I think not only is the future extremely bright for Orlando, but I think it is likely to become someday the largest city in Florida… in this excerpt from an oral history interview on May 26, 2012 Mr. Joseph S. Guernsey shares his perspective on the future of Orlando, then and now.
LISTEN (3:04)
Excerpt from March 10, 1963 article “A Way to Repay a Blessing” – Bright Future. VIEW Part I – VIEW Part II
As a man with his finger on Central Florida’s economic pulse The Orlando Sentinel asked Mr. Guernsey, “What does he see in Orlando’s future?”
Guernsey replied, “I put that same question to a man I admired very much, N. P. Yowell, the founder of the Yowell Class [First Presbyterian Church], about seven or eight years ago.
“He said during his lifetime he had watched Orlando unfold from a sleepy little village to an empire, and that I would witness the same thing- that it was going to go to even greater progress than he had seen.”
“We may have temporary ups and downs, but I think looking at it over a long pull, it is as optimistic a picture as any spot in the U.S.”
Excerpt from May 26, 2012 Orlando Memory Interview:
Interviewer: Mr. Guernsey, “What do you see as the future of Orlando?”
Mr.Guernsey: Well I’d like to confirm what I said some 40 years ago. I think not only is the future extremely bright for Orlando, but I think it is likely to become someday the largest city in Florida. We have the Atlantic on one side only an hour away and the Gulf of Mexico to the West only an hour and a half away. We have many lakes. We have a great road system, a great railroad system. We have Sanford, Florida as a riverport and Cocoa as a seaport. And so Orlando is in an ideal situation. I think the important thing is for our nation the United States to remember and to implement the Constitution of the United States which will continue to make us a great nation as long as we adhere to it. Once we depart from that we’ll have plenty of challenges that we don’t have today.
Joseph S. Guernsey is the grandson of Orlando’s banking pioneer Joseph L. Guernsey who came here in 1886, purchased considerable property from the city centre to Colonial Drive, as well as residences on Lake Eola and Lake Ivanhoe. Joseph L. Guernsey’s son, Joseph W. Guernsey, would continue in the family banking business, Guernsey & Warfield, and real estate enterprises. After serving his country as a pilot in WWII and flying as an airline pilot for Pan American, Joseph S. Guernsey returned to Orlando to enter the real estate business. He founded the Florida Mortgage Service, Orlando Federal Savings and Loan Association, served as leader of the realty firm Guernsey, Green and Slemons, and founded Lake Highland Preparatory School in addition to serving in numerous leadership positions in church and civic life.
Listen to the Oral History Interview with Mr. Joseph S. Guernsey conducted by Jane Tracy on May 21, 2012 at his home in Orlando, Florida.
LISTEN Part I (14:19)
LISTEN Part II (14:58)
LISTEN Part III (3:56)
LISTEN Part IV (3:37)
LISTEN Part V (3:04)
LISTEN Part VI (3:38) World War II
Mr. Guernsey was born in Orlando on October 12, 1918 and passed away November 1, 2016. Read his obituary.
For more information, images and audios, search OrlandoMemory.info using the term “Guernsey.”
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The Guernseys - March 10, 1963, part 1
"A Way to Repay a Blessing" , Orlando Sentinel Star , March 10, 1963 article on The Guernsey family.
The Guernseys - March 10, 1963, part 2
"A Way to Repay a Blessing" , Orlando Sentinel Star , March 10, 1963 article on The Guernsey family.
Joseph S. Guernsey - Oct. 31, 1949
Orlando Evening Sentinel, October 31, 1949 article on the leadership qualities of Joseph S. Guernsey. Joseph S. Guernsey is the grandson of Orlando's...
Mr. Joseph S. Guernsey
Photo of Joseph S. Guernsey. Joseph S. Guernsey is the grandson of Orlando's banking pioneer, Joseph L. Guernsey who came here in 1886,...
