The Man Behind the Receipts:
Exploring the Life
of Michael Gladden Jr.
Elio Singer
Undergraduate Researcher
and Digital Archivist
Curator's Statement
This exhibit, "The Man Behind the Receipts: Exploring the Life of Michael Gladden Jr.," serves as a showcase for the Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive designed by Elio Singer. The purpose of this exhibit is to examine the community involvement of Michael Gladden Jr. (1899-1982), the city of Apopka's foremost Black businessman, Civil Rights leader, and community safekeeper, through the surviving objects that represent and recount the vast nature of his material legacy. A safekeeper is defined as an individual who intentionally preserves and protects materials of significant material, cultural, and social value. Michael Gladden Jr. fits into this criteria through his deliberate act of safekeeping from the beginning of his proprietorship of M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries in 1924. The creation and publishing of this exhibit is crucial to display rare artifactual evidence from the Golden Age (1900-1930) of Black businesses, as well as to further understand the roles Black Americans assumed to further advance, improve, and secure resources in their communities. This exhibit is free to access, further ensuring accessibility of Michael Gladden Jr.'s legacy for generations to come.
Exhibit Sections
SECTION ONE:
"Apopka's go-to Grocer"
To begin the exhibit, this section establishes Michael Gladden Jr. as the proprietor of M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries after the unexpected murder of his father in 1924. The featured artifact to accompany the information provided is a 1927 photograph of Michael Gladden Jr. and his employee, Mr. Joseph Cauley.
SECTION TWO:
"A Golden Age"
To continue through Michael Gladden Jr.'s life, we reach a period in Black history known as the Golden Age of Black businesses, which roughly occurred from 1900 to 1930. The featured artifact to accompany the information provided is a set of 1929 meeting minutes from the founding of the Apopka Negro Business League, which established Michael Gladden Jr. as its president.
SECTION THREE:
"The Great Depression"
This next part of the exhibit will highlight Michael Gladden Jr.'s 1931 store receipts from the Safekeeping Receipt Collection, which consist of store receipts specifically marked for safekeeping; material evidence that Michael Gladden Jr. was no mere grocer, but a community banker Black residents could put their trust in at the height of the Great Depression in Central Florida.
SECTION FOUR:
"Intermediary and Executor"
This next section continues into the mid to late 1930s, sharing material evidence of Michael Gladden Jr.'s role as an intermediary for one of Apopka's most famous Black businesswomen, Ella Walls, and later acting as the executor of George W. Oden's estate, a prominent Black citrus grower and land owner in Apopka.
SECTION FIVE:
"Wartime"
Entering the 1940s, this section of the exhibit will focus on Michael Gladden Jr.'s continued safekeeping practices in a shifting Central Florida economy. The featured artifacts in this section are a set of 1942 letters from Michael Gladden Jr.'s brother-in-law, Joseph R. Brown. This section offers rare insight into the Central Florida economy during World War II and reveals that Michael Gladden Jr. continued his financial safekeeping practices into the wartime era.
SECTION SIX:
"Stability and Security"
As the exhibit moves into the 1950s, visitors will be introduced to Marie Stapler Gladden, marking a period of prosperity in their lives. The couple was able to return to university studies and attain their degrees at last. The featured artifacts in this section are Michael Gladden Jr. and Marie Stapler Gladden's original diplomas from 1956 and 1955, respectively.
SECTION SEVEN:
"Change in Sight"
This section of the exhibit focuses on Michael Gladden Jr.'s accomplishments in the 1960s, including the founding of the Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Bank in Orlando, Florida. The featured object in this section is a 1963 photograph of the founders of Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Bank, including Michael Gladden Jr. himself.
SECTION EIGHT:
"A Legacy Like No Other"
The exhibit ends with a celebration of Michael Gladden Jr's legacy after he died in 1982, remembered as the Apopka community's quiet and humble changemaker. This last section of the exhibit will feature photographs and documents from the renaming ceremony of Michael Gladden Boulevard, including the unveiling of the Michael Gladden Jr. Monument.
