FLORIDA
Vol. 2 No. 3
Quiz 1. In Bigamist Leaves Bride Blushing, how many spellings can you find for the groom’s name? 2. What country was the birthplace of the Spanish groom in Scandal Rocks Paradise? 3. Mysterious evidence of swimming sloth’s comes from what country? 4. Has shaggy coat of prehistoric Sloth’s been found? 5. Why are are fighting conchs from many coastal where they were once common on the menu? 6. Name the ex-slave who could speak four languages and who tried to work out the differences between the Seminoles the the United States goverment? 7. Give five names for underwear. 8. What body part once named a war? 9. Who invented the first ice machine? 10. What is the name of the fort on the Withlacoochee River which bears the name of a fallen Lieutenant? 11. What chemical cooled the first ice machine? 12. What makes a “Hobson’s Kiss?” 13. What did Lt. Prince over hear Abraham say? 14. What is a galliot?
SCANDAL ROCKS PARADISE! Governor’s Daughter Elopes... Husband Jailed
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
BIGAMIST LEAVES BRIDE BLUSHING
by ElizabethNeily
In 1898, thousands of United States regular and volunteer troops poured into the Tampa Bay area on their way to the Spanish American War in Cuba. Overnight, the dusty little town was swept up with the fever of war. While the officers were feted at Henry Plant’s “Palatial Palace”, the Tampa Bay Hotel, the young men in camps made the young ladies of the town hearts flutter. Like St. Augustine of 1785, Tampa had its own romantic scandals coming out of the military camps. Even the doting guardian was fooled by a young man’s fancy. The following story is printed exactly as it appeared in the Tampa Tribune, on September 21, 1898. We have purposely left in the misspelling of the soldier’s name, to show that we too at the Frontier Gazette follow a long heritage of typographical errors.
Two Brides Wedded the Same Scoundrel One Was a Florida Girl.
SAD TAMPA SENSATION Miss Bessie Brandon’s Experience With a Soldier Hoodlum
HELD BY LAW IN HUNTSVILLE Soldier Wanted to Keep the Event Quiet, Which Aroused Suspicion, and Wife Number One Was Discovered.
Drawing adapted by Elizabeth Neily
Events …page 2 & 3 Museums & Societies…page 3 Letter to the Editor …page 4 Editorial ...page 4 Ice …page 6 Interview with Bill Burger …page 7 Giant Sloth …page 8 Abraham …page 9 Fort Izard…page 10 Call for Reenactors ...page 10 Juan de Leon Fandino …page 11 Events South …page 11 Book Reviews …page 12 Book Reviews …page 13 Unmentionables …page 14 Classifieds…page 15 Recipes ...page 16 “Hobson’s Kiss”page ...16
July-September 1999
Where old news is good news!
Dominga Zéspedes and her devoted lover, Juan O’Donovan, defied social convention and the will of her father, the Governor, by secretly marrying. Marriages of nobility were arranged by families, many times for political alliances. Rarely was love the primary concideration.
Romantic Springtime, 1785 by Helen Hornbeck Tanner
The following the story of an outbreak of “Spring Fever” is excerpted from Zéspedes in East Florida 1784-1790 , University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 1989. First published in 1963, Tanner’s book has remained the standard work in the study of this period of Florida’s history.
Governor Zéspedes expected problems to arise during the transition to the Spanish rule in East Florida, but he never anticipated that the aftermath of the American Revolution would involve him in so many romantic tangles during his first spring in the province. As the days grew warmer and nights more balmy in early 1785, the universally tender influence of
the spring season pervaded the atmosphere at St. Augustine. Even in a semitropical climate, the exhilaration of springtime is apparent after the dormant winter. The heady scent of orange blossoms from the trees bordering the plaza and in private gardens suffused the air. Tall shrubs of oleander with their slender green leaves and pink or scarlet blossoms, growing from roots originally brought from Spain, were striking notes of color in the carefully designed planting. In open areas, patches of wild honeysuckle attracted the patient, hovering bees and darting hummingbirds. With the addition of the flowering annuals, the calendula, marigold and zinnia with tones from yellow to brick red, the gardens behind the fences became a profusion of See Scandal page 5
Special to the Tribune. Huntsville, Ala., Sept. 20, —Sergt. R.W. Meadfourt of Company M. was arrested here today on the charge of bigamy. The charge is made by Miss Bessie Brandon, formerly of Tampa, Fla., who up to a few days ago, thought herself Mrs. Meadfourd. When Meadford went to Tampa with the Second Georgia, he met there Miss Brandon. The latter is said to be an attractive young lady of some means. She and Meadfourd were old acquaintances, he having formerly known her as baggagemaster to Tampa on one of the roads. Meadfourd paid assiduous attention to the young lady during the stay of the regiment at Tampa. Some time before the departure of the regiment from Tampa, the young lady made a trip north in company of her guardian. Correspondence doubtless continued, as when Meadfourd arrived here with the regiment, Miss Brandon was here awaiting him with her guardian. The pair went before a Catholic priest and were married, after which the young lady’s guardian returned to Tampa. It became known at camp that Meadfourd was newly married, and his wife visited him frequently, and this caused some surprise to those of his acquaintances, who understood that he had a wife already at See Bride page 5
EVENTS CALENDAR NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH
NORTH July
• Big Lagoon/Perdido Key State Recreation Area, BEACH WALKS Join a Park Ranger each Saturday for a slide program and a beach walk to learn about the endangered sea turtles. Advanced reservations required. PICKING IN THE PARK July through September 1st Saturday of each month. An old fashioned jam session. General public is invited to participate, bring your fiddle, banjo, or guitar. Call park for exact date and time. Contact Jim Crane, Park Service Specialist • Grayton Beach State Recreation Area ONGOING INTERPRETIVE PROGRAMS Join park staff on Saturday evenings, Memorial Day - Labor Day for a varietyof interpretive programs. Call the parkfor information on program subjects,dates and times. (850) 231-4210 • Rocky Bayou State Recreation Area, ON-GOING INTERPRETIVE PROGRAMS Memorial Day - Labor Day Call the park for information on program subjects, dates and times. (850) 833-9144 1 Wakulla Springs State Park ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS (10 - 12 a.m.) Bring the children to an exciting outdoor learning experience. Park rangers interpret nature with an accent on the environment. Free with park admission. (850) 224-5950 18 Wakulla Springs State Park, SUNSET CRUISE (7:30 p.m.) Top off a day of summer fun with a trip down the Wakulla River at sunset. A unique opportunity for the whole family. Adults $6.00 Children $3.00. Dinner available at the Wakulla Springs Lodge. Call for dinner reservations. (850) 224-5950
August
1 Wakulla Springs State Park, ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS (10 - 12 a.m.) Bring the children to an exciting outdoor learning experience. Park rangers interpret nature with an accent on the environment. Free with park admission. (850) 224-5950 1 Deleon Springs State Recreation Area , A DAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY August 1 (9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)Take a walk through time, from Florida’sprehistoric natives up through present times. Visit camps for Timucuan Indians, Spanish soldiers and civilians, Seminole, Indians, Civil War soldiers, and more. In the afternoon, watch a reenactment of a skirmish that took place at this siteduring the Second Seminole Indian War in the 1830s. Picnic lunches, lawn chairs and cameras suggested. Our beautifully renovated spring pool is open for swimming.(904) 985-4212 8 Wakulla Springs State Park SUNRISE BOAT TOUR & BREAKFAST (7 a.m.) Enjoy the early morning sights and sounds of wildlife as you cruise the Wakulla River. Breakfast in the Lodge follows the cruise. $14.00 per person. 15 , SUNSET CRUISE (7:30 p.m.) Top off a day of summer fun with a trip down the Wakulla River at sunset. A unique opportunity for the whole family. Adults $6.00 Children $3.00. Dinner available at the Wakulla Springs Lodge. Call for dinner reservations. (850) 224-5950
September
5 Wakulla Springs State Park SUNRISE BOAT TOUR & BREAKFAST (7 a.m.)
Enjoy the early morning sights and sounds of wildlife as you cruise the Wakulla River. Breakfast in the Lodge follows the cruise. $14.00 per person. (850) 224-5950. 6 LABOR DAY ROD RUN September 6 (9 a.m. 4:30p.m.) The Tallahassee Street Rodders will have antique and custom autos on display. LABOR DAY TREASURE HUNT (9 a.m.) All children 15 and under are invited tocome to the park to hunt for Short Billy Copper’s lost treasure chest. It’s saidto contain at least $30.00 and is hidden somewhere in the spring. Tokens tossed into the spring are redeemable for free drinks at the concession plus otherprizes. Parents bring your cameras! Regular park admission. 12 MEDICINAL PLANT WALK (9 - 11 a.m.) Two-hour walk with a park biologist to discover the common plants with unique healing properties. Park entrance fee. Call for reservations. 19 TWILIGHT CRUISE & DINNER (6 p.m.) Set sail for a romantic evening. Celebrate with a dinner at the Lodge, then take someone special on a cruise down the Wakulla River. $24 per person. Reservations required. (850) 224-5950 19 Deleon Springs State Recreation Area PUBLIC STAR PARTY Weather permitting, a group of local amateur astronomers set up their telescopes to show park visitors the wonders of the night sky. Glowing cloudsof gas (nebulae), galaxies, planets and star clusters may all be visible for the viewer to enjoy. If you have binoculars, bring them, as many objects and stars arebest seen through binoculars. Visitors must arrive before sunset and leave by midnight. Park entrance fee. (904) 985-4212 25 Tallahassee. Lake Jackson Mounds State Archaeological Site , A POINT IN TIME A living history interpretation of five eras of occupation on this site. Also, archaeological techniques will be demonstrated by state archaeologists.The event consists of a Time Trail of Florida history and demonstrators doing their crafts. We are having the event at Lake Jackson Mounds instead of San Marcos this year in hopes of drawing a better public turnout. Contact Bill Kellerman Assistant Park Manager, Tallahassee/St. Marks GEOpark (850) 922-6007 or Email: GEOpark@ netally.com.
October
4 Withlacoochee State Trail ( 352) 3942280 4TH ANNUAL RAILS TO TRAIL BIKERIDE (7 a.m.-9 a.m.) Come enjoy this 46 mile long paved, linear park. Ride your own distance. A 14 mile fun ride will also be offered. $15 fee perider. Includes t-shirt. Call (352)-726-2251
CENTRAL
July
• Highlands Hammock State Park, Tram Tours, Saturdays and Sundays Only (1 & 2:30 p.m.) Join a Park Ranger for a narrated tram tour into the heart of the hardwood hammock. Tram fee in addition to park entrance fee. (941) 386-6094 • Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Recreation Area SEA TURTLE PROGRAM Wednesdays - 9:30 a.m. During the morning beach walk park rangers show you the loggerhead’s nesting habitat; you walk through the sea turtles’ trek from emergence as hatchlings to laying eggs as adults. Reservations are required. Insect repellent recommended. Park entrance fee. (941) 597-6196 • Egmont Key State Park, INTERPRETIVE TOURS 2nd & 4th Weekends of each month (10:30a.m. -3:30 p.m.) Join us for interpretive tours of the island featuring its history, the historic lighthouse, wildlife and natural environments. Bring sunscreen, hat and comfortable shoes. Limited water and public conveniences available. Contact the park for transportation information by telephone or e-mail EgmontKey@juno. com and check out our web site under Florida Lighthouses. For information
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Call (727) 893-2627. 3 Tampa, FAMILY FLIGHT at MOSI, IN GTE Challenger Center, Join the crew as the “Rendezvous with a Comet” for a two hour experience. Pre-flight training, learn the anatomy of a comet by creating one in the lab. Enter the space craft through a rotating air-lock. $4 members, $6 nonmembers (includes admission fee). MOSI also offers Day Camps. Contact (813) 987-6000; internet www.mosi.org. 3-4 St. Petersburg, AIRHEAD PHYSICS, explore the crazy world we live in! Find out why you don’t fall off the earth and why satelites don’t fall out of the sky. See chemical and physical feats of science craziness. $1 with museum admission. Great Explorations, 800 2nd Ave. N.E., 3rd Floor of the Pier. (727)821-8992. 4 Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION Saturday morning (12 midnight) Events start Saturday morning at midnight beginning with the 18th Annual Kiwanis Mease Independence Day Midnight Run. The candlelight run progresses into Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area. Pre-register for the race by calling the Kiwanis at (813) 535-2257. Later, on the evening of the 4th, a fireworks display takes place at the park. The fireworks, provided by the City of Dunedin, may be viewed from the park beginning around 9:00 p.m. Park entrance fee required. (813) 469-5942 9 Tampa, DINO CAMP-IN at MOSI, a prehistoric slumber party. Dig out the clues to the mysteries of science with our private eye crew. Private screening of T-Rex : Back to the Cretaceous in I-Max theatre. Ages 8 & up. Registration by July 5. Fee. Mosi also offers Day Camps. Contact (813) 987-6000; internet www.mosi.org. 10-11 St. Petersburg, REPTILES OF THE WORLD! WILDLIFE SHOW touch snakes, lizards, turtles and alligators with educator, Doug Scull, in the Time Warner Communications Great Museum showroom. $1 with museum admission. Great Explorations, 800 2nd Ave. N.E., 3rd Floor of the Pier. (727)821-8992. 11, Gasparilla Island State Recreation Area, TURTLE WALK Saturdays (10:30 A.M.) Join a park ranger at the Boca Grande Lighthouse for an educational
program on sea turtles and their nesting habits. Comfortable walking shoes and sun protection recommended. Park fee. (941) 964-0375 15-17 Sebastian Inlet State RecreationArea SEA TURTLE WALKS Wed.- Sat. Watch a slide show to learn about the life cycle, problems, and what is being done to help sea turtles. Then walk witha ranger down a beautiful stretch of Atlantic Ocean beach to find a nesting Loggerhead sea turtle. Turtles were seen on over 85% of the tours last year. The walk can be up to 2 miles in length. Insect repellent is recommended and reservations required. Info/ reservations, call park. Free. 17 Largo, SIXTEENTH ANNUAL HERITAGE VILLAGE SKIRMISH, 11909 125th Street, N., Living history event - Union and Confederate Civil War Troops take to the battlefield. Featuring USS Ottawa and the 79th N.Y. Highlanders, Sutlers Row, “Officer’s Call at 11:00, “Grand march” at 1:30, Battle at 2:00. Bring comfortable seating & camera for battle. Contact Steve Sheets, (727) 3942435 or Heritage Village (727) 582-2123. 17 St. Petersburg, 30th Anniversary of the 1st WALK ON THE MOON, Science Center of Pinellas County, 7701 22nd Ave. N. Moon Rock and Meteorite on exhibit plus laser shows, planetarium shows, moon walk for kids, telecope viewing. Al Downings Jazz Band (7-9 p.m.), concessions & more!. FREE. (727) 384-0027. 17 Bradenton, SNOOTY THE MANATEE 51ST BIRTHDAY BASH. Join Snooty and his pool-mate Mo, at the South Florida Museum and Parker Manatee Aquarium, 201 10th St. W. Wildlife Awareness Festival. Childrens games, free treats and punch. Enter the 51st Birthday Card Contest for kids through 6th grade. Deadline for cards July 12. Call (941)746-4131 for details. 17 Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area SEA TURTLE BEACH WALK (Sunset 8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) Want to know more about night beach life? Join a park ranger for a slide presentation on sea turtles and their habitat. After the program there will be a ranger guided beach walk discussing sea turtles and night beach life. Insect repellent and comfortable walking shoes recommended. Park fee required.
