HOLIDAY RECIPES HISTORIC HAILE HOMESTEAD CHAMP’S CLOCK SHOP SHOW TICKETS FOR VETS
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 | VOL. 10 ISSUE 06
THE
TIME ISSUE
How our history informs our future – and why time is so precious
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Music and Memories — local couple invents a way to reconnect the melody of memories for a loved one battling Alzheimer’s disease.
Shop Local — Discover interesting facts on businesses in our town and what they do to keep it in the community. GAINESVILLE EDITION
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November/December 2019
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November/December 2019
CONTENTS
N ov em b er/ D ecem b er 2019
G A I N E S V I L L E | V O L . 1 0 | N O. 0 6
THE
TIME ISSUE
IN THIS ISSUE >> LET’S TURN BACK THE CLOCK, PAUSE AND SLOW-MO ALL OF THE PRECIOUS MOMENTS
LIFE BRINGS US. DELVE INTO THE HISTORY OF LOCAL CLOCK TOWERS, AND HOW EACH MINUTE IS A CHANCE TO MAKE A MEMORY THAT JUST MIGHT LAST A LIFETIME. P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y RO N E LVA W O N D ER S | I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y H A N K MC A F EE
FEATURE STORIES 36 SHOP LOCAL
98 MOVIE TIME
62 ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION
118 WHEN OLD BECOMES NEW
Discover interesting facts about a few local businesses in our town and what they do to keep it in the community. ‘Tis the season to shop local — let’s show our local ma and pa shops some love!
The North Central Regional chapter of this national organization aims to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research. Learn about the experiences of loyal caregivers.
Read summaries on a variety of time-themed movies before grabbing pajamas and popping some popcorn for family movie night. Whether you’re a history buff that dreams of going back in time or a futuristic fan, these flicks are sure to entertain both young and old!
Time after time! Take a closer look at fashion trends that are actually blasts from the past. They say history repeats itself and that is definitely true with these timeless pieces. November/December 2019
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CONTENTS
N ov em b er/ D ecem b er 2019
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MUSIC AND MEMORIES A local couple invents a way to reconnect the melody of memories for a loved one battling Alzheimer’s disease.
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DOUG’S DAIRY TWIRL A trip down memory lane! Taste the flavor of your childhood with the former owner of a local legendary ice cream shop.
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150 ANNIVERSARY Learn about Gainesville’s storied past and how the city has become what it is known as today.
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CLOCK TOWERS View historic Gainesville moments through the eyes of clock towers and understand the significance of their existence.
102
VET TIX The High Dive’s initiative to give back to veterans through Vet Tix, a non-profit that gives free concert tickets to veterans.
108
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME Learn the origin of this delight or nuisance that causes people to turn their clocks forward and backward.
DIY TERRA-COTTA SNOWMAN A fun craft that will put you in the seasonal spirit! This snowman happens to be snow-free. The only thing you need is a terra-cotta pot, some paint and a few extra pieces to create your own Frosty.
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TALKING THROUGH TIME Hear the untold stories of the Haile family through the chatty walls of their Historic Haile Homestead.
DEMENTIA IN DOGS Understand the difficulties of having a dog with dementia and find out what to do if your furry friend is diagnosed.
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RECIPE WONDERS From our home to yours, enjoy three timeless recipes to make during the holiday season.
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November/December 2019
CHAMP’S CLOCK SHOP Be entranced by the ticktocks of 3,000 clocks and the story of the man who runs it all.
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COLUMNS 26 N AKED SALSA by Crystal Henry
42 F ARM TALES by Mother Hen
107 E MBRACING LIFE by Donna Bonnell
128 F UREVER FRIENDS Spotlight on Rescue Animals
REVIEWS 34 R EADING CORNER by Terri Schlichenmeyer
96 G ATE CRASHING by Brian “Krash” Kruger
INFORMATION 80 C harity Winners 82 T aste of the Town 86 C ommunity Calendar 127 L ocal Bus. Directory
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MAGICAL MOMENTS Creating memories with those you love is what the holidays are all about. Here are five ways to spend time with your family this season.
The articles printed in Our Town do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Tower Publications, Inc. or their editorial staff. Our Town Magazine endeavors to accept reliable advertising; however, we can not be held responsible by the public for advertising claims. Our Town Magazine reserves the right to refuse or discontinue any advertisement. All rights reserved. © 2019 Tower Publications, Inc.
2017 • 2018 • 2019
2 01 8
volcanicsushisake.com Two Convenoiennst! Locati
Haile Village Center 5141 SW 91st Way 352-363-6226 Hunters Crossing 5200 NW 43d St. 352-727-7777
November/December 2019
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PUBLISHER Charlie Delatorre ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Hank McAfee
Anthony B. Agrios, MD Joseph S. Iobst, MD Jean C. Cook, MD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ericka Winterrowd editor@towerpublications.com
Nicole Scogin, MD
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dana Bryan, Gabrielle Calise, Cameron Cobb, Peggy Macdonald, Julia Mitchem, Steph Strickland, Cynthia Wonders Winterrowd, Hayli Zuccola
Julie Rischar, ARNP, CNM
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Steffanie Crockett
Shelley Russell, ARNP, CNM Kristen Cook, ARNP, CNM
ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Jenni Bennett jenni@towerpublications.com Helen Mincey helen@towerpublications.com Nancy Short nancy@towerpublications.com INTERN Steph Strickland, Dana Bryan, Julia Mitchem
CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS If you would like us to publicize an event in the greater Gainesville area, send information by the 1st day of the month prior to the next issue. For example, submissions for the March/April issue are due by February 1. All submissions will be reviewed and every effort will be made to run qualified submissions if page space is available.
Take care
of you.
AllAboutWomenMD.com • 352.331.3332 Helping You Live A Healthy Lifestyle! 12 | OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
November/December 2019
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We want to hear from you. Send your letters to the attention of the editor at 4400 NW 36th Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32606 or editor@ towerpublications.com. Letters must be signed and include a phone number in the event we need to contact you. (Your phone number will not be published.)
OUR TOWN MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY TOWER PUBLICATIONS, INC. REPRODUCTION BY ANY MEANS OF THE WHOLE OR PART OF OUR TOWN WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHER IS PROHIBITED. VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE EDITORIAL PAGES DO NOT IMPLY OUR ENDORSEMENT. WE WELCOME YOUR PRODUCT NEWS. INCLUDE PRICES, PHOTOS AND DIGITAL FILES WITH YOUR PRESS RELEASE. PLEASE FORWARD PRODUCT SAMPLES AND MEDIA KITS TO REVIEWS EDITOR, OUR TOWN MAGAZINE, 4400 NW 36TH AVENUE, GAINESVILLE, FL 32606. WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR UNSOLICITED PRODUCT SAMPLES.
A Publication of Tower Publications, Inc. 4400 NW 36th Ave., Gainesville, Florida 32606 phone: 352-372-5468 fax: 352-373-9178
PU BLI S HER ’ S LET TER
C oin
N ov em b er/ D ecem b er 2019
Home of The Big Biscuits
gallery since 1981
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& Unusual
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34th St
Remember Skeeter’s? Ohhhh… I loved that place. For those of you who don’t know, Skeeter’s was your typical greasy spoon, serving up ridiculous sized portions and known countywide for their “Big Biscuits.” I would do anything I could to cajole my parents out of bed on a Saturday morning and take me to get those plate-sized pancakes. Anyone who knows me knows I love a good breakfast joint, but most people don’t know, it’s all thanks to Skeeter’s. Maybe you had a place like that from when you were younger. Maybe it was the local comic book store where you’d ride your bike to on Wednesdays after school to grab the newest adventure by your favorite hero (any respectable comic book nerd knows Wednesday is new comic book day, by-the-way). Maybe it was the corner store where you’d buy Snickers and a Coke for you and your friends with the money you “found” in your parents car. Maybe it was the local barbershop, bookstore, grocery store, or perhaps, if you’re really lucky, maybe it was Skeeter’s. Growing up in Gainesville I had plenty of local businesses that were an integral part of my childhood. I remember sneaking into Dubs to listen to music when I was way too young and having a burger at Louis’. Spending time with my brothers and their friends at Joe’s Deli and getting medicine from Wise’s Pharmacy when I was sick. I used to love the sweet potato pie at Mama Lo’s and music on Sunday afternoons at Napolatano’s. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be some grumpy old man screaming about how things were better back in my day – that simply isn’t true. In almost every way that matters, our lives are better than at any time in history. But I do worry, that the Starbucks/Walmart/Old Navy/Amazon phenomenon is eradicating the places and things that make our area unique. It was 20 years ago we started Tower Publications and one of the things I love about my job is working with locally owned and operated businesses. I see firsthand what buying local can do and the impact it has on the lives of those who own, operate and work within them. I may not have those big biscuits anymore but don’t worry, luckily we have some incredible local spots… maybe I’ll see you there?
Jewelry &
Publix 16th Av e Plaza 43rd St
Ne
wb
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MI LLH O PPER SH O PPING CE NTE R
2007 NW 43rd Street, Gainesville Mon-Fri: 9-5:30 Sat: 10-2
352.378.3983
Charlie Delatorre Publisher, Owner at Tower Publications, Inc.
coinandjewelrygallery.com Member ANA & FUN Authorized NGC Submission Site
November/December 2019
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EDITOR ’ S LET TER
N ov em b er/ D ecem b er 2019
Seasons of Time I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately and how all of us go through different seasons in life. There’s a well-known song by The Byrds that really brings this idea home — “Turn! Turn! Turn!” The lyrics state that everything we go through in life has a season and a purpose. A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to reap, a time to build up, a time to break down, a time to dance, a time to mourn. For me, this past summer happened to be one of those times to let go. There were a series of events that really seemed like they wanted to take me down, and the feeling of loss, at some points, was almost too much to bear. I started looking at time not in a fluid, linear way, but instead in sections. Sometimes life itself seems to go by so fast that we often don’t even notice when a section has ended and becomes something new. Other times we can feel the end of one so harshly it almost breaks us. That’s when the minutes seem to tick by ever so slowly, throwing us off our scheduled routine of being in control. Sometimes this moment of unwanted, drastic change is actually a blessing in disguise. We just don’t know it yet. So how do we get through these sections that hurt? By taking solace in knowing that nothing lasts forever. This is why we must grab ahold of the happy times – be grateful for those precious moments we share with our loved ones. And when life gets tough, remember — it’s just a season. It’s only a cycle. Breathe. “This too shall pass.” This valuable lesson is vividly displayed by nature every year. The trees show us through their leaves that in a moment of decay, there is beauty. After all, the changing color of a falling leaf gives way to new life. So I go back to that song… “Turn! Turn! Turn!” – which is actually rooted in a Bible verse: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. “For every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” We can also take comfort in knowing that we live in a world where heaven resides above us. All we have to do is keep moving forward and always remember to look up.
Ericka Winterrowd, Editor-In-Chief
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H E A LT H Y M E A L D E L I V E R Y • B R E A K FA S T /// L U N C H /// D I N N E R
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November/December 2019
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G L A M CR A F T S HOW
N ov em b er/ D ecem b er 2019
of Alachua County - West FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED
HERO READY HERE TO HELP
‘Tis the Season to Support Local Artists
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Mark your calendars for the 11th annual winter edition of the GLAM Craft Show on Sunday, December 8 at First Magnitude Brewery. With growing interest in buying local, GLAM provides a way for socially-minded shoppers to purchase unique gifts that were handcrafted within their own community, as well as the ability to connect with the people who made them. Previous events have featured as many as 70 local vendors selling handmade jewelry and accessories, men’s and ladie’s silk-screen T-shirts, funky home decor, hand-spun yarns, bibs, fitness hoops and more. Thr GLAM Craft SHow began in 2009 in an effort to provide a local holiday market for makers in the community, according to glamcraftshow.com. Ten years later the craft show remains true to these roots. GLAM is a production of Sew Make Do LLC, a Gainesville-based small business that strives to bring creative opportunities to the local community. For those who enjoyed the food trucks at previous craft shows, they’ll be back again too. And First Magnitude’s tap room will be open as well. Admission is free!
352.374.6589 SERVPROACW.COM S M
GLAM Craft Show
Sunday, December 8th (10 a.m. - 5 p.m.)
Like it never even happened.
First Magnitude Brewery, 1220 SE Veitch St., Gainesville, 32601 For more information, check out their website and facebook page: www.glamcraftsshow.com, facebook.com/GLAMCraftShow
®
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OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
November/December 2019
Real Wood. Always.
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CONTRIBUTOR S
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OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
N ov em b er/ D ecem b er 2019
HAYLI ZUCCOLA is a New England native who enjoys listening to music and traveling. After graduating high school with her AA degree she got her Bachelor’s in Journalism from the University of Florida. HayzDesigns@yahoo.com
PEGGY MACDONALD is a native Gainesvillian and teaches history at Stetson University. Her publications include a biography of environmental activist Marjorie Harris Carr and a forthcoming book on Florida’s female pioneers. peggymacdemos@gmail.com
JULIA MITCHEM is a journalism major at the University of Florida and intern. In her free time, she loves going to concerts, taking photographs and traveling. jmitchem243@gmail.com
STEPH STRICKLAND is a journalism student within the UF Honors Program and she loves telling stories through writing, photography and digital media. Outside of her studies she enjoys mountain hiking, nature photography and spending quality time with friends and family. stephanieannestrickland@gmail.com
GABRIELLE CALISE is a senior journalism major at the University of Florida and freelance writer. In her spare time she enjoys collecting vinyl records, taking photographs and watching movies. gcalise@ufl.edu
CYNTHIA WONDERS WINTERROWD is an award-winning writer who was raised in Illinois and lives in Gainesville. She is proud to be a “Gator Mom” of three daughters, all UF graduates. Cynthia loves sharing family recipes that have been passed down in her mother’s handwritten cookbooks. recipewonders@gmail.com
CAMERON COBB is a graduate student at UF, working on her master’s degree in Mass Communication. She’s also an Air Force veteran. Cameron loves traveling, writing and all animals (her favorite being her rescue dog, Maggie). cameronacobb5@gmail.com
DANA BRYAN is a second-year journalism student at the University of Florida and a freelance writer. In her free time, she loves to read, write amateur code and watch television. itsdanabryan@gmail.com
CRYSTAL HENRY is a freelance writer and columnist born and raised in West Texas. She received her B.S. in Journalism in 2006 from the University of Florida. She is in love with the Florida landscape. ces03k@gmail.com
BRIAN “KRASH” KRUGER is a writer, musician and a graduate of the UF College of Law. He has played in some 17 or so local bands, playing most every Gainesville venue friendly to original music (and some not so friendly). bkrashpad@yahoo.com
November/December 2019
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INNOVATION >> ALZHEIMER’S CAREGIVING
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?
Music and Memories Helping Alzheimer’s Patients Reconnect Through Music W R I T T E N B Y H AY L I Z U C C O L A P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y E R I C K A W I N T E R R O W D
W
ith her 96th birthday on the November horizon, Cecile Reysen has lived a long, momentous life over the past nine decades. Growing up along the countryside of southern Georgia, Reysen was raised as a well-mannered lady of the Roaring Twenties. After high school, she attended Auburn University, studying as a business major before finding work in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during World War II. She would later meet and marry Warren Reysen, her husband of 69 years, and become the mother of two children, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of three. Her vibrant personality was entwined with her love of reading, playing the piano, hiking, sailing and traveling the world from Brazil and Greece to Tahiti and Norway. 20 |
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The term fulfilling doesn’t begin to encompass the active life Reysen has led, but it’s a life that began to fade from her memory. It was a slow progression initially met with simple inconveniences like forgetting where she put her keys or the book she was reading, but it was a pattern that grew into clusters of yellow Sticky Note reminders dispersed throughout the house. In 2007, Reysen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s – a disease that thrives off of stealing its victims’ memories. As a result, she became irritated with her foggy recollection and eventually had to withdraw from her passion for reading and instead opt for magazines with pictures and short stories, which were easier to grasp. As the years went on, her condition only worsened and familiar faces became strangers. Eventually, she could no longer recognize her
Mike and Annelle Rigsby pose with their invention known as a Notable Board Book. They designed this interactive book to help Annelleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother, who suffers from Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, recount her memories through song.
November/December 2019
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INNOVATION >> ALZHEIMER’S CAREGIVING
daughter, Annelle, comprehend specific words or discern the subjects in family photographs. “As time went on you could begin to see the frustration that she was having because she knew she was forgetting things and it was very difficult for her to wrap her mind around what was happening,” her daughter, and Gainesville resident, Annelle Rigsby said. Witnessing the difficulties she had to endure, Rigsby wanted to find a way to reconnect with her mom. “I call it a roller coaster. Sometimes they have a good day where they remember things and can remember who you are and then maybe a few months later they don’t remember anything,” she said. “It’s sad, but then there are good moments too and those are the precious times that you cling to. When she’s 22 |
OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
November/December 2019
having a good day and you can laugh and talk and just enjoy being together, those are precious moments and those are what you register in your mind.” Despite these struggles, Reysen managed to harbor one aspect of her life from being erased: music. As a sense of amnesia washed over her thoughts, lyrics to songs would come flooding back with the sounds of familiar melodies – a phenomenon discovered after Rigsby gave her mom a musical children’s Christmas book. “She just totally changed, you know, she just brightened up and smiled,” Rigsby said. “It was thrilling; it was exciting; it was like discovering treasure. It was a way to communicate that we had not really used and so it connected us and that was just really worth the world.”
A 3-D printer was used to help build the musical book. A step-by-step guide to personalizing this project for someone else in need is available on the Rigsbys’ website at misterengineer.com. The Rigsbys wanted to share their invention so that others across the globe could help their loved ones too.
After watching her mom light up to the recognizable tune of Christmas songs, Rigsby knew that music was a catalyst that could help revive the relationship she once had with her mom. According to the livescience.com article, “How Music ‘Awakens’ Alzheimer’s Patients,” there are currently two theories as to why music is a major link between the mind and its memories. The first is that music evokes a sense of emotion and therefore makes a stronger connection with Alzheimer’s patients. The second concept is that when people learn music and song lyrics, they’re stored in the brain as procedural memories, which are “associated with routines and repetitive activities.” These types of memories are protected from the effects of dementia, which alternatively hinders episodic memories or specific events in one’s life.
Rigsby presented the idea of creating a personalized music book for her mom to her electrical engineer husband, Mike Rigsby, whose mom also suffered from Alzheimer’s-induced dementia. Together the duo created the first Notable Board Book and filled it with unforgettable songs from Reysen’s life, like “Amazing Grace” and “Joy to the World.” Designed to be simplistic and easy to use, each page of the book contained easy-to-read lyrics, basic photos, and could play corresponding songs automatically – stopping only when the book was set down. “It’s just a different way to communicate. You have to be creative when you’re dealing with people with Alzheimer’s because they’re at all different stages and you just have to keep trying and doing what you can to connect and that was our method,” she said. November/December 2019
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INNOVATION >> ALZHEIMER’S CAREGIVING 24 |
Annelle, the artistic director of the project, and Mike, the inventor and engineer, documented their journey on Hackaday.io, a collaborative hardware development website, to share their success with music and its effect on those suffering from Alzheimer’s. While they openly shared how someone could build a book of their own, they divulge that the book is merely a mechanism to showcase the magic of music. “Music does lift the mood, takes away the anxiety, the stress, it can lift depression even. I think that’s the important thing is that people, with music being a universal language, people can have access to this and use it, choose music for their loved ones and work with them that way and find a new way to communicate with their loved ones that perhaps they weren’t aware of,” Annelle said. Having dealt with Alzheimer’s in both of their moms, the Rigsbys note that the key to managing the stress of it all is to research and prepare for the long road ahead. “You have to educate yourself and understand. I think the understanding is fairly easy to do, the emotional attachment is another question,” Annelle said. Mike agrees. “It can be very difficult even if you read and have head knowledge – to get it into your heart,” he added. “It’s like you can read and hear that people are gonna do this, they’re gonna forget you, but until it happens to you...to accept that, it’s not easy.” At its core, Alzheimer’s is an incurable disease that wipes out a person’s life – no matter how worthwhile it was – and for those watching their loved ones experience such an emotionally painful illness, Annelle offers a piece of advice to hold close. “Live in the moment, enjoy the times, the good times that you have. Try to embrace those times and if they’re not having a good day remember the good times that you have had,” she said. “Be patient. It can be frustrating and you have to have a lot of patience but I would just say enjoy the time you have together, embrace that because that’s what you’re given. You’re only given today anyway.” OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
November/December 2019
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COLUMN
CRYSTAL HENRY’S
Naked Salsa TIME TRAVELS
CRYSTAL HENRY IS A FREELANCE WRITER AND COLUMNIST BORN AND RAISED IN WEST TEXAS. SHE RECEIVED HER B.S. IN JOURNALISM IN 2006 FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. SHE IS IN LOVE WITH THE FLORIDA LANDSCAPE. ces03k@gmail.com
ON MY RECENT TRIP TO ITALY I STARED OUT THE AIRPLANE WINDOW AS WE CHASED THE SUN ACROSS THE SKY.
