Individual Details
Richard W. Strickland
(March 6, 1923 - November 15, 1990)
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, Fla. Author: JIM ROSS Date: Jul 9, 2001 Start Page: 1 Section: CITRUS TIMES Text Word Count: 889 Document Text Copyright Times Publishing Co. Jul 9, 2001
The Chassahowitzka Hotel once stood as a landmark in this small fishing village. Vacationing fishermen and hunters stayed there when they explored the local waterways and roamed lands that, during the early part of the 20th century, remained largely undeveloped and undisturbed.
Now, after sitting dormant or serving as a private retreat for several decades, this rustic reminder of Citrus County's earlier days is poised for a rebirth. David Strickland, 35, is the reason. His family operated the hotel for generations, and now he and wife, Kimberly, are reviving the tradition.
The Chassahowitzka (locals say Chaza-whiskey) Hotel should reopen by September, providing a unique lodging operation in southwest Citrus and giving tourism leaders another "real Florida" attraction to promote.
"Everybody I've talked to in the family is happy," David Strickland said. "They're happy to see something being done with it, and of course (to have it) back in the family name."
Strickland has lived in Chassahowitzka all his life. During childhood, he remembers people calling the building next door, at 8551 W Miss Maggie Drive, "the old hotel." Strickland was too young to remember the building functioning in that capacity.
Documents show the Strickland family operated the hotel as far back as 1910. Strickland's great-grandparents, on his father's side, were proprietors then, passing the tradition down to Strickland's grandparents and then his father, Richard, and Richard's three brothers.
Strickland's mother, Lucille, ran the hotel for 13 years while Richard served as a fishing guide. One of Richard's brothers, James "Son" Strickland, was the hotel's final proprietor and oversaw its closing in 1969.
"You might say it was kind of a hardship on us to try to keep it going . . . and me trying to work my other job" as a fisherman, said James Strickland, now 79 and living in Tampa. He received his nickname because he was the oldest of his parent's four children, all boys, and his father would just call him "son."
In 1990, the old hotel was sold to a Lakeland man who used it as family retreat. In late 2000, David and Kimberly Strickland bought it back. "We wanted to operate our own business," Strickland explained. He and his wife formed a corporation, ARCAS Enterprises. ARCAS is short for Alexis Raye and Chelsea Allison, the names of the Stricklands' two children.
County planning officials reviewed the Stricklands' plans and determined that the building, while zoned for coastal and lakes residential uses, could be operated as a commercial enterprise, documents showed. Because of the hotel's history, the county would recognize the hotel as a "valid non-conforming use" within that zoning district, staff ruled. Once cleared by the government, the Stricklands faced two other hurdles: getting the business started and the old building in shape. Times have changed since the Strickland family last served as inn keepers - and since the building last served as an inn.
The family established a Web site (www.chazhotel.com) and a toll- free telephone number. They checked furnishings, developed a rate plan, coordinated with other expert Chassahowitzka fishing guides.
And the building?
"The inside was in pretty good condition. The outside, of course, needed some renovation," David Strickland said. "We basically remodeled the whole outside of that building, from one end to the other. Now we're remodeling the inside." Once the work is done, the Chassahowitzka Hotel will feature seven bedrooms upstairs and an eighth downstairs. The latter bedroom will be accessible for handicapped guests. The hotel will have a full sprinkler and alarm system, and central heat and air.
Guests can pay a flat fee for meals, a fishing guide, bait, tackle, the works. Other packages also are available. Guides will lead scenic boat tours for guests who don't care to fish. "They just basically walk in with the clothes they want to wear. We provide everything else," David Strickland said. "We're excited about it," said Strickland, who will keep his job at the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative. "Just getting through the rest of construction, that's always the fun part."
Mary Craven, the county's tourism development manager, said the hotel will be an ideal lodging place for visitors who want a real Florida experience. The Tourist Development Council bills Citrus as "Mother Nature's Theme Park" and likes to emphasize the area's natural beauty. "I'm thrilled that he has the plans to refurbish it and reopen it. I think that there will be a large demand for accommodations there," Craven said. "We have a lot of calls for places that were Old Florida."
James Strickland, David's uncle, still has fond memories of the old hotel, where fishermen and duck hunters would gather, usually during the winter months, as they fled St. Petersburg and Tampa for rural Citrus. "I really feel good about it," he said of his nephew's plans. "I'm proud of him." But even though the Chassahowitzka Hotel is a family institution, don't look for James Strickland to register as a guest when he visits town. "I've got too many kin people to stay with," he said with laugh.