Vol.2 No.3 July - Sept. 1999
Published Quarterly by Neily Trappman Studio 5409 21st Ave. S. • Gulfport • FL • 33707 Phone (727)321-7845 E-Mail tocobaga@gte.net Web Address http://home1.gte.net/tocobaga
“Understanding the past gives you the freedom to plan for the future.” SPONSORSHIP RATES
Writers: We will be happy to send you information Robert Hawk about how to become one of our many John K. Mahon supporters. This is a fun and educational Elizabeth Neily way to tell your customers about your Helen Hornbeck Tanner business or organization. Trish Thompson CLASSIFIED ADS Hermann Trappman 25¢ per word with 10 word miniIllustrations/Photography: mum. Elizabeth Neily Sponsorship/Sales:Elizabeth Neily Hermann Trappman Proof Reader: (727) 321-7845 Jim Fitch SUBSCRIPTIONS Computer Service: 1 YEAR/4 ISSUES - $8.00 specializing in Apple Macintosh 2 YEARS/8 ISSUES - $14.00 George Watson Please send name, address and phone # (727) 321-7845 with check payable to John Mariner Neily Trappman Studio Writers, artists, photographers may submit articles to us for concideration. Subject matter must be written in style appropriate for all age groups from the 4th grade into the golden years. This is not meant to be a scholarly publication but one to increase awareness of Florida’s rich and varied heritage.We want to celebrate our past, not dwell wholely on our failures. Copyright 1998. Articles may be reproduced with prior permission. Just give us a call and we will be happy to accommodate your request. Exceptions are logo, masthead and where other copyrights apply.
(813) 469-5942 17 Dunedin, SHELLING ON HONEYMOON ISLAND with MOSI, 8-4, Collect, classify, clean and preserve sea shells. Bring a picnic lunch & drinks, sun screen, hat & beach shoes, camera, collecting bucket. Ages 8 to adult. BEGINNING SAILBOAT RACING, Join us for a sailing adventure on Tampa Bay. Learn techniques of each position on the boat from the foredeck, cockpit, and navigation to sail trim and tactics. Serve as a crew member for an upcoming race!. Pack a lunch and meet at Apollo Beach Members $35, Non-members $45. Contact (813) 987-6000; internet www.mosi.org. 17-18 St. Petersburg, ELECTRIC MAGIC Explore the fascinating world of electricity - guaranteed to produce a hair raising experience. $1 with museum admission. Great Explorations, 800 2nd Ave. N.E., 3rd Floor of the Pier. (727)821-8992. 19 Cayo Costa State Park, Saturday. BEACH NATURE WALK Join a park ranger for a guided beach walk on this beautiful barrier island. TURTLE WALK Learn about the sea turtles and their nesting habits.Accessible only by boat, participants must arrange transportation to and from the island. Comfortable walking shoes, sun protection, and drinking water recommended. Park entrance fee. Call for times. (941) 964-0375. 24 Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area ASTRONOMY PROGRAM Friday (Sunset 8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) Come gaze at the stars. A local astronomer will have telescopes set up in the park and will also give a slide program on the constellations. Park fee required. (813) 469-5942 24-25 St. Petersburg, MESMERIZING MAGNETS, Power from Magnets? Yes, indeed! Test your strength against our “giant” horseshow magnet” Experience our “Cow Magnet” and participate in a magnet “Tug-O-War.” $1 with museum admission. Great Explorations, 800 2nd Ave. N.E., 3rd Floor of the Pier. (727)821-8992. 25 Gasparilla Island State Recreation Area LIGHTHOUSE OPEN HOUSE (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.) Come visit the 1890’s Boca Grande Lighthouse, a National Historic Landmark. Learn the history surrounding the lighthouse’s important role in guiding boats through Boca Grande Pass over a century ago. Camera and binoculars recommended. Park fee. (941) 964-0375 31 Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area, HISTORY OF HONEYMOON ISLAND, Fridays (8:30-10:30 p.m.) Join a Park Ranger on a walk through time and discover the rich and colorful history. Park fee. (727)469-5942 31- Aug. 1 St. Petersburg, AIRHEAD PHYSICS, (see above) $1 with museum admission. Great Explorations, 800 2nd Ave. N.E., 3rd Fl of the Pier. (727)821-8992.
August
•Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Recreation Area SEA TURTLE PROGRAM Wed 9:30 a.m. During the morning beach walk park rangers show you the loggerhead’s nesting habitat; you walk through the sea turtles’ trek from emergence as hatchlings to laying eggs as adults. Reservations are required. Insect repellent recommended. Park entrance fee. (941) 597-6196 • Egmont Key State Park, INTERPRETIVE TOURS 2nd & 4th Weekends (10:30a.m. -3:30 p.m.) Join us for interpretive tours of the island featuring its history, the historic lighthouse, wildlife and natural environments. Bring sunscreen, hat and comfortable shoes. Limited water and public conveniences available. Contact the park for transportation information by telephone or e-mail EgmontKey@juno.com and check out our web site under Florida Lighthouses. (727) 893-2627. • Highlands Hammock State Park, TRAM TOURS, Saturdays and Sundays Only (1 & 2:30 p.m.) Join a park ranger for a narrated tram tour into the heart of the hardwood hammock. Tram fee in addition to park entrance fee. (941) 386-6094 7 Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area
SEA TURTLE BEACH WALK Aug. 7, 8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Want to know more about night beach life? Join a park ranger for a slide presentation on sea turtles and their habitat. After the program there will be a ranger guided beach walk discussing sea turtles and night beach life. Insect repellent and comfortable walking shoes recommended. Park fee required. (813) 469-5942 8 Gasparilla Island State Recreation Area, TURTLE WALK Saturdays (10:30 A.M.) Join a park ranger at the Boca Grande Lighthouse for an educational program on sea turtles and their nesting habits. Comfortable walking shoes and sun protection recommended. Park entrance fee. (941) 964-0375 8 Bradenton, DeSoto National Memorial, Calderon Company interprets 16th C. DeSoto Expedition. Tim Burke: e-mail: calderon@home.com 10-11 St. Petersburg, FLORIDA WILDLIFE: THE PREDITORS! touch live snakes, alligators, spiders, and birds of prey with educator, Doug Scull, in the Time Warner Communications Great Museum showroom. $1 with museum admission. Great Explorations, 800 2nd Ave. N.E., 3rd Floor of the Pier. (727)821-8992. 15 Sebastian Inlet State RecreationArea, SEA TURTLE WALKS Wednesday - Saturday. Watch a slide show to learn about the life cycle, problems, and what is being done to help sea turtles. Then walk witha ranger down a beautiful stretch of Atlantic Ocean beach to find a nesting Loggerhead sea turtle. Turtles were seen on over 85% of the tours last year. Thewalk can be up to 2 miles in length. Insect repellent is recommended and reservations required. For further information and reservations, call park. Free. 21 Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area ASTRONOMY PROGRAM Friday (Sunset 8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) Come gaze at the stars. A local astronomer will have telescopes set up in the park and will also give a slide program on the constellations. Park entrance fee required. (813) 469-5942 24-25 St. Petersburg, MESMERIZING MAGNETS, (See above) $1 with museum admission. Great Explorations, 800 2nd Ave. N.E., 3rd Floor of the Pier. (727)8218992. 22 & 23 Sebastian Inlet State Recreation Area NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC SURFINGASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP SURF CONTEST (7 a.m. - 5 p.m. depending on surf conditions and the number of contestants.) See the best scholastic surfers compete to determine this school year’s champions. This is the NSSA’sfirst contest of the new season. For further information contact Frank Citarell at (407) 287-3378. Park fee. 28 Dunedin, HISTORY OF HONEYMOON ISLAND, Fridays (8:30 p.m. 10:30 p.m.) Join a Park Ranger on a Walk through time and discover the rich and colorful historu of Honeymoon Island. Park entrance fee required. (813) 469-5942 29 Gasparilla Island State Recreation Area,LIGHTHOUSE OPEN HOUSE, Saturday (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.) Come visit the 1890’s Boca Grande Lighthouse, a National Historic Landmark. Learn the history surrounding the lighthouse’s important role in guiding boats through Boca Grande Pass over a century ago. Camera and binoculars recommended. Park entrance fee. (941) 964-0375
September
• Egmont Key State Park, INTERPRETIVE TOURS 2nd & 4th Weekends of each month (10:30a.m. -3:30 p.m.) Join us for interpretive tours of the island featuring its history, the historic lighthouse, wildlife and natural environments. Bring sunscreen, hat and comfortable shoes. Limited water and public conveniences available. Contact the park for transportation information by telephone or e-mail EgmontKey@juno. com and check out our web site under Florida Lighthouses. For more information contact the park. (727) 893-2627. • Highlands Hammock State Park, Tram Tours,Saturdays and Sundays Only (1 & 2:30 p.m.) Join a Park Ranger for a narrated
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tram tour into the heart of the hardwood hammock. Tram fee in addition to park entrance fee. (941) 386-6094 4 Don Pedro Island State Recreation Area BEACH AND NATURE WALK , Friday (10 a.m.) Join a park ranger for a guided tour on this beautiful barrier island. Accessible only by boat, participants must arrange transportation to and from the island. Meet at the pavilion. Comfortable walking shoes, sun protection, and drinking water recommended. Park entrance fee. (941) 964-0375. 11 St. Augustine, MENENDEZ LANDING, 2nd annual city founder’s day event with parade, demonstrations, 16th C. reeactors. Nella Holton (904) 825-5088. 11 Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area SEA TURTLE BEACH WALK (Sunset 8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) Want to know more about night beach life? Join a park ranger for a slide presentation on sea turtles and their habitat. After the program there will be a ranger guided beach walk discussing sea turtles and night beach life. Insect repellent and comfortable walking shoes recommended. Park entrance fee required. (813) 469-5942. 18 St. Petersburg, 6th Anual Fish Head Ball- procceds to benefit the Pier Aquarium, corporate.family sponsorships available. Live music, food, drinks, prizes, games, and more! Adult audience, 8 p.m. - Midnight, first floor of the Pier in the Marketplace. Contact: (727) 895-7437. 19 & 20 Sebastian Inlet State Recreation Area, DOCTORS, LAWYERS AND WEEKEND WARRIORS SURF CONTEST (7 a.m. - 5 p.m.) This is a fun benefit surf contest featuring a lot of “old-timers,” legends, and the up-and-coming surfers. Around $20,000 was raised last year for local charities. For further information call Linda Greenfield at (407) 287-3378. 18 or 25, St. Petersburg, FALL ARCHAEOLOGY FESTIVAL 4-10 p.m. Lifestyle and food of the prehistoric people of Tampa Bay., Science Center of Pinellas County, 7701 22nd Ave. N. Call Elizabeth Neily (727) 321-7845 or Cindy Paquin (727) 384-0027 to confirm date and to register as demonstrator. FREE. 25-26 Ormond Beach, at the Casements, 25 Riverside Drive, FLORIDA LIVING HISTORY FESTIVAL, Sat.10-6 & Sun. 10-4, Experience the 1400’s - 1900’s. Union & Confederate Civil War Era, Scottish & English Encampments, Early French Huguenots, Timucuan Indians, Colonial Spanish, Florida Cow Hunters, Seminole War Era, Plantation Era, Musket Drills, Battles, Early Skills Demos - Soap Making, Pine Needle Basketry, Weaving, Rope Making, Flint Knapping, More! [Teachers - Educational field Day, Friday, Sept 24, 9-3, Students (ages 3-17) $2.] Adults: $3. Call for info (904) 676-3216. 25 HISTORY OF HONEYMOON ISLAND, Fridays (8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) Join a Park Ranger on a Walk through time and discover the rich and colorful historu of Honeymoon Island. Park entrance fee required. (813) 469-5942 28-29 St. Petersburg, AIRHEAD PHYSICS, (see above) $1 with museum admission. Great Explorations, 800 2nd Ave. N.E., 3rd Floor of the Pier. (727)821-8992. 28-October 1 Tampa, FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS1999 Annual Conference and Exposition. Learn more about museums, setting up exhibits, be with professionals, attend workshops, Wyndham Harbour Island Hotel, Registration: $150/ Room Rates: $89 single/double. Call (850)222-6028. Web Site: http://flamuseums.org 30 - Oct 3 Clearwater 2nd Annual FLORIDA BIRDING FESTIVAL & NATURE EXPO field trips, canoeing, sea kayaking, workshops, seminars, beggining birding, birding optics, landscaping for wildlife, birds of prey, and more! Proceeds go toward the purchase of Shell Key an important habitat for nesting and migrating shore birds. Harborview Center, To register Call (toll free) 1-877-FLA-Bird (352-2473) or visit web site at http://www.
stpete-clearwater.com/birdfestival/
ALL YEAR
• Koreshan Settlement GUIDED TOURS Saturdays and Sundays (1 p.m.) are given on weekends. Find out more about the Koreshans, their unique ideas and pioneering spirit as you walk through the remains of this pioneer settlement. Tour fee of $1.00 per person is in addition to park entrance fee. Reservations required. • Myakka River State Park NATURE WALK Saturdays (9 a.m.) Join a park ranger for a walk in the park to discover the many secrets of nature.. Terrain is moderately rough. Wear walking shoes. Park entrance fee. (941) 361-6511 • Oscar Scherer State Park GUIDED CANOE TRIP Year round. Wednesdays (9 a.m.) Enjoy paddling South Creek on this Ranger led canoe trip as you learn more about the inhabitants of brackish tidal streams and estuaries, and about the history of this area. Canoe rental fee in addition to park entrance fee. (941) 483-5956 • Paynes Creek State Historic Site ON-GOING INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM SLIDE PROGRAMS Saturdays and Sundays (11 a.m., 1 p.m., & 3 p.m.) Gain an insight into frontier life at Fort Chokonikla in 1800’s Florida and the events which lead up to the Third Seminole War. Located in the Visitor Center. Park entrance fee. Additional slide programs on listed holidays: (941) 375-4717 • Tampa, Ybor City State Museum (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.) Tour through the Ybor City State Museum (the Ferlita Bakery building) and learn more about the history of Ybor City. The bakery was a major source of the community’s daily bread and the Ybor cigar factory was the largest in the world. Museum fee: $2.00 per person. La Casita Tours (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.) Docents lead guided tours through La Casita, a cigar maker’s house. The house is an excellent example of the “shot-gun” houses in which many cigar makers lived and it reflects family life in the early part of the 20th century. (813) 247-6323.