T
he secret to avoiding jet lag, my husband informed me, was to sleep according to the schedule of the place where you’re headed. But we were headed about eight hours in the future, and they were having dinner as I ate my lunch. I would arrive tomorrow while the rest of my world was still in today. I still haven’t worked out the exact formula, but I very clearly experienced time travel. There have been plenty of times in my life I wished for the ability to travel through time. Of course any time there’s a tragedy we wish we could go back. But there are some really great times I’d love to revisit. And I’ve often wanted to go back and try those really tough early days of motherhood again. Sleep deprivation and hormonal shifts robbed me of a lot of joy when my kids were babies. And now that they’re 10 and 7, and they relentlessly insist on waking up each morning just a little bigger and a little older than the night before, I wish at the very least I could freeze time in its tracks. Now there have definitely been times that it seemed like we were standing still. Any time I’m told I have to administer 10 days of oral antibiotics thrice a day to a kid with a hair-trigger gag reflex, I feel like the clock might be stopped or even climbing backward. Other times I get to the end of a long day and it feels like it’s been years since my alarm screeched at me to get my exhausted carcass out of bed before the kids were late for school for the third time this week. Then there are the physical signs that time is passing. I hit 35, and I noticed my knees creak when I go up the stairs. I think I became fully sentient around 28, so I keep thinking I’m just 28 plus a tad. It’s hard for me to grasp that the year 2000 is now pushing 20, my baby daughter is now pushing 11 and my cholesterol is definitely in its 30s. It’s funny how I’ve always thought of time as a cyclical thing. A clock with January at the top, June at the bottom, and my birthday right around 8:02. But it’s more like an infinite curly corkscrew ribbon stretched end to end. We repeat the seasons going from hot to stifling to rainy to moderate to
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March and back to hot again. But while the earth is taking the same round path, we are on more of a roller coaster than a merry-go-round. My father-in-law just hit 70, and he’s convinced this is pretty much curtains for him. He’s completely physically and mentally fit, and doesn’t look a day over 50. But he’s checking off his bucket list and asking what sort of things we’ll say in his eulogy like tomorrow is his last day. Meanwhile my Papaw is well into his 80s, and he’s outlived an aggressive cancer diagnosis that almost took him last Christmas. He’s got a trip to the casino planned next week, and as long as his treatments don’t interfere he’s planning to win big on his lucky Wheel of Fortune slot machine and see us at Thanksgiving. I don’t know about longevity with my parents. My dad died young in an accident, and my mom is fabulously 55 with freakishly immortal skin. I oscillate between sheer panic about death and a flippant disregard for it. I often think about how strange it is that we’ll all die one day, but for the most part we have no idea how or when. As a mother with some really eventful labor and delivery tales, I never hesitate to tell my children’s birth story. We all have a birth story, but it’s a little eerie to think we are all guaranteed a death story as well. And although many of us can tell our birth story, we’ll never have a chance to tell the story of our death. In truth the only story we can actively participate in is the story of our life. The story of now. As I took the red-eye flight out of Rome and headed back for the United States I tried to figure out if I should be sleeping. It was midnight where I was heading, but it was 7 a.m. in Italy. I pulled my sleep mask over my eyes and prepared to travel back in time. Back to those little time-keepers I call children. The ones who measure my busy and exhaustingly long days and my blink-and-you-miss-it years. I know I can’t control time, but I can try and bend it to my will. I can savor those delicious bedtime moments and breathe in the last few seconds of the day before my children fall asleep and arise just a bit bigger and older than they were the night before. And although I can’t fast-forward through the tough moments or freeze the really great ones, I can coast the waves around those loopy ribbons of time, and just enjoy the ride.
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LOCAL HISTORY >> DOUG’S DAIRY TWIRL
WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM
MEMORIES OF A LEGENDARY LOCAL TREAT LIVE ON
Doug’s Dairy Twirl W R ITTEN BY PEGGY M ACDONA LD
In high school, while most of his friends were dreaming about buying their first car, Doug Fackender wanted to purchase his own soft serve ice cream machine. His first job was at Rohn’s Dairy Queen on Hawthorne Road, across from the Tackle Box. This is where Fackender got serious about the ice cream business. “A friend of mine at the time, Billy Carlton of Carlton’s Dairy in Hawthorne, told me about a new twin serve soft ice cream machine he had seen at a restaurant equipment show in Chicago,” Fackender explained by email (he now lives in Thailand). “He thought it would be a great business opportunity for me to purchase one and he would make and sell me the soft serve mix.” The next step was to find a location. Fackender rented an empty building on N.W. 6th St. that had previously been a Glidden paint store. Then he purchased 28 |
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Doug Fackender
PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF DOUG FACKENDER; NANCY SWILLEY
his dream ice cream machine and Doug’s Dairy Twirl was born. “I think I purchased one of the first twin serve machines in the state of Florida,” Fackender said. “The first one was at Silver Springs.” Doug’s Dairy Twirl opened on May 8, 1964. “I was 22 and my wife was 20,” Fackender said. “Our first son, Tony was six months old.” The business originally had a different name, however. Soon after the grand opening, Fackender attempted to trademark the name, which was initially Doug’s Dairy Twist. “A lady in a town in South Florida was already using dairy twist so we changed twist to twirl,” Fackender said. From the first day Doug’s Dairy Twirl opened, business was brisk. “I was always amazed how quickly this business took off,” Fackender reflected. “Like a rocket!” Fackender attributes this instant success to the novelty of the two flavor, soft serve cone, which Doug’s Dairy Twirl was the first to offer locally. “Before you could only get one flavor on a soft serve cone but now with the new twin serve machine you could have two flavors on a cone,” Fackender explained. “Vanilla and chocolate were always the most popular.” This menu item helped attract the many customers that would continue to visit. “We were always very busy,” explained Nancy Swilley, Fackender’s first wife. “People were lined up outside.” At first, Doug’s offered a simple menu: soft serve cones, sundaes, banana splits, soft drinks, potato chips and steamed hot dogs. “I remember every day I had ice cream for lunch,” Swilley recalled. Later they added burgers and sandwiches. Patrons could purchase a grilled cheese sandwich or a small cone for 10 cents. A quart of ice cream was 49 cents. A loose meat burger known as the Scramburger was added to both the menu and the iconic Doug’s Dairy Twirl sign, which remains today. Fackender suspects that the Doug’s Dairy Twirl sign was one of the first signs Gainesville Neon & Signs ever made. “I gave them a sketch of approximately what
I wanted the sign to look like,” he said. “It had to have a large ice cream cone so the kids would see it.” As Fackender’s family grew, they decided to sell the business. On the day Swilley gave birth to her second child, Tim, she worked the opening shift at Doug’s Dairy Twirl before heading to the
To this day, children who pass by the Doug’s Dairy Twirl sign on the way to and from nearby Stephen Foster Elementary School long for ice cream when they see the giant cone. Nostalgia over these bygone frozen treats inspired the recent release of a limited-edition Doug’s Dairy Twirl beer by Gainesville-based Swamp
Early Doug’s Dairy Twirl employees, Randy and Eddie.
“Before you could only get one flavor on a soft serve cone but now with the new twin serve machine you could have two flavors on a cone.” hospital. “We had children and we were very young,” Swilley explained. “We felt like we were overworked.” “The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence,” Fackender said. In 1969, they sold the business to Leon Mercer. A few months later, Fackender entered into a partnership with some friends and opened Gator Freeze on the 3700 block of W. University Ave. After a disagreement, however, he dropped out of the partnership. Fackender said he thinks every day about getting back into the ice cream business. “Good memories,” he said. “I’d do it all over again.”
Head Brewery. The Swamp Head crew added banana, chocolate and vanilla ingredients to an Imperial Stout, “just like your favorite childhood swirl,” according to the Swamp Head Brewery website. This specialty brew flew off the shelves, inspiring the upcoming release of a second flavor in January 2020: Neapolitan. “It will be available at select locations around town and at your favorite local craft brewery store,” said Wes Cooper, Swamp Head Brewery’s sales director. More information is available at swamphead.com. Old Gainesville nostalgia never tasted so good. November/December 2019
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LOCAL HISTORY >> NOSTALGIC FOOD SPOTS
A Taste of Old Gainesville The name Doug’s Dairy Twirl stirs up memories for Gainesville residents who wish it would return. It isn’t the only local eatery that is missed. Many locals and UF alumni have memories of romantic evenings at the Melting Pot fondue restaurant on E. University Ave., which was one of
The Melting Pot
the first Melting Pot restaurants in the nation. Founding owner Hope Meucci recalled a favorite dish at another defunct downtown Gainesville restaurant, the Sovereign: Chateaubriand with Bearnaise Sauce. Wendy Thornton’s favorite part of waiting tables at the Brown Derby when she was in college was the performers, including Gamble Rogers, Dale Crider and Jimmy Buffett. Kathleen Pagan remembers eating at Bilbo and Gandalf’s at 2300 N.W. 6th St., which also nurtured local musicians including former Gainesville mayor Gary Gordon. Café Expresso on S. Main St. was known for its coffee 30 |
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and desserts. Affectionately called Café Depresso by members of Gainesville’s punk scene, the restaurant was frequented by Goonies star Martha Plimpton, River Phoenix and his younger brother, Joaquin Phoenix (then known as Leaf). Kesl’s Coney Island near the Hippodrome specialized in vegetarian fare, including a tofu skillet, tempeh Reuben and carrot dogs. Older defunct restaurants include the Primrose Inn, Louis’ Lunch, the College Inn and the General Gaines, where diners could choose their own steak and watch as it was char-broiled to perfection in an open-hearth grill, according to a 1975 Independent Florida Alligator ad. Few restaurants provoke as much nostalgia as Mom’s Kitchen, a family business that was cherished as much for its caring ownMom’s Kitchen ers as for its food. From the smothered pork chops, grits and chicken gizzards to the oxtails, rice, gravy and candied yams, everything was made with love, said former Mom’s Kitchen staff member Margaret Kirkland. Joyce Slaton Lollar remembered spending endless hours with friends on Café Gardens’ patio when she was a journalism student at UF in the nineties. In 2017, another University Avenue area staple, Burrito Brothers shut its doors after local construction and canceled football games affected sales. However, its Facebook page recently started to take orders for T-shirts, spice mix and its famous red sauce. A Burrito Brothers burrito made at home might not taste like the real thing, but it will probably pair well with Swamp Head Brewery’s forthcoming Doug’s Dairy Twirl Neapolitan beer. PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF HOPE MEUCCI; THE MATHESON HISTORY MUSEUM
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BOOK REVIEW
TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER’S
Reading Corner ME
written by Elton John C.2019, HENRY HOLT, $30.00 / $38.50 CANADA, 375 PAGES TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER HAS BEEN READING SINCE SHE WAS 3 YEARS OLD AND SHE NEVER GOES ANYWHERE WITHOUT A BOOK. SHE LIVES WITH HER TWO DOGS AND 11,000 BOOKS. HER BOOK REVIEWS ARE PUBLISHED IN MORE THAN 200 NEWSPAPERS AND 50 MAGAZINES THROUGHOUT THE U.S. AND CANADA. bookwormsez@yahoo.com
NOBODY SAID IT WOULD BE EASY.
Y
ou have your eyes set on something but doing it will take time, sacrifice, and effort. You’ll get things right, but you’ll also get in your own way before you get to where you want to be and if you don’t believe that, then read “Me” by Elton John. On and off through most of his life, Elton John had a tumultuous relationship with his mother. She was sometimes angry, sometimes abusive, rarely loving, but she did one important thing for him: she introduced him to Elvis Presley music. Though John says he’d wanted to be a musician since he was very small, the 78 RPM his “mum” brought home opened a window for a huge record collection, a passion for seeing live music, and a dream of playing in a band onstage. Soon, he was gigging with regional bands and accidentally meeting people who would help his career. At nineteen, he was still a virgin, still naïve about being gay, and rather blithe about his natural ability to write music. That was okay, though; he’d met Bernie Taupin, who wrote lyrics over breakfast and together, they’d pen hits by lunchtime. At the age of 22, John had fallen in love with a man, was no longer a virgin, and “things [professionally] were starting to move, very gradually.” Just one year later, he performed for the first time in America. Through his early career, stardom gave John a delightful 34 |
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platter of surprises and he seized most everything that came his way: singers he admired praised him, famous people he’d watched wanted to meet him. He later hobnobbed with royalty, both the music kind and the Buckingham Palace kind. He fell in love, married, divorced, and fell into an obsession over something that made his life so, so much harder… There is a certain aura surrounding the first third of “Me,” and it’ll charm the socks off you: author Elton John writes about his childhood, quickly, before he leaps into the bits about his early career with a sense of wide-eyed awe at what life had just handed him. If he’d said “Gee whiz!” even once, you’d understand. Alas, after the kid-in-a-candy-store naiveté evaporates and his career takes off, John’s account of his young-manhood seems jaded; he says he was “exhausted” by constant work and pressures, and the second third of his book shows that in the voice readers see. Here – in the stories of parties, recording sessions, and industry goings-on – the tale starts to slip into that which plagues so many star biographies: name-dropping and seemingly unnecessary sameness. It would mar the book, were it not for the sense of droll humor that John continues to pack around his anecdotes. By the final third of this book, we get a settled John who’s clean, happier, less frenetic but still funny. Here’s where readers reach what is likely familiar, as though we’ve read this book before. But, of course, you haven’t because “Me” is John’s first and only biography and enjoying it is easy.
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COMMUNITY >> SHOPPING LOCAL MAKES A DIFFERENCE
‘TIS THE SEASON
Shop Local
The Importance of Home-Grown Businesses in Our Communities S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY J U LI A MITCH EM
W
ard’s Supermarket, Flashbacks Recycled Fashions, The Mantle Boutique and Pawn Pro are all local businesses that started small and focused on the importance of their family and communities. With the holidays already upon us, shopping local and giving back to the place we call home is a wonderful way to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. Learn a little more about these local businesses and how they continue to keep it in the community!
Ward’s Supermarket
515 NW 23rd Ave, Gainesville, 32609 Russell Welker, natural foods manager, and Milan Mixson, assistant natural foods manager, work at Ward’s Supermarket. According to Welker, Ward’s Supermarket is the last surviving full-service and family-run grocery store in Gainesville. Ward’s is a fourth-generation family business that has been in operation for about 68 years in Gainesville. J.B. Ward started 36 |
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the store in 1951. It began as a dirt floor and open-air produce market, and the sales were conducted on an honor system. Welker has been a part of Ward’s for about 28 years. Mixson has been a part of Ward’s for a little over 10 years. She is a cousin of the current Wards – brother and sister Bryan Ward and Danielle Ward-Williams. She did not become involved in the store until her late 20s, she said. “It’s been amazing to come
Top: Russell Welker, natural foods manager, and Milan Mixon, assistant natural foods manager, work at Ward’s — a supermarket that is committed to buying local. “We want our vendors to succeed and our customers to have the lowest farm-to-table time possible,” according to their website.
on-board to something that already had such a lifeforce,” Mixson said. “To jump on this moving train and to become a part of the team has been fascinating.” Mixson’s grandmother worked at Ward’s for about 25 years before she retired. “It’s been close to 10 years that she’s been gone, and people still ask about her all the time,” she said. Ward’s prides itself on its personal service. Welker said the grocery store has customers who have grown up shopping there because their parents brought them there when they were children. “Now they’re adults and they’re bringing their
children here,” he said. “It’s a generational store.” One of Ward’s main focuses is to give local growers and makers a space where they can sell their products. According to Welker, Ward’s currently has over 300 local suppliers. “We support all of the local farmers and their families,” he said. “We try to strengthen the fiber of the community.” Welker explained that Ward’s helps people buy quality, nutritional food at the lowest price possible. And with nearly 100 local residents employed, a sense of community and family is everpresent. “The people that work here are like a big family,” Mixon said. November/December 2019
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PHOTO BY STEPHEN BUSHOVEN
COMMUNITY >> SHOPPING LOCAL MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Flashbacks Recycled Fashions 220 NW 8th Ave, Gainesville, 32601
Tatum Nichtberger, manager of Flashbacks Recycled Fashions in Gainesville, said the store is full of modern and vintage clothing. Flashbacks buys a little bit of everything – whether it is name brand clothing or not. Flashbacks began in 1986 when Nichtberger’s parents and their group of friends went in on creating the business together. Throughout the years everyone sold their shares besides her father, and Nichtberger has slowly started buying the business from him. Nichtberger said it is better to shop in-person rather than online because people can feel the item and try it on. She said shopping at a secondhand store is necessary and that fast fashion can be damaging. “I think for the people who have grown up in Gainesville, shopping locally is really helping keep what Gainesville has been about — as it’s changing so quickly,” she said. 38 |
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Nichtberger was born and raised in Gainesville, but said she now has to GPS her way through Butler Plaza. “I remember being a kid and driving down Archer Road with my parents [and saying], ‘Remember when this was an open pasture,’” she said. “Now I go through with my friends who didn’t grow up here and I’m like ‘Oh, I remember when this was a small, little Walmart.’” She grew up in the store and can remember climbing through the clothing racks as a child. She said the store shaped her interest in the fashion industry and who she has become. “I am so excited to be here,” she said. “When my shift is over I’m like, ‘No, I am going to stay here another hour and finish these things.’” Flashbacks has a great following and even has regulars who have come into the store once a week for the past 20-something years. “People have moved away, and they come back and they’re like, ‘Every time I come back to Gainesville, I find you guys because there’s no other place like you,’” she said.
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The Mantle Boutique
18567 Main Street, High Springs, 32643 Dannielle Meissner is the owner of The Mantle Boutique in High Springs. She said The Mantle is a very eclectic store with mostly home decor, but it has a little bit of everything. The items she sells date back from the 1800s all the way up to present day with brand new items. She gets her items from auctions, estate sales and private sellers. One special product line she has is by Southern Lotus Creations, which is all handmade art and creations. Meissner began The Mantle in 2017. She juggled managing the store while working in the operating room as a surgical tech and
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COMMUNITY >> SHOPPING LOCAL MAKES A DIFFERENCE
teaching at Santa Fe College, so she ran her store on “ish” times. The schedule on the front of her door says the unconventional times she will be in her store. “It just kind of stuck,” she said. “Everybody really started liking it, laughing about it and it became catchy.” After working in the store for a while, she realized she started to enjoy spending time at The Mantle a lot more. She was juggling so many responsibilities and it took a toll on her health. She decided to start working full-time in just the store about a year and a half ago. “I tell my 40 |
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daughter all the time, this store saved me” she said. “I was able to walk away from a lot of medications, pain and things like that from all the lifting and carrying in the operating rooms.” Meissner believes it is important to shop locally because it keeps small businesses alive. “It slows life down a little bit, too,” she said. “We are all so busy, in our phones and on technology, that sometimes you need that retail therapy of being able to just walk around and take in the sights, relax and enjoy it.” She explained that buying gifts locally during
the holidays keeps things grounded. A person will put more thought into their gift – and it is more sentimental. “The more people can take the time to get that special gift, it’s kind of like saying an extra ‘I love you’ and ‘I’m really thinking about you,’” she said. According to Meissner, all the stores in downtown High Springs treat each other like a family. It’s not unusual for each shop to refer customers to one another. “When one company does well so will another,” she said. “Small businesses really exemplify that feeling of being a family.”
Chris Mack, owner of Pawn Pro enjoys giving back to the community by making charitable donations to local schools and churches.
Pawn Pro
25040 W Newberry Rd, Newberry, 32669 Chris Mack is the owner of Pawn Pro in Newberry. His shop is a full-service pawn shop that sells everything, according to Mack. “My job is never the same,” he said. “For 23 years it has been different every single day.” He said he enjoys dealing with firearms the most because he is a collector and enthusiast, so that is a large part of his business. Mack had been a pawn broker for 15 years before Pawn Pro launched in 2011. His pawning career began by working parttime on the weekends. Starting from the bottom, by cleaning the floors and glass in the shops he was employed at before, and then climbing his way to the top — owning his own business today. Pawn Pro first began in a small building across the street of its current location that was only 1,800 square feet. Now, they have grown to a 9,000 square foot building. A huge accomplishment for Mack is that he was able to buy his current building, which is the first one he has ever owned. Mack explained that local businesses are important because the owners actually know who their customers are. He said he even has generational customers shopping at his store (his customer’s grandchildren). “It gives me a sense of accomplishment,” Mack said. He also enjoys giving back to the community and seeing the direct impact of helping others. Pawn Pro had previously donated to the Newberry High School band. A customer once recognized her niece in a picture of the band that was proudly displayed in the shop. Mack also donated school supplies to a local church at the beginning of the school year. He explained that shopping locally is especially important during the holidays because the money stays in the community. “The money that I make stays here,” he said, “it’s donated to the band and it’s donated to the church across the street.” It doesn’t get much more local than that! November/December 2019
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COLUMN
FARM TALES
From Mother Hen TIMELESS
MOTHER HEN IS PROUD TO BE A “BABY BOOMER” RAISED ON A FARM POPULATED BY DOGS, CATS, CHICKENS, DUCKS, GEESE, HORSES AND COWS. THE WISDOM SHE GAINED WHILE GROWING UP IN THE COUNTRY CAN’T BE FOUND IN BOOKS. YOU CAN CONTACT MOTHER HEN AT motherhenfarmtales@gmail.com.
DO YOU EVER STOP TO THINK ABOUT WHAT A MAGICAL THING TIME IS?
W
hile we are busy living our days without much thought, we grow from a babe in our mother’s arms into who we are today. For children time isn’t measured by minutes or days – but by seasons, holidays and special events. Time seems to creep by when measured only by birthdays and holidays. In my case, my birthday was exactly six months and one day after Christmas. So, in my childish mind, time passed very slowly. The ticking of a clock is a very comforting thing to me. One of my earliest memories was of my grandfather and his pocket watch. He was a farmer who wore bib overalls, and he carried his watch in a pocket on a long chain. He knew I was fascinated with the “tick-tock” and would indulge me with a listen whenever we were together. It was a special bond with my grandpa, and a very unique one since he was a quiet man and not given to many sentimentalities. He didn’t talk to me much, but I felt special because he let me listen to his pocket watch. When I was old enough to stay at my grandparents while my mom did a few errands, my grandma would sit me on her lap and teach me how to chain stich with her crochet needle. The house was silent except for the ticking of a mantle clock in the living room. Something about that cozy moment in time comes back to me whenever I’m in a quiet room and hear a clock ticking. 42 |
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When my mother felt I was old enough to learn to tell time, she worked with an old alarm clock that she could twist the hands to different positions on the clock face. I was fascinated with the concept, and learned quickly that the short hand showed the hour while the long hand told the minutes. When my birthday rolled around, my mother rewarded me with a beautiful wind-up alarm clock with blue rhinestones encircling the clock face. I loved that special gift, and I have it on my vanity to this day. It’s over 60 years old, and it still works – ticking that familiar sound that means so much to me. When I became a teenager, my interest in clocks branched out into new dimensions. Since I loved reading, one of my favorite subjects was anything to do with time travel. “The Time Machine” by H. G. Wells was a book I checked out of the library many times. Any book or movie with this subject matter still grabs my attention even now. I currently have read all the Outlander novels (all eight of them) by Diana Gabaldon and eagerly watch each season of the series on cable television. There is something about the concept of time, and being able to travel through it, that just fascinates me. If I could, I would be first in line to travel back to Victorian times… provided I could return home to the present again. The thing that stands out to me, when I look back in time, is that every age and every decade was “modern” to the people living in that era. In my own life as I was growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s, we thought it was the most modern of times.
