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By AILEEN ADAMS ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida â€" Florida has gone through many discoveries since 1513 when Ponce de Leon first set foot on its shores to the early years of this century when it was rediscovered by a great influx of tourists seeking the sun. Strangely enough it was not the Pilgrims who first settled what is now called the United States; Fifty years before they ever saw Plymouth Rock, the Spanish had established a mission in North Florida, just where the St. Johns river meets the Atlantic. Planting cross and flag to establish their claim, they named the site St. Augustine in honor of the saint whose feast day it 0-12 â€" THE LIBERAL, Wednesday. December 19. 1979 Augustine in saint whose was. From the first grew a succession of missions. then hamlets and then a town. making St. Augustine the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the now United States. But St. Augustine has by no means a wholly saintly history. Destroyed by pirates. looted by buccaneers. levelled by hurricanes and British gunfire. it passed suc- cessively through the control of the Spanish. the British. the Spanish again and finally. 255 years after the first mission was established St. Augustine and all of Florida was sold to the United States. TRAVEL Because of constant attacks. a great fortress called the Castillo de San Marcos was begun in 1672 ‘and still stands The fort is not only interesting as a defence but because of its structure. It is built of coquina. which in Spanish means shellfish or Cockle. The nearby Anastacia Island is built up of vast layers of these half-inch clam shells. this the Spaniards discOvered. could be quarried as a golden yellow stone. Not only the Castillo, but the Cathedral, many of the restored homes in San Agustin Antiquo (Old St. Augustine) and the hotels built by the multi- millionaire Henry M. Flagler, are constructed of coquina. Flagler, a co-founder of the Standard Oil Com- pany, first discovered St. Augustine in the late 18005. So impressed was he that he built a magnificent hotel â€"â€" the Ponce de Leon â€" then the Alcazar and the Cordova. So grand were these hotels that they became the American Riviera and Vogue of the time wrote gushineg “It is as if some modern Haroun-al-Ra- schid deserted his own palace and turned it into a hotel." The prices the elite of the period paid would even stagger an Arab shiek today. The Ponce de Leon is no longer a hotel but is now Flagler College, while the Alcazar houses in part the City Hall and behind that the Lightner Museum. For more detailed information write the Chamber of Commerce. 10 Castillo Dr.. St. Augustine. Florida 32084. Fifty miles to the n'orth of St. Augustine is Jacksonville Beach. This is a leisurely paced area whose - yearly tem- perature averages 70 degrees F. Jacksonville Beach has a white sand. hard- packed beach. where the breakers roar in from the Azores. There is 180 feet of shore at high tide where you can walk and let the-wind erase your worries. Bicycles are the only wheels allowed on the beach and at night there is only the sound of the waves and the lights from the fishing boats offshore â€" unless, of course. you want to visit one of the many lounges the hotels provide. The whole Jacksonville Beaches area is virtually an island with the Atlantic on one side and St. Johns River on the other. At the northern tip is Mayport. as yet not “discovered.” A port for the shrimp boats. the restaurants by the water serve delicious sea food. The toxm also boasts an antebellum house said to be occupied by ghosts. On the whole. a delighth place to discover For more detailed information and rates. write Jacksonville Beaches Area Chamber of Commerce, PO. Box 50427. 11 N Third GL. Jacksonville Beach. Florida 32250. . ng St. 9 oldest occupied European I /{ l 2;; .: “,8 Super-slim ’ " V l V prlce I I," t ' “0f calculator or 49.97 each u r Red, I 99;,3 “Golden Years” by Arthur Fiedler Double Album 50-2045 Ifs fun! Dravv poker Space Patrol walkietalkies 595 SHVQ 795 799 68-8700 60â€"3020 Reg.. 10.95 each RADIO SHACK'S POLICY ON ADVERTISE!) ITEMS 60-2119 cassene 51 ~1 022 Slot machine track .1020 Play it alone or with friends W 595 595 899 V =, 4% Sale 899 Digital “ alarm clock 60-3014 £5955" 1488 W Audio 42-2100 Rad-o Sha‘ 249327. ‘ Brown Spaniel Spaniel 12-979 “5X16 :2 ,, 1995 63»811 Sale 1595 Reg. 29.95 1495 mating! 7a power meter ea Remote control Porsche 1693 Remote 60-3008 Reg 179 5 Reg Hillcrest Mall Richmond Hill 3993 for the price ,of or 49.97 each save Colour organ Remote control tank $10 54954.995 9,31 13-8001 Bring your last minute shopping problems to your nearby Radio Shack Store? You‘d be surprised at the wide variety of gifts that we have for every- one on your list from tots to grandparents. Here are just a few suggestions. There are plenty more at your Radio Shack Store. W 49.95 Richmond Heights Shopping Centre, Richmond Hill 63-5005 1980 Cat. price 34.95 4995 3495 Auto 8-track stereo LCD alarm watch savg Sounds make it flash. in c0Iour Bayhill Mews, ThornhiH save 1Q Portable 8-track stereo player 5-range‘“ stereo frequency equafizer 54%? Mobile CB V radio has 40-channels and LED readout 74%? 21-1632 Upper Canada Mall Newmarket 64.95 14-904 Reg 4-channel CB walkietalkie save$3ofl U each 119,95 each JJ- qu0 «WW - les. too. Radio Shack has a wide selection of batteries. 21-1501