRONGDOINGS WHILE AT “THE FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS” AKA “THE ARTHUR G. DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS” OR THE OKEECHOBEE SCHOOL FOR BOYS, PLEASE REACH OUT VIA HERE AT findingflorida.blog OR ANY OF THE CONTACT INFO LISTED BELOW!!☆

Want More “Finding Florida?” BE SURE TO “SUBSCRIBE”!

FOR PRIVATE CONTACT SEND EMAILS TO: [email protected]

FOR ALL DOZIER RELATED INFO:

http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com

AND

http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com

FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERIES & ADDITIONAL LOCATION INFO FOLLOW ME ON FB AT: @GRAVEAdventuresFL

THE LOST BOYS OF DOZIER: Have You Seen Me? IT HAS BEEN about a year now since my involvement with the Dozier School For Boys began taking over my world.

1 note · View note

jennmoslek36 · 5 years

Text

SO MANY OF the Dozier related posts on Finding Florida have been about the school itself. I’ve written about the dark history, the structures & our experiences BUT I’ve only really spoken of the victims, in generalities. This was never done on purpose; It was mostly out of respect to the victims, those who survived & those who did not, & of course the families of both groups. It may have also been a way to avoid getting too close & personal; At the end of the day I’m a mom of a 9-year-old & an Auntie to a 5-year-old, both boys. To look at them knowing that boys of the same age were forcibly plucked from their homes & placed into an environment that would change, if not end their lives makes me physically ill. Whatever the reason, it’s time to talk about the MOST important part of this entire endeavor, the reason why I’m willing to continue this uphill battle:

THE BOYS…

A MOTHER’S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE

IT WAS A late December night when I would get a call that would again change the direction that I was going. I answered & heard “Jenn, It’s Dawn Chase.” I was floored. I had seen her son’s story & had felt compelled to send her an email a couple of months before. The problem was that the open letter that she had posted on the website was written years before. I knew I was taking a chance using the contact info that had been attached to it but what did I really have to lose at that point? Thankfully, she did happen to see my email!

DURING THAT CALL, I told her about what I was trying to do & what had happened so far. I also told her about how I had gotten her son’s name to begin with. He had been the very last name on a list of about 15 other boys that another former Dozier boy had given to me. This list was different than the others…The Boys on this list had ALL served time at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in the 2000’s & EVERY single one of them could attest to the abuse that was happening at the school. These Boys were “Game Changers!” NOT only would they be able to back up the claims of the Whitehouse Boys that had been there in the 50’s & 60’s BUT they could also offer proof that the abuse NEVER stopped. Marianna didn’t care about changing OR righting the wrongs of the past; They just wanted it ALL to go away, whatever the cost may be. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that there were kids being beaten until the very day that Dozier closed its doors in 2011.

A LIFE INTERRUPTED

HIS NAME IS Christopher Sholly. He is a son, a brother, an uncle, an aspiring model…And yes, he is also yet another unfortunate victim of the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. Chris’s story runs a bit broader though as Dozier would be only one of many stops in Florida’s Juvenile Justice system; ALL would fail him miserably. What started as a couple of tees having a fight at school would result in a 13-year-old boy becoming entangled in Florida’s corrupt Juvenile Justice System for the next 4 years; ONLY ending when he would be herded into the dark abyss of adult prison life. There would be NO trying out for his high school sports team, NO nervous fidgeting while he attempted to ask a girl to homecoming OR prom. He wouldn’t even have the luxury of celebrating the remaining birthdays of his teenage years at home with his family. All of the things that most of us take for granted.

IT WOULD BE the Fall of 2004 when Chris would 1st come into contact with the Arthur G Dozier School for Boys. Near completion of his program at the Jackson Juvenile Offenders Center (JJOCC), he was looking forward to finally going home & getting on with his life. Claiming that they needed to free up spots for Juveniles that were considered “flight risks”, Chris was sent to Dozier.

HE WAS ASSURED that his credits from the JJOC program would transfer with him, So he believed that he would complete his remaining time at AGDSB & be released on schedule. By now, we ALL know that Dozier doesn’t offer happy endings. Chris would be NO exception.

FROM THE MOMENT he stepped foot onto the campus, he was taunted, severely beaten & verbally assaulted. When he wasn’t being personally abused, he had to witness others receive the same treatment. But Chris did his best to stick it out, knowing he was only a matter of weeks from getting his life back. It would be when he started to fear for his life that he would finally say something.

DURING A PHONE call with his mom, Chris had the courage to tell her what was happening at the school. His mom, doing what most loving moms would do, immediately went to authorities. The Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) was called in to “investigate.”

And….

NOT ONE FREAKING thing happened! Now maybe a proper investigation was done & it was decided that this was just another case of a pissed off “juvenile delinquent” throwing around claims of abuse to get back at everyone for locking him up. That’s just got to be the case, right??

IF THAT THOUGHT crossed your mind, I can assure you that you couldn’t be more wrong! As it turns out, the DCF caseworker assigned to investigate the claims of abuse was conveniently related to a Dozier staff member. But NOT just ANY staff member …It was THE staff member accused of abuse.

RETALIATION

IT MAKES ME sad to think about what so many children are now privy to at such a young age. It goes way beyond a child finding out that “Santa’s NOT Real” OR discovering that NOT all fairytales will have a happy ending. It’s realizing that the “Boogeyman” not only exists BUT takes the form of a man who is given too much power & has too much evil & hate inside. Being in such a position could be a good thing, if you decide to use that power to impact a child’s life positively. Obviously, most of the Dozier staff made a very different choice OR we’d all be hearing an entirely different story today. Yet, how powerful can you possibly be when your chosen victim is a child?

THE ANSWER IS quite simple; Beating a 13-year-old unconscious OR breaking his bones does NOT make a king BUT a coward. These real life “Boogeymen” would finally meet their match in the form of a teenaged boy. He may have been scared to death of not getting to go home OR worse, NOT making it out of the system alive, yet he decided to stand up for what was right.