America was involved in the space race to get a satellite to circle the earth, robots and space travel were envisioned for the near future, and TV dinners were invented to save housewives time in the kitchen. What on earth could be more modern than that? It’s funny, but when you look even further back in time to the Roaring ‘20s, they thought they were the most modern in their era as well. Young women threw out their corsets and shortened their skirts, while the hair styles were cut into a short bob – much to their parents’ horror. Thanks to Henry Ford the automobile was being mass-produced, making it affordable for nearly everyone. The American public was able to travel the country efficiently and economically for the first time. What could be more modern than that? We can go back even further, hundreds and hundreds of years, and I guarantee that each generation thought they were the most modern society ever. And, in a way, I guess you could say that they were. When my husband and I were married five years, we commemorated the milestone with a grandfather clock. The familiar quiet ticking and the chimes on the quarter hour have been background music to our family’s days for over 40 years. It’s a comforting sound of “home.” Clocks will always hold a special place in my heart. Now that I’m a grandmother, I can sit back and observe how quickly time actually does pass. When I don’t see my little granddaughters for a month or two, it’s mind boggling
how fast they have grown. The weeks fly by now; and if I blink, it’s time to turn the next page on the calendar. The passage of time seems to be going faster and faster with each year. I’m looking back wondering how I got here, and where all the years went? While I wasn’t looking, my three chicks went from babies in my arms to the young adults they are now. Did I enjoy each day enough? I hope I did. I hope I didn’t let a moment slip away without appreciating what a blessing each normal, ordinary day was. Because if there’s anything I’ve learned while listening to the ticking of my clocks, it’s that each day is a gift and each memory I make is timeless. November/December 2019
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HISTORY >> TIMELINE OF GAINESVILLE
150 ANNIVERSARY
Gainesville Timeline From First Steps to The Future — A Brief History of Our Town W RIT TE N BY S TE PH S TRICKL A N D
150
years. Six generations. Abundance of change. The thriving city of Gainesville that exists today took over 150 years to develop. For Gainesville, time became an important commodity for sparking change that created the rich, and sometimes messy, history of our town. Hernando de Soto, a Spanish explorer, took his first steps in what would become the city of Gainesville in 1539. The area remained largely uninhabited for the next 200 years, until the Hog Town trading post was created, bringing economic growth to the swampy landscape. It was around this time that Alachua County was formed as a massive farming county stretching from the Georgia border to Tampa. When the county of Alachua was formed in 1824, the Alachua County Sherriff’s office also came to formation, before the state of Florida had even officially become a state.
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Explore Historical Alachua County said the pivotal Florida Railroad made its way to Gainesville in 1859, which “opened up the interior of Florida for both settlement and trading and helped establish Gainesville.” The site that formerly housed the Florida Railroad is now a park near downtown Gainesville, with restaurants, trails and museums known as Depot Park. According to the Gainesville Sun, the city of Gainesville was officially formed for the first time in 1854; however, it wasn’t until 1869 that the state was removed from military rule following the Civil War and was designated a city once again. Gainesville was named after General Edmund P. Gaines, a commander in the Army during the Second Seminole War. The Gainesville Police Department was formed alongside Gainesville’s rocky start. However, even through the 1920s there were only a handful of officers within the organization to serve the city.
Smathers Library, formerly known as Library East, was the first library to be built on the University of Florida campus and it opened in 1925.
In 1953, alumni of the University of Florida sought to create Century Tower as a way to honor UF students killed in WWI and WWII, as well as the 100th anniversary of the university founding.
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HISTORY >> TIMELINE OF GAINESVILLE
The population in Florida was minimal up until the 20th century. City and towns developed around sites like the old U.S. Post Office, which we now recognize as the Hippodrome State Theatre in downtown Gainesville.
The Civil War posed a major interruption to growth in Gainesville. Post-secondary education across the state halted when the Civil War began. Young men from the South fought on behalf of the Confederacy, and The Battle of Gainesville in 1864 resulted in a Confederate victory over Union soldiers from Jacksonville. The Confederacy had a stronghold in Gainesville for the remainder of the war. There was lynching. There were mobs in the streets. There was unrest. The startling truth is that the Alachua County Region led the nation in lynching of African Americans between 1877 through 1950, according to the Gainesville Sun, some figures reach nearly 50 victims of this cruel and inhumane act in Alachua County history. 46 |
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â&#x20AC;&#x192; Despite Gainesvilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grim relationship with race relations following the Civil War, the city was still able to focus on structural development and economic growth following the wartime. The first order of business? Convince leaders in Lake City to allow the Florida Agricultural College to move to Gainesville, which enabled the college to combine with the East Florida Seminary School, which moved from Ocala to Gainesville in 1866. The university changed its name to the University of the State of Florida, and it remained that until 1909 when it was shortened to the University of Florida. With more people residing in the city year-round, leisure activities, clubs and involvement opportunities began to form in the early days of the 1900s. Florida football began in 1905, but it took until 1933 for UF, alongside 13 other Southern schools, to form the Southeastern Conference. Florida Field saw its first football game in 1930, and even today this century-old tradition of Gator football continues. For students with a knack for writing, The Florida Alligator, the first university newspaper, was formed in 1906. The paper
went on to become independent in 1971 and is currently the largest student-run newspaper in the United States. Three libraries also opened between 1905 and 1906 for access by the public and the students. Other developments came to the city including the post office, which went on to become the city courthouse, then the Hippodrome State Theatre. By 1911, this well-known focal point of downtown Gainesville stood tall and the rest of the downtown area began to slowly follow suit. The map of Gainesville grew faster than ever before. This era was also the origin of the Klu Klux Klan in Gainesville, as the group sought to intimidate members of various racial and religious groups following the Civil War. During World War I, an openly anti-Catholic governor was elected in Florida. Catholics, Jews, Foreigners, African Americans â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the list of persecuted groups in behalf of the Klu Klux Klan goes on. It was during this time that events including the attack on Father John Conoley took place. After being assigned to the Gainesville area, Conoley conducted presentations on behalf of the students and Catholic populations in Gainesville, much to the dissent of the Alachua Klan members. Soon after a speech that earned Conoley a spot on the front page of the Gainesville Sun, he was brutally beaten and obtained irreparable injuries. The men responsible for this attack were never held accountable for their actions. Dark times fell upon Gainesville and the rest of the country during The Depression. Development was halted and putting food on the table was far more important than social change. However, President Tigert remained optimistic and continued the growth of academic programs at the University of Florida. During the 1930s, there was ample growth of academic programs, the creation of the associate degree and increased emphasis on academic research. The University of Florida ROTC program was created during UFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inaugural years and this program would become a large source of manpower for both the first and second world wars. The instruction in ROTC was interrupted by war as all of the students were sent overseas. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, many UF men packed November/December 2019
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HISTORY >> TIMELINE OF GAINESVILLE
A Company of Volunteers, 1895, Florida Agricultural College. The Defense Department brought women into the armed forces in 1948, the year after women were admitted to UF. Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ROTC units formed at UF in the 1950s. The Defense Department abolished gender specific units in the 1970s as opportunities for women in the armed forces expanded beyond so-called support missions.
no exception. The first African their bags and skipped their final American undergraduates were examinations for the semester to admitted to the University of join the military. According to Florida in 1962. University Army ROTC, over 10,000 former statements regarding integraUniversity of Florida students tion claimed that the transition served in World War II. was going smoothly throughout According to The Gainesville the 1960s. However, even by 1971 Sun, the post-war era led only 343 out of over 20,000 stuGainesville to lose some of its dents were African American. small-town feel and Gainesville â&#x20AC;&#x192; Dr. Paul Ortiz, Professor citizens began to challenge the of History and Director of status quo. Women demanded the Samuel Proctor History that the university become University of Florida ROTC women and men viewing a missile Program at the University of co-ed, and by the end of the nose cone section circa 1956. Florida, is well-acquainted with 1950s, the law that had prethe evolution of race relations in vented African Americans from the city of Gainesville. The Samuel Proctor History Program is attending public universities was lifted. The Civil Rights Movement sparked profound change in the designed to tell the true story of American history from the voices day-to-day lives of all Americans in the South, and Gainesville was of those who are often excluded from it, and the archives of the 48 |
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HISTORY >> TIMELINE OF GAINESVILLE
Dr. Paul Ortiz, Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor History Program at the University of Florida
program contain startling firsthand testimony to the experience of minorities in the South, and in Gainesville specifically. “As a historian, I can testify to the fact that Jim Crow was hellish in Gainesville…it prevented African Americans from living out their full aspirations as human beings,” he said. There were many demonstrations led by marginalized groups to change the conditions they lived under. For example, on the day that become known as ‘Black Thursday,’ a protest regarding the treatment and representation of African American affairs at the University, led to the loss of nearly a third of the African American population at UF. These students either left or were forced out following the violent results of the protest. Over time institutions such as clubs, fraternities and sororities were established to provide black students, and other marginalized 50 |
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groups at UF, the opportunity to feel socially included in university affairs. Free speech zones were created for the first time in the 1960s and these became vital venues of protest and political speech for students to enact change in communities such as Gainesville. Ortiz said that something he values greatly is Academic Freedom, which prevents the university from taking action against him if he expresses sentiment in opposition to the status quo determined by the university. Ortiz added that professors before him did not always have this luxury, and it was through their sacrifice that Gainesville has reached the progressive state it is in today. All Gainesville residents felt the effects of the Civil Rights Movement, and at first, the city was reluctant to integrate its public schools and other public settings. Lavon Bracy recalled
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in a column for the Orlando Sentinel the experience of being the first black student to graduate from Gainesville High School in 1965. Other African Americans in Gainesville refused to send their children to white schools like GHS out of fear for their child’s safety. And Bracy was tormented and brutally beaten, and he claims those scars endure. The 1970s in Gainesville were largely comprised of stories similar to Bracy’s as Alachua County began integrating its public spaces on a widespread scale. Ortiz said it was through three elements, in order, which led to social change and the progressive city residents see today: Decades of civil rights movement organizing, women’s suffrage and organizing for equal rights a n d t h e i n t e rnationalization of UF alongside increased diversity of the student body. In conjunction with the turbulence of the Civil Rights Movement in Gainesville, a welcomed distraction made its way to the city: Rock ‘n’ General Edmund Gaines. Roll. The growth of local bands including The Motels, Road Turkey and Mudcrutch helped to usher in a golden age in Gainesville’s music history. In particular, the band Mudcrutch helped bring one of Gainesville’s most famous residents to light, and he was listed as Tommy Petty in the Gainesville High School yearbook. The Gainesville music scene exploded from there, and the creation of cultural centers such as The Hippodrome State Theatre, The High Dive and The Curtis M. Phillips Center for
the Performing Arts that were constructed over the following decades. The dot-com boom of the late ‘90s and early 2000s brought many more residents to the Gainesville area and helped to form the town into what citizens recognize today. Classic hometown restaurants were founded, and cultural events brought more people together. Today, Gainesville is home to a top-ten public university, nationally-ranked hospital systems, a thriving population of over 130,000, and one of the most profitable Chick-FilA’s in the country. Citizens can hardly feel the remanence of the long history that brought the city to where it is today. Ortiz said it was only through the bravery and leadership of those who were willing to challenge the status quo that we were able to get to where we are today. “My fear is that people come to Gainesville today and see how far we’ve come and forget where we started,” he said. If citizens are able to recognize the importance of Gainesville’s history, and avoid becoming comfortable with the status quo, our town will continue to prosper. “I have nothing but hope for the future of Gainesville,” he said. To access more detailed accounts of some of the historical events mentioned in this article, please go to https://ufdc.ufl.edu/oral and access the archives of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.
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DIY PROJECT >> TERRA-COTTA SNOWMAN
FROSTY!
Holiday Potheads Terra-Cotta Snowman S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY ERICK A WINTER ROW D
T
he holidays are that special time of year when it’s actually encouraged to stop and smell the Christmas cookies. Carols play throughout every store and one seasonal song in particular has especially inspired this holiday craft. You may know it well, the lyrics state that “Frosty the Snowman was a jolly happy soul, with a corncob pipe and a button nose and his eyes made out
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of coal.” Who could argue with that kind of magical makeup? This DIY project is a great way to make your own seasonal décor. Better yet – host a holiday party where you and your friends watch Christmas classics while creating adorable Terra Cotta Snowmen! The options are endless, and the kids will love this familyfriendly activity as well. After all, “Frosty the Snowman made the children laugh and play. And were they surprised when before their eyes he came to life that day!”
SNOWMAN POTS SUPPLIES
Small Terra-Cotta Pot(s) White Acrylic Paint Pink Acrylic Paint Orange Acrylic Paint Paint Brushes (large and small) Sponge for rosy cheeks Black Paint Pen or Permanent Marker Holiday Ribbon 2 Pom-Poms for earmuffs 1 wire string or pipe cleaner for headband to earmuffs 1 colorful sock for snow hat Glue gun with glue stick to attach earmuffs Epoxy glue to attach holiday ribbon Scissors Tape November/December 2019
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DIY PROJECT >> TERRA-COTTA SNOWMAN
STEP ONE: Paint your terra-cotta pots white. Using a paintbrush, apply at least two coats of paint. Allow pots to dry for 1-2 hours or until paint is dry to the touch. STEP TWO: Using a black paint pen or permanent marker, draw out the mouth and eyes of your snowman. Make sure to leave room for your snowman’s rosy cheeks. STEP THREE: Apply a touch of orange paint with a smaller paintbrush for your snowman’s nose. Aiming the “carrot” up or down adds unique character to Frosty’s face. STEP FOUR: Dab your sponge into the pink paint and apply cheeks to your snowman’s face. Be sure to place them at the corners of Frosty’s mouth. Allow his face to dry for at least 30 minutes or until dry to the touch. STEP FIVE: Measure out the holiday ribbon so that it is long enough to glue around the base of the terra-cotta pot. Cut the ribbon to the appropriate length.
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DIY PROJECT >> TERRA-COTTA SNOWMAN
STEP SIX: Apply epoxy glue to the base of the terra-cotta pot and slowly wrap the holiday ribbon all the way around. Apply pressure with your fingers so the ribbon is on nice and tight. Smooth out any wrinkles or bumps as best as possible. Allow drying for at least 20 minutes. STEP SEVEN: If you wish to add earmuffs to your snowman, first tape a single wire string or pipe cleaner from one side of the pot’s top to the other (where you would imagine ears to be). STEP EIGHT: Using a hot glue gun, glue a pom-pom to each side of the tape (covering all of the tape). Apply pressure to the pompom while the hot glue sets up. Be careful not to burn yourself. STEP NINE: If you wish to add a snow hat to Frosty, roll your colorful sock a couple times and cover the top of the pot. It’s as simple as that! (Make sure to wash sock beforehand, no one likes a stinky snow hat.) STEP TEN: Once all of these steps are completed it’s time to proudly display your Snowmen wherever your heart desires. And since this Frosty is ice free – you don’t have to worry about him melting! “Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump, look at Frosty go! Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump, over the hills of terra-cotta snow…”
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A
custom piece of jewelry is more than a fashion statement. It is a unique reminder of an important milestone, a loved one remembered, a life-long love realized. It’s a way to wear those special moments in time, carry them with you, and then pass them on as a legacy. “It’s a very emotional purchase,” said owner Alexis Hytonen. “It’s a privilege to be a part of people’s lives through the business. Kirsikka Jewelry is the industry leader in designing those moments. And they’re right here in Gainesville.
Kirsikka Jewelry was first established in Gainesville, FL in March 2011. Due to the high demand of customer orders and growing success of business, the store was relocated to a larger location in April 2013. Kirsikka Jewelry’s owner, Alexis Hytonen, was born in the Canary Islands, Spain to his Peruvian mother and Finnish father. Coowner, Alan Hytonen, was born in St. Thomas, USVI. Alexis and Alan spent the first 15 years of their lives with mom, “Techi” and dad “Paul” on their sailboat “KIRSIKKA,” a er which the business was named. They traveled across the Atlantic, eventually settling in the islands of the Caribbean. For the past 21 years, Alexis has been 60 |
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involved in the jewelry industry, from manufacturing and wholesaling to retail and managing. He le his corporate job at Sears Holdings in Hoffman Estates to pursue his dream of owning his own jewelry store. Alan has been in the US Navy for the past 20 years and is an F/A-18 Naval Aviator. Kirsikka Jewelry, meaning “Cherry,” in Finnish, is a small, family-owned business. Almost half of the jewelry industry is made up of small businesses like Kirsikka. These mom and pop operations are the backbone of the industry. Kirsikka specializes in custom pieces. Alexis has had the opportunity to design pieces for celebrities and social elites.
“Kirsikka”, the original sailboat owned by Alexis’ parents.
Kirsikka offers a lifetime warranty on all their custom pieces, free sizing once a year, as well as cleaning and polishing. They specialize in sourcing rare and exotic stones, and they employ high standards at competitive prices. They are dedicated to keeping the intimate and caring relationships with their customers, while introducing state-ofthe-art equipment and techniques to their operation. This past year, Kirsikka has expanded, nearly doubling in size. But one of the most exciting additions is the state-of-the-art 3-D printer and induction casting machine. This new equipment allows them to manufacture custom pieces, in house, more efficiently and more affordable than ever before. One of the biggest advantages to the new equipment is the ability to recycle gold, silver, or platinum!
The team can now take a simple sketch or photo and create a 3-D, life-size model of your custom piece to examine before it’s finished.
They’re able to repurpose old heirloom jewelry into something new, stylish and meaningful. They take their time with each piece, hand setting diamonds, weaving old coins into new rings, and recycle your gold into something that is one-of-a-kind. In fact, they are the only shop in Gainesville that can recycle gold while eliminating the batching inconsistencies the other shops typically run into. Unlike big box retailers, Kirsikka also takes trades, and they carry licensed products for the University of Florida. They have also created more than one Gator engagement ring! “When we design a piece, the customer is very involved in the process,” Alexis said. “And that’s the biggest difference.” § For more information, visit Alexis at Kirsikka Jewelry: 5750 SW 75th Court, Suite 48, Gainesville, Florida. Call 352-353-6968 or visit ufjewelry.com. November/December 2019
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NON-PROFIT >> ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION
CHERISHING TIME
Walking for A Cure The Central and North Florida Chapter of The Alzheimer’s Association W RIT TE N BY J U LI A MITCH EM
T
he Central and North Florida chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association is a non-profit organization that spans nationwide and is searching for a cure to end Alzheimer’s disease. Julie Roca, who was the development manager of the chapter and now will be volunteering on the walk planning committee, said the organization is nationwide. The mission of the association is the care, concern and research of people living with Alzheimer’s disease. According to alz.org, there are about 5.8 million people in the U.S. living with Alzheimer’s and approximately 16 million people giving unpaid care to those with the disease right now. By 2050, the number of people in the U.S. living with Alzheimer’s disease is predicted to reach almost 14 million. Roca has firsthand experience with those battling this diagnosis. Her grandfather passed away after an 11-year battle with Alzheimer’s. “He was my hero,” she said. “He taught me math, he homeschooled me when I was young. [He was] just a sweet, intelligent
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man.” She has other family members who have either had the disease or been directly affected by it as well, including her in-laws who have passed away. “They are my reason for doing what I do,” Roca said. The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is one of the main fundraisers the chapter does – it raises about 40% of the chapter’s funds. There are over 600 walks nationwide that follow the same basic outline, she said. At the time this issue went to press, this year’s event was scheduled for Nov. 2 in Gainesville. The walk is made up of teams who fundraise. On the day of the event, everyone picks a flower with a different meaning. A purple flower means the person has lost someone to the disease, a yellow flower means someone is giving care to someone with the disease, a blue flower means the person has the disease and an orange flower means the person supports a world without Alzheimer’s disease. During the ceremony everyone holds up their flowers, and in the middle of the crowd is one white flower. The white flower stands for the first survivor of Alzheimer’s disease. “That gives me goosebumps every time,” Roca said.
PHOTO BY DANIEL HENRY // 352 FOTO
Julie Roca, Development Manager at Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Association, Central/ North Florida.
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“We’ve got to have a first survivor, and I hope they’re out there in the crowd right now.” “Every time you see it — it hits home. We’ve got to have a first survivor, and I hope they’re out there in the crowd right now.” The chapter also offers other ways to support those affected by Alzheimer’s disease. For example, the association has a helpline that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. The helpline refers people to those who can help with things such as the placement of a loved one or just as a means of support. “You never know when you are going to encounter a really tough time,” Roca said. “Sometimes it’s the middle of the night.” 64 |
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Vinell Griggs is a caregiver for her husband. She started taking care of him in 2015. One of the first signs he had Alzheimer’s disease was when he was going to head to the grocery store, and she asked him to go to the bank and make a deposit while he was out. He drove himself to Publix and went shopping, but he came home with the deposit and told her he could not find the bank. That is when she realized she could not let him drive anymore. She found out that he could not tell her where specific places were – even though he grew up in Gainesville and
NON-PROFIT >> ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION
Billy and Vinell Griggs (right). Vinell Griggs believes the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is a great way to spread awareness about the disease and its effects.
had owned a sign company. At this point, she is the sole caregiver of her husband and does not receive help from anyone else in that way. She believes, as a caregiver, you must be very understanding and be there for your loved one. Griggs and her husband have been married for 48 years and she said he always thanks her for taking care of him. Everything she does, he does with her. She makes sure he stays active and walks at least five times a week. For Griggs, the disease has been an eye-opener. “I just can’t believe the things that they go through,” November/December 2019
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Her mother-in-law had Alzheimer’s disease and Halloran she said. “I can clearly look at pictures and stuff, and he can’t remember who those people are.” While her husband cannot and her husband took care of her until they had to place her remember names very well, he can recognize some people’s into further care. She said as a caregiver it is also important to think of one’s self and personal faces. She finds hope in that. “I dread needs and to reach out to get help the day when he can’t remember who from a professional. “We always tend I am,” Griggs said. “I’m fearful of that.” to put ourselves on the back burner,” Griggs and her husband walked she said. t o g et h e r i n t h e Wa l k t o E n d Halloran takes part in the Walk Alzheimer’s last year. She received to End Alzheimer’s every year – she the Grand Champion Club Award for began in 2000. She said she believes Outstanding Fundraising. “That was that the walk spreads awareness and wonderful,” she said. “I’m so glad we can give people who are struggling did it.” This year, they plan to walk through this devastating disease hope again, and her goal is to raise $2,500. for a cure and to their families as well. At the time of this interview she raised Halloran believes that time with loved about $1,900. ones is so precious because it is short. Elizabeth Halloran, administrator “You don’t get it back,” she said. and executive director of Touching “We always think that we are going Hearts at Home, said her organization to have forever with our loved ones, provides exceptional in-home care for and we don’t. Life is precious and the clients with dementia, Alzheimer’s time that we have to spend with them disease and Parkinson’s. “I feel like Elizabeth Halloran, Administrator and Executive is precious.” whenever I can go in and introduce a Director of Touching Hearts at Home. care partner with a client, I feel like a May we always cherish the superhero,” she said. “I feel like I put moments shared with our loved ones. on my cape and go and save the day. It’s a beautiful feeling.”
