Downtown Winter Haven Lights Up Its Christmas Tree by James Coulter "Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree! How beautiful are your branches!" Those song lyrics were most likely going through the heads of Winter Haven residents and visitors as they witnessed the official lighting of the Christmas tree in the…
Lemuel Lamar Geathers Sr., a World War II veteran who helped lead the racial integration of Polk County schools and became Winter Haven’s first elected Black city commissioner, died Tuesday at age 95.
Born in Pughsville, a predominantly Black section of Winter Haven, Geathers overcame youthful poverty to become a teacher, businessman and civic leader. He was instrumental in the creation of what is now Polk State College.
Winter Haven Mayor Pro-Tem Nathaniel J. Birdsong Jr. was a student in Geathers’ industrial arts class at Jewett High School in the 1960s and said Geathers remained a role model throughout his life.