FFG_Vol5_No3_WEB

CONTENTS

The Florida Frontier Gazette is published quarterly by the Historic Florida Militia Inc.

Page 2.

Quiz FEATURE - Reflections of Drake’s Raid. 1586

5.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT PARTNER The Heritage Museum 6.

FEATURE - Cultural Indigestion?

8.

FEATURE - The “Splendid Little War”

10.

FEATURE - Okeechobee Memories

11.

FEATURE - Pirates

13.

THROUGH WOMEN’S EYES The Camp Follower 14.

WORKSHOP - NAI & ALHFAM

15.

FEATURE- 100 Years of Fortitude

18-19. CENTERFOLD - Rendezvous 21. TALES - The Blue Knife ... Part 2 24. COMMUNITY SPIRIT PARTNER The Gamble Mansion 26.

FEATURE - Undrstanding the Power of Plants

28.

THE BOOK PAGE

30-34. EVENTS & EXHIBITS

4 pages of fun filled weekends 35-36. COMMUNITY SPIRIT PARTNERS

COVER

Tim Burke of Sarasota climbs out of a landing boat at DeSoto National Memorial, Bradenton during the 1999 filming of the movie that is now shown daily in the park’s visitor center. Tim looks pretty cool, concidering he is cooking in the July heat.

Because reenactors like Tim are devoted to portraying their characters as historically correctly as possible, they are ofen called upon to act in period movies. For an extensive study of 16th century conquistadors in La Florida, visit Tim’s website at: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/calderon COVER PHOTO - Elizabeth Neily

1. What did Sir Francis Drake steal from St. Augustine?

2.. For what did Pedro Menéndez face criticism?

3.What was the name of the ship wrecked off Dog Island?

4. What did the women who follow the armies do?

5. What orders did George Washington write about the camp followers?

6. What festival does Tampa celebrate every year?

7. What was Mr. Howard’s real name?

8. What is a milpa?

9. What is a common use for red bay?

10. What was the name of Major Dade’s guide?

Florida Frontier Gazette

5409 21st Ave. S. Gulfport, FL 33707 (727) 321-7845 E-mail: tocobaga@verizon.net This publication has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.

However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Florida Department of State, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Florida Department of State.

STAFF

Grant Administrator: George Watson Editor/Photographer: Elizabeth Neily Graphics: Hermann Trappman Photographer: Anne St. Charles Writer/Marketing: Albert W. Vogt III Writer/Photographer: Lester R. Dailey Writr/Photographer: Jude Bagatti plus our Special Volunteers - feature writers, artists, and photographers without whom this magazine would not be possible.

1. 14 bronze cannons and 10,000 silver ducats, 2 The loss of cannon and ducats, 3. Le Tigre, 4. Nurse, cook, forage wood, child care. 5. Not to go into the towns and ride on the wagons. 6. Gasparilla, 7. Judah Benjamin, 8. Method of planting, 9. Flavorant, 10. Pacheco.

Volume 5 Number 3 Winter 2006

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HISTORIC FLORIDA MILITIA, INC.

by Tim Burke, Sarasota

Reflections on Drake’s Raid of 1586: A Brief and Historically Accurate Account of the Actual Event In the month of June, in the year 1586, the little town of Saint Augustine received the dubious distinction of being sacked and burned by the famous English corsair, Sir Francis Drake.

It wasn’t much of a contest. The Spanish garrison, consisting of eighty soldiers, manned a wooden fort armed with fourteen bronze cannon. Not much defense for the remaining twohundred and fifty colonists, considering the fact that Drake’s fleet consisted of more than twenty warships, manned by two thousand mariners and soldiers which awaited just across the bay!

Drake had not come searching for Saint Augustine, having just plundered Spanish settlements in the Caribbean,and holding Santo Domingo and Cartegena for ransom. He was headed for Raleigh’s Virginia colony. While sailing along the Florida coast, a watchtower piqued El Draco’s (as he was known by to the Spanish) curiosity. Drake had just stumbled another Spanish town!

A landing party attempted to enter the town, but the boats were fired upon as soon as they came in range of the fort’s guns. The English drew back, landed guns on Anastasia Island and a brief, but relatively uneventful, exchange of cannon fire then ensued.

The following day, Drake landed a force of a thousand men.

The town & fort lay abandoned, the population having fled into the nearby woods. As they entered the fort, evidence of the defenders’ haste was apparent. The invaders found that the garrison paychest containing 10,000 silver ducats had been left behind!

It would be Captain Anthony Powell’s blatant violation of the “kiss” rule, (Keep It Simple Stupid!), that would alter the chain of events somewhat. Apparently, Powell had spotted a saddled horse, mounted it and charged to the woodline in response to Spanish taunting. He struck Juan Contreras in the head with a lance, then, he in turn, was immediately dragged from the horse and hacked to death by the angry locals.

It seems that Anthony Powell was also Drake’s cousin (oops!).

His decision to not only loot, but burn the town, cut down all the fruit trees, and destroy the gardens, was an act of revenge for the loss of his kinsman!

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El Draco came, pillaged, burned the town to the ground, and continued on his merry way, voyaging up the coast to reach Sir Walter Raleigh’s colony. Even with the loot—fourteen bronze cannons and 10,000 silver ducats—amid mourning the loss of his foolhardy cousin, Drake apparently deemed his raid on the Spanish town of Saint Augustine, an insignificant event, barely worth mentioning in his records.

Spanish officials, however, had to explain the loss of the garrison payroll and how they had defended themselves with honor in the face of overwhelming odds to the crown. So a little embellishmentof the actual events of June, 1586 was to be expected on their part! Their accounts to the House of Trade and the king are printed on the next page.

Courtesy of NTS

Pike and arquebus drill. The first Saturday in June will find reenactors drilling at the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, in preparation for Drake’s Raid that occurs in evening on the old city streets. Spanish and English camps open to the public all day. Fountain of Youth Gate Fee.

DRAKE’S RAID - Saturday, June 3rd, at 8:00 PM on St. George Street. The event is free and open to all.

Kissing the Royal Feet To the president of the House of Trade, San Agustin, June 17, 1586.

Very Illustrious Sir

I am reduced to such a situation that I do not know where to begin to relate the hardship and misery which have befallen this land. Therefore this communication will not be long, as will be observed.

On the 6th instant Francis Drake arrived at this port with 42 sail, 23 being large vessels and nineteen pinnaces, frigates and shallops. At dawn on the 7th he landed 500 men and with seven large pinnaces sought me forthwith in the fort. With 80 men I had in the fort I resisted him until nearly midday. In view of my resistance he sent to the ships which lay outside the bar for reinforcements, and in nine vessels landed some 2000 men and planted four pieces of artillery among certain sand dunes near the fort, with which he began to batter it. I retired as best I could, to protect my women and children (more than 200 persons).

Having occupied the fort, the enemy took and sacked the town and burned the church with its images and crosses, and cut down the fruit trees, which were numerous and good. He burned the fort and carried off the artillery and munitions and food supplies. We are all left with the clothes we stood in, and in the open country with a little munition which was hidden. We are without food of any sort except six hogsheads of flour which will last twenty days at half a pound per head. I am reporting to His Majesty in full in the accompanying dispatch and entreat your lordship to forward it immediately, and to favour me as far and as speedily as possible, since help for Florida must come from your lordship’s hands.

Our Lord, etc.

San Agustin, June 17, 1586.

Pedro Menéndez Marqués

Courtesy of NTS

Brad Rivard, Melbourne, Brian Bowman and John Ryder, St. Augustine, discuss battle strategy at the officer’s tent.

Don Roberto (a.k.a. Robert Hall, St. Augustine,) is one of the founders of the Drake’s Raid event.

Courtesy of NTS

To the royal officials of Florida to the Crown, San Agustin, June 17, 1586.

Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty As soon as news was received here of the damage which the English corsair had done in Santo Domingo, desiring to prepare as best he could (after consulting the persons best able to advise and after having reached an agreement with us to that effect), General Pedro Menéndez Marquéz built a new fort at the harbour mouth, at the bar, at the end of the channel, to protect the entrance. There he placed all the artillery and munitions. Considering how quickly it was done and by how few people, and with what scanty materials, the fort was very effective and well situated.

Therefore we removed thither the royal strong-box and all the books and papers of the accountant’s office and others in addition which seemed important, together with our own valuables, even our clothing. And so did the general and the other soldiers who were there when the enemy arrived and assaulted with such vigour that we were compelled to withdraw under such stress of risk and danger that we could save nothing but the garments on our backs, and our arms and munitions.

The enemy took everything. The royal strong-box contained little money because, payments due on account of these two forts being made, there is never much over, most years nothing.

Concerning the enemy’s approach and the strength with which he attacked us, the general will report to Your Majesty, in whose compassion we confide, trusting that Your Majesty will decide to order that we be favoured and provided for in such great affliction and calamity as this in which we remain, and so do we humbly entreat Your Majesty, whose sacred Catholic royal person Our Lord preserve many and happy years with increase of greater realms and lordships as Christianity has need.

San Agustin, June 17, 1586.

Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty Your Majesty’s humblest servants and vassals kiss Your Majesty’s royal feet.

Alonso Sancho Saez Rodrigo de Junco Bartolome de Arguelles (Rubrics) 3

This copy of the map in the Walter Bigges account of Drake’s 1585-86 West Indian voyage was first published in London in 1589. The five original maps included in the book are fold-out pages measuring approximately 20”x20”. As with many period maps there is little in the way of directional convention. A copy of the overall map (in color, no less!) can be found at www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr029.html.

The geography presented in this series of maps compares quite well with the layout of the cities involved. The general outlines of the coastlines, port entries and sometimes even the structures, such as fortifications and streets, are recognizable over 400 years later. It can only be concluded that the cartographer, Boazio, who was on the voyage, had at least sketched the outlines, if not completed them while in port and his engravings were probably completed by1589. Therefore, the details depicted in his illustrations are reasonably correct.

La Compañía de Calderón.

Phil Reid of Men of Menendez and Willy Kunze of Drake’s Men discuss how the drill is going.

Calderon’s Company is a group of “living-history” volunteers based at De Soto National Memorial, in Bradenton, Florida. The organization is named after Captain Pedro Calderón, who was left in charge of the base camp and port with approximately 100 soldiers and sailors, when Hernando de Soto began his entrada into La Florida in June of 1539. Since 1993 members of the company have researched 16th century Spanish lifeways, constructed arms and armor, and portrayed the garrison life of the conquistadors in the Tampa Bay area. Calderon’s Company offers public demonstrations at the De Soto Winter Encampment site in Tallahassee and at various State Parks and museums throughout Florida.

They also participate in sixteenth century reenactments in St. Augustine.

For more information contact Tim Burke at http://mywebpages.comcast.net/calderon

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Community Spirit Partner Preserving the Past for 35 Years (1971-2006)

Since its inception, the Heritage of Museum of Northwest Florida has collected and preserved material culture pertaining to local and regional history from prehistoric times to the mid-twentieth century. Located in the heart of Valparaiso, the Museum started as a historical society by local resident and historian Chris LaRoche. Today the Museum collection is comprised of artifacts, textiles, photographs, manuscript materials, and oral histories. Exhibitions, tours and education programs make its collection accessible to students, educators, scholars and the public.

Permanent and temporary exhibitions currently focus on economic and social history with emphasis on early Native American inhabitants, pioneer settlements, agricultural development, the lumber and turpentine industry, and the establishment of Eglin Air Force Base. Traveling exhibits organized by the Museum on subjects including local folk art traditions and 1950’s fashions are featured at area libraries, schools and civic centers.

Education is central to the Heritage Museum’s mission.

Each year area elementary, middle and high school students benefit from curriculum-based programs. Every summer the museum offers a popular “Young Settlers” camp program to provide an in-depth experience of pioneer life. These activities include everything from everyday chores to traditional music and crafts. Construction is currently underway for an on-site Pioneer Learning Center complete with log cabin and heritage garden featuring indigenous plants for experiential learning.

College students utilize the museum’s collections for research purposes and learn museum practices through hand-on internship experiences.

The museum offers heritage craft classes for all ages in basketry, quilting, tatting, weaving, spinning, lace making and sailors’ valentines. Lectures by historians and scholars including a popular lunchtime series “History Sandwiched In” are also presented.

Public events to benefit the museum include “Saturday in the Park” in the spring, a Wine Tasting in the fall, and the “Yule of Yesteryear” celebration in December. On Saturday, April 22, 2006, the Museum will host its 30th Annual Saturday in the Park event. This popular day-long event features heritage craft exhibits and demonstrations, musical entertainment, children’s activities and the annual Valparaiso Garden Club Flower Show and Sale.

The Heritage Museum offers hands-on experience at the popular “Young Settlers” summer camp.

Story and photos courtesy of the Heritage Museum.

The Heritage Museum makes its research library open to the public and research may be conducted by appointment.

In 2006, the museum published Boggy Bayou: Around Niceville and Valparaiso, a book of historic photographs of the neighboring Okaloosa County cities from the late 19th through mid 20th centuries. A second anniversary edition of the wellreceived publication is being printed.