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VETERINARY SCIENCE >> DOGGY DEMENTIA
UNDERSTANDING CANINE COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION
Fur-get Me Not W R I T T E N B Y H AY L I Z U CCO L A
One of the most heartbreaking realities in life is the fact that our furry companions can’t stay by our side forever. Though we’d give anything to turn back the clock, as the years pass, their eyes begin to fade behind a cloudy film, their coat appears grayer and their energy rather sluggish. The only thing they’ve maintained from their youth is the unconditional love they’ve held for you. Similar to people, as our paw-padded family members approach their golden years, their gait becomes unsteady, muscles sore and their risk for medical ailments increases, one of the more complex ones being the doggy equivalent to dementia: canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD). 68 |
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Though in theory, any animal can suffer from some form of mental decline, it’s mostly observed and researched in aging dogs. However, CCD is an illness that’s not always easy to diagnose. “If you can think about it — that us as humans, we’re verbal, we can describe things. You know, you can ask a question, is the answer appropriate, that sort of thing. It’s a lot harder to recognize those things with an animal that can’t speak to you,” said Dr. Sheila Carrera-Justiz, a neurologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “When it comes to diagnosis, it is one of those things that is very much a diagnosis of exclusion so you have to make sure that there isn’t anything else going on.” With people, the early stages of dementia are met with forgetfulness – whether it’s the inability to remember names, specific words or where those pesky car keys went – but it’s a characteristic that can easily be evaluated with various memory tests. Unfortunately, recall exercises used for people, don’t PHOTOGRAPHY: SARAH CAREY
As a neurologist, Dr. Sheila Carrera-Justiz (left) is involved in various clinical trials and research at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine to discover how specific diseases in animals develop. One area of her research involves working with Lana Fagman, the clinical trials coordinator (right), to study boxers like Rocco — who are one of several brachycephalic breeds such as pugs and chow chows that can be affected by glioma tumors, which occur in the brain.
exactly work for animals. Aside from building a maze, timing how long it takes your dog to find a hidden treat and repeating the test every day, there isn’t a surefire way to measure a dog’s mental decline. However, there are certain behavioral characteristics that owners can watch out for. “The things that we see in dogs that are sort of hallmarks of cognitive dysfunction are things like loss of house training. So they stop going to the bathroom outside and they start having accidents in the house. There’s also things like an inversion of the sleep/ wake cycle so basically, your dog sleeps all day but then is up and active and doing things all night long. You also see them doing things like they’re less excited to greet people that they should know,” she said. While some behavioral changes are more subtle like pacing back and forth or walking at a slower pace, other effects of CCD are more apparent like displaying an increase in anxiety, getting stuck in corners or standing at the hinge side of the door. Regardless of what the symptoms are, if you notice any odd shift in your dog’s personality, it’s important to make an appointment with your local veterinarian to determine if their new demeanor is CCDrelated or if there’s something else to blame. If it’s been determined that these issues aren’t due to an underlying problem like kidney failure or a brain tumor and instead are the result of age-related CCD, the next step in ensuring your pet’s overall health is to monitor your pup’s quality of life. While studies have linked using different forms of mental stimulus like reading or doing puzzles to temporarily delay the onset of dementia
in people, there isn’t anything definitive that says the same method affects dogs. Of course, keeping your dog’s mind and body active is always beneficial. For dogs, going for walks is like reading the newspaper, their little noses picking up scents from squirrels, fellow canines, flowers and other exciting elements of nature. If taking a leisurely stroll isn’t possible, playing a game of fetch or tug of war is another great way to keep your pooch engaged and physically agile. On the other hand, when it comes to nutrition, certain antioxidants and specific supplements could play a part in slowing down the CCD process. “There actually are a couple of diets out there that are geared at basically brain health – how much they help is questionable,” Carrera-Justiz said. “There are balanced diets that you can put a middle-aged to older dog on, that won’t induce heart disease. They’re well-studied; they’re made by large, well-established food companies with a ton of research behind them.” Nevertheless, keep in mind that every dog is unique and if creating a specialized diet or opting for the medication route is of interest, it’s best to seek advice from your local veterinarian and/or a nutrition specialist first – yes, they have them for dogs too. Even though there isn’t a cure for CCD or a magic pill that allows pets to live longer, from the moment they entered your life, they provided you with unmatched devotion. Even if one day they don’t remember the journey you’ve shared – from hyperactive puppy to dwindling senior – it’s something that, for you, is unforgettable. November/December 2019
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eople in Central Florida have always been just a little bit better at living local. That doesn’t mean we never move around, or we don’t set out to explore. But it means we support our own, and we look out for each other right here at home. At SunState Federal Credit Union, we don’t just support the community. We are the community. MEMBER-OWNED At SSFCU, the only shareholders who benefit are our members. We’re all on the same team, and each member is an equal owner. While traditional banks are focused on profits over people, a credit union is focused on profits for the people. SSFCU began with ten charter members who each put up $5 to give the credit union its first $50 in assets. That original pool has since grown to more than $470 million and more than 36,300 members. 70 |
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the year, we put thousands of dollars back into the community, and we’ve found that the best way to find and recognize good people doing good things is to ask our members. SUNSTATE EMPLOYEES GIVE BACK Our employees are just your friends and neighbors who live and work in our community, and they’ve got a heart for making it even better. Each year, SSFCU employees choose their own charities that they donate to through their payroll deduction, “pay to wear jeans” program, and the 10 for Teacher$ program. CHARITY OF THE MONTH We’re always looking for ways to make our community stronger. And each month, our members tell us about charities in our community they think we should know about. Through our monthly Facebook contest, members nominate charitable organizations, and the charity with the most votes
receives $1,000 and a profile in Our Town Magazine. The person who nominated them receives $300, one randomly chosen voter receives $100, and $500 is given to another randomly selected charity. SUNSTATE LIVIN’ SELFIES Show us what SunState Livin’ is all about with a SunState Livin’ selfie, and you’ll have a chance to win $100 for you and $1,000 for the charity of your choice. Just pick up one of the new SunState Livin’ stickers, post it on your car, boat or RV, and smile for the camera. For every person who tags their selfie on Instagram with #SunStateFCU SSFCU will donate $5 to the Employee’s Charities of Choice program. SSFCU is committed to growing our family and helping our members get the most out of their banking experience. While banks worry about how much other people can invest in them, we are busy investing in our people.
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RECIPE SERIES >> TIMELESS HOLIDAY SIDES
ON THE SIDE
Cynthia Wonders Winterrowd ’s
RECIPE WONDERS FOOD ST Y LING & PHOTOGR A PH Y BY ERICK A WINTER ROWD
TI M
W
E LE S S H
ID OLIDAY S
hen we think of time passing, we usually think of it in terms of memories: the year you got married, had your children, got a new job, or moved to a new home. Coupled with these events, the happiest of these memories seem to be centered around the holidays. Who doesn’t remember that first Thanksgiving in your new home, baby’s first Christmas, or the special first New Year’s Eve with your husband after you were married? Without realizing it at the time, we are making memories every year that will be stored away in our hearts for decades to come. Some of the most vivid of our five senses for conjuring up memories is that of smell and taste. In our family we have favorite recipes that always make an appearance on our holiday menus. I am sharing some of our annual favorites and hope that you enjoy them on your menus as well. First on the list is a Thanksgiving cranberry salad passed down through the generations from grandmothers on both sides of our family. In our home it is prepared with an old-fashioned hand grinder just like our grandmothers used. My daughters love the sound as the cranberries pop when they move through the grinder. The apple and orange (peels and all) make a fresh scent as they are ground, as well. In our family, the experience of preparing
ES
the recipe is an important part of the process. Even though we could prepare it with a food processor in less time, we choose not to. Our grandmothers are gone now, but their memories are ever-present in the hand-written recipe books they left us. On Christmas our tradition is to have an informal buffet table set up with finger food and a variety of meats and casseroles. Rather than taking time away from the family to prepare a formal dinner, we find that this works well for us. While enjoying the excitement of opening presents, we can just take a quick break to the buffet table when hunger strikes. So, on Christmas morning before opening presents, the first thing I always do is prepare the broccoli dip for our buffet. It just wouldn’t be Christmas morning without the aroma of this recipe cooking on the stove. Funny how something so simple makes our family so happy. Finally, I am including a recipe for Coca-Cola Jell-O that my mother, Ronelva, invented herself. There isn’t a lot of stimulation for our sense of smell in the making of Jell-O, of course, but every New Year’s Eve it makes it to our table and is a familiar taste treat. The memory of my mother in the kitchen, wooden spoon in hand, sampling the ingredients in the mixture (adding a little more of one ingredient or decreasing another) – those are treasures in my heart that have stood the passing of time, and always will.
CYNTHIA WONDERS WINTERROWD IS AN AWARD-WINNING WRITER WHO WAS RAISED IN ILLINOIS AND LIVES IN GAINESVILLE. SHE IS PROUD TO BE A “GATOR MOM” OF THREE DAUGHTERS, ALL UF GRADUATES. CYNTHIA LOVES SHARING FAMILY RECIPES THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN IN HER MOTHER’S HANDWRITTEN COOKBOOKS. recipewonders@gmail.com
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HOLIDAY CRANBERRY SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 bag fresh cranberries (from produce department) 1 medium orange 1 medium apple 1 cup sugar, more or less 1â &#x201E; cup chopped nuts, optional 2 1â &#x201E; cup finely chopped celery, optional 4 METHOD:
Put the fresh cranberries in a large bowl, and cover with water. They will float up to the surface and you can see if there are any spoiled ones that need to be removed. Lift off the cranberries and place in a colander to drain. Next wash the apple and the orange and cut into wedges, skins and all. Of course, remove the apple core before you cut the wedges. After preparing these ingredients, begin the process of grinding (or chopping in your food processor on a coarse setting). When all have been prepared, mix in a large bowl and stir the ingredients to distribute evenly. Now add the sugar, more or less to your taste. Chopped nuts and finely chopped celery can be added; however, our family likes it just with the cranberries and fruit. Serve in a pretty bowl on your table for Thanksgiving, or on any holiday. This recipe complements a roast turkey or ham dinner equally as well. November/December 2019
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RECIPE SERIES >> TIMELESS HOLIDAY SIDES
CHRISTMAS BROCCOLI DIP INGREDIENTS:
⁄2 stick butter 1 medium onion 1 4-6 oz. can of mushrooms (with juice) 1 box frozen chopped broccoli 1 can cream of mushroom soup 8 oz. cheddar cheese, cut into pieces
1
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METHOD:
Sauté the onion in a large skillet with the butter. When the onion starts to caramelize, add the can of mushrooms with their juice to the skillet and heat through. Next, add the frozen chopped broccoli, and heat until thawed. Now add the can of creamed mushroom soup and the cheddar cheese. Stir while melting the cheese, so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the skillet. When it has melted and starts to bubble, remove it from the skillet and put into a fondue pot or small crock pot for serving warm on your buffet table. Our family likes taco chips or crackers for dipping. Recipe can be doubled for a larger crowd.
COCA-COLA JELL-O INGREDIENTS:
4 3 oz. boxes of black cherry Jell-O 1 can (16oz.) dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup 1 can (1 lb. 4 oz.) crushed pineapple, in heavy syrup *Drain both fruits and set aside combined juices 1 8 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese, cubed 3 cups hot water 1 16 oz bottle Classic Coca-Cola (amount as needed) METHOD:
Bring three cups water to a rapid boil. Turn off heat, empty the Jell-O into the water. Stir and dissolve thoroughly. Put the fruit juices into a two-cup measuring cup. Pour in the chilled Classic Coca-Cola to make a full two-cup measure. Next, pour this into the hot Jell-O. Now pour more cola into the measuring cup for a full two cups. Pour this into the hot (now warm) mixture. Stir well. Put the combined Jell-O into a chilled bowl and into the refrigerator (or freezer) to chill. Watch! Don’t let it set up too much, but it should be chilled and thickened somewhat. Add the drained moist fruit and the cubed cream cheese. Stir. Return to the refrigerator/ freezer until almost set. Now divide this large amount into two medium serving bowls. For a festive look, make individual servings for your guests in Martini glasses! Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight for a nice solid set. Serve with an optional dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle of chopped nuts if desired.
Here’s to the holidays and the memories we share — may each one you make be a treasure... November/December 2019
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The original 1885 Alachua County Court House had a rounded roof. One of the twin copper lion statues is visible above the arched doorway, under the Florida coat of arms.
OUR TIME >> LOCAL CLOCK TOWERS
TOWER HOUR
The downtown Gainesville clock tower (opposite) houses the original Seth Thomas clock from the courthouse.
GAINESVILLE’S CLOCK TOWERS KEEP THE PAST ALIVE
Ticktock W R ITTEN BY PEGGY M ACDONA LD
For most of Gainesville’s first hundred years, the Seth Thomas clock from the 1885 Alachua County Court House was the heartbeat of downtown Gainesville. It could be heard as far away as Northwest 13 th St., Gainesville native Theodore P. Crom remembers. The courthouse clock was housed in a red brick building that represented the height of modernity. In 1884, the year before construction began on the county’s second courthouse, almost every building in Gainesville was constructed of wood, according to Charles Hildreth and Merlin Cox’s 1981 book, “History of Gainesville, Florida 1854 – 1979.” Devastating fires in 1884 and 1886 destroyed many of the wooden buildings on the courthouse square. Of the buildings that replaced the original wooden structures, none was more ornate than the red brick courthouse, which was adorned with a copper lion statue and 76 |
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Florida coat of arms on the north and south sides of the building. In 1888, the solemn gong of the courthouse clock tolled as the last yellow fever epidemic swept through Gainesville. In 1905, the clock emitted a more celebratory series of chimes as the town marked its greatest victory—the relocation of the University of Florida from Lake City to Gainesville—with a torchlight parade. In 1903, the clock tower announced the arrival of Booker T. Washington as a crowd of approximately 2,000 people tried to push their way into the courthouse to hear him speak after the recent publication of his autobiography, “Up From Slavery.” Later, the clock kept the time while the jury heard evidence PHOTOGRAPHY: MATHESON HISTORY MUSEUM, PEGGY MACDONALD
during the 1946 invasion of privacy trial of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings v. Zelma Cason, which was the O.J. Simpson trial of its day. In the 1950s, shoppers at Woolworth’s, Sears, Baird Hardware and Wise’s Drug Store, along with locals and visitors conducting business downtown, listened for the gong of the historic downtown clock to keep their schedules on track. Gainesville was smaller then. At the time, the Oaks Mall was not even a gleam in the eye of Alan Squitieri, and the Gainesville Mall had not yet opened at Northwest 13th St. and 23rd Ave. An aerial view of Gainesville from 1965 shows there was very little development west of the downtown area. Things began to change in 1958, when demolition of the second Alachua County Court House began. Although a group of local residents attempted to save the red brick courthouse, it was decided that it would be better to construct a new, air-conditioned building with a more modern design. Some parts of the 1885 building were salvaged, including the Seth Thomas clock, which local businessman and horologist Theodore R. Crom liberated from the city dump. The entire Crom family—Theodore, his wife, Wynona and their sons, Theodore P. Crom, Frank “Gary” Crom and Brady Crom—helped restore the clock over time. In 1983, the Seth Thomas clock from the 1885 courthouse was installed in a new, specially built tower at the corner of Northeast First St. and East University Ave. The sound of the historic clock can be heard throughout downtown Gainesville today, thanks to the Crom family. In 1953, University of Florida alumni started fundraising to begin construction of a tower to honor alumni who died in World Wars I and II and to commemorate the
university’s centennial anniversary. Although the Gainesville campus opened in 1906, the university traces its origins to East Florida Seminary, which opened in Ocala in 1853 before relocating to Gainesville after the Civil War. Gainesville celebrated its own centennial anniversary in 1854. Designed by architect Guy Fulton, the 11-story brick tower features a cast stone parapet and ornamentation at the top. Century Tower was originally conceived by William Edwards, UF’s first architect, to serve as a landmark tower that would be incorporated into an administration building, as shown in an image from a 1924 UF promotional booklet. In 1979, a carillon was installed inside Century Tower. The original carillon contained 49 bells and weighed 57,760 pounds. A plaque on the tower states that the carillon “is a gift to the campus from students, both past and present, and stands at the center of this community of scholars, marking the movement of time, heralding occasions of importance in the lives of its people, and pealing music of all ages to delight the common spirit.” A custom clock-strike melody is played progressively on the quarter hours, according to the UF School of Music website. In addition to chiming the time, tunes such as “We Are the Boys” are routinely played on the carillon. In 2002, 12 additional treble bells were added, raising the total number of carillon bells to 61 and increasing the number of octaves to five. Century Tower has become a UF icon, eclipsing Gainesville’s 1885 courthouse clock tower in size and reputation. People travel from around the state to hear the carillon’s distinctive sound and purchase coffee mugs and T-shirts bearing Century Tower’s likeness. November/December 2019
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In the 1980s, the University of Florida changed the name of its yearbook from The Seminole to The Tower before it became defunct in the digital age, after nearly a century of publication. However, Century Tower’s reputation was not always pristine. The tower was constructed about a decade after coeducation officially began at UF. An urban legend held that every time a virgin graduated from the university, a brick fell off Century Tower. The tower remains in pristine shape. There was once an alligator pen outside the tower, but even a live Albert the Alligator failed to remove any bricks. Students used to hold pep rallies there before football games. The University Archives Photograph Collection contains multiple images of groups of students harassing the live mascot. After several “Alberts” were mistreated or kidnapped, the live alligator concept was eventually abandoned. Today, students, visitors and community members can see “Albert’s” descendants swimming freely in Lake Alice. A lesser-known yet equally innovative tower on the UF campus is located on Stadium Road and Gale Lemerand Drive outside the 1940s College of Engineering building, Weil Hall. The clock tower originally had a different clock painted on each of its four faces. In 2006, the UF chapter of Tau Beta Pi, a national engineering honor society started work on a lengthy project to replace the paintings with working clocks, according to the UF Tau Beta Pi website. Under the direction of UF engineering professor Dave Bloomquist, a committee of Tau Beta Pi members designed and installed four working clocks on the tower.
In 2007, a wandering hour dial was installed. This clock design was created in the 1600s as a night clock for Pope Alexander XII. In 2011, a binary clock face was added. The next stage was to install an LED clock face. This teaching clock tower has been a labor of love for Bloomquist and his students. There is a legitimate need to teach students how to design and repair clock towers. In 2015, the downtown Gainesville clock tower made headlines when it stopped telling time and city facilities staff did not know how to repair it. Once again, the Crom family came to the rescue. Theodore P. Crom worked with carpenter Fred North to clean and restore the clock. In that same year, a new clock tower was completed at Santa Fe College during its 50th anniversary. Also, SFC became the number one community college in the nation, winning the 2015 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The 2017 dedication of the Santa Fe College Tower included the placement of a time capsule to be opened in 2041, during the college’s 75th anniversary. The Santa Fe College Tower was built in four months as part of a larger construction project including new campus signage, sidewalks, paving, curbing and landscaping. Surrounded by a new roundabout, the 49-ft. clock tower is located in front of Building F along Administration Rd. and Northwest 83rd St. The design includes special lighting that enables the clock tower to display different colors at night. For instance, the tower has
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Century Tower c. 1953 State Archives of Florida.
Gary Crom (above) with a clock that once stood outside an Ocala jeweler’s store. The clock now stands outside the home Ted Crom designed at Northwest 10th Avenue in the Florida Park neighborhood.
glowed pink at night during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Designed by Affiliated Engineers, the Santa Fe College Tower was erected to create a feeling of destination. Each of Gainesville’s three prominent towers—at Santa Fe College, the University of Florida and downtown Gainesville—fosters a feeling of community. The 1885 Seth Thomas clock instills the downtown area
with a sense of history. Century Tower’s carillon announces the time while reminding UF students and visitors of the power of music. Across town in northwest Gainesville, the new SFC clock tower stands as a symbol of the value of education in a community with a college and a university that are continuously ranked among the top 10 in the nation.
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We feel the best way to find and recognize local charities in our communities is by asking you! The SunState Community Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves the communities in and around North Central Florida by promoting and facilitating philanthropy. The Foundation was established to promote and provide charitable assistance that contributes towards the development, education and well-being of the communities, areas and residents of Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, and Levy Counties in Florida. The foundation’s initial goal is to administer and fully fund the award winning Facebook Charity-of-the-Month program. SunState Federal Credit Union started the program in 2013, but has turned over administration of the program to the foundation, with SunState Federal Credit Union acting only as a sponsor. This has been done in the belief that this path will ensure the program remains a strong and expanding community resource long into the future. The SunState Community Foundation, Inc., provides donors/members opportunities to participate in the furtherance of the foundation’s goals in multiple ways. First, and foremost, the donors/members are providing funds to support the foundation’s charitable initiatives. Donors/members can also nominate groups for the Charity of the Month program, and then vote for the group of their choice. Donors/members are encouraged to participate and vote in the Charity of the Month program. Ultimately, the voters choose where foundation donations go as part of the infrastructure of the program.
SunState Community Foundation, Inc.
SPONSORSHIP L EVEL S AVAIL ABL E 1,000 CHARITY OF THE MONTH SPONSOR
$
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500 RANDOM CHARITY SPONSOR
$
• Recognized on all 4 Entercom Communication stations, 30 times (120 total); KTK, SKY, WRUF and ESPN.
