 |  | Private Thomas R. Fasulo
U.S. Infantry
Olustee, Florida, 1997
Where did the Olustee Web site come from?
TOM FASULO, http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/fasulo.htm, is the originator of our Olustee Web site which is so popular it has had over 193,000 visitors and was selected as one of the top 95 Civil War Web sites by the Center for Digital History, University of Virginia.
| Tom is an extension entomologist at the University of Florida, a Viet Nam veteran and a Civil War reenactor and living historian as you can see from his picture. Lucky for us he shares his interest in the Civil War, by keeping the Battle of Olustee site updated with the latest information about the annual event, the reenactment community and other pertinent information about the hobby.
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CSO
The Citizens Support Organization for the Olustee, Battlefield in Olustee, Florida, (CSO) which co-sponsors the yearly reenactment of the Battle of Olustee, has taken on the project to build a Museum and Visitors Center.
Gene served for five years as Planning Committee Chairman. Starting with a review of work compiled in previous years, he worked with Greg Lussier, Interpretive Services Specialist with the National Forests in Florida. In March, 1998, Greg brought Williams Spears, an architect from the Regional Offices of the DOT, to the project. Bill held workshops and after gathering input from CSO members, Olustee historians and reenactors, completed a feasibility package in October. He recommended the building be located on federal property east of the Olustee monument. A letter requesting permission to build the proposed museum on that location was written to Mr. Lawrance, Chief Ranger at the Osceola Ranger District located at Olustee. This assignment was given to Susan Kett, USFS ranger in the Olustee office. For over four years she has been working with government agencies like the Fish and Wild Life, the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection and others to get permission to build. This has not been accomplished.
In the interim, the CSO proceeded with the next phase of the project by hiring an Interpretive Planning company to present concepts which could be used for fund raising. This work has been completed by the Hughes Bowman Group. The next phase of the project is to procure the funds to build the museum. Several requests for grants have been submitted to the State but were rejected. Hiring a fund raising company who would solicit money from the private sector as well as government money, has been recommended.
The Planning duties are now performed by Valinda Subic, Park Manager for the state of Florida. She along with John Thrush, President of the CSO, are continuing to work with the State and Federal governments to implement the planning for the proposed museum.
We will keep you updated on their progress.
|  | The cannons were a blaz'in at the recent reenactment of the Battle of Horse Landing.
| The weekend of February 14-16 was spent at the reenactment at Olustee, Florida. It brought many friends and acquaintances together again. Here are a few photos taken at Olustee and The Battle of Horse Landing in Palatka, Florida.
|  | Friends taking a break at Olustee.
|  | Union Commander
James Permane
James is working hard to get his college degree.
|  | Curtis Bowman of Hughes Bowman Design Group Inc.
Planning for the Olustee Civil War Museum has been on the drawing board for several years and has encountered major road blocks. One example is the hold up by the Fish and Wild Life Department of the federal government, who have been studying
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