October
9-10 Jupiter, 11th Annual SEAFARE ‘99 at Carlin Park, 11- 7, Family festival
SOUTH
• John U. Lloyd Beach State Recreation Area SEA TURTLE AWARENESS PROGRAM 9:00 p.m. Park Rangers present a twenty-minute slide show and lecture while scouts search the beach for a nesting Loggerhead sea turtle. A beach walk may be conducted if a nesting turtle is located. Comfortable walking shoes and insect repellent recommended. Meet at the Education Facility. Park fee. (954) 923-2833 4 Miami, The Barnacle State Historic Site OLD-FASHIONED 4TH OF JULY PICNIC Park open: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Special activities: 11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. What better way to spend the Fourth than at an old-fashioned picnic on the grounds of this historic, 19th century pioneer homesite. Hosted by The Barnacle Society, this event features lawn games, kite-making, knot-tying demonstrations, antique cars and more! The house and grounds will be decorated in traditional July 4th bunting as when Commodore Munroe’s family lived here. The public is invited to join the staff and volunteers by wearing a period costume or “Roaring 20s” bathing suit. Bring a blanket and a picnic lunch and enjoy the day’s celebration. Fee: $1.00. 13-thru July 31 John D. Macarthur Beach State Park, “TOUCH THE EARTH” JUNIOR RANGER DAY CAMP Designed for fourth and fifth graders. Campers explore the park’s mangrove estuary, hardwood hammock, beach and reef environments. Activities include snorkeling, “swamp stomp”, nature walks, crafts and more. Three, one-week sessions. Low camper/counselor ratio. $60/session. See page 11 South
Letters to the Editor Dear Elizabeth, After attending 3 different Rendezvous in Florida and talking with others about Florida events, I realize that I don’t wish to generalize too much or I will have lots of people saying I’m wrong. There are some generalizations that are going to apply and if I am wrong, you will receive lots of mail! In the midwest (mostly Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin), we have attended at least 30 different Rendezvous events. In Florida, we have attended only 3 events. - In Florida, folks worry about red ants. We have none. At 2 or 3 northern events, we have encountered a annoying amount of small ants but they do not bite. - In Florida, lots of folks stay in marquee lodges who are not traders. Only twice can I think of campers who had a marquee who just used them for living quarters. This was a surprise. Of course, most folks in Florida did not sleep on the ground either, and a great many had beds. This I can understand. Florida has red ants, scorpions, snakes, gators, and frequent downpours of rain. In the midwest, many more campers have smaller lodges and sleep on the ground. - In the midwest, we have never attended, or know of, a Rendezvous that does not permit dogs and cats. A few do not allow exotic pets. Although a leash is required, these pets are allowed. We know of many rendezvousers who will not come to Florida because they cannot bring a dog or a cat. - More children are in camp in the midwest. I believe that this is in large part due to the fact that most midwest Rendezvous’ are held when children are out of school. None the less, I miss them not being a big part of the camp. - The part the American Indian played in the Rendezvous is much bigger in Florida. Reenacting the Indian ceremony and religious services is present at only a small number of Rendezvous’ in the midwest; after all, we are not showing a Pow-wow. A Christian service is common on Sunday. Don’t get me wrong. We have lots of Powwows up here and I believe that they are very good and yes, I know that the Indians did attend Rendezvous’. I just believe that the Indian ceremonies that are shown at Rendezvous, would not have played as big a part. - There are so many in Florida who play the part of the Scottish. We have our Scottish re-enactors in the mid-west, but again, it is a small part of the rendezvous. The part of the voyager is more popular up here and the voyager was a big part of the fur trade in the midwest. - The “common” rendezvous event that we attend in only 3-4 days long and many camp for only 2 days. Yes, we do have our longer events, but they are less common than in Florida. - Lots of folks in Florida have portable canvas showers. This is attributed to the length of stay at the events. - Archery is still much more popular at Florida events than in the midwest. Thankfully, more and more midwest Rendezvous’ are having better archery events and this is changing. - A much larger percentage of the camp consists of snowbirds who go to Florida to escape the midwest winter and a great many more Rendezvous for a living. There are more hobbyists in the midwest. - Firewood is almost always provided in the midwest. It seems common to pay extra for firewood in Florida. Free straw is also available at many midwest Rendezvous’ for wet ground and warmth. - Another thing that I found was the more strictly enforced rule of always being in period clothing, even to walk in and out of camp at night in Florida. This is generally less strict in the midwest. Driving in and out of camp to bring in supplies after the public has left during the evening hours is not an issue at most camps in the midwest. It is
probably more strictly enforced in Florida. - I hope this will be of help to folks who are looking at Rendezvousing in another part of the country. I know we would have loved to have had a little of this type of input before we went to Florida. Both areas are wonderful. We love to Rendezvous. They are just a little different. Trish Thompson of “Irish Ridge” State of Minnesota Dear Trish, Thanks for taking the time to respond to our request for some thoughts on Rendezvousing in Florida. Strictly speaking Florida didn’t have Rendezvous’ historically. While there was lots of trading going on this took place at trading posts. During the Second Spanish Period, 1784-1821, “Spanish governors at Pensacola and St. Augustine were agreed that the English trading firm of Panton Leslie and Company should continue a monopoly of trade. They alone had the trade goods. the capital, and the experience that the trade required. Alexander McGilvray, spokesman for the Indians, had also thrown his support to the English. The Indians asked for trading posts on the St. Johns River, at St. Marks and at Pensacola... McGilvray was only twenty-five years old, with failing health in 1784, but by means of diplomacy and fair dealings he held the loyalty and the trade of the estimated 45,0000 Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, and Seminoles, which he organized into a loose confederation. He was of Creek and Scots heritage, educated in Savannah and Charleston by his father in order to manage the family’s considerable property and its trading enterprises. The father, a loyalist, forfeited $100,000 worth of property in Georgia and returned to Scotland at the outbreak of the revolution. The son returned to the Creek nation to assume the role of chief (inherited through his mother) and established his real power and influence by the exercise of his talents as a leader. The English made him commissary to the Creeks, to handle the distribution of all presents and arms, and a colonel in the army.” A History of Florida, Charlton W. Tebeau, Un. of Miami Press, 1971. As for our Celtic friends, I have not found any reference to them wearing clan tartans. However, there were many Irish and Scots who settled here and many of the Roman Catholic faith were accepted into the territory. The governor of Spanish West Florida, Aurturo O’Neill had recommended that the English continue to handle the trade with the Indians and as you can read in our front page story, in East Florida, Governor Zéspedes’ daughter eloped with her amorous Irishman. At places like Fort Brooke on Tampa Bay, there were sutleries established during the Second Seminole War period (18351842), and goods were transported in ships by local merchants. It was just as wild and woolly as the mid-west here in Florida but we did have a different way of trading. Because so many of our Rendezvousers do come from northern climes, we host longer Rendezvous here in Florida in order to accommodate their need for a place to stay. Visitors can pull up stakes and move on to the next Rendezvous without having to find a temporary site during the week. As for pets on the property, we will have to ask for input from our readers for an explanation. Being a dog lover myself, I can’t see the harm especially if the dogs have been socialized to get along with others and owners are careful to pick up after them. Horses have also gotten a bad rap at recent events. Hopefully if we offer an open forum to discuss the problems facing reenactors and event organizers some resolution can be found. Thanks for your interest. Elizabeth Neily, Editor
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Editorial:
THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE by Hermann Trappman Hey! Who are you? All over our nation, history classes are losing attendance. From that observation, we should imagine that we’ve lost interest in history. Disney wanted to build a history theme park. PBS refers to itself as the “history channel.” From those observations, we should conclude that history is a popular topic. The problem, my friends, lies in the flavor. If I serve up a nice bowl of cream of wheat over shredded cardboard and add a little library paste to enhance the flavor, I’ll bet that you would choose pizza instead. The stuff we call history is much like that. So what is history? It’s your story. When did it start? History unfolds from every event the moment it happens. Hey, do you like to play games? Have you ever taught anyone a game? You’ll notice, that in the beginning, you’re always the winner. It’s natural. You know the rules and they don’t. As their skill level grows, they’ll increase your challenge. Their experience is developing into an understanding of the game, it’s history. What if there was a little money involved? That would sharpen the interest! Consider for a moment, what that would mean to the players. Consider the importance of skill built on memory. What is a buyer-beware market? You are immersed in an ocean of history. There are sharks and there are friends. Sometimes we find ourselves swimming toward the sharks. “Hi!” We hold out our hand smiling, “Who are you guys?” The best sharks are also excellent students of human nature. They can guess your desires based on their understandings. “We’re your friend’s,” they smile back, “and we’re here to make you happy, wealthy, and attractive.” If you don’t know their history, how do you think this is going to turn out? That’s right. That’s history. Remember that human beings are the only critters who can be skinned over and over again. Now, that boring stuff that left you cross-eyed with the urge for sleep, even in those uncomfortable school desks, was really a reading of the rules books. That’s tough stuff to get through even if you care. Imagine learning how to play MONOPOLY from a rule book. Not only are we going to teach you the rules, but we’re going to tell you about all the people who had a hand in making the rules and when they did it. Isn’t it easier to learn by a little
hands-on play. In fact, MONOPOLY is an excellent game to teach certain life lessons. It could just as easily be called “Do You Get It?,” and that refers to history. Not the kind of history you learn sitting in a desk with your hand raised because you need to go to the restroom. It’s the lessons of chance, acquisition, the motion of money, and opportunity - backed by skill. When you put real money behind it, big money, the quality of your life, political ambitions, ambitions in the work place, you begin to see how knowing the history of a situation can be an advantage. Your lack of history can be a definite advantage for the other person. In politics and in the work place, knowledge is opportunity and power. I’ve met a lot of supervisors who would like to show off their long memories, while they wish their employees had short memories. It makes the game so much easier when you can constantly cheat somebody. That’s why many working people don’t trust the system. It’s the players, not the system. Today, we view child adoption differently than in the 1950’s. We know the importance of a child’s medical history. Allergies, stroke, heart attack, alcoholism, and a thousand other qualities or the lack of them have histories. Check out history and your love life. Wow! Do I see you pondering things you would have done differently? What is the most important thing you have? It’s not just being alive. It’s your story, the grand adventure that you’re on. Is it important in the scheme of things? When you eat corn, you’re eating a crop developed in the valley of Mexico some eight thousand years ago. It was probably women gathering grain who started that food on its way to your plate. Their dark hair shone in the harsh sunlight. Slung over their shoulder, a sling cradled their babies beside them as they worked. Sweat sparkled on their bare backs. Occasionally they stood up and stretched. They talked about their own lives, never considering the world you live in. But, they invented one of the world’s most important food crops. Are you important? Your story is. It’s connected to every other story. You are a celebration of this moment. And history is the ocean of time into which all events are woven. When you look up at the stars what do you see? •
St. Petersburg History
Scandal continued from page 1
color. In the quiet morning air, before the ocean breeze blew in about ten o’clock, turtle doves cooed and muttered under the eaves and balconies, and out in the bay the porpoise leaped in the gentle waves. The young people of the British colony, though possibly not the first to succumb to this heart-warming atmosphere, were the first to seek the governor’s aid in solving their romantic problems. A number of couples among the evacuee’s wanted to marry before leaving the province, and petitioned Governor Zéspedes to allow John Leslie (one of the partners in an Indian trading firm) to perform civil ceremonies. Although Zéspedes heartily approved of marriage as a stabilizing influence in society, he was certain his governmental capacity as vice-patron of the Roman Catholic church did not authorize him to permit non-Catholic marriages. For this delicate problem he had no solution at all, except to urge the couples to depart for British territory as soon as possible. The last contingent of evacuees had to do without the spiritual aid of the Anglican rector, who had been one of the first to return to England after the peace terms had become known. Of all the local attachments to appear in the spring of 1785, the one causing the most far-reaching repercussions involved Dominga de Zéspedes and the Irish officer, Juan O’Donovan, a second lieutenant in the Hibernia Regiment. Although Dominga and Josepha de Zéspedes received courteous attention from all the officers at the garrison, they were carefully chaperoned and under the watchful eyes of their parents on all social occasions. According to the strict code enforced for señoritas in Spanish society, they held no private conversations with gentlemen. Romance could be encouraged only by means of the sigh language of a cleverly maneuvered fan observed across a crowded room, or by secret correspondence forwarded through a sympathetic intermediary. Dominga’s brothers, Vicente and Antonio de Zéspedes, overhearing a conversation in the officer’s quarters, brought home rumors of the attachment, including the disturbing report that O’Donovan boasted to fellow officers that he would elope with the girl if her father refused to consent to the marriage. Subsequently, Lt. O’Donovan brought Zéspedes a copy of a memorial he was considering sending to the king, through his commanding officer, requesting permission to resign his commission and return to Ireland. Zéspedes could not decide whether the motive behind this action was to mislead or to threaten, but he feared the lieutenant might actually carry off Dominga to a foreign land, under cover of the current evacuation. From hints of his wife and daughter, the governor understood the mission bringing Lt. O’Donovan to call on an evening in February when other members of the family melted away at the sound of boots crossing the long verandah of the official residence. Zéspedes tended to bluster through the interview, pointing out that nobility of birth was an indispensable requirement for anyone seeking his daughter’s hand, and asking proof that O’Donovan could support Dominga in a manner appropriate to her status in society. Zéspedes intended to temporize and prudently postpone a definite decision, but O’Donovan received the impression that the governor was masking a denial of his request.
Early in March, Zéspedes requested Bernardo de Gálvez, currently capitan general of Cuba, to arrange prompt replacement of O’Donovan in the St, Augustine garrison. By return mail, he learned that this action was underway. Private correspondence also encouraged him to believe that before long O’Donovan would receiive official orders transferring him to another post. Even under duress, however, Spanish governmental routine moves too slowly to compete with the emotional drive of young love. In the succeeding weeks, Governor Zéspedes kept a close watch over his daughter. Temporarily, the whole family was absorbed in entertaining their important American quests, General Nathanial Greene and Colonal Benjamin Hawkins. During the state dinner in their honor, the governor was pleased to see his eldest daughter behaving with her usual gaiety. On the evening of May 29, the Government House was the scene of a farewell celebration honoring British officials about to depart for St. Mary’s harbor. Under cover of the bustle of the social occasion, the Dominga managed to elude her father’s vigilance. About nine o’clock, he realized she was missing and sent Vicente to locate her. Vicente returned shortly, followed by Father O’Reilly who corroborated the following story. He found the couple at the home of Chief Engineer Mariano LaRoque, who was out of town, but whose wife had taken the responsibility of promoting the romance. La Rogue’s wife, Doña Angela Huet, a close friend of the Dominga family, was never suspected of a plot in her frequent visits to their home. On this critical evening, a Minorcan woman went to summon Father O’Reilly on the pretense that Doña Angela had suffered a serious accident. When he arrived, Doña Angela ushered him into an inner room where the couple stood together, joined hands, and repeated the marriage vows. This was termed a clandestine or secret marriage, but a valid ceremony in view of the fact that the vows were repeated in the presence of a priest and other witnesses. The Zéspedes household was thrown into chaos. Doña Zéspedes was retired from the party in tears of humiliation. Josepha was cautioned not to bring similar disgrace to the family. The commandant, colonel Guillermo O’Kelly, arrested Lt. O’Donovan on charges of marrying without the permission of his superior officer. Father O’Reilly was beside himself with anguish at being the unwitting accessory to such a regrettable event. As for the accomplice, Doña Angela Huet became uncomfortably aware of the fact that she had over-stepped the privileges of hospitality. The governor was embarrassed by the elopement of his favorite daughter with a foreigner whose only income was the miserable pay of a second lieutenant in the Spanish army. Even more embarrassing was to have his authority as head of the province flouted by an officer so low in rank and doubly humiliating when there were so many British officers present. His honor had been offended in the eyes of a foreign nation. With the bride and groom under lock and key, the governor sat down with a cigar and for the first time began to consider the bigger picture and how it would affect his beloved daughter. He dreaded the gossip and scandal that would circulate the small town the next morning, and soon he began to worry about the validity of the marriage.
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His daughter’s honor now assumed more importance than his own pride, and he concluded that above all he wanted assurances that she was properly married. Later that night, he took father O’Reilly to the home of Father Hasset and asked to have a second marriage performed immediately. Father Hasset had his doubts that this was the correct thing to do but gave in to the pleads of the distraught governor. Zéspedes returned home, to pace up and down while O’Donovan was escorted from his quarters by Father O’Reilly. The second ceremony complete, the bride and groom were again returned to their separate imprisonment. Zéspedes vowed he’d retain custody of his daughter until he learned the king’s orders concerning this unprecedented marriage. Over the next few days, he interviewed his daughter and the young man. He became convinced that they had been truly motivated by love and sincerity. He cleared up the misunderstanding with O’Donovan, pointing out that he had not flatly forbidden the marriage. He even began to appreciate his daughter’s husband, whose devotion had led him to risk his future military career. Since the union was indissoluble, the governor now accepted O’Donovan as a member of the family and tried to straighten out the tangle for the sake of Dominga’s happiness. But the Governor did not want to set a bad example and allow this kind of disobedience in the new province. O’Donovan would have to be punished. He decided to send him to Havana and remain under arrest until he received the decision of the king. He then rushed letters to José de Galvez in Madrid and to military authorities in Havana asking that the young man be forgiven. He wanted O’Donovan, who promised to devote his life to the king’s service, to receive all the consideration of a faithful subject. Out of consideration for Zéspedes’ reputation and service to the crown, José de Gálvez acceded to his wishes and secured a royal order in June, 1786 releasing O’Donovan from imprisonment and restoring him to his former rank in the Hibernia Regiment. This long-awaited decision did not reach St. Augustine until November, 1786. Immediately Zéspedes wrote the bishop in Havana asking that ecclesiastic censure be lifted from his daughter, a request promptly granted. But not until March of 1787 did Lt. O’Donovan return to Florida, escorted by his comrade, Lieutenant Remigio O’Hara. almost two years had elapsed since the bride and groom were forcibly separated on the night of their clandestine ceremony, May 29, 1785. The happy couple were reunited and in November, 1787 their marriage was blessed by a nuptial mass, when Dominga was proudly pregnant. Father Hasset performed the mass, conferring on her marriage the Church’s complete sanction. On February 9, 1788, the O’Donovan’s son arrived and was baptized ten days later with the governor as sponsor. His baptismal name honored many of the people involved in his parent’s marital ordeal. He was named Juan Vizente Maria Berdardo Domingo Benigno O’Donovan. Many of the young men settled into marriage in those early years of the Second Spanish Period. And although the vernal equinox naturally cast magic over Florida each year, no season in Zéspedes experience ever matched the emotionally tempestuous spring of 1785. •
EDITOR’S NOTE:
In July 1784, after 20 years as a British possession, East Florida returned to Spanish colonial rule under the régime of Vicente Manuel de Zéspedes y Velasco. Governor Zéspedes came to St. Augustine from Havana with an occupying force of five hundred soldiers and several hundred other government employees. The retiring British governor and the last fifteen hundred of a total of ten thousand evacuees did not leave until September of the following year which made for some very interesting times for Zéspedes. Documents of the period leave behind a wealth of information, not only about military and administrative activities, but about the social life of the colony as well. The Governor managed the province with polite understanding, humor and elegance according to those who met him. It should also be noted that there was a long standing relationship between Spain and Irish Catholics. In 1593, Phillip II established “El Real Colegio de Nobleses Irlandeses” to train Irish clergy. Both Father Thomas Hasset and Father Miguel O’Reilly were graduates of this school. In 1778, José de Gálvez appointed Father Hasset and Father O’Reilly to Minister to the Catholic families in British East Florida. Father Hasset arrived in St. Augustine after surviving a shipwreck in the Keys.