HOURS: The Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Guided tours are available by appointment. The Museum Store features hand-crafted items, old fashioned toys and books is open during Museum hours. Admission is free.

The Heritage Museum 115 Westview Avenue Valparaiso, Florida 32580 Tel (850) 678-2615 Fax (850) 678-4547 Email: heritagemuseum@co.okaloosa.fl.us www.heritage-museum.org 5

FEATURE

by Jerald T. Milanich, Gainesville

Cultural Indigestion?

Like many other archaeologists I enjoy fine dining. Though much of my field work often takes me to rural locations far from four-star restaurants, my archeological travels to professional conference or to visit collections of artifact or peruse historical archives in museums in major cities offer ample opportunities to sample sumptuous cuisine.

One of my alimentary favorites is French food. The French are culinary connoisseurs to whom food is life. Recently, however, my research has given me cause to examine that old adage in a new light. To a Frenchman, it seems, “eating French” might mean something more than a cassoulet or côtelettes d’agneau grillées.

slave; Madame La Couture, wife of Le Tigre’s captain; and her fifteen-year-old son. Soon the son, however, was too ill to travel and was abandoned.

Following several days of near starvation and suffering, Monsieur Viaud and Madame La Couture were found by an British sailor from St. Marks. And Viaud’s servant? Here the story gets a bit juicy. It seems Monsieur and Madame ate him. Faced with a lack of food, they apparently killed the man, then butchered him.

When found, they still carried strips of his dried flesh!

Disturbing? Indeed, but I wrote off the Dog Island incident as an oddity, a one-time occurrence, something akin

That possibility first entered my mind while I was doing research for my book Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe. Trying to learn more about the Indians who lived along the coast of the Florida panhandle I was examining various European colonial accounts from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. One intriguing account from the period when Great Britain controlled Florida (1763-83) described a 1766 shipwreck and the fate of the people aboard the ill-fated vessel. It seems a brigantine named Le Tigre, bound for Louisiana from St. Domingue (present-day Haiti; then a French colony), was swamped in a storm just off Dog Island, a barrier island near modern Apalachicola in Franklin County fronting a portion of St. George Sound.

When the ship went down most of Le Tigre’s passengers and crew made it safely to dry land on Dog Island. There the sixteen survivors met some Indians. They negotiated with the Indians to take them to the British garrison stationed at St. Marks, the former Spanish fort of San Marcos de Apalachee which was about 35 miles to the northeast.

But the deal fell through and the Indians abandoned Le Tigre’s human flotsam, who soon separated into smaller groups to seek succor. Monsieur Pierre Viaud, one of the passengers, was in one cadre of four people which included himself; his African

to California’s unseemly bout of cannibalism associated with the Donner party in the winter of 1846-1847. I think we can all agree that the state which gave us nouvelle cuisine should not receive a blanket condemnation for that one dietary indiscretion.

I felt the same about the French in La Florida.

A short time later when my investigations turned from the Gulf of Mexico coast to France’s sixteenth-century efforts to establish a colony on the Atlantic coast of the southeastern United States, I happened across a second case of having one’s friends over for dinner, this one also involving the French. In

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1562 Jean Ribault and his colonists chose what today is Parris Island, South Carolina for a settlement. There they erected a small fort, christened Charlesfort. Archaeologists Stanley South and Chester DePratter of the University of South Carolina’s Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology have found the remains of that settlement and excavated both the fort and the adjacent village, providing some extraordinary information about this early European colony [see: www.cla.sc.edu/sciaa/ staff/depratterc/newweb.htm].

Thinking everything was in order, Ribault sailed back to France. But in his absence, the 28 Frenchmen left at Charlesfort did not fare well. A fire destroyed their living quarters, causing unhappiness and bickering. As food supplies and spirits dwindled they considered returning too France. Ribault, however, had taken the ship they had arrived in, no doubt a ploy to make certain the colonists did not stray far from their new home. But French ingenuity overcame that obstacle. The men set about building a small boat which they soon launched into the Atlantic Ocean bound for France and home.

Their sea journey was to be no Cunard Line, five-mealsa-day-plus-midnight-buffets, caloric-rich cruise. After three weeks food ran out, leaving the men only their leather shoes and jerkins to chew. Facing certain death, lots were drawn.

One man, Monsieur Lachère, subsequently was divided equally among his compatriots. Thus fortified, the remaining Frenchmen reached Europe.

Did all European colonists have an anthrophagic appetite?

When all else failed, did the English and Spanish also turn to their fellow man for sustenance? Thinking back over Spain’s two and a half centuries (1513-1763) exploring and settling the land they called La Florida, I could not come up with a single serving of paella con marinero. No Spanish sailor volunteered his all as a culinary course; none were enlisted. Nor could I come up with any instance of English kidney pie. Could it be only the French? On, the other hand, perhaps it was only a quirk that two entries in my pie chart involved the colonial French.

But it was only a matter of weeks before my colonial period research led me to another Gallic gustatory gaffe, a third course, so to speak. Three years after the French refugees fleeing the hardships of Charlesfort’s reduced their passenger list by one, another group of French survivors also relied on their companions to provide an entrée. Following the failure of Charlesfort, a second French colony was established in 1564 near the mouth of the St. Johns River in northeast Florida. The small fort erected at the settlement, Fort Caroline, lasted just over a year before it was captured and reoccupied by a Spanish force led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. During several weeks of cat-and-mouse games between Spanish and French ships prior to the Spanish overland march which captured the fort, four French ships, part of a small fleet sent across the ocean to bring new supplies and reinforcements to Fort Caroline, were

hit by a hurricane which drove them ashore in several places along the Atlantic coast south of St. Augustine as far as Cape Canaveral. Twice, survivors of those shipwrecks, unaware their fort was in Spanish hands, marched northward along the coast, headed for Fort Caroline. Both contingents were intercepted by Menéndez’s soldiers and put to the sword. The two massacres, which occurred at Matanzas Inlet south of St. Augustine, gave that inlet its modern name (the Spanish word matanzas translates as “killings”).

Other of the shipwrecked victims from the French ships built a sand-walled fort on the coast near Cape Canaveral.

But marooned sailors and soldiers were no match for the land and sea forces of Pedro Menéndez, who came south from St. Augustine to oust the French, effectively ending France’s presence in La Florida.

That time, however, Menéndez, already facing criticism for the murders of the French at Matanzas, spared the lives of his captives. But rather than taking his prisoners back to St. Augustine where he had established his own colony and where the Spaniards were having trouble assuring themselves adequate food supplies, Menéndez came up with an alternate plan. He would establish the French prisoners in a camp on the coast south of Cape Canaveral and let them fend for themselves.

Effectively marooned, they were far enough away from St. Augustine not to pose any threat to the Spanish colonists living there, and the Spaniards did not have to share any food.

The Frenchmen soon wore out their welcome with the local inhabitants, most likely Ais Indians. Knowing their lives were endangered if they remained, the French opted to move farther south along the coast to a place the Spaniards called Santa Lucía, almost certainly at modern St. Lucie Inlet. Unfortunately for the French, their boorish behavior and a lack of food at the new quarters caused their situation to continue to go downhill. Soon they were reduced to eating anything they could get their hands on. Yes, that’s right. They did it again.

Did French colonists in La Florida have a special place in their stomachs for their fellow men? Did the ordeals and onerous conditions of life on the coasts of that new world stimulate an appetite for new food groups? Why is French food so good today?

While continuing to ponder the situation, I plan to stay home tonight and order a veggie pizza, which I will eat while watching that delicious black comedy about colonial encounters in Brazil, “How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman.” In that 1973-release, the Tupinamba Indians literally turn the tables on a French colonialist. Yummy!

 Jerald T. Milanich is curator in archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

“Some people, moved by malice and excessive envy, have accused Spain of having brought dominion over the whole of the New World at no greater outlay of fortune than the expenditure of stupid and persistent madmen.”- Garcilaso de la Vega 7

FEATURE

Story and photos by Lester R. Dailey, Largo

The “Splendid Little War” returns to Tampa Bay

The U.S. re-enactors, like the original troops, came from all over the nation.

Arizona sent a large contingent of Rough Rider re-enactors.

The filming, like the real Army, involved a lot of “Hurry up and wait.”

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The Spanish-American War, the so-called “Splendid Little War” of 1898, returned to Tampa Bay, the port of embarkation for Cuba-bound troops of that war, last November. NFL Films, better known for its football footage, filmed a three-hour documentary about the war for the History Channel.

Director Phil Tuckett and his crew began filming on the USS Olympia, the Span-Am War cruiser that is now a museum ship in Philadelphia. They then moved to Fort DeSoto County Park, in Pinellas County, and did some filming on nearby Egmont Key. Later that week, I signed up for four days as an extra and was immediately asked to stay on for two additional days.

The first two days, we shot camp scenes and skirmish scenes at Fort DeSoto.

In one scene, where the Cubans were employing a scorched earth policy against the Spaniards, we got to torch a couple of acres of palms and palmettos. The flames shot 30 or 40 feet into the air and made a spectacular sight.

Finding a place to film the Battle of San Juan Hill in pancake-flat Florida presented a problem. But Tuckett’s location scout selected a dirt-covered trash mound at a landfill ten miles southwest of Tampa. Later, we moved to a bigger hill in the landfill that had recently been capped and was still emitting methane gas. We had to dry-fire our weapons there because a single muzzle flash from a blank could have caused an explosion.

The last two days were spent at the University of Tampa’s Plant Hall. The Moorish palace was built in 1891 by railroad magnate Henry B. Plant as the Tampa Bay Hotel. During the

Wherever there are soldiers and cards, a game is sure to ensue.

Alex de Quesada’s blank-firing Gatling gun was a big hit. A propane tank hidden in the limber provided this Gatling gun’s bark.

America’s #1 beach, Fort DeSoto County Park, doubled for Cuba as an American officer met with Cuban freedom fighters.

Span-Am War, Army officers stayed there while awaiting transport to Cuba.

I had signed up as a Cuban Mambi reenactor, but they were short of Spanish troops, so we sometimes had to change uniforms and play both sides. Luckily, the Cubans and the Spaniards used the same Mauser rifles, so we didn’t have to change weapons.

At other times, I portrayed the bodyguard of a Cuban general, a wealthy civilian, and the typist in President McKinley’s White House war room. Fortunately, I have a very forgettable face so, hopefully, History Channel viewers won’t notice that I played multiple roles.

All the scenes were shot with a modern movie camera, a hand-cranked movie camera that replicates jerky 1898 newsreels and a still camera. In addition to the three-hour documentary to be shown in two parts sometime this fall, there will be a documentary about the making of the documentary.

Lester Dailey is a regular contributor to the Florida Frontier Gazette and a purveror of neat stuff for reenactors.

The hardtack was just for show.

The re-enactors ate three catered meals a day and plenty of snacks in between.

Doc stood ready to treat everything from gonorrhea to gunshot wounds.

Most of the re-enactors who portrayed Cuban Mambi soldiers were Hispanics, who were equally fluent in Spanish and English.

Troopers marched through a haze of campfire smoke as cameras rolled.

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FEATURE

by Robert A. Combes, St. Petersburg

Okeechobee Memories

I stood on the dock just before dawn with my newly reconditioned Remington single shot 12 gauge shotgun. My fatherin-law, Don, and I were waiting for the other guys to show up.

These men were a close cabal that manufactured and sold steel products from Jacksonville to Miami.

As was the custom, the men brought cases of shells and several bottles of Jack Daniels or Wild Turkey. We met at the Calusa Lodge dock, loaded our guns and supplies on airboats, and took a swig off one of the whiskey bottles to remove the chill. As the others began arriving, my father-in-law, instructed me to board the largest of the fleet of airboats. It was sixteen feet long with a 250-horsepower Lycoming aircraft engine, and with room for five men. When I discovered that the boat belonged to Pete, a wave of relief flooded over me. Pete had a reputation as a hard worker and equally hard drinker. But Don trusted him. Heck, being fairly new to this ritual and having the eagerness of a child to show them that I had what it takes, I followed Don’s instructions, trying to blend in with this bunch.

After the last man arrived, the bottle was passed around again.

That Thanksgiving morning at Lake Okeechobee was cold and black.

The sky was filled with more stars than you can imagine, and the air sparked with excitement as airboats out the lake screamed into action.

Today we shoot ducks!

iridescent patch of blue on the wings edged with white. I raised my gun with a bead on this trophy but quickly realized it had flown to close to shoot. To do so would destroy it. I continued to wait as the morning progressed. Wood ducks, teal, and pintails flew just beyond the reach of my shotgun.

Hours went by. Then the sound of an airboat got louder and louder. Pete had come to pick me up. The rest of the guys were with him. The boat sat there idling as he motioned me to climb aboard. I settled into my seat. The shoot had ended for the day.

The men passed the bottle around and someone handed it to me.

I took a long pull and we were off.

We hurled through the water and grass. I had been on the lake fishing with Don many times before and these surroundings did not look familiar.

It became obvious to the others too.

