The story of the Plant City campus of Hillsborough Community College begins in July 1967, when officials decided the new Hillsborough Junior College would consist of multiple campuses.
The master plan for the creation of junior colleges throughout Florida was developed by the state government in 1957. The intent was to alleviate some of the pressure on the four-year state colleges and universities and provide two-year institutions, both as educational facilities for certificate training and AA degrees and as portals into the four-year institutions. With no overall organization overseeing the establishment of the junior colleges in Florida, the school districts were charged with setting up the schools.
The Hillsborough County School District submitted names to the State Board of Education to create a new, five-member Hillsborough Junior College Advisory Committee. The five, approved Sept. 26, 1967, were James Gray, a bank executive; Kendrick Hardcastle III, an engineer; Gibbs Harris, a title company executive; James Ray Thompson, a rancher; and Dick Elston, an insurance man, who was also served as Plant City’s mayor.
Soon, it became apparent that the responsibility of selecting the sites for the multi-campus college became a highly charged issue. The debates focused on how many campuses, and where the permanent sites would be located. Areas of interest included an urban center in Tampa and sites where future population growth was projected.
To better understand the story, let’s review the main players. Plant City people wanted a college campus and were committed to getting one. The East Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce (now the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce) was persuaded by Roy Thacker, president of Sunshine State Federal Savings, to form an Education Committee to promote Plant City.
The chamber committee included Thacker, as chairman, Hilman Bowden, Carl Carpenter, Bud Clark, Arlen Cruttenden, George Friend, John Glaros, Dr. R.M. Kafka, Dr. W.M. Midyette, Henry Moody, James L. Redman and William Rickert. Carl Carpenter was a school board member and was responsible for nominating Dick Elston for the Hillsborough Junior College Advisory Committee.
Promoting Ybor City was Tampa Mayor Dick Greco and the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce, and promoting Brandon was Paul Funderburk and the Brandon Chamber of Commerce.
District board members who were involved directly included Bob Bondi, chairman of the board who favored both Ybor and Plant City, and Carl Carpenter, a Plant City native, who later was elected as a county commissioner and then state representative.
The college president, Dr. William Graham, who came from St. Louis, and HJC Advisory Committee chairman Kendrick Hardcastle, reportedly were opposed to both Ybor City and Plant City as permanent campuses.
On April 18, 1968, the Hillsborough Junior College Advisory Committee held its first meeting. Attendees included the five advisory committee members, three school board members, seven people from Plant City, Superintendent Dr. Shelton and the press.
Warren Johnson wrote: “Two things that did come out of that historic first meeting … proved to be quite important. The first was that the Plant City group demonstrated their tenacity by starting the lobbying effort that eventually landed them one of the first three sites. Second, Carl Carpenter proved his interest in the junior college. … Over the years, (Carpenter) intersected with the history of Hillsborough Community College in more ways than most people could ever know.”
On July 1, 1968, the HJC Advisory Board became the Hillsborough Junior College Board of Trustees. Hardcastle was elected chairman; Elston persevered as a member of the board.
On July 18, the Brandon chamber issued a statement objecting to any site selection prior to the completion of a professional study. That report was not favorable to Brandon but was glaringly unfavorable to Ybor City and Plant City. Dick Greco began lobbying for Ybor City, and the Plant City group worked to present a strong case for its selection. Elston, Nettie Draughn (City of Plant City) and others in the group put together a package that included close to the “required” 100 acres on North Park Road.
Another report showed Brandon with three locations in the top nine. Plant City continued to work to promote its location. The state inspection team came to Plant City for direct observation. Dick Elston and Horace Hancock made their case over dinner. Alex Hull and Frank Moody appeared at the board of trustees meeting to promote Plant City.
Two changes took place on the board of trustees. Alton White, an African-American and Model Cities official, was appointed to replace Thompson, who resigned, and John Guyton, friend of then-Gov. Claude Kirk, was also appointed. Elston was returned to the board and was elected chairman. Elston, White and Guyton replaced the influence of Hardcastle and Graham. Morton Shanberg, who had been vice president, replaced Graham as president.
Although there were many more meetings, the result was that there would be three campuses, with the possibility of more. The flagship would be on Dale Mabry on a state-owned site. An urban campus would be built in Ybor City, and the third campus would be in Plant City on an 80-acre site on North Park Road. On Dec. 9, 1970, the name changed to Hillsborough Community College.
The 1971, classes started in Plant City in a renovated Publix store on South Collins Street, (known locally as Publix University), and the 80-acre site was dedicated as Plant City’s permanent site on Sept. 11, 1972.
Johnson wrote: “If Frank Moody, Alex Hull, Horace Hancock and Dick Elston got the campus in Plant City in the first place, then Hilman Bowden got the buildings.”
Bowden was appointed in 1971, to the board of trustees and served until 1981. The groundbreaking for the first building took place Oct. 7, 1976.
Sources: Warren Johnson, A View From The Inside, privately published, 1995; Quintilla Geer Bruton and David E. Bailey, Jr., “Plant City; Its Origin and History,” privately published, 1984; Richard Elston papers and interview.
Gil Gott is executive director of the Plant City Photo Archives & History Center. “>http://lovejanetphoto.com/bankovskie-denezhnie-vkladi.php