Harold and Fay Mathews Milton

Harold and Fay Mathews Milton. . Harold and Fay Matthews Milton's exceptional lives probably made the greatest impact on the development of Baker County's educational and social advancement more so than any other couple of their era of time. Modest in nature, their achievements would rival even the most acclaimed and accomplished. They were a phenomenal couple whose example was exemplary throughout their long lives of service to family, friends and community. The example of their influence will most likely not pass our way again for they were unique. , 1980 and 1993 Interview , "I came to Macclenny to apply for a teaching position and married the school superintendent. Harold was the youngest school superintendent ever elected in the State of Florida and was the first person I ever voted for. It was a big change in my life. Life and lifestyles were different in Hawthorne where I grew up near Gainesville. The people there had better opportunities for education and fine arts. Macclenny had no paved streets, cows roamed all over town, there was very little opportunity for higher education and no ballet or piano. Many people were void of electricity and phones. I learned quickly to love the people. Baker County has been so good to us." ~ Fay, "We bought some land north of Macclenny that is rich in history and has yielded a mass collection of Civil War relics, and Indian artifacts such as arrowheads, Confederate buttons, and Indian pottery.” ~ Harold, “Harold took me to see the land he had always wanted to own as a young boy, where he had roamed the woods and fished in the creek. It was so wooded then that he would have to climb a cypress tree to get his bearings so he could go home. When Harold took me to see it I thought the world had come to an end. It was out in the middle of nowhere, near the farm where Harold was born. The only way into the land was an old pig trail and the price tag was high. The 120 acre plot was selling for $6 an acre. I thought we’d never get it paid for. We called it Miltondale. We had no electricity or running water for the first 10 years. As the children were born we'd knock out a wall and build an additional room. Many times we rode the horses to school because the roads were so muddy? ~ Faye Milton, The house your children grow up in is the home your children always remember.?~ Harold Milton, (caption) , Down Memory Lane Celebration 1993