Featured Artifacts & Sources
SECTION ONE:
"Apopka's go-to Grocer"
SOURCE I: Gladden, Michael. "M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries." Photographic print. 1927. https://eliosinger.wixsite.com/the-gladden-archive/portfolio-collections/the-gladden-family-photographic-collection/february-1927-photograph-of-michael-gladden-jr-and-joseph-cauley.
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SOURCE II: Shofner, Jerrell H. 1982. History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida: 1882-1982. 1st ed. Rose Printing Company, Inc.
SECTION TWO:
"A Golden Age"
SOURCE I: Gladden, Michael. "1929 Apopka Negro Business League Minutes" Paper print. January 10, 1929. https://eliosinger.wixsite.com/the-gladden-archive/portfolio-collections/the-apopka-negro-business-league-collection/1929-apopka-negro-business-league-minutes.
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SOURCE II: Harvard Business School. n.d. "The Value of Business Education." Accessed February 25, 2026. https://www.library.hbs.edu/special-collections-and-archives/exhibits/aasu/student-pioneers.
SECTION THREE:
"The Great Depression"
SOURCE I: Gladden, Michael. "Two Safekeeping Receipts for Bessie Orr" Paper receipts. January 10, 1929. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.
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SOURCE II: Shofner, Jerrell H. 1982. History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida: 1882-1982. 1st ed. Rose Printing Company, Inc.
SECTION FOUR:
"Intermediary and Executor"
SOURCE I: Gladden, Michael. "Two 1931 Rent Receipts for Ella Walls, Per Michael Gladden Jr." Paper receipts. 1931. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.
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SOURCE II: Gladden, Michael. "Two Oden Estate Mule Feed Receipts" Paper receipts. January 1 to December 31, 1940. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.​
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SOURCE III: Shofner, Jerrell H. 1982. History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida: 1882-1982. 1st ed. Rose Printing Company, Inc.
SECTION FIVE:
"Wartime
SOURCE I: Gladden, Michael. "Letter to Michael Gladden Jr. from Joseph R. Brown." Letter. March 3, 1942. https://eliosinger.wixsite.com/the-gladden-archive/portfolio-collections/the-gladden-correspondence-collection/letter-to-michael-gladden-jr-from-joseph-r-brown-d0f3e3.​​
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SOURCE II: Shofner, Jerrell H. 1982. History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida: 1882-1982. 1st ed. Rose Printing Company, Inc.
SECTION SIX:
"Stability and Security"
SOURCE I: Gladden, Marie Stapler. "Marie Stapler Gladden's 1955 Columbia University Master of Arts Diploma." Paper diploma. January 10, 1929. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.​
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SOURCE II: Gladden, Michael. "Michael Gladden Jr.'s 1956 Bethune-Cookman College Diploma." Paper diploma. January 10, 1929.
The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.
SECTION SEVEN:
"Change in Sight"
SOURCE I: Gladden, Michael. "1963 Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Bank Photograph" Photographic print. April 19, 1963. https://eliosinger.wixsite.com/the-gladden-archive/portfolio-collections/the-gladden-family-photographic-collection/1963-washington-shores-savings-and-loan-bank-photograph​. ​
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SOURCE II: Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. 2022. "Axiom Bank." Accessed March 8, 2026. https://business.winterpark.org/list/member/axiom-bank-5103655.
SECTION EIGHT:
"A Legacy Like No Other"
SOURCE I: ​
Gladden, Marie Stapler. "1982 Michael Gladden Boulevard Dedication Ceremony." Photographic print. November 28, 1982. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.​
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SOURCE II: Shofner, Jerrell H. 1982. History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida: 1882-1982. 1st ed. Rose Printing Company, Inc.
Apopka's Go-to Grocer
Gladden, Michael. "M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries." Photographic print. 1927. https://eliosinger.wixsite.com/the-gladden-archive/portfolio-collections/the-gladden-family-photographic-collection/february-1927-photograph-of-michael-gladden-jr-and-joseph-cauley.
Shofner, Jerrell H. 1982. History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida: 1882-1982. 1st ed. Rose Printing Company, Inc.
