We have all heard of Governor’s, right? Well, one thing you probably don’t know is that we (Florida) have had forty-four different governors. Well, if we were to cover all of them, than we would be here all day long, but we’ll just talk about former Governor, Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. He was the 41st governor of Florida. He did a lot of work, like being in the Korean War from 1953- 1954. He is also known as “Walkin’ Lawton” when he walked 1,003 miles from Key West to Pensacola in just three months. It was a part of his U.S. Senate Campaign in 1970. As he walked, he wrote filled eight different notebooks with “information on our states problems and the feelings of the people”. That shows how much he cares about Florida and our problems and will even spend three months trying to fix each and every one of them. That shows a great leader.
Another thing you probably don’t know about him is that he has had several different medical issues. He has had major heart surgery, was treated for depression, and suffered from a minor stroke. “…but he never quit fishing or hunting” says his wife, Rhea Chiles. How he dealt with this was the best way any human being can deal with it, by “just rolling with it”. He was the strongest man I know to be a governor. If he was to live longer, he would be a very healthy environment. He would probably be still helping Florida.
Chile wasn’t just a governor for Florida, he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives 1958-1966.He was also Florida State senate from 1966 to 1970. He would be a big influence on our society.
Mr. Chiles had a terrible death in Tallahassee, Florida. He was found lying by his exercise machine on a late Saturday afternoon. The cause of his death is because of a heart failure. He passed away 23 days before his designated time expired to be the governor. He will forever be known as “Walkin’ Lawton” and “The Guy that Brought Us Child Care”. He lives from April 3, 1930 to December 12, 1998.