• Recognized on 2 of Entercom Communications stations, 30 times (60 total); WRUF and ESPN
• Recognized on the Charity of the Month Facebook Contest page, KTK’s Facebook page and Our Town’s Facebook page.
• Recognized on the Charity of the Month Facebook Contest page, KTK’s Facebook page and Our Town’s Facebook page.
• Mentioned in the Charity of the Month page in Our Town Magazine.
• Mentioned in the Charity of the Month page in Our Town Magazine.
OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
November/December 2019
300 NOMINATOR SPONSOR
$
• Recognized on the Charity of the Month Facebook Contest page, KTK’s Facebook page and Our Town’s Facebook page. • Mentioned in the Charity of the Month page in Our Town Magazine.
100 RANDOM VOTER SPONSOR
$
• Recognized on the Charity of the Month Facebook Contest page.
• Mentioned in the Charity of the Month page in Our Town Magazine
MOST RECENT WINNING ORGANIZATIONS TO NOMINATE A CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE OR TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE NOMINEES, VISIT:
www.facebook.com/SunStateFCU and click on “Charity of the Month”
AUGUST 2019 WINNER
SEPTEMBER 2019 WINNER
Trenton Safety Patrol
Footprints Buddy & Support Program
The winner of the August Charity of the Month is Trenton Safety Patrol. They will receive $1,000. Vanessa Marks will win $300 for nominating them. The randomly selected charity is Curvy Girls. They will receive $500. The randomly selected voter, Lena Lovins, will receive $100.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS >> CHARITY OF THE MONTH
CH A RIT Y OF THE MONTH WINNER S
The winner of the September Charity of the Month is Footprints Buddy and Support Program. The organization’s mission is to give seriously ill children a chance to “just be kids,” even while in the hospital. Volunteers aim to bring fun, love, and hope to hospitalized children and families when they need it most. In doing so, they hope to also empower their passionate and driven college student volunteers to find meaning in their work, learn compassion and empathy, and be inspired by these little heroes. Together they will go on to leave their Footprints on the world. The program will receive $1,000. Ashley Castano will win $300 for nominating them. The random charity is Newberry Panthers Recreational Cheer, and they will receive $500. The random voter, Bill Centurion, will win $100.
A project of the SunState Community Foundation, Inc. Presented by SunState Federal Credit Union, Our Town Family of Magazines and Entercom Communications
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TASTE OF THE TOWN
SPECIAL RESTAURANT ADVERTISING SECTION. CALL
352-372-5468
FOR RATES AND INFORMATION.
Piesanos Stone Fired Pizza
(Archer Road) 5757 SW 75th St. — 352-371-8646 • (Millhopper Road) 5200 NW 43rd St. — 352-371-7437 (University) 1250 W University Ave. — 352-375-2337 • (Grand Oaks Plaza) 2575 SW 42nd St. Ocala — 352-351-6000
Mon-Thurs: 11am-10pm Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm Sun: 11am-10pm
www.piesanostogo.com Pizza, Pints & Pies — Piesanos is a locally owed and operated restaurant that is proud to use only the finest ingredients available, including Grande brand premium mozzarella. We are a full service dine in restaurant with an attached take out center and also offer catering. Our dough is made fresh daily and all of our pizzas are baked directly on the stone in our unique Granite Stone Fired Pizza Oven. We offer a great variety of Specialty pizzas, such as our Pizza Antico-(ultra thin crust- Fresh Mozzarella, mini cup & char pepperoni & fresh basil) Specialty Pastas, Calzones, Fresh soups and salads, classic italian entrees, and a great selection of craft beer. We also offer a gluten free menu. For full menu please visit PIESANOSTOGO.COM.
The Social at Midtown 1728 W. University Avenue, Gainesville, FL Monday-Sunday 11:00am – 2:00am
352-373-7383 www.thesocialgnv.com Upscale restaurant and rooftop bar — Hidden among the college bars of the midtown area, The Social at Midtown provides an unique, upscale, and affordable dining and late-night experience for the diverse and ever evolving population of Gainesville. Whether you are in search of high end spirits and craft cocktails or one of the 37 beers on tap the Social at Midtown will undoubtedly bring you back for the next big game with its fantastic menu and over 60 Large LED TVs. Check out our web page to see our weekly specials and plan your next Happy Hour with $4 Local Craft Pints!
Copper Monkey West
14209 W Newberry Road, Jonesville, FL 32669 Across from the Steeplechase Publix Sunday-Thursday 11:00am - 11:00pm Friday-Saturday 11:00am - 11:00pm
352-363-6338 mycoppermonkey.com Restaurant & Pub — Now serving Breakfast on Saturdays & Sundays 8:30am - 10:45am. We are located in the heart of Jonesville, this All-American dining is convenient to all neighborhoods in Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry, High Springs and beyond. Our family-friendly dining features great food at a great price. Whether you come in for the “best burger in town” or try any one of our freshly made salads, pastas or sandwiches, you will not leave disappointed. Our USDA choice steaks, served with 2 sides, offer a great alternative for the perfect celebratory meal. We also feature a full-service bar with signature drinks.
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El Toro
15202 NW 147 Drive, Suite 1100, Alachua (Rolling Oaks Plaza) Monday – Thursday 11:00am – 9:00pm Friday & Sat 11:00am – 10:00pm Sunday Noon – 8:00pm
386-418-1039 www.eltorogainesville.com Get Full At The Bull — Bienvenido! Welcome! We are a family owned and family friendly business. We have been serving our guests high quality fresh food for over 28 years. We welcome our guests with our Award Winning Salsa and warm homemade chips, add some fresh guacamole and our homemade white queso and you have a great start to a great meal! Try our Fish Tacos, Shrimp Tacos, Fajitas, Aaron’s Overstuffed Burrito, Nachos Supreme or one of our Daily Specials, we have something everyone will enjoy! We serve Lunch 7 days a week till 4 P.M. and our Kids Meals come with a drink and dessert. Check out our menu on our website. Our outdoor patio is perfect for “Para Cenar Afuera”. So, won’t you please come join us and Get Full At The Bull! See you there!
Brown’s Country Buffet 14423 NW US Hwy 441, Alachua, FL 32616 Monday-Friday 7:00am - 8:00pm Saturday 7:00am - 2:00pm Sunday 8:00am - 3:00pm
386-462-3000 brownscountrybuffet.net Casual — Country-style cooking at its finest, just like Grandma’s house! A buffet style restaurant, Brown’s Country Buffet is open seven days a week! Foods like fried chicken, grilled pork chops, real mashed potatoes, steamed cabbage, banana pudding and coconut pie, just to name a few, are served in a laid-back, relaxing environment. We offer AYCE fried shrimp on Friday nights from 4-8 along with whole catfish & ribs. In addition to their buffet, Brown’s also offers a full menu to choose from. Serving lunch and dinner daily and a breakfast buffet Friday-Sunday until 10:30am, you’re sure to leave satisfied, no matter when you go. So, when you’re in the mood for some good home cooking, Grandma’s style, visit Brown’s Country Buffet.
Bangkok Square
Two Gainesville Locations: 6500 SW Archer Road & 8181 NW 38th Lane Lunch: Monday-Friday 11:00am-3:00pm • Saturday-Sunday 12:00pm-3:00pm Dinner: Sunday-Thursday 5:00pm-9:30pm • Friday-Saturday 5:00pm-10:00pm
352-375-4488 Archer 352-672-6969 39th Ave. bangkoksquarefl.com Authentic Thai Cuisine — Thai cuisine, blending the best elements of the freshest foods. Thai herbs; garlic, basil, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal root, chili and more, prepared with the finest blending of fish sauce, shrimp paste, and coconut milk. All of our meals are made to order and prepared on site. We specialize in vegetarian, vegan and gluten free orders. All of our foods can be prepared to your satisfaction with mild, medium, hot, or Thai hot, balanced to the four tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and slightly bitter. Meals can be prepared for take out and we cater to any event. We also have gift cards available. Save 10% off your next dining experience when a gift card is purchased.
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TASTE OF THE TOWN
SPECIAL RESTAURANT ADVERTISING SECTION. CALL
352-372-5468
FOR RATES AND INFORMATION.
Leonardo’s Pizza 4131 NW 16th Blvd (Millhopper) Sunday - Thursday: 11:00am - 9:30pm Friday - Saturday: 11:00am - 10:30pm
352-376-2001 leonardosmillhopper.com Mouth Watering — Family friendly and locally-owned-and-operated pizza joint with a unique, nostalgic atmosphere that is as distinctive as our delicious food. Chicago-style pizzas, hand tied garlic knots, and Italian baked dinners and salad bar, we know you’ll be back for more. Come and see why Gainesville loves our signature deep dish pizza pie, the Big Leo. Since 1976 Gainesville has grown up on pizza from Leonardo’s Millhopper and we are still going strong! Our dedicated staff (many have been with us for 15-20 years) knows how important it is to treat you properly. We take great pride in our welcoming atmosphere. We can’t wait to make you part of our family.
Dave’s New York Deli
Two Locations - Open 7 Days Tioga Town Center 12921 SW 1st Road, Newberry, FL Haile Plantation Area – 5750 SW 75th Court, Gainesville, FL
352-333-0291 Tioga 352-363-6061 Pk Ln DavesNYDeli.com North East Flavors — Dave’s NY Deli has been delivering the flavors of New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia to the Gainesville area since 2009. Owner Dave Anders says “We are very excited about the addition of our new location in Park Lane Plaza near Haile Plantation. Now it’s even easier for you to enjoy our authentic Philly Cheesesteaks, NY Style Pastrami and Corned Beef, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, NY Kettle Boiled Bagels, Nova Salmon, Paninis, Wraps, Cubans, Hot & Cold Subs, Kids Menu and much more.” Come see us soon for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner at either of our two locations. Open 7 Days a week.
Harvest Thyme Café Downtown Alachua - 14816 Main Street, Alachua Monday-Friday 10am-3pm 386-588-3188
www.harvesthymecafe.com Cafe — Harvest Thyme Cafe now has two locations! We are open for lunch in downtown Alachua, and open for breakfast and lunch in northwest Gainesville! Serving our homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, fresh fruit, pasta salad and more! We also offer yummy vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options to satisfy every dietary preference. Check out our catering menu online, it’s the simple, easy and fresh solution that you’ve been looking for! We’re ready to serve you delicious, healthy and fresh food! Come visit us at either of our two locations!
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to all our donors and attendees for an
incredible first annual at presented by
It was a wonderful night and we look forward to seeing all of you next year!
S AV E
T H E
D A T E
October
16 2020
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COMMU NIT Y C A LENDA R
N o v ember / D ecember 2 0 1 9
38th Annual Downtown Festival & Art Show
November 16 & 17
HOLIDAY KICK OFF DRESSAGE
November 2 - November 3 23100 W Newberry Rd.
NEWBERRY - Horses and riders compete in the art of classic dressage that encompasses beginner through Olympic levels, classes begin at 8 AM Saturday and Sunday. southeasthorseshows.com
MICANOPY FALL FESTIVAL
Saturday, November 2 from 11am - 3pm NE Cholokka Blvd.
GAINESVILLE - Join Dance Alive National Ballet for Holy Trinity Episcopal Church’s All Saint’s Day Concert. The concert features the Holy Trinity Choir and Chamber Orchestra along with guest artists. Reception following the event. visitgainesville.com
GRETCHEN PETERS
MICANOPY - T he many local artists, crafters and musicians represent works from all over the Southeast. Along with over two hundred displays of arts and crafts, enjoy multiple food and drink vendors. The entertainment stage will host a variety of good-time music throughout the festival. An old time auction of items donated by participating vendors takes place Saturday afternoon at the stage located by the gazebo.
GAINESVILLE - Beauty tempered by dread, sorrow buoyed by hope, these are the ever-present tugs of war that make life worth living and songs worth writing. And they are the overriding themes that make Gretchen Peters one of her generation’s most compelling singer/songwriters. heartwoodsoundstage.com
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD
PET PHOTO SHOOT FUNDRAISER
November 3rd - 24th First Baptist Church, 20112 N US HWY 441
HIGH SPRINGS - Collecting shoeboxes with small toys, hygiene items, and school supplies as a means of reaching out to children around the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. 386-454-1505 86 |
MOZART REQUIEM
Sunday, November 3 from 4 - 5:30pm Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 100 NE 1st St.
OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
November/December 2019
Sunday, November 3 from 7 - 10pm Heartwood Soundstage, 619 South Main St.
Tuesday, November 5 from 5 - 7pm Swamp Head Brewery, 3650 SW 42nd Ave.
GAINESVILLE - B ook a photoshoot for your pet to support the Humane Society of North Central Florida at Swamp Head Brewery in Gainesville. Spots must be secured in advance at agoldphoto. com/events/gainesville.
CHRIS KATTAN & FRIENDS
Tuesday, November 5 at 7:30pm High Dive, 210 SW 2nd Ave.
GAINESVILLE - C hris Kattan is best known as one of the longest serving cast members on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” In the 8 years Chris starred in the landmark late night program, he became best known for his characters ‘Mango,’ ‘Mr Peepers,’ and one of the ‘Butabi Brothers’ opposite Will Ferrell which was such a hit that the sketch was adapted into the 1998 cult classic, “Night at the Roxbury.” highdivegainesville.com
RUN WITH THE COPS
Thursday, November 7 from 9am - 12pm Santa Fe College Track, 3000 NW 83rd St.
GAINESVILLE - A morning of fun and fitness open to the entire community. “Run With The Cops” supports those in our area with special needs. Participants can run, walk or roll along the track with law enforcement officers from area agencies. sfcollege.edu/calendar
WOOFSTOCK 2019
Thursday, November 7 from 6 - 10pm Santa Fe River Ranch, 9220 NW 122nd St.
ALACHUA - T he Humane Society of North Central Florida has served our community’s pets and pet-owners for five decades. This year you’re invited to their signature fundraising event,
the 4th annual Woofstock, at a new venue! Get groovy with live music, delicious food and drinks, and a live and silent auction — all to benefit the Humane Society of North Central Florida’s mission to end the needless euthanasia of companion animals in our community. woofstock2019.com
BODACIOUS HANDBAG BINGO
Thursday, November 7 at 6pm Gville Woman’s Club, 2809 W University Ave.
GAINESVILLE - A fun night of bingo with a chance to win designer handbags. Proceeds support Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs located in Williston. Winners of the bingo games win a handbag with a minimum value of $100. A light dinner is also provided. Everyone will have an opportunity to buy handbags that contain gift certificates and other surprises. 352-376-3901 or gwcwomansclub@att.net
STARRY NIGHT
Friday, November 8 from 6 - 10pm Florida Museum, 3215 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - Observe the night sky and explore the world beyond! Gaze at the stars through high-performance telescopes and see a portable planetarium show. Join the Museum for this FREE, fun-filled night of astronomical proportions! Food vendor available. Doors open and stargazing begins at 6 p.m. Let’s reach for the stars! floridamuseum.ufl.edu
THE KRICKETS
Bria Skonberg
Friday, November 22 at 7pm & 9pm UpStage at the Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd. GAINESVILLE - Surround yourself with sleek and timeless jazz as Bria Skonberg brings her bold horn melodies and smoky vocals to UpStage. An undeniable force in the new generation of jazz, Skonberg brilliantly blends respect for tradition with passion for the future. performingarts.ufl.edu
Residence at Santa Fe College. This historically significant ballet will feature American Ballet Theatre principal dancers Sarah Lane and Cory Stearns. Also featured will be live accompaniment by the Gainesville Orchestra, under the direction of conductor, Evans Haile. This ballet has NOT been performed with a live orchestra in the US since 1974. sfcollege.edu/calendar
Friday, November 8 from 8 - 11pm Heartwood Soundstage, 619 South Main St.
SEAN ROWE with MATTHEW FOWLER
CARMEN SUITE
GAINESVILLE - R owe began playing with percussionist Marco Haber, who played on a few tracks on his first album “27”. Shortly thereafter they began playing under the name Mudfunk and recorded a live album, Live at the Grind, as well as a single of “Wrong Side of the Bed” at Studio Zoot in Albany. Sean played his new release, “Downwind,” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. heartwoodsoundstage.com
GAINESVILLE - T he Krickets are a female Americana group from the gulf coast who’s music is what Paste Magazine describes as “a truly stunning, one-of-a-kind sound.” Fresh out of the studio, the band just finished a sophomore album entitled ‘Redbird.’ The title track was recently named the 2019 Alt Country Song of the Year at the Independent Music Awards. heartwoodsoundstage.com
November 8 & 9 from 7:30 - 10pm Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83rd St.
GAINESVILLE - SF Master Artist Series Presents - Carmen Suite. Sonia Calero-Alonso returns to the Northwest Campus to restage this masterpiece, choreographed initially in 1967, by her late husband Alberto Alonso, for Bolshoi ballerina, Maya Plisetskaya. Alberto, creator of the “cuban style” of ballet, later had a new, lively career in the US, as the Master Artist in
PHOTOGRAPHY: GEORGIA NERHEIM
Sunday, November 10 from 8 - 11pm Heartwood Soundstage, 619 South Main St.
A MUSICAL SALUTE: VETERAN’S DAY CONCERT
Monday, November 11 from 7 - 9pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - The 15th Annual Musical Salute: Veteran’s Day Concert is a tribute to our nation’s veterans. The Buchholz High School Band & Aviance perform patriotic songs and are joined by the Buchholz High School Chorus for several
songs. Admission is free with a donation of one non-perishable food item as a suggested contribution for the Food4 Kids Backpack Program of North Florida. performingarts.ufl.edu
A BRONX TALE
Tuesday, November 12 at 7:30pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - B roadway’s hit crowd-pleaser takes you to the stoops of the Bronx in the 1960s, where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he’d love to be. Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri teamed up with Academy Award® winner Robert De Niro, Tony® Award winner Jerry Zaks and Tony Award nominee Sergio Trujillo to create this streetwise musical – based on Palminteri’s true life story. This performance contains strong language and adult themes. performingarts.ufl.edu
CRITTER TRAIL 5K
Saturday, November 16 at 9:30am Silver Springs State Park
SILVER SPRINGS - T he race will begin at the Silver Springs Boardwalk and run through trails within the park. Marked trails will guide you through the race which you may choose to run, walk or stroll. Be the first to participate and get a specially designed Tee Shirt. Kids 12 years and younger are half price and well behaved pets, on leash, are welcome. For Race details and to Register online, please go to bit.ly/Critter5K2019.
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38TH ANNUAL DOWNTOWN FESTIVAL & ART SHOW
November 16 & 17 from 10am - 5pm Downtown Gainesville, 111 E University Ave.
GAINESVILLE - T he streets of historic downtown Gainesville, from City Hall to the Hippodrome State Theatre will be transformed into a celebration of art and creativity complete with live music, performing arts and a spectacular array of food. More than 100,000 art lovers will fill the streets to enjoy and purchase one-of-akind artwork. The festival features 240 local and national artists displaying original oils and acrylics, vibrant watercolors, unique sculptures, dazzling jewelry, decorative ceramics and vivid photography. Fun for kids, live entertainment, food & more! visitgainesville.com
4TH ANNUAL HOGGETOWNE BURLESQUE & DRAG ALLIANCE SHOWCASE Saturday, November 16 at 8pm High Dive, 210 SW 2nd Ave.
GAINESVILLE - T his community celebration showcase brings together as many local burlesque and drag performers as possible for an incredible night (and for an incredible cause). All of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Planned Parenthood. This show will feature the performers you love from the Mischievous Madams, Breakaway Burlesque, Downtown Drag, Purple Nightshade Productions, Babes 4 Babes, & More! highdivegainesville.com
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF UKRAINE
Sunday, November 17 at 7:30pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - Wow—the NSO Ukraine and Olga Kern?! Prepare yourself for a true once-in-a-lifetime experience. Known for “a program rich with energy and unusually adventurous,” the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine is considered one of the finest in Eastern Europe. NSOU will be joined by Russian-American pianist Olga Kern, widely considered one of her generation’s greatest pianists. performingarts.ufl.edu
STRAIGHT NO CHASER
Tuesday, November 19 at 7:30pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - Straight No Chaser is the real deal, the captivating sound of nine voices coming together to make extraordinary music that moves people in a fundamental sense—and with a sense of humor. They are neither straitlaced nor straight-faced, but they have the talent to back it all up. performingarts.ufl.edu 88 |
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JOHN PAUL WHITE
Tuesday, November 19 from 8 - 11pm Heartwood Soundstage, 619 South Main St.
GAINESVILLE - With The Hurting Kind, John Paul White has crafted a stunning album that draws on the lush, orchestrated music made in Nashville in the early 1960s. Yet these songs retain a modern feel, whether he’s writing about overwhelming love, unraveling relationships, or the fading memory of a loved one. heartwoodsoundstage.com
EVENING OF JAZZ
Thursday, November 21 from 7:30 - 9:30pm Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83rd St.
GAINESVILLE - T he Santa Fe Big Band, Jazz Combo, and Rhythm & Blues Band, directed by Professor Steve Bingham, perform traditional jazz arrangements. sfcollege.edu/calendar
MASON JENNINGS
Thursday, November 21 at 8pm High Dive, 210 SW 2nd Ave.
GAINESVILLE - When Mason Jennings started writing songs for his new record, Songs From When We Met, he was in a setting he had never written in before. “I was living out at a farm for a month and walking through some old woods on the property every day. There was a river. And each day an owl would come find me, and then perch above me, day or night. I saw lots of snakes. Songs just came to me there. They were coming in so fast they just about took my head off. highdivegainesville.com
TRASHFORMATIONS
Friday, November 22 from 6 - 8pm Florida Museum, 3215 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - Ever wonder how milk jugs morph into beautiful wading birds or how gears and gadgets become gigantic bugs? See how Alachua County middle school, high school and college students transform “waste” into creative works of art! The Florida Museum will display winning entries from the 21st annual Trashformations through Monday, Dec. 2. floridamuseum.ufl.edu
DUMPSTAPHUNK, HONEY HOUNDS
Friday, November 22 at 9pm High Dive, 210 SW 2nd Ave.
