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	Record Group Number:	900000
	Series/Collection Number:	N2014- 11
	Creator:	Drake, Michael J.
	Title, Dates:	Sarasota County aviation collection, ca. 1910-1950.
	Amount:	1 cubic ft.
	Medium Included:
	Organization/Arrangement:	Arranged by topic.
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	Terms Governing Use:
	Biographical/Historical:	Michael J. Drake is a historian of aviation, particularly of historic airports and aviation activities in southwestern Florida. In the late 20th century, Drake began collecting material pertaining to airports in and around Sarasota and Arcadia. He was instrumental in having historical markers placed at the site of Sarasota's Franklin Field, as well as the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, which served as an air force base during World War II.
	Summary:	This collection consists of research materials accumulated by Michael J. Drake and includes photocopies of newspaper clippings, official military reports, photographs, ephemera, and correspondence. Much of the collection documents the history of airports around Sarasota and Arcadia, including Franklin Field, Carlstrom Field, Dorr Field, Lowe Field, and the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, which was known as Sarasota Army Air Field during World War II. The bulk of the material pertains to military aviation, although many of the photos and documents cover the development of commercial air service at Sarasota. Some of the correspondence dates from the 1930s and 1940s and documents the actions of military personnel, but most of the letters are between Michael J. Drake and former military members who shared their stories and sometimes photographs and documents with him. Drake accumulated the photographs in this collection from official base photograph collections, as well as former military personnel and local residents. This collection also includes three rolls of microfilm containing declassified photographs, reports, and other records from Sarasota Army Air Field, and three 16mm films with footage of Sarasota Army Air Field featuring personnel and training activities during its final year as a military facility in 1945. One film also includes earlier home movie footage of one of the pilot trainees in uniform with his young family in Arkansas and possibly Florida.
	Finding Aids:	Folder listing available. 0
	Additional Physical Form:	Select images have been digitized and are available on the Florida memory web site: https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/photographs/
	Reproduction Note:	Photographs in this collection are primarily digital reproductions, with some photocopies.
	Location of Originals/Duplicates:	Michael Drake retains the original photographs.
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	Electronic Records Access:	https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/photographs/
	Subject Access Fields:	Airplanes, Military. Airports Florida World War, 1939-1945 Florida Clippings. aat Letters. aat Military records. aat Motion pictures. aat Photographs. aat Sarasota (Fla.)
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