Bride continued from page 1 Savannah. It is said that the young lady’s suspicions were aroused by Meadfourd’s unwillingness to have the marriage made public. She began investigations, and soon satisfied herself that her fears were only too well founded. The result was the arrest of Meadfourd to-day on a warrant of bigamy. Meadfourd’s Savannah wife is a sister of the Zeigler brother’s of Effingham county, who created such a sensation a few years ago by the killing of Sheriff Brooker, and the successful manner in which they defied arrest. Meadfourd is a Canadian, but well known in Savannah. He is a Sampson in physical strength, and probably the most powerful man in the regiment. Meadfourd enlisted in Company M, and bore a good record. He has been twice promoted recently, first to corporal and then to Sergeant. Miss Brandon will be remembered in Tampa as quite an attractive young lady. She was related to Dr. T.B. Cowart of this city, who was also her guardian. I have not as yet found out how this marital mess was resolved. It would be interesting to try to follow-up the case in the Huntsville, AL and Savanah GA papers and court records to see what kind of punishment was dealt to the scoundrel. To be sure he was in big trouble with both his first and his second wife’s families. I am also curious to find out if Bessie Brandon was able to recover from such a public humiliating and go on to live a somewhat normal life. •
The publishers wish to thank Jim Fitch of Sebring for helping to proof read some of the articles in this edition. Any errors which remain are completely our doing, not his!
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by Elizabeth Neily
ICE!
If you want to make the blood run cold in the veins of a scholar of Florida history just say, “What history? The history of air-conditioning?” Remarkable as it may seem, there was life here before climate controlled environments. But Florida did spawn its share of “cool” pioneers. “The Boston Journal of Chemistry believes that one of the remarkable triumphs of science and art as developed in this progressive age is seen in the devices for producing artificial ice in large quantities.” Scientific American, June 28, 1879. The article proclaimed that “so perfect has the apparatus become, [that] ice can be made on the shores of any of our …lakes and rivers at less cost than that necessary to the cutting and storing of the natural ice in winter.” This was no small claim. For centuries, ice was cut out of lakes and rivers in the winter time, packed in sawdust and stored in ice houses all over America. It was wrapped in burlap under a thick blanket of sawdust and shipped south to cool the iced tea and foods of southern folks. In the winter of 1879 it was said that the total capacity of ice houses along the Hudson River alone exceeded 2,000,000 during the winter of 1878-79. The ice industry employed 10,000 men, nearly 2,000 boys and 100 steam engines. Ice harvesters’ pay ranged from $1 to $1.75 a day during the season that began in January and continued throughout the month. All that began to change with the invention of ice-making machines. In Florida during the winter of 1879, an ice plant on the St. John’s River was turning out ten tons of ice a day! The blocks were 30” long and 10” thick. Hotels and residents in Jacksonville and along the St. John’s greeted the first ice made locally with enthusiasm. The price of ice from the north was very expensive - from $10 to $15 a ton. The local ice cost $5 a ton then dropped to a mere seventy cents a ton, including storage and delivery. Moreover, the cost of fuel to run these plants cost next to nothing. “The ice company has only to haul the waste lumber from a steam sawmill, 50 rods [275 yards] away, to be used as fuel, and it is supplied gratuitously.”
The Crystal Ice Works opened its doors in 1892 shortly after St. Petersburg was founded. Ice was transported to a local fishery at the municiple wharf on a railroadcart driven by sail. Unfortunatel the ice cart was not outfitted with brakes and was put out of service after it ran down and killed a tourist. During the Spanish American War, ice from the factory was sold to the military transport ships embarking for Cuba. Photo Courtesy of the St. Petersburg Museum of History. Experiments with cooling systems had been carried out in Florida since Dr. John Gorrie of Apalachicola pioneered the first air-conditioning system in 1842. During an outbreak of malaria and yellow fever, his concern for his patients led him to discover a way to cool them down. He had noticed that patients recovered faster in cooler weather. He blew forced air over buckets of ice suspended from the ceiling of the U.S. Marine Hospital with mixed results. Waiting in vain for more ice from Maine, on a schooner which had been wrecked, Gorrie (39) started to experiment. He used a combination of compressed air and condensed water to produce blocks of ice. Gorrie was eventually hailed as the “inventor of air-conditioning and in 1914 he was memorialized by proud Floridians who placed his stature in Washington, D.C.’s Statuary Hall. In 1851, Dr. Gorrie was issued the first U.S. patent for “a machine for the artificial production of ice.” Unable to find investors willing to back the manufacture of his machine, Gorrie died of a “nervous collapse” at the age of 52. One skeptic, a New York journalist, sneered that “a crank down in Florida thinks he can make ice as good as Almighty God….” It was not until 1859 that French inventor Ferdinand P.E. Carre’s cooling innovations with ammonia that refrigeration became a real possiblity. The principle of refrigeration is that heat is absorbed by
fluids (refrigerant) as it changes from a liquid to a gas it lowers the temperature of the objects around it. When the liquid is circulated through refrigeration coils, it vaporizes, drawing heat from the air surrounding the coils. A compressor, controlled by a thermostat, exerts pressure on a refrigerant gas such as ammonia. The refrigerant gas then returns to the compressor, and the cycle is repeated. At Florida’s first test ice plant things were moving along nicely. About fifty pounds of ammonia was stored in a very strong iron cylinder. The cylinder was connected with a coil of pipes immersed in a tank of brine. To make the blocks of ice, galvanized iron cans filled with pure water were then placed in the brine. When
the liquid ammonia was allowed to flow through the coils, it gradually became a gas which drew the heat from the water quickly turning it into ice. A powerful steam pump forced the ammonia gas back into the iron cylinder again causing intense heat. Cold water cools the coils as the gas returns to the cylinder. As long as the system does not leak gas the process continues. The winter of 1880 was a mild one in New England. The ice crop failed thus spurring the development of ice-making machines. By the end of the 19th Century ice plants were opening up all over the United Sates. In St. Petersburg the Crystal Ice Factory opened shortly after the railroad arrived in 1888. During the Spanish American War of 1898 it supplied almost all of the ice not only in Tampa Bay but also to the troop ships heading for Cuba. Ice was being delivered by cart to almost every home on a regular basis. Children would scurry after the iceman hoping to catch chips of ice as he delivered it along the street. But it would be several more decades before air-conditioning would become an essential part of our Florida lifestyle and every home would devote an important part of its space to “The Refrigerator”. You can see a reproduction of Dr. Gorrie’s early invention at the John Gorrie State Museum, in Apalachicola or visit www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/JohnGorrie/ johngorrie.html. Our thanks to Dr. Raymond Arsenault, University of South Florida, for his imput for this article. For a closer look at how air-conditioning changed the South, read his article, The End of the Long Hot Summer: The Air Conditioner and Southern Culture, The Journal of Southern History, Vol. L No. 4. November 1984.
Jacob Perkin’s Ice Machine, 1834 Coils
Water to be frozen Pump This early prototype of a refrigeration unit shows the principle of how it worked. Curiously, Frederic Bramwell claimed in Scientific American, Jan.1883, that Perkins patented his invention in 1834, several years before Gorrie.
NEW HEADSTONE FOR OLD PINELLAS SETTLER
Father Hempel of Espiritu Santo Catholic Church sprinkles holy water on the tomb of Odet Philippe during the decication ceremony. Locals who were concerned that some of the information on the old stone was incorrect, including the spelling of Pinellas’s countys first European settler’s name had the stone replaced . Elizabeth Neily of the FL Frontier Gazette (center) and Susan Maxon, a trustee at the Safety Harbor Musem, (right) appeared as the 1st and 2nd Madam Philippe. He established St. Helena Plantation and is remembered as being the first to introduce citrus farming ans cigar manufacturing into the area after the Armed Occupation Act of 1841. He claimed to be a doctor and of noble birth. Many of his descendants were also at the ceremony on June 19, which was followed by their family reunion picnic. Photo Courtsey of Robert and Ruth Pedigo
St. Augustine men struggled valiantly to defend their city against the overpowering forces of Sir Francis Drake in Governor’s Square on June 5. The annual event draws reenactors and tourist to the city for this reenactment of the sacking and burning of the town in June 1586, by the English corsair. A Marine Street archeaological dig hopes to show the most evidence to date of Drake’s rampage. Last October, Carl Halbirt, city archaeologist and volunteers from the St. Augustine Archeological Association found a 3-foot layer of charcoal under layers of 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th century dirt. “In terms of sheer size, this is significant because we have found literally thousands of pieces of pottery, thousands of animal bones and numerous charred seeds. This is going to help us under stand what happened. It appears people literaly fled when Drake arrived, leaving everything where it was.”explained Halbirt. A key artifacts found was a 4-inch needle used for sail making.and leatherwork. Two two large pot shards, one from Columbia and one was Yayal, with a blue scroll design were also uncovered. Photo by Elizabeth Neily
ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE WORLD AROUND US An Interview with Bill Burger by Hermann Trappman
There are cultures which celebrate their creative people. Japan has an honored status for its best artists. They are considered national treasures. Although American popular thought often covers them in mystique, many of our most creative people are left on the periphery of mainstream society. I have a friend who tells me that suffering is part of the creative process. It’s just an old German paradigm of strum and drang. The notion of genius is a dangerous pedestal which all to often leads to grim frustration. Instead, I think, it’s more appropriate to celebrate diversity and appreciate its flavor as part of our cultural experience. Sameness leads toward a tasteless quality which reduces the individual to a valueless commodity. “Anyone can be replaced,” is the attitude which sees no mountain vistas with dazzling sunsets, which doesn’t recognize the wonder of an extraodinary musician, which can’t thrill at the abilities of a special sports figure. Florida has some of the most fabulous talent that you could ever want. Often they are hidden in the sound of the local background. I’d like to bring these wonderful people to you in this and future issues. Bill Burger is an archaeologist on Florida’s Central West Coast. For me, Bill is an expression of personal vision, a celebration of our connection with an ancient past, a dance in the art of this fleeting moment. I think that you experience Bill. I hope that comes out in the interview which follows. We met for the interview at Terra Ceia Island in the Women’s Village Improvement Association Hall which had been built in 1907. The Women’s Village Improvement Association was the first womens group incorporated in the State of Florida.
Hermann: Bill, what sparked your interest in archaeology? Bill: Archaeology and paleontology were kind of lumped together as an interest in the past. I think that, like a lot of kids of today, I was into dinosaurs. In both Michigan and Florida, I had the opportunity to collect fossils. In Michigan we lived on a hill. The side of the hill was a gravel pit, and so, a lot of fossils came out of there. Down here, my father had purchased property in Bishop Harbor, which he developed. He did a lot of dredge and fill. That of course exposed a lot of fossil material. And there was a scattering of archaeological mate-
rial too. You know, a few projectile points every now and then. My parents probably would not like to recount how many tons of rocks they transported back and forth. Hermann: Any brothers or sisters? Bill: I’m the youngest of five. I have two brothers and two sisters. My closest brother and I pretty much grew up together. That’s closest in age. We were in Bishop Harbor when the last of the mosquito ditches were cut in Manatee County, and so we had the opportunity to search the spoil piles when they were fresh. It was amazing the amount of shark teeth and horse teeth that came out of there. And of course, when you’re little like that, you kind of have a vacuum cleaner mentality, picking up every fragment. Now I share those fragments with kids who are just starting their interest. Hermann: How did you develop that interest into a lifetime work? Bill: After high school, I went to New College in Sarasota. At that time there were no anthropologists on faculty. So, I settled on environmental studies. As you may know, New College is based on self-directed teaching and so I actually did a lot of archaeology, but stressing the environmental side of things. It’s reflected in my present work, interest in environmental archaeology. That’s what I’m really all about. Hermann: Where did you go for your masters? Bill: From there I went on to USF, applied anthropology, public archaeology. Hermann: What kinds of discoveries are most meaningful for you? Bill: I did my internship with the Planning Development department of Manatee County. I was one of the first in USF to be involved with computer archaeology. There were five or six of us in class. Under Dr. Grange the idea came to crunch all the environmental data from the master site files. We were looking for patterns, distance to water, soil types, to develop modeling. I find the interactions between human beings and their environment most interesting. Shellfish record in their structure so much information about the past. We see patterns of growth in the shells and the otoliths, earbones of catfish. They put on regular growth additions each season. With modern technology, we can actually do research on a single layer. Hermann: Looking at places which are washed out of coastal middens (piles of refuse left by ancient people) by wave action, it seems to me that I have seen a pattern on harvesting large quantities of certain shellfish. Some of these shellfish are lacking from our present waters. Bill: There are deposits on some of the sites on Snead Island which are entirely made up of them (Fighting Conch). Most of the shells are whole and suggest to me that they were steamed to remove the animal. Many of the shells look brand new. It’s amazing. The only Strombs I’ve seen over the years have been a couple at the north end of Anna Maria Island, and a couple off of Rattlesnake Key, which is just off Terra Ceia. Rattlesnake Key forms the mouth of Terra Ceia Bay. In both locations there is good flushing and high salinity which may account for them (Fighting Conch). Although, I’ve never had occasion to try one, perhaps they taste like the bigger Strombus (Conch) of Key West that they crack and fry up which is great. I wonder if they require as pristine water conditions as scallops do for reproduction? That’s basically why we don’t have scallops any more, is because of water quality. Hermann: You have a special way of expressing your love of the subject. It’s not common within the academic community to portray one of their subject peoples. What got you started in that direction? Bill: Actually it was a woman. Many many years before I came to Terra Ceia, it was the custom of a number of the older women of the Village Improvement Association to give a talking tour at the Bickel Mound
7
here on Terra Ceia, which was the States first archaeological monument, established in 1949. They had their annual turkey dinner, here in the hall, which was the major annual fund raiser for the organization. It would raise maybe twelve hundred dollars. As time went on the ladies grew older and began to die off. Not long after I moved to Terra Ceia, I had occasion to go over. Believe it or not, I was very polite. But, it came to the point where there were none of them left. It was a tradition here that I wanted to carry on. So, I took on the role. What I did initially was a talking tour, show and tell with some artifacts, and so forth. After doing that for a few years, my then lady friend, suggested that we should dress up like Indians. The more I thought about it, the more interesting it seemed. Hermann: Is it fun meeting people when you do a program? Bill: It certainly attracts attention. In the first year we had a newspaper reporter out here, and of course, their desire is to get
the reaction from the general public. He was talking to a couple of visiting women and he asked them, “Are you interested in the story of history? Why do you come to this?” “Oh, we just like to see the halfnaked men,” was their response. As long as they’re listening, I don’t mind. I’ve found it to be an extremely effective educational tool and it’s fun. Catch the attention of the kids, it’s not the boring da-da-da, they really get involved. It is an alternative approach to education to really get kids interested in history. Hermann: Why should they be interested? Bill: It kinda’ sounds hackneyed, but, we always allude to George Santayana’s line, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” And, there are many things we can learn. You learn that resources are finite and that the resource information locked in ancient sites is rare and precious too. It brings a real perspective to your life, something that you can judge your personal sense of humanity against. It makes you understand the need for protection and preservation. •
Taken at the Snead Island Site, Bill Burger is flanked by Gale Klein and Frank Bizzone. They portray the native people who would have met the first European expeditions landing on these shores. Bill’s perspective comes from his love and his scientific training as an environmental archaeologist. His portrayal is based on evidence carefully taken from the earth. Although we may never truly know how the native people here lived, we should never forget the gift of heritage they gave to our beginnings and the understanding of the landscape they still offer. •
Fighting Conch (Strombus pugilus)
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THE PUZZLING WORLD OF GIANT SLOTHS by Hermann Trappman
The sun had dropped beneath the western horizon. Around us oaks and pines lost their color and blended into dark shapes, their crowns turned ashen in the fading light. My wife and I stood, leaning against our Toyota Pick-up, in an open field. We were riveted as Kevin Patton, Park Ranger at Paynes Prairie Preserve, unfolded an amazing story of discovery. He had come upon some bones while strolling along a river bank. Curious, he cleared away the leaf litter. The bones stuck up out of the ground. Uncovering the first huge claw core, he recognized that the animal he was investigating was a ground sloth. Carefully he removed the bones and took them to Dr. S. David Webb at the Florida Museum of Natural History. With a trained eye, Dr. Webb looked over the bones. He noticed something strange along the pelvis. On the hip bone, above the socket for the leg bone, were a series of scars. Recent marks from digging the bones out of the ground, or rough handling, have a very distinct pattern and color. These marks were ancient. The marks were very distinct. Long scars, they began above the socket and cut down through it. The marks seemed to indicate the use of a long tool which was forced down into the joint and used to pry the leg bone from the hip. As Dr. Webb pointed out the details, it became increasingly apparent that the cut marks didn’t belong to any of the large carnivores alive at the time. It looked like the work of humans. Dr. Webb, a very careful scientist let the question hang. Around us, night’s shadows had crept in. We leaned forward as Kevin concluded his story. I was reminded that Brazilian lore describes a red-haired, human sized creature with soul-wrenching screams wandering the deep shadows of the rain forest. Argentine paleontologist, Professor Florentino Ameghino, collected such stories from Patagonia during the turn of the century. There the Indians described a nocturnal animal which slept during the daylight hours in burrows which it dug out
Unable to breach the walls of the Florida State collection on Museum Road, we settled for a picture of this Thinobadistes in the Florida Museum of Natural History in Powell Hall.
