The role of history can shape a philosophy of change and a legal legacy that spans a century.

Stetson alumnus Bruce Strayhorn was kind enough to connect the dots for us. “The four years I spent at Stetson as an undergraduate student majoring in medieval history provided a strong foundation for learning and achievement. But,” he continues, “since history is but a prologue to the future, the study of history makes one aware of the circumstances in the past that are often a portent of what is to come in the future.” The academic path in medieval history that Strayhorn chose at Stetson, class of 1974, began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged with the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.

An entire millennium passed by before individual rights made their way into the mindset of the masses. “As the Middle Ages progressed and acknowledgment of individual rights manifested themselves particularly in the events leading up to and after the Magna Carta,” he says, “it was a foreshadowing of the move humanity made during those dark and not so dark ages.”

What happened in the past, our collective legacy, in fact, comes out of the context of history. Today change happens faster than one can flip through the pages of any book. Strayhorn continued his education at Stetson University College of Law, receiving his J.D. in 1977. He states that, like history, “The practice of law is similarly based on legal precedents and that which has occurred in the past is often a precursor to what is occurring at the present or in the future. Being aware, however, that although changes may come slowly, change is inevitable and the study of change throughout history prepares one for potential change in the law.”

So “what’s past is prologue,” as Antonio says in The Tempest, Act II, Scene 1. We are compelled toward change and the rights of the individual. What brings Strayhorn to this historical appreciation involves his own family history as well. In 1915 his grandfather, Guy M. Strayhorn along with his great-uncle, Leonidas Y. Redwine, opened the firm of Redwine and Strayhorn in Fort Myers, Fla. Guy Strayhorn served for many years as Lee County prosecuting attorney for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, as well as a member of the Florida Legislature and City Attorney for the City of Fort Myers.

His son, Norwood Redwine Strayhorn, began practicing law in Fort Myers in 1934, served in the Florida Legislature beginning in 1949. He also served for many years as general counsel for the Lee County Sheriff’s Department. He was president of the Lee County Bar Association in 1953 and was the Governor’s Representative to the South Florida Flood Control District in 1962.

Double-Hatter Bruce Strayhorn, son of Norwood Redwine Strayhorn, currently practices law at Strayhorn & Persons, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law in Fort Myers. Precedent and change both can be found in the law and in history. In 1776 it was written, “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” That level of consciousness comes to us through the process and understanding of history.