Largo was incorporated in 1905, and in 1916 residents drained Lake Largo to make way for growth. Today, the bed of what was once a lake is now wetlands in Largo Central Park Nature Preserve.

Let’s start with the weather.  It’s Florida. Summers are very warm and humid. Very warm, indeed. See how I’m trying to avoid saying hot? Well, of course it gets hot. That’s why you go to the beach. In Largo, you are minutes from dozens of beaches. The beaches of Indian Rocks, for example, which border Largo, are clean, have free parking, and are never crowded. From the beach you can walk to shops, restaurants, and ice cream parlors. The fall, the winters, and the spring are beautifully mild and sunny. The days when it’s too cold to go outside are few and far between. The typical low temperature in January goes into the low 50’s.

The Largo Community Center is a vibrant place for active retirees who wish to participate in line dancing, card games, yoga, and fitness. They also offer adult education classes and trips and are the home of the nationally recognized Tutterow Dance Program for youth and adults.

The intimate Largo Cultural Center is home to a resident company, the Eight O’ Clock Theater, voted "Best of the Bay" by the Tampa Bay Magazine. The LCC’s Broadway and Off Broadway series brings shows such as "An Evening With Groucho", "Beehive the Musical", and "Say Goodnight, Gracie" to their stage. They also host national and international acts such as The Kingston Trio, Sha Na Na, Richie Havens and the Orlando Opera.

Those of you that need a good library to keep you happy will love the new and improved Largo Library; with one of the user-friendliest websites this writer has ever seen. In addition to books, audio books, DVDs, downloadable digital software and C.D.s, the library offers community services such as a weekly lunchtime series for small business owners, where a gentleman from the Chamber of Commerce is available to answer the questions or help prospective small business owners get started. There are author reading series, book clubs, and a good genealogy department as well.

On a personal note, my parents live in Largo. To get to their middle-income house I drive about a block on a semi dirt road, which I love. Their quiet neighborhood is within walking distance of a community garden. The huge Spanish oaks around their property invite owls and birds of all kinds, and hummingbirds are a regular visitor in their backyard. In a less than five-minute drive, after crossing a drawbridge, I can be lying on Indian Rocks beach. There are days that the seagulls and pelicans outnumber the people on the beach. From the beach I can walk to the small and friendly Indian Rocks Library, which welcomes all comers to use its computers, and search through the free books bin.  If I had taken a left at Gulf Boulevard, I could have driven south, with the sea on my right, all the way to St. Petersburg and visited the world famous Salvadore Dali Museum.

Laid Back Largo, Florida, Continued....