The Chassahowitzka Hotel once stood as a landmark in this small fishing village. Vacationing fishermen and hunters stayed there when they explored the local waterways and roamed lands that, during the early part of the 20th century, remained largely undeveloped and undisturbed.
Now, after sitting dormant or serving as a private retreat for several decades, this rustic reminder of Citrus County's earlier days is poised for a rebirth. David Strickland, 35, is the reason. His family operated the hotel for generations, and now he and wife, Kimberly, are reviving the tradition.
The Chassahowitzka (locals say Chaza-whiskey) Hotel should reopen by September, providing a unique lodging operation in southwest Citrus and giving tourism leaders another "real Florida" attraction to promote.
"Everybody I've talked to in the family is happy," David Strickland said. "They're happy to see something being done with it, and of course (to have it) back in the family name."
Strickland has lived in Chassahowitzka all his life. During childhood, he remembers people calling the building next door, at 8551 W Miss Maggie Drive, "the old hotel." Strickland was too young to remember the building functioning in that capacity.
Documents show the Strickland family operated the hotel as far back as 1910. Strickland's great-grandparents, on his father's side, were proprietors then, passing the tradition down to Strickland's grandparents and then his father, Richard, and Richard's three brothers.
Strickland's mother, Lucille, ran the hotel for 13 years while Richard served as a fishing guide. One of Richard's brothers, James "Son" Strickland, was the hotel's final proprietor and oversaw its closing in 1969.
"You might say it was kind of a hardship on us to try to keep it going . . . and me trying to work my other job" as a fisherman, said James Strickland, now 79 and living in Tampa. He received his nickname because he was the oldest of his parent's four children, all boys, and his father would just call him "son."
In 1990, the old hotel was sold to a Lakeland man who used it as family retreat. In late 2000, David and Kimberly Strickland bought it back. "We wanted to operate our own business," Strickland explained. He and his wife formed a corporation, ARCAS Enterprises. ARCAS is short for Alexis Raye and Chelsea Allison, the names of the Stricklands' two children.
County planning officials reviewed the Stricklands' plans and determined that the building, while zoned for coastal and lakes residential uses, could be operated as a commercial enterprise, documents showed. Because of the hotel's history, the county would recognize the hotel as a "valid non-conforming use" within that zoning district, staff ruled. Once cleared by the government, the Stricklands faced two other hurdles: getting the business started and the old building in shape. Times have changed since the Strickland family last served as inn keepers - and since the building last served as an inn.
The family established a Web site (www.chazhotel.com) and a toll- free telephone number. They checked furnishings, developed a rate plan, coordinated with other expert Chassahowitzka fishing guides.
And the building?
"The inside was in pretty good condition. The outside, of course, needed some renovation," David Strickland said. "We basically remodeled the whole outside of that building, from one end to the other. Now we're remodeling the inside." Once the work is done, the Chassahowitzka Hotel will feature seven bedrooms upstairs and an eighth downstairs. The latter bedroom will be accessible for handicapped guests. The hotel will have a full sprinkler and alarm system, and central heat and air.
Guests can pay a flat fee for meals, a fishing guide, bait, tackle, the works. Other packages also are available. Guides will lead scenic boat tours for guests who don't care to fish. "They just basically walk in with the clothes they want to wear. We provide everything else," David Strickland said. "We're excited about it," said Strickland, who will keep his job at the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative. "Just getting through the rest of construction, that's always the fun part."
Mary Craven, the county's tourism development manager, said the hotel will be an ideal lodging place for visitors who want a real Florida experience. The Tourist Development Council bills Citrus as "Mother Nature's Theme Park" and likes to emphasize the area's natural beauty. "I'm thrilled that he has the plans to refurbish it and reopen it. I think that there will be a large demand for accommodations there," Craven said. "We have a lot of calls for places that were Old Florida."
James Strickland, David's uncle, still has fond memories of the old hotel, where fishermen and duck hunters would gather, usually during the winter months, as they fled St. Petersburg and Tampa for rural Citrus. "I really feel good about it," he said of his nephew's plans. "I'm proud of him." But even though the Chassahowitzka Hotel is a family institution, don't look for James Strickland to register as a guest when he visits town. "I've got too many kin people to stay with," he said with laugh.
Events
| Birth | March 6, 1923 | ||||
| Death | November 15, 1990 | 34448 Homosassa, Citrus Co., FL |
Families
| Spouse | Lucille |
| Child | David Strickland |
| Father | Allison Beauregard Strickland (1896 - 1950) |
| Mother | Arley Lee Smith ( - ) |
| Sibling | James Strickland |