September 19th, Thursday 7pm. Archer Historical Society will be hosting a talk about one of Archer’s iconic historical residents William Emory “Hitup” Maddox. William Emory “Hitup” who arrived in 1892 from Fort Valley, Georgia to work in the open-pit phosphate mines. Thirteen years later in 1905 he created the Maddox Foundry & Machine Works Company. Bill Zettler will share with us the history of The Maddox Foundry and it’s influence through the 21st century. Booklets authored by Bill will be available for purchase. All proceeds will go to AHS for restoration of the Historical Archer Depot. Refreshments will be served. Free: United Methodist Church 17121 SW 137th Ave. Archer, Fl. 7pm. For more information contact call Linda 352 374 8240.
Francis William (Bill) Zettler has had a life-long interest in the subjects of biology and history. A native of Pennsylvania, he was a faculty member for 37 years at the University’s College of Agriculture before retiring in 2003, and has continued to teach on an ad hoc basis ever since then. One of his most popular courses was “Biohistory: Plants, Plagues, and People,” which he created in 1990. He is also the author of the book, The Biohistory of Alachua County, Florida. Professor Zettler is the recipient of several teaching awards, including the University of Florida’s Undergraduate Teaching Award. He and his wife, Carol, continue to live on the edge of a prairie near Archer, a small town in Alachua County, itself rich in both biology and history.