After his 1982 death, Orlando Sentinel columnist Dick Burdette described Michael Gladden Jr.'s daily routine as “momentary, predictable, methodical"; the steady rhythm of a man whose work quietly anchored his community.
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Michael Gladden Jr. was born on December 23, 1899, in Charleston, South Carolina. His parents were Michael Gladden Sr. (1876–1924) and Elizabeth “Bessie” Gladden (1876–1961). His brother, William Gladden Sr., was born four years later in 1903. The Gladden family later moved to Jacksonville, Florida, before settling in Mead’s Bottom in Apopka at the invitation of Sarah Mead, the legendary entrepreneur and formerly enslaved woman who built a legacy of Black homesteads.
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Michael and his brother William saved up to study in Savannah, Georgia, where a trade school served Black students. William would later return to Apopka and operate Gladden’s Shoe Hospital in the town’s Black business district. Michael went on to enroll at Morehouse College with hopes of becoming a doctor. Those plans ended in 1924 when Michael Gladden Sr. was murdered following a dispute. Michael Gladden Jr. left Morehouse and returned to Apopka to take over his father’s grocery store, M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries, located on 27 West 9th Street (now Michael Gladden Boulevard).
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This photograph depicts the interior of M. Gladden Staple and Fancy groceries only three years after Michael Gladden Jr. assumed proprietorship of it in February of 1927. Here, he stands with his longtime employee, Joseph Cauley- a Black veteran of World War I.
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References
Gladden, Marie Stapler. "1982 Michael Gladden Boulevard Dedication Ceremony." Photographic print. November 28, 1982. Accessed March 8, 2026. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.
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Gladden, Marie Stapler. "Marie Stapler Gladden's 1955 Columbia University Master of Arts Diploma." Paper diploma. January 10, 1929. Accessed March 8, 2026. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.
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Gladden, Michael. "1929 Apopka Negro Business League Minutes." Paper print. January 10, 1929. Accessed March 8, 2026. https://eliosinger.wixsite.com/the-gladden-archive/portfolio-collections/the-apopka-negro-business-league-collection/1929-apopka-negro-business-league-minutes.
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Gladden, Michael. "1963 Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Bank Photograph." Photographic print. April 19, 1963. Accessed March 8, 2026. https://eliosinger.wixsite.com/the-gladden-archive/portfolio-collections/the-gladden-family-photographic-collection/1963-washington-shores-savings-and-loan-bank-photograph.
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Gladden, Michael. "Letter to Michael Gladden Jr. from Joseph R. Brown." Letter. March 3, 1942. Accessed March 8, 2026. https://eliosinger.wixsite.com/the-gladden-archive/portfolio-collections/the-gladden-correspondence-collection/letter-to-michael-gladden-jr-from-joseph-r-brown-d0f3e3.
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Gladden, Michael. "M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries." Photographic print. 1927. Accessed March 8, 2026. https://eliosinger.wixsite.com/the-gladden-archive/portfolio-collections/the-gladden-family-photographic-collection/february-1927-photograph-of-michael-gladden-jr-and-joseph-cauley.
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Gladden, Michael. "Michael Gladden Jr.'s 1956 Bethune-Cookman College Diploma." Paper diploma. January 10, 1929. Accessed March 8, 2026. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.
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Gladden, Michael. "Two 1931 Rent Receipts for Ella Walls, Per Michael Gladden Jr." Paper receipts. 1931. Accessed March 8, 2026. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.
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Gladden, Michael. "Two Oden Estate Mule Feed Receipts." Paper receipts. January 1 to December 31, 1940. Accessed March 8, 2026. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.
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Gladden, Michael. "Two Safekeeping Receipts for Bessie Orr." Paper receipts. January 10, 1929. Accessed March 8, 2026. The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive.
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Harvard Business School. "The Value of Business Education." n.d. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://www.library.hbs.edu/special-collections-and-archives/exhibits/aasu/student-pioneers.
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Shofner, Jerrell H. History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida: 1882–1982. 1st ed. Rose Printing Company, Inc., 1982.
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Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. "Axiom Bank." 2022. Accessed March 8, 2026. https://business.winterpark.org/list/member/axiom-bank-5103655.