St. Pete is celebrated for its fabulous weather, beautiful vistas, world-class food scene, and thriving cultural atmosphere but the people of St. Pete truly make this city something special. In appreciation, each month Green Bench shines a light on one of the many people that make St. Pete unique. This month we’re casting our light on author and journalist Lynn Waddell.
From the Farm to Sin City
Born and raised on a small cattle farm outside of Tuscumbia, Ala., Lynn Waddell was a typical farm kid. She helped feed the cows twice a day, hunted for eggs in the barn loft, participated in 4-H, and raised prize-winning calves. By age 16, she also was writing a weekly column for her local newspaper, a job that nurtured her ambition to tell the stories of the people and places she encountered. She soon headed south to earn her degree in journalism from the University of Alabama. After two years as a reporter for the Birmingham News, she jumped at the opportunity to take her skills to the casino beat in Las Vegas. Reporting for the Las Vegas Sun was everything she hoped for and more, the “more” being the chance to work as a researcher for Showgirls. The film was a box-office disappointment, but her experience reinforced Waddell’s desire for further change and an opportunity to tell better and more in-depth stories. That opportunity came via a fellowship, sponsored by the prestigious Poynter Institute, at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, where she earned her graduate degree in communications with an emphasis on media ethics.
St. Pete & Florida Stories
St. Pete quickly felt like home. After graduation, Waddell decided to stay and explore the many stories Florida had to offer. Initially, she was part of the news staff at the Weekly Planet (now Creative Loafing), writing long-form pieces that explored different aspects of Florida life. This tenure was followed by a decade of successful freelance work for major national outlets including Miles Media, the Christian Science Monitor, the New York Times, the Daily Beast, and Newsweek. Waddell married Florida native James Harvey, settled into the Euclid-St. Paul neighborhood, and considered other ways to pursue her passion for storytelling. She had met multitudes of fascinating people in her years of reporting whose stories begged to be told. The result was Fringe Florida: Travels among Mud Boggers, Furries, Ufologists, Nudists, and Other Lovers of Unconventional Lifestyles.
Fringe is a State of Mind
Researching and writing the book was exhausting, exhilarating, and illuminating. Although the unconventional lifestyles she explores in the book are not her thing, her reporting did reinforce the idea that discovering your own “fringe” can be positive. She knows that the only way to grow is to continue to challenge yourself. Waddell still works as a freelance writer and has been exploring additional avenues that take her out of her comfort zone. She has rechanneled some of her creative energy into an Etsy shop specializing in vintage jewelry. A long-time collector, Waddell approaches these pieces with a storyteller’s touch: researching the history behind each as she tries to understand its place and time. She looks forward to the days when she can return safely to estate sales and auctions, but until then, you can find her at www.fringevintageshoppe.etsy.com. Just look for the photo of her favorite golden retriever, Sandy.