Pete let up on the accelerator and we idled for a moment. He pulled a long one off a bottle of whiskey and off we went again. We were gliding through unfamiliar surroundings, over berms that had formed over time, through scrub that survived changes on the lake. We left one of these clumps of scrub with a muffled thud.

Suddenly Perry jumped up and pointed his 12 gauge shotgun at the bottom of the boat. Hysteria broke out. The sound of the mighty aircraft The next generation - Robbie and Corey, engine wound down. From the seat Robert’s sons, fly across Lake Okeechobee perched above the rest of us Pete was on an airboat. Courtesy of Robert Combes. screaming and waving his arms wildly.

Perry saw the animations of Pete and lowered his gun. With this strange turn

We took off into the darkness. My body teemed with excitement. The vision of falling ducks filled my imagination as we flew across the marsh that surrounded this massive body of water. I had never shot a duck out of the morning sky, but today felt different. Dawn broke as we arrived at our destination.

It looked like a field of high grass. Pete motioned to me to get out. As I stepped out of the boat, I felt the cold water through my waders and on through the layers of clothing I was wearing.

Pete had let me out at a large clump of debris that would provide a blind for me to shoot from. I began to wait as he went off to place the others. I stood there for some time with the sound of airboats humming in the distance. The ducks were up and flying as the sun rose higher and higher. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a mallard with a green head, black rear end and a 10

of events the rest of us removed our hearing protection. Pete rose up out of his seat and inquired heatedly of Perry about his actions. Perry, who was visibly shaken, replied that a large snake had landed in his lap. He instinctively jumped up to get it off and to shoot it.

I could see the snake was pinned to the stern by the force of the idling propeller. My mind raced at the thought of a hole in the boat. Then, as if someone conducted us in unison, we broke out in laughter. The bottles were passed around and we headed home.

When we arrived back at the dock others were already there cleaning the fish and the ducks they had bagged. Much to Perry’s chagrin, all we could talk about was the excitement over the snake and his reaction. •

FEATURE

It was one of those hot summer days, the kind of days when you think that your car’s air conditioner can’t handle the pressure of all that heat. So, like an auto dose of Zoloft, you pat the dash board and say, “It’s okay,” turn off the air conditioner, and roll down the windows. It was on such an afternoon that I was crossing over the Treasure Island causeway to the beach of the same name.

One of the first things that greets the motorist when Treasure Island is approached in this direction (from the east) is a wooden pirate, sword drawn, protecting a chest full of oranges. I glanced at the bearded spectacle idly for I had seen it dozens, if not hundreds of times.

What drew my attention was the banner that overarched Treasure Island’s guardian - it read, “BUCCANEER RAID!” Buccaneer Raid? In Florida?

  

In February every year, the Tampa area celebrates the Gasparilla Festival. It is a tradition that began in 1904 in the city of Tampa, then more known for cigars than piracy, when local business people decided to “attack” the city and sack it. However, not until 1911 was an actual ship used by the self-styled pirates, who before then relied on horses and primitive automobiles in order to carry out their raids.

The Tampa area is hardly the only place in Florida prone to fanciful flights of the imagination when it comes to pirates, and somehow Florida has become synonymous with piracy, at least in historical perception. There are some convoluted mental gymnastics that have to be performed in order to trace why this perception became prevalent. First of all, Florida once belonged to Spain,

by Albert W. Vogt III, St. Petersburg and Spain stole a lot of gold from the Americas, that gold had to sail past Florida in order to get back to Spain, and therefore Florida was a logical place for pirates to hang out. Make sense? It did for some aspiring pirates in the keys, but they little resembled the popular swash buckling images of today. Instead of a crew with cannons blazing and swinging from the rigging to board a prize ship, their vessel of choice was a simple row boat. Thus, when a Spanish treasure galleon ran aground in the dangerous Florida Straits, as they often

PIRATES!

did, a group of men tugged out to them, took what they could salvage, and dispersed just as quickly.

This sort of “piracy,” if it could be called that, is what Key West has blown out of proportion for its

connection to a pirate past. This was also helped along by fans of Jimmy Buffet. Some of the lyrics to

“A Pirate Looks at Forty” tell the tale: “Yes I am a pirate, 200 years too late.

The cannons don’t thunder, there’s nothing to plunder.”

Such things are celebrated in KeyWest, though the “plunder” these days is the tourist’s dollar.

There are other places in Florida that attempt to link themselves to

a tradition of piracy, but for a “real” pirate experience, Disney World’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride can be found right off I-4, in the middle of the state. Tourists climb into self propelled 11

dinghies that take them through the life of a pirate, complete with drunken revelry and a high seas battle. Despite the ride’s obvious cliché and over-the-top acts of pirate debauchery, in the 1990s Disney decided to tone down the chaos and took out a scene where a group of pirates chase a woman around the town that they are in the process of sacking. The political incorrectness of this, however, did not stop the media conglomerate from releasing two movies based on the ride: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), and Dead Man’s Chest (2006). So successful have these movies been that Disney executives recently announced plans to add Johnny Depp’s character, Jack Sparrow, to the ride, one of the original ones at Disney World.

But perhaps the one place in Florida with the largest concentration of pirate images is the Tampa area. As mentioned, we have the Gasparilla Festival, a celebration of the pirate name José Gaspar. However, like the disproportionate attention given pirates in Key West, or the faux, animatronic buccaneers at Disney World, there is little basis in fact for this tradition. Gaspar, never existed, and neither did his “Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla,” and even if they did, there would have been no reason for poor spelling.

The supposed timeline of José Gaspar, and location for that matter, further muddle the murkiness of the tradition of Gasparilla. For starters, before Gaspar was finally defeated by the very real USS Enterprise in 1821, as the story goes, his base of operations was Charlotte Harbor to the south, not Tampa Bay. There is even an island off Charlotte Harbor named Gasparilla Island. Secondly, when the early 1800s are considered, what would there have been for José Gaspar to plunder? The Gulf of Mexico during this time, much less the west coast of Florida, was not exactly a hub of ocean going commerce.

Yet despite the shaky history of the character of José Gaspar, the Tampa area continued to identify itself in other ways with piracy. One of the more widely known aspects of this is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If there was one thing the Buccaneers were known for after they came into the league in 1976 other than for losing, it was for their strange, neon orange colors that they wore on their uniforms. But in the late 1990s, their uniform adopted a more sensible color scheme (crimson and pewter), and in 1998, a new stadium was built to more reflect the team’s

Buccaneer heritage. The new facility is complete with a pirate ship at one end and a village waiting to be raided at the other.

And because football - given the quasi-national holiday status afforded the Super Bowl - is such a large part of America’s present-day culture, the Buccaneers have become one of the most pervasive symbols of Tampa Bay. Winning the Super Bowl in 2003 went a long way to cementing this image.

The Treasure Island bridge is closed for rebuilding but this small bas relief is set in one of the stylized pillars on the causeway. Photo by Elizabeth Neily.

Coming back to Treasure Island, where we began our journey through Florida’s strange relationship with piracy, we have more fiction-become-place-reality. Most fans of literature will recognize the city’s borrowing of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1881 classic Treasure Island, or, if more shallow, the Disney movie version which came out in 1950. The city of Treasure Island today bears little resemblance to the fictional world that Stevenson created for young Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver.

Instead, the mom-and-pop run places that did try to do a service to the name Treasure Island, like the Buccaneer Resort and the Jolly Roger Inn, are being replaced by mammoth condominium structures that require a treasure chest full of pirate booty to purchase.

So if during the spring break, or some other time, you find yourself on Treasure Island beach, try to forget where you are.

Try to ignore the powered pirate ships that patrol the intercoastal water or troll along just off the beach. Yes, their customers dancing to the chicken dance song and their fake cannon can be very annoying, but please try to pretend like they are not there. Instead, try to stay focused on the fact that, Disney aside,

many people come to Florida for the beach, not for somebody in a pirate costume. •

 Albert Vogt is a graduate student in Florida Studies at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg Campus. Albert has a great passion for Florida history and reenacting.

He was an active member of the 97th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Compny A, before continuing his studies.

Albert is spearheading our fund-raising efforts at Florida Frontiers looking for sponsorships, grants, and of course, Community Spirit Partners.

Email Albert at journeyman9@msn.com For current advertizing rates call (727) 321-7845. or contact the Florida Frontier Gazette at 727-321-7845 Email:tocobaga@verizon.net 12

Through Women’s Eyes

The Camp Follower

by Missy Clark as told to Elizabeth Neily at the Alafia River Rendezvous in January.

I don’t get much for myself. I’m an old woman now. My husband is a soldier.

He is not a soldier like wears a uniform cause he’s an old man too. He is a militia man. When the war came through where we live, he had to go. He had to go. Damn pride and honor, huh. He had to go and I had to go too. Who would hunt for me? Who would chop wood for me? So I had to follow him. Fortunately he is good and hiding and not getting shot!

I don’t think that I would one to marry another man if my husband got shot. Too old for that. I might try fighting – as a target. But that’s my Her Story choice; I don’t have children to look after anymore. But that doesn’t mean I don’t “These shoes are highly help with everybody else’s overrated!” she exclaims. “The next children. Any cold child is man that dies, he best be just a bit welcome to curl up on my lap. smaller. These shoes are just too Any tearful eye is welcome to big. Shoes are highly over-rated. be mopped up by my apron.

But nobody is going to take away Ach, look it, I’m ready. my shoes.

I’m ready. I’ve got some The problem with being a bandage stuff here. Ach, I camp follower is that you gotta to haven’t seen anything this carry everything. Let me tell you white in awhile – except about it.

Mothers, what would Camp follower complains about her sore feet Missy Clark for this little pretty. My you do to save the life of of Barkertown Sutlers, Morris, NY is a writer for “On the treasures are small. I can your children? Would you Trail” magazine. She is an excellant seamstress and may have everything I can carry.

The things that I hafta have. wash another man’s shirt? be reached at www.barkertownsutlrs.com.

No matter what, I hafta have a Would you patch holes Photos by Elizabeth Neily blanket. It’s my coat. It’s my in somebody’s stockings warm at night. And one more time if I’ve got a child I got to when you wash them? Would you marry a total keep warm, I cuddle him on my lap.It’s my raincoat. It is a stranger on the battlefield? You know the only way pretty good place to hide when it gets to scary. that you can stay attached to the army is to be attached to a The other things I gotta keep with me is my sewing man. If your husband was to die today, tomorrow you need to be kit. I’ve been sitting here sharpening my needle in the married. People often think that camp followers are women of ill sand. The sand keeps my needle good and sharp, so repute. That is so, so not true. I may be dirty, but I walk an average when I have to stitch up somebody’s wound, it won’t of 8-10 miles a day. I haul wood. I haul water. I provide water for hurt so bad. There is precious little comfort out there. the troops that are dying or in need. That’s my job – I find water.

Women following the army are a necessity.

A woman with a blanket roll draped over her shoulder and around her waist clumped up onto the stage, a clatter of pots and a pair of men’s shoes too big for her feet. She drops her gear onto the wooden stage and looks sadly a her bare feet, blistered and rubbed raw where insects have made their mark. Missy Clark, a sutler and writer for “On the Trail” magazine, is about to enlighten the crowd gathered in front of the rustic stage near the gate where flatlanders have come to experience the Rendezvous.

She is going to tell them about her life as a camp follower.

13

Men need women. Men need women – to wash their clothes to mend their holes, to fix their wounds, to hold them when they die. Nobody wants to die alone without being held. And I also have a lot of young women out there. I help them a little bit too. Cause their first responsibility in following the army is hauling water – hauling wood.

Look around you. If we had to get enough wood to feed three hundred people, look around, do you know what a job it is to find enough wood to make fire to feed three hundred people?

So oft times as we walk along we stuff our aprons with as much wood as we can carry. But always, always, always you might have to carry a child as well. I’ve carried plenty.”

b a c k , w h o g o t c a u g h t h o p p i n g f r o m o n e m a n ’ s t e n t t o t h e n e x t . So which one of them was her husband? Well there wasn’t one. So she was drummed out – to the middle of nowhere. She was a troublemaker – not welcome to follow the army and get her half ration.

She was drummed out. Just like that!

It’s a hard life. Some people think that of course the women would follow the army and have tea parties. Hah! I can see it now. Here I am at my teapot – I up gathered up my firewood and scooped up my water. Oh, I don’t have a teapot. I don’t have a teacup. Why I don’t have tea. Well I guess I’ll just have some water, maybe some ale.

Yes, it’s a hard life being a camp Missy holds up her hobnailed shoes to follow, but it is a life you get familiar with. show the crowd. She continues with a hint of You’ve got family, as transient as they are, frustration and dispair. and there are always children to look after.

“This whole shoes problem is terrible.

I’ve been known to carry an orphaned I ain’t never had shoes of my own anyway. child to the next town and hand it over to What did I need shoes for anyway. But after a family there.

Imagine being born in a war walking mile after mile, day after day, I need or following parents into war. But there it shoes sometimes. They are just too big. My is.

You don’t have a choice.

