tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3710572453072833942024-03-19T02:12:28.492-04:00Old FloridaEphemera and musings from the state I'm in...Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.comBlogger466125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-89172934429023454372023-12-26T10:39:00.003-05:002023-12-26T10:43:08.363-05:00Salt Springs – "A Magical Place Forever"?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrViLGRd7E1Z8F43evuDmLE_AHWGkyuLNsT-os-cZqKyRlnXCjzE653FMGuvnK5w3_N0g1AJIp80z_mmLgUDVfh04JAvoUGi54p-JOFxWuG1o9f8J5aEnuRpLY31DRzEfpdFOxXVhLO0d27r1FAIlQp4aEKMZLv3Mp5Bku6ierjLuvD4XCADCJ5PHurAF/s1500/IMG_0001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrViLGRd7E1Z8F43evuDmLE_AHWGkyuLNsT-os-cZqKyRlnXCjzE653FMGuvnK5w3_N0g1AJIp80z_mmLgUDVfh04JAvoUGi54p-JOFxWuG1o9f8J5aEnuRpLY31DRzEfpdFOxXVhLO0d27r1FAIlQp4aEKMZLv3Mp5Bku6ierjLuvD4XCADCJ5PHurAF/s320/IMG_0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />My favorite memory of <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/florida/recarea/?recid=83581">Salt Springs in the Ocala National Forest</a> is when I camped there with my high school soccer coach and his son, who was my teammate. Coach Young was from Jamaica and he had a diving light and a spear gun (which I never got to use.😢) It was winter and the water felt comfortably warm compared to the thirty-some degree air temperatures. We swam in the spring at night and the dive light would catch streaking flashes of mullet – fleeting explosions of mercury through the water. It was creepy swimming through large swathes of eel grass to get to where the spring boils were – they were the only relief from the submerged underwater vegetation because they were surrounded by limestone. <p></p><p>My Dad and I also fished Salt Run for bass using special floating plastic worms that we purchased from my favorite tackle store in Welaka. I had a tackle box full of these brightly colored lures that I only used a handful of times. I don't remember catching anything there but my I'm sure Dad did. He always did.</p><p>My excuse for checking in on the spring this year was avoiding holiday traffic on the interstate. Truth is I've been itching to go back to experience the spring as an adult. It's just under $13 for a day use pass to enter the Salt Springs Recreational Area. There are campgrounds and a short loop trail through a swamp in addition to the facilities at the spring head. On this overcast December day there was only one other car in the parking lot and only two other individuals at the spring. Beautiful live oaks surround the institutional-looking buildings that front the spring – one a store (closed), the other a bathhouse. The spring basin itself, which is quite large, is enclosed by a large manila-colored wall. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMetOA148MwNZvEeKLoIjA4_fZ3VQSo55EpP8qC6pyYtRgrNQWgwnk6oAqT832kmo0b1wfAs_TpR26e7dXf__xGOOGTq_cEVb3A-RY_kdkBLRff_1-th1S9ybFQCQfKxdX5xfeOYu9LforrWV-F3IAUSOYGNRF43rLU5P4DalQ-NtljWNanPUa1K6gJAm7/s2000/IMG_9971.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMetOA148MwNZvEeKLoIjA4_fZ3VQSo55EpP8qC6pyYtRgrNQWgwnk6oAqT832kmo0b1wfAs_TpR26e7dXf__xGOOGTq_cEVb3A-RY_kdkBLRff_1-th1S9ybFQCQfKxdX5xfeOYu9LforrWV-F3IAUSOYGNRF43rLU5P4DalQ-NtljWNanPUa1K6gJAm7/s320/IMG_9971.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ60R0Ia5wh2fnwAdALmgUdQFIVA8vNLTM_oSehGvv55Po_bHLkUH4K0YcqL0kT4P9tZmn6zIV4a8Mn4B-3ces0HKDfFUIo0_emaCAUL1ckbcIYMQqqMOvmCJFB-RzLkgvHN8Xbcd_W3x_zWaH9nY7Ox0-dLU-K20-wsy0mw4tUWwiZ15X7fKmDQ8Z2fp/s2000/IMG_9976.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ60R0Ia5wh2fnwAdALmgUdQFIVA8vNLTM_oSehGvv55Po_bHLkUH4K0YcqL0kT4P9tZmn6zIV4a8Mn4B-3ces0HKDfFUIo0_emaCAUL1ckbcIYMQqqMOvmCJFB-RzLkgvHN8Xbcd_W3x_zWaH9nY7Ox0-dLU-K20-wsy0mw4tUWwiZ15X7fKmDQ8Z2fp/s320/IMG_9976.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqKBWbIyN4dnEoOc8EXheJDw1SPB8G8586keLLPMC-7y0g-IJ7pVltXr6G98fY2aw4r5nCZcRVJOrUYYlvGqSWLS1dNqlFYn-g8Z3ljsdEo72HqJYMPqblZ9vV2A__qH1ubDNBZC4kne1dG1uZUZFOFqy0Wgt0DF5yT0Zo7Y1icwJkRLF30gHQITYs-TTW/s4032/IMG_9974.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqKBWbIyN4dnEoOc8EXheJDw1SPB8G8586keLLPMC-7y0g-IJ7pVltXr6G98fY2aw4r5nCZcRVJOrUYYlvGqSWLS1dNqlFYn-g8Z3ljsdEo72HqJYMPqblZ9vV2A__qH1ubDNBZC4kne1dG1uZUZFOFqy0Wgt0DF5yT0Zo7Y1icwJkRLF30gHQITYs-TTW/s320/IMG_9974.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Another reason for visiting was to take look at the manmade infrastructure there. One of my interests is how our culture treats manmade wonders like Salt Springs. I once did a talk called "Piped, Pooled, and Protected" on the topic. In my estimation the Park Service's "enhancements" such as the wall around the basin made undoubtedly function well by preventing erosion around the spring head, but they don't foster a feeling of connection to nature. </p><p>As I remembered the spring was full of interesting aquatic life – schools of mullet, blue crab, what appeared to be Jacks(?), as well as the occasional bass and bream. New to the spring was the invasive armored catfish that seem to be the scourge of any spring I visit in Central Florida. I call them Plecos, short for <i style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b>Hypostomus plecostomus.</b></i> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbucFarOizRuJkJZIDH7_plI54znyTZOSynQex6Ny-qNpY5Is0TJVXKBikrQfj1S2aRf90Q99sVOmPiLmQMyR_Oi78ynuM46IPBZHkWK_FptNjR2HB-s6p9yVVU6tHKKo6OgLC7NYcl4E5SexRi9ArbqBZadP96wh9GyoXwx5TmL3r_9aizv2bonmmBED/s1600/IMG_9984.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1135" data-original-width="1600" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbucFarOizRuJkJZIDH7_plI54znyTZOSynQex6Ny-qNpY5Is0TJVXKBikrQfj1S2aRf90Q99sVOmPiLmQMyR_Oi78ynuM46IPBZHkWK_FptNjR2HB-s6p9yVVU6tHKKo6OgLC7NYcl4E5SexRi9ArbqBZadP96wh9GyoXwx5TmL3r_9aizv2bonmmBED/w320-h227/IMG_9984.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>There were also at least a half dozen manatees just outside the spring head near the start of the run, hovering near the bottom of the shallow water just beneath the surface of the water. I have been told that the numbers of wintering manatees at the springs along the St. Johns River is increasing due to the degregation of Indian River Lagoon. One obvious change is the lack of submerged aquatic growth– all that pesky eel grass I hated as a kid. There was no visible eel grass or any plant life beneath the surface. I wondered what the manatees found there for substance.