By Warren Resen, Member Florida Outdoor Writers Association

ORLANDO, FL — Despite what outsiders might think, Florida is a very diverse state. North Florida has been more reminiscent of the Old South. South Florida had been made up mostly of Northerners, but this is quickly changing. West Coast people generally came from the mid-west and East Coast residents are a mixture. The Florida Keys are considered another country, especially by residents who refer to them as the Conch Republic. And then there is Orlando, a city from another planet.

On a recent trip to the Central American country of Panama, a young boy in a remote northern part of that country asked me where I came from. When I told him Florida, his reaction was, “Aha, la casa de Mickey Mouse!” That’s how the world sees us; a state without history where everything is plastic. And yet, Florida has the longest continuous modern day European history of any state in the continental United States. St. Augustine was a city before Virginia’s Jamestown Colony was founded.

Now, try to imagine a major resort and convention center in Orlando preserving what little natural area remains in that area and paying homage to Florida history. This is not a Disney fable. The new 1,500 room Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel/Spa/Convention Center in the heart of Orlando did just that.

Harris Rosen, developer of the massive year-old Shingle Creek Resort on International Drive, is more than just a developer. He is a man with conscience, vision and an appreciation of Florida.

The resort takes its name from a small, and some would say insignificant, creek that makes up one border of the massive property. It is reputed to be the northern most feeder of the Everglades far to the south. Both shores of the creek are heavily wooded and thick stands of cypress meander in and out of the water. In the make-believe world of Orlando, this creek provides an almost pre-development environment for the birds and animals of the area. The list of flora and fauna there is extensive and, I might also add, impressive for such a highly urbanized area.

Mr. Rosen chose to use the historic name of the creek for his project rather then some grandiose made up marketing name. That in itself is unusual when developers in the not too distant past, bulldozed environmentally sensitive areas and then called their project “The Preserve” or some such name.

The creek was named for an earlier industry that cut and milled the virgin cypress trees in the area to make cypress shingles for earlier settlers. What a sight it must have been before the virgin cypress was cut; thick stands of ancient trees that had been growing for 2,000 or more years and could be 25 feet across. The creek is now sheltered by impressive second growth cypress that will be preserved thanks to Mr. Rosen’s foresight.

Preserving part of Florida’s fragile, disappearing environment would have been enough to ensure Harris Rosen special mention in the annals of Florida developers. But then he went one step further, insuring that some part of Florida history would also be preserved and hopefully imparted to visitors, even to Floridians ignorant of their state’s past.

Readers of Farmer & Rancher should be aware that one of this newspaper’s favorite authors and books is Patrick Smith and his “A Land Remembered.” It is a novel about three generations of the MacIvey family’s odyssey moving south to Florida from Georgia in the mid 1800’s and ending in Miami Beach of the 1970’s. It is a story portraying the tenacity of American pioneers: how they survived and prospered in an often hostile environment. A Land Remembered has several times been voted the most insightful book ever written about Florida.

History aside, when most people read this book, their initial reaction is a desire to meet the author, as I did after my first reading. Years later, I was privileged to spend an afternoon interviewing Patrick Smith in the living room of his modest house on Merritt Island. Mr. Rosen read the book and went further than most of us could ever hope to do. He decided to immortalize the book and Patrick Smith by naming the premier restaurant at the hotel “A Land Remembered.” The resort’s signage, restaurant menu and materials handed out to guests promote this book and its content. Hopefully, it will have an impact on visitors and residents alike.

Here is a homework assignment for you. Go to the Internet and pull up the official Rosen Shingle Creek web page. Click here and view the mouth watering foods offered to diners. When you’ve finished with the desserts, go back to the top and click on the name Patrick Smith in the first paragraph. This will take you to an article about him, his life and books that is featured on the Farmer & Rancher website.

If you follow all of the steps outlined above and read the pages that open, you will be fully imbued with the story of Shingle Creek, the hotel, and Patrick Smith. There will not be a test, but if you are in the vicinity of Rosen Shingle Creek, stop by and check out the grounds and restaurant.