Somebody has only chance of getting shoes again is getting to hunt. Somebody has to chop wood. them off somebody else. Hey, did you notice During the American War for something funny about them? They don’t Missy shows the audience that her Independence, George Washington have any lefts or rights! And they’re huge shoes are identical...no left or right wrote ten orders referring to the women too. When it’s cold and snowy it’s pretty bad. at this time period. following the army.

You won’t ride with Slush…slush… the baggage train. You won’t ride with I bring my pot to cook in and a cup which can also in the wagon. Women will not advance be used as a bowl. I bring my spoon too. This is really all the men into the town. Women will not go into town. George I need. My husband eats with the mess. I get what’s left Washington had his hands full with the camp followers. It is sort over. Women will share their ration with their children. of like a snowball. As you go along you gain more and more So many people think that women were of ill people as the war progresses. Then you loose some and pick up repute. B u t l e t m e t e l l y o u s o m e t h i n g some more. It is an ever moving thing.” • t h e r e w a s a w o m a n c o u p l e o f w e e k s

National Association for Interpretation & Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums Southeastern Workshop

It was the kind of conference that you’d like to share with everybody you know. It’s a time to meet other folks who are truly enthusiastic about their studies and place of work. It wasn’t just a “feel good” program, it was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas, work out problems, and ask for help. For me, that added a very dynamic quality.

Park and museum interpreters from all over the southeastern United States met in Gainesville, February 20th through 26th to share their expertise each other. They also had the opportunity of visiting area historic sites.

Presentations at the NIA & ALHFAM Southeastern workshop ranged form controlled burns to turning an old unused parking lot into a working farm for education to detailed presentations on period clothing. I enjoyed asking the presenters some pointed questions and getting the answers.

14

Dudley Farm Historic State Park was one of the living history museums visited,

Recent studies suggest that children learn easiest when they are on outings with their families. They are comfortable and happy.

Parks and museums offer some of the best environments

in which to relax and open up for a little knowledge.

Inspired by our week at this workshop Elizabeth and I encourage Living history and environmental interpreters to think about joining these organizations.

ALHFAM 2006 CONFERENCE IN BATON ROUGE, LA. June 4-8 LSU Rural Life Museum www.rurallife.lsu.edu

FEATURE

Story and photos by Jude Bagatti, Gulfport

100 YEARS OF FORTITUDE

Feast Day of Epiphany in Tarpon Springs

January 6, 2006 was leather weather in Tarpon Springs.

At 8:30 am, my friend, Meg, and I arrived early enough to Not just jackets or boots, but hats, scarves, gloves, hooded snag a free parking spot on a street within easy walking distance parkas, even furs, had been pulled from closets as folks of both St. Nicholas Cathedral and Spring Bayou. A service gathered for the Centennial Feast Day of Epiphany in this was in progress in the Cathedral where only VIPs wearing north Pinellas city. Gusty air in 40 to 50 degree temperatures lapel pins were admitted. For a while, we sat outside under a made me shiver at the thought of jumping into the water of tent with TV screens facing four directions showing close-ups Spring Bayou like 56 boys would of the Patriarch and a bevy of clerics officiating soon dare. I did not envy them. inside. We milled about admiring the statue of a It was a cool reception only cross retriever and the new shiny plaque on the on thermometers, for the world front wall of the Cathedral memorializing this spiritual leader of the Greek exceptional Epiphany.

Orthodox Church, His All Holiness Groups of eager looking boys, wearing surfer Bartholomew. Eighty thousand shorts and white T-shirts with blue crosses and people, 50,000 more than usual, “Epiphany Day” lettered on their front, emerged were expected for this 100 th from the Cathedral. They were the 2006 cross Epiphany commemorating the divers. Steve Kambouris, of Palm Harbor, was baptism of Jesus in the River handsome in a dark suit setting off his gray Jordan. Streets were barricaded, a temples and mustache. He was the proud father multitude of emergency vehicles of 17-year-old Vasili, one of this year’s cross and paramedics stood by, armed contenders. All the diving boys must be between personnel patrolled rooftops 16 and 18 years of age, Steve explained. Vasili’s and government uniforms were chin boasted fringes of black fuzz. We wished everywhere. The Patriarch, deemed him luck. a head of state, had traveled from A curly-haired, good-looking, young man in Istanbul to conduct a Divine Liturgy suit and tie, his smile revealing gleaming white and preside over the weeklong teeth, stood nearby. He held a white wooden celebration. Scores of politicos, cross in one hand and a cup trophy topped with ambassadors and archbishops had a golden cross in the other. The white cross come. There were rumors. Would had three Byzantine-like scallops at each end, Priests carry a casement with a Laura Bush appear? painting of Christ’s baptism.

15

signifying the Trinity. The years 1906 and 2006 were inscribed in gold on its arms. Andrew McAdams retrieved the cross in 2005 earning the honor of presenting the trophy to this year’s winner. “Once you win, you can’t compete again,” Andrew said. “A diver must be baptized in the Greek Church and be of good moral character,” he added.

The Cathedral was now opened to all. The domed structure was an artistic, historical and spiritual gem. We admired the richness, beauty and inspiration of its paintings, statuary, stained glass, and mosaics. We prayed, lit candles and drank blessed water from tiny cups. Jack, the winner, had changed from wet T-shirt and shorts into dry sportswear and appeared in the Cathedral. “The water was warmer than the air,” he

A jumbo TV screen overlooked Spring Bayou, where the Cross Retrieval Ceremony would take place at 12:30 pm. Already, early comers were blanketing its grassy slopes for the best views of the dock and retrieval area. Despite bright sun, the cold encouraged huddling. For once I didn’t mind the press of humanity, which served to block the wind. We claimed a spot next to the fenced off area Steve told us was reserved for the divers’ families. A semi-circle of ten rowboats enclosed the section of water into which the cross would be thrown. Sheriff’s vessels blocked other boaters from getting in the way. One wet-suited photographer was in the water. Seeking a restroom, I entered a large open house across the street from the Bayou, which, with window signs and crowds inside and out, appeared to be a restaurant. A woman swiftly informed me the party was private. I learned afterward I had probably sashayed into the house of a prominent Congressman.

Way out of my district, I was certainly not a constituent here. Fortunately, a nearby The victor, Jack Vasilaros, 16, of Clearwater, is carried by his buddies recreation center was more accommodating. and fellow divers past the cheering crowds lining the street.

At last the Patriarch and entourage proceeded from the Cathedral down the roped off street to the Bayou dock. After blessings, the boys assured me when I asked. Besides the trophy, he would receive ran leaping into the water, swam to the rowboats and waited a special blessing and a gold cross necklace. Steve and Vasili in them for the toss. They must be freezing in the wind we were pleased it was their friend, Jack, who had won. sympathized. Soon one, then another of the rowboats capsized At the Glendi, the music and food fest along the Sponge from too many boys in one boat or uneven weight distribution.

Docks, Jack carried the coveted white cross on a tray into a The spectacle distracted from the recitations of the Patriarch. tent where folk dancers were performing. Women kissed it Unsuccessful in up-righting their boats, the boys clung to the and placed money on the tray. I was allowed to hold the cross. sides or scrambled atop the overturned hulls. Meanwhile, the Feeling blessed, I drank my beer and ate spanakopita (spinach Patriarch went on reciting the Great Blessing of the Water while pie). It was all Greek, and it was all good. someone translated his words into English. A girl released a white homing pigeon symbolizing peace and the Holy Spirit.

It flew to a tree branch overhanging the water and lingered.

We wondered if it ever found its way home.

Finally, it was time for the cross toss. The Patriarch raised his arm and threw. The cross traced a white arc in the air before plunging into the water along with 56 splashing boys.

In seconds, it was over. A hand holding the cross surfaced and held it aloft, while the empty-handed boys looked on dismayed.

Winner, Jack Vasilaros, 16, of Clearwater Beach, was carried like a hero on the shoulders of his comrades up the street toward JUDE BAGATTI is a freelance writer and photographer, the Cathedral, past jockeying photographers and cheering and a regular contributor to the Florida Frontier spectators. Six priests carried an intricately carved and domed Gazette. wooden casement, holding a painting of Jesus being baptized

by John the Baptist. Dignitaries robed in white, gold, blue or She can be reached at 727-322-6211 or black followed. heyjudebagatti@msn.com 16

TALES

by Charles Bears Road Dunning, St. Petersburg

The Blue Knife

Part 2

For Part 1 of this story see the Winter 2006, Volume 5, No.2.

21

We were married. . .

That was so long ago. Do you wonder that I remember that long ago?

Oh, he was a good man.

I loved him.

I loved his flute and his music in the morning. I wept when he and my father went on long trading trips. I would have done anything to keep him with me. I would have fished with him.

Maybe he would have made boats with my grandfather.

But he couldn’t stay. Crow’s feather was my father’s paddle arm, and he became a trader, and I felt so cold for the first few days every time he left.

When we were together, the early mornings were the best times, when the early light passed our sleeping curtains and pulled at our eyes.

We spooned together, and he held me from behind. He was warm when I was cold. He was hard where I was soft. We fit together.

I remember when his hand cupped my belly and held me.

That was the best time. His hand, even as hard as it was from paddling my father’s boats, felt soft and warm on my skin. I shivered from his warmth.

I felt his hips pass by my hips on our mat, and I felt the pull of his need as I passed under him.

After, I would wriggle my shoulders into his chest and catch his chin between my shoulder and my neck and I would hold him there and listen to his breath in my ear.

That was the best time, and that was so long ago.

Are you surprised? I was not always a grandmother!

Then, children came. There was always one on my hip and another at my breast, and, in time, there was a line of them following me like little brown ducks to my grandmother’s clay pit.

I taught my daughters to dance in the black mud, and my mother taught them to add crushed shells to the clay and to mold it, as my grandmother taught her. These are things women teach their daughters.

Could it be that long ago?

My daughters became adept at working with the clay, and Crow’s feather traded their pots far along the coast.

After my grandfather passed west beyond where the sea people lived, my father continued to build boats. My husband taught my sons to paddle. My father took my sons out into the pass when the fish swam in from the deep water. I went out with them and showed them how to set the nets and how to anchor my father’s boat and to wait until the tide changed.

My father gave his boats to Crow’s feather and my sons. He said he was too tired to paddle any more, though my father had done little paddling since Crow’s feather had come home with him that time.

Sometimes, I believe Crow’s feather lived to trade. From early on, at least one of my sons traveled with him in the trading season. In time my husband and my sons had a line of boats strung out along the beach. When it was trading season the boats were filled with shells, and my mother’s pottery, and white feathers.

22

Those were good days. Crow’s feather was happy with my sons, and he loved my daughters. The girls’ pottery was the best in all the villages he visited. He became a man of accountability among the people who lived on the Gulf.

But I missed him when he was away. I missed his warmth, and his hands, and my belly was hungry with need for his touch.

After a time, my father spent the trading season hunting. We always had deer to put up, and skins to scrape, and deer bone for carving and to trade.

There were those times when my father came home from the palmettos with a spotted cat skin knotted into a pack filled with meat. Crow’s feather was always happy to trade the cat skins.

Once, during the raining time, Crow’s feather and my sons went out under the deep trees with my father who was now a hunter.

They had done this before.

They were away with two days, and when they came back to my mother’s house, my father came in with a huge spotted skin. It covered most of his back, even though it was knotted into a pack.

He wouldn’t look at my mother or me. My sons came in next. They were carrying their father. He was dead.

They laid him on a mat beside my mother’s fire. He looked as strong as the day I had first seen him, but his lips were blue.

My sons had closed their father’s eyes and kept them that way by weighing them down with pieces of stone coral.

The hole in his throat where the cat had torn at Crowís feather was carefully covered with a twist of palm fiber.

I sat beside him on the mat. I sat and looked at his face. I held his hands, but they were cold. I warmed them on my breasts, and I shivered. I kissed his lips that had kissed mine and that had loved me with his deer bone flute.

My belly felt hungry.

I was lost.

I lay with him that night and held him until the morning.

My father came with my sons. They carried my husband away.

I believed they had carried my heart away with him.

I took my mother’s favorite knife, the little sharp one. I plaited my hair into four braids, and then I cut the four braids away until all my hair was gone.

I burned my braids in my mother’s fire. My mother’s house stank of my burning hair. It must have. I have smelled hair burning before. I didn’t smell mine.

I took my mother’s favorite knife and walked to the beach.

I watched the sea people turning in the shallow waves. I sat in the sand and cut my legs and my arms with my motherís knife.

I watched my blood run across my thighs and down my arms.

I sat in the sand and watched my blood run into the waves. My grief ran into the Ocean Sea with my blood.

I felt myself change. It was horrible.

I dropped my mother’s knife. I watched it fall onto the red sand.

I searched for the knife after that. I searched many times, but I never found it.

My husband’s body, I will not say his name again, was washed. My mother and her sisters wrapped him in palm leaves, and they sewed the leaves together with palm twine.

My father pulled his finest canoe from the wooden blocks where it sat on the beach. It was the only canoe he hadn’t given

to the father of my children. We placed his body in the canoe.