</p><p>I didn't bring my swimming gear so I was envious of the one lone snorkeler who floated among the manatees all by himself. The water felt warm, like it did when I was a kid, and I was filled with remorse for not schlepping my swim trunks, mask, and fins. </p><p>If I remember my research correctly, early owners of the spring, including the Townsend family who owned Orange Spring, saw the potential of the unique saline characteristics of the springs there, but no one developed a spa on the property to my knowledge. In the 1970s the campground facilities between the spring and Lake Kerr were developed by one of the owners of Silver Springs. An interesting community still exists outside the Park Service's recreational area and it appears to be mostly retirees living the good life in Florida.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvmvgfW8bwHf_-l3u6wLKSDvnTPE0iwsOYWr62JodW_k4gjCk3l1l9DP4MsP3fEwIfy8_xZD8s1TqPe00ep9uqflRzIH0ro0r_CntthMs3ZIN-RJ39-fM80utZnJaRGfJve57zqxht02hXxRKygpx_NuqPKS66waflzYnyUvEum5neTIFT4DywmuG1Ixp/s1138/Salt_Springs_sanitarium_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="775" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvmvgfW8bwHf_-l3u6wLKSDvnTPE0iwsOYWr62JodW_k4gjCk3l1l9DP4MsP3fEwIfy8_xZD8s1TqPe00ep9uqflRzIH0ro0r_CntthMs3ZIN-RJ39-fM80utZnJaRGfJve57zqxht02hXxRKygpx_NuqPKS66waflzYnyUvEum5neTIFT4DywmuG1Ixp/s320/Salt_Springs_sanitarium_.jpg" width="218" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This 1925 article from a Miami newspaper suggests that Salt Springs did in fact have perceived "curative" properties and developers Glenn Curtiss and James Bright were considering building a spa there. The two would eventually sell their Miami Springs Hotel to John Harvey Kellogg as the Florida site for his Battle Creek Sanitarium.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7N3ObIn2c_LdC8zsLRBn6kCDwgkGiepcGq4CyqYn4hfVepR81gBVZqv2GVfL7msrI23_r7wbXWpnIBCnppmCdy8SD0SzDPyTRV5p7W_TLf-5SsLt3NMTmJleWyOK6zpFCSH67pMNmWkL_8WNJSgfibsFzVxaWu4jCXAY9B4BJwz1RAaW2USHtTFEYXYb/s2807/Salt_Springs_FOY_Indians.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="2807" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7N3ObIn2c_LdC8zsLRBn6kCDwgkGiepcGq4CyqYn4hfVepR81gBVZqv2GVfL7msrI23_r7wbXWpnIBCnppmCdy8SD0SzDPyTRV5p7W_TLf-5SsLt3NMTmJleWyOK6zpFCSH67pMNmWkL_8WNJSgfibsFzVxaWu4jCXAY9B4BJwz1RAaW2USHtTFEYXYb/s320/Salt_Springs_FOY_Indians.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have often claimed that every spring in Florida that was developed commercially in Florida would at some point be touted as the Fountain of Youth. The claim is made in this 1970 article when it was owned by the Ray family who also owned Silver Springs. <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4-s_XzFqOCvnCHL8m6NDAjRS83lSh0UCoOUBJAvSDPfRZlLuy0U1w4hnMvzoU79qHmcg5SHijKCvbZw_51pbsjs9_7wC1WBBWncWafgVL4rv0Va6RBWTPQLOgOXxDAcgdNb5y2LmsTjn5Yol9ENfL4od64Wn3pYJ-_yVNkKmt6InicxaeD1r4oWr94Lo/s1600/s-l1600-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4-s_XzFqOCvnCHL8m6NDAjRS83lSh0UCoOUBJAvSDPfRZlLuy0U1w4hnMvzoU79qHmcg5SHijKCvbZw_51pbsjs9_7wC1WBBWncWafgVL4rv0Va6RBWTPQLOgOXxDAcgdNb5y2LmsTjn5Yol9ENfL4od64Wn3pYJ-_yVNkKmt6InicxaeD1r4oWr94Lo/s320/s-l1600-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vintage postcard of Salt Springs from an internet auction site</td></tr></tbody></table><br />My favorite historical image of Salt Springs is author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings standing in a row boat with a blue crab dangling in the air at the end of a stick. Whether this was a posed publicity photo or just a moment of Old Florida loving captured on film, I'll never know. The photo captures what Rawlings' life in the area seemed to have been like or at least my perception of that ideal.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlIncrkvsfTMQbEp9mZ9ajc53U6nu28qhwrvKQCDz6jP7MBRu6Iq2fvljUNs2xyrvOUOF5lmsHJaKDAV83MGu7OV_xHlUGc7lac0bOXBAGLyeJddE2ltnZLAO5EF4N7GKsaACYiUv2Fk1sxxupmFcAp-Ca-nlEuNBweTauMyXxhnmL8kgEpQvnG8Sx8ri/s669/569019156ead9d0f63215d1e36c8ff82.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlIncrkvsfTMQbEp9mZ9ajc53U6nu28qhwrvKQCDz6jP7MBRu6Iq2fvljUNs2xyrvOUOF5lmsHJaKDAV83MGu7OV_xHlUGc7lac0bOXBAGLyeJddE2ltnZLAO5EF4N7GKsaACYiUv2Fk1sxxupmFcAp-Ca-nlEuNBweTauMyXxhnmL8kgEpQvnG8Sx8ri/s320/569019156ead9d0f63215d1e36c8ff82.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiucDDtsxmntQsjGDfqARB7mKGj5eVhirkCTYNlK9xiqf2lXWm68lqrKrbSGDBuBYvS4pWPfRRumAwaNSXSE85KsLBbc8rt4APp6tTOqJ9VRz1CVJSFykjBcceSQjC2snVwSAmon5wQvAWwAVKvjUGeLcYnZIISwORmjf5R_WD5jLLvLIT1Bc-gZ2EpMfC-/s3024/IMG_9977.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2261" data-original-width="3024" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiucDDtsxmntQsjGDfqARB7mKGj5eVhirkCTYNlK9xiqf2lXWm68lqrKrbSGDBuBYvS4pWPfRRumAwaNSXSE85KsLBbc8rt4APp6tTOqJ9VRz1CVJSFykjBcceSQjC2snVwSAmon5wQvAWwAVKvjUGeLcYnZIISwORmjf5R_WD5jLLvLIT1Bc-gZ2EpMfC-/s320/IMG_9977.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I loved to write "compare and contrast" papers in school, I think it appeals to the analytical side of my brain I seemed to have inherited from my father. In comparing the Salt Springs of my childhood memories with the spring of the present day, there were some elements of consistency that were reassuring and nostalgic. It was an unexpected thrill to see the colony of manatees. But it was disappointing to see the lack of submerged aquatic vegetation that placed me as a kid. There is limited interpretation of the history and environment of the spring, just handful of panels in the breezeway of the bathhouse. The panels are well done, but very dated. One panel dubs the spring a "Magical Place Forever." The lack of imagination in the built environment around around the spring, however, is anything but magical today. It's park-like setting doesn't enhance the natural features but rather simply contain them. I've often said that all Florida's springs are magical places and that is certainly true at Salt Springs. But we could do a better job of allowing that magic really shine with better curation of this marvelous place. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKk7j3UseATy-IeWWGyZNrmC9ZQ1LCKT9rBb4AVSyjlk3u1DNrmLB2dxxxa4F1cocan49dO_C4d5GOITC17e9OIMNXIiFgWC2VktrGxcDUvPsH_zriM16SYLyPHNCiq_Oxhuh0G-6MvdR9TgUBsTF5_5AE96w4a8xM214eNoB3T1woP_mapE9aqA0Wdq0u/s4032/IMG_0010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKk7j3UseATy-IeWWGyZNrmC9ZQ1LCKT9rBb4AVSyjlk3u1DNrmLB2dxxxa4F1cocan49dO_C4d5GOITC17e9OIMNXIiFgWC2VktrGxcDUvPsH_zriM16SYLyPHNCiq_Oxhuh0G-6MvdR9TgUBsTF5_5AE96w4a8xM214eNoB3T1woP_mapE9aqA0Wdq0u/s320/IMG_0010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89EF-btdRmNKM1CmbF9a4zMXByVDCsSAegs6q_f8gzlEEssVMgRt3vEZnVXKXrqj7fC68tLdL9Qyz9qijiOEl5ENiMztBBC1i95XlViYkCsdZ7a_B9oOZqdP6VoUUWr37plykV65A1E_1uRFvTmwsK4CDtcI1ci1WV3YT5fGY-zTYXAHoTvX6elW1NXPX/s601/rc08464.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89EF-btdRmNKM1CmbF9a4zMXByVDCsSAegs6q_f8gzlEEssVMgRt3vEZnVXKXrqj7fC68tLdL9Qyz9qijiOEl5ENiMztBBC1i95XlViYkCsdZ7a_B9oOZqdP6VoUUWr37plykV65A1E_1uRFvTmwsK4CDtcI1ci1WV3YT5fGY-zTYXAHoTvX6elW1NXPX/s320/rc08464.