GAINESVILLE - D umpstaphunk stands out among New Orleans’ best as one of the funkiest bands to ever arise from the Crescent City. Born on the Jazz & Heritage Festival stage, and descended from Neville family bloodlines, these soldiers of funk ignite a deep, gritty groove that dares listeners not to move. highdivegainesville.com
BÉLA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES
Tuesday, November 26 at 7:30pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - Featuring Victor Wooten, Roy “Futureman” Wooten and Howard Levy. Back by popular demand! Groundbreaking banjoist, composer, and bandleader, Béla Fleck, has reconvened the original lineup of his Grammy award-winning quartet, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones. performingarts.ufl.edu
THOMAS CENTER FRIENDS & FAMILY TOUR
Saturday, November 30 from 10am - Noon 302 NE 6th Avenue
GAINESVILLE - E njoy a free docent-led tour of the historic Thomas Center. The tour is appropriate for all ages and includes a short film and a tour of all the museum rooms. Meet in the Spanish Court at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. The tour takes about 40 minutes. fb.com/ThomasCenterAssociates/
BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL
Tuesday, December 3 at 7:30pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - T he Tony® and Grammy® award-winning inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, including being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, and becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Along the way, she made more than beautiful music—she wrote the soundtrack to a generation. performingarts.ufl.edu
WE THE KINGS
Thursday, December 5 at 7pm High Dive, 210 SW 2nd Ave.
GAINESVILLE - W e The Kings currently resides in sunny Bradenton, FL. Their album releases include Self Titled (2007), Smile Kid (2010), Sunshine State Of Mind (2011), Somewhere Somehow (2013), and The Story of Tonight (2016). highdivegainesville.com
SONGS OF THE SEASON
Thursday, December 5 from 7:30 - 9:30pm Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83rd St.
GAINESVILLE - U nder the direction of Lynn Sandefur, the Santa Fe Singers create an evening of memorable holiday music certain to be a delight for audience members of all ages. This concert also features a variety of percussion sounds and rhythms and is sure to be a family holiday tradition. sfcollege.edu/finearts
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FIX THEM ALL
Saturday, December 7 from 11am - 3pm Gainesville Garden Club, 1350 NW 75th St.
GAINESVILLE - Pay to Spay presents their first annual holiday fundraiser. Champagne brunch, “Pup” up gift shops, art show, raffles, live music, food trucks and more! Spay and neuter is the best way to eliminate pet overpopulation. paytospay.org
HOLIDAY AT SANTA FE
Saturday, December 7 from 2-3pm & 6-7pm Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83rd St.
Holiday Mingle
Friday, December 13 from 6 - 9pm Prairie Creek Lodge, 7204 SE CR 234 GAINESVILLE - I n appreciation of another successful year, Alachua Conservation Trust invites you and your family to Prairie Creek Lodge for hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and holiday cheer. Bring your friends and family and learn more about the work ACT is doing in our community. Live music will help set the mood for holiday cheer! No RSVP required and the event is free and open to the public. alachuaconservationtrust.org
SPIRIT OF THE HORSE
December 6 - 8 (show times vary) 23100 W Newberry Rd.
NEWBERRY - KYB Dressage and the Alachua County Agriculture and Equestrian Center are proud to present a live holiday theater production for the entire family to benefit Horses Without Humans Rescue Organization. An inspiring holiday story that both young and old will love. visitgainesville.com
LIGHT THE VILLAGE
Friday, December 6 from 5 - 9pm Haile Village Center, 9116 SW 51st Rd.
GAINESVILLE - Join the annual Light the Village celebration! Christmas tree lighting, pictures with Santa, food trucks, bounce houses and more! It will be a fun time for the whole family! hvcoa.com
AMANDA ANNE PLATT & THE HONEYCUTTERS
Friday, December 6 from 8 - 11pm Heartwood Soundstage, 619 South Main St.
GAINESVILLE - T here is an empathetic and charming wit ingrained in Amanda’s songwriting. She has a knack for accessing a deep well of emotion and applying it to her storytelling, whether she is writing from her own experiences 90 |
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or immersing herself into the melody of emotions in another person’s life. Performing along with Platt, The Honeycutters are Matt Smith (pedal steel and electric guitars), Rick Cooper (bass/vocals), and Evan Martin (drums/vocals). heartwoodsoundstage.com
CRAFT FESTIVAL 2019
December 7 & 8 at 10am O’Connell Center, 250 Gale Lemerand Dr.
GAINESVILLE - T his annual event showcases crafts that are authentically made by talented artisans and crafters. The Craft Festival provides an excellent opportunity to shop for unique merchandise and gifts and features hundreds of different vendors. Come find something special for yourself or that hard to shop for person in your life. oconnellcenter.ufl.edu
SUNSTATE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION ALACHUA COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, December 7 from 9am - 3:30pm Ironwood Golf Course, 2100 NE 39th Ave.
GAINESVILLE - T his is the 15th annual Alachua County Scramble Championship. All proceeds benefit Noah’s Endeavor. For more information on the tournament visit SunStateFCU.org
GAINESVILLE - Come enjoy a wonderful funfilled day at Santa Fe College’s Fine Arts Hall! There will be kid-friendly crafts and refreshments in the lobby, a great holiday musical performance in the theatre, and a chance to meet Santa Claus after a bit of Winter Wonderland Magic! A holiday tradition for the whole family! sfcollege.edu/finearts
ELIO PIEDRA
Saturday, December 7 from 7 - 10pm Tioga Town Center, 133 SW 130th Way
NEWBERRY - Bring your lawn chair and blankets to enjoy the energetic sounds of Elio Piedra in concert on the Tioga Town Center stage! tiogatowncenter.com
HIROYA TSUKAMOTO
Saturday, December 7 from 8 - 10pm Heartwood Soundstage, 619 South Main St.
GAINESVILLE - Eclectic, immersive and mesmerizing; International acclaimed guitarist and songwriter Hiroya Tsukamoto takes us on an innovative, impressionistic journey filled with earthy, organic soundscapes that impart a mood of peace and tranquility. Hiroya is a one-ofa-kind composer, guitarist and singer-songwriter from Kyoto, Japan. In 2018, Hiroya won 2nd place in International Finger Style Guitar Championship. heartwoodsoundstage.com
HAILE HOMESTEAD HOLIDAYS
Sunday, December 8 from Noon - 4pm Haile Homestead, 8500 SW Archer Road
GAINESVILLE - FREE Admission! Stroll through the historic 1856 plantation home decked out in an array of traditional greenery and Victorian finery – with a Christmas Sweets theme. Docents in Victorian costume! See the Homestead’s famous “Talking Walls.” Enjoy live holiday music performed by a variety of musicians. Sip some hot cider as you browse a selection of homebaked goodies, and special holiday ornaments. 352-336-9096 hailehomestead.org
D A N C E A L I V E N AT I O N A L B A L L E T P R E S E N T S
CURTIS M. PHILLIPS CENTER MAINSTAGE
December
19 –22
Check ticket information for specific show times. Celebrate the Holiday Season with The Nutcracker. The all-time family favorite with beautiful dancing, sets and costumes. Sheer magic! And don’t miss the special The Magic of Nutcracker! open rehearsal fund-raiser to lift your spirits!
performingarts.ufl.edu 352-392-2787 3201 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL November/December 2019
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Downtown Countdown
Tuesday, December 31 from 9pm - 12am Bo Diddley Plaza, 111 E University Ave. GAINESVILLE - Rock out the old and ring in the new with your crowd of friends in Downtown Gainesville! Celebrate the New Year with music at this annual favorite at Bo Diddley Plaza. The free concert will begin at 9:30 p.m. and run until 12:30 a.m. At the stroke of midnight the sounds of noisemakers passed out to the audience earlier in the evening will chorus in the New Year. visitgainesville.com
ASK A SCIENTIST: HOT TOPICS IN SCIENCE
Sunday, December 8 from 1 - 4pm Florida Museum, 3215 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - Science is all around you! Take advantage of this opportunity to talk with scientists and ask those questions you have been wondering about. Bring your specimens and find answers during an afternoon of discovery and learning. floridamuseum.ufl.edu
CHERISH THE LADIES
Wednesday, December 11 at 7:30pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - Get ready for a Celtic Christmas! One of the most engaging and successful ensembles in the history of Celtic music, Cherish the Ladies has shared timeless Irish traditions with audiences worldwide for over 30 years. performingarts.ufl.edu
THE HEAVY PETS and ROOSEVELT COLLIER
Wednesday, December 11 from 8 - 11pm Heartwood Soundstage, 619 South Main St.
GAINESVILLE - T wo energetic South Florida acts bring the funk to make Gainesville dance. The Heavy Pets are a seasoned live act, playing over 1200 shows across the country since 2005. The band’s energetic, extended sets have been described as “full blown musical salvation” that embodies the sound of their Florida home, weaving together elements of indie rock, funk and reggae into a style that is uniquely their own. heartwoodsoundstage.com 92 |
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CANDLELIGHT VISITS AT HISTORIC HAILE HOMESTEAD
Friday, December 13 from 6 - 9pm Haile Homestead, 8500 SW Archer Road
GAINESVILLE - A rare opportunity to see the homestead at night! See the old Homestead, decked out for the holidays and aglow with candles and soft lights. Docents in costume top off the stunning beauty of the 1856 plantation home and its Talking Walls! Live music! Refreshments! Tickets available in advance at hailehomestead.org.
ROY BOOK BINDER
Saturday, December 14 from 8 - 11pm Heartwood Soundstage, 619 South Main St.
GAINESVILLE - R oy Book Binder is the epitome of the singing, songwriting, storytelling Bluesman troubadour. At the age of 76, he is known to shift from open tunings to slide arrangements set to his original and sometimes quirky tonguein-cheek compositions, with both traditional and self-styled licks, drawing on many musical influences. heartwoodsoundstage.com
CIRQUE MUSICA PRESENTS: HOLIDAY WISHES
Monday, December 16 at 7:30pm O’Connell Center, 250 Gale Lemerand Dr.
GAINESVILLE - Cirque Musica presents Holiday Wishes, brings a holiday story to life in a full theatrical cirque event for the entire family. Featuring the world-renowned cast of Cirque Musica with your favorite holiday hits all performed LIVE by a full symphony orchestra. Audiences will be amazed
by the acrobats, aerialists, hilarious hijinks and holiday cheer. The show blends the spellbinding grace and daredevil athleticism of today’s greatest circus performers with the sensory majesty of a symphony orchestra. oconnellcenter.ufl.edu
THE NUTCRACKER
Saturday, December 21 at 2pm & 7:30pm Sunday, December 22 at 2:00pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - Celebrate the Holiday Season with The Nutcracker – presented by Dance Alive National Ballet. The all-time family favorite with beautiful dancing, sets and costumes. Sheer magic! performingarts.ufl.edu
44TH ANNUAL CAMELLIA SHOW GAINESVILLE CAMELLIA SOCIETY
Saturday & Sunday, January 4 - 5 Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, 4700 SW 58th Dr.
GAINESVILLE - The show features award-winning blooms from growers throughout the Southeastern United States. Judging begins at 10:15 am and the public is invited to view flowers from 1:00 – 5:00 pm on Saturday and 9:00 am – 4:00 pm on Sunday. Camellia plants will be available for purchase from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm both days, while the supply lasts. Over 500 varieties of beautiful, healthy plants will be available for sale. Come early for the best selection. Daily demonstrations and lectures on growing camellias. atlanticcoastcamelliasociety.org (ACCS Member Clubs) or fb.com/ gainesvillecamelliasociety
Holiday Baseball Camp
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Ages: 4-14 Dec 9am - 12:30pm at Jonesville Park
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21 22
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6970 A1A, St. Augustine
1-800-527-8849
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COOTIECOOCREATIONS.COM
280 NE 1st Ave. High Springs, FL
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Owner Sharon Kantor
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BLAKE POULIOT, VIOLIN
Tuesday, January 7 at 7:30pm Squitieri Studio Theatre, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - B lake Pouliot’s violin playing captivates listeners and delivers them into a state of profound, meditative bliss. Pouliot has been rightfully acknowledged for his brilliance and the variety of rich sounds he produces when wielding his bow. performingarts.ufl.edu
ROMEO AND JULIET
Wednesday, January 8 at 7:30pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - N ational Ballet Theatre of Odessa presents Romeo and Juliet - a full-length Ballet in 2 acts. Music by Sergei Prokofiev. Choreography by Michael Lavrovsky. Production by Garry Sevoyan. This full-scale production is set to the music of Sergey Prokofiev and based on William Shakespeare’s timeless tale of tragic love. performingarts.ufl.edu
COLLECTORS’ DAY
Saturday, January 11 from 10am - 3pm Florida Museum, 3215 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - T his free, popular event has attracted collectors from across the region for more than 40 years. Visitors can chat with collectors of all ages to learn the history of their treasures — from cowboy and Pokémon memorabilia to classic cars and stereoviews. floridamuseum.ufl.edu
NFM WROCLAW PHILHARMONIC
Saturday, January 11 at 7:30pm Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - The NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic, together with its newly appointed Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero, is a vibrant part of Poland’s musical life and legacy. Passionate about promoting Polish music, the group will present a program featuring works by Lutosławski and Chopin, as well as Brahms. performingarts.ufl.edu
THE BOOK OF MORMON
January 14 - 19, show times vary Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Rd.
GAINESVILLE - T he New York Times calls it “the best musical of this century.” The Washington Post says, “It is the kind of evening that restores your faith in musicals.” And Entertainment Weekly says, “Grade A: the funniest musical of all time.” Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show calls it “Genius. Brilliant. Phenomenal.” It’s The Book of Mormon, the nine-time Tony Award®-winning Best Musical. Contains explicit language. performingarts.ufl.edu 94 |
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RECURRING EVENTS HIGH SPRINGS MUSIC IN THE PARK & CONCERT SERIES
Third Sundays from 2pm - 4pm James Paul Park, Downtown High Springs
HIGH SPRINGS - Bringing exceptional artists to the Downtown High Springs! Events are free and open to the public. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, etc. Dogs permitted on a leash. Artist details and more information at highspringsmusicinthepark.com
GAINESVILLE MUSIC ASSOCIATION PUBLIC SYMPOSIUM & WORKSHOP
First Mondays from 6:30 – 7:30pm Aurora Downtown, 109 SE 4th Ave
GAINESVILLE - Join your music community for a workshop on a carefully developed aspect of different areas of the music business. These events begin with a presentation and workshop on a thoughtfully researched topic that our organization thinks will genuinely help our music community. gainesvillemusicassociation.com
HIPPODROME JAZZ SERIES
Mondays at 7pm (through December 9th) Hippodrome Theatre, 25 SE 2nd Pl.
GAINESVILLE - The Hippodrome Theatre is proud to partner with the University of Florida School of Music AGAIN to bring the Hippodrome Jazz Series BACK to the Hipp Lower Level! The series will continue every Monday, September through December. Doors are at 7:00 pm and the music is from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. thehipp.org
ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE
Mondays 6:45 – 9pm 1624 NW 5th Avenue
MARY’S HIGH TEA AT SWEETWATER BRANCH INN
Third Tuesdays from 3pm - 5pm Sweetwater Branch Inn, 625 E University Ave.
GAINESVILLE - Traditionally served on a 3 tiered stand, includes Sweetwater Branch’s savory and sweet treats paired with your choice of teas and coffees. Please call for reservations 352-3736760. sweetwaterinn.com
UNION STREET FARMERS MARKET
Wednesdays from 4pm – 7pm Bo Diddley Plaza
GAINESVILLE - B ring a bag and pick up some locally-grown and produced vegetables, meat and dairy to take home for your kitchen. There’s also food trucks and live entertainment — all in a family-friendly atmosphere. unionstreetfarmersmkt.com
CHAYAVEDA WELLNESS
Second Wednesdays Fairfield Inn & Suites, 3877 SW 37th Blvd.
GAINESVILLE - Y oga, Refreshments, Raffles and Wellness Workshop. Come for part or all, by donation. Have a great time while up leveling your health, meeting others and building a community to share in connecting to a larger purpose. 352-358-5005 info@chayaveda.com
HIGH SPRINGS FARMERS MARKET
Thursdays from Noon – 4pm First Saturday each month from 9am – 1pm 115 NE Railroad Avenue
HIGH SPRINGS - Florida grown fruit, vegetables, dairy & meats as well as honey, handmade treats and more. farmersmarket.highsprings.com
THIRD THURSDAY ON MAIN
GAINESVILLE - This is the kind of dancing which began in the 16th century and is still being written and danced today around the world. All dances are taught, walked through and called. No partner, experience, or special dress required. Dance to jigs, reels, and beautiful waltz music by Hoggetowne Fancy. Everyone is welcome. Visit their Facebook page to see videos. bit.ly/EnglishCountry
ALACHUA - T his is the perfect event to get your “pre-weekend” on! Alachua’s Downtown area comes alive with the sound of music, unique dining, shopping, craft vendors, and so much more! cityofalachua.com
FUN WITH FLOWERS
Third Thursdays from 6:30 - 9:30pm Green House Nursery, 15207 W Newberry Rd
Third Tuesdays at 10am Gainesville Garden Club, 1350 NW 75th St
GAINESVILLE - H ands-on floral design program includes lecture, demonstration and materials. Coffee social at 9:30 am. RSVP requested rsvp. ggcfl@gmail.com or www.ggcfl.org
Third Thursdays from 5 – 9pm Downtown Main Street
NIGHT IN THE GARDEN
NEWBERRY - Bring your friends and meet some new ones! Come on out and enjoy a live local band and a stroll through the picturesque gardens. Enjoy fun and games, food trucks, music and more! tghnfl.com
DOWNTOWN DRAG
First & Third Fridays from 11pm - 1am Maude’s Cafe, Downtown
GAINESVILLE - D rag and burlesque unite to enchant and amaze!!! Downtown Drag is hosted at Maude’s SideCar Bar next to the Hippodrome in downtown Gainesville. Bring your friends, your dollar bills, and your cellphones to come insta our queens and show the world what a great time you had!!! Get there early, grab a cocktail, and get the best seat! All proceeds go to performers! fb.com/DowntownDrag
HIGH SPRINGS FIRST FRIDAY NIGHT
First Fridays from 5pm - 8pm Downtown
HIGH SPRINGS - J oin the fun in lovely downtown High Springs. Local merchants will offer special sales, a raffle and more. Family fun for all ages. facebook.com/HighSpringsDowntownMerchants
LOCAL PLAYWRIGHTS FORUM
First Fridays from 8 - 10pm First Magnitude Brewing, 1220 SE Veitch St.
GAINESVILLE - In an effort to serve local playwrights better, Y-Not Theatre is starting a new local playwrights forum. It is chance to share questions, concerns, updates and information. If you consider yourself a playwright then join the first gathering on February 2nd. Free and open to the public. fb.com/ynottheatre
ARTWALK GAINESVILLE
Last Fridays from 7pm - 10pm Downtown
GAINESVILLE - A rtwalk Gainesville is a free self-guided tour that combines exciting visual art, live performance, and events in downtown Gainesville with many local galleries, eateries and businesses participating. Artwalk is an exciting, fun way to experience the amazing wealth of creativity the Gainesville community has to offer. Free and open to the public. artwalkgainesville.com
ALACHUA COUNTY FARMERS MARKET
Saturdays from 8:30am – 12pm 5920 NW 13th Street
GAINESVILLE - D on’t forget to bring shopping bags, your grocery list, and plenty of small bills. The market prides itself on being a grower’s only market – meaning the vendors selling produce, plants, and other products must have grown the items themselves. The event space is located in an open air pavilion with additional outdoor booths protected by shade cloth. 441market.com
Wood Buildings Metal Buildings Carports
needs! r u o y o t d e iz Custom
HAILE FARMERS MARKET
Saturdays from 8:30am – 12pm Haile Plantation Village
GAINESVILLE - T ake a stroll down the treelined streets of the Haile Village Center to browse for groceries, prepared food, and handmade gifts, then continue on for more shopping or brunching at the Village Center’s locally-owned shops and restaurants. hailefarmersmarket.com
JAZZ ON THE GREEN
Second Saturdays from 7pm - 9pm Celebration Pointe
GAINESVILLE - Relax with live jazz while enjoying food, drinks, lawn games and more. In addition to Celebration Pointe’s restaurants, MidiCi The Neapolitan Pizza Company, Kilwins Gainesville, Decadent A Dessert And Coffee Bar – Gainesville, Florida and Miller’s Ale House – Gainesville, food options also include the Ahar – Homemade Indian Food, Cilantro Tacos, and Rollin Smoke BBQ food trucks. celebrationpointe.com
SUGAR CAMP RANCH FALL FESTIVAL
Weekends Sept. 28 - Nov. 23 387 SW Cumorah Hill St.
FORT WHITE - F eaturing Spookley the Square Pumpkin© and his friends! sugarcampranch.com
GFAA GALLERY ART EXHIBIT
Last Fridays from 7pm - 10pm GFAA Gallery, 1314 S. Main St.
GAINESVILLE - T he GFAA Gallery presents members original art work for home, apartment or office. Monthly themes with opening exhibits at Artwalk and displayed throughout the month. Support your community artists and bring pleasure to your surroundings. Gallery open Tuesday-Saturday from 11am-6pm. gainesvillefinearts.org.
N e w n! ti o
SEND CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS TO: 440 0 N W 3 6 T H A V E ., G A I N E S V I L L E , F L 3 2606 or EVENTS@TOWERPUBLICATIONS.COM Submissions will be published based on space available in the magazine. Recurring monthly/bi-monthly events must be free & open to the public. Paid events must be open to the public. Unique events that occur regularly such as classes, seminars and networking events will be published at our discretion. Religious organizations may post events only if the event promotes the arts, or is a fundraiser where 100% of the proceeds go to another, non-religious, non-profit organization. Events that are political in nature may not be approved.