The men, my father and my sons, paddled the canoe out into the deep water. We women stood on the beach and watched the canoe become a black stick way out on the sparkling waves.

When the canoe returned the palm fronds which my mother and her sisters had stitched together to cover my love.

They were gone.

I was cold. I felt the cold water. I felt my love sinking deep into the Ocean Sea, and the seawater kept him.

My mother watched after me. And my daughters, who understood how things were, poured their grief into making pots. They dried the pots in long lines on my grandmother’s drying racks, and stacked them and burned them in the fire.

My cuts healed. After the skin and the muscles stopped hurting, my mother and some of the old women, they must have been as old as my grandmother, took me to the house where I had become a woman. The women tattooed long lines of triangles and dots over the scars on my thighs and arms.

It took a day and a night.

My hair grew back, though, since then, it has always been streaked with white lines.

My mother hid the white in her hair with soot mixed with fat. I did not bother, but my mother’s husband was still alive.

I became a widow, though I was not an old woman when my sons carried my husband home.

I slept alone.

My hair turned all white, and my mother clucked her tongue at me.

My father passed after many years. He was an old man, much older than many. My mother followed him. She could not bear life without him.

Her house became my house. It stayed that way, though my sons rebuilt it for me more times than one. It is my house.

My daughters met young men, and they married. I have heard them giggling behind their sleeping curtains.

I smiled, remembering his hand on my belly that warmed me when I was cold.

My sons became traders, and they carried my daughters’ pottery far up the coast and even out across the Gulf.

I became an old woman, a grandmother, and, after a long while, my daughters became grandmothers too.

I have watched the seas pass through the channel in the mangroves for more suns than can be counted. I have watched the sea people chasing the silver fish through the pass and into the people’s nets when they returned from the deep water.

Indian Stuff Located at 1064 4th Street North St. Petersburg www.orgsites.com/fl/ourstory/

In my remembering, I felt their sides pass by my hips in the water and felt the pull of their swimming as they passed under me.

Passing was not the great shock I had expected.

One morning came.

I heard a deer bone flute playing outside my house. The flute sounded like magic, like the magic of birds’ songs, and skies in the morning, and it sounded like the deep seawater to me.

I stood up from my sleeping mat that my granddaughters had pulled up close to my fire.

I walked by my children and their children sleeping in my house.

It was early in the morning. The sand was wet with dew.

I hurried.

It was him. I knew it would be.

He held me, and I shivered in the warmth of his hands.

He stood behind me and folded his arms around me. His arms were covered with blue tattoos.

His hands held my belly. I held his chin between my shoulder and my neck.

He breathed in my hair. I heard him breathe.

Passing is nothing more than changes.

We are forever.

The land remembers our passing.

The deep water holds our shadows forever.

He faced me. He held my hands in his.

His eyes were gray.

I know I told you.

He looked at the lines of blue triangles and the dots tattooed on the inside of my arms.

He kissed them.

I smelled the sweet honey on his breath.

He held me then. I looked into his eyes.

I have remembered his eyes all my life and longer.

It has never been any different than this.

I have spent this day with my grandmother.

This is the story she told me.

She asked me to tell it to you, and I have.

Though the land is changing and the shells and the stones that marked their lives are being scattered, for as long as we do not forget their names or forget to tell their stories, our grandparents will not be forgotten.

So my grandmother’s story is told.

Yona galohisdi

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Our MISSION is to “preserve, interpret, educate and entertain the public about Native Florida through art, books, music, dance, drama, storytelling, special exhibits and events.

Call us to find out what’s up this week 727-821-8186 23

COMMUNITY SPIRIT PARTNER GAMBLE MANSION

Last Antebellum Home on Florida’s West Coast

by Gail R. Jessee

Gamble Mansion, built between 1843 and 1850, has a business from the Mansion and utilized the Manatee river very interesting and unique history. During the lifetime of to ship military equipment and provisions to various points this majestic edifice, it has been a Home, a Confederate in Florida.

Commissary Agency, a Hide-out, a Fertilizer Warehouse, As a ‘Hide-out’, in 1865 it provided sanctuary for a and finally the greatest duty of all, a Repository of traveler named Mr. Howard. This gentleman turned out to be Southern History and Artifacts. none other than Judah P. Benjamin, Confederate Secretary of This grand ‘Ole Lady’, located State for President Jefferson Davis. During Mr. Benjamin’s stay at the Mansion, there in the small town of Ellenton, has were many tension-packed suffered — property fires, raids and suspenseful moments as from Union soldiers, hurricanes and he narrowly escapes capture chemical warfare (caustic fertilizer)

by Union soldiers searching and yet still stands as a symbol to a the area. Eventually, he made way of life that is now ‘gone with his way to England where the wind.’ he became a barrister and As a ‘Home’ for its builder and then was appointed Queen’s original owner Robert Gamble, the Counsel. His legal influence building’s innovations are timeless. on both sides of the Atlantic He had it constructed with an early was unchallenged. Judah P. form of concrete (known as Tabby) Benjamin was considered to for stability, which is a testament to be one of the most versatile, its sturdiness since it is the ‘oldest cosmopolitan and imaginative existing structure’ in Manatee men ever to serve the County and the ‘last antebellum Confederacy or the American mansion’ on Florida’s West coast. and British Bar. Its 2-foot thick walls, 12-foot high Serving as a ‘Fertilizer ceilings along with its 4-foot high Warehouse’, this magnificent windows efficiently provides an building nearly lost its place air cooling system for the home in history.

It was through during the hot Florida summers. To the caustic composition of further insure the Mansion’s interior the fertilizer stored there, in remains cool, the upper and lower conjunction with voracious parts of the house are shaded by the termites, that most of the roof and upper verandahs which are interior wood was destroyed. supported by eighteen 25-foot high This truly would have been columns around three sides of the a sad end to one of the most building. historic sites in Florida.

During the winter months, the However, through the foresight thickness of the walls works in of a local chapter of the reverse by retaining interior heat historical organization known when the fireplaces are utilized. To as the United Daughters of the further insure the warmth of each A southern belle and gentleman, greet vistors Confederacy, this beautiful room, heavy draperies would be outside the mansion’s front entrance. placed over all of the windows and thick rugs laid upon the floors.

As a ‘Commissary Agency’, the house was expropriated piece of architecture and its significant role in Confederate in 1862 by the Confederate States Government and used history was preserved for posterity. as a residence for Captain Archibald McNeill, who was In 1926, the Mansion and four acres was purchased for the CSA Deputy Commissary Agent for Manatee County $3,200 by the local UDC chapter and then deeded to the at that time. It is believed he conducted Commissary State of Florida who, in turn, appropriated $10,000 for the building’s restoration.

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As a ‘Repository’ of Southern History and Artifacts, hangings in the Judah P. Benjamin Bedroom this regal structure now serves as a memorial to Judah P.

4 - Restoration of all antique mantle clocks to working Benjamin for the extraordinary role he played in Southern

order throughout Mansion history. The Mansion’s upstairs bedroom (facing the river)

5 - Acquisition of cane press rollers for Mansion grounds. has been designated as the ‘Benjamin Room’, as it is believe If you are interested in architecture, history, agriculture, this is the chamber he occupied during his stay. There are two preservation, storytelling, living history and much more, this pictures of him on display, one over the mantle and another historical site has it all! on the West wall showing him attired in the English robes Preserving Florida’s rich history for future generations is of Queen’s Counsel. important work which can only continue if there is adequate This stately 10-room mansion, restored to its original funding. Last year, the GPPA received a $5000 donation dignity and charm, is furnished throughout with antiques from Pat Neal and Associates, which enabled the Park to representing the affluent lifestyle of a plantation owner in the have the kitchen fireplace chimney sleeved for primitive early 19th century. cooking demonstrations in the future. The GPPA solicits The restoration and preservation of the Gamble Mansion community involvement and encourages individuals, families has been a successful partnership between the State of Florida and businesses to become a member. By joining, you become and the Florida Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy. one of Florida’s most valuable asset — the involved citizen.

And now a new group, the Gamble Plantation Preservation There are many levels of yearly memberships available: Alliance, has joined the team dedicated to ‘holding in Trust’ Florida’s cultural history.

Student - $5.00 (excellent gift for T h e G P PA , a l s o a grandchild also), Individual known as a Citizen $15.00 (great idea for those with Support Organization, was a variety of interests), Family specifically organized to $25.00 (a good choice for those financially assist the Gamble with children). Organization Mansion State Historic - $50.00 (a wonderful value for Park. Within the last five clubs and small businesses), years, the GPPA and the Corporation-$500 (a community UDC have jointly financed involvement choice). Each the completion of several membership is entitled to receive restoration and preservation a quarterly issue of the Plantation projects to enhance the Press, free park admission (certain visitor’s onsite experience restrictions apply), invitations to to an antebellum plantation.

‘Special’ functions and seasonal The following is a brief list of events, and a voice at the Annual finished projects with many Membership meeting in January. more on the ‘waiting list’: Please make check payable

1 - Exterior restoration to: GPPA and mail to: Gamble of 1850 piano in Mansion Plantation Preservation Alliance, Parlor.

This tiny tot has just woke up from a nap beside the hearth 3708 Patten Avenue, Ellenton, 2 - Restoration of the of the fireplace in the mansion’s kitchen. Perhaps she FL 34222. will grow up with an interest in historic preservation.

Lee, Jackson and Johnston Trihedral.

3 - Reproduction bed

Gaile Jesse is the founder of the Confederate Cantiñieres Chapter #2405. The chapter is named in honor of the courageous Southern Women who ventured forth to served in the Confederate States Army during a time when cultural dictates relegated women to the sphere of home and family.Learn more about them at www.cantiniere.org

Gamble Plantation State Historic Park is located on U.S. 301 in Ellenton 1.5 miles west of I-75, Exit #224.

Contact: (941)723-4536 www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/district4/ gambleplantation/index.asp.

Don’t miss another issue!

Become a member of the FLORIDA FRONTIER GAZETTE today.

See applicatin form on page 35.

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FEATURE

by Hermann Trappman, Gulfport

Understanding the Power of Plants

The Pueblo people, the Zuni and the Hopi, are clearly a

The native people of the Tampa Bay region are most often corn culture. They live in a harsh desert environment which refered to as the Tocobaga. Their “Most Honored Man” was affords them few choices. Only a limited variety of plants can called Tocobaga as well. However many of their towns seem to survive.

A single crop, or a reliance on a handful of hardy crop be referred to as Ucita. We don’t really know what they called plants should be expected. Consider for a moment the origins themselves. Usually we imagine them as a primitive people, of Europe’s most productive crops prior to its discovery of the living at the shadowy edge of a more sophisticated European Americas.

Most have their roots in the desert environments of world. the Middle East.

There is evidence of human occupation stretching back

The Tocobaga may have viewed the agricultural method more than fourteen thousand years in Florida. Dates from of planting vast plots with a single crop as creating a desert sites in both South America and North America suggest an environment.

Florida has one of the most complicated entry date of around thirty thousand years ago for the first environmental systems in North America. It is home to at humans. One point of view suggests that it was a single least 300 varieties of native migration from western Siberia. grasses. One hundred and An alternative viewpoint looks forty kinds of Florida trees at the Eskimos as the most do not grow north of its recent people in a series of border. For the native people migrations. The most modern to developed a reliance on a evidence suggests that the few plants would not have Native People began to migrate made sense. To introduce before Asian features were a single kind of agriculture fully established. Whatever the into this system would not argument, it is clear that native have benefited them. people have a deep history The Europeans who within our landscape. came here to settle, viewed Discovering the native the verdant landscape with people and their relationship great hope for their ridged to their landscape is often paradigm of farming. First fraught with Eurocentric ideas they cleared the land. In and images. Their use of other words they created plants can be a flash-point in a desert. Plant one kind of many a discussion. It has been crop in each plot. Keep the commonly believed that the weeds out, and harvest at the native people of Tampa Bay did end of the season. not grow corn. In April 1528, There are many Cabeza de Vaca on the Narvaez examples of crop failure with expedition describes corn at Medicine Woman. Courtesy Hermann Trappman the pioneers. The Sea Breeze, the northern part of Tampa Bay. Chroniclers on the De Soto the original newspaper for Gulfport, Florida, points to it. over expedition suggest that corn was available in a more northerly and over, again people of European extraction, attempted to location from where they landed. It is believed that they landed farm in a way which was not adapted to this environment. The on the south shore of Tampa Bay near the Manatee River.

European formula was and still is for the most part, to make the

Some modern scholars point out that the word “corn” was landscape adapt to their needs. Florida’s sandy soils, seasonal a common European word for “grains.” The Ancient Greeks flooding, and drought, did not support the European vision of used the term “corn.” However Cabeza de Vaca uses the term agriculture. “maise” to describe the familiar grain in his possession.