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archival photo from the State Archives of Florida</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCuRlRTtaNHDN9GhAZCqXoCrqYjERNVM88GLseEAbC7HAJDrhSmmjZ5vVEMbzLCa5k06PyPWiTBKw_AcgOJd0nvcbS4DcgZ5-rtybmxmzEmMEQTUIW1lRlaLBHqEsPDCTX2v2AiTFrqZMTNXwjFL754yVd-TpVlVBpPDEKLL6OREWCulzE-czUSXVit7W/s600/rc08465.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="600" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCuRlRTtaNHDN9GhAZCqXoCrqYjERNVM88GLseEAbC7HAJDrhSmmjZ5vVEMbzLCa5k06PyPWiTBKw_AcgOJd0nvcbS4DcgZ5-rtybmxmzEmMEQTUIW1lRlaLBHqEsPDCTX2v2AiTFrqZMTNXwjFL754yVd-TpVlVBpPDEKLL6OREWCulzE-czUSXVit7W/s320/rc08465.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archival photo from the State Archives of Florida</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2QeQdC0IlV-Tiw13a3Gwkx8qeY6QxIGHXm47zzCDa4qlb0D8XDEfE-DGQlLbnGdNoK0-wqJlHNGLfX-tnX1_BNaltYrKoGGIOG5im29BY5V44t6IKe-tMely1SeZ8eE_geOfvH2UmNpIdWA3s6iOFiBPSjoKhbPUkdAusD3gCETIYsZdrk4cApsnKOmg/s1600/IMG_9969.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="1600" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2QeQdC0IlV-Tiw13a3Gwkx8qeY6QxIGHXm47zzCDa4qlb0D8XDEfE-DGQlLbnGdNoK0-wqJlHNGLfX-tnX1_BNaltYrKoGGIOG5im29BY5V44t6IKe-tMely1SeZ8eE_geOfvH2UmNpIdWA3s6iOFiBPSjoKhbPUkdAusD3gCETIYsZdrk4cApsnKOmg/s320/IMG_9969.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdx9ZEDH_1ynxHJG0UgNHayBCABDei1blWasOd9khEOJpFh2UKI7EPmuz6SBnd84alxh2oMwLWaa8zu0hZsXwfTBDb028UXbtJLCvYefHqSdR2lRGHKC00igEwnpe9KbALLFRmKpt6SWOFesii1Npkq5UjxCe87XyeW75WhgSo49ARnLgID47yXRzj7Vq/s2000/IMG_9973.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdx9ZEDH_1ynxHJG0UgNHayBCABDei1blWasOd9khEOJpFh2UKI7EPmuz6SBnd84alxh2oMwLWaa8zu0hZsXwfTBDb028UXbtJLCvYefHqSdR2lRGHKC00igEwnpe9KbALLFRmKpt6SWOFesii1Npkq5UjxCe87XyeW75WhgSo49ARnLgID47yXRzj7Vq/s320/IMG_9973.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently no martini drinking allowed at Salt Springs</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkd2RRpVjymKsh93vRQmpn_zNXTj49iJEQTRhjiMQFpANEEz4zz6YNB4AqknkRm2IAdShFKcuKjlR5SXpJKm0LzyAwy3jXgux_U-MBujkCOz26K3XaY7gcNzRFo0f9NqTZ7rzHiITaedsJCVI2BdZHA7P46DaOCYiyb8JrVOwWiS0fk8rmcSPY1q3s_2y/s4032/IMG_9980.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkd2RRpVjymKsh93vRQmpn_zNXTj49iJEQTRhjiMQFpANEEz4zz6YNB4AqknkRm2IAdShFKcuKjlR5SXpJKm0LzyAwy3jXgux_U-MBujkCOz26K3XaY7gcNzRFo0f9NqTZ7rzHiITaedsJCVI2BdZHA7P46DaOCYiyb8JrVOwWiS0fk8rmcSPY1q3s_2y/s320/IMG_9980.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is that a Jack swimming in the spring boil?</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6v59XTRHuJmVD8gS9l0JKFegTKmTmYdkHPp0mNSHTesGiMYTYfDNo8N5nt7g4K5uRFNVfwdurqbFPBlTdVG6VXxXAVx4Q1EinYmNCc48m8bXeRT9eOUY751nI1rlijxahr92nJ79wwp_23MRk8BZC9620na7rs5ehLBvDfou-zyTaLZFJP6PDc6phuac/s2000/IMG_9986.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6v59XTRHuJmVD8gS9l0JKFegTKmTmYdkHPp0mNSHTesGiMYTYfDNo8N5nt7g4K5uRFNVfwdurqbFPBlTdVG6VXxXAVx4Q1EinYmNCc48m8bXeRT9eOUY751nI1rlijxahr92nJ79wwp_23MRk8BZC9620na7rs5ehLBvDfou-zyTaLZFJP6PDc6phuac/s320/IMG_9986.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Design looks to be done in the 1980s based on the typography.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nVHy92lvojVbrEvRLq-xgl24omrz-ZGJOr-t-3t3tbJSWCEsY076b409eAU3bQ0KpGjQi6kmbVPwYMJqg4nWyk6DHqO7mc-mtBwJnRGXVKxlYlEot-Pds1Av_wKKl4aB2pCEOwhFZn3XTTUOReEgAxL3aR8-4GmyiWrYzNbjKaJKbBzMzcj2v1GIqEDm/s2000/IMG_9987.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nVHy92lvojVbrEvRLq-xgl24omrz-ZGJOr-t-3t3tbJSWCEsY076b409eAU3bQ0KpGjQi6kmbVPwYMJqg4nWyk6DHqO7mc-mtBwJnRGXVKxlYlEot-Pds1Av_wKKl4aB2pCEOwhFZn3XTTUOReEgAxL3aR8-4GmyiWrYzNbjKaJKbBzMzcj2v1GIqEDm/s320/IMG_9987.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely illustration of one of the spring's early inhabitants.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-85365074459678596042023-10-14T17:09:00.001-04:002023-10-15T06:56:33.231-04:00 Datson Dairy: From Family Farm to Beloved Brand <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>Note: The following article originally appeared in the magazine for <a href="https://www.pinecastlepioneerdays.org">Pine Castle Pioneer Days </a>in Orange County, FL in 2022.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">When my wife and I moved into our nearly century-old bungalow on Lake Hourglass in 2004, I became interested in learning more about the history of the area. I was thrilled to find a vestige of the past in the form of a milk-bottle cap stuck in the corner of our attic, under the floorboards. The bottle cap featured a green cloverleaf design and text that read “Grade A Pasteurized Milk – Datson Dairies Orlando.” It was the first I’d heard of what I would come to learn was one of Central Florida’s oldest and largest commercial dairies. Little did I know that the cows from the dairy once grazed in pastures nearby; a century ago I might have been able to stand in my backyard and hear milk cows mooing!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtnBmcdvis3M7k-llrhuXk_Uhk_CVA-t2tnzHC5cslbL_fM5LygBSD4KmpNK91Helcnnuh_lhfz5tnrnqrentep4QoCYK5WP-d6q9DGfuwOJbqFAVCPTDHt1k2Q0MV-3luRGw6IGWFwWc2aeUHNEnOV53lyGg22kafp-aNBpX3SBd3Ry5mfhVQNqJXWnvW/s1561/Datson%20collage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1561" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtnBmcdvis3M7k-llrhuXk_Uhk_CVA-t2tnzHC5cslbL_fM5LygBSD4KmpNK91Helcnnuh_lhfz5tnrnqrentep4QoCYK5WP-d6q9DGfuwOJbqFAVCPTDHt1k2Q0MV-3luRGw6IGWFwWc2aeUHNEnOV53lyGg22kafp-aNBpX3SBd3Ry5mfhVQNqJXWnvW/w308-h400/Datson%20collage.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><br /><b>The Datson Family Comes to Orange County</b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Burton Clarence Datson, or “B.C.,” moved his large family to Orlando from Las Tunas, Cuba, where the Datsons raised cattle between 1904 and 1915. B.C. was born in 1874 in Ohio, where he married his wife, Alice, who gave birth to seven children. After the family arrived in Central Florida in 1915, he established B.C. Datson & Sons Cloverleaf Dairy. At the time, B.C. had almost more children than cows – four sons and three daughters vs. nine cows, according to one report. In another account, the dairy’s original herd contained thirteen cows, purchased from Captain Brannon’s dairy on Lake Lucerne. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The Datsons came here at a time when the dairy industry was evolving rapidly. The first milk cow in Orange County was also from Ohio, shipped by rail in 1884 to Amanda Ford. Orange County’s earliest dairies were small family-run operations where residents sold surplus milk to their neighbors. The age of the commercial dairy began in 1915 when C. Fred Ward installed coolers at his Lakemont Dairy in Winter Park to prevent spoilage. Three generations of Wards would continue to operate the dairy where the Winter Park Pines development is today. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">B.C. Datson would find similar success as a Florida dairy farmer, building what would become one of the City Beautiful’s most popular brands with the help of his four sons and a son-in-law. Their fledgling dairy prospered, and by the mid-1920s the <i>Orlando Sentinel</i> dubbed B.C. the “Milk King” of Central Florida.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in;"><b>B.C.’s Big Vision<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">B.C. grew his business by purchasing parcels of land around Central Florida and absorbing other small dairies. In December 1916, the <i>Sentinel Star</i> reported that a “B.D. Datson from Havana” had purchased a 1,000-acre ranch in Osceola County to create a “stock farm.” In 1918, he purchased the routes of the family-owned Shader Dairy in Fairvilla. (The Shader family dairy would continue to operate until 1949.) Around this time, B.C. also acquired 40 cows from the Hawkeye Dairy owned by Iowan R.T. Carris, as well as the property for which the Datsons would become best known – between Lake Hourglass and Bumby Avenue, south of Curry Ford Road (then called Conway Road). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">At that time the Datson pasture, near the Dolive grove, was about two miles outside Orlando’s city limits. The Datsons also partnered with Carris on a commercial venture downtown – the Clover Leaf Milk Depot. Located in the Elks Club across from the post office on Central Boulevard, the Depot sold an assortment of dairy products from buttermilk to cottage cheese. By 1920, the business offered lunch as well as homemade pie and doughnuts. That same year, Carris bowed out of the Depot’s operation to focus on running the nearby Orange Cafeteria. His place at the Depot was taken by Robert Dawson, who was married to B.C.’s daughter Nell. Incidentally, Dawson was also from Ohio, but he had met the Datsons in Cuba, where his family was also in the cattle business. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmSglIe26xwxViOChVr5Y40Iakfbkx_qhAHGv3CcrLXo9rDJb8Ze414Kh7lYU7QYKQduIZ42KhdpsF57hWa284KPU73AC7BjJoK2x9DX6uODvgQXiHSV3x3BM6nGc-q4Mkw8HZ_sj3mVqPz-T8QmTHuUnPs8kPSTACwCbkO68NHeGJT0x_6jlIginQNDM/s1356/Clover%20Leaf%20Milk%20Dep.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="899" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmSglIe26xwxViOChVr5Y40Iakfbkx_qhAHGv3CcrLXo9rDJb8Ze414Kh7lYU7QYKQduIZ42KhdpsF57hWa284KPU73AC7BjJoK2x9DX6uODvgQXiHSV3x3BM6nGc-q4Mkw8HZ_sj3mVqPz-T8QmTHuUnPs8kPSTACwCbkO68NHeGJT0x_6jlIginQNDM/w265-h400/Clover%20Leaf%20Milk%20Dep.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in;"><b>Pioneers in Pasteurization<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Because of public concern about illnesses linked to bacteria in milk, government agencies began to give milk and dairies greater scrutiny in the United States during the early twentieth century. Due to the costs of the equipment need to pasteurize milk, many smaller dairies were unable to compete. According to a recollection shared by Pine Castle’s Ruth Linton, in 1921 the Datson dairy became the first in Central Florida to pasteurize milk, and many customers initially didn’t like the refrigerated milk it delivered because they were so used to “warm milk fresh from the cow.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Datson advertisements promoted pasteurized milk that was “safe, pure and wholesome,” untouched by human hands and produced by “well-fed contented cows” using the latest scientific process to “remove all germs.” The dairy was also the first in Central Florida to deliver milk by motorized vehicle and later was the first company in Florida to serve milk in single-service paper cartons. Embracing innovation was always part of the Datsons’ success. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hV-JxhRz6JQFPddlLxyNU4pd553uZk485ItrMXXTQCkgX6yjfUrdLEUgMNNAmb_dlA46332aBUGHSpOMOAacXs_B1OWut1e_R5-CwsIn2tdgrkvB7hESVj7asyCkZL_ldVgm0IlSFO8UfWAZLtOkKqOYPIwdDAX7vP2mJrWpUlrNjZzMZGsClEZePD-o/s2403/Datson%20Dacro%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2403" data-original-width="2312" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hV-JxhRz6JQFPddlLxyNU4pd553uZk485ItrMXXTQCkgX6yjfUrdLEUgMNNAmb_dlA46332aBUGHSpOMOAacXs_B1OWut1e_R5-CwsIn2tdgrkvB7hESVj7asyCkZL_ldVgm0IlSFO8UfWAZLtOkKqOYPIwdDAX7vP2mJrWpUlrNjZzMZGsClEZePD-o/w385-h400/Datson%20Dacro%202.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in;"><b>Orlando Booms and Business Blossoms<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">In the early teens and twenties, Orlando was growing rapidly, evolving from an agricultural community to one of inland Florida’s most progressive cities. A road-building spree helped to make the area accessible to tourists and new residents arriving by automobile. The first bricked street outside of Orlando was Conway Road near the Datson pasture. All around Orlando, subdivisions were being developed at a rapid rate to accommodate the growth. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">As the city swelled, B.C. Datson got involved in buying and selling real estate. He purchased property north of Conway Road from J.C. Hull in 1921 and platted it for a development called Conway Terrace. Hull’s father, William, was a pioneer in the early citrus industry and once owned 640 acres from Lake Lancaster to Crystal Lake Drive. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">In 1922 a company called the Tourist Home Realty Co. advertised lots for sale on the “beautiful Conway brick drive” that were formerly part of the Datson dairy farm. “The march of time brought the dairy closer to the doors of the towns-people,” according to a June 1924 <i>Tampa Tribune</i> article, and the growth of Orlando forced the Datsons to seek a new location “four or five miles away in the Conway section,” where they had purchased 1,000 acres. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">In May 1926, B.C. Datson announced that construction on a new $200,000 dairy plant, capable of processing 8,000 bottles of a milk a day, would soon begin at a location near the dairy’s production facilities on South Street. The Datsons had moved their milk-bottling operation to the South Street location in 1923, assuming the building formerly occupied by Cohoon Bros. Machine Shop & Cannery. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b> </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYuQLaqQ1dGqmvGQawAEVT8XJMuCzHJLFPq04oYI4bsri7MY_U48w2or98VLxSDdo2CB-m45aK3dcpnhhUfrX4KUrn7JzmImRXadEY4AFACrGXf56IMbeac7HC-uztPgA9LGwMgYbnlJsjkba3vDSs9x_Fk9QLOIbRQa-AM_gcOuKMawEvjIK4UvFCqXs/s1256/Screen%20Shot%202020-03-04%20at%208.54.54%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1256" data-original-width="980" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYuQLaqQ1dGqmvGQawAEVT8XJMuCzHJLFPq04oYI4bsri7MY_U48w2or98VLxSDdo2CB-m45aK3dcpnhhUfrX4KUrn7JzmImRXadEY4AFACrGXf56IMbeac7HC-uztPgA9LGwMgYbnlJsjkba3vDSs9x_Fk9QLOIbRQa-AM_gcOuKMawEvjIK4UvFCqXs/w313-h400/Screen%20Shot%202020-03-04%20at%208.54.54%20AM.png" width="313" /></a></b></div><b><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in;"><b>Rebuilding After Tragedy <o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">A month after the <i>Sentinel</i> ran the story about the plans for the new dairy plant, the paper ran a front-page headline in all-capital letters: “B.C. DATSON IS KILLED IN AUTO ACCIDENT.” B.C. was returning from Ocala when his car overturned on a rain-slickened Winter Garden Road west of town. A column printed in the paper on June 8, 1926, three days after BC’s passing, called the dairyman an “able friend, builder, and earnest citizen” whose vision in “the bright future, faith in his city and country and state” contributed to the “upbuilding of this central empire.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6s_Zx79l53-ZT4Y6NFImUMb6y_2oGCH7aYiZtJJfpOxSdapgRX5imfG6LvtH1zyIwLbNeGmKpIsDiQ9ngqK5hz76yBItm_AOv1cekE8xFCghx_5LCLPA5i8P0o93e6ChyZ0jfiARWmmaL6k8IAXF3zH372LJHFh6ksmuZ1nMgbF6aKiUc0AeUScNHcwdo/s4960/BC%20Datson%20killed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4960" data-original-width="4461" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6s_Zx79l53-ZT4Y6NFImUMb6y_2oGCH7aYiZtJJfpOxSdapgRX5imfG6LvtH1zyIwLbNeGmKpIsDiQ9ngqK5hz76yBItm_AOv1cekE8xFCghx_5LCLPA5i8P0o93e6ChyZ0jfiARWmmaL6k8IAXF3zH372LJHFh6ksmuZ1nMgbF6aKiUc0AeUScNHcwdo/w360-h400/BC%20Datson%20killed.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">After B.C.’s death, his four sons built upon the dairy’s success, strengthening the strong reputation they had created within the community. The oldest son, Clarence, took over leadership of the dairy, and a year after B.C.’s death the <i>Sentinel</i> reported that 610 cows in Orange County produced 1,200 bottles of milk delivered daily by Datson trucks. Clarence’s younger brother Theodore was the dairy’s vice president and general manager. Glenn would manage the family’s farms, and youngest brother Richard supervised maintenance at the plant. Brother-in-law Robert Dawson acted as treasurer and secretary. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcu8wAQNAhVl8TFZsJl-E_zyoPebhA3k1VBDsEV69mFlBN26KHHHhcAN01nzea8aJPR6Wbkk9jiYB-BDWL_GkW37QX81BJIOsdOYEkdHxF7M-1JobBW-0tzdEtHHcJaZPaHAjBLjrgI6IgzIij4DaHc9Cd0s9SC2QyDPzsy-4Z1UVIuWtttYCglcerI8wo/s1785/IMG_8882.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1785" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcu8wAQNAhVl8TFZsJl-E_zyoPebhA3k1VBDsEV69mFlBN26KHHHhcAN01nzea8aJPR6Wbkk9jiYB-BDWL_GkW37QX81BJIOsdOYEkdHxF7M-1JobBW-0tzdEtHHcJaZPaHAjBLjrgI6IgzIij4DaHc9Cd0s9SC2QyDPzsy-4Z1UVIuWtttYCglcerI8wo/w336-h400/IMG_8882.jpg" title="BC Datson headstone at Orlando's Greenwood Cemetery" width="336" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B.C. Datson's grave in Orlando's Greenwood Cemetery</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_POpyydt4ni9eDk33bZScr68xWgRQygt7IJFB9BJWvqSwJMR0LT7bXgRoWa2BExI4hm4l6OfttR8nJtGxnvP7qVhzCHdLmvipMgl7G74uChWDRKVCZ0uOPwsh0bkzB7r7IY2CXEwDmqNgE4IxXiWlDfzi2PKeb82ZDXgEJHunO9PXiGdJQnEXx2PsyvS/s801/BC.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="636" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_POpyydt4ni9eDk33bZScr68xWgRQygt7IJFB9BJWvqSwJMR0LT7bXgRoWa2BExI4hm4l6OfttR8nJtGxnvP7qVhzCHdLmvipMgl7G74uChWDRKVCZ0uOPwsh0bkzB7r7IY2CXEwDmqNgE4IxXiWlDfzi2PKeb82ZDXgEJHunO9PXiGdJQnEXx2PsyvS/w318-h400/BC.jpeg" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Pine Castle Pioneer Days program</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in;"><b>Growth and Innovation<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">In 1926, the Datsons incorporated as Datson Dairies, Inc., and as the business continued to grow, they often purchased milk from smaller local dairies. June Smith Sunday recalled driving a car when she was only 14 to deliver milk to Datson Dairies from her family’s dairy on Winegard Road. In order to squeeze the 10-gallon milk cans into the car’s trunk, the lid of the trunk had to be taken off. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The Datsons continued to adopt new technologies, remodeling their South Street plant in 1937 by adding a four-step sterilization process for milk bottles and a new pasteurizer to improve milk quality. Ads boasted of a new system for sealing milk bottles – the Dacro Metal Disc Cap was promoted as a means to keep germs out. It was a Dacro bottle cap that I found in my attic. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Innovation extended to the farm as well. In 1950, a <i>Sentinel</i> profile of Glenn Datson shared that he had his own herd of cattle on 2,000 acres of land east of the Pinecastle Air Base. On this land, Glenn experimented with growing alternatives to grain for feeding the cattle, including torpedo grass and white Dutch clover. The article quoted him as saying, “Feed a cow the way God intended it to be fed and you will have few sick cows” and concluded that he was proving that Florida dairy farmers could get more from their cows on feed produced in their own pastures. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkaE9gQ6_UVorRnpLa5h5i28fHoKhuG91yfr_Cy5fVfbuZ1yeOHZXsyupgZAto2WSErGtJelWaiEEO2GVnsmuLnsYJuv4UpRFyWYrzvGIdqc2XM1QHVxnJkqRkRBFxHAkVqajVJXN6OwYYZLY9-uEEXE1-B9xJKzMsTXDPd05oYGD1MhNccxP_DDJUGFPi/s1606/Glenn%20Datson%20calf%20ho.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1606" data-original-width="1285" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkaE9gQ6_UVorRnpLa5h5i28fHoKhuG91yfr_Cy5fVfbuZ1yeOHZXsyupgZAto2WSErGtJelWaiEEO2GVnsmuLnsYJuv4UpRFyWYrzvGIdqc2XM1QHVxnJkqRkRBFxHAkVqajVJXN6OwYYZLY9-uEEXE1-B9xJKzMsTXDPd05oYGD1MhNccxP_DDJUGFPi/w320-h400/Glenn%20Datson%20calf%20ho.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b> </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in;"><b>“Big Oaks from Little Acorns”<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">In 1935 Datson Dairies had seven trucks delivering milk to Orlando residents. By 1950 their products reached 31 cities in six counties. On August 16, 1951, however, the <i>Sentinel </i>announced that Datson Dairies had been acquired by the Borden Company. Theodore Datson was to remain in charge of day-to-day operations, and the new company was to be called Borden’s Datson Dairies. The <i>Sentinel </i>noted that the Datsons had sold their distribution network while retaining their pastures and herds. Clarence had hundreds of acres of improved acres in the Pine Castle area; Glenn had one of the county’s premier grazing spots east of the Pinecastle Air Base; and Theodore had land east of Glenn’s.