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6530 SE S.R. 26 • Trenton Just 5 miles west of the traffic light in Newberry
352-472-7100 RedBarnHomeCenter.com
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BAND REVIEW
BRIAN “KRASH” KRUGER’S
Gate Crashing ON DECK FOR REVIEW: NANCY LUCA BAND FEATURING ANNA MARIE
BRIAN KRUGER IS A WRITER, MUSICIAN AND A GRADUATE OF THE UF COLLEGE OF LAW. HE HAS PLAYED IN SOME 17 OR SO LOCAL BANDS, PLAYING MOST EVERY GAINESVILLE VENUE FRIENDLY TO ORIGINAL MUSIC (AND SOME NOT SO FRIENDLY). bkrashpad@yahoo.com
DATE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 VENUE: BO DIDDLEY DOWNTOWN PLAZA
G
reetings, live music aficionados! This issue finds us in Downtown Gainesville at the Bo Diddley Plaza, for another in the City of Gainesville’s Department of Parks Recreation & Cultural Affairs’ “Free Fridays,” the largest of its various events comprising the “Downtown Cultural Series.” As noted in prior columns, these shows run from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. from May through October. Tonight’s concert featured longtime local favorite guitarist and singer Nancy Luca, along with Anna Marie (celebrating a birthday according to onstage patter) on lead and backing vocals, and the crackerjack rhythm section of Larry Thompson on drums and Joe Loper on bass. Anna Marie Kirkpatrick has her own band Anna Marie and Friends, Thompson has played with Luca back to the 1980s, as well as more recently in local bands with Chuck Martin and with former Gainesville mayor Gary Gordon, and Loper has been in longtime local band Crooked Counsel, which goes back to the ‘90s (originally known as Santa Fe). So suffice to say, this gig was not anyone’s first rodeo—the whole band is seasoned pros. I have been meaning to write up a Nancy Luca show ever since scoring this column gig, as, short of the late great Tom Petty himself, it would be difficult to envision a more iconic Gainesville music figure, non-punk rock division. As an undergrad UF student in the late ‘70s, and a UF law student during the early ‘80s, I spent many an evening endangering my respective grade point averages with the Nancy Luca Band. Ms. Luca was our first grrrl rocker, visually very much in the
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Suzy Quatro/Joan Jett tough girl mode, but she played guitar more like Jett’s Runaways bandmate, Lita Ford. As stated in a 2018 City of Gainesville press release, Ms. Luca “got her first Stratocaster guitar while attending Gainesville’s Buchholz High School” and “[i]n 1974, she took guitar lessons from future Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, and has been playing ever since.” In 1990, Ms. Luca moved to Los Angeles with her best friend, Ms. Kirkpatrick, and attended the
University of Southern California and got into the L.A. music scene. Luca still lives there now, but returns to this area several times a year, playing both in Gainesville proper, often east of town at Chiappini’s in Melrose, and occasionally west of town out at Cedar Key. Ms. Luca plays in numerous bands based out West, perhaps the most well known of which is “Whole Lotta
Rosies,” an all-female AC/DC cover band. She has played in many foreign countries, all over the world. Given Ms. Luca’s long history in and with the Gainesville area, I expected the show to have a homecoming/reunion feel, and it certainly did, with several guests coming on for a song or two, and many a shoutout to local friends, bands, and venues. Without attempting to list every song or guest, the first set began with Tom Petty’s Breakdown, followed by a song that Ms. Luca noted that she had learned from Mike Campbell, Shake, Rattle, and Roll. After the classic Janis Joplin belter Piece of my Heart, the band covered a ‘90s Tampa-area band, the Headlights, and then brought friend Jan Stern out for vocals on Joan Jett’s I Love Rock and Roll. After one of Ms. Luca’s originals, there was more Petty, this time Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around. Luca then took lead vocals for Hendrix’s contemplative Little Wing, only to crank things up to end the set with Joe Walsh’s Funk 49 and Steppenwolf’s biker anthem Born to Be Wild. The second set began with a few songs with guest Gregg McMillan of Gainesville’s Dixie Desperados, playing guitar and singing. These included Roy Head’s Treat Her Right and Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode. The second guitar helped kick things up a gear, and the song selection matched with inclusions like J.J. Cale’s They Call Me the Breeze (perhaps best known due to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s version) and Willie Dixon’s classic I Just Want To Make Love To You (Foghat’s version being arguably the most well known). The set charged on through Luca’s strengths of hard bluesy rockers and Tom Petty songs, with the Stonesy Hard To Handle from the Black Crowes followed by an actual Rolling Stones cover, Bobby and Shirley Womack’s It’s All Over Now. An original, I Play Guitar, which I take to basically be Ms. Luca’s theme song, for obvious reasons, followed. The well-received set closed with perhaps Tom Petty’s most famous early song, American Girl, which is lyrically set in Gainesville (referencing the cars “out on 441”), and the Petty-fest continued into the encore, Runnin’ Down A Dream. Now, go see some bands.
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November/December 2019
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MOVIES >> TIME TRAVEL & MORE
FREE YOUR MIND
A FEW FLICKS FEATURING THE THEME OF TIME
Movie Time WRITTEN BY STEPH STRICKL A ND
Family movie night, it’s truly an American tradition unlike any other. The smell of popcorn swirls through the air and junior mints melt in your mouth. Explore these classic films that take us through time and bind generations with a timeless tradition. So, grab your snacks and sit back — it’s movie time!
THE GREEN MILE
This dramatic 1999 film starring Tom Hanks takes a look into section E of a Louisiana State Penitentiary, where the death-row inmates are held until their final days. This film, set in the Depression era, examines the passage of time in what 98 |
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became known as The Green Mile, a long corridor in the block with green tile, as inmates await death. Hank’s character, Paul, seems to have a soft spot for some of the inmates, and attempts to show them compassion during their time in the block. He
takes a special liking to an inmate convicted of killing a pair of young sisters. Something strange began to happen in block E when Paul suspects this inmate of having a supernatural power, seemingly a gift sent from God. For the first time, Paul begins to question the validity of the conviction. This unique story is based on Stephen King’s 1996 novel of the same name.
THE MATRIX The Matrix explores the complex topic of reality through a computer simulation that masks the true state of humanity to all those under its influence and creates a warp in time. Those within the Matrix believe they are living in a functional 21st century; however, they are actually being controlled by 22nd century beings that use their brains and bodies for energy. Neo, the computer-hacking protagonist played by Keanu Reeves, is recruited to fight alongside a rebellion that hopes to eliminate the artificial intelligence system that has trapped the human population. The Wachowski brothers debuted this action-filled sci-fi experience that seeks to answer one question: what is the matrix?
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS GROUNDHOG DAY Groundhog Day takes a humorous approach to the passage of time, as a TV weatherman finds himself trapped in an endless cycle of repeating the same day over again. Phil was vexed by the idea of covering Groundhog Day in the ‘hick’ town of Punxsutawney. When he first realizes he’s in a time-loop, Phil’s response was confusion and despair; however, he soon begins acquiring skills and becomes beloved in the little town. This 1993 film has become an American classic, teaching an important lesson about how people use their time in a humorous way.
Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams, engaged to be married, take some time for a family vacation in Paris when Owen’s character, Gil, gets swept away to another time. This Oscar-winning film features Gil as an aspiring writer, who spends his evenings wandering the streets of Paris. During one of these late-night walks he suddenly finds himself in the Jazz Age, which continues happening each night at midnight. For Gil, this was the opportunity to meet his favorite writers, musicians and artists that have inspired his own craft. After falling in love with his life in the brief midnight hours of 1920s Paris, Gil comes to find that what he was looking for was with him in his own time.
LOOPER This 2012 thriller takes on a new dimension to time travel. Bruce Willis stars in this film as Joe, a hitman from the future that travels through time to kill targets of the mob. Time travel is only available through the black market, and the mob uses it as a tool to cut off their targets at the source. One day, Joe’s bosses decide to close this ‘loop’ and Joe’s future self is sent back in time to be killed. With immense skill, Joe experiences thrilling scenes of chase and action throughout the movie.
BACK TO THE FUTURE Life takes a turn for Marty McFly when he is catapulted through time to the 1950s after an experiment by Doc Brown goes awry. Marty manipulates time to ensure his own life is safe, then returns to the present to save Doc. This classic tale takes audiences through space and time with a lighthearted story for families to enjoy. The DeLorian is on its way, hop in. Enjoy this epic trilogy! November/December 2019
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MOVIES >> TIME TRAVEL & MORE
ABOUT TIME At the age of 21, Tim Lake’s father informed him that the men in his family have the ability to travel through time. While he can’t change history, he can change the course of his own life by obtaining a girlfriend. He falls in love with a beautiful girl named Mary, but a time-travel incident leads the pair to constantly meet for the first time, however, he eventually wins her over. As his life goes on, he realizes his unique gift can’t save him from experiencing the hardships of life. This movie is equal parts romance, comedy and drama.
SOMEWHERE IN TIME In 1972, playwright Richard Collier experiences love at first sight. The only problem? The sight was a photograph of a woman from another time. Elise McKenna was a turn-of-the-century actress that Richard becomes obsessed with. Richard finds that time travel may be possible through hypnosis, so he travels to meet Elise and successfully does so. However, Elise’s jealous manager tries to get in the way. This 1980 drama stole the hearts of hopeless romantics everywhere as Richard and Elise’s love seems to transcend time.
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE Four friends are experiencing some of the hardships of adulthood: being dumped, over partying, unhappy marriage and a stalled career. A night of heavy drinking at a resort hot tub led to the group being transported back to 1986. The gang engages in a fun and action-packed adventure to return to the present, and have to decide whether or not to change their lives along the way. This 2010 sci-fi film was a fan-favorite for its lighthearted and clever plot. Whether you’re a fan of the future or a history buff longing for the past — these features are sure to take you on a journey somewhere in time!
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GIVING BACK >> VET TIX PROGRAM
TICKETS FOR THEIR TIME
Vet Tix The High Dive Gives Back to Veterans W RIT TE N BY J U LI A MITCH EM
T
he High Dive donates event tickets to the Veteran Tickets Foundation to actively give back to those in our community who have selflessly risked their lives and given their time to serving their county. The foundation helps supply free tickets to currently serving military, veterans, first responders and families of troops killed in action. The tickets are not just a form of entertainment and relaxation, but they also help veterans cope with everyday stress, PTSD and many other aspects of their lives. Pat Lavery is the facility and events manager at the High Dive, a live music and events space in Gainesville, and owner of Glory Days Presents, Gainesville’s formost and longest running promoter of live music and comedy, according to their Facebook page. Lavery said Glory Days Presents’ bookings can be seen at all High Dive events as well as others throughout the state. The Vet Tixs foundation connects venues and event promoters with veterans, active military members and first responders. The High Dive is
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one of the venues that donates their tickets to this cause. Vet Tix then gives the tickets to veterans who claim them through the foundation’s website. The High Dive started donating to the organization earlier this year after Lavery reached out to them. Lavery has many family members who have served in the military, so this cause is close to his heart. “I would say the majority of Americans don’t really understand what the military, what those people, have to endure,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing to give them an escape from that.” Lavery said they try to offer shows of interest to veterans, however, there are certain constraints to work around such as venue capacity or shows that are already sold out. On average, The High Dive and Glory Days Presents donate Vet Tix tickets to shows once or twice a week. He predicts the High Dive will have donated over $20,000 in tickets by the end of the year. At the time of this interview, they had donated more than $10,000, and growing weekly, in tickets. “The High Dive is a historic venue that we believe is kind of the epicenter of the live music and events scene,” Lavery said. PHOTOGRAPHY: STEFFANIE CROCKETT, COURTESY OF HIGH DIVE
This year, the High Dive began partnering with Vet Tix, a national group that gives concert and event tickets to US Armed Services vets, currently serving and their immediate family, as well as first responders. For ticket info, visit: vettix.org.
Kris Allen, former American Idol Winner
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more tickets,” Maag said. Al Maag, chief marketing officer of Vet Tix, said the nonprofit All tickets go to verified veterans. The individual goes through began in 2008. In its first year, the organization gave away 1,500 tickets. Now, they give away on average 6,000 tickets a day, he a third party, ID.me, to confirm their veteran status. Then the said. At the time of this interview, Vet Tix had donated over 7.5 customers are asked a few personal questions and they are ready to receive tickets, he said. Vet Tix sends out daily emails with million tickets which continues to increase every day. all the tickets available in the person’s area. Vet Tix is based in Tempe, Arizona, Some are first-come-first-serve and some and has about 1.4 million members, which are a part of a lottery system, he said. are current serving military (including The tickets are completely free, but guards and reserve), veterans of all there is a transaction fee per event (not eras, families of those killed in action and caretakers of veterans, he said. Maag said Vet Tix, in the last year, also just added first responders to their members. Tickets can come from donors such as major professional sports teams, minor league sports teams, college sports teams, per ticket). The fee is no more than $14.97 motor sports, family programs and arts per event, he said. “You could have the worst and entertainment events. According to seats at the Yankees stadium, and they are Maag, big name donors include NASCAR probably $25 each or you might have the and Live Nation. Al Maag, Vet Tix CMO owner’s seats for $2,000 each,” Maag said. The tickets also come from ticket “For $14.97.” holders such as people who have season At the time of this interview, the Vet Tix website had over tickets and do not end up using a specific event’s ticket, as well 450,000 testimonials, which is growing every day, Maag said. as other teams, artists, theaters and venues. Maag said the organization also receives monetary donations from people He explained that the free tickets Vet Tix gives away help people with everyday stress, post-traumatic stress disorder or organizations. “Every penny that we get goes directly to buy
“Every penny that we get goes directly to buy more tickets.”
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(PTSD), getting out of the house and many other aspects of the individuals’ lives. He said according to their studies 75% of people could not afford to be going to the events. However, with the help of Vet Tix 60% of people can now afford to go. Maag is a huge sports fan himself. He has season tickets to the Chicago Cubs. He went to a game about three years ago and his friend donated the two seats next to Maag’s to Vet Tix. He said he met the under 30-year-old lawyer and veteran out of the Army who sat next to him. “He said, ‘If it wasn’t for you guys, I couldn’t be out,’ ” Maag said. The veteran was not getting out of the house because of his PTSD. After using the tickets from Vet Tix, he started getting out of the house more and is much better today. Matt Kriz, general manager at the High Dive, said donating to Vet Tix has gone smoothly so far. The High Dive gives Vet Tix a certain number of tickets to offer to veterans. Typically, all their tickets are claimed, Kriz said. He said if things continue as they are now, the High Dive would be happy to continue working with Vet Tix in the future. “It’s nice to be able to give something to that community,” Kriz said. The High Dive is one of the bigger music-specific venues in Gainesville. Kriz explained that they are one of the only venues that has the capacity to bring in large, national touring acts. He said the High Dive has its own dedicated sound staff, a premium sound system and a lot of bands that have worked with them appreciate the venue’s professionalism. “We are a very small crew that mans this place,” Kriz said. “But we are a very efficient crew, and I think that shows through in the work that we do here.”
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GIVING BACK >> VET TIX PROGRAM
According to Kriz, veterans attend their shows all the time. If you see people taking selfies near the bar, chances are they are Vet Tix-ers who are sending in a photo of themselves for their online testimonial. “It’s really kind of cool to see [the veterans],” he said. “You can tell that the people are coming out and they’re
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Embracing Life
COLUMN
DONNA BONNELL’S
GIFT YOURSELF WITH FORGIVENESS
DONNA BONNELL BECAME THE AUTHOR OF HER COLUMN, EMBRACING LIFE, MORE THAN A DECADE AGO. SHE SHARES HER PERSONAL CHALLENGES AND VICTORIES WITH THE GOAL OF INSPIRING HER READERS TO ANALYZE WHY THINGS HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. bonneldj@gmail.com
A
lways Do Our Best is one of the four core affirmations of Unity Church. Members further avow, “We always strive to do our very best in all circumstances, however, we always forgive ourselves if our best feels less than perfect.” I repeat that affirmation often and work to fulfill the command of forgiving myself. Doing my best has always been embedded in my psyche. That characteristic is both an asset and a curse. It is impossible to take pride in any project unless I give it every ounce of my blood, sweat and tears. Partial completion is not good enough. Personal gratification is my reward for achieving those rigid perfectionist standards. Being my own worst critic is the curse. That curse is common. Our brains are inherently programmed to recognize negativity. Some label this phenomenon as negative bias and it’s one of the first functions developed in a newborn’s brain. Evolutionary psychologists believe negative bias dates back to early man. In order to survive, having the ability to quickly acknowledge danger was imperative. In today’s world some folks have the tendency to develop a shame-based self-image. When a person is supersensitive and exposed to constant negative feedback it can affect their self-esteem. Shame becomes deep-rooted and anything less than perfect is personally perceived as failure. Somewhere in my life’s journey a subservient self-critical image emerged from my soul. I began to give more credence to my imperfections and mistakes, instead of my accomplishments. Fearing failure, I became critical of myself and strived for perfection. With age, I have accepted my physical limitations and stopped agonizing over lost opportunities due to lacking self-worth. I knew; however, I must forgive myself in order to heal. Hence, embracing self-compassion became my goal. Reversing decades of feeling inferior was not quick or easy. My transformation has been slow and sometimes painful. As with any behavioral change, I had to first admit that being self-critical was partially responsible for health challenges. I developed high blood pressure, insomnia and thyroid disease. Of course, there were other factors, but lack of self-compassion was a core contributor. Next, I engaged in activities to reprogram my mind in order to view myself in a positive way. Classes in Breathing, Meditation,
Qigong, Tai Chi and Yoga taught me how to let go of destructive thoughts. I acquired skills to ignore the nagging mental chatter and focus on the moment. With patience and practice, I learned how to release the undesirable energy. Our precious breath is an undervalued gift from God. Productive breathing techniques have changed my life. When I make a mistake, I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Sometimes I need to do that exercise several times to reclaim my composure. Taking that mental break and re-centering myself feels so much better than berating my being. English poet Alex Pope said, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” Pope’s quote has been a part of my conversation for decades. When friends are frustrated at themselves, I remind them that we are all humans and make mistakes. Yet, it has always been difficult to use that same logic on myself. Why? The work of Sharon Hartman, a licensed social worker and clinical trainer, helped me answer that question. Hartman works at a substance abuse treatment center. She said that drug and/ or alcohol addictions are shame-based diseases and, “Forgiving oneself is one of the more difficult parts of recovery.” Hartman points out, based on countless studies, that stress and anger can also cause or worsen other diseases. She listed cancer, heart disease and various autoimmune disorders as examples of such ailments. Hartman stated, “I think forgiveness is often confused with condoning or lack of accountability.” After digesting the information, then comparing my lack of self-compassion with that of my consideration for friends, the aha moment occurred. I could quickly exonerate comrades (or at least release my anger) but could not overlook my own mistakes. Hartman has an explanation why some humans (like me) beat themselves up but forgive others. She said, “After all, they don’t live in your head, reading you the same old riot act.” Voilá! The proverbial light bulb switched on! Hartman explained the importance of dismissing negative mental chatter. The final healing step was accepting that I might temporarily relapse. If I make that mistake, it only means I am human. Moreover, I will be okay, as I have the tools to quiet my mind and forgive myself. This holiday season, gift yourself with self-compassion and self-forgiveness. November/December 2019
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MAKING TIME >> DAYLIGHT SAVINGS
FALL BACK
THE HISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Time For A Change W R ITTEN BY CA MERON COBB
Ah, yes — the twice-a-year reminder to not forget to change your clocks, which is typically more welcomed when it leads to an extra hour of sleep versus the other part of the year. The U.S. has dealt with Daylight Saving Time (DST) for more than 100 years. While often Benjamin Franklin is thought to be the father of DST, this practice has a much deeper, winding history. The belief that Franklin invented DST likely stems from a letter to the editor of the “Journal de Paris” (the first daily French newspaper) that he sent titled “An Economical Project for Diminishing the 108 |
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Cost of Light,” according to timeanddate. com. In his letter, Franklin proposed the people of Paris get the most out of their candlelight by waking up earlier — meaning there was no reference of clocks or even any actual change in time. So, how did DST begin? It all started with bugs. In 1895, an entomologist from New Zealand named George Hudson offered a DST idea,
according to nationalgeographic.com, only Hudson suggested a two-hour time change versus our modern day hour. His reason? To have more light in the summer to go bug hunting, of course! Unfortunately, the pitch didn’t turn into anything… but that was far from the end for DST. Separate from Hudson’s plans, clocks first sprang forward in Canada in July of 1908, starting with a place called Port
Arthur in Ontario, according to timeanddate.com. From there, it grew in popularity and was adopted by other parts of the country. But the rest of the world wasn’t onboard quite yet. While Canadians may have been the first to move their clocks forward an hour, we have Germany to credit for globalization. On April 30, 1916, at the height of WWI, both the German Empire and Austria adjusted their clocks one hour ahead in hopes of conserving energy used for artificial lighting during the war. Coal was such a vital resource — especially during times of war — so every second of fuel usage saved, thanks to DST, really did make a difference. Just weeks after, many countries (such as France and the United Kingdom) adopted the new tradition of DST. Prior to the Germans introducing the idea to Europe, British builder William Willett fought for a kind of DST (or “Summer Time” as referred to in his country) that called for eight annual clock switches: four 20-minute changes moving the clock ahead for each Sunday in April and another four to set it 20 minutes back Benjamin Franklin on every Sunday in September. From the birth of his idea in 1905, Willett unsuccessfully advocated for Summer Time all the way until his death in 1915, according to timeanddate.com. Little did he know it would be implemented in the United Kingdom the following year. The U.S. wasn’t far behind Europe. On March 9, 1918, the first DST law, along with the Standard Time Act (which called for different time zones across the country), were put into place by Congress, according to nationalgeographic.com. There are only two states that currently don’t recognize DST: Hawaii and Arizona. With Hawaii’s offshore location not warranting many changes in sunlight over the year, the state decided against
DST when the Uniform Time Act (UTA) was enacted in 1966, according to worldpopulationreview.com. Arizona, however, gave the UTA and DST a solid attempt before ditching the idea in 1968 (thanks to an exemption put into the UTA). Ever since then (and aside from a few Native American reservations that reside in the state and do recognize DST), Arizona has preferred relishing the cooler hours of darkness and remained opted out of the twice-a-year time change. Outside of those two states and several U.S. territories (including Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the rest of the country recognizes DST. Today in the U.S., DST starts on the second Sunday in March with clocks set forward one hour. Then on the first Sunday in November, the hands move back one hour, and thus the annual cycle repeats. But that isn’t all there is to the history of altering time to take advantage of sunlight. Old practices of artificially “increasing ” daylight have been going on for centuries, according to ancientworldmagazine.com. Invented by ancient Egyptians, a “water clock” was a time-tracking system that measured the flow of water in and out of a vessel (typically made from copper, stone or pottery). Ancient Greeks and Romans also used their own versions of water clocks, using a variety of vessel sizes for different months (so a day’s “hours” would amount to shorter or longer depending on what month it was), according to enddaylightsavingtime.org. Love it or hate it, even crude variants of Daylight Saving Time have been around since the beginning of time (literally), and today, DST is still used by more than 70 countries all across the globe. Will DST last forever? Only time will tell.
