Thomas Earl Cleland and his wife, the former Sylvia Boren are natives of Brantley County and graduated from Nahunta High School; Thomas Earl in the class of 1947, and Sylvia in 1954.
Thomas "Earl" was born in Brantley County, the son of William Alfred Cleland, Jr., and Maude Alma Harris. Sylvia was born in Boston, Georgia, the daughter of James Roy Boren from Quitman, Georgia, and Thelma Louise Blocker of the Hickox area. Sylvia's maternal grandparents were Patrick Henry Blocker and Anna Wainright, descendants of early South Georgia pioneers.
After graduating from Nahunta High School in 1947, Thomas "Earl" departed Brantley County in pursuit of a military career with the U. S. Air Force (April, 1948). He achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management while serving with the Air Force and studying with three major universities; University of Maryland, University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Bellevue University. After retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 1968 with 20 years service, and a college degree he enjoyed a 25 year career with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida in Jacksonville, as a Senior Planning Consultant with the Data Processing Systems Division.
Thomas Earl and Sylvia were married at First Baptist Church in Nahunta on July 9, 1955, by Rev. C. E. Milton. Iris and Bowman Barr graciously provided the musical accompaniment. Shortly after a brief honeymoon in Florida, Thomas Earl and Sylvia departed for an extended three-year honeymoon in Paris, France where they resided near the Arc de Triomphe (de Etoile). While awaiting the birth of their first son, Tommy they experienced many promenades down the Champs Elysee and enjoyed casual strolls through the huge Louvre museum, seeing first hand the works of Leonardo da Vinci's painting of Mona Lisa, as well as the statues of Venus de Milo and Winged Victory. After Tommy's birth, the Cleland family moved to a gated home near the Seine River and explored the many quaint villages and historical/cultural exhibits of the French country side.
In contrast to the cultural, historical explorations of their first home in Paris, France, the Cleland family likes to reminisce about their fun times in Newfoundland; Sylvia tobogganing down the snow hills while awaiting the birth of their 2nd and 3rd children, Karen Anne and Mark William. While experiencing short summers and an average snow-fall of 150 inches each year, these were some of the happiest years for the Cleland family. Primarily because of the Lord's blessing, the addition of two children, and because of their involvement in building a church for the Lord Jesus, housing 250-300 seats. We won't mention the enjoyment of exploding taste buds created by the North Atlantic harvest of 2 to 3 pound lobster at the price of 50 cents each.
Thomas Earl adopted Brantley County history as a retirement project in 1994, organized the Brantley County Historical Society, served as its first President (four years), and developed the Society's newsletter (Armadillo Tracks), which he created and edited over thirteen years. As founding President of the Historical Society in 1997 he initiated numerous genealogical books and spearheaded development and publication of Brantley County's very first history book (published in 1999), The Story of Brantley County. This effort involved researching and authoring most of the topical history section himself, and fulfilling a life long dream of leaving footprints in the snow white sands of Brantley County."
In 2007, Thomas Earl finalized a four year study honoring World War II Veterans from Brantley County. This new book, published by the Brantley County Historical Society presents a social and political snapshot history of Brantley County during the 1941-1946 era. It contains names of over 800 veterans, including over 150 veteran pictures, with many veteran stories; some who lost their lives during the war; some that were maimed in battle; some prisoners of war..
The Cleland family continues to reside in Jacksonville, Florida, to be near their children; Karen and Mark reside in Jacksonville with six of their grandchildren. Their oldest son, Tommy resides in Ocala, Florida, with three additional grandchildren.
SPEARHEADED PUBLICATION OF "THE STORY OF BRANTLEY COUNTY:"
Cherishing the memories of his early growing up experience in Brantley County, Thomas Earl adopted Brantley County history as a retirement project in 1994. Seeking out support from other interested persons, together they founded The Brantley County Historical and Preservation Society, Inc. He served as its President for the first four years. His accomplishments include: (1) Assembling many genealogical booklets as a member of Brantley County's Historical Society. (2) Created and edited the Society's newsletter, "Armadillo Tracks," since its inception on January 1, 1995, a publication which inspired a fantastic growth in the Society's membership. (3) Spearheaded publication of Brantley County's very first history book, "The Story of Brantley County," and served as Chairman of the Book's Development Committee. (4) Researched and authored most of the "The Story's" topical history section. "The Story" was published in October, 1999, a hardback edition which made the entire county proud
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GRAND MARSHAL: The people of Brantley County honored Thomas Earl Cleland's leadership effort by selecting him Grand Marshal of Nahunta's Christmas Parade on December 4, 1999. His wife, Sylvia accompanied him on this festive parade event. The nostalgia of this "famed parade ride" was seeing old friends and relatives along the parade route, passing by the old Dewitt Moody/Sibert Jones grocery store (across from present day office of Brantley Enterprise), and the old Royal Theater on Florida Avenue (now Ivory Palace Church), working two part-time jobs as a high school student.
In between those "two memories" was the "Old Sweet Shoppe" which served as a "hang-out for teenagers" during the mid-1940s, and the place where he had met Sylvia, his bride to be, 45 years earlier. These were memories of a Nahunta teenager that grew-up in Brantley County, left to get an education and earn a living, and returned to spear-head publication of Brantley County's very first history book.