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Part of the story of the Datsons’ success was their involvement within the dairy industry and local community. Theodore was involved in leadership of the Florida Diary Association and the Milk Industry Foundation on the national level. Clarence Datson served as chairman of Orange County’s Production and Marketing Administration Committee. Glenn Datson held directorships in the Florida Dairy Association, the Orange County Soil Conservation District, and the Federal Farm and Home Administration.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">After the sale to Borden, Glenn was frequently singled out in the <i>Sentinel’s</i> agriculture section – in 1952 he built a “calf hotel”; his clover pastures were highlighted in 1953; his forage harvester was spotlighted in 1957; and he was the first dairy farmer in Orange County to use seepage irrigation on his pastures. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Clarence and his wife, Ruby, were both active in the Pine Castle community; he was a leader in the Methodist Church, and she was a leader in the Pine Castle Woman’s Club. They both supported the Pine Castle Center for the Arts.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytuF3Qfi0sMZMvaV-aDPPYNCYUbs-WwARpSZHHTJG5jcABwBdaRMwMqIkt4b9itfYMF5ecvPrZ9bkBGfbFq0EmmO2wFGWqaVNBjDOeaVS8nNAQx5WsW9V4SWvgqvlq_ppBML9cm_V9faaVoGwVBB5PC0cbIHKOX0rGry2YnvhcZHLtK578qafE5UzFaDM/s3477/clover-%20glen%20datson%20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2903" data-original-width="3477" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytuF3Qfi0sMZMvaV-aDPPYNCYUbs-WwARpSZHHTJG5jcABwBdaRMwMqIkt4b9itfYMF5ecvPrZ9bkBGfbFq0EmmO2wFGWqaVNBjDOeaVS8nNAQx5WsW9V4SWvgqvlq_ppBML9cm_V9faaVoGwVBB5PC0cbIHKOX0rGry2YnvhcZHLtK578qafE5UzFaDM/w400-h334/clover-%20glen%20datson%20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in;"><b>The Datson Legacy<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Today the best-known local dairy is T.G. Lee, and the area surrounding its Robinson Street building has been dubbed the Milk District. But B.C. Datson started a decade prior to T.G. Lee, and Datson Dairies was once just as well known in the area. The family house built on Lake Hourglass in 1926, where the dairy once stood, is still owned by Datsons, and Glenn Datson’s son Charlie continues the family legacy in the cattle business. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Down the street from the 1926 house on a parcel of land the Datsons donated to Orange County, Hourglass Park is anchored by a large cypress tree, a reminder of the days when cattle roamed the shores of the lake. Near the opposite side of the lake, customers line up at Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream on South Fern Creek Avenue, completely oblivious to the area’s dairy history. The Pine Castle Little League plays on Datson Field just off Oak Ridge Road – another Datson donation to the County. But aside from a historical marker on Conway Road, the story of Datson Dairies today is relatively obscure – I only learned of it because of the discovery in my attic. As the population of Central Florida increased, dairy pastures and citrus groves were replaced by houses. The foundation of our community, however, is agriculture, and the legacy established by the region’s farmers and ranchers should not be forgotten. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b>Past posts about Datson Dairy: </b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/07/dairy-around-corner.html">• The Dairy around the corner</a> (2012)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2009/03/trying-to-piece-it-all-together.html">• Bring to piece it all together </a>(2009)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvkDECmyfsaaXRBr_qAC9WociC86jwOZu_U0lROILkiXlhpRi9YqcOhMjo1A9x2UbeRGyGaQX30iOmT6G9x00AgCqpcxNX3fqZL2gFO6W-Gehk0WJ3iiACQGoIu0Zwd0FvZzhCz9Y7jKzJNxIiuUejST4ps9tkA7-Rw805OoI0TloZCPZsRswePx4zV3f/s2262/1929%20Datson%20%20ad.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2262" data-original-width="1686" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvkDECmyfsaaXRBr_qAC9WociC86jwOZu_U0lROILkiXlhpRi9YqcOhMjo1A9x2UbeRGyGaQX30iOmT6G9x00AgCqpcxNX3fqZL2gFO6W-Gehk0WJ3iiACQGoIu0Zwd0FvZzhCz9Y7jKzJNxIiuUejST4ps9tkA7-Rw805OoI0TloZCPZsRswePx4zV3f/w299-h400/1929%20Datson%20%20ad.jpg" width="299" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-54381412342088978162023-07-04T12:46:00.004-04:002023-07-04T12:57:11.720-04:00Freedom Walk 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOV7BpDc7kJrl33nkMaQH80vY37yHHGgm7TZ3yCs5k9ZLM3ib3kn1rJF-_AXTnpyRefafRTgjaQW9isYKjDcE_csRytBf_oAOriqKZ9QtyDTyLyrj5fYHyUzGNxsqIEi-85awZjzLfBJXXXtR2lgbZuASDp4FRRl92aVbHRkN9lmi4QEBgp_zlD-zfTgRz/s3823/IMG_7786.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2679" data-original-width="3823" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOV7BpDc7kJrl33nkMaQH80vY37yHHGgm7TZ3yCs5k9ZLM3ib3kn1rJF-_AXTnpyRefafRTgjaQW9isYKjDcE_csRytBf_oAOriqKZ9QtyDTyLyrj5fYHyUzGNxsqIEi-85awZjzLfBJXXXtR2lgbZuASDp4FRRl92aVbHRkN9lmi4QEBgp_zlD-zfTgRz/s320/IMG_7786.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />This year, I resumed my annual Fourth of July photo safari that I nicknamed the Freedom Ride. I elected to do the "Ride" on foot, as the last time I rode my bike I ended up with a hurt back and made many visits to the Osteopath. Since my wife gave me her Apple Watch, my walks have been about going as fast as I can, in the time I have allocated for exercise. So today's walk was break from my usual breakneck speed. Today I worked on being present and taking time to notice that which I usually speed by. <p></p><p>My first stop was Constitution Green in Downtown Orlando. I've been here before on the Ride, but the park is much improved. The park is centered around a massive live oak, listed on the City of Orlando Significant Tree Map as being (perhaps) close to 200 years old. The land was almost sold to developers, but thanks to the efforts of local hero Eric Rollins it is now a park. For me it is a reminder of the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution that we may take for granted. Read more <a href="https://www.yourcommunitypaper.com/articles/the-way-we-were-2/">here</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Yhb4JC-HrWP6hCVEMJSDfAfAjZNiihK1Xtlgb7yI_LpWsl1-Jxr9f3Zw5X-YQMsJn4cmKdkt_8k6q_ZXyk5ebkuhwtS68hI-1HQTbWelvxRZx-eKIBLIkmxR7kFy1JSbLBqgrtZzEFHTO0lmYgLzP236_6a_OmqO7Iswo6NG7dpxD6l2x6K20mlc1ogQ/s2000/IMG_7780.