The native people, with their deep roots in this landscape, “We followed the shore of the bay, and, after a march of probably tried many ways to increase the assurance of their four leagues, captured four Indians, to whom we showed maze resources. Certainly, there were many failures. Adaptation would in order to find out if they knew it, for until then we had seen have taught them the best plants for this landscape and how to no trace of it. They told us that they would take us to a place encourage their productivity. where there was maize and they led us to their village at the Plants and their uses leave little evidence in the end of the bay nearby…” archaeological record. Because of this we must start out with

The world of these ancient people becomes lost in a tangle the most obvious examples of what is not there. A projectile of semantics. point without a shaft is pretty much useless. Most of the ancient 26

projectile points, found in the Tampa Bay area, were connected to some kind of woody shaft. Giant cane, Arundinaria gigantea, was pointed out to the Spanish as the preferred choice of shaft. It certainly works wonderfully with an atlatl (throwing stick). Light, easily straightened, and strong, cane can be propelled to great distances with little effort. The atlatl throws five times as far as a hand-thrown spear. Once discovered, it would have replaced any hardwood for making shafts. The atlatl itself was made of a wooden board with a bone hook.

What other uses plants had in Paleo times is only conjecture.

Archaeology, a mostly masculine pastime in its early years, was an endeavor of the idly rich and treasure hunters. Therefore the identification of artifacts reflected a strong masculine bias with a European flavor. For instance the strangely curved “fore-shafts” carved from the ivory tusks of mammoths and mastodons work much better as tools for weaving rather than hunting. We are led to imagine the native people wearing only leather clothing. However woven cloth has been discovered at the Windover Pond site neat Titusville, that dates back 8,500 years ago. Woven cloth is lighter, breathes, and wears better in a wet environment. Juan Ponce de Leon reported in 1513 that native word for Florida was “cautió” meaning breech-cloth. Other early visitors to Florida also reported seening men wearing woven breech-cloths made of silk grass.

Adam’s Needle.

Roots can be used as a disinfectant the leaves for fiber to weave cloth and make fish nets.

The central flower stock can be used for fire-making using a bow drill.

Digging sticks made from the ribs of mammoth suggest that paleo-women were digging tubers of some kind. Worn mammoth patella, knee caps, suggest that they were used in a grinding process, possibly to grind plant material. The earliest people appear to be a traveling folk. Certainly homes were made of material easily carried and easily harvested. Their homes were probably roofed with palm thatch, over a frame of saplings, enclosed in walls of matting. Twine and rope would have been a necessary part of any building material. Although sinew could be used, twine made from plant fiber is much more versatile in any weather. Carved wooden stakes have been found embedded in the limestone around the mouth of Little Salt Springs, dating to the paleo period.

The Early Archaic Windover site, near Titusville, offers our first real glimpse into the relationship with early people and the plants in their surroundings. These ancient people buried their dead in a swampy bog. The anaerobic environment of these burials preserved amazing things. Wood, fiber and even some stomach and intestinal contents were preserved. Archaeologists, trained in the newest theoretical techniques, helped us look back

to a time between 8000 to 8500 years ago. What they discovered was a very different Native People than described by the Spanish or the French. These were a people who spun fiber, wove fabric, and used cloth. The fabric was beautifully crafted and fine. Nine different weaves turned up at the site. Their burials were wrapped in fabric and laid on matting.

Matting, woven bags, and cordage was common to these people. Much of the fiber seems to be Sabal Palmetto. There is the evidence of a yucca-like fiber, silk grass, Adams needle, or Bear grass.

A wide range of wood was used, including a hickory handle for a hammer and a bowl carved from oak. Because they buried their dead in shallow water—the water of rebirth, the “fountain of youth” —so to speak, they needed to keep the bodies from floating.

They pinned them down using sharpened wooden stakes. Some of the stakes, and covering litter, seems to be made from local deadfall branches. These branches may help describe that early Archaic environment. Other stakes have been purposely cut and carved.

Red Bay may be used as a flavorant in soups and stews, but the Seminoles consider the plant to be sacred. It is used for purification and protection.

Courtesy ElizabethNeily

From the indications found on human remains, medicine was used effectively by our native ancestors. There is evidence that a variety of plants were used. Single plants seem to be used as well as mixtures.

The Key Marco site was a jumble of wooden art and artifacts.

Marco Island is south of Naples. In 1923 Frank Hamilton Cushing excavated a site at the Northeastern end of Marco Island. Old timers remember the site as a forest of pilings. Some referred to it as the city of pilings. The site may have been a huge stilt city.

Corrected dates of the artifacts range from 690 A.D. to 920 A.D. What came up out of the ground was an amazing array of wooden artifacts. Handles for a variety of picks and hammers, what looks like pieces of a loom, parts of a wooden box, masks, a canoe paddle, things just poured out of the archaeological site. It was the first time fish net came to light. Bottle gourds were found in association with netting and it is assumed they were used as net floats.

Key Marco is the first evidence of a material culture based on a foundation of wood. The sad truth, is that Frank Cushing had little of the expertise or technology which could have given us detailed information. How much fabric, matting, thatching and other information about the Calusa use of plants was lost?

Fort Center in the everglades too came up with carved wood artifacts. Corn pollen found at the site is the focus of an academic battle.

What can we learn about the ancient viewpoint by studying modern Indians? According to many modern scholars, nothing.

Like us, they are destructive and environmentally insensitive, and ...continued on page 29 27

Book Page

then they cite examples. The idea of the noble savage is a racial stereotype which never existed, they point out.

It is my belief that every population is made up of a variety of people with interests unique to each of them. You wouldn’t talk to a warrior about medicine plants. His topic is probably strength. He is sensitive to how the landscape can protect his people. His information about the environment is reliant on someone else. Like ourselves, the Native American world is made up of specialists. A healthy tribal society relies on passions.

Even the concept of medicine is broken down into many nonwestern varieties by American Indians. Seminole Alice Micco Snow defines medicine people as those that cure body ills, those that help maintain health and relationships, those preventing soul loss, those who prevent or treat mysterious mental ailments.

Lizzard Tail.

Deadly poisonous when ingested.

However, its juice mixed with bear fat makes an effective treatment for skin conditions such as ringworm.

Courtesy ElizabethNeily

For some American Indians, meicine is female and male.

Only males practice male medicine and females work with females. Some Native Americans study the medicine of keeping the environment healthy, keeping the spirit healthy, keeping plants healthy, keeping the ground healthy, keeping the animals healthy.

In the mountains and deep forests of Columbia, the Tayrona people talk about the force of creation, or se, the spiritual core of all existence, and the aluna, the human thought, soul, and imagination. To them what is important, what has ultimate value, is not what is measured and seen, but what exists in many realms of meanings and connections that lie beneath the tangible realities of the world, connecting all things.

In Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice, by Mark Plotkin, the author describes coming on to a European style garden while traveling with some South American Indians. They look at the field with disdain. They point out that the garden has only a single crop, and worse, there are no weeds. Weeds they tell the author hold the soil in place and shade it from the sun.

In Heart of the Sky, Peter Canby writes about the milpa system of agriculture. The term milpa comes from the native word for corn, but it refers to corn and its friends, beans and squash. Beans put nitrogen into the soil while corn needs nitrogen. The squash draws insects away from the beans and the corn. For the native people, there were relationships between all plants.

Ecologist, James Nations, studying the Lacandons, a Mayan people, discovered a complicated system of planting.

“Immediately after burning, the Lacandons protected the soil by planting root crops and fast growing trees. Then they planted their corn. Rather than stopping with the corn, however, the Lacandons proceeded to plant more than eighty different food and fiber crops in a sequence dictated by the flowering of natural species in the forest. In order to reduce the possibility of the spread of plant-specific diseases, these crops, which include beans, sweet potatoes, onions, pineapple, chili peppers, bananas, cotton, and tobacco, were grown in isolated bunches. They were also grown in layers, with plants at different levels above the soil and roots at different levels in the soil, thus creating ecological niches to which each plant was best suited. By the time the field was exhausted, the trees had grown high enough to form what the Lacandons call a pak che kol, a ‘planted tree garden,’ containing cacao, citrus, rubber and other trees, and shrubs; it would not only serve as an orchard but would attract wild animals, thus making the recuperating milpa a source of game until it was ready for cutting and burning again.”

Milpa agriculture is based on mimicry. By studying native plants and their habits, the American Indian could be certain of

the best qualities the plant could offer.

No, there was never the noble savage. The native people of Florida weren’t savage. Some were environmentally sensitive and some were not. Cities and large communities dotted the landscape of Florida in 1491. Trade was important to them. Political intrigue was almost as common as in our world. They were real human beings who had a relationship with this landscape at many

different levels. Some of them had detailed interest in plants.

Within their culture they learned to pass that information from

generation to generation through the use artifacts and associated stories. So, what we can learn from our Tocobaga Indians is to listen, to look, to be adaptable, and to love this wonderful landscape Prickly Pear.

Fruit and pads may be used for food. Burn off the fine hairs and thorns by first rolling them in through hot embers.

The pad can be split in half and the jell-side placed over a nasty gash.

Courtesy ElizabethNeily

Artist Hermann Trappman is a park ranger and an environmental educator at Boyd Hill Nature Park, in St, Petersburg.

He and his wife, Elizabeth Neily, lead medicine workshops and present paleobotony programs to environmental educators, archaeologists, historians and living history presenters.

For more information call 727-321-7845 or email: tocobaga@ verizon.net.

WARNING! It takes years of study to understand medicines. It is not something to mess around with.

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from this time period. The Patten House is a turn of the 20th century farmhouse also decorated in a manner to reflect the time in which it was built. There will be free tours of the Patten House. Other attractions will be: a juried art show, a silent auction, a variety of artisans selling their wares, food, and entertainment including school bands, cheerleaders, cloggers, tap dancers and choirs. Admission into event is free; Mansion tours available at regular tour price. Admission free. Contact: 941-723-4536.

EVENTS & EXHIBITS PLEASE BE SURE TO CALL AHEAD FOR CHANGES IN EVENT SCHEDULES. March 31 - April 1 Pensacola FESTIVAL ON THE GREEN at the University of West Florida.

Friday 9 am-5pm & Sunday 10am -5 pm See history come alive at the TIME PORTAL TO THE PAST. Spanish & British camps and a Native American village featuring E-Chota Cherokee and Blackwater tribes. Children’s programs. Fine Arts and Crafts.

Contact: LaVonne French Email: mfrench@uwf.edu March 31 - April 1 Chipley LEGENDS AND LORE at Falling Waters State Park. 9 am -8 pm on Friday, and 9 am - 3 pm. Description: The event will feature a variety of historic crafters telling their stories through actual demonstrations, as well as live music featured on Friday night. There will be something for visitors of all ages to enjoy.

Park entrance fee. Contact: 850-638-6130.

April 1 Key West FOOLS FESTIVAL at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park.

8 AM until sunset. Fort Taylor Historic State Park will host a brand new event for the Key West community. Called the Fools Festival, it will feature arts and crafts, a pig roast and live music. The event takes place April 1, 2006 in the picnic area near the beach at Fort Taylor Historic State Park. Artists and craftspeople will demonstrate and sell their wares. The festival will include painters, photographers and many other crafts. Park admission fee. Contact: (305) 292-6713.

April 1 Fort White 10TH ANNUAL OLD TIMERS DAY at Ichetucknee Springs State Park. 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. If you remember Ichetucknee before it became a state park, join us for a day of reminiscing. Bring old photos, newspaper clippings and all your favorite stories. If you have any old recipes, bring them along to be included in our upcoming Old Timers Recipe Book.

Fees: This event is free with invitation. Contact: 386-497-4690.

April 1 & 2 Ellenton 6TH ANNUAL PLANTATION FESTIVAL at Gamble Plantation Historic State Park. 10 AM to 4 PM The Gamble Mansion is maintained as near as possible to its antebellum style and is the only remaining plantation home in south Florida 30

April 1 & 2 Ferandina Beach FIRST WEEKEND UNION GARRISON. Fort Clinch State Park. Friday, 9:00 a.m- 5:00 p.m. Sunday, 9:00 a.m.-Noon.

Living historians recreate life at Fort Clinch during the War Between the States. Activities may include black powder artillery demonstrations and marching drills, as well as soldiers and civilians taking up duty in the laundry, infirmary and kitchen. Park entrance fee plus $2.00 per person Fort admission. Contact: 904-277-7274.

April 8 Ormond Beach TOMOKA REMEMBERS at Tomoka State Park. 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m. East Central Florida history comes to life! Each month, discover a different piece of the past, from Seminoles to Civil war. Visitors can talk to, and learn from Living Historians . Call for each month’s topic of interest. Fee $ 4.00 per car.

Contact: 386-676-4050.

April 8 & 9 Cheifland 14TH ANNUAL ‘OLD FASHIONED RIVER PARTY’ at Manatee Springs State Park. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. The old fashioned River Party is “A celebration of the heritage of the Lower Suwannee River Basin through music and story.” Traditional country, folk and bluegrass music performed by local and regional musicians. If you don’t play music but can’t keep your feet still, cloggers and buck dancers are welcome to “show off” their fancy foot work. Traditional cultural activities such as blacksmithing, chair caneing and other crafts from the 1800’s are new to the “river party” this year. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the music or let someone else do the “cookin’ and sample some of the great food from our “springside café”, operated by the park’s visitor service provider. Free with park admission.