“BUT I’M NOT AN ADULT”

IN SPITE OF the extreme retaliation that he would face, Chris would continue to report the abuse to his mom during their phone calls. She, in turn, began a crusade to get her son out of Dozier. Dawn spent her days reaching out to ANY official that she thought could help. She wasn’t going to stop until her boy was either transferred to another facility OR was sent home. Chris would eventually be transferred out of Dozier, though it wouldn’t be in a positive way. With approximately 6 years left until Dozier would finally close its doors for good, they weren’t about to allow another blemish to mark their record. The superintendent came up with a plan to keep that from happening; File assault charges on Chris stating that he had assaulted a guard & this time, they would make sure that he wouldn’t step foot inside another juvenile facility…This time he would be charged as an adult.

EVEN WITH THE evidence & witness testimony supporting Chris’s version of events, the corruption ran too deep…At just 17 years old, Chris became a child inmate sent to serve his sentence in a VERY adult prison.

ALTHOUGH I DID my best to tell Chris’s story, I barely scratched the surface of what he’s gone through. Fortunately, he kept a detailed journal documenting what he went through & with the help of his mom, compiled entries, letters & other important info…They then made ALL of the content public. If you’re interested in hearing his account, here is the link:

https://christophersholly.blogspot.com/2007/04/christopher-shollys-diary-abused-in.html?m=1

I STRONGLY SUGGEST taking a few minutes to read through these entries… Besides, who better to tell this story but Chris himself?

♤Please Consider Helping In The Fight For Justice By Signing The 1st Petition: https://www.change.org/p/jenn-moslek-re-investigation-of-the-arthur-g-dozier-school-for-boys

☆ IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW SUFFERED ABUSE, PASSED AWAY, WENT MISSING OR WITNESSED ANY WRONGDOINGS WHILE AT “THE FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS” AKA “THE ARTHUR G. DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS” OR THE OKEECHOBEE SCHOOL FOR BOYS, PLEASE REACH OUT VIA HERE AT findingflorida.blog OR ANY OF THE CONTACT INFO LISTED BELOW!!☆

Want More “Finding Florida?” BE SURE TO “SUBSCRIBE”! FOR PRIVATE CONTACT SEND EMAILS TO: [email protected]

FOR ALL DOZIER RELATED INFO:

http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com

AND

http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com

FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERIES & ADDITIONAL LOCATION INFO FOLLOW ME ON FB AT: @GRAVEAdventuresFL

INVESTIGATING DOZIER: Christopher… SO MANY OF the Dozier related posts on Finding Florida have been about the school itself. I've written about the dark history, the structures & our experiences BUT I've only really spoken of the victims, in generalities.

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 5 years

Text

INVESTIGATING DOZIER: "The Gambler"

INVESTIGATING DOZIER: “The Gambler”

ON A FRIDAY afternoon in early January is when I’d finally had enough. I was over waiting for answers & sick of not getting any responses! So, I did what I do best; I searched Google for any recent news regarding the School, the laws that I had been following & anything else coming out of Marianna pertaining to the school. My jaw dropped at what came up….

“LOCALS TOUR THE DOZIER SCHOOL FOR…

View On WordPress

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 5 years

Text

02/02/19

GOING INTO THE last month of 2018, I was more frustrated than ever! After we had returned from our most recent Marianna trip things seemed to be falling into place BUT December was here in the blink of an eye & everything came to a screeching halt. I’d hit a wall & not knowing what to do next, I just started plugging away at going through the tons of material that I had received over the summer. I tried to focus but honestly, my mind was ALL over the place! I’d start reading something, make notes & lists & then end up going in an entirely different direction. Putting the million little pieces in their correct spots was proving way more difficult than I’d EVER imagined! I needed a plan & I needed it quick! So I did EXACTLY that…I made the MOTHER of ALL “To Do” lists! Here’s what that first “Official” list looked like…

1: SAVE THE SCHOOL!

THIS ONE WAS a given…NO school, NO evidence! “Preserve The Campus & Land” would always be number one on ANY list & I can attest that while my list changes & grows almost every day, keeping that school intact stays in the top spot! So I would focus on coming up with a way to keep Jackson County from turning 1400+ acres into a Super Walmart. I kept drawing a blank on ways to accomplish this BUT it suddenly popped into my head one particularly frustrating night…Actually two ideas came to me!

A) Figure Out The Process Of Getting The Arthur G Dozier School For Boys/Boothill Listed In The National Registry of Historic Places/Landmarks.

B) Go Back To That Damn Place & find even more evidence to add to what I already had!

THAT SHOULD BE easy enough, right? I’ll talk about these ideas & where I am with them in my next post BUT for now, we move on!

2: REVITALIZING CS/SB 1780: VICTIMS OF REFORM SCHOOL ABUSE ACT

KNOWN AS THE Arthur G. Dozier School and Okeechobee School Abuse Victim Certification Act”, this particular bill would have put in place an application process to apply & become certified as a victim of Dozier & its sister school, The Okeechobee School For Boys. Once certified, a victim can than move forward to request compensation from the State of Florida. Unfortunately, CS/SB 1780 died in appropriation on the Senate floor in March 2018 with no plans of bringing it back. THERE IS ANOTHER bill that is currently on the Senate agenda for 02/04/2019. It is SB130 OR the “Sexual Battery Prosecution Time Limitation Act.” The bill states that ANY victim of a sexual battery crime would not be tied to the Statute of Limitations if they were under the age of 18 when the crime was committed. They can report it & know that the potential of having it prosecuted is still, regardless of it having had occurred 5 years OR 50 years before. A similar bill just passed in New York & with ANY luck, the other 50 states will follow!

FORTUNATELY THERE IS still hope for SB130 BUT CS/SB 1780 is just as important & should be reconsidered soon. There are links to both Bills below for anyone who wants more info.

CS/SB 1780: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/01780

SB 130: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/00130

3: GET ONTO THE SOUTH CAMPUS!

