Review of Where To Unpack The Crazy

[Alice Glover]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Where To Unpack The Crazy" by Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D. (Angelina, the Polka Queen).]

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5 out of 5 stars

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To a Southeastern Conference football fan like me, Gainesville, Florida, is the home of the Gators and the iconic Gator chomp—the Baton Rouge of Florida. But to Angela Woodhull, it was a sunny paradise when she arrived there in 1975 from Youngstown, Ohio, which, with the closure of its once-thriving steel mills, had become part of the Midwest Rust Belt. In the mid-1970s, Youngstown had the highest unemployment rate in the nation.

Over the following decades, she maintained her fondness for her adopted town and honored it in her book, Where to Unpack the Crazy? Quirks, Crimes, and Curiosities of Gainesville, Florida, by Angelina, the Polka Queen.

There was a lot to unpack, and I wasn't sure there were enough categories at first, but I quickly got to work and organized everything into piles—a sound filing system for me. First, I put Gatorade into the most impressive accomplishment pile because I didn’t think it was just a curiosity. Developed at the University of Florida, it is a crucial drink for athletes and others to stay adequately hydrated.

Next was a pile of colorful and intriguing characters, and there were many, including the Polka Queen herself. There was the handy homeless guy from Michigan, Hank K., who built a well-furnished house, complete with bathroom facilities, hidden in some swampish-looking growth near a creek off N. Main Street. Regrettably, the land belonged to someone else, and the police forced him to demolish it. However, he maintained an active social scene for several years, attracting other homeless people who sat around on barrels with a pit fire in the middle.


And there was Howard Levy, an older Jewish guy from New York, who was one of the group of friends called “The Gainesville Nine.” One of my favorite parts of the book was the story of how they began their long friendship at a plaza laundromat on University Avenue. Gainesville was a college town with a host of entertainment geared to young college students. The author, a 35-year-old graduate student at the time, had written a comical piece in a local newspaper inviting anyone of the “older” crowd with nowhere to go in Gainesville on a Friday night to join her at the laundromat for some clothes-washing fun, and nine showed up, including the garrulous Mr. Levy.

The author recounts Mr. Levy's habit of chain-smoking, drinking black coffee, and engaging in endless storytelling during Angelina's monthly potluck music jams at her home. When guests came into the kitchen for chili and beer, the food cooled on their plates as Levy regaled them with the story of the New York dog who dragged his butt down the sidewalk.

Then, there are the stunning natural wonders of Gainesville, Florida. There's Devil’s Millhopper with its wooden staircase descending into a bowl-shaped sinkhole, Payne’s Prairie State Wildlife Preserve, and the whimsical animal guides—Mr. Black Wild Horse, Mr. Bear and Albert, the Alligator, and the Kanapaha Botanical Garden, where the reader’s tour guide is Quackers the Duck.

I loved reading about the historic buildings—the Florida Theatre, the haunted Hippodrome State Theatre, and the talking walls of the Haile Homestead.

There were crimes both of passion and of madness—Mike and Sue Reuschel, residents of the upscale Haile Plantation, were found stabbed and bloody in their bedroom, with the wife suffering the most severe injuries. And there was Danny Rolling, also known as the "Gainesville Ripper," who was one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history. I didn't like that there wasn’t more of the book devoted to Rolling’s crimes. It was such a sensational case at the time. However, Angelina provides a comprehensive glimpse into life in Gainesville, Florida, recalling her arrival as a transplant from the north in the mid-1970s. She already had a bachelor’s degree and would get her master’s and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Florida. She would adopt her name, Angelina, the Polka Queen, from her comedy accordion routine, which she often performed in local venues. She dedicates a sizable portion of her book to describing Gainesville, Florida's music and entertainment scene. She is a wonderful spokesperson for the city. I gave the book 5 out of 5 stars. Meeting so many intriguing and unusual characters makes it a very enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone interested in inspirational, comic, or tragic human-interest stories or who would enjoy reading about a quirky southern college football town as told from a northern transplant’s perspective.





 

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Where To Unpack The Crazy
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[Shaniz Tobiaz]

This a great review, the book is a must read for me and thanks for sharing.

[George Bastem]

Gainesville sounds like a place full of character, history, and wild stories, and the author’s love for it really comes through. The mix of humor, crime, music, and local quirks makes it feel like a lively, unforgettable journey.