SOURCE: WORLDPOPULATIONREVIEW.COM, TIMEANDDATE.COM, NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM, ENDDAYLIGHTSAVINGTIME.ORG, ANCIENTWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
George Vernon Hudson
William Willett Ever wondered where the phrase “time flows” comes from? Probably from the water clock — a tank holding water, with a very small hole in its bottom, from which the water slowly drips. The level of water sinks and its height is a measure of the time passed since it was full of water. This ancient form of time measurement has been recorded as far back as 16th century B.C. in ancient Egypt.
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HOROLOGY >> CHAMP’S CLOCK SHOP
TICK TOCK
Champ’s Clock Shop One of the Largest and Finest Selections of Clocks W R I T T E N B Y H AY L I Z U C C O L A
S
et behind a curtain of trees in the cozy town of Douglasville, Georgia, just west of Atlanta, a grand tower clock originally built in Clerkenwell, England, back in 1865, operates high above the clouds with the assistance of 400 pounds of weights, creating a distinctive chime that can be heard over a mile away. This captivating structure is merely a gateway to a place where time is always of the essence. Inside the walls of Champ’s Clock Shop, over 100 stately grandfather clocks create a winding maze leading to hundreds of musical cuckoos, animated timepieces and sedative hourglasses, an impressive collection that’s fascinated visitors since 1967. William “Champ” Champion’s passion and admiration for clocks began around the third grade. While
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spending the summer at his grandmother’s house, his curiosity got the best of him and he decided to figure out how the timekeeper above the mantle worked. Pieces scattered across the bed left him fascinated, well, until his grandmother warned him to put it back together – or else. As he got older, after going into the military and making a career as a firefighter, he began tinkering with clocks again until finally opening a storefront and repair shop of his own. Jeff Champion, his son, had a mutual enthusiasm for clocks and would spend his childhood falling asleep to the ticking rhythm of the tower clock. As expected, he followed in his dad’s footsteps and started working at the shop full time in 1984, carrying his father’s legacy with him after his passing in 1999.
Champ’s Clock Shop has been family-owned and operated in its original location of Douglasville, Georgia, since 1967. With nearly 1,000 clocks just on display alone, the shop is almost more of a museum today than a showroom. Jeff Champion acted as a consultant for the 2018 movie “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” by providing the ideal location for sound bites and helping the production crew work with the featured clocks.
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HOROLOGY >> CHAMP’S CLOCK SHOP
What started with four to five clocks displayed in their family home grew into hundreds – including the world’s largest working authentic cuckoo. “The shop is more of a museum today than it is a sales floor,” Jeff Champion said in a phone interview. “We’ve probably got over 3,000 clocks on the premises but as far as the display, it’s under 1,000 now, but there are almost 1,000 clocks on display.” Even in a world going digital, there’s something special about old-fashioned, mechanical clocks that’s incomparable to anything else. “Clocks are, in general, they’re our link to nostalgia,” Champion said. “There’s nothing more accurate than a perfect digital watch — but the thing that makes a real clock special, and it’s the same thing that makes it special today, is that it is a genuine mechanical device. It has weight on it or pressure on it that rotates gears and makes it tick and it’s something that’s real and you can actually look at it and see how it works, whereas looking at your iPhone — it’s telling the time but you can’t see how it works, you can’t watch the flow of what makes it function.”
“None of us had ever heard that many clocks chiming at once and so it was something that, you know, you just sit there mesmerized by it.” Though listening to the sounds and inner workings of a vintage clock is interesting on its own, imagine hearing a chorus of over 1,000 of them. Beginning as a celebration of their 40th anniversary, Champ’s Clock Shop has continued the spring time change tradition of the “Chimes of 1,000 Clocks,” where they set hundreds of clocks to ring in the hour at the same time. “None of us had ever heard that many clocks chiming at once and so it was something that, you know, you just sit there mesmerized by it,” he said. With hundreds of clocks in all shapes and sizes tied to his name, even Father Time would consider Champion an expert on clocks — so much so that he acted as a consultant for the 2018 movie “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” by providing the ideal location for sound bites and helping the production crew work with the featured clocks. His feedback and expertise were so valuable they’re being used in the world of entertainment again for the upcoming TV show “The Outsiders.” Though Champion has spent his life learning about the ins and outs of clocks and what makes them tick – literally – he’s always discovering something new and magical inside every timepiece that comes through his door. “If you’re in the clock business, you learn something new about clocks every day,” he said. “There’s always some sort of enlightenment that you find from each individual clock.” 112 |
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LOCAL HISTORY >> HAILE HOMESTEAD
THE TALKING WALLS OF HISTORIC HAILE HOMESTEAD
Speaking Through Time W R I T T E N B Y H AY L I Z U CCO L A
Tucked among the dense treetops and underbrush of the Kanapaha Plantation, the Historic Haile Homestead stands as an architectural time capsule dating back to the 1850s. Scattered throughout the home’s limestone plaster walls, thousands of pencil strokes depicting pictures, notes and reminders are scribbled across nearly every room in the house – giving all who encounter them a subtle glimpse into the past. Earning their prominent status as wealthy plantation owners in their hometown of Camden, South Carolina, the Haile family moved to Florida after a series of crop failures threatened the success of their business. In 1854, they settled in Alachua County and established a 1,500-acre cotton plantation and a 6,200 square-foot home built by enslaved laborers. Thomas and Serena Haile had 15 children, 14 of whom grew up in the house, but it was their youngest son, Evans Haile, who continued to 114 |
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evolve the estate’s notable stature by throwing lavish parties in addition to fox, turkey and quail hunts. After his death in 1934, the home became abandoned, boarded up and remained virtually untouched until the 1970s when it was rediscovered by a group of University of Florida architecture students who participated in the Historic American Building Survey. In 1986, the property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and was restored to its former glory ten years later with the intent of turning the home into a museum. In April 2001, the Historic Haile Homestead opened its doors, sharing stories of the Haile family as well as the enslaved laborers within the plantation. PHOTOGRAPHY: KAREN KIRKMAN
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LOCAL HISTORY >> HAILE HOMESTEAD
Karen Kirkman, the current Board of Directors President for the non-profit organization Historic Haile Homestead Inc., was among the first group of docents to tour the home. As a history admirer and with her familiarity with the plantation, she instantly fell in love with the property’s unusual choice of wallpaper: hundreds of handwritten words scrawled in cursive lettering – some barely legible – throughout the two-story home. When she realized no one had taken the time to document this unique piece of history, she took it upon herself to complete the task. “I’d come out here either when I was on duty or whenever the house was open once a week and I started writing it all down,” Kirkman said. “I’d stand there for hours on end and write all of this stuff down. That was about six months’ worth of effort.” While the contents of the over 12,500 words discovered on the walls were absent of anything shocking or monumental despite acting as an enormous diary, what they did consist of were names, recipes, home remedies, grocery lists and height charts from over
150 years ago. Kirkman’s theory for the uncommon behavior was that Serena Haile, who did most of the writing, would run out of scratch paper and write her thoughts on whatever she could find – even the walls – before copying it in her diary. It soon became a tradition with family members and party-goers all leaving their mark on the home. “You get to feel people and the talking walls were amazing, I mean you’re standing there for four hours at a time and writing down this stuff on the original floor that the person 150 years ago stood on and wrote so there’s this connectivity to the past and it gives you this sense of continuity of life,” she said. Although thousands of messages have already been documented, there’s still the possibility of finding even more. Within the last few years, a crack in the wall exposed traces of pencil marks that were covered up during the restoration process. Armed with curiosity and a few credit cards, Kirkman and fellow docent and Board Secretary Kaley Behl began chipping away at the plaster surface,
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The Historic Haile Homestead is unique in the Nation for its “Talking Walls.” For a reason lost to time, the Haile family wrote on the walls of their home over 12,500 words in almost every room and closet.
which revealed a brand new piece to this larger-than-life puzzle. “It’s not history in theory. It’s like hands-on history. Things you can actually see and touch and the stories we tell about people that are no longer around,” Kirkman said. “...We have this campaign for docents going on right now it’s called ‘Voice for the Voiceless’ so who’s going to be around to tell these stories if not us.” With its interior reading like pages pulled from the Haile family’s life story, one must wonder what other writings engraved in these talking walls are waiting to be uncovered. While the rich history is reason enough to explore the Homestead, one of the best times to visit is during one of their two annual holiday events. Homestead Holidays, which will be held on Sunday, Dec. 8, from noon to 4 p.m., is a free event featuring nine Christmas trees, a bake sale, hot cider, music and stunning decorations to match this year’s overall theme of “Christmas Sweets.” The following Friday, Dec. 13, as night falls across the sky, the homestead is illuminated for the ever-popular Candlelight Visits (6-9 p.m.), which is the only time people can visit the house at night. For $10 at the door or $7 in advance, watch the home come to life with Christmas decorations, music, refreshments and time-traveling docents dressed in Victorian costumes. To find out more about the Homestead’s holiday events or to learn more about the history of the plantation, visit hailehomestead.org.
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FASHION TRENDS >> HISTORY REPEATING
FASHION — TURN TO THE LEFT!
When Old Becomes New A Look into a Few Pieces of Fashion that Put the “in” in Vintage W RIT TE N BY C A MERON COBB
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eather jackets, high waisted jeans, and even fanny packs — today’s latest fashion is definitely a blast from the past! It’s been quite a journey for these timeless trends, with some dating back thousands of years. Let’s take a closer look at what was once old and is now “new” again!
CHOKERS
These constricting necklaces may be all the rage today, but did you know they came from royalty? Nearly 500 years ago, according to goldenagebeads.com, a portrait of Anne Boleyn (the second wife of King Henry VIII of England) features her neck decorated with a tight-fitted string of pearls paired with a letter “B” pendant. Perhaps inspired by royalty, wealthier women also wore jewel-encrusted chokers during the Victorian era. These elegantly styled chokers remained popular all throughout history and into the early 1900s. Later that century, they made a comeback in a new form. We have the ‘90s to thank for the iconic “tattoo chokers” (those with a thin, black, netted design) everyone knows and loves today, which in more recent years have transformed to offer a wide variety of color, texture, design and bedazzled options (sure to make Anne Boleyn proud). 118 |
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FANNY PACKS While the fanny pack is often credited as an invention of Australian Melba Stone in 1962 (and yes, the rumors even claim she got the idea from kangaroos), these nifty bum bags have much deeper roots. Some older versions of the trend include a chatelaine purse from the Victorian era and even a belt pouch worn by cavemen in the early years of 3000 B.C., according to melmagazine.com. The first known published reference of an actual fanny pack was made in a 1954 Sports Illustrated ad, which puts the Melba Stone rumor to rest. Though during the latter half of this century, fanny packs were really only popular among skiers and other sports fanatics as a handy carrying pouch — but it wouldn’t be long until they made their debut in fashion. Named the “Hottest Product of the Year” by Adweek in 1988, the fanny pack traveled from slopes to runways. But all good things must come to an end, and the fanny pack is no exception. The explosion of fanny packs plastered with logos (especially those of tobacco companies) in combination with a decline in the cheap fabric used for the bags almost left the trend for dead… almost. Recently, fanny packs have made a comeback and can frequently be seen in Hollywood, where they’ve been worn by celebrities like Rihanna and Jimmy Kimmel.
The choker necklace has been around for centuries. In paintings of her era (15071536), Anne Boleyn was portrayed wearing one. Her famous necklace was most known for displaying a letter â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bâ&#x20AC;? pendant on a string of pearls, which she wore closely around her neck.
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FASHION TRENDS >> HISTORY REPEATING
You can even snag yourself a designer fanny pack, though that’s not without the designer price. A Gucci fanny pack or “belt bag,” as the brand calls it, will cost you nearly $800. Gotta sport those snacks in style!
HIGH WAISTED JEANS High waisted jeans were first introduced in the 1940s by Levi’s for the new and growing market of working women, according to bragvintage.co.uk. From farming to factories, the jean’s style allowed for the wearer to bend in any direction without the fear of showing their stomachs or rear (because everyone knows modesty is the most important skill with hard labor). In later years, the jeans transformed from merely practical to clearly fashionable, with the high-rise look offering a flattering form-fitting style. Even Marilyn Monroe rocked a pair in the movie “The Misfits.”
LEATHER JACKETS During the early 1900s, leather jackets were primarily worn by aviators and military members, according to jacketsociety.com. These fierce articles of clothing were called “Bomber Ja c ket s” d u ri n g th e W W II timeframe. Branching from wartime to highways, the first motorcycle jacket was designed in 1928 by Irving Schott. The jacket initially appeared in a Harley Davidson store in New York City — with a price tag of just over $5. But this would only be the start of the leather jacket style. From here, the leather jacket took over Hollywood, decorating stars like Marlon Brando, James Dean, Billy Idol and, of course, Henry Winkler in his classic “Fonzie” character, all throughout the ‘90s. 120 |
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Long before the Spice Girls made these sky-high kicks a part of pop culture, platform shoes gave a much needed boost to Greek actors while performing — helping to aid the audience in being able to see them from far away. These shoes also assisted royals out of the Medieval muck of the day. A kind of “tall rain boot” if you will, your royal highness.
PLATFORM SHOES Did you know that the first platform shoes were worn more than 2,000 years ago? Both Ancient Greek and Roman actors sported pairs of platform sandals at the theatre, which helped the audience see them better, according to didyouknowfashion.com. The practical purposes didn’t end there, and all over the world throughout the 1300s to the 1700s, rocking a pair of raised pumps either showed a higher status, improved one’s view, or simply just kept feet protected from mud and dirt filling the streets.
Platform shoes didn’t reappear until hundreds of years later, until in the 1970s they were a must for any disco dancer. Elton John and members of the rock group KISS kept them alive and thriving during this decade, while the Spice Girls helped to revive them in the ‘90s. Next time David Bowie’s hit song “Fashion” comes on — grab your nearest leather jacket or fanny pack and do as the song instructs... “Fashion! Turn to the Left. Fashion! Turn to the right. Oooh, fashion!”
SOURCE: DIDYOUKNOWFASHION.COM, JACKETSOCIETY.COM, BRAGVINTAGE.CO.UK, GOLDENAGEBEADS.COM, MELMAGAZINE.COM
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ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT >> MAKING MEMORIES
MAGICAL MOMENTS
FIVE WAYS TO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR LOVED ONES THIS SEASON
Making Memories W R I T T E N B Y D A N A B R YA N
One second. One hour. One day. One month. One year. A lifetime. Time passes by quicker than our eyes can see, and there’s no time like the present to start making memories with your family. With this in mind, here are five ideas for spending time with your loved ones this holiday season.
I Spy Christmas Lights How about a drive around town to take in the sights of Christmas lights? A must-see spot is the festive light display at North Florida Regional Medical Center’s duck pond. An annual tradition for many families in our community, this whimsical display — with over 60,000 lights — is scheduled to celebrate its 30th year. Visitors can enjoy a stroll through the twinkling 122 |
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surroundings of the pond, take photos and revel in all of the holiday cheer. You should too! Follow North Florida Regional Medical Center’s website and/or social media to stay up to date on their hours for the magical display: nfrmc.com | facebook. com/NorthFloridaRegional.
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ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT >> MAKING MEMORIES
Enjoy a Holiday Show A theatrical event with acrobats, aerialists and a full, live symphony orchestra is a great way to entertain family members of all ages. Cirque Musica will present “Holiday Wishes” on Dec.16 at the O’Connell Center. Audiences will be amazed by the acrobats, aerialists, hilarious hijinks and holiday cheer. The show blends the spellbinding grace and daredevil athleticism of today’s greatest circus performers with the sensory majesty of a symphony orchestra. Your whole family can enjoy great holiday music while also experiencing a circus spectacle that’ll, no doubt, keep you all on the edge of your seats. There will be plenty to talk about and bond over after seeing this one! For ticket information, visit: cirquemusica.com.
Give Back/ Volunteer Nothing brings a family closer than working sideby-side toward a goal bigger than yourselves. During the holiday season there are multiple opportunities to pay it forward such as volunteering at soup kitchens, food banks and homeless s h e l t e r s. Mo st d ay ca re centers, elementary schools or organizations such as Toys for Tots will happily accept children’s toys. The gracious smile on a young child’s face when he or she recieves a present will instill just how important it is to help spread holiday cheer. Not to mention, children and adults will learn an invaluable lesson on sharing, spreading love and community outreach. 124 |
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Board Games
ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT >> MAKING MEMORIES
Board games are a classic way to enjoy the company of your relatives. Competitive glances and sore loser tantrums provide for big laughs later on and can teach you a lot about people’s personalities. Time inevitably flies by no matter what you do, but when playing a board game with the ones you love, the time passed is time well spent. During late nights, for especially intense games, make sure to have a few snacks around the house. Competitive spirits intensify in times of hunger. Be careful! There’s one game in particular, with fake properties and colorful money, that has a strong reputation of fraying family relationships (atleast for the night) almost as much as it strengthens them (#MONOPOLY).
Santa’s Shop in Haile Village Center Three animatronic elves named Elmer, Elsie, and Elfis work diligently in “Santa’s Shop.” A blinking clock above them points to the word “work” while toy trains whiz by on surrounding tracks. Other fantastical figurines move and dance about; creating a scene that feels very much alive. The rest of this story can be seen as a window display, 126 |
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located in the Brightway Insurance office of the Haile Village Center. The creators behind the magical scene are Gainesville residents Mike and Annelle Rigsby. The husband and wife team sought to give back to their community by sharing some holiday cheer. Mike, an electrical engineer, handles the technical side of the creation while Annelle, an artist,
designs and paints all of the aesthetics. The Rigsbys spent over 2,000 hours creating this fantastical experience. See the display every night through December, starting November 30th before Haile Plantation’s “Light the Village” event. More info at misterengineer.com.
Happy Holidays!
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SPOTLIGHT
RESCUE ANIMAL ADOPTIONS
Furever Friends SAPPHIRE, GINNY AND RICKY
FUREVER FRIENDS IS A RECURRING PROFILE THAT FEATURES A LOCAL RESCUE ANIMAL AND THEIR OWNER, WRITTEN FROM THE ADOPTED PET’S “POINT OF VIEW.” NOMINATE YOURSELF OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW FOR OUR NEXT RESCUED PET PROFILE! CONTACT: EDITOR@TOWERPUBLICATIONS.COM.
Hi there! My name is Sapphire and I’m a multi-colored tabby cat with a petite stature and a big personality. As a kitten, I was dropped off at the Humane Society of North Central Florida with my mom and all my brothers and sisters. Though there were a bunch of us, I always stood out as the chatty, adventurous one of the group. One of my most rambunctious achievements was the time I discovered a bent bar in my cage, which was just big enough for me to wriggle out of. I would use my newfound freedom to roam around the place and visit all the other cats. I was able to do this a few more times before my caretakers figured out how I managed this grand escape. Ricky Scricca started working at the humane society right out of college and after getting to know me, he decided to adopt me in March 2018. At the time, he was living with two other roommates and their two cats. After a bit of adjusting, we all got along quite well, which was easy for me since I have a charismatic, friendly personality – my dad says I’m like a big ball of sunshine. Later that year I would meet my new best friend, Ginny, who’s rather shy with public speaking and asked me to share her side of the story since talking comes so naturally to me. She was living at Ginny Springs when she was taken to Operation Catnip. Somehow she came with a bad return address so she was taken to the humane society – my alma mater. When she was just three months old, my dad decided to take her home as a foster. She stayed with us for three to four months while she recovered from a large neck wound until one day my dad’s roommate decided to adopt her. Somehow the plan fell through, but because it was coordinated during the shelter’s annual holiday adoption event, the next morning my dad found out he had adopted Ginny instead – an accidental adoption but a happy one for us all. We now live in our own place and Ginny has become my best friend, even though she has some odd habits. Sometimes she’ll stand on her hind legs and with her snow white coat she looks like a floating ghost – I just think she’s part meerkat. She also loves to be in high places, spending her time atop of dad’s 128 |
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dresser, while I prefer the edge of the bed near the window and the sunshine. Like me, she’s also really clever. In our old home she figured out how to open the pantry and take the food out so we could all treat ourselves – a perfect arrangement until baby locks ended up on all the cabinets.
Nowadays Ginny and I live the simple life playing and snuggling together. Our favorite thing to do is to sit by the front window and wait for dad – who now works in development at the shelter - to come home. When he gets close to the door I greet him with exciting questions like how his day was, what he did, if he missed us and so on, while Ginny waves to him with her paw pressed against the window. With help from the humane society and Operation Catnip, Ginny and I were able to find our forever homes and I hope that one day all the friends we made at the shelter get the chance to find a family of their own. If you’re interested in adopting a pet, visit the humane society’s website at humanesocietyncfl.org.
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14451 Newberry Road, Jonesville Turn at CVS in Jonesville and come straight to us.
352-332-3308
5701 SW 75th St. Gainesville
I-7 5 ER WAD TORO
The Liquor Wine &oppe
CVS
CR 241
130
u n o d r A p o h S No Need to
ne Gator FiSpirits Wine &
A RC H
AD
E R RO
Conveniently located in the Tower Square shopping area.
352-335-3994
LIKE BOTH LOCATIONS ON FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES ON WINE TASTINGS AND OTHER EVENTS! November/December 2019
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We deliver state of the art orthodontic care in a comfortable, friendly environment designed to meet your needs and exceed your expectations.
CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE YOUR COMPLIMENTARY CONSULTATION
Dr. Reid W. Montini, Harvard & University of Florida Educated
7520 W. University Ave., Suite C â&#x20AC;¢ Gainesville
352-332-7911 MontiniOrtho.com November/December 2019
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You deserve SunState BEING A MEMBER HAS ITS ADVANTAGES
SunState Federal Credit Union is part of your community. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sponsoring local community events, or working to educate all consumers about better ways to manage money, SunState strives to make a positive difference in our communities.
Membership is open to everyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or does business in Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy, Suwannee, Lafayette, Union and Hamilton Counties.
Proudly serving our members and our community since 1957
352-381-5200 www.SunStateFCU.org 132 |
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November/December 2019