THIS ONE SHOULD be self explanatory! I’ve waited almost 4 years freaking years to get on the other side of that barbed wire, prison style fence & I’m happy to report that as of this post…I still haven’t stepped one damn foot inside! It has been my single biggest goal & also my single biggest dissapointment. Whoever said “Patience is a Virtue” is a total A-Hole! I have NO patience & could really give two shits about being “Virtuous.” One way OR another I’m getting in & since the clock is running out fast, it has to be sooner rather than later!

I MAY BE sitting on an update on this one…We’ll just have to chat about that later though.

Nov 2018

Jan 2018

Nov 2015

I COULD LITERALLY fill 25 more pages with everything that I have listed on my “Internal To Do List” as my brain NEVER shuts off…But I’ll spare Y’all as I’m pretty sure people are a over my rantings by now.

BUT….

IF BY CHANCE you’re not, consider joining my “Army”…Lord knows I need ALL the help that I can get!

♤Please Consider Helping In The Fight For Justice By Signing The 1st Petition: https://www.change.org/p/jenn-moslek-re-investigation-of-the-arthur-g-dozier-school-for-boys

☆ IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW SUFFERED ABUSE, PASSED AWAY, WENT MISSING OR WITNESSED ANY WRONGDOINGS WHILE AT “THE FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS” AKA “THE ARTHUR G. DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS” OR THE OKEECHOBEE SCHOOL FOR BOYS, PLEASE REACH OUT VIA HERE AT findingflorida.blog OR ANY OF THE CONTACT INFO LISTED BELOW!!☆

Want More “Finding Florida?” BE SURE TO “SUBSCRIBE”! FOR PRIVATE CONTACT SEND EMAILS TO: [email protected] FOR ALL DOZIER SCHOOL INFO GO TO: http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com & http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERIES & ADDITIONAL LOCATION INFO FOLLOW ME ON FB AT: @GRAVEAdventuresFL

INVESTIGATING DOZIER:WHEN IT TAKES A VILLAGE BUT YOU NEED AN ARMY! 02/02/19 GOING INTO THE last month of 2018, I was more frustrated than ever! After we had returned from our most recent Marianna trip things seemed to be falling into place BUT December was here in the blink of an eye & everything came to a screeching halt.

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 5 years

Text

MAY 2018

PART ONE LEFT off with the Bestie & I exiting through the back doors of what I believe to be one of the campus infirmaries. As we walked down the chipped, moss covered terra cotta steps & stepped out into the drizzling rain, we saw another large section of fence that had been smashed down by some large fallen branches.

Down & Out…

WE STILL HAD the protection of the trees but we could see through just enough to notice an open area that was at least the size of a football field.

Wide Open Spaces…

DECIDING TO WAIT to check it out, we opted to access the middle area of the building. Even though the structure was technically 1 building, it was divided into 3 sections…The 1st, where we had just exited from, had the set of steps inside of a partial enclosure. Once down those steps, we had to walk across the fallen chain link fence, climbing another set of steps, up to a small, elevated patio. Only then were we able to enter the 2nd set of rooms.

Door Number 2…

Downed Fence…

DOOR NUMBER TWO was a large room that I recognized instantly…It was the same room I had been in just a little over 2 months earlier. As horrible as its condition had been then, it was 100 times worse this day. The ceiling had come down even more, causing several beams to fall. To say that the entire structure was just hanging on by a thread was putting it lightly. With the amount of rain that had saturated everything the fear of the building coming down at ANY time on top of us started to become a real possibility.

AS WE LOOKED around it was hard to ignore that the floor had almost a spongy feeling to it due to a mixture of rotting floor, soaked insulation, mud & debris that consisted of God ONLY knows what. There was also at least an inch of water that had accumulated. Our feet sunk in with every step, a feeling that for some reason made my stomach turn.

I’M STILL ABSOLUTELY amazed at the amount of deterioration that had taken place in just a few short months. What was even more amazing were the little random things that had been spared. A couple of fire extinguishers…One still hanging on a wall that was barely supporting a sagging sealing; The 2nd sat upright on the soggy mess that had once been a floor. The 2 large whiteboards still hung firmly in place as well. The bigger of the two still contained the list of “Rules/Expectations” that the boys were expected to follow. I read each one again, finding it ironic that there were a number of things that the students were forbidden to do & yet most of them were repeatedly victimized by the adults that had written them, often in the very same ways that they, themselves, were forbidden to behave.

AS WE MOVED through to the back room, we had a funny moment that broke the tension that we’d both been feeling since entering the building. It happened when we attempted to exit through the same back back door that we’d entered through, only this time when we went to open it was freaking stuck! As I tried gently pushing it open, the Bestie came up beside me & before I even realized what was going on, I see her lift her leg & literally kick the door so hard that it opened partially…You read that correctly, Homegirl thought she was the newest member of the SWAT Team & kicked open a 118 year old door…That was ONLY attached by 1 hinge…That was attached to a 118 year old building; The same building that I spoke of earlier, mentioning how it was barely hanging on by a thread! She started giggling & this immediately became hysterical laughter when I yelled “WTH are you doing? You can’t kick open a really old door attached to a REALLY old building!!” She looked over at me, hunched over, arms covering my head in case the place started to cave in & laughed even harder…She laughed so hard that she probably would have rolled on the floor…If the floor wasn’t so gross! We quickly left the building through the barely functioning doors, making our way toward the open field we’d seen before.

Near Death Experience In Action!

OK, SO MAYBE it might have been just a little funny AFTER we actually made it out alive! Unfortunately, what would be in store for us later would NOT be funny before, during OR after…At least NOT to me!

SHE WHO MISSES EASY PATH MUST SCALE FENCE…

BY THE TIME we were back outside, the rain had finally let up. Shoving our flashlights into our backpacks, we made our way toward the small opening in the trees to see what was in that field. At this point, it could be just about anything & I still hadn’t been able to pinpoint the exact location of the Boothill Cemetery. Could it be in that clearing, hiding in plain sight?? Probably NOT but I wasn’t going to leave the property without being 100% sure. Since there was a large section of chain link fence covering the path, we stepped on it & when it held, walked across & through the bushes….Within seconds we were on the other side of the woods, staring across a massive grassy field that was bordered by more fencing on 2 sides with the main school board building directly across.