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="2000" height="75" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Yhb4JC-HrWP6hCVEMJSDfAfAjZNiihK1Xtlgb7yI_LpWsl1-Jxr9f3Zw5X-YQMsJn4cmKdkt_8k6q_ZXyk5ebkuhwtS68hI-1HQTbWelvxRZx-eKIBLIkmxR7kFy1JSbLBqgrtZzEFHTO0lmYgLzP236_6a_OmqO7Iswo6NG7dpxD6l2x6K20mlc1ogQ/s320/IMG_7780.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBrxM5qdSINAK20W7PdFlnwNEMDm4qq55nDBuPS_YBAmBpwMZCKx_cvXS7ojEhLZpZefb50ietn-qzr_tuOlj4SCBrNF1NZkgmF0DY7EJmsk22oJKXY75LF4FPflvknnNDLTmC-speLLcqlxhaxYVFn2ItdLo_fGgwrYip2Uz-ByoXA44C2YfR6z08_Bm/s2048/IMG_7782.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBrxM5qdSINAK20W7PdFlnwNEMDm4qq55nDBuPS_YBAmBpwMZCKx_cvXS7ojEhLZpZefb50ietn-qzr_tuOlj4SCBrNF1NZkgmF0DY7EJmsk22oJKXY75LF4FPflvknnNDLTmC-speLLcqlxhaxYVFn2ItdLo_fGgwrYip2Uz-ByoXA44C2YfR6z08_Bm/s320/IMG_7782.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5AbnUJjofGnpz0WHMkcorkfGaG73Wt6cVH7K9JoYJbmvolilV4Yr4vQ9e4jfy58jIIrQVKEZRy3lZsehz4XUOP8QDtnOyh--rwYqiz6caTxIG4RlsSAifyoAB34440UUpbeydi5EMZEUhgJ63wsv0st_BXIizvQT9JNenNplpUkLw1WG3x4AxBBdr7qO/s2048/IMG_7785.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5AbnUJjofGnpz0WHMkcorkfGaG73Wt6cVH7K9JoYJbmvolilV4Yr4vQ9e4jfy58jIIrQVKEZRy3lZsehz4XUOP8QDtnOyh--rwYqiz6caTxIG4RlsSAifyoAB34440UUpbeydi5EMZEUhgJ63wsv0st_BXIizvQT9JNenNplpUkLw1WG3x4AxBBdr7qO/s320/IMG_7785.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>My next stop was the sculpture garden next to the Orange County Administrative Building, another place I normally drive by and rarely stop to visit. The <a href="https://www.orlandoatplay.com/event/sculpture-on-the-lawn-2023/">2023 "Sculpture on the Lawn" exhibit</a> includes a couple pieces I really like, and it was worth the two mile trek to get there. There is also a small native plant garden tucked the corner, so if you visit, make sure to check it out! <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7UWGGX7mwdvfcI0fK2tW2oQpj47Mh3zZClVx8Bjbn3_dJNrYwlkjKNaq_nworNd9NCd2_6rJczXjgr6m03iF3hh0mqlZTjpSWXnIb2U9j9Y6seFwWQnof0rtLo63lVcKqCRK97UtQIC70Ev1l0vCxwxRokg4CBesLRH41qh-pKIdqWFvL3nMJEh0CqUP/s2048/IMG_7787.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7UWGGX7mwdvfcI0fK2tW2oQpj47Mh3zZClVx8Bjbn3_dJNrYwlkjKNaq_nworNd9NCd2_6rJczXjgr6m03iF3hh0mqlZTjpSWXnIb2U9j9Y6seFwWQnof0rtLo63lVcKqCRK97UtQIC70Ev1l0vCxwxRokg4CBesLRH41qh-pKIdqWFvL3nMJEh0CqUP/s320/IMG_7787.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETtgw5tsM1XMhebo_NERMuVy8Wyj1kpPuf7OP-KAiNbx99mN8nSGsQcjLnDmxfm1noFg6tB-IiFgaMoU8__62rsNRtAh8xCQcvCa8L7Wbp99A-4oTSJlbXxUAQz4MjFDBF4J3ICdcGpA9NU5tTQsusnQpAJHEFrUbemPUUVNGQ11cYAkofgDupVnifFYd/s4032/IMG_7789.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETtgw5tsM1XMhebo_NERMuVy8Wyj1kpPuf7OP-KAiNbx99mN8nSGsQcjLnDmxfm1noFg6tB-IiFgaMoU8__62rsNRtAh8xCQcvCa8L7Wbp99A-4oTSJlbXxUAQz4MjFDBF4J3ICdcGpA9NU5tTQsusnQpAJHEFrUbemPUUVNGQ11cYAkofgDupVnifFYd/s320/IMG_7789.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UhkujLV1DftTXPLPepJUOaNZWfNd8FQMTPmJlhCgAMo3iQDN8PV8mVi82zQJ6J28C7IKrCJsZTuVo4fmov6vdEMlcCpwtO9IdqhVkv_0vflMPula-0krY5xZoYtC5jKnYepMySRwayXai3OttjJ5GQKKON-r5wlDo1o8YWmKcdnnHUDoKcZJdLoisXSx/s4032/IMG_7792.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UhkujLV1DftTXPLPepJUOaNZWfNd8FQMTPmJlhCgAMo3iQDN8PV8mVi82zQJ6J28C7IKrCJsZTuVo4fmov6vdEMlcCpwtO9IdqhVkv_0vflMPula-0krY5xZoYtC5jKnYepMySRwayXai3OttjJ5GQKKON-r5wlDo1o8YWmKcdnnHUDoKcZJdLoisXSx/s320/IMG_7792.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKq0r9rQ1rsqU7qFT09nb4IoeBKmr2aHix9K2IBDy7QH6l3zr3dg_0MQOeq2OXlaUyGe8pJdCe2GuPskAJTW7HLE2Yi0L0fxVHf1B8HiFoOiKCs0-vmolG2tQwE35620o474lMALkU9nszTY9VFtte1SSdRcZFoZyf5Mi4TaQVTsLBBeFE5ZeWc6o75UE/s1985/IMG_7795.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1985" data-original-width="1583" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKq0r9rQ1rsqU7qFT09nb4IoeBKmr2aHix9K2IBDy7QH6l3zr3dg_0MQOeq2OXlaUyGe8pJdCe2GuPskAJTW7HLE2Yi0L0fxVHf1B8HiFoOiKCs0-vmolG2tQwE35620o474lMALkU9nszTY9VFtte1SSdRcZFoZyf5Mi4TaQVTsLBBeFE5ZeWc6o75UE/s320/IMG_7795.jpeg" width="255" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I strolled next to Orlando's City Hall, a place that has a <a href="https://www.orlando.gov/Our-Government/Departments-Offices/Venues/Public-Art">vast art collection</a>. It was closed on the Fourth of July so I paused only long enough to get a quick pic of this piece of public art in the small park in front of the building. Sadly the water looks very green like most natural water bodies in the state these days. <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAQ6m_w0WfEXzDhkMfyIqP3qB-bnTv9PG63jD-et2eRI-e2CCwk3mQatQ4hce7NoO49VXTQEzba8z23bzWWR9jVBFgjwyiILG-prLD_OBiiKDZUSQtqPvCdco0XbygAgKQnOVzv8CGzYONLKP_Gc3mj8nALVlUtVqglr2okkULdgdB3jU30mGXZhDfiJZ/s4032/IMG_7803.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAQ6m_w0WfEXzDhkMfyIqP3qB-bnTv9PG63jD-et2eRI-e2CCwk3mQatQ4hce7NoO49VXTQEzba8z23bzWWR9jVBFgjwyiILG-prLD_OBiiKDZUSQtqPvCdco0XbygAgKQnOVzv8CGzYONLKP_Gc3mj8nALVlUtVqglr2okkULdgdB3jU30mGXZhDfiJZ/s320/IMG_7803.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Walking underneath the 408, I captured an image of the Victorian-style Dr. Phillips House and the Art Deco (or Art Moderne) Wellborn Apartments in the <a href="https://thecraftsmanblog.com/orlando-historic-districts-lake-cherokee/#:~:text=and%20called%20Hovey%27s%20Court.,much%20of%20their%20original%20character.">Lake Cherokee Historic District</a>. I was headed towards Orlando's premier collection of Craftsman style buildings, Hovey Court. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsB15iAep3-g-uNw2I8N_DOmLlUIiQVQkPd--hcc-whgSMV9o7rUzAy45bm65YQ_wJheSOtleOQpDjvt-BIkiIZYxbIT3CFbcZQqQxVN77iNY379CcQaqwpZdoBWrGl1wz3aRDjyEsiSS4VvpPpX5EPL-ped1MI3iX4wCqzXH3QJqSWUEP7QcN4crr0FXW/s4032/IMG_7805.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsB15iAep3-g-uNw2I8N_DOmLlUIiQVQkPd--hcc-whgSMV9o7rUzAy45bm65YQ_wJheSOtleOQpDjvt-BIkiIZYxbIT3CFbcZQqQxVN77iNY379CcQaqwpZdoBWrGl1wz3aRDjyEsiSS4VvpPpX5EPL-ped1MI3iX4wCqzXH3QJqSWUEP7QcN4crr0FXW/s320/IMG_7805.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9WP3oK8X67YQMTnuGlo9ek7V1DJ70pXn-1Xm5Cz3z8BZzSjLtVu-N2-fURLFjywPZCXa0vhsDVEl1MwtG2AkbwXhO3YVBnyW2e_qFQ3FJvqSVvniWquWDAh1iE6uET7wFduwYKBmSSF5-LLwUWwaO1eNb4tNt0YRsBf_A3AXs4IteXEMyE6ZFNt7PcfI/s2048/IMG_7810.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9WP3oK8X67YQMTnuGlo9ek7V1DJ70pXn-1Xm5Cz3z8BZzSjLtVu-N2-fURLFjywPZCXa0vhsDVEl1MwtG2AkbwXhO3YVBnyW2e_qFQ3FJvqSVvniWquWDAh1iE6uET7wFduwYKBmSSF5-LLwUWwaO1eNb4tNt0YRsBf_A3AXs4IteXEMyE6ZFNt7PcfI/s320/IMG_7810.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The nine well-preserved bungalows were built in the nineteen-teens as guest cottages on Orlando's Lake Lucerne, home of the infamous <a href="https://www.thehistorycenter.org/billy/">Billy the Swan</a>. It's one the few places in town where rocks from Florida are incorporated into the architecture. I love the Craftsman style and these rocks remind me of the great examples of Parkitecture I've seen in State and National Parks.