“I just like to give back”, John, a CSX volunteer said, in the unforgiving 92 degree heat, “A little sweat never hurt anyone”.

That much is certain after 150 CSX and volunteers, and some neighborhood heat-lovers, spent 2 hours digging, planting, hauling, mulching, hammering, and sweating in the Northern half of Klutho Park Thursday afternoon. 

Read more: 100 New Trees in Klutho Park

Long-time Resident Profile Series

Name: Alicia Dorsie

Age: Unconfirmed

Status: Married to Joe Dorsie for 30 years.

Location: E. 7th Street

Occupation: Retired Naval Officer

Fun Fact: Alicia’s painstaking renovation was documented week by week in the Florida Times-Union newspaper.

Q: What brought you to Historic Springfield?

A: Probably the most obvious reason: the houses. The houses brought me here.

It was 1997 and my husband and I were living in Ortega Forest. One afternoon during a Civil War reenactment festival outside of Jacksonville, I was approached by a stranger who asked if I knew anything about serving English Tea. She had heard that I was familiar with the English tradition and wanted some pointers for a home tour she was organizing in Springfield.

Well, I had never heard of such a place in Jacksonville, but we made fast friends and I agreed to help. So this new friend of mine brought me to the neighborhood, gave me the grand tour, and I was simply enthralled by the architecture and grandeur. Of course the neighborhood was pretty ratty back then, but I could see amazing potential none-the-less.

Read more: Springfield Residents Alicia Dorsey and Ashley McCaskey & Felicia Luke

Long-time Resident Profile Series

Name: Robbie Roberts

Age: 68

Status: Married

Location: E. 7th Street

Occupation: Retired Naval officer

Fun Fact: Robbie makes it his mssion to make everyone around him laugh. He declares it, "one of my purposes in life". 

Q: What brought you to Historic Springfield?

A:  In 1985 I was living in a little house off San Pablo Road. My parents were older and I was taking care of them as well. Our landlord decided to sell the house, so I started to look elsewhere. 

I first became aware with the area when I was much younger, in the Navy. After the bars would close, me and my buddies would drive around the city a little bit, and often drove through Springfield. I had a friend or two in the neighborhood as well, so I was somewhat familiar with it. And I loved the old style of houses, with the big front porches, high ceilings, attention to detail, stained glass, etc. I grew up in similar houses in the mid-west, so they felt comfortable to me.

I thought why not move to Springfield? I could get a big house for me and my parents at a very low price. As far as the crime at that time, well, I had heard it was bad there from everyone. But I didn’t see it personally, maybe by coincidence. So that didn’t dissuade me at all. 

Read more: Springfield Residents Robbie Roberts & Steve & Lane Manis

New Resident Profile Series

Name: Charles Westerhaus & Angie Washington

Age: 32 apiece

Status: Engaged

Location: E. 5th Street

Occupation: Charles is a P-3 Naval flight officer and Angie is a Project Engineer

Fun Fact: Charles & Angie enjoy using their green thumbs in the diverse vegetable garden they’ve created in their back yard. Squash, onions, collared greens, cabbage, tomatoes, bell peppers, and herbs are on the menu.

Q: What brought you to Springfield?

Charles: I’ve lived here before, actually. The Navy stationed me here a couple times before, most recently in 2006-2007. I lived in an apartment in the neighborhood then, and liked it over all. So when I was stationed back to Jacksonville this time, and I knew that I’d be sticking around, I wanted to consider Springfield again. A lot has changed since just a few years ago. Lots of businesses have opened and the neighborhood has steadily improved, so I decided this was the place to be. We moved in December 2009.

I also like that it’s centrally located in the city, so we’re close to Downtown and not too far away from anything else.

Q: Did you purchase an old or new house, and why?

Charles: We purchased a new house from SRG. We’re both extremely busy people, so we wanted a low maintenance house. I didn’t want to facilitate restoring an older home, either. One day I might be interested, but not right now.

Read more: Springfield Residents Kharis Quaintance and Charles Westerhaus & Angie Washington

Long-time Resident Profile Series

Name: Jo-Ann Williams

Age: 68

Status: Widowed

Location: E. 5th Street

Occupation: Retired retail service worker

Fun Fact: Jo-ann is a self-proclaimed history buff, who gained an interest in the subject from listening to her mother tell stories about life in Jacksonville after the Great Fire of 1901. 

Q: What brought you to Historic Springfield?

A: My mother and father moved our family to Springfield when I was three years old. We had been living several miles to the North, but my mother got a job at a local cigar factory, King Edward Cigars, and she needed to move closer to the bus line to get there everyday. So we moved into a house on the corner of 3rd and Walnut in 1946.

I spent the next 18 years in that house, until I married my husband in 1964. My husband and I moved out, but we didn’t go very far. My mother owned a few houses in the neighborhood by then, so we lived in one of her houses. 

We lived there for four years, but then we had to move away to Dallas, Georgia, for my husband’s career. Although we moved to Dallas, a suburb of Atlanta, we visited family every summer back here in the neighborhood. I just couldn’t wait to come back down. Dallas, Georgia was just a small town and too country for me. I’ve been a city girl all my life, so I missed it terribly. You can take the girl out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the girl. 

Well, we kept coming back every summer through the years to visit family, and eventually, after my husband passed away, I came back to live permanently in 1988. I’ve been in this house ever since.

Read more: Springfield Residents Jo-Ann Williams & Christina Parrish

At the end of this month Louise DeSpain will step down as Executive Director of SPAR Council after nearly a decade of service to Springfield.  Louise came to Springfield with her husband, Jackson Cross, in 1999 from Fernandina in search of a historic home after having worked as an Educational Director for the American Red Cross covering Savannah, Charleston and Daytona. 


Today we interview Louise and celebrate a decade of service to Springfield.

Read more: Louise DeSpain - Celebrating a Decade of Service