Contact: 352-493-6072.

April 8 High Springs STORYTELLING WORKSHOP at OLeno State Park.

Saturday, April 8th, 2006. 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

Description: Learn the art of Story Telling using a dream catcher with the Lakota legend. Receive many good tips and practice your new art with the positive support of group members. Led

by Cherokee Legend Keeper Jackalene Crow-Hiendlmayr.

Reservations are required. The class is limited to 12 adults. Regular park admission fee plus $12.00 to cover the cost of materials and lunch. Contact: Cindy Preston 386-454-4201.

April 8 Gainesville SPRING PLANTING DAY at Dudley Farm Historic State Park.

Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Help Dudley Farm staff plant their spring heirloom vegetables and crops while learning about

life before mechanization. There is no charge for volunteers participating in the spring planting. Contact: 352-472-1142.

April 8 Bahia Honda 11TH ANNUAL EARTH DAY CELEBRATION at Bahia Honda State Park. 9 am - 2 pm. Bahia Honda State Park is having its 11th Annual Earth Day Celebration. There will be live music provided by local musicians. A barbecue and all the fixin’s will be prepared by the Big Pine Moose Lodge. Free Admission (come early, parking is limited.) Free T-shirts (while supplies last) to create your own fish print design. Free prize drawing, face painting, sand sculpture contest, crafts booth, and puppet to the kids. There will be environmental exhibits, craft booths, a marine life touch tank and free vessel safety checks by the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Bahia Honda State Park Invites Crafters to Earth Day Celebration. Bahia Honda is seeking crafters and artisans to set up booths and demonstrate their unique talent at the 11th annual Earth Day Celebration on April 8th. Crafts must be handmade and use mostly natural or recycled materials. For more information about Earth Day, please call the Bahia Honda Sand and Sea Nature Center at (305) 872-9807 or email monay.markey@dep.state.fl.us Contact: (305) 872-2353 April 9 Miami COMMODORE’S BIRTHDAY at The Barnacle Historic State Park 5-7 PM. Commemorate the birthday of Ralph Munroe, Coconut Grove pioneer and founder of Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. A delicious meal will be provided on the grounds of The Barnacle, Commodore Munroe’s homestead. Special event fee. Reservations are required. Contact: (305) 442-6866.

April 9 High Springs OLD TIME DANCE, OLeno State Park. Sunday, 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m Beginners instruction at 3:30 p.m. Kick up your heels with the Flying Turtles String Band playing traditional American music while a caller calls the dance steps in the 1930’s rec. hall next to the Santa Fe River. Dance instruction for these traditional American folk dances is included. Dances such as circles, squares, contras and waltzes were all the rage in the 1800s when the town of Leno was thriving on this very spot- So come on out and learn to dance the way these first settlers did! No pets, No alcohol. Regular park admission plus $5.00 per adult, $3.00 per child. Contact: 386-454-1853.

April 12 & 19 Homosassa SPRING GARDENING WORKSHOPS at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. 9:30 a.m. until 12:00 noon. The park’s gardening supervisor Marion Knudsen’s spring gardening workshop explains how you can use low-maintenance native plants and xeriscaping to conserve water resources and enjoy carefree Florida gardening. Space is limited, so be sure to register early! Free with regular park admission. Contact: 352-628-5343.

April 16 Largo 20th Annual HERITAGE VILLAGE ANTIQUE CAR S H O W. 1 0 a . m . - 4 p . m . P i n - M a r A n t i q u e C a r C l u b .

Almost 100 original and restored antique cars are on display nestled among the historic structures at H e r i t a g e Vi l l a g e . M u s i c a l e n t e r t a i n m e n t , h a n d s - o n activities for adults and children and more await

visitors! Free. Free event parking and complimentary s h u t t l e l o c a t e d o n 119th St. between Ulmerton and Walsingham Roads.Contact: (727) 582-2123.

April 15 Sebring MUSIC IN THE PARK WITH EMANON at Highlands Hammock State Park. 7:00-9:00 p.m. Enjoy smooth jazz with this popular, returning band. Emanon is the group that helped get it all started back in 2002. They have performed each year since to rave reviews from park visitors. Bring your lawnchairs, blankets and a flashlight. All ticket proceeds benefits park improvement projects via the Friends of Highlands Hammock. The Hammmock Inn will be open and serving dinner, snacks and desserts. This would be a great weekend to camp with us. Contact Reserve America at 800-326-3521 or www.ReserveAmerica.com. Concert admission is just $5.00 per person (accompanied children age 16 & under admitted FREE). Contact: 863-386-6094 April 15 Micanopy PAYNES PRAIRIE BY BICYCLE at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. 9:00 a.m. An Interpretive Bicycle Ride on the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail. Passing by native plants and wildlife, unique scenery, and backyard Florida culture, the old railroad bed turned greenway is both a paved recreational surface and a grassy path for equestrians. $5.00 suggested donation.

RSVP: Contact: 352-466-4100.

April 15 Ocala EARTH DAY CELEBRATION at Silver River State Park, 9 am - 4 pm Silver River´s annual Earth Day Celebration will include vendors, storytellers and exhibitors. Presentations will include birding and photography slide shows. Join us early for the 8:00 am guided bird walk. Further information 352.236.7148.

Park entry fee is waived for this event. Park Staff or deborah. wilson@dep.state.fl.us.

April 15 Deltona DELTONA WOOD CARVERS at De Leon Springs State Park, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Talented Artisans demonstrate their skill in wood-carving using everything from pocket knives to power tools to produce a stunning array of bird and animal carvings, spirit faces,etc. Both in round and bas -relief. Regular Park Admission. Contact: donna.collins@dep.state.fl.us April 19 Gainesville DOCENT PROGRAM. Dudley Farm Historic State Park.

9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m Topic: Florida Gardens. Fees: If you join the group as a volunteer, there is no park fee to attend.

Contact: 352-472-1142.

April 19-21 Wakulla Springs WAKULLA WILDLIFE FESTIVAL at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park. 9 am to 4 pm. A fun filled day of activities, tours and displays devoted to Florida’s native wildlife and their habitats. Tours also offered to other wildlife areas April 2022. This is a county wide festival with multiple organizations participating. Fees: Exhibits and presentations free with park Contact: (850)224-5950.

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April 22 & 23 Peace River PEACE RIVER CAMPING TRIP 2006. A wonderful family adventure. The only Tampa Bay Fossil Club trip when nonmembers are invited to join us. This is your opportunity to introduce TBFC to your friends & neighbors. The river should be at its shallowest point and accessible by fossil hunters of all ages. Barbecue dinner, t-shirts, a benefit auction, and more fun than the law usually allows. For more information, please see the registration form in this issue of the Chronicles. This trip only comes around once a year, so don‚t miss it! Michael Searle, President, Email: fossilnerd@msn.com

and highlights traditional vegetables and citrus. Free w i t h p a r k admission. Contact: 352-466-3672.

April 22 Gainesville 3rd Annual EVENING AT DUDLEY FARM Historic State Park. 6:00 p.m - 8:00 p.m. This gala event is a chance to experience the evening atmosphere of the historic Dudley farmstead and enjoy homemade desserts and the full spring blooming of the gardens. There will be music in the evening air and good conversation while strolling through the rose garden or walking through the 100 year old pear orchard. Sponsored by the Friends of Dudley Farm. Proceeds go towards special projects to support the farm. $25.00 per couple, $15.00 single ticket.

Contact: 352-472-6859, 352-472-2004 or 352-462-1760.

April 29 Miami OLD TIME DANCE at the Barnacle Historic State Park 6-10 PM. Kick up your heels with the Flying Turtles Band playing traditional American music while Rae Newoman calls the dance steps in the Micco Pavilion on the grounds of The Barnacle, built by Ralph Munroe in 1891. Dance instruction for these traditional American folk dances is included. Dances such as circles, squares, contras and waltzes were all the rage in the 1800s, so come on out and dance like it’s 1891! $8.00 - 10 years and older. Contact: 305-442-6866.

April 22 Estero EARTH DAY at Koreshan State Historic Site.10:00 am to 3 pm. Several exhibitors, vendors and environmental groups will have displays and items for sale throughout the historic settlement. Admission is the normal park entry fee. Contact: 239-992.0311 April 22 Sebring EARTH DAY at Highlands Hammock State Park. 8:00 a.m.2:00 p.m. Enjoy browsing the “Community Yard Sale” and the arts & crafts vendors. Learn more about the environment at exhibits and demonstrations. Kids activities, live native wildlife and live music throughout the day. Ride a tram tour or hayride for just $1.00 per person! This is a great weekend to camp at the park! Make your reservations early at 1-800-326-3521 or online www.ReserveAmerica.com.

Contact event coordinator Dorothy Harris at (863) 634-7695.

Spaces are available for a $10.00 donation to the Friends of Highlands Hammock.

April 28 Perry AGRICULTURAL DAY at Forest Capital Museum State Park. Come join the fun as the 4-H Club sponsors Agricultural Day. Learn about Bee Keeping and view the many Educational Displays that will be set up in the park.

There will be Animal Exhibits, Forestry Exhibits and much more! FREE. Contact: 850-584-3227.

April 29 Cross Creek JI M ’ S V E G E TA B L E G A R D E N I N G a t M a r j o r i e K i n n a n R a w l i n g s H i s t o r i c S t a t e P a r k . 11 : 3 0 a . m . - 1 : 3 0 p . m .

Learn from published gardening expert Jim Stephens what it takes to make your north Florida garden grow and from Jim Ferguson about how to care for your c i t r u s t r e e s . C l a s s i s h e l d a t M K R ’s g a r d e n a n d g r o v e , 32

April 29 St. Petersburg 16th CENTURY FEAST at Sacred Lands. 5:30 p.m. Join the Company of La Cruz at the Andrson/Narvaez Indian Mound for a fabulous feast. Starts with a guide tour of the property, followed by introductionof special guests at 6:30 p.m. Period food and entertainment, including flute music and storytelling. $35 per person. RSVP. For tickets call Doris at 727-347-0354.

16th century reenactors call Elizabeth at 727-321-7845.

April 30 St. Petersburg FLORIDA COLLECTIBLES & VINTAGE MEMORABILIA SHOW. 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Over 60 exhibitors selling vintage Floridiana,everything from old roadside attraction kitsch to fine vintage Florida art. Plus, Florida Highwaymen exhibit and painting demonstration by original Highwaymen artists.

The Historic Coliseum, 535 Fourth Avenue North. Admission $6.00/under 2 yrs $3.00. Contact: 727-363-4852 .

Email: hulahula@tampabay.rr.com.

May 6 & 7 Fernandina Beach FIRST WEEKEND UNION GARRISON at Fort Clinch State Park. Living historians recreate life at Fort Clinch during the War Between the States. Activities may include black powder artillery demonstrations and marching drills, as well as soldiers and civilians taking up duty in the laundry, infirmary and kitchen. Fees: Park entrance fee plus $2.00 per person Fort admission. Contact: 904-277-7274.

May 6 & 7 Dunedin ISLAND FEST - CELEBRATE WITH FRIENDS at Honeymoon Island State Park. 10:00 AM - 8:00PM. Description: Sponsored by Friends of the Island Parks. Come out and discover Honeymoon! Highlights of this event will include food, craft and environmental vendors and a bigger than ever environmental display in Osprey Village! There will also be guided walks, talks and information on our upcoming Nature Center. Fees: Stay posted for further information.

Contact: 727-469-5942.

May 13 Gainesville The Fifth Annual Antique Bottle Show and Sale. Collectors from across Florida will come together to display their collections of antique bottles and other artifacts. The Alachua County Historic Trust: Matheson Museum, Inc. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Alachua County Tourist Development

Tax. www.visitgainesville.net 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. $1 Admission.

Early Bird Special Friday, 5 p.m.- 7 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. $5 Admission. Come early while the vendors are setting up! 513 E. University Ave., Gainesville, Florida 32601 (Additional parking located across the street at the Kirby Smith School Board Building.) Lisa Auel, 352-378-2280 May 13 Ormond Beach TOMOKA REMEMBERS at Tomoka State Park. 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m. East Central Florida history comes to life! Each month, discover a different piece of the past, from Seminoles to Civil war. Visitors can talk to, and learn from Living Historians. Call for each month’s topic of interest. Fees: Reg. park entry fee $ 4.00 per car. Contact: 386-676-4050 May 13 & 14 Newberry FLORIDA FRIENDLY YARDS & NEIGHBORHOODS WORKSHOP at Rainbow Springs State Park. Saturday 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Sunday 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Learn about plants, trees, fertilizers and soils that work well in Florida.

Learn what works for your pocketbook, for the environment, and for beautiful yards and gardens. A Native Plant sale will be held in conjunction so that you can purchase the plants after you learn what to do with them. Bring your lunch! $1.00 per person, park entrance fee. Contact 352-465-8555.

May 17 Gainesville DOCENT PROGRAM at Dudley Farm Historic State Park.

9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Topic: Cracker Remedies & Herbals: Native plant lore. If you join the group as a volunteer, there is no park fee to attend. Contact: 352-472-1142.

