The following article appeared in the Ocala Star Banner on 20 November 2000
Rural Paradise
Many residents love the quiet, country setting
Staff Writer
PEDRO-When she
moved to Pedro 15 years ago, Florence Heinze like the small-town atmosphere
of the tight-knit community.
Now that more and more people are also discovering the community tucked away in the southern part of Marion County, the owner of Pedro Grocery Store is thinking of moving to another area.
“When I moved here it was quiet,” Heinze said. “It’s growing and now there are a lot more people.”
Heinze said she can understand how people can be smitten by the country trappings of Pedro. She said she makes and effort to meet the newcomers as well as maintain contact with her old-timer customers.
One of those customers is Ralph Dillon Hackett, who moved to the area in 1979. He was born in the area but grew up in Orlando.
Hackett describes Pedro as once being made up of conservative-minded farmers back in the old days. It’s now a community of people who want to live in the country, Hackett said. “Traffic is getting more intense,” he said. “You know, the business community never moved into Pedro. I have to do some shopping in Belleview, Lady Lake or Ocala. It’s not right around the corner, but I wouldn’t want it to be. I’m not an urban person.”
Being someone who is comfortable in a rural area, Hackett said he will never move away from Pedro. In addition to his love of the small community, Hackett also has family ties to the area.
John Proctor, his great-great grandfather on his father’s side, and Peter Boyer Perry, his great-great grandfather on his mother’s side of the family, are founders of Pedro, the Spanish word for the name Peter.
“I’ll never move again,” Hackett said. “The only place I’ll move
is to the family cemetery.”
J. A. Dunn covers Lake, Sumter and southern Marion counties.
