Lake Okeechobee News Executives,

Greetings from Jacksonville! My name is Lee Hullinger and I am the great, great nephew of W. L. “Shorty” Hullinger (Warren Lester), the former publisher/editor of Lake Okeechobee News. Shorty was a little man standing 4-feet tall, but he stood tall in life and was a true inspiration to all who knew him - his family, and his long-time friends and colleagues in Okeechobee.

When I was 14-years-old (1975), I spent the entire summer with Shorty. This followed the death of his wife Pearl due to a car wreck in 1974. During that summer, I truly understood and appreciated the love that Shorty had for Okeechobee and its citizens. By the end of the summer, I too had fallen in love with Okeechobee. Shorty lived another five years and spoke of Pearl and Okeechobee every time we talked.

Last week, my wife and I traveled down from Jacksonville to visit Shorty and Pearl’s gravesite at Evergreen cemetery to pay our respects. The peace and calm that we felt during our visit was beautiful. We also stopped by the office of Lake Okeechobee News to say hello. The two ladies we briefly spoke with were very nice and pleasant. They did not remember Shorty as it was “before their time” (big smile).

Funny thing, on our trip back to Jacksonville, my wife said to me, “I really think we should consider moving to Okeechobee when we retire in the next year or two.” I simply replied, “Good idea!!” Ha ha!

Just wanted to say hello and share a photo too.

Respectfully yours.