Pioneers' Departure Leaves A Void

Last week, Highlands County lost a piece of its past. It was the inexorable march of time that touches each one of us living, breathing souls. But when Lonnie Curl, Robert Allen Baker and Ray T. Graddy departed from life, they took with them a part of Highlands County that was young, and in some minds -- still pristine.

Curl was a former Sebring police chief. So was Baker. Graddy was a postmaster. They were all longtime county residents and had been active in public service. They helped shape the county's destiny in visible and invisible ways. They were the area's living history.

Their lives also interspersed. All three graduated from Sebring High School. Graddy and Curl both received the Most Valuable Man award for their contributions to the Sebring Fire Department.

In the many years of their lives here, their paths may have crossed hundreds of time, at local eateries, at gatherings, at the post office or the Highlands County Fairgrounds. They had common friends and associates. They had stories -- perhaps hundreds of them -- of Sebring's childhood and adolescent days. They grew up during the times when neighbors were family, and family mattered.

In the mind's eye you can see them regaling people with local vignettes. They were the people you went to when you wanted to know more about the Sebring Firemen baseball team, or a history of Sebring's code enforcement or how the post office has changed in the many decades.

They are gone, and they've taken their stories with them. Gone with them is also the vision, the experience and the understanding that comes with age and maturity.

Their departure must be difficult for their family and friends, especially as Thanksgiving approaches. They will be missed by everyone who knew them. For those who didn't know them, a good bye and thank you, anyway.