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Writer Weaves Family, CommunityIntoBook

Tribune photo by José Patiño Girona

George Lopez, 80, has written a self-published book entitled “I am Your Father’s Brother.” The book is about his life in Tampa and Roberts City, a neighborhood located where Blake High School, Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park and Tampa Preparatory School sit today. In the 1960s, construction of Interstate 275 and urban renewal eliminated the community.

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By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

TAMPA - George Lopez is fast becoming Mr. Roberts City.

His love for his old neighborhood runs deep. He has encouraged former residents to document their recollections, pushed successfully for a historical marker and now has a self-published book, "I Am Your Father's Brother," about his family and life in Roberts City.

Founded in 1893, Roberts City was a diverse community of Spaniards, Italians, Cubans, Bahamians and blacks. The Ellinger Co. opened a brick cigar factory at Green Street and Garcia Avenue, near the Hillsborough River. In 1909, J.W. Roberts and Son, a mail-order cigar business, bought the building.

The community grew and had a fish market, grocery stores, a gas station, a bakery, a drugstore and a hotel. It had a hospital to serve the black community and Phillips Field, built in 1937, hosted high school and college football games, and stock car racing.

The construction of Interstate 275 and urban renewal in the 1960s eliminated the community. Today, it is home to Blake High School, Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park and Tampa Preparatory School.

Lopez, 80, signed copies of his book recently at Cacciatore Meat Market in West Tampa.

Q. How did the book project start?

A. I started writing the book about a year ago. I started to write a story of my family in Roberts City. My intent was not to write a book. My intention was to give it to my daughter (Gigi Gonzalez of Tampa) when I die. So they, my nephews and my nieces, would know more about the Lopez family.

Q. What is the book about?

A. The book has a chapter on each brother and sister. There were eight boys, including myself, and two girls. And also a chapter about my first wife. I raised my daughter myself. She didn't know much about her mother, who died when she was young. My daughter was about 9 years old.

Q. Why did you choose your family to tell the story of Roberts City?

A. What happened to the Lopez family happened to all the families in Roberts City. The way we were raised up. The way we were poor. The way we were so close together.

Q. Do you like to write?

A. I'm not much of a writer as much as an historian. I like stories about the old days. Every story in the old days is a warm story. When you talk about your past, you talk about your youth.

Q. What do you do now?

A. I'm retired. I was an asbestos worker for 32 years. I live out here in Seffner. I like to work in the yard. I like to read. I like to go to the coffee shop (El Gallo de Oro and the West Tampa Sandwich Shop) to meet the boys from Roberts City. We have been doing this for 20 years.

Q. Did you enjoy the book signing?

A. This is my first book signing. I have to learn from experience. I am having fun with it. I am not making any money on this. I am having a lot of fun and that's what counts.

Q. What's the meaning of the book's title?

A. Every time I give a card to my nephews (and nieces) I always sign it, 'I am your father's brother.'

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659 or jpatino@tampatrib

.com.

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