VOLUME 5 ISSUE 45
Light Up Ocala Nov. 23
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NOVEMBER 15 - NOVEMBER 21, 2024
Granite memorial honors military families The artwork encompasses an inspirational granite monument and adjacent life-size freestanding sculpture. By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com
Trump picks Marion Rep. Michael Waltz for national security adviser
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People look on after the Family Monument was unveiled at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala, Fla. on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. Team Cone donated $141,000 to the Friends of the Marion County Veterans Park Foundation last year for the monument which was made by Johnson Granite Supply and was then shiiped to Ocala and installed.
monument titled “Family,” which evokes the joy of a service member returning home to loved ones after time away, was unveiled at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Nov. 10. The artwork encompasses an inspirational jet-black granite monument and adjacent life-size freestanding bronze sculpture of a man in a military uniform hugging and lifting a woman off the ground and out of her shoes, which remain on the base of the monument, as a young girl contentedly hugs the man’s leg. Tripp Johnson, CEO of Johnson Granite Supply in Kansas City, Missouri, stated in an email message that his company had made a similar monument for the American Veterans Park in West Point, Nebraska, and that it “highlights the importance of family in each action we have and the challenges that war poses on all family members.” Johnson described the nearly 8-foot-tall and over 5-foot-wide granite monument as having an inspirational and prayer message on the front and messages on the opposite side from letters written by soldiers away from home and trying “to stay connected” while serving. A few feet away from the monument is the sculpture depicting the reuniting family. “The front of the memorial features
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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resident-elect Donald Trump has chosen Florida District 6 Congressman Michael Waltz as his national security adviser. Waltz won reelection on Nov. 5 to the 6th district, beating democratic challenger James David Stockton. Once Trump is inaugurated, Waltz will serve as the future president’s principal adviser on all national security issues. Gov. Ron DeSantis will hold a special election to fill the District 6 congressional seat. District 6 encompasses parts of Marion, Lake, Putnam, Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns counties. Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms and receive a salary of $174,000. Waltz was first elected to
See Monument, page A2
See Waltz, page A5
Walk of Fame honor for James Melton One of America’s most famous tenors, who was a movie, radio, TV, concert and opera star, and pioneer in car collecting, grew up in Marion County. By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco. com
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istening to the powerful voice of James Melton, who was a star on radio and television, in concert and at the Metropolitan Opera, with its perfect inflection and enunciation, one would likely never guess he grew up on a farm and lumbermill in Citra in north Marion County. Melton was born Jan. 2, 1904, in Moultrie, Georgia. He died April 21, 1961, in New York City and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Ocala. His gravestone bears the words, “On Wings of Song.” During his career, Melton graced stages around the world and traveled
extensively in the United States. On Wednesday, Nov. 13, on a day as bright as his career, Melton was memorialized with a plaque on the Walk of Fame in front of the historic Marion Theatre in downtown Ocala. The event originally was set for Oct. 10, but Hurricane Milton caused it to be rescheduled. The Walk of Fame contains plaques dedicated to Bruce Mozert, the photographer whose creative underwater images put a major spotlight on Silver Springs; noted musical producer Bruce Swedien; underwater cinematographer Jordan Klein Sr.; and awardwinning photographer, musician and cinematographer Mark
Emery. According to his biography on the IMDB website, a high school teacher in Ocala noticed Melton’s singing talents and encouraged him to further his vocal studies. He graduated from WardBelmont Conservatory in Nashville. At the University of Florida, he played saxophone in the college band and sang in the glee club. At Vanderbilt University in Nashville, he studied under Gaetano de Luca, then continued his studies at Florida State and Georgia State universities and privately with Michael Raucheisen in Berlin, Germany. After arriving in New York in 1927, he became part of NBC’s “Roxy’s Gang,” appeared on The Bell Telephone Hour
(1959) and other shows. Between 1927 and 1933, he sang with the Revelers vocal quartet as first tenor on radio and in concert tours across America and Europe. By 1934, Melton became a solo performer and began to appear on radio, accompanied George Gershwin on a national tour and was signed to a three-picture Warner Bros. film contract. He studied in New York under vocal coach Angelo Canarutto prior to debuting with the Cincinnati Zoo Opera as Pinkerton in “Mme. Butterfly” in 1938, a role he continued for years in Cincinnati, Chicago and San Carlo, where he also sang other roles. He was a See Melton, page A6
James Melton in the 1930s [Photo courtesy Margo Melton Nutt]
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Community with a Heart............ A5 Honoring caretakers.................... A9 Bird of the Week............................ B5 Holiday Food Drive...................... B2 Cartoons......................................... B7
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