Bloomingdale is now a booming area with restaurants, schools and shopping plazas on every corner. But for natives growing up in the 1950s-60s, this was not the case. The area that we now recognize with busy traffic and a lively atmosphere was a quiet home to these individuals.
Candi Cater Martin, Jim Quick, Gail Askew Sweeting and Donna Railey Hawkins Harper are all Brandon natives who share similarities in their childhood. For example, they all attended the same schools, Yates Elementary School and/or Brooker Elementary School, when it opened; Mann Middle School; and Brandon High School, as those were the only schools in the area. They also share similar memories of going to Lithia Springs and walking to catch the bus on U.S. Highway 60 from their homes.
“It was a great life. It was an absolutely great place to grow up. I have wonderful memories here,” said Martin, reminiscing on her life growing up in what was called South Brandon.
Martin grew up on Bloomingdale Avenue, on the property where Walmart and Chick-fil-A are today. Her great grandparents settled there, having property on both the north and south sides of the road.
Martin reminisced on a funny story, telling how rural the area once was: “My job as an elementary-age kid was to stand in the middle of Bloomingdale Avenue and hold my hands up, to stop any traffic that might come. Which I stood there, hoping that a car would come so I would get to stop them. But typically, there was none. It was nothing but a loose gravel road at that time.”
In the late 1960s and early ’70s, her family had an unoccupied barn on the property. This barn was then utilized and became the first station for the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department.
Martin shared that four generations grew up on that property, with her children being the last, as they sold it to become the developed area we know today. However, Martin still lives in the area today and is still active in the community.
Quick was raised on the corner of Bloomingdale Avenue and Bell Shoals Road, which at that time was known as ‘Quick Corner.’ His great-grandparents established on that corner in the late 1920s. This property spanned from what is now known as CVS, north and east covering between 25-40 acres.
The land was then split up to the five children once they were grown, Quick’s parents. Quick specifically lived on the lot where the strip mall is now, where shops like Green Boutique are.
During this time, Quick explained, Bloomingdale was a distant region. When he would mention that he lived in Bloomingdale, people would say, “Oh, you’re from way out there?”
Today, none of the property is still in the family, as they slowly started selling the land in the mid ’70s up until the past few years. After graduating from Brandon High School, he went on to serve in the Air Force for 20 years and then moved back to the area after his retirement.
Sweeting grew up on around 80 acres of land off Pauls Drive in Brandon. On this property, her family lived on one street, including her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She stated, “We could all say good night to each other or good morning to each other,” which illustrates the proximity of the houses.
Her family worked together on the large property to manage a farm on their off days. There they grew vegetables and raised animals.
Sweeting cherishes her childhood in this area, as she met lifelong companions there. First, her husband and high school sweetheart Craig, and also one of her best friends, still to this day, Harper. The connections that she made through this community are ones that she still holds close to her heart. Sweeting now lives on a piece of land in Wimauma, where she continues to enjoy a serene life.
Harper spent her childhood on 40 acres off Bryan Road, cater-cornered to what is now Burns Middle School. There she has fond memories of “living out in the country,” which is hard to fathom with the growth and development the town has experienced. Additionally, her mother was one of the first Girl Scout leaders in the area. Through her mom’s leadership, young girls in the area learned important lessons about life, guiding them to success.
Harper eventually moved away when she got married and had children. However, she found her way back to Bloomingdale where she retired as a teacher with Hillsborough County Public Schools and spent lots of time as a neighbor to her grandchildren.
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