WE MADE A beeline to one of the main focal points, an odd mound that was overgrown with grass & weeds. It was interesting to say the least but once we got closer, it was actually something else odd that caught our eye. It was hard plastic & mostly buried in the ground & had a fairly large rock next to it. We were both curious about what it was so of course the Bestie flipped the rock over & then started digging around it’s edges. After several minutes the object was free & it was…The seat part of a chair??? Hmmmm…Underneath was some pea pod looking things with roots growing into the ground.

MAYBE THE AREA had once been used for farming; Who knows. The possibilities were endless considering it had been a part of the school for well over a century.

MOVING ABOUT THE outer of circle of the field, I decided to snap a few pics of the wooded area behind the fence. What was out there? The not knowing was killing me because my gut was telling me it was something important.

What Is Out There?

Beyond The Fence…

SUDDENLY THE SURROUNDINGS began looking a bit familiar. Another handful of steps & HEY, that looks like the same gravelly path that we drove up when we got…OH SNAP! Cue Bestie Eye Roll…NOW!

Ooops!

WHAT CAN I say, some days you win, some days you lose & some days you end up performing insane acrobatics just to climb over a fence that’s been flattened by a rotting tree trunk.

I’M TIRED OF THESE MOTHER FLIPPING SNAKES AT THIS MOTHER FLIPPING SCHOOL!

SOME MAY RECALL my earlier mention of a “NOT So Funny” moment that was to take place. Well folks, here it comes! When I had come a few months earlier, I had parked my SUV beside a small brick storage room but this time, the car got pulled up into that grassy path that we had walked to get back to the downed fence. Obviously we took the newly discovered, much easier way back which meant having to walk a longer distance through that grass to get back to the car. About a foot in & the Bestie calmly says “Don’t look down & just walk that way.” I didn’t need to look down OR ask ANY questions…I just knew the reason for her specific instructions.I started repeating “OH CRAP” over & over again as I made the widest path I could around the snake that she had seen. Unfortunately leaving such a wide space between myself & the invisible to me snake solved one issue BUT put me in a whole new world of sh!t as when I was told not to look down, I did & continued to do so as we kept walking. In my head I made up a little song timed to each step. “One Step, Two Steps, NO SNAKES NO NO SNAKES!” I kept it up…“One Step, Two Steps, NO SNAKES NO NO SNAKES!” “One Step, Two Steps, NO SNAKES NO NO SNAKES!” “One Step, Two Steps, NO….FU@K A SNAKE!!!” I literally froze like the Karate Kid; Right leg in mid air, ready to set down…Right on top of a curled up, REALLY BIG, Cottonmouth! I literally held my breath, shifted my weight backwards & stood paralyzed inches from “The Beast” & tried to get the Bestie’s (whom I will be referring to by her nickname from here on out!) attention, who happened to be standing almost right next to it! All I could get out was “OH GOD!”, which actually got her attention & she turned to look at me. Then, fearing that she would step on it OR it would strike if she moved, I said “Don’t freaking move! As I had known what her earlier warning was about, she already knew what I was talking about. She calmly said “You don’t move & I’m going to go get the car…Throw me the keys.” I was in one of those places where fear causes your adrenaline to jump & you can’t really hear anything. For at least a minute I could see her lips moving but really couldn’t make out one damn word! I started freaking out, crying & finally one word got through…KEYS! Oh sh!t, I had the keys in my backpack & she wanted me to toss them to her! I slowly reached my hands around to my back, unzipped the front pocket & felt around for my keys, eventually feeling the familiar shape of my car remote. Pulling them out slowly I stood there holding them in my shaking hands. E said “Now throw them over here.” I couldn’t bring myself to do it as ALL I could see was a scenario of my shaking hands trying to throw a set of keys & if my throw was off OR if she didn’t catch them, they’d land on the ground & she’d get bit trying to retrieve them. Finally she said “Throw the damn keys!” Without thinking I did an underhand toss & she actually caught them! She then pointed at me & said “Stay There” & started walking to the car again. It only took a minute before that sunk in & I said “F That” & did my best Forrest Gump run! I didn’t stop until my feet were firmly planted on the gravel road. She drove up not even a minute later & found me bent over, hands on knees, out of breath & trying not to puke! “You OK?” I responded with I think I may have peed myself! This was definitely going to put a damper on the rest of the day.

SORRY FOLKS BUT NO pics OR videos were taken during this horrible event as I was too busy trying to keep “THE BEAST” from eating us BUT I do have this…

SNAKE COUNTER:🐍 🐍🐍

TO BE CONTINUED…

Want More “Finding Florida?” Hit That “SUBSCRIBE” Button!

Also Show Your Support By “LIKING” & “SHARING” Posts & Blog Info!

FOR PRIVATE CONTACT SEND EMAILS TO: [email protected] FOR ALL DOZIER SCHOOL INFO GO TO: http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com & http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com/index.html#.W5hiq6gpBxC FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERIES & ADDITIONAL LOCATION INFO FOLLOW ME ON FB AT: @GRAVEAdventuresFL

YOU CAN SUPPORT findingflorida.blog BY SUBSCRIBING, LIKING & SHARING THE POSTS & SITE INFO! TO EVERYONE WHO'S BEEN FOLLOWING, A HUGE THANK YOU! Y'ALL ROCK 💙 MAY 2018 PART ONE LEFT off with the Bestie & I exiting through the back doors of what I believe to be one of the campus infirmaries.