May 20 Largo CIVIL WAR DAYS FEATURING THE 23RD ANNUAL HERITAGE VILLAGE SKIRMISH. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. “Civil War Days entertains, educates and delights with exhibits, historical reenactments and hands-on activities representing 1860’s military and civilian life and is highlighted by the traditional Blue-Gray Skirmish. Free event parking and complimentary shuttle located on 119th St. between Ulmerton and Walsingham Roads. For re-enactor information: lewz@ knology.net. Sutlers must pre-register by calling Heritage Village at (727) 582-2123 May 20 Cross Creek CHILDREN AND ANIMALS at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park. 10:00 a.m. Leslie Straub, experienced animal rescuer, will share some special animals rescued in Florida. At her last program, her gopher tortoise made a serious escape attempt (for about 30 minutes) and the park’s rooster tried to protect his flock from the red tailed hawk. The program is geared especially for children but all are welcome.

Fees: Free with park admission. Contact: 352-466-3672 May 28 Fernandina Beach WORLD WAR II EVENT at Fort Clinch State Park. 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. May 28th, 9 a.m. until noon. Memorial Weekend program in honor of soldiers who fought during WWII. Park entrance fee plus $2/person Fort admission. Contact: 904-277-7274.

May 27 & 28 Bradenton 467TH COMMEMORATION OF DE SOTO EXPEDITION. De Soto National Memorial will present a two day schedule of activities to commemorate the beginning of the Hernando de Soto expedition. Join 16th century reenactors and park staff to celebrate the 467th anniversary of the beginning of the Entrada (Spanish for first expedition and conquest of a country) when Spanish conquistadors, horses, and war dogs splashed ashore in the lower Tampa Bay area. Free. Located at the end of 75th Street NW in Bradenton, FL. Contact: 941-792-0458.

May 31- June 2 Gainesville YULEE DAYS MODEL RAILROAD DISPLAY A model railroad display, constructed by the Ocala Model Railroaders Historic Preservation Society, will be on exhibit in celebration of North Central Florida’s Yulee Days. The Alachua County Historic Trust: Matheson Museum, Inc. and the Ocala Model Railroaders Historic Preservation Society. Wednesday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., and admission is free. Admission is $1 on Saturday, June 3 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., and on Sunday, June 4, from 1-4 p.m. 513 E. University Ave., Gainesville, Florida 32601 (Additional parking located across the street at the Kirby Smith School Board Building.) Contact: Lisa Auel 352-378-2280.

June 3 & 4 Fernandina Beach FIRST WEEKEND UNION GARRISON. Fort Clinch State Park. Living historians recreate life at Fort Clinch during the War Between the States. Activities may include black powder artillery demonstrations and marching drills, as well as soldiers and civilians taking up duty in the laundry, infirmary and kitchen. Park Fee plus $2.00 per person Fort admission. Contact: 904-277-7274.

June 12-July 21 Largo LIVING HISTORY SUMMER ADVENTURES for Children ages 5-11. Are your kids looking for something fun to do while school isout? Look no further for the best hands-on fun around! Summer camp at the village offers kids four fun weeks to sample a slice of life fromlong ago. Weekly themes include “Seaside Savvy,” “Can You Dig It?,” “Tacky Tourist Trip,” and “Sticks, Bricks and Mortar.” Camp is $100 per child per week for Pinellas County Historical society members; $125 per child per week for non-members. Contact: 727-582-2426.

June 17 Largo ANTIQUE APPRAISAL FAIR AT HERITAGE VILLAGE. One person’s trash is another’s treasure, or so the old saying goes. But, how do you know if Aunt Mollie’s antique cookie cutters or Uncle Bud’s World War II weapons are treasures – or just have sentimental value? Bring it to the Antique Appraisal Fair and an antique expert will appraise the item for a small fee. Noted Tampa Bay area antique experts will be available to appraise items for $5 each, or $12 for three.

Contact: (727) 582-2123.

Remember to always call ahead to see if the event is still on.

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A 16th Century Feast

SACRED LANDS

Preservation & Education Inc. 1700 Park Street, St. Petersburg.

Join the 16th Century Company of La Cruz at the Anderson/ Narvaez Indian Mound for a fabulous feast. The program starts with a guided tour of the ancient Tocobaga Indian mound, followed by introductions of some very special guests at 6:30 p.m. Period food & entertainment with flute music and storytelling.

$35 per person.

R.S.V.P. For tickets call Doris 727-347-0354.

Saturday, April 29 at 5:30 p.m.

Directions: Turn into Saffron’s Restaurant parking lot and follow road to the left. Park in gravel topped parking lot and enter through gate at South end of parking lot. There will be “Sacred Lands” signs marking the way.

Joe Kittinger to Receive 2nd Annual History Maker Award

Colonel Joseph Kittinger, Orlando native, space pioneer and war hero, will receive the second-annual John Young History Maker Award, the Historical Society of Central Florida’s highest honor, at a May 25 ceremony and private celebration expected to draw over 500 guests.

Sara Van Arsdel, executive director of The History Center, said the Historical Society is excited to be a part of this new tradition for the second consecutive year and is proud to recognize one of Central Florida’s most historic individuals.

“Kittinger’s passion and dedication to the aerospace industry is evident throughout his lifetime accomplishments. He holds several world-records including the highest ascent in a balloon of 102,800 feet and the longest freefall and the fastest speed by man through the atmosphere,” said Van Arsdel.

“As a fighter pilot, Colonel Kittinger served in Vietnam with the United States Air Force and was a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton for eleven months. He has experienced so much throughout his lifetime that put him at the top of the list of Central Floridians who’ve made history.”

Individual tickets for the gala event are available to Historical Society members for $125 and may be purchased by non-members for $150. Special Patron Tables may be reserved.

For more information call (407) 836-8500

or visit www.thehistorycenter.org.

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Proceeds benefit Sacred Lands, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit.

FOLK FESTIVALS April 7-9 Brooksville STRINGBREAK MUSIC FEST at the Sertoma Youth Ranch. Folk Music, camping, pets welcome on a lash. For tickets contact: Lind Entertainment, 863-984-8445. or online at www.riverhawkmusic.com May 5-7 St.Augustine GAMBLE ROGERS FOLK FESTIVAL #11, at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. Gamblefest features local,regional and national performers. Contact: Paul Linser at 904-794-4163.

May 26-28 White Springs 54 th FLORIDA FOLK FESTIVAL. Admission: Adult In Advance -One Day - $15, 3 Days $35. At theGate: $20 and $40. Children 6 to 17 - $4.00, Children Under 6 FREE. For Credit Card Orders Call Toll-Free: 1-877-6FL-FOLK (1-877-635-3655) or send a check or money order made payable to: FLORIDA F O L K F E S T I VA L , c / o N a t u r e & H e r i t a g e To u r i s m C e n t e r, P. O . B o x 8 4 9 • W h i t e S p r i n g s , F L 3 2 0 9 6 . www.floridastateparks.org/folkfest

The Florida Frontier Gazette is available through our Community Spirit Partners, as well as, select parks, museums, retail stores, and special events.

Community Spirit Partners CUSTOM LOCATORS USA 2322 Hercala Lane, HERNANDO, FL 34442 352-560-0056

THE PIRATE HAUS INN 32 Treasury Street, St. Augustine, F 32084 904-808-1999 www.piratehaus.com

DUNNELLON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 20500 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, Dunnellon, FL 34432 1-800-830-2087 www.dunnellonchamber.org

WILCOX NURSERY & GARDEN SHOP 12501 Indian Rocks Road, Largo, FL 33744 727-595-2073 www.wilcoxnursery.com

GREAT OUTDOORS PUBLISHING CO. 4747 28th Street N., St. Petersburg, FL 33714 info@floridabooks.com

TAMPA BAY GHOST TOURS 150 John’s Pass Boardwalk, Madeira Beach, FL 33708 727-398-5200 www.allthebesthaunts.com

Plus special thanks to our FRIENDS: Dawn Fisher, Gulfport Jim Brennan, St. Petersburg

FRONTIER GAZETTE MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION or RENEWAL FORM ___ INDIVIDUAL - $12.00 per year - 4 quarterly issues mailed to your home. Every little bit helps us keep it going. ___ COMMUNITY SPIRIT PARTNERS (not-for-profit) - $50.00 per year - 100 each quarterly issues to distribute to your

patrons for FREE! Visitation and upcoming events may be promoted by purchasing ad space. ___ COMMUNITY SPIRIT BUSINESS PARTNERS - $50.00 - $500 per year. 4 quarterly listings with Business Name,

Address, Phone Number, and Website. 1/4 to Full Page Ad Space available. ___ COMMUNITY SPIRIT CORPORATE PARTNERS - $500 - $10,000 per year. - Logo with Business Name, Address,

Phone Number, and Website on an individual page of the magazine. 1/4 to Full Page Ad Space available in Full Color.

Name:_________________________________ or

Community Spirit Partner or Business:____________________________

Address:____________________________________________City:_________________________State:_______Zip:_______ Phone:(_____)_________________E-mail:__________________________Website:__________________________________ Membership $______________

Total amount enclosed $______________

Please make checks payable to FLORIDA FRONTIERS, 5409 21st Avenue S., Gulfport, FL, 33707.

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Community Spirit Partners AMERICAN WATERSKI EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION 1251 Holy Cow Road, Polk City, FL 33868 863-324-2472 www.waterskihalloffame CENTRAL GULF COAST ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY P.O. Box 9507, Treasure Island, FL 33740 www.fasweb.org/chapters/warmmineralsprings.htm COLLIER COUNTY MUSEUM 3301 Tamiami Trail East, Naples, FL 34112 941-774-8476 www.colliermuseum.org DUNEDIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM 349 Main Street, Dunedin, FL 34697 727-736-1176 www.ci.dunedin.fl.us/dunedin/historical-society FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SW 34th St. & Hull Rd. Gainesville FL 32611 352-846-2000 www.flmnh.ufl.edu FORT CHRISTMAS 1300 Fort Christmas Road, Christmas, FL 32709 407-568-4149 www.nbbd.com/godo/FortChristmas GAMBLE PLANTATION PRESERVATION ALLIANCE 3708 Patten Avenue, Ellenton, Florida 34222 www.floridastateparks.org/gambleplantation THE HERITAGE MUSEUM 115 Westview Ave., Valparaiso, FL 32580 850-678-2615 www.heritage-museum.org HERITAGE VILLAGE AT PINEWOOD CULTURAL PARK 11909 125th Street N., Largo, FL 33774 727-582-2123 www.pinellascounty.org/heritage/default.htm HISTORIC FLORIDA MILITIA (Living History Groups) 42 Spanish Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084 904-829-9792 www.historicfloridamilitia.org

NATIVE EARTH CULTURAL CENTER AT INDIAN STUFF 1064 4th Street N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-821-8186 www.orgsites.com/fl/ourstory ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL HISTORY CENTER 65 East Central Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32801 407-836-8500 www.thehistorycenter.org PANAMA CANAL MUSEUM 7985 113th Street, Suite 100,Seminole, FL 33772 727-394-9338 www.panamacanalmuseum.org PAST TYMES (Living History Educators) 745 N.E. 117 St., Biscayne Park, FL 33161 305-895-7317 www.pasttymeproductions.com PENSACOLA HISTORICAL SOCIETY 117 E. Government Street, Pensacola, FL 32502 850-434-5455 www.pensacolahistory.org THE PIER AQUARIUM 800 2nd Avenue NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-895-7437 www.pieraquarium.org RANDELL RESEARCH CENTER PO Box 608, Pineland, FL 33945 239-283-2062 www.flmnh.ufl.edu/sflarch/pineland.htm SACRED LANDS PRESERVATION & EDUCATION 1620 Park Street N., St. Petersburg, FL 33710 727-347-0354 www.sacredlandspreservationandeducation.org SAFETY HARBOR MUSEUM OF REGIONAL HISTORY 329 Bayshore Blvd. S., Safety Harbor, FL 34695 727-726.-668 www.safety-harbor-museum.org ST. PETERSBURG MUSEUM OF HISTORY 335 Second Avenue NE, St. Peterburg, FL 33707 727-894-1052 www.stpetemuseumofhistory.org TAMPA BAY HISTORY CENTER 225 S. Franklin Street, Tampa, FL 33602 813-228-0097 www.tampabayhistorycenter.org

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETY P.O. Box 63, Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785 727-593-3861 www.indian-rocks-beach.com/historical_ society.html/

THE TRAIL OF THE LOST TRIBES Toll Free - 877-621-6805 www.trailofthelosttribes.org

MATHESON MUSEUM 513 E. University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32601 352-378-2280 www.mathesonmuseum.org

WARM MINERAL SPRINGS/ LITTLE SALT SPRING ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY P.O. Box 7797, North Port, FL 34287 www.fasweb.org/chapters/warmmineralsprings.htm

MUSEUM OF FLORIDA ART & CULTURE at SFCC 600 West College Drive, Avon Park, FL 33825-9356 863-784-7240 www.mofac.org 36

Join the team for only $50.00 a year.