Brandon/ Winthrop
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January 2026 Volume 21, Issue 01
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CELEBRATING 24 YE ARS OF PUBLISHING POSITIVE COMMUNITY NEWS
COMMEMORATION OF JULIA MOSELEY FLORIDA CLARIFIES LICENSE PLATE HONORING LIMONA CEMETERY’S FRAME LAW AFTER CONFUSION By Brad Stager 150TH ANNIVERSARY By Lori Collins, Ph.D.
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ifred Moseley (19192020), whose granite memorial stone is dedicated at the cemetery this year. Born and raised at Timberly, Julia Winifred Moseley spent more than a century safeguarding her family’s history and the natural environMembers of The Timberly Trust gather at Limona Cemetery to honor 150 ment that surroundyears of community history and legacy. ed it. A historian, archivist and preserAs Limona Cemetery marks its 150th an- vationist, she devoted her life to protecting niversary, the community pauses to reflect the Moseley Homestead — now listed on on the people who shaped this place long the National Register of Historic Places — before modern development transformed and preserving thousands of documents, Eastern Hillsborough County. Among citrus photographs, artworks and journals. groves, clear lakes and longleaf pine forests, Her most enduring contribution may be Limona emerged in the late 19th century as Come to My Sunland, a published collection a small but enduring winter colony, defined of her grandmother’s frontier letters, ensurby a deep connection to land and heritage. ing that Julia Daniels Moseley’s voice would One of the most powerful symbols of that not be lost to time. Through her advocacy legacy is the Limona Cemetery itself — one for land and water stewardship, Julia Winof the oldest formal burial grounds in the ifred Moseley also became a witness to — region. Beneath its pines lie generations of and a critic of — the rapid loss of Florida’s farmers, educators, craftsmen, and pioneers natural landscapes. who laid the foundations of both Limona and Though her ashes remain at Timberly, her Brandon. Their lives tell the story of Florida’s memorial at Limona Cemetery fulfills her frontier becoming a settled community. wish to be honored alongside her ancestors. Central to that story is the Moseley fam- There, among generations of Moseleys, her ily. Julia Daniels Moseley (1849-1917) and stone stands as a bridge between Florida’s her husband, Charles Scott Moseley (1828- pioneer past and its future. 1918), settled near Ten Mile Lake in 1882. Julia Winifred Moseley is remembered After an early log home was lost to fire, they not only as a descendant of Limona’s foundbuilt what became the Moseley Homestead ers, but also as a pioneer in her own right in 1886, later known as ‘The Nest.’ Located — one whose lifelong devotion preserved on a wooded property called Timberly, the an irreplaceable chapter of Florida’s cultural homestead evolved into a center of art, mu- and environmental history. sic, literature and intellectual life. Letters The Timberly Trust seeks to provide hisand journals written there remain among torical context on The Nest, the people and the most valuable firsthand accounts of pio- community connected to it; its architecture, neer life in Florida. art and decor; and its relationship to the enThis anniversary also honors the life and vironment. For more information, visit the legacy of their granddaughter, Julia Win- website https://moseleyhomestead.com/.
Julia Winifred Moseley graces the cover of the 150th Anniversary program for the Limona Cemetery which is maintained by a volunteer board.
Recent updates does “not to Florida’s motor consider the vehicle laws have information caused confusion on the botamong drivers tom to the and even some plate to be a law enforcement primary feaagencies, particture.” Furularly concernthermore, a ing the legality frame that of license plate “impinges on frames, those few the informainches of cheap tion at the plastic or metal top of the that advertise plate is percar dealerships missible, as or promote perlong as law sonal messages enforcement and surround a is able to vehicle’s metal identify the registration tag. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office posted examples of state that State and local proper and improper framing of a vehicle’s registration tag. issued the liofficials have incense plate.” tervened to proFor local vide necessary drivers, Hillclarification. sborough The changes County Sherbecame effeciff’s Office tive October 1, (HCSO) an2025, with the nounced its intention of combatting toll road scofflaws position on the agency’s Facebook page: “Liwho try to avoid paying a required fare and cense plate frames are okay as long as they to be able to better identify motorists who don’t block the plate number or decal. Covcrash and flee. ers, tinted shields, sprays or anything that Law enforcement agencies throughout makes a plate harder to read could lead to the state administered warnings at first, enforcement action. Before you drive, take but when a South Florida man faced serious a quick look at your tag and make sure it’s consequences after he was arrested by Da- clear,” reads the December 30, 2025, post. vie Police because the first ‘S’ in ‘Sunshine For those who fall outside of the guideState’ on the tag was covered by the frame, lines, penalties for the second-degree misan official clarification was issued. demeanor can be severe, including fines The arrest was ruled invalid after the up to $500 and/or 60 days in jail. To comFlorida Department of Highway Safety and pletely avoid potential issues, many drivers Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) issued a memo are choosing to remove their license plate to all law enforcement agencies to clarify frames. matters. The key points are that frames are okay to use as long as they do not obscure the alphanumeric plate identifier (the license plate numbers and letters) or the MISSION OF HOPE...............................PG 3 decal located in the top right-hand corner NEIGHBORHOODS EXPO................. PG 5 (the registration sticker) which indicates REN FEST.................................................PG 9 all taxes and fees on the vehicle have been YEAR IN REVIEW 2025......PGS 16-20 collected. The FLHSMV explicitly noted that it EYE ON BUSINESS..........................PG 30
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