Red Cloud
Hermann Trappman ©
Reconstructed from an Eremotherium Skeleton. Eremotherium skeletons have been found which are almost twenty feet long. This giant ground sloth may have been the biggest land mammal to have lived in Florida. with long claws. Did our human ancestors know these strange creatures? Researchers have radiocarbon dates on the Shasta ground sloth dung from arid caves in the American Southwest which range from 30 to 11 thousand years ago. Apparently the first people to explore North America were aware of ground sloths. Distant camp fires announced night’s wrappings. Charmed by the hint of wood smoke, we seemed to drift into another time. The surrounding darkness was full of night noises. Kevin left us lost in meditation about those ancient sloths and the kind of world had they lived in. We recalled artists’ renditions of giant sloths. Reaching up into tree branches, snaring leaves with their snaking tongue, giant sloths had a covering of long streaming fur. Climate was more moderate during the glaciations. The southwestern plains were covered with scattered forests, the Northwest was splashed with lakes, and Florida was twice its present size. Florida’s spongy limestone allowed water to work its way down with the falling ocean. Except for a few rivers which cut their way down into the bedrock, Florida was very dry at the height of the glaciation. Did they live in this dry landscape? The Leisey Shell Pit near Ruskin
produced evidence of four distinct kinds of ground sloths. Where do ground sloths fit into this environment? Dr. Webb explains that he examines the ancient habitats prehistoric animals lived in, using four different ways. 1). The teeth of an animal reflect what it eats. Sloth teeth strongly suggest a vegetarian diet. 2). Fossil sites often hold environmental evidence. The sloth, Eremotherium, is found in places which describe coastal swamps. 3). The comparison of sloth sites found all over North America tells about a pattern in which they lived. Although the Paramylodon is found in many places, it is most often found in western chaparral. The Megalonyx is abundant in all the eastern United States. It has been found all the way north to Alaska. 4). Carbon isotopes
Megalonyx tooth Eremotherium Tooth
preserved in tooth enamel shed some light of what kind of vegetation the animal ate. What about the artists pictures with long flowing hair? In the 1890’s, Argentinean explorer, Ramon Lista was hunting in Patagonia. He reported that a large animal with long hair trotted past the party. Lista described it as looking something like a giant armadillo, but with hair. Professor Ameghino had collected an odd piece of physical evidence. A local rancher named Eberhardt found pieces of hide in a cave in 1895. The skin, studded with small hard calcium nodules, had long hair and looked as fresh as though it had been dead only long enough to dry out thoroughly. Recent studies seem to suggest that the skin was at least 5,000 years old. In the American Southwest, Nototherium remains; bones, dried hides, hair, and dung were found at Gypsum Cave in 1930. Eighty percent of the dung came from the Joshua tree. Joshua or Yucca trees live along the slopes skirting the deserts. Could some of our sloths have browsed cabbage palms and saw palmetto? Did some of our ground sloths take to swamps and bayous? In 1977, the strange fossil remains of sloths were found to the southwest of Lima, Peru. A relative of the small North American Nothrotheriops, it has been determined that these remains seem to indicate a swimming life style, an aquatic sloth. Recently a joint expedition from the Museum of Natural History in New York and Museo Nacional de Historia Natural at La Habanna discovered the arm bones of a sloth in tar pits in Cuba. How did they get to Cuba? In the end, I am left with the nagging realization that all of this adds up to more questions than answers. Ground sloths and their adaptations were as complicated as the environments around them. The pieces which will fill in their life history are still under the sands of Florida hoping that we will be thoughtful in their discovery and generous in their tale.
Glossotherium tooth
We would like to thank Dr. S. David Webb for his generous information and the wonderful folks at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Powell Hall at Gainesville.
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9 unknown territory toward new hardships, or maybe toward freedom? Everyday offered a new set of challenges, but they still came. Outsmarting slave hunters, slipping past frontier towns and unforeseen danger, they had to discover things to eat in a very unfamiliar environment. Born from a variety of African nations, they were a story of determination and resourcefulness. Once here, what did they do? Were there friends as well as enemies? Would they be welcomed? Their questions were answered. Some lived with the Indians. Some settled into new communities. They learned how to draw riches from the landscape. They found love, had children, and lived lives determined by their own wants and needs and the skills to satisfy them. The United States loomed on the horizon. In 1816 when Ft. Negro was Ralph Smith portrays Abraham, a Seminole leader, during demolished by a U.S. inthe January reenactment of the Dade Battle, at the Dade vasionary force, hundreds Battlefield State Park in Bushnell. fled. By 1818, Jackson’s troops penned them against the west bank of the Suwannee River. “With the [black warriors], there was no Heroic Black Seminole alternative other than war or slavery; and they greatly preferred death upon the battle by Hermann Trappmann field… “ recorded Congressman Joshua R. Giddings. “We may well suppose they From the shadows of a moss-festooned would fight with some degree of desperaliveoak, a man steps into a ray of suntion under such circumstances,” he conlight. His plumed headdress and bright tinues, “ and the battle of Suwannee gave sash-crossed clothing instantly recalls the evidence of their devotion to freedom.” Seminole warriors from times long gone. Talk flew that Spain couldn’t hold on to That he is African American cloaks him Florida. The invaders from the north would with mystery. Why is a black man dressed come to enslave them again. Great leaders up like Osceola? rose out of that smoke and one of them was The answer is like hickory smoke a former slave named “Abraham.” He ran from yesterday’s campfire. There is a away from the Anderson Plantation in Pensense which lingers, hinting at a rich and sacola to become the chief interpreter for essential story, but after so much time there the Seminoles. He spoke three languages seems to be little left to hold on to. fluently, English, Spanish and Mikasuki, The man is Ralph Smith, a reenactor, a with a working knowedge of French as historian, who teases the past back to life. well. Smith discovered the Black Seminoles Abraham and Ralph Smith are interwhile researching his Cherokee ancestry. twined. Discovering, growing, expressHe decided to portray Abraham in order ing—Ralph Smith uses his wilderness to offer a positive image of the African experiences as a park ranger to help him American past to school children. understand his mentor from the past. He In 1796, Spain had granted freedom knows the pine woods, the damp smell of to slaves crossing the border into La a carpet of pine needles, the rhythmic song Florida. Imagine the experience of those of the cicadas, the alarmed screech of the men and women fleeing south, through an
ABRAHAM:
gray squirrel, and the tension which comes from waiting for an enemy. Abraham was there as the first shot of the Second Seminole war cracked through the pines. He pointed out Major Dade to Seminole chief Micanopy on that December morning in 1835. He fought beside his Indian allies. Major Dade had raided his village and now it was payback time. But, Abraham is a complex character. He had to balance the best interests of his people against dangerous U. S. policies and the plight of the Seminoles. He was well acquainted with the deep shadows of the human spirit. The lessons of political life were not lost on him. On March 17th, 1837, he was described in the diary of Lt. Henry Prince. “He is not bad looking,” Prince wrote, “he is well dressed, robust – not old, having jet black glossy hair but he is very corpulent and pock marked.” Prince apparently overheard Abraham’s comment concerning the Dade Battle. Passing over the fatal ground of Dade – “Ah!” he said – ‘here is where those poor fellows were killed!” (Here he heaved a deep sigh) “Poor fellows! I was not there but I heard a great noise!” 1 “We learn culture from the stories at our parent’s knees,” says Smith, his intelligent eyes seem to draw you into a mystery. “These are the attitudes which make us self-confident and successful or apprehensive, uncertain, and angry. The story of our past is that way.” “When you consider the abuses of the past, does it make you angry,” I ask? “Naw,” he smiles. “The past is made up of lessons which should make us better people. The past offers us the opportunity to grow through our mistakes and come out better for it.” Smith’s son, Marcko, is carrying on his father’s vision of bringing positive role models to our children. He portrays another influential character during the Second Seminole War, Louis Fateo Pacheco, who was guide to Major Dade, but somehow managed to warn the Seminoles that the troops were on their way to Fort King. The Indians and blacks responded with a force which met at the military crossroads just north of the Withlacoochee River. A short distance away lay Abraham’s town of Peliklakaha. On the 7th of June, 1999, as we were putting the final touches to this story the FL Frontier Gazette, received the following e-mail. We were thrilled and are hopeful that this episode in Florida’s history will finally receive the attention from scholars
it so richly deserves. 1. Amidst a Storm of Bulletts, The Diary of Lt. Henry Prince in Florida 1836-1842, Ed. Frank Laumer, University of Tampa Press, 1998.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT PELIKLAKAHA
Friends, Colleagues, and Fellow-Florida archaeology/history fans: I’m studying an archaeological site near Bushnell (Sumter county) which we think is a Black Seminole site which dates to about 1800-1836. The site is about midway between Orlando and Tampa, near the Dade Battlefield. According to documents and 18th and 19th century Seminole/ American/European ceramics, glass, brick, lithic and metal remains, the site where I am currently working, is “Abraham’s Old Town.” Abraham was a 19th century Black Seminole leader. The site may have been the periodic home of Micanopy, called “Peliklikaha.” I am interested in studying Maroon ethnogenesis, their relations with Seminoles and other frontier peoples, links to Africa and the African Diaspora, and issues related to sociocultural identity. Maroons such as the Black Seminole, were runaway slaves who established communities outside of colonial slave societies. I am currently defining the site boundaries for the second Seminole War Period occupation, and I plan to move into intensive block excavation of the site structure by the summer. I may have pre-colonial and 19th century homesteader occupations also. I just received a grant from the National Parks Service’s Underground Railroad project, and am eager to commit myself to fieldwork full-time. I’ll make day trips from Gainesville (UF) on weekends and probably stay down in Sumter county (camping or hotel) during the week. I could use all the help I can get, so I would welcome any folks who would care to volunteer. You can pass along my email to any interested parties. My phone number is 352-373-5824. My address is 1436 NW 6th PL, Gainesville, FL 32603. Let me know if you’d like me to add you to my email list. Thanks for your time and any interest you may have. I’ll talk to you soon,
Terry Weik Department of Anthropology University of Florida t366y@ufl.edu
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The air sizzling with bullets, Major Dade’s men desperately fight for their lives. Florida, soaked with the drama of life and death struggle, often played a pivotal role in this Nation’s story. Our love of this landscape and the honor we bring to those brave man and women who gave their last full measure is the dimension of our vision.
FORT IZARD
The Second Seminole War 1835 to 1842 by John K. Mahon The embers of outrage had smoldered for years in the tinder of cultural differences. The sparks of that fury exploded on a cool soggy December 28th of 1835. War raged between the Florida Indians (Seminoles and Miccasukees) and the United States until 1842. On that December morning, the Indians annihilated a detachment of 108 men commanded by Major Francis L. Dade, as it marched from Ft. Brooke (Tampa) to Ft. King (Ocala). The same day at Ft. King Osceola and a party of warriors killed the‑Indian agent, Wiley Thompson. In February 1836 Brevet Major General Winfield Scott entered Florida ordered by the Jackson administration to go there and‑take command. About the same time Brevet Major General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, hearing of the conflict, assembled 1100 men at New Orleans and steamed for Tampa Bay and Ft. Brooke. Scott was senior in rank by three weeks and hostility had existed between the two generals since their service in the War of 1812. On 17 February 1836 Gaines’s command marched out of Ft. Brooke toward Ft. King. Four days later they came upon the remains of Dade’s detachment, lying‑just as they had fallen. Gaines’s men buried the skeletons with military ceremony and resumed their grim march. Provisions were insufficient at Ft. King, so Gaines went on to Ft. Drane, twenty‑ two miles away. Lack of provisions their too caused him to draw ten days rations and start back toward Ft. Brooke. Following the same route that Brigadier Duncan L. Clinch had used. Clinch had fought a major action at a crossing place of the Withlacoochee River on 31 December 1835. Now, En route, Gaines hoped to encounter and defeat the Seminoles deep in the heart of their wild fastness. On the 27th, at the same place where Clinch had crossed the river and fought, Gaines was suddenly entangled in a sharp fight himself. Here, of his 980‑man army, he lost one soldier killed and five wounded. The one killed was a Frenchman who had served through the Napoleonic campaigns. The army moved three miles down the river to another crossing place, but as it prepared to go over on 28 February, it met heavy fire from the opposite bank. Lieutenant James F. Izard received a bullet in the eye that passed out the back of his head, yet he lingered on for five days. He was forever twenty‑six years old and an 1828 graduate of the United States Military Academy. Firing continued all day, but in a lull, Gaines ordered the construction of a rectangular breastwork roughly 250 yards on a side and three logs high. His army was besieged in it for the next eight days. Gaines named it Fort Izard in memory of the youthful Lieutenant.
