FREE • FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2017
VOLUME 4, NO. 35
Observer PLANT CITY TIMES &
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
Photo by Daniel Figueroa IV
Capturing every moment of #BerryFest17. See more coverage inside and online at PlantCityObserver.com
YOUR TOWN
Behind the scenes Harry Jeffcoat’s mother and Billy Friend’s father were photography rivals. Decades later, their sons have a common focus. EMILY TOPPER MANAGING EDITOR
From livestock shows and concerts to eating contests and parades, Harry Jeffcoat and Billy Friend have been capturing every moment of the Florida Strawberry Festival as a dual effort for the last seven years. Jeffcoat became the official festival photographer in 1987. Friend joined forces with him in 2010. And while the two have established a strong camaraderie, a feud preceded them. Jeffcoat’s mother, Gladys, and Friend’s father, Bill, both worked as photographers — but they weren’t on the same team. “They liked each other,” Friend said. “But they were vicious competitors.” Jeffcoat began helping his mother in 1967. “I was still in high school,” Jeffcoat said. “I started coming out on weekends and during parade days. My mother was the first official festival photographer, when Louise Gibbs was the general manager.” While Friend’s father wasn’t an official festival photographer, he was still allowed to bring his camera to the
Courtesy photo
Jackson Elementary School students took a trip to the Kennedy Space Center Thursday, Feb. 23.
Up in the Air Twenty fourth and fifth grade students from Jackson Elementary had the experience of a lifetime Thursday, Feb. 23. The students traveled to Titusville, where they spent the day at Kennedy Space Center. Students, along with their parents, teacher Elizabeth Damsel and principal Michelle McClellan, toured the facility and learned how space exploration has improved the culture and economy of Florida. The students began their day with a bus tour of the launch pads, then viewed the machinery used to transport rockets and shuttles. The group walked around and underneath a Saturn V rocket. They also saw the Atlantis Space Shuttle, which took 33 missions and retired in 2011, as it is now housed at the center. The students interacted with virtual simulations, which added to their excitement and interest in space exploration. The school would like to thank Jackson’s PTA and photographer Troy McClellan’s partnership with the communications coordinator at the center.
Tick, tock. Turn forward your clock! Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 12.
Emily Topper
Harry Jeffcoat and Billy Friend cover concerts, livestock exhibits and more for the Florida Strawberry Festival.
SEE PHOTOGRAPHERS PAGE 5
Creams world record The record-breaking 1,000-gallon strawberry smoothie was created at the 2017 Florida Strawberry Festival Friday, March 3. DANIEL FIGUEROA IV STAFF WRITER
It happened just before 5 p.m. Friday, March 3. Cabot Creamery Co-operative led a successful effort to reclaim the Guinness World Record title for the world’s largest smoothie during the second day of the 2017 Florida
Strawberry Festival. Partnered with the United Food Bank of Plant City, Feeding Tampa Bay and United Way Suncoast, the 1,000-gallon strawberry smoothie dwarfed the previous record of 824.7 gallons set by McGill University in Toronto, Canada, in 2015. Prior to McGill, Cabot had set a smoothie record in 2013 with a mixture weighing in at more than 400 gallons. “Our farmers are happy to recapture the Guinness World Record title for the world’s largest smoothie to benefit United Food Bank of Plant City and Feeding Tampa Bay,” Roberta SEE SMOOTHIE PAGE 3
Daniel Figueroa IV
Kelly Littlefield and Jimmy Kennedy, of Cabot Creamery Co-operative, with the certificate confirming the world record.