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 5 years

Text

MAY 2018

SUNDAY OF MEMORIAL weekend was the day we’d decided on as “D” Day…Unbeknownst to us, good ‘Ole Mother Nature had her own “D” Day in mind; A FREAKING Tropical Depression (I actually don’t know WTH it was BUT I don’t think it had a name!)! Of course a little TD wasn’t going to stop us…OK, SO I was going come Hell OR High Water, Literally…It was the Bestie who wasn’t so sure. I spent Friday checking the Marianna weather report hourly. I then spent Saturday checking the weather every 10 to 15 minutes! Rain! NOT just a summer shower OR a few sprinkles off & on BUT torrential, sub tropical, ALL DAMN DAY rain! Even worse, was it wasn’t just our area it would be state wide. Our area would get the brunt between midnight & 8am but the bans of the storm would be reaching Jackson County before we did! The ONLY glimmer of hope was that the hourly weather forecast for Marianna had wild mood swings….It would be an 80% chance of strong wind & storms at 10am but 11am it would drop to 20% for a couple of hours before picking back up again! I didn’t care, I was going for it. No…Matter…What.

SUNDAY MORNING WE got up early & of course a look out the window confirmed the weather report. It was pouring! I’m stubborn, I didn’t care what was going on outside…Like I’ve said tons of times in the past & will probably repeat a billion more times, my Bestie is NOT just a trooper, she’s a freaking Saint!! I ONLY got a couple of eyerolls before we both grabbed our stuff & made our way to the car. We made one stop for much needed coffee & we were officially on the road.

RAIN…

AND MORE STINKING RAIN!

RAIN…

MISMATCHED SOCKS & A NEED TO PEE!

TAMPA TRAFFIC IS never fun, even under the bluest of skies & the best circumstances, so I fully prepared myself for the normal annoying delay. It never happened! We drove through Tampa with little issue & by the time we were about an hour into the drive, the rain was mostly a light drizzle. We were really close to the Bestie’s house & since 50% of us had to take a bathroom break while the other 50% discovered that she had accidentally packed 2 different socks, we decided to stop. Pulling into her driveway we noticed that not only had the rain stopped but we could see an occasional break in the clouds. For the first time in days, I took a breath & felt kinda relieved. Maybe things were working out. A few minutes later we were back on the road & the remainder of the drive was pretty smooth. As the Marianna exit sign came into view, anticipation was high. We jumped off the interstate, onto the now familiar SR 276 & within minutes the school came into view. This was it…What did Dozier have in store for us today?

WE HAVE ARRIVED!

STANDING OUR GROUND ON THE GROUNDS…

WE HAD LITERALLY been on the North Campus property when we noticed that we were not alone. Further up the hill we could make out a man & woman standing near a brown car. They appeared to be looking at one of the buildings & they kept the car running. We pulled over in front of the dog rescue, got out & immediately locked eyes with the couple. The chess match began instantly…We stayed standing in place for several minutes, as did they, each of us not willing to concede. They finally started walking to their car & got in, driving slowly back down the hill…They would have to pass us to go anywhere else, no way around it…So, I decided to offer up a white flag, walking up the sidewalk to the door of the dog rescue. I wasn’t sure who they were OR why they were there BUT maybe if they thought we were just checking out the rescue, they’d finish whatever they were doing & leave. As I was walking back to the car, not only did I see the couple still sitting in their running car but I noticed a long, grayish stick stretched out across the sidewalk…Except it wasn’t a stick, it was a freaking snake…WTH?!?! It didn’t even move when I started walking, giving me no choice but to step over it! I did my Forrest Gump run, knees to chin, waving my hands over my head like a crazy person. The Bestie was sitting in the car & didn’t even bat an eye at my insane antics. The good news is the couple in the car finally started driving down the hill, probably thinking they were seeing an escaped mental patient doing the crazy dance! We watched them drive past us & right off the property. GOOD, we won…Well, Kind of….

SNAKES=1 – US=0

SNAKE COUNTER:🐍

PICK A DOOR VANNA!

WE DECIDED TO continue up the hill, to the hospital. We pulled the car into the grassy area, jumped out & I showed her the place in the bushes where a tree had squashed a section of fence down. Problem number 1: Florida loves its vegetation & it had not spared the North Campus of Dozier. We kept getting tangled up in vines & smacked in the face with branches…An issue I didn’t have when I was there in February. I grabbed the metal fence post & hauled myself up & onto the rotting tree trunk, slowly inching my way to the other side. You could definitely feel that all of the water saturating the trunk had weakened there were a few steps I took where pieces snapped off under my feet but I finally jumped down on the other side. The Bestie had the same issue getting across but after a couple of minutes we had both made it to the other side…And there it still stood. The hospital building. This time I had backup & would get to see all of the rooms that I had previously skipped! Jesus, I had absolutely NO idea the amount of disturbing things we were about to lay eyes on. I told the Bestie to pick a door to start with & she ended up picking the same door that I had on my last trip, the one that you step through into a long dark hallway.

THE HORRORS OF THE PAST

ONLY 4 STEPS inside & we were at the 1st door. An office, the same office that I was in before. We could hear the rain starting again & the wind picking up. Because of the bad weather, it was quite dark inside. We were armed with our flashlights & lanterns & my personal favorite, the 2 prong, metal, extendable hot dog roasting sticks that the Bestie had brought along as protection…She’s very forward thinking!

Did You Really Think I’d Leave Out Pics Of Our Best Weapon/Most Useful Tool?!?

THE DOOR TO the office was in the exact position it had been in 2 months prior; Half open so that you could just make out the rusted metal desk at the back of the room & some of the debris on top but not really open enough to see the entire room, including behind the door where I knew there was a closet. One of us shined a flashlight through that crack while the other shined a flashlight inside the room, inching the door open. After what felt like an hour, we finally stepped inside & it was just as I remembered it…Dirty, Dank & still littered from top to bottom with old school paperwork. This time the Bestie opened that closet door & What sat inside didn’t just turn our stomachs but literally made my skin literally crawl…

THINGS JUST GOT REAL

STANDING OVER BY the desk, trying to pick up ANY paperwork I could get my hands on, I hear the Bestie say “Holy Shit!” Most would quickly run across the room, anticipating what they were going to see BUT I have been on the receiving end of plenty of Bestie “Holy Shits” & ALL of them didn’t end well for me (Graveyard dirt in mouth, full apparition jumping into the grave next to me…I could go on BUT you probably get my point!) So I literally tiptoed slowly to the other side of the room. What the Hell did she find?? I was muttering to myself “Please don’t be a body OR body parts OR…WTF IS THAT?? It was an old, metal exam table crammed into the closet! Jesus Christ!