Lieutenant Henry Prince, who had only been out of West point since September 1835, kept a diary which contains a vivid record of that action. 28 February - Prince noted that the Seminoles were wasting ammunition, firing ten shots for every one the soldiers fired. 29 February - (leap year) Indians set the palmettos on fire. When the flames reached the wooden breastworks, the soldiers scooped sand from inside and threw it on the logs. Later, they also increased the height of the works. A spent bullet knocked out General Gaines’s remaining teeth. Two spent balls lodged in Prince’s clothing, giving him a sore hip. 1 March - Prince was up all night; the Indians kept up an uproar. 2 March - Made up for the night before by sleeping in his tent most of the day. He noted that some Indians were in United States uniforms. 4 March - Rations gone. Corn for the horses issued to the men. Very cold; hard to sleep. 5 March - Buried Lieutenant Izard. Seminoles firing from half a mile away; no effect at such a distance. Negro voice in the night requested a parlay. Gaines sent couriers back to General Clinch at Ft. Drane, saying come at once. He never admitted that he was besieged, but said rather that he had got the Indian concentrated where Clinch could attack them. General Scott, angry at Gaines’s interference, ordered Clinch not to send help. But Clinch decided to give aid anyway. He started a relief detachment, and the Indians knew that it was on the way. 6 March - Parlay in progress. Killed a horse to eat and the Indians butchered two dogs. Relief party of 600 men arrived. The Seminoles had expected that the relief column would be halted due to the parlay, but it arrived, opened fire, and they scattered. The Seminoles felt betrayed. Too weak to march Gaines’s men remained at Izard for five days. They were still hungry but on 11 March carts appeared with bread, pork, and rum. During the eight days, the Indians had killed five soldiers and wounded forty‑six. Primus, a black go‑between, said the Seminoles had lost thirty‑three killed and many wounded. •••••••••••••• The area where Ft. Izard stood has become prime land for expensive housing. To save it from development a group late in May 1992 incorporated The Seminole Wars Historic Foundation. At the center of the group was Creighton Pruitt, M.D. the owner of the land. During the next two years the members of the Foundation probed for ways to save the property as an important historical site. This was achieved in November 1994 when the Southwest Florida Water Management District bought several thousand
acres along the Withlacoochee River including Ft. Izard. The District used money from two funds created by the Florida Legislature, Save Our Rivers and Preservation 2000. It retains title to the land but granted the Foundation permission to use 800 acres under two conditions: 1. Condition one; that the exact site of the fort be established. The Foundation paid Gulf Archaeological Institute to make the search. The Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation provided $40,000 for the dig, the Seminole Tribe of Florida contributed $5000, and the Water Management District assisted. Twenty volunteers contributed their time. Through archaeological studies, the exact location of the fort has been pinpointed. 2. Condition two: Present an acceptable plan for long term educational and recreational use. The Foundation prepared a plan which was accepted. The next need is to find the money to make Izard available to the public on a scheduled basis. The Foundation through the University of
Tampa Press has published Amidst a Storm of Bullets, the diary of Henry Prince. He was a lieutenant of the regular army who was present at the siege. His diary, a valuable historical documented for our state, has been made into a beautiful book. The Foundation is now working to keep the site of Ft. King as a public trust. This fort, near Silver Springs, was one of the two most important fortifications of the Second Seminole War. Where it stood should be public property. It is now for sale and the Foundation has joined citizens who hope that the City of Ocala or the State will purchase it.
JOIN THE
Seminole Wars
Historic Foundation Inc. The Laumer Estate 35247 Reynolds Avenue Dade City, FL 33525 (904) 583-2711
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! A CALL FOR Reenactors • Artists • Crafters ebrating arts, crafts, music and tradition. Storytellers Begins with parade on Saturday Morning.
of entertainment, arts & crafts, & gourmet seafood, looking for historical reenactors/ demonstators/encampments for weekend. (Artist must send slides of art/craft work & SASE #10 envelope with application fee of $150.00 by Sept. 2.) Need reenactor commitments by Sept. 15. Florida History Center & Museum Inc., 805 N. US Highway One, Contact: Joan Hudiburg or Roz Wood (561) 747-6639 10, Tampa [Ybor City]- Spanish American War Living History program to celebrate the Centennial of the establishment of the Cuban Club in Ybor City. The event, open to the public, will feature entertainment, good Spanish food and drink and a fun event for all Spanish American War Re-enactors.For more more information, contact Alex de Quesada. E-mail: AMDEQJR@aol.com 16-17, St. Petersburg, FL/Fort DeSoto Park - 2nd Annual Spanish American War Weekend. The event will be coordinated by members of Company E, 2nd US Infantry. The event will include daily battles over an enlarged battle area with Spanish defenses! The schedule will include infantry drill, skirmish drill, bayonet drill, firing demonstrations, candle light tours of the battery, fashion shows, and much more. For re-enactors, period food will be provided for lunch, and Saturday evening’s meal will also be provided. Authenticity and safety rules will be enforced! The event is open to all good US, Cuban, Spanish and civilian impressions. We will request preregistration so we can figure on how many troops to feed. If you have any ideas on things you would like to see done at this event please contact Joe Erdmann - E-mail: jle130@aol.com. 16-17, Orlando, 26th Annual PIONEER DAYS, (Sat. 10-6, Sun 10-5) Pine Castle Center for the Arts, 731 Fairlane Avenue, Orlando, FL 32809. Major event cel-
Community church service on Sunday. Demonstrators/arts & crafters please contact: Bettielee Sansone, Arts & Crafts Chairperson, (407) 855-7461.
November
20, Gulfport, Narvaéz Reenactment, 10 -9:00 , Veteran’s Park on Boca Ceiga Bay Corner of 54th Street and Shore Blvd., (South Pinellas County), Interstate Exit 5 & 6 off I-275, West on 22nd Ave. S. which becomes Gulfport Blvd. to left on Beach Blvd., Sponsored by Florida Frontier Gazette, City of Gulfport & 16th Century Company of La Cruz. Looking for conquistadors and their wives, servants, clergy and lots of Tocobaga Indians to conquer. Arrangements are being negotiated with the city to allow overnight camping in period tents. Breakdown camp on Sunday morning. Meals supplied all day. Total $200.00 budget to allowed for gas money/food. $1 donation gate fee for public. Info contact Elizabeth Neily (727) 321-7845 or E-mail: tocobaga@gte.net
December
20-21 Pinellas Park, Civil War Reenactment, at County Fair Grounds next to Wagon Wheel Fleamarket on Park Blvd. Battles, Sutlers, Childrens’ Activities Storytelling, Barn Dance for adults. Sponsored by 79th New York Volunteer Infantry, Co. D. and Explore Post 479. This an opportunity for Explorer Scouts to learn re-enacting. They invite all young people (M/F) from 14- 21 to join in the fun. The Fishing Rancho village needs craft demonstrators. Contact Ed Smith (727) 526-2851 or Elizabeth Neily (727) 321-7845 or Email: tocobaga@gte.net
JULY 17
TH
4-9 P.M.
Join us as we celebrate The 30th ANIVERSARY of the
1st
WALK
ON THE
MOON
Moon Rock & Meterorite on Exhibit Laser shows • Planetarium Shows Moon Walk for kids • Telescope Viewing Al Downing’s Jazz Band (7-9 p.m.) • Concessions & more!!! FALL ARCHAEOLOGY FESTIVAL in September. Call for details. 7701 22nd Ave. N. St. Petersburg, FL 33710 (727) 384-0027
FLORIDA & THE WAR OF JENKINS EAR
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Events South from page 3 TURTLE WALKS Mondays and Thursdays - 8:30 p.m. Search the beach at night for a nesting loggerhead sea turtle and learn about these ancient creatures. GUIDED SNORKEL TOURS 2nd and 4th Saturdays - 9:30 a.m. Experienced snorkelers are exposed to the wonderful variety of marine life found along the park’s limestone rock reef. Snorkelers must supply own equipment. Space is limited to 20. Reservations required. (561) 624-6952 29 Miami, NEH WORKSHOP: Learn about how the National Endowment for the Humanities can help you with: exhibitions, long-term support, preservation of collections. A staff member from the Florida Humanities Council will be available to discuss your project ideas. 2:00 pm Historical Association of Southern Florida 101 W. Flagler Street, Miami, FL 33130 Please R.S.V.P. to Kay Gienger, Office of Challenge Grants, NEH (202)606-8309.
August
The galliot was much smaller than a galleon. It was wide and did not sit deep in the water so that it could pass over shallows where no heavy war ship could go. It could harass landing parties and other small craft trying to cross the inner channel.
JUAN DE LEON FANDINO
THE MAN WHO HELPED START AND NAME A WAR by Robert Hawk While a youngster studying history in high school, I was fascinated to discover there had been a real war named “The War of Jenkins Ear.” I didn’t learn much about the war at that time beyond the fact an English ship’s captain named Jenkins provided the ear. I had no idea the man who sliced off Jenkin’s ear, Juan de Leon Fandino, had a Florida connection nor was I then aware one of the most important campaigns associated with that uniquely named war took place in Florida! Well, now I know. The earliest surviving historical records associated with Juan de Leon Fandino noted that he received his commission as a naval officer in the Spanish colonial “Guarda Costa” or Coast Guard in 1719. Actually, the ships of the Guarda Costa didn’t exist to guard the coasts of anyplace specifically but functioned as revenue cutters to patrol the sea lanes and enforce the laws of trade then existing in the oceans of the New World. Most of those laws were created and established by the Treaty of Utrecht between Spain and England early in the eighteenth century. It was a difficult chore for Fandino and other officers of the Guarda as the ships and merchants of both nations frequently violated the local trade laws. According to the records, by 1730, Fandino was considered a vigorous, effective and honest officer, one to be feared by those violating the laws and respected by everyone else. In the following year, an event would occur that would make him immortal! In 1731, Fandino stopped the English brig, REBECCA, commanded by Captain Robert Jenkins. A check of the ships’ logs and cargo proved the REBECCA was in serious violation of the trade laws specified in the treaty. Apparently, Captain Jenkins made some unrecorded disparaging remarks to Captain Fandino after which the Spaniard sliced off Jenkin’s ear and handed it to him remarking that were the King of England here and also in violation of the laws, he would do the same for him! Captain Jenkins, and his ear, were quite the rage in London when he returned. His ear was kept in the House of Parlia-
ment for several years. Several years later, when war was declared between England and Spain, it was called by the English, the War of Jenkins Ear. (For the Spanish, it was “La Guerra del Asiento de los Negros”, the war over the contract for Negroes). One of the major campaigns of the war concerned the attempt by the English settlers of Georgia and the Carolinas to conquer Spanish Florida. In 1740, an English military and naval force commanded by James Oglethorpe of Georgia invaded Spanish Florida and laid siege to St. Augustine. Carelessly, the English divided their principle military forces into three parts; one placed north of the city at Mose, the site of the Negro Fort and settlement, one on Vilano Point and one on Anastasia Island, the latter two places across the bay and channel form the city and its fort. Unfortunately, for the English, their three positions were separated from each other by parts of the bay and inland waterway and those waters were controlled by a small fleet of Spanish galliots. These galliots were sail and oar driven, shallow draft ships, usually armed with a nine pounder cannon in the bow and smaller cannon at the stern. The English ships accompanying the invading forces were too large to enter the harbor and would be extremely vulnerable to the cannon of the city fortress had they done so. Thus the small Spanish ships effectively controlled the waters of the bay and could interfere with English communications between their separated positions whenever they wished. It was not a tactically sound situation for the English. A part of the Spanish galliot fleet was commanded by, you guessed it, Captain Juan de Leon Fandino! When a Spanish force sallied out of the fortress to attack the English force at Fort Mose in late June of 1740, Fandino and his galliots, by controlling the inland waterway separating Mose from Vilano, prevented the English at Vilano from intervening in the battle which proved to be a significant Spanish victory. Following their defeat at Mose and otherwise unable to breach the Spanish defenses of the city, the English were forced to retreat ingloriously back to Georgia and the Carolinas.
3 John D. Macarthur Beach State Park , “RHYTHM OF THE SEA” MARINE BIOLOGY DAY CAMP August 3 thru August 14 Designed for 6th and 7th graders. Campers study and explore the wonders of the ocean world. Activities include snorkeling, fish identification, underwater photography, crafts and more. Two, oneweek sessions: August 3-7, August 1014. $70/session. Reservations required. GUIDED SNORKEL TOURS 2nd and 4th Saturdays - 9:30 a.m. Experienced snorkelers are exposed to the wonderful variety of marine life found along the park’s limestone rock reef. Snorkelers must supply own equipment. Space is limited to 20. Park fee. (561) 624-6952
October
3-4 Indian Key State Historic Site INDIAN KEY FESTIVAL Once a thriving wrecking community andfirst county seat of Dade County, IndianKey was attacked in 1840 during theSecond Seminole War. Join us as wecommemorate this Key’s colorful past with tours, battle reenactments, historic displays, food, souvenirs and more! Step back in time and meet a “wrecker”, an early Keys settler, and a
Seminole Indian.Boat rides to the island depart between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. from Robbie’s Marina at Mile Marker 77.5 (Bayside). Reservations not required. Special event fee. (305) 664-4815.
ALL YEAR
• Johnathan Dickenson State Park TRAPPER NELSON TOUR Wed.-Sun. Travel three miles up the Loxahatchee River, Florida’s only federally-designated “Wild and Scenic River”, to join a park ranger for a tour of Trapper Nelson’s pioneer homesite. Accessible only by boat. Rental canoes and tour boat available. Call park concession at (561) 746-1466 for more information. Park fee. (561) 546-2271 CAMPFIRE PROGRAMS Saturdays (8:30 p.m. Daylight Savings/7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard) Florida’s precious resources are highlighted during fireside programs featuring slides and Ranger-led discussion. Meet at the Pine Grove Campfire Circle. Park fee. NATURE WALKS Sundays - 9:00 a.m. Enjoy a Ranger-guided walk through pine orests and across Wilson Creek. Comfortable walking shoes and insect repellent recommended. Meet at the picnic area. Park entrance fee. • John D. Macarthur Beach State Park , F.U.N. (Families Understanding Nature) Sept. Dec., 2nd Saturdays - 10:00 a.m. This nature series offers families with children ages 6 to 12 the opportunity to learn about and explore south Florida’s natural world. Program topics include snakes, birds, sea turtles and more! Reservations required. Park fee. (561) 624-6952 • The Barnacle State Historic Site BARNACLE BY MOONLIGHT Sept. -Dec. 9/3, 10/4, 11/3, 12/3 6:00-9:00 p.m. This popular after-hours series features a variety of musical entertainment under the moonlit skies of South Florida. Bring a blanket. Performers to be announced. Special event fee. (305) 448-9445 • Key Largo Hammocks State Botanical Site GUIDED NATURE WALKS Sun. and Thurs. - 10:00 a.m. Bugs and weather permitting, join a guided nature walk through the hardwood hammocks of “Port Bougainville”. Entrance to Port Bougaiville on County Road 905 in North Key Largo. (305)451-1202.
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Historic Web Sites !
