Coxie's Army: Letters From the Front

There's something about this story that has stuck with me. The city of Miami where I've resided most of my life is relatively young, compared to some of the other cities in our nation. Incorporated in 1896, it is just barely over a hundred years old.  And the suburb city of North Miami is even younger than that. And while they both have their fair share of stories and folk tales, most of them are lost to us.

The residents in this city have changed so often. Due to the Cubans coming here in the 80's and the exodus from the Caribbean in the 90's, not to mention the retirees from the north. Descendants of the original settlers have moved further north in Florida. The city is full of immigrants, who have their own cultures and beliefs.  while the Cubans tend to embrace the American cultures, because the young adults have very little or few memories of their homeland. The Caribbeans however have brought over some of their fears and superstitions. Halloween tends to be just another day in North Miami for most of the Haitian kids.   And when the majority of the residents in your town, don't celebrate Halloween, well that puts a damper on festivities. South Miami, and West Palm Beach where the Cubans and white folks live, tend to go all out celebrating Halloween. North Miami just wants the kids off the street.

So to hear of a different time in the city of North Miami, when Halloween was embraced as the youth holiday it is supposed to be. A time for mischief and misadventure, well it just warms the cockles of my heart, and leaves me feeling nostalgic for an America that just doesn't exist anymore. At least not in South Florida.

I found a PDF file of the letters Coxie's Army would leave the library, and the the letters from the library to the Army.

Click here to check it out.