I STARED IN shock at it for several minutes before taking a few steps back. As I did my foot connected with something metallic that made a clanging noise when it moved. I shined my flashlight down on the concrete floor & identified what had made the noise & just as I reached down to grab one of the rusty, spikey objects the Bestie walked over & says “That looks like a stirrup!” A stirrup, possibly for an exam table? A quick Google search confirmed it. Those hadn’t been on the floor when I was here last time, so it was safe to assume that someone had been in the building in between my last trip & now & they had definitely been doing more than just looking around.

***Side Note…I was later able to date the exam table & stirrups to between the mid 1960’s to the early 1970’s.***

WHAT ELSE WOULD WE FIND?

WANTING TO ESCAPE from room number one, we cut through the dirty little attached bathroom & entered room number two. It was just as tattered but 3 times the size of the previous. It was also a bit more bright, making it easier to see our surroundings. Another old metal desk sat on the far wall & as I moved toward it I could see some type of book sitting on top. It was a bible. It was torn in half & the pages were damp. I recalled something I’d read saying that each new student would be given a new bible the day of arrival. Deciding it could be important, I took out a zip lock bag & gently placed both halves into it. There wasn’t much more to see in this room so we moved through another door, taking us back out into the dark hallway. The rain was still coming down as we walked down the hallway & through an old rotting door, into the final room. There wasn’t much to look at inside but it was still a mess. There was an old wooden school desk & several broken doors.

THE BESTIE DECIDED that it would be a great idea to step down on one of those doors, causing both of us to jump when a loud shatter of broken glass echoed through the room. Apparently, the old door had been a pane of glass at the top & when she stepped down it was so brittle that it just broke apart.

YEP, I THINK WE BOTH PEED A LITTLE!

WHEN WE FINALLY left the room, we had 2 options…Go back out the same way we came & reenter the middle area from the 2nd door outside OR go out the back area down some concrete steps to see what we could access from behind. We chose the latter option & exited the rear of the building into the rain.

I HAD NO clue what we would find from this point on as I was now also seeing things for the 1st time….BUT I can say we were in for quite an eye opening & sometimes disturbing remainder of the day.

TO BE CONTINUED….

Want More “Finding Florida?” Hit That “SUBSCRIBE” Button!

Also Show Your Support By “LIKING” & “SHARING” Posts & Blog Info!

HEADING BACK TO DOZIER ~ Pt. 1: Disturbing Finds Inside Of The Infirmary MAY 2018 SUNDAY OF MEMORIAL weekend was the day we'd decided on as "D" Day...Unbeknownst to us, good 'Ole Mother Nature had her own "D" Day in mind; A FREAKING Tropical Depression (I actually don't know WTH it was BUT I don't think it had a name!)!

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 6 years

Text

August 18th, 2018

I HAD OFFERED to take some photos before & during the service so it would be at least one less thing Dee Dee would have to worry about. While taking pics of the people seated, I noticed three gentlemen seated in the row behind where my husband & I were going to sit. They were chatting amongst themselves & I instantly recognized two of them from all of the research I’d done & all of the media coverage…I was looking at Retired Army Captain Bryant Middleton & Mr. Roger Dean Kiser.

MR. ANDREW PUEL

MR. BRYANT MIDDLETON & MR. ROGER KISER

THE FIRST HELLO WITH THE PROGRAM getting ready to start, I made my way back to my seat…And happened to make eye contact with one of the men. Still feeling like I didn’t really have the right to be there, I almost sat without saying a word. Instead, I told myself “What the Hell”, turned to the row behind me & extended my hand. “HI, I’m Jenn.” To my surprise I got a warm reception from Retired Army Captain Bryant Middleton, one of the Whitehouse Boys. I attempted to explain my really odd situation but before I could finish he said that Bob had mentioned me on a couple of occasions & that Dee Dee had also told him some of what I’d been involved in regarding the school. I was completely taken aback but we couldn’t finish the conversation as the service was starting. As I turned around to be seated, he leaned in & whispered “We need to speak later, there are some things you need to know.” I nodded & sat as the music began. I would definitely catch up with Bryant as soon as the service had ended.

A Teenaged Bryant Middleton

Bryant Today…

IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE ceremony, everyone gathered in a small area in a building on the other side of the church. As I made my way over, I peered through the windows of each door lining the hallway & it wasn’t lost on me that this reception was being held in the school area of the church…How Ironic.

THE ROOM WASN’T too crowded but the buzz of conversation was loud. I finally found a seat across from Bryant Middleton, who invited me to listen in on the stories that the Whitehouse Boys around us were sharing amongst each other. With each passing minute I felt another little piece of my heart break. Although I had read about the atrocities of Dozier, hearing the school’s victims recount their experiences made it so much more real. I waved my husband over to the empty seat next to Bryant so he could hear what they had to say (Since he’s often referred to me as crazy whenever I mention ANYTHING Dozier related!)…When there was a brief pause in the conversation, Bryant introduced me to the others, not just explaining my interest in the school but that I’d be taking over for Bob. I was a bit speechless (Yeah, I know…Me Speechless?) to hear at least 2 others say that Bob had mentioned talking to me. Not really sure of what to say, I blurted out “I’m your new Whitehouse Boy!”

Whitehouse Bo…Um, Girl??

THE WHITEHOUSE GIRL

THANK GOD THAT everyone thought my statement was funny OR I would have excused myself & NEVER returned! I believe it was Roger Kiser that corrected me, saying “Actually More Like Whitehouse Girl!” Good call…I can live with that! As things were winding down, I asked Bryant what he & the others felt would the best possible outcome, finally allowing their group to end their fight for justice? His reply was simple: “The State of Florida Needs To Give Us The Dozier Land.” In my mind that seems like a fair request & one that can be easily achieved. So hey Sunshine State, if you’re reading this, hand over the land to the men that your shit show of a school spent years trying to break!