AUCILLA RIVER PREHISTORY PROJECT Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl 32611. Contact:Joe Latvis. Phone: (352) 392-1721 www.flmnh.ufl. edu/natsc./vertpaleo/arpp.htm FLORIDA PALEONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Contact:Eric Taylor Email: lilnbige@lc.gulfnet.com FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Historic Roesch House 1320 Highland Ave., Melbourne, FL 32935 (407) 690-0099 Email wynne@metrolink.net www.florida-soc.org MICANOPY HISTORICAL SOCIETY www.afn.org/~micanopy/ THE ESTAVANICO SOCIETY http://www.estavaic.org
PONY EXPRESS
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu./natsci/vertpaleo/pony After the siege, Captain Fandino was given command of the privateer CAMPECHANA which he successfully used to capture a number of English merchant ships. His luck ran out in 1742 when his ship, escorting several prizes through the Bahaman Island channels, was captured by the English frigate ROSE of 20 guns. The records indicate Fandino and his men put up a spirited fight and he surrendered only when his own crew forced him to do so. Sent as a prisoner to Portsmouth, England for trial as a pirate, his story,
SECOND SEMINOLE WAR - F.I.R.E.S. Florida Indian Reenactment Society E-mail okhmpkel@ix.netcom.com www.geocities.com/yosemite/1743/seminole.html AMERICAN CIVIL WAR www.cwc.lsu.edu/civlink.htm FLORIDA FRONTIERSMEN homel.gte.net/haddo/frontier.htm SPANISH AMERICAN WAR http://pw2.netcom. com/~rhichoxsaw1898.htm
THE ALMOST COMPLETE LIST OF MUZZLE LOADING & BUCKSKINNING LINKS
www.coon-n-crockett.org/linklist.htm Plus links to Flint Knapping & Atlatls, Reenactments/Rendezvous, Music, Publications Suttlers/Traders...more... Be careful to set an alarm clock at this site or you may get lost in it forever! as recorded in surviving historical documents, ends. It is doubtful he was ever tried as a pirate by any court as he held the King’s Commission and was engaged in privateering activity recognized as legal by all nations of that time. It is likely he was held until war’s end in 1748 and then released, if not released earlier in exchange for an English naval officer of equal rank. One hopes there was a happy ending. After all, how many men have helped name a war and then fought, and fought well, in that very war? •
BOOK REVIEWS Early History of the Creek Indians & Their Neighbors
John R. Swanton 1998 Uni. Press of Florida, Gainesville ISBN 08130-1635-5 Paper $29.95 What were the names of Florida’s early Indians? Where did they live? What did they eat? What kind of houses did they have. What kind of houses did they have. What kind of ceremonies did they perform? Early History of the Creek Indians is like a manual for those of us who enjoy recreating past cultures. This scholarly work of one of the most esteemed ethnologist of southeastern aboriginal cultures was first published by the Smithonian Institution in 1928. It became the guide book for subsequent generations. It is a classic in the truest sense of the word. Swanton brings together an assemblage of accounts from as any original sources as were available at the time. He takes the work beyond the scope of just the Creek nation documenting the cultural roots of many southeasern people, putting them in their cultural context. For years this book has been coveted by anthropologist and historians. Copies were scarce and many a scholar had to resort to photocopying the long out-of-print book from libraries and special collections. Thanks to the editorial work of Gerald T. Milanich at UPF, this will no longer be necessay. Now we can each thumb through our very own copy of this amazing text. Swanton gives many essential clues to the ancient people, albeit somewhat colored by the Euro-Christian chroniclers. For instance you can discover that the Timucuan people of north Florida conducted ceremonies “before tilling a field” “at the first corn” and “for the first flour”. “Corn from a newly broken field was not to be eaten, apparently, though this it is hard to believe that this regulation was absolute. Unless prayers had been offered to the ‘spirit’ by a shaman, no one was allowed to approach or open the corncrib. Some ceremony is mentioned which took place in the sowing season, in which six old men ate a pot of ‘fritters.’”They also performed ceremonies when nuts and berries were gathered, when going hunting and when the fishing season started. Many of these ancient rites continue to be perfomed by Creek, Seminole and Muskogee people in Florida today.
Images of America DUNEDIN
by Vincent Luisi and A.M. de Quesada Jr. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, NC, 1999 Paper $18.99 Your personal history is the most important thing that you have, it is you. As these United States drift into the new millenia the most essential thing we take with us is the knowledge of our beginnings. Like the very name, DUNEDIN, most of us were foreigners who came to these shores with a dream. We were never an answer. We were a hope. From the pages of DUNEDIN men and women and kids look out at us with their eyes filled with a hope for the future which we have become. All our good qualities and difficulties are reflected in their eyes. We came from Europe where the working man never had a chance. The kings and their barons swept
The text spans the three centuries since European contact. It refers to records of Spanish, French, and English origins. It comes with an envelope of maps which give details as to where to find the hundreds of towns once inhabited by the earliest people. Swanton gives a few examples of Native American origin myths. One interesting myth is of the Hitchiti who settled along the Chattahoochee river. It was recorded about 1796 long before the Bering Straight theory became popular. “They claim that they came to some place where the sea was narrow and frozen over. Crossing upon the ice they traveled from place to place toward the east until they reached the Atlantic Ocean. They traveled to see from where the sun came. Now they found themselves blocked by the ocean, and being tired, they lingered along the coast for some days. The women and children went down to the beach and gathered shells and other things that were beautiful to look at. They were shown to the old men who said. ‘These are pretty things and we are tired and cannot proceed any farther on account of the ocean, which has intercepted us. We will stop and rest here.’ They took the beautiful shells, pebbles, etc., which the women and children had brought up and made rattles, and the old men said, “ Inasmuch as we cannot go further we will try to find some way of enjoying ourselves, and stop where we are now.” The text comes complete with an envelope of 10 illustrations and maps stretching from 1715 to 1818. From these the locations of where the old towns of these early people were located one sees the grom picture that these were not the uninhabited wildreness that was once taught in our history classes. The text should also dismiss the absurd idea that that these people were primitive savages although, ironically, some of the chroniclers of the period did just that. If it were not so grim, one would have to smile at the smugness of the conquering invaders, who stumble madly about the alien countryside looking for gold and food, and then can call the inhabitants they meet savages. This book a essential reference for anyone studying the history of indiginous cultures of the southeastern United States. Companion classics also in print again are Archeology of the Florida Gulf Coast, by Gordon R. Willey, and Space and Time Perspective in Northern St. John’s Archaeology, by John M. Goggin both at UFP.• the countryside for men to waste on those distant battlefields All those nations were locked into their national hate. Poverty lay like a great burden on the hearts of those men and women which fled to this place in the sun.
“Log houses were scattered around the settlement and in the pine forest. Footpaths and rutted wagon roads linked neighbor with neighbor, and all the trails eventually found their way to the waterfront and the dock. It was around this same time that George L. Jones and his family opened a general store and trading post. It was he who gave the settlement its first name, calling it Jonesboro. Settlers started to recognize the village as Jonesboro because of Mr. Jones’s sign on his general store, but that name was short-lived. A few months later, two Scotsmen arrived in the village of Jonesboro. J.0. Douglas and James Somerville opened a general store in the cotton gin building. They were not happy with the name Jonesboro and started to promote a new name for the settlement. The name they wanted to use was Dunedin, the Gaelic interpretation of Edinburgh, their hometown in Scotland. Dunedin has many interpretations but the most common usage of the word means “Dun” (rock) and “Eiden” (castle), or “The Castle on the Rock.”
12
Haslams
DUNEDIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Andrews Memorial Chapel c. 1888
Exhibit “Walk down the aisle to the past” July 1st - 28th 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Featuring Wedding Gowns from the 1872-1960 Accessories & Photos, Local Merchants, Catalogues Available for Weddings, Concerts, Tours 1899 San Mateo Drive, Dunedin
Dunedin Historical Museum Railroad Station c. 1922 341 Main Street, Dunedin Exhibits related to Dunedin and Florida History
MUSEUM PROGRAMS 1890’s Vintage Baseball Games at Otten Field, Dunedin
MUSEUM HOURS: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 4 pm
DUNEDIN CENTENNIAL EXHIBIT June 1 - October 28, 1999
The conflict between Jones and Douglas/Somerville became a heated topic but was soon put to an end. As the Douglas/ Somerville store became popular, the two men moved the store into a two-story building at the water’s edge, and built a long pier out into the bay. The Douglas/Somervitle store served a large area, including the communities of Clearwater and Largo. With this surge of popularity, the two Scotsmen decided to get official permission to name the settlement. Douglas and Somerville
(727) 736-1176
petitioned the government for a post office to be located in their large general store, allowing them to “officially” name the settlement Dunedin. The Jones family continued to run their general store for a while but eventually closed the store and went into another business. Ironically, after the official naming of the settlement, Jones and Douglas/Somerville made amends and became friends and continued to help the community. “
This photo, dated 1917, shows the corner of Main Street and Broadway with the six-wheel “Jitney Car” parked next to the Bank of Dunedin. The Jitney, made from two Ford cars, traveled from Dunedin to Clearwater on the new County Road and could carry 12 passengers. It also took two drivers, with one seated in the back, to help steer it around courners.
A typical honeymoon cottage called the “Love Birds” with a happy couple in front. The first couple to arrive at Honeymoon Island was Marjorie and Ernest Burkett of Orlando, on March 8, 1940. When the 1940 season ended some 250 couples from 100 cities had honeymooned on the island. Take your time paging through this photo album of DUNEDIN. Remember that you too are building the future that your great grand children will be locked into.
Cracker:
The Cracker Culture in Florida History by Dana Ste. Claire Museum of Arts and Sciences, Daytona Beach ISBN 0-933053-13-4 Paper $29.95 All too often historians neglect the grass-roots of our cultural heritage. While wars and politics take the lime-light we forget that it was people who made this country what it is today. It was the men and women who courageously set out for the vague promise of a better life. Some of them came from humble beginnings. Some were desperately poor. While Europe tried to rid itself of criminals and debtors, street children and destitute peasantry, our country became the promised land for countless thousands of immigrants. America opened its arms to these refugees from European oppression and welcomed them to settle its great “wilderness”. Many came with little more than the clothes on their backs. They came to start a new life. Ste. Claire traces the obscure beginnings of Florida’s hardy settlers who began to move into the region in the early part of the 19th Century. He discusses all of the many meanings that have been offered to explain the term Cracker, from Whip Crackers to Corn Crackers to Biscuit Crackers to Quakers and the long road from a term of derision to one of present-day pride. He concludes, “But no matter how you catalogue him, a Cracker is a Cracker. Crackers will always be a people, a cultural
TAKING WING
Archaeopteryx and the Evolution of Bird Flight
by Pat Shipman Touch stone books ISBN 0-684-84965-8 Paper $15.00
Although Ms. Shipman believes that everybody can enjoy the complexities of science, this book will require serious commitment. I’m not trying to be discouraging. Taking Wing is well written, enthusiastically told, and the format is thoughtfully developed. Ms. Shipman obviously delights in the details of scientific investigation. If you love the controversy surrounding the origins of birds, this is the book for you. I can’t imagine a more in-depth view of this incredible story. The level is for a well-rounded reader with a willingness to learn avain anatomy and the concepts behind flight.
“Although birds have all of these special anatomical adaptations for flight, the question still remains: how exactly do avian muscles propel the bird through the air? Several evolutionary changes in the bones and joint, of the wing‑deviations from the more generalized arm structures that must have been the precursor to wings‑are key. Birds generate lift by flapping their wings, thrusting down and slightly forward against the air resistance. This is the downstroke or power stroke, the obvious part of flapping flight. The other movement‑recovery or upstroke is more subtle. If the wings shape were held constant and flapped downward and then upward, both the downstroke and the upstroke would push against the air. With a constant wing shape, the upstroke would propel the bird downward just as strongly as the downstroke moved it upward. The net result would be no lift and no forward movement. To avoid this problematic fate, birds use one of two strategies. Some birds slightly fold and flex the wings on the upstroke, effectively reducing the area of the airfoil and thus minimizing the downward thrust that is generated. Thus these birds push down with a large wing and push up with a small one. Other birds keep their wings outspread, but tilt their wings differently in different segments of the wingbeat thus adjusting the effective surface area. Another mechanism that passively helps to create an asymmetry between
13 group that early on provided the very foundation on which rural Florida was settled.”
This book brings together much of the folklore and the real story of our Florida forebears. It is generously illustrated with photos, cartoons and drawings taken from many publications over the years. There are descriptions of Cracker architecture, food, moonshine and daily life. The glossary of Crackerisms should allow any snowbird or transplant to communicate with Florida folk. Here you can find out about bushpoppers, catchdogs, and knotheads. “ It also dishes up a little Cracker philosophy. He warn’t a sendin’ his younguns to no teacher that learn’t him to spell ‘taters with a ‘P’.” - An explanation offered by a turn-of- the century Mill Creek Cracker on why an angry father removed his children from a local school. Stetson Kennedy Files, Florida State Archives. Or, “I don’t know what day it is, I’m just livin.” Ste. Claire has put together a rich collection of Cracker lore that belongs on your bookshelf. It paints a vivid picture of one of the most distinctive cultures to emerged out of the palmetto scrub of Florida. Their stubborn quest for a place to call home, their dogged determination to survive in a hostile land, their sense of humor and their simple lifestyle offers a fascinating look back at Cracker culture. Ste. Claire has also included a selfguided tour of Crackerdom. Several Cracker museums, villages and other sites around Florida are outlined for those who might like to make a day-trip back to “those good ole days.” the upstroke and downstroke involves the structure of flight feathers. In these feathers, the rachis‑the stiff quill‑divides each feather into two asymmetrical vanes, with the forward or leading edge vane being narrower. During the downstroke, the pressure on the underside of the feather causes it to twist along the longitudinal axis of the rachis. The result is that the trailing edge vane of each feather is pressed upward, making the entire wing a broad structure that pushes against the air without allowing air to pass between adjacent feathers. In the upstroke, the opposite occurs. The pressure on the upper surface of the wing twists each feather around the rachis so that the leading edge vane is moved upward. This movement separates adjacent feathers from each other slightly, forming a tiny slot through which air can pass. Thus both the movement of the wing itself, in opening and closing, and the movements of individual feathers act to improve the efficiency of the wingbeat. A familiar analogy that may help explain this movement clearly depends upon the functional similarity between flapping and rowing a boat. In rowing, exactly the same problem pertains: since the oar must move both backward and forward, the oarsman has to find a way to propel the boat forward during the power part of the stroke without sending the boat an equal distance backward with the recovery segment of each stroke. The power part of the oarsman’s stroke is the equivalent of the bird wing’s downstroke; it provides thrust resulting in forward (or in a bird, forward and upward) movement. The oarsman’s recovery takes the place of the bird’s upstroke and ideally produces no backward movement at all. Unlike birds, however, a human oarsman generally sits facing away from the direction of travel. This is logical because humans can exert more power as they pull the handles of the oars toward their chest by contracting their arms. Pushing the handles away, by extending the arms, is a weaker movement. But when the handles come toward the rower’s chest, the paddles on the other end of the oars move in the opposite direction, pushing against the water. The result is that the boat is propelled in the same direction that the oar handles are moving, using the more powerful movement. Even as some birds twist their wings during the recovery stroke, so the oarsman uses a series of wrist motions to change the orientation of the oar’s blade relative to the water. Like a wing, the blade has a broad, flat surface and a narrow cross‑section.
Clearwater Books
Railroad Museum
Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History A Florida History and Archaeological Museum
Tuesday -Friday
Exhibit 10a.m. - 4 p.m. COLLECTIONS! Saturday & Sunday 1p.m - 4p.m. COLLECTIONS! COLLECTIONS!
Thru July & August 329 Bayshore Blvd. S., Safety Harbor, FL Phone: (813)726-1668
MICANOPY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM Explore over 200 years of Micanopy’s colorful past at the Thrasher Warehouse
Open Daily 1-4 p.m. Groups by appointment Wheelchair accessible
(352) 466-3200
1-75 at Exit 73 or 10 miles south of Gainesville on US 441.
Chief Micanopy Head Chief of the Seminole Nation 1835-1842
Visit us on-line! www.afn.org/~micanopy/
The rowing stroke starts with a movement known as the catch, the entry of the blade into the water. The blade must be perpendicular to the water’s surface (or vertical) at the catch, so that the thin cross‑section passes easily into the water and the blade is positioned to generate thrust. As the oarsman contracts his arm muscles, he also uses his torso and back muscles, to stabilize his position. In a rowing scull, each rower sits on a sliding seat and is responsible for moving a single oar. The rower contracts his arm muscles while he also extends his leg muscles, straightening his knees. (Human legs work most powerfully in extending the knee, while human arms work most powerfully in bending the elbow.) During this coordinated movement, the oar is pulled through the water with the blade set in a vertical position, so that its maximum surface area is perpendicular to the direction of movement of the oar. Pushing against the water with the broad surface of the blade thrusts the boat forward. Once the oar has reached its maximum excursion, the recovery stroke begins. The first movement is to “feather” oar. The rower maintains a constant grip on the oar handle, but moves his wrist to rotate the oar until the blade is in a horizontal position. Once the blade is horizontal, the rower lifts the oar out of the water. (Though the movement of the oar is similar to that performed by birds wings, birds generally do not take advantage of the difference in
density between air and water to minimize the thrust generated in recovery. To do this, birds would have to fly underwater, as penguins do, and make their recovery with the wings in the air, which penguins do not.) Birds are not simply fliers, however, which makes their circmstance even more remarkable. They actually have two distinct locomotor systems within one body —a forelimb system designed for flying and a hindlimb system designed for bipedal walking or hopping. Sometimes both the forelimb and hindlimb systems are further adapted to moving bird’s bodies through the water as well. In contrast, the reptilian ancestors of birds had only one main locomotor system, a four-legged means of moving about that is sometimes landbased and sometimes aquatically adapted. Gatesy and Dial have proposed a special term, locomotor module, to designate an anatomical region that functions as a single unit during locomotion or propulsion of the body. Birds have two locomotor modules, while reptiles and most mammals have only one. Within a module, all anatomical parts must be integrated to make finely controlled movements possible; the skin, nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and bones must work together to produce a smooth and efficient movement. Indeed, the more costly the movement (in physiological and energetic terms), the more finely honed must be the anatomical system that supports it..”•
14
“Unmentionables” by Elizabeth Neily
1640
A Dutch Lady of New Amsterdam with her dashing patroon husband, wears a crimson silk gown with pointed lace. An overskirt made of green wool opens down the front. Her husband wears baggy breeches and a slashed doublet of wool or velvet. His hose are knitted wool. Galloon lace on his collar and cuffs.
