Louise Kelley Frisbie (1913–1989) was a

newspaper columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

, author, historian and educator. She was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

in 1913 and moved to

Bartow, Florida Bartow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Florida, Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first brigade commander of the Confederate Army to di ...

in 1935 after graduating from

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

. She worked at Summerlin Institute (now

Bartow High School Bartow Senior High School is the only high school in Bartow, Florida. It resulted from a merger of the whites-only Summerlin Institute and Union Academy, a school for African Americans, after desegregation. History Summerlin Institute was fou ...

) for three years before joining the ''

Polk County Democrat ''The Polk County Democrat'' was a newspaper published in Bartow, Florida, Polk County, Florida. It was a semi-weekly paper which began publication in 1931 and is the only newspaper published within Bartow. The paper endorsed the U.S. Senate cam ...

'', where her husband worked.Louise Kelley Frisbie
Florida Memory (includes photograph of Frisbie receiving an award) She wrote a series of articles on

Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States military bands#Army Field Band, United States Army Field Band, and the head ...

a column titled "Pioneers". Following up on the popular column she wrote three books: ''Peace River Pioneers'', ''Yesterday's Polk County'' and ''Florida's Fabled Inns''. Governor

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. trade representative from 1979 ...

appointed her to the Polk County Historical Commission in 1972, and she continued there for 16 years. She was a founding member of the Polk County Historical Association and was the group's first editor. She was honored by the Florida Senate for her work in preserving local history in 1976. Frisbie died in 1989. She was designated a

Great Floridian Great Floridian is a title bestowed on citizens of Florida by the Florida Department of State. There were actually two formal programs. The Great Floridian 2000 program honored deceased individuals who made "significant contributions in the histor ...

in 2000 and a plaque honoring her is located at the Polk County Democrat Building at 190 South Florida Avenue in Bartow.The Great Floridians 2000 Program
Great Floridians

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frisbie, Louise Kelley 1913 births 1989 deaths American columnists Florida Southern College alumni Writers from Jacksonville, Florida People from Bartow, Florida Historians of Florida American women historians American women columnists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American historians History of Polk County, Florida Historians from Florida