MR. ANDREW PUEL JR.

WHILE CHATTING WITH this inspirational group of men, I recalled a thick, unopened envelope that Dee Dee had handed me the week before. The large packet had been sent by Andrew Puel & contained a case file of a Dozier boy who had passed while at the school under suspicious means.

Package From Andrew Puel…

UNFORTUNATELY BOB HAD been too sick to ever even open it. I stood up & asked “Do one of you happen to be Andrew Puel?” A gentleman in a pale yellow shirt quickly responded “That’s me.” I held out my hand & replied “Nice to meet you sir, I believe I have a file that you sent to Bob.” He nodded in acknowledgment. I told him that I would be looking through it but might have some questions as I go. He readily agreed that I could contact him anytime.

A Teenaged Andrew Puel

Mr. Andrew Puel At The State Archives…Sitting In The EXACT Same Spot That I Did When I Was There!

ACCORDING TO ANDREW, his childhood had been vastly different from a lot of the others. He had come from a loving home & had never so much as had a hand raised to him. As he spoke, I could only imagine the shock & horror he must have experienced during his time at Dozier. To go from one extreme to the other had to have created scars both figuratively & literally for life, however, he spoke with a gentle voice & when he smiled, you could see it in his eyes. He too went on to be a great advocate for justice, taking on a lot of the research & often traveling hundreds of miles to view the Dozier archives OR attend a ceremony. Andrew is also a writer, co-authoring a book about the Dozier School, the investigation & the cover-up. I like to think of it as a more in depth “Cliff Notes” collection of facts. Unfortunately, this particular book is difficult to get your hands on (Hhmm, I wonder why?!?) So I will be guarding the few copies that I was able to get from Bob!

A FEW PRIVATE MOMENTS WITH ROGER KISER

WITH THE DAY drawing to a close, it was time for the “Whitehouse Boys” to hit the road. They had come together, with one living in Tampa, one in Georgia, another in Gainesville, etc.. While waiting for the others to come out to the parking lot, I stood in the courtyard with Roger Kiser. He filled me in on some of his time before, during & after Dozier. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I feel it’s not my place to share ALL of Roger’s words with the rest of the world, however, I will share that his story both crushes me while at the same time making me proud to have met him…An extremely confusing combination of feelings to have. I say this because he started our conversation with these words: “My experience was different than most of the others because by the time I got to Dozier, I had already spent my life being beaten & molested.” “I had no family & I knew no different.”

A Young Roger Kiser

I HAD BOTH read about & listened to Roger’s story prior to actually meeting him BUT standing next to him, listening to him speak about his life experiences had me imagining this little boy being shuffled around from abuser to abuser. My eyes were burning as I tried holding back tears. I wanted to go back in time, scoop him up & hug him. Tell him he was loved, wanted & I’d fix everything. Unfortunately, I was more than 50 years too late to help that little boy.

A Teenaged Roger…

Roger Dean Kiser

THOUGH MY HEART ached for the boy, I couldn’t help but be inspired by the man. Roger Dean Kiser was a survivor. Eventually breaking free of Dozier, he would accept the challenges he continually faced, plowing straight through them. He would go on to serve in the military, get a nursing degree, have a family, become a talented, published author (I will put a link below to all of his work & also the link for one of my favorite podcasts, Sword and Scale, that Roger was on…Check it out! Mike Boudet is the host & he’s totally awesome!) & a major child advocate. It would be Roger that would be the first to step up & tell what had happened to him at Dozier…It would also be Roger that would become the founder of the “Whitehouse Boys Organization”, giving hundreds of victims a public forum of support to share their experiences as well.

One Of My Favorite Roger Kiser Books…

ROBERT STRALEY SHARES HIS STORY…

OBVIOUSLY BOB WAS gone as that is why people had traveled from ALL over, gathering to celebrate the man who spent so much of his life fighting to get justice for the past while trying to change the future of Juvenile Detention. In Spite of his passing, Bob still managed to get his story out there. The following was written by Bob & was included in his service program…

IT’S NOT GOODBYE, IT’S SEE YA LATER!

WHEN I THINK back to that day, I still have a hard time believing that I met these men & how involved I’ve become. The day was full of sadness & reflection BUT I don’t want to end this post on a sad note. So let me tell Y’all the story of how the Whitehouse Boys & I parted ways that evening.

Some Of The Dozier Boys…Names Unknown.

WHILE I WAS speaking with Roger, Bryant came outside & said “I should move my car out of the parking lot & hide it…When Andrew comes out, he’ll think I left him!” The grin on Bryant’s face was huge & it made it hard to deny him his ultimate prank moment. Roger & I looked at each other & agreed to play dumb. Bryant retrieved his SUV from the church parking lot & drove it across the street, just out of view. Sure enough out came Andrew several minutes later stating he was finally ready to go & inquiring about where the car & Bryant were. Again, Roger & I looked at each other & trying to keep a straight face I said “I’m pretty sure I saw him leave a few minutes ago.” “He said goodbye & then got in his car & drove off.” At this point the look on poor Andrew’s face was of confusion! Roger continued “Yep, I came out to look for him & he was gone.” Andrew finally spoke stating “What do you mean he left??”

THANK GOD WE didn’t have to carry on the charade too much longer as all 3 of us saw Bryant slowly inching his SUV back into view! We ALL got a good chuckle out of the prank & with a few hugs, a kiss on the cheek & everyone saying “call anytime” & “You’ll always have plenty of places to stay!” They were off! I stood there waving as they drove away, knowing that I would be speaking with, even perhaps seeing these men again.