1660
1686
The lady’s jacket of red velvet trimmed with fur gives warmth to cold winter evenings. An underskirt of wool peeps out from under her amber satin gown. The gentleman sports a coat of flowered silk, cuffs of rich brocade, with full breeches which hang over the points which fasten his silk stockings.
TIMELESS TEXTILES Create Authentic Looking Period Clothing Fabulous Fabrics at Fabulous Prices
* Broadcloth
A fine woolen cloth with a smooth surface, used for men’s garments and always regarded with respect by the lower classes. Now it is made of cotton.
* Brocade
A heavy fabric interwoven with a rich, raised design often with contrasting or metalic threads.
* Calico
Originally called Calicut, from the town in India whence it was imported; later the name was applied to a cotton fabric in general wear at the time of the American Revolution. Towards the end of the 18th century calico was worn by everyone. Imported French calicos were very fine and delicate in coloring. They were often used for trimming plain materials.
* Damask
Fabric woven in elaborate patterns of silk, wool or linen. Wool damask was used for curtains and bed hangings.
* Linen
Fabric made of flax, it became the cheif European textile of the Middle Ages until introduction of sea island cotton. Used for chemises.
* Wool
Fiber from the fleece of domestic sheep. It is warm, absorbant, elastic, strong and crease resistant.
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Going through my books on clothing over the centuries, I came across some interesting assumptions. Many authors claim that women had only been wearing underpants for about the last two hundred years. Yet, in Spanish references Queen Juana of Portugal is said to have worn drawers (calzones) lined with white fur in the 16th century. Not totally in touch with reality, poor Juanna was confined to her quarters. The drawers were a nice touch of comfort during the long winters of her imprizonment. The Empress also had drawers of yellow satin trimmed with strips of silver cloth. Underpants for women were introduced into Spain by the Moors early on, but it seems they were slow to catch on in the rest of the continent and England. Moorish women at Granada wore “drawers of cotton or linen tied on.” In 1571, Marmol Carvajal (ca. 1571) wrote that when Moriscas from Andalusia went out, they wore very long drawers, very wrinkled about the legs. In the Moriscan “house dress” that Christopher Weiditz recorded at Granada in 1529, full white drawers are tied at the waist over a red body garment and met at the knees with yellowish stockings. Lucrezia Borgia scandalized Italian society by wearing her ‘galley breeches’ in the early 1500’s. For the most part, drawers were worn by noble women such as the Duchess of Albuquerque who’s inventory (1479) included linen drawers and white silk cords to tie them about the waist. Strangely enough, the word “pants” goes back as far as the 4th century, to the name of a Roman Catholic patron saint of Venice. Soon Venetians became popularly known as Pantaloni. Then the commedia dell’arte’s stock characters, the Venetian was stereotyped as a wealthy but miserly merchant called a Pantalone. In the 17th century the French came to identify him with one particular style of trousers which became known as pantaloons in English. Then toward the end of the 18th century, pantaloons became another style of trousers that came into fashion tightfitting garments that had begun to replace knee breeches. After that pantaloons was used to refer to trousers in general. The last step in the development of the word pants met with some resistance. This abbreviation of pantaloon was considered vulgar and, as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it, “a word not made for gentlemen, but ‘gents.’” First found in the writings of Edgar Allan Poe in 1840, pants has replaced the “gentleman’s word” in English and
Corsets made their reappearance in the 1820’s after thepopularity of the Empire Dress started to wain has lost all obvious connection to Saint Pantaleon. In 1934, U.S. men’s underwear sales began to slump after moviegoers see Clark Gable remove his shirt in the film It Happened One Night to reveal that he wears no undershirt. Underclothing has taken on many shapes and styles over the centuries. Their names have taken up a huge part of our vocabulary and it is an interesting social commentary that during the prudish Victorian era they became known as unmentionables. Other curious terms include — Brais or breeches, underwear, underclothes, undies, linen lingerie, unmentionables, underpants, shorts, pants, boxer shorts, briefs, panties, scanties, Skivvies, Jockey shorts, BVD’s, French panties, teddy, bloomers, drawers, pantalets, long underwear, long johns, union suit, thermal underwear, singlet, undervest, undershirt, shift, smock, camisole, camis, chemise, slip, half-slip, full slip, underskirt, petticoat, foundation garment, body stocking, corset, corselette, girdle, whalebone, stays, bustle, panty-girdle, brassiere, bra, garter belt, suspenders, bustier, Merry Widow, waistecoat, farthingale, bumroll, habitshirt, stomacher, braces, bolsters, bust improver, undervest, tights, cami-knickers, cami-bockers, ... Underclothing has taken on interesting evolutions over the years. Where it was once considered shocking to show your underwear in public it has become quite acceptable today. In fact, some of our youngsters in the 1990’s have developed a style of wearing the waists of their trousers low on their hips or even below their buttocks so as to show off a flashy pair of boxer shorts. Who are we to stand in judgment, when ladies in the 17th century were baring not only their chemises over their corsets, but their bosom as well?
MUSEUM OF HISTORY SHOWS OFF ITS UNDERWEAR.
1830
A summer walking dress of embroidered muslin with trimmings of blue ribbon. The gentleman is in a brown coat and waistcoat with drab trousers. Drab is a grayish or brownish olive color.
Timeless Textiles 110 Mill Street Suite 9 Middletown, PA 17057
1835
A figured chintz morning dress is accented by a lovely apron of blue silk. The gentleman is wearing a green broadcloth walking suit and a drab color hat.
Phone: (717) 930-0928 Fax (717) 930-0847 Email: Ttextiles@aol.com http://www.timelesstextiles.com
1890’s Hourglass Corset could have as many as twenty shaped pieces, two dozen whalebones. Some whalebone stays were beautifully carved with scrimshaw.
Bloomers, chemises, petticoats and corsets from the decades of the 1880s to the early 1900s are on display at the St. petersburg Museum of History. Fashion plates, advertizements and other objects from the
A Pair of Drawers were secured at the back of the waist by lacing. This style was popular from about 1815 to 1920’s. collection help tell the story of the transiton from the bustle to the brassiere. This exhibit is designed for 1880’s Half Hooped everyone who has ever wondered Petticoat pushed skirts “what’s holding that dress out out in back. like that?
15
What’s happening in Sunny Florida?
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• Grandmother Mangrove, original tales of prehistoric peopleof Florida • Maria Velasquez, one of the 10 conquistadoras on the Panfilo de Narvaéz VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER Expedition, 1528. What was Spain like SWISS CHALET in the 16th Century? What was it like GIFT SHOP on a Spanish caravel? What did she TRAVEL tell the Governor? AGENCY • Marion Payne Quay, 1890’s gator• Sightseeing Tours huntin’ lady from New England. She • Discount Attraction Tickets may have visited a tourist hotel near Maps • Postcards • Souvenirs • Fruit shipping • Hotel/Restaurant Information you. Check the veranda for a gator. (813) 985-3601 OPEN 7 DAYS 9 AM - 6 PM • Memaw Trouble, nobody knows 3601 E. Busch Blvd., Tampa, the trouble she’s seen. Cracker Jack across from Busch Gardens stories, cow-hunters and life on the Florida frontier. Food, work and enterEDUCATION tainment of Florida’s pioneers. HERITAGE OF THE ANCIENT ONES • Kit Watkins, war correspondent Living History presentation honoring the stories of the Spanish American War culture, history and traditions of the ancient in Tampa Bay and Cuba, 1898. She peoples of North America and promoting proved herself one of the boys and respect for Mother Earth. Contact Wynne went on to become known as the Tatman, 625 Theodore St., St. Augustine, FL 32095 Phone: (904) 824-3325 “Queen of Hearts” in a Canadian newpaper.
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16
A MID SUMMER’S PICNIC BARBEQUED CHICKEN
2 Frying Chickens (2-1/2 lb each. 2 T. Sugar 1 T. Flour 1/4 tsp. Mustard 2 C. vinegar 1 c. Water Cut chickens in pieces, and arrange in heavy pan, sprinkle with dry ingredients, add liquids and cover closely. Cook slowly until tender. Put on grill and cook until browned. Baste with liquid from pan.
GERMAN POTATO SALAD
5 cups of sliced boiled potatoes 1 medium onion chopped 1/2 pound of bacon crumbled 1/2-cup sugar drippings from fried bacon 1 egg 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar celery seed salt and pepper While the potatoes are boiling, fry bacon. Remove bacon, leave the dripping in the pan, and keep warm. When the potatoes are done drain and add onions and sugar, and set aside. Put drippings on medium heat. Add egg to vinegar and beat well. Add egg mixture to drippings and stir till thickened. Add potatoes, onions, bacon, sugar and celery seed to skillet remove from heat and toss. Serve warm.
DUTCH OVEN BEANS
Ed Reiter’s Cookbook 1 pound of navy beans 2 cup of ketchup 1/4 tsp. of ginger 1 tsp. dry mustard 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup hot water 3‑4 large pieces of salt pork 3/4 cup of molasses Wash and soaked beans at least 2 hours in cold water, overnight is better. Drain soaked beans and put in the Dutch oven. Trim the rinds off the salt pork and dice. Add pork to beans. Stir molasses, ketchup and seasoning into the 1/2 cup of hot water. Pour over the beans. Bury in coals for at least 6 hours. Overnight isn’t too long to make the beans burn. Serves 8‑10.
CAMP BREAD PUDDING
Ed Reiter’s Cookbook 12 slices of dry bread, soaked in 1 cup of milk 1 tsp. of ginger 1 tsp. of nutmeat 3 tsp. of sugar
1 cup of raisins 1 tsp. cinnamon Grease a Dutch oven generously. Put a layer of bread and raisins in the bottom of the oven. Mix spice with milk and sprinkle on the bread. Repeat layers of bread and raisins sprinkled with milk. Pour remaining milk over all. Cover and bury in hot coals overnight. (Bake 1 hour at 400 Degrees in a conventional oven). Serve with maple syrup or Bourbon Sauce. Variations from The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer, 1948 Banana - Slice 1 or 2 bananas over top before baking Butterscotch - Omit sugar. Cook 1 cup brown sugar with butter until well browned then add to mixture. Flavor with vanilla. Caramel - Use 2/3 cup white sugar. Caramelize sugar and dissolve in scalded milk before pouring over crumbs. Serve with whipped cream. Chocolate - Put 2 squares of chocolate in milk before scalding. Coffee - Scald milk with 4 tablespoons of ground coffee. Strain. Nuts - Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to chocolate, caramel or butterscotch puddings. Cake Crumbs - Use cake crumbs to replace bread. Sweeten to taste. Cracker Custard - Use 2/3 cracker crumbs in place of bread crumbs. after baking cover with meringue made of 2 egg whites, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Bake in slow oven (250º)F until delicately brown.
PICNIC COFFEE
For each cup of water measure 1-3 T. coffee into a cotton bag or cloth and tie loosely to allow for expansion. Add water, bring to a boiling point 3 times, removing from fire each time boiling point is reached.
LEMONADE
ICE CREAM SODA
3 T. Chocolate Syrup or other syrup 2 T. Vanilla Ice Cream Soda Water 1 T. Heavy Cream Put syrup and cream in tall glass, add ice cream. Fill glass with soda water. Stir thoroughly. Serves 1.
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This article appeared in the August 10, 1898 issue of the Tampa Tribune.
Researched by Elizabeth Neily
“HOBSON’S KISS”
Meant Strictly for the Soda-Imbibing Fraternity and Introduced by the Central Pharmacy.
The “Dewey Smile”1 and the “Scheley Schnapps”2 have firmly established themselves in the hearts of the American people. It remained for the “Hobson’s Kiss” to properly fill up the cup of happiness of the name maker. The “Smile” and the “Schnapp” have their home in the places where red, razzling liquids are sold—the “Kiss” has made its home in places where young women folks are supposed to go into ecstasies over drink dissipation—the drug store. Where the festive soda fountain is, there you will find the “Hobson’s Kiss.” It was born, of course, of the war, which gave fame to Hobson. But little did the hero of the Merrimac3 think that when he kissed the young women at Long Beach the other day, that he was booming the soda business the country over. But he did, and by this class of public servants the gallant Richman Pearson will be looked up to as a vertiable godsend. By that one act he has done more for their business than the war ever did damage. To them, Hobson the kisser is greater than Hobson who, in the face of Spanish shot and shell, pushed into the channel’s mouth at Santiago and sunk the old hulk of the Merrimac. It took the Central Pharmacy of this city to introduce in Tampa the “Hobson Kiss”. The papers were very effusive in their description of the way in which Hobson at Long Beach pressed his mustached lips to the rosy petals of the prettiest girl at the hotel. It was a good kiss, from an artistic stand point. It showed that the galHOURS M-TH 11am to 9pm Fri & Sat. 11am to 11pm
lant Southerner, despite his long period on board ship and in the hands of the enemy, has not forgotten the natural expressions of healthy sentiment. He kissed like a veteran, it is said, and given the opposite [role] to an entrancing Carmen4, he would draw probably draw, as well as the English hero, Findlater, who is bending his glory to the baser uses of the music halls. But Hobson is not that type of man. About as base an end as his kiss will ever come to is to tickle the tips of the lips of sweet things the land over in the form of the new soda fountain drink. The “Kiss” as the Central Pharmacy makes it, is on the order of a frappe. Shaven ice in a small tumbular is saturated with fruit juice, and on top of this is placed an ice cream cap. Eaten with a spoon it goes good.
Remember the name and the place.• George Dewey, commander of the U.S. Fleet in the South China Sea, directed the victory in Manila Bay, Philippines, May 1, 1898. Promoted to real admiral May 11. 2 Commodor Scheley of the North Atlantic Fleet, Second Squadron at Cuba. 3 Hobson was credited with conceiving the plan of blocking the narrow entrance to Santiago harbor by sinking the collier Merrimac, thus bottling up” Spanish Admiral Cervera’s fleet, effectively preventing them from leaving the harbor. 4 “Carmen” by French novelist Prosper Mérimée, 40, whose short story of a Spanish cigarette factory girl will be the basis of an 1875 opera, (bê-zâ´), by Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, also known as “Georges Bizet.” 1838-1875. Minnie Hauk, 1851?-1929, an American soprano, greatly successful in Europe when she sang the title role in the American and British premieres of Carmen (1878). In 1843, cigarettes appear on a list of tobacco products controlled by a French government monopoly. It is the first known reference to the paper-wrapped miniature cigars that have been rolled in Cuba since the late 18th century. 1
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ICED COFFEE
Strain Picnic Coffee or any strong coffee over ice in tall glasses or a pitcher. Serve with cream and powdered sugar. Top with vanilla ice cream and sprinkle with powdered chocolate of cinnamon.
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12 Lemons 3 quarts water 1 1/4 cups sugar Fresh mint Squeeze lemons, remove the seeds but leave the pulp. Add the sugar and water stirring well. Add sugar to taste. Chill well. Serve with mint sprigs in the glass.
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