Programs

Vernon Peeples

Vernon Peeples commentaries primarily focus on Florida history. His political commentaries also are often delivered within an historical context. Peeples has one of the state’s largest collections of Florida literature - both fiction and non-fiction.

Vernon Peeples is the author of "History of Punta Gorda and Charlotte Harbor Area". He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1982-1996. He is a member of the courtesy faculty of Florida Gulf University and a lecturer for the Florida Humanities Council. . Peeples is a fifth generation Floridian. He and his wife Edna Jane live in Punta Gorda.

WGCU 90.1 FM / WMKO 91.7 FM, a listener-supported service of Florida Gulf Coast University, is public radio for Southwest Florida, serving audiences from Sarasota to Marco Island with great music and NPR news.

Buy An Item from the collection below

List Of Shows

Naval Stores

03-15-2010

The production of Naval Stores – or turpentine extracted from Pine trees – was one of the first cash generating industries to set up in Florida.  This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples recalls the rise and fall of the naval stores business in the Sunshine State.

Helen Keller

03-08-2010

This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples recalls his meeting with a woman whose courage in the face of adversity inspired generations of Americans.

Trabue

03-01-2010

The city of Punta Gorda is recognized for its riverside parks. This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples recalls the origins of those parks - and the man behind them.

Sidney Lanier

02-22-2010

This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples recalls the poet and composer Sidney Lanier’s time in Florida.

Travelling to Florida

02-15-2010

Every week on Vernon’s Views we remind listeners that Historian Vernon Peeples is a fifth generation Floridian.  Vernon’s family’s long history in the sunshine state often provides context for his essays. This week we learn about one of his pioneer ancestors.

Flags

02-08-2010

Several flags have flown over Florida: the Spanish flag, the Union Jack, the Confederate flag & the Stars & Stripes.  This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples recalls another banner that also briefly flew above what would later be known as the Sunshine State.

Fuller Warren

02-01-2010

Two Florida Cabinet Members –  CFO  Alex Sink and Democrat and Republican Attorney General McCollum seem poised to win their party’s nomination for Governor. It’s expected to be a close race this November.  This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples recalls Governor Fuller Warren - who was instrumental in establishing policies that still shape the state.

Fort Myers

01-22-2010

The city of Ft. Myers is preparing for its annual “Festival of Light” celebrating the life and times of Thomas Edison who wintered in the City of Palms from 1885 until shortly before his death in 1931. Thomas Edison’s presence helped put the town on the map – but city’s root go back much further. This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples takes us to the Fort.  

Jose Gaspar

01-18-2010

Thousands of people will be converging at the end of the month for the annual Gasparilla Days celebration.  Events get underway this Saturday, and the big parade marking the life and times of pirate Jose Gaspar is January 30th.  So who was Jose Gaspar?  Learn more from Historian Vernon Peeples on this week’s Vernon’s Views.

Wagons

01-11-2010

The annual influx of snowbirds to Southwest Florida has begun – and so has the annual grumbling over crowded roadways. But as we hear from historian Vernon Peeples on this week’s Vernon’s Views - it’s all a matter of perspective.

Levy

01-04-2010

This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples remembers one of territorial Florida’s most prominent leaders.

Trabue

12-28-2009

This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples gives us the back story on the founding and naming of the city of Punta Gorda.

The Memory of a Large Christmas

12-21-2009

This week on Vernon’s Views from Historian Vernon Peeples recalls a holiday tradition – the memory of a large Christmas.

Unsung Hero

12-14-2009

This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples takes us back to Florida’s Second Seminole War – and recalls the service of an unsung hero.

Treaty of Moultrie Creek

12-07-2009

Revenue from gambling and tobacco sales have brought prosperity to the Seminole Tribe of Florida.  This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples recalls the Seminole’s struggle to survive as people plagued by poverty and persecution. 

1899

11-30-2009

This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples recounts some of the big news stories in Florida in the year 1899. 

Mullet

11-23-2009

Recent cold fronts have led to mullet runs in area waters – and many Thanksgiving menus will include smoked mullet dip among the hors- d’oeuvres.  This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples says that’s a good pick…

Sailing

11-16-2009

Competitive sports have long attracted lots of followers…and gamblers. In pioneer Florida sail boat races were the order of the day. This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples recalls an epic race and the boats that battled it out.

Springs

11-09-2009

This week on Vernon's Views historian Vernon Peeples recounts the 19th century version of a visit to the spa - part of the Sunshine State's lost legacy.

Halloween

10-26-2009

This week on Vernon’s Views historian Vernon Peeples ruminates about Halloween and a long standing Halloween tradition in his home town of Punta Gorda.



More Posts Next page »

PBS

NPR

FGCU

Validate: CSS XHTML 508