I SERIOUSLY HAD NO clue that many more would begin contacting me…And the world had yet to hear from this group…

*Originally Posted On 09/19/2018…Updated & Reposted On 10/16/2018*

Want More “Finding Florida?” Hit That “SUBSCRIBE” Button! FOR ALL DOZIER SCHOOL INFO GO TO: http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com & http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com/index.html#.W5hiq6gpBxC FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERIES & ADDITIONAL LOCATION INFO FOLLOW ME ON FB AT: @GRAVEAdventuresFL

BRYANT MIDDLETON’S STORY: http://www.thewhitehouseboys.com/middleton.html ANDREW PUEL’S STORY: http://thewhitehouseboys.com/andrewpuel.html ROGER DEAN KISER’S STORY: http://www.thewhitehouseboys.com/laundry.html THE WORKS OF ROGER DEAN KISER: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/authorrdk SWORD AND SCALE PODCAST ~ DOZIER EPISODE (Interview w/ Roger Kiser): http://swordandscale.com/sword-and-scale-episode-7/

*There’s also a spin-off Pod Cast Called “Sword & Scale Rewind” That discusses the episode…It can be found at the same link as the full pod cast!* **I CAUTION YOU THAT THE SHARED STORIES AS WELL AS THE PODCAST DEAL WITH EXTREME PHYSICAL & SEXUAL ABUSE…VIEWER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED!!!**

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF ROBERT STRALEY ~ Pt. 3: Face to Face With The Whitehouse Boys August 18th, 2018 I HAD OFFERED to take some photos before & during the service so it would be at least one less thing Dee Dee would have to worry about.

0 notes

jennmoslek36 · 6 years

Text

August 18th, 2018

IN A BEAUTIFUL little church in Tampa, Florida, on a hot summer day, people gathered to say goodbye to Mr. Robert Straley. If you Google his name you’re going to get results that are 99.9% Dozier related. Bob was very public about his time at the school & his fight for justice. That’s what he was known for, so that’s what you’re going to get. Before his passing, that’s all I knew of him. To me, he had been Mr. Robert Straley, Whitehouse Boy.

OF COURSE THERE was more to this man than just Dozier & having had the privilege of spending quite a bit of time in his home, I got to know not Mr. Straley but Bob. That’s the side that I’m going to share with you today.

ROBERT STRALEY ~ AUTHOR & POET

BOB WAS NOT just a talented writer but an actual published author. He collaborated with Michael O’ McCarthy (also a Whitehouse Boy) & Robin Gaby Fisher (a Pulitzer Prize winning author) to write the book “The Boys of the Dark: A Story of Betrayal and Redemption in the Deep South.” The book chronicles the events at Dozier & is a great read! I was given several hardback 1st edition copies that Bob had at his home & I absolutely treasure them. I highly recommend reading it! Don’t take my word for it though, go grab your own copy! I will put the link for it below…OR feel free to reach out to me & if I REALLY like you, I may be willing to hand over one of my copies!

HIS WRITING DIDN’T stop at just that book. He also wrote poetry & short stories for many years. I do have tons of CDs that contain a handful of his short stories & would definitely be willing to give one to anyone who asks. Having read some of his other work, I can honestly say it is beautiful. Of course my favorite is a poem called “Please Remember Me” which was written about the lost boys of Dozier. I also love another titled “Facing Cancer, Finding Jesus”, written during his final days …Having lost my own dad to cancer, this particular piece broke my heart.

A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS MAN

BOB OWNED A successful novelty business. In fact, he started building his company, Firefly Vending, out of his garage & was one of the first to manufacture the chemical glow necklace. The glow necklace continues to be one of the top selling novelty items, selling millions every year. He spent close to 40 years of his life attending festivals & expos selling these items with 15 of those years running his other company, Nashville Glow Light, selling LED electronic novelties before finally retiring.

HE ALSO RAN a latex mold business & I was lucky enough to see the passion & detail that he had put into each piece. They were absolutely amazing!

GREAT FRIEND, AVID TRAVELER

HE LOVED TO travel & there were many photos of him posing at the beach, in the mountains & visiting other countries. The photos would also show the close group of friends that he spent a lot of time with, some of which I would have the pleasure of meeting throughout the week before his service. It was very apparent that when he made a friend, it was for life & the general consensus of the people I spoke to was thag he was generous, kind & would bend over backwards to help someone in need.

A LOVING FATHER

LAST BUT CERTAINLY not least, Bob had a beautiful daughter that he unfortunately lost way too soon. Though I know the details of her passing, It’s not my place to share them. What I will say is that the photos of them together show how much he loved her & there was not one person I spoke to that didn’t say how deeply he mourned the loss until he took his last breath. One of the most touching part of the service was when a tape of his daughter singing “Amazing Grace.” Her voice filled the church, giving me goosebumps. She had the voice of an angel which could explain why Bob was obsessed with them, filling his house with angels of all types.

THERE WERE OTHER little windows into Bob’s life that I found were pretty awesome. His grandmother was an artist & some of her paintings were hanging in his home. Seeing them made it clear that Bob’s talent was undoubtedly passed down from her.

INSPITE OF THE situation that had gathered everyone together, it made the experience a bit more bearable to hear some of the stories of the other side of a man that I’d only known for his activism. Overall, I’d say Dee Dee & family did a fabulous job planning a memorial service that not only celebrated Bob’s life but seamlessly tied together all of the parts of a man who had packed so much into his life.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Want More “Finding Florida?” Hit That “SUBSCRIBE” Button!

Please Support “Finding Florida” By “LIKING” &”SHARING” Posts & Site Info!

FOR COMPLETE INFO ON THE ARTHUR G DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS VISIT: http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com & http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com/index.html#.W5hiq6gpBxC

FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERIES & ADDITIONAL LOCATION INFO FOLLOW ME ON FB AT: @GRAVEAdventuresFL

Robert Straley’s Book “The Boys of the Dark: A Story of Betrayal and Redemption in the Deep South.” ~ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8463024-the-boys-of-the-dark

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF ROBERT STRALEY ~ Pt. 1: A Different Side of Bob Please Support "Finding Florida" By "SUBSCRIBING", "LIKING" &"SHARING" Posts & Site Info! August 18th, 2018 IN A BEAUTIFUL little church in Tampa, Florida, on a hot summer day, people gathered to say goodbye to Mr.

0 notes