Candy’s Corner

By Candy Owens

DEAR READERS: I AM GOING TO RERUN THIS ARTICLE AGAIN, BECAUSE I HAVE HAD SO MANY CALLS, EMAILS, AND COMMENTS FROM PLANT CITY RESIDENTS THAT NEW AND LOVED BETTY CHAMBERS. SO HERE IT IS!

In the good old summer time, In the good old summer time, There’s a time in each year that we always hold dear, the good old summer time. With the birds and the trees and the sweetscented breeze, a swim in the pool and playing hooky from school, those days full of pleasure we now fondly treasure in the good old summertime.

By the time July rolled around, us kids were so deep into swimming, roller skating, kite flying, bike riding, fort building, cartoon watching, movie going, kickball playing, slumber partying, and playing outside with friends. I do not think that our schedules could hold much more, but there were still many exciting things to look forward before school started again like Bible School, the Fourth of July, and picnics with the family. Back in the 1960s and 1970s we made our own fun, we used our imaginations, we spent time with friends and neighbors, we played hard, and made life-long memories.

I remember how my sister and I loved to go on picnics with our parents. My mother would always fry a chicken, make potato salad, baked beans, and a jug of ice tea complete with lemon and about one cup of sugar. That tea was so sweet a spoon would stand up in the jug by itself, but boy did it quench your thirst on a hot summer day. There would also be a pack of Oreos or Chips Ahoy cookies and always without fail a fresh loaf of Hillbilly bread. My mother would safely pack the food in her prize picnic basket that came from the Green Stamp store in Lakeland. I remember that basket was made of what looked like plywood and had handles with a hinged lid. When you lifted the lid up there were two lines of red elastic stapled to the inside that held your silverware. The basket also came with a red checked tablecloth and a set of Tupperware salt and pepper shakers. My father would fill a large thermos with ice and pack his hat, his transistor radio, and the family Frisbee. My sister and I would grab our pillows, a few books, and maybe even a game and head for the car. Once everyone was in the car my mother would ask if anyone had to use the bathroom because there may not be a place once we were there. My sister and I would get out and run back in the house. I can remember how my father would sigh and say to himself: “Why didn’t you all do that before you got in the car?” Once we were all back in the car and everything was in check, we headed off to what we thought was a picnic fit for a king.

The Fourth of July was always and still is a time to celebrate. My parents taught my sister and I to celebrate our country’s independence and to be grateful to those who have given their lives to make our freedom possible. If we were at home and not at the beach on the Fourth of July, my parents would have a cookout on our patio. My father would grill hamburgers and hotdogs. We would also have potato chips, onion dip, corn on the cob complete with butter dripping down, ice cold watermelon, Coca Colas in the little glass bottles, and cupcakes or brownies. What a feast.

When it got dark my parents would take my sister and I out on the driveway and give each one of us a box of sparklers. I remember holding and waving the sparklers around, writing and drawing things in the air while waving the sparklers proudly. I loved the big fireworks that lit up the entire sky and could be heard from very far away.

I was born and raised in the Methodist church and always attended Bible school, but back in the year 1969 my best friend JeanAnn Weaver invited me to her Bible school, which was held at the old First Baptist Church of Plant City. I remember how first thing in the morning the kids would line up by age and classrooms outside the sanctuary on the steps waiting for the doors to open. When it was time we all filed inside the church, which to me as a six-year-old child looked like the size of Tampa Stadium. I remember looking up front at the altar and there stood a lady by the name of Betty Chambers wearing an Indian headdress waiting to address the crowd. What I did not know back then in 1969 was what an impact that lady with the funny hat would have on my life. Mrs. Chambers told us the story of Ricky Ticky Timbo, which was the story of a Chinese boy with a very long name who fell into a well. Each morning Mrs. Chambers would read us another chapter of the story and have us join in and say his name out loud along with her. By the end of the week the story was finished and we could all repeat the boy’s name by heart which was: Ricky Ticky Timbo No So Rimbo Ala Balla Booski Hipre Pimbo. How could a kid ever forget that?

Betty Chambers and I crossed paths many more times in the next 40 years. She was someone to look up to, she became a mentor, and most of all she became my friend. Mrs. Chambers was involved in so many things in her church, with her family, and in our community that I would never be able to list them all. She was an excellent person who expected excellence from others. I remember her telling me as a teenager that you cannot soar with the eagles if you are on the ground hooting with the hoot owls. Betty Chambers was a person who kept her word. If she made a commitment she always followed through. There was no excuse not to in her book. She also believed in making people better off for knowing her. She spoke to everyone whether she knew them or not. She got involved. She believed in healthy mind, healthy body, healthy spirit. She never sat idle. She was a doer and a go-getter. She lived life to the fullest. She never, ever took the easy way out. She was in every sense of the word a woman of substance.

I remember in my mid 40s when Mrs. Chambers became terminally ill with cancer. I was at the First Baptist Church and I saw her walk in. There she was all dressed up with her hair and makeup done just as perfect as always. She walked in by herself but slowly and without the help of anyone. We all knew that she was in great pain but she never gave in. She had that beautiful smile on her face. She sat behind me along with her daughter Pec and son-in-law Dub Mcginnes. I remember I turned around and told her my memories of Bible school back in 1969 and how she told us the story of Ricky Ticky Timbo, in fact I recited the whole name to her. She could not believe that I could remember that after all these years. I felt in my heart that this might be the last time that I saw Mrs. Chambers. I turned around and told her how much I loved her and how much she meant to me. I even told her that I wanted to grow and become a person just like her. Mrs. Chambers leaned over and grabbed my hand and said: “Candy, you already are!”

Let me leave you with this thought. Americans, as we take time to celebrate the independence held so deep in our hearts, I hope that the following thoughts of America bring forth emotion for the USA we love. So many have endured the loss of precious loved ones, we must stay aware of the tragedy they live with. For they, more than any, feel the total cost of sacrifice. Praise their fallen heroes. They left freedom for us.

We shall always be “the land of the free”

We shall always be “the home of the brave”

We shall always sing “God Bless America”

We shall always love “Mom and Apple Pie.”

Gallery of Plant City

JULY 4TH, 2023

Plant City kicked off the patriotic festivities with the Plant City Parks & Recreation and Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce’s annual July 4th Celebration. The record heat didn’t keep families from celebrating our country’s independence with vendors, food, live music, games and a firework finale at 9:15pm.

a. Families had a friendly game of tug-a-war on the field. The event, presented by Plant City Recreations & Park Department, featured family-friendly games and activities including a rock climbing wall and cornhole.

b. Live music was provided by the Double Barrel Band beginning at 7pm while the on-field activities continued. The event concluded with a firework finale at 9:15pm.

c. Families enjoyed the vendors, such as balloon animal artists and face painters, on the field of the Plant City Stadium. For many in attendance, the annual July 4th Celebration is a family tradition.

d. There was no shortage of patriotic attire, with many women opting for dresses in the hot July sun, like this mom and daughter. Red, white and blue beads, sunglasses, and headbands accessorized their star spangled attire.

e. Vendors like Chick-Fil-A Plant City, Fazoli’s, Pelican’s Snoballs Piggy Palace BBQ and Smitty Corndogs were on site for attendees to enjoy local flavor.