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License Plate Exhibit
June 17, 2023 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
If you have ever visited the Panama City Publishing Company Museum, you have probably heard the story of Miss Lillian’s license plates. Miss Lillian was never one to spend a dime if she didn’t have to. The print shop was a busy place with lots of heavy machinery, and the heart pine floors took a beating. Sometimes the floors would get damaged and need to be repaired. Rather than repair the hole, Miss Lillian would fasten one of her old license plates over the hole. Problem solved, back to work!
When the damage from Hurricane Michael was so extensive that the floors had to be replaced, the contractor was able to source some heart pine floors from an old Milk Duds factory in Chicago. Museum volunteers carefully removed the license plates, mapped out where each specific one was, and when the new floor was installed, the license plates were replaced exactly where they were before.
When Christopher Lambe heard about Miss Lillian and the license plates, he had to come to investigate! We are so excited for him to come and share his license plates with us. It is perhaps a strange suggestion that our beloved states’ license plates can tell such an interesting tale. The dawn of the automobile age ushered in a new era in the state of Florida, helping pave the way for the growth and development of our state. But even more so than the state’s development, the appearance of these automobiles came with one absolute certainty: that the government would find a way to generate tax revenue from them! Thus, the Florida license plate was born.
850-872-7208
Museum@HistoricStAndrews.com
