The Scenic Highlands, 1938–1974

Summary

The Scenic Highlands was a prominent regional newspaper and periodical published at Avon Park, rooted in the publishing group established by Tampa journalist Gilbert “Bert” Freeman during the 1925 Florida land boom.[scenic-run][maxwell-1976] Following the 1934 operational consolidation of the Pilot, Times, and Scenic Highlands Sun under W. M. (Bill) Hetherington, the publication evolved into a broad-ranging weekly and monthly journal celebrating the natural landscape, agriculture, tourism, and community affairs of the Lake Wales Ridge.[scenic-run][sauk-centre-1937-05-06][maxwell-1976]

The Avon Park Historical Society preserves a digitized run of 278 issues spanning from 11 June 1938 to 5 April 1974, comprising 3,166 pages.[scenic-run]

The run

Attribute	Details
Place of publication	Avon Park, Highlands County, Florida
Historical lineage	Descended from Gilbert Freeman’s Scenic Highlands Sun (est. 1925) and W. M. Hetherington consolidation (1934)
Later publishers & editors	George H. Bicknell (mid-century editor and publisher)
Digitized collection	278 issues (3,166 pages) spanning 11 June 1938 to 5 April 1974
Frequency	Weekly / Periodical
Format	High-resolution PDF with complete selectable OCR text layer
Physical repository	Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida

Historical significance and coverage

Volume numbering and lineage

Surviving issues starting with Vol. 14, No. 31 (11 June 1938) substantiate the unbroken lineage tracing back to the boom-era founding of the Scenic Highlands Sun in 1924–1925.[scenic-run][maxwell-1976] The publication provided sustained regional coverage during years when competitor mastheads ceased or were restructured.[scenic-run]

Wartime mobilization and the air base

Between 1941 and 1945, The Scenic Highlands chronicled the wartime transformation of eastern Highlands County:

• Flight training activities at the Lodwick Aircraft School and the Avon Park Army Airfield.[scenic-run]
• Expansion of the Avon Park Bombing Range and federal defense operations.[scenic-run]
• USO club activities at the Hotel Jacaranda and community volunteer defense services.[scenic-run]

Postwar tourism and citrus culture

In the 1950s and 1960s, the publication highlighted:

• The expansion of central Florida highway tourism along U.S. 27 and Scenic Highway 17.[scenic-run]
• Innovations in frozen concentrated orange juice, cooperative processing plants, and citrus advertising campaigns.[scenic-run]
• Local historical retrospectives, pioneer family reunions, and the establishment of local civic institutions, providing valuable continuity into the late twentieth century.[scenic-run]

Archival arrangement and access

The collection is organized chronologically by year and month. Each issue exists as an individual searchable PDF:

• File naming convention: The_Scenic_Highlands-<Month>-<Day>-<Year>[-vol<V>-num<N>].pdf
• Date span: 11 June 1938 through 5 April 1974
• Master files are preserved in the Avon Park Historical Society archives.

References

• scenic-run — The Scenic Highlands Publishing Company, Gilbert Freeman, W. M. Hetherington, and George H. Bicknell, publishers. The Scenic Highlands (Avon Park, Fla.), 1938–1974, digitized collection of 278 issues. 5 April 1974. Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida
• maxwell-1976 — Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida. 1976. the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md
• sauk-centre-1937-05-06 — Sauk Centre Herald. Sauk Centre Herald (Sauk Centre, Minn.), 6 May 1937, page 5, quoting the Scenic Highland Sun. 6 May 1937. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn89064489/1937-05-06/ed-1/?sp=5

Related

• The newspapers of Avon Park
• Finding: The Scenic Highlands Sun, Gilbert Freeman, and the Hetherington Consolidation (1925–1946)
• Report: Avon Park Newspapers and the Pioneer Press
• Reference: Avon Park Times, 1928–1942
• Reference: Avon Park Sun, 1948–1979

Where this comes from

Evidence

corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.

Review

unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.

Rights

society

Sources

1. The Scenic Highlands Publishing Company, Gilbert Freeman, W. M. Hetherington, and George H. Bicknell, publishers, The Scenic Highlands (Avon Park, Fla.), 1938–1974, digitized collection of 278 issues (Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida) (1974) · newspaper
2. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976) · book
3. Sauk Centre Herald, Sauk Centre Herald (Sauk Centre, Minn.), 6 May 1937, page 5, quoting the Scenic Highland Sun (1937) · newspaper

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