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Record Group Number: 900000
Series/Collection Number: N2002- 3
Creator: Garland, Jack 1904-1978.
Title, Dates: Thomas Jack Garland memoirs, 1904-1978, (bulk 1920-1950).
Amount: 1 folders (25 pages)
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Biographical/Historical:     Thomas Jack Garland (1904-1978) was a mechanic in Florida throughout much of the 20th century. Born in The Rock (Upson County), Georgia, Garland first moved to Florida in 1922 to work for the Marion County Road Department. After moving back to Georgia and marrying Ruth Swann in 1931, Garland later returned to Florida in 1938, settling permanently in Marianna where he worked as an auto mechanic. He died in Lakeland, where he owned and operated an auto repair garage. His adopted son, Benjamin Jackson Garland, lived in Houston, Texas as a NASA employee, and died in 1997.

Summary:     The collection contains a typed manuscript of an anecdotal memoir of Thomas Jack Garland's life as a Florida automotive mechanic in early to mid-20th century Florida. Focusing primarily on the 1920s through the 1940s, Garland discusses the uses and repairs of early mechanical technology, including steam engines, cotton gins, and various makes of automobiles. He also describes the road building techniques in 1920s-era Florida, early gas stations, and the state's water quality. Throughout the memoir, Garland reflects on business practices, and especially highlights customer relations. The memoir also contains two pages of notes added after the death of his son Benjamin "Jack" Garland.

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Subject Access Fields: Garland, Jack 1904-1978. (Thomas Jack),
Automobile repair shops.
Automobiles Maintenance and repair.
Automobiles, Motors  --Maintenance and repair.
Cotton gins and ginning.
Roads Design and construction Florida
Steam-engines.
Lakeland (Fla.)
Marianna (Fla.)
Marion County (Fla.)
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