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pWy5gju__GeHcleiXrElsGYYl_naCAiWAspOXDPK-bGSCw0F3atyMZGxQ9pvwV7LsL62j7ay4vqUHN4RC3PY7ObOUD6Vv_xx0I_9eY3wayM18518Kji4Tid5Q_iLwAEqtvSuldhH6c2ahhSsMImYfUSkD8ynALewNlu9-QhYEmBrP_zM6NcUiV-CyzLB/s2048/IMG_7811.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pWy5gju__GeHcleiXrElsGYYl_naCAiWAspOXDPK-bGSCw0F3atyMZGxQ9pvwV7LsL62j7ay4vqUHN4RC3PY7ObOUD6Vv_xx0I_9eY3wayM18518Kji4Tid5Q_iLwAEqtvSuldhH6c2ahhSsMImYfUSkD8ynALewNlu9-QhYEmBrP_zM6NcUiV-CyzLB/s320/IMG_7811.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVblo9efzXPuEsHWqp8tWEZWqXOw5qFE8EOURkuz_aJ5PpOZn67XNqg4nSvqiiXUiAI2rUtxGwVsKGzIuJdu1uokSiyMJYZk9OYoZoIWG_x-K5FB9JPSG4Hk4rceSuQALqli7zyl-jXdKctOXeSTwU7TVPz6K2BCzXRYdn0OrENeqA72aGABe1VjiDMSP/s4032/IMG_7815.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVblo9efzXPuEsHWqp8tWEZWqXOw5qFE8EOURkuz_aJ5PpOZn67XNqg4nSvqiiXUiAI2rUtxGwVsKGzIuJdu1uokSiyMJYZk9OYoZoIWG_x-K5FB9JPSG4Hk4rceSuQALqli7zyl-jXdKctOXeSTwU7TVPz6K2BCzXRYdn0OrENeqA72aGABe1VjiDMSP/s320/IMG_7815.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3PnFeFU4s679An8PHKHeXjTRs_ne_SMbOgOdqL_lwQNbtz62QiR4I2nQ6xsVsXVB6b0JVajfE4BbqMKgATsM2B3uRfaW-o4z8Hbin1ZpDx4ckmY0rDCIrZIs8jkUCGIdDaZIO9-hOBnea4ba6O4FwFA8jsmHFPIf8gmZ47cz8s2qlfrUqoHShOU-ML-F/s2048/IMG_7818.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3PnFeFU4s679An8PHKHeXjTRs_ne_SMbOgOdqL_lwQNbtz62QiR4I2nQ6xsVsXVB6b0JVajfE4BbqMKgATsM2B3uRfaW-o4z8Hbin1ZpDx4ckmY0rDCIrZIs8jkUCGIdDaZIO9-hOBnea4ba6O4FwFA8jsmHFPIf8gmZ47cz8s2qlfrUqoHShOU-ML-F/s320/IMG_7818.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFeK8O14KqkKro2cNZSRt9ACX62u9jiUDMmVqlEGW8Gp9Om4SF2lT2HUEYzkTNUkjDfQvUBBs7owMQFOj_ZWTN1Mncu39kq4KidU4YITQavcccOjdtS-GPNLy4VvHANjGUh_iZL7Jw1WbqOqBvoL1aN138V964Y9Mr7Z6h43gkynf_3jdW2IPXGs1qJ51q/s2048/IMG_7820.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFeK8O14KqkKro2cNZSRt9ACX62u9jiUDMmVqlEGW8Gp9Om4SF2lT2HUEYzkTNUkjDfQvUBBs7owMQFOj_ZWTN1Mncu39kq4KidU4YITQavcccOjdtS-GPNLy4VvHANjGUh_iZL7Jw1WbqOqBvoL1aN138V964Y9Mr7Z6h43gkynf_3jdW2IPXGs1qJ51q/s320/IMG_7820.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I then made a quick stop at a small creek at Al Coith Park in the Delaney Park neighborhood to visit my favorite Lotus plants. Although they weren't in bloom, their leaves are gorgeous even before they unfurl. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDq4NLSltN1U90UuTr7KpbDZz8LvrexcB674pe1dwLK0Yws_x3Ms5m1eHH7Tjzi0AFEfxIfvDzEQKwZ-_HMqaRYG1dUvraUL7pprao-elTHTRX5EfO4FLLdtLH_j2CU8pXfR7JrCisb3sJWkz88pYAOBYseN_VPfINBq6aD43PQaHNK15bJtE2pldA8npx/s2048/IMG_7824.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDq4NLSltN1U90UuTr7KpbDZz8LvrexcB674pe1dwLK0Yws_x3Ms5m1eHH7Tjzi0AFEfxIfvDzEQKwZ-_HMqaRYG1dUvraUL7pprao-elTHTRX5EfO4FLLdtLH_j2CU8pXfR7JrCisb3sJWkz88pYAOBYseN_VPfINBq6aD43PQaHNK15bJtE2pldA8npx/s320/IMG_7824.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div>On my return I snapped a selfie with my Firecracker bush, perhaps the most consistent blooming plant in my landscape at home. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJz86XkyiDA2ZeEFkts4oInU1XeC5j6P4tqgA5E4V-My9s-0J8rQP38tjlLALMUaT0TP1jznxCBSdX8Yzs_Je4dA_kvcWjaj560zUMZ-XULvosAIJ_w3l0HGHFzXT92QxP3iwrUoFGZINac8rHrU1M7H5njAvZ-SlGX0cgXlUyIbUu0GDLxjLUDcyhdhyX/s3088/IMG_7834.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJz86XkyiDA2ZeEFkts4oInU1XeC5j6P4tqgA5E4V-My9s-0J8rQP38tjlLALMUaT0TP1jznxCBSdX8Yzs_Je4dA_kvcWjaj560zUMZ-XULvosAIJ_w3l0HGHFzXT92QxP3iwrUoFGZINac8rHrU1M7H5njAvZ-SlGX0cgXlUyIbUu0GDLxjLUDcyhdhyX/s320/IMG_7834.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>At a time when even the word "Freedom" means different things depending on your political perspective, I chose today to celebrate my independence by attempting to be mindful and aware of the everyday beauty that surrounds me. As the elders in my life age before me, I am increasingly aware of the freedom I still possess and the choices I still have available to me. I am grateful for the freedoms that are mine and the blessings that I tend to take for granted. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Happy Independence Day! </b></div><div><br /><div><br /><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2010/07/freedom-ride.html"><b>Freedom Ride 2010</b></a></li><li><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/07/freedom-ride-2.html"><b>Freedom Ride 2012</b></a></li><li><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2013/07/freedom-ride-3.html"><b>Freedom Ride 2013</b></a></li><li><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2014/07/freedom-ride-4.html"><b>Freedom Ride 2014</b></a></li><li><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2015/07/freedom-at-fifty-power-of-place.html"><b>Freedom Ride 2015</b></a></li><li><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2017/07/freedom-ride-2017.html"><b>Freedom Ride 2017</b></a></li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p></div></div></div>Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-37016799946059387992021-07-31T16:19:00.004-04:002021-07-31T16:29:54.856-04:00Rhode Island hydrotherapy: A new twist on an ancient practice<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6NFRnhuqQQ/YQPnIxhABEI/AAAAAAAA_yo/JgkuH56A8X8ukfZyJn-Gd-lV9a2SmEnoACLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/116785204_3311310012222800_7614315994208823341_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6NFRnhuqQQ/YQPnIxhABEI/AAAAAAAA_yo/JgkuH56A8X8ukfZyJn-Gd-lV9a2SmEnoACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/116785204_3311310012222800_7614315994208823341_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image from Bodhi Spa Facebook page</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Hydrotherapy today seems divided into two distinct modalities: rehabilitative therapy used for recovering from injuries and spa treatments dedicated to relaxation and rejuvenation. The <a href="https://www.safetyharborspa.com">Safety Harbor Resort and Spa</a>, once a hotspot for health treatments using water, now bills itself as a "tranquil sanctuary to relax, rejuvenate, revitalize and reconnect the mind, body and spirit to enliven the senses." But the Pinellas County resort near Clearwater is perhaps the state's best connection to a spa of the past – water from one of the the mineral springs is still utilized and the history of the facility is on display in the spa's "History Hall." <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I've written about experiencing hydrotherapy and two of the most famous watering places in the world: <a href="about://" style="color: #954f72;">Hot Springs, Arkansas</a> and Bath, England (in <a href="about://" style="color: #954f72;">Florida's Healing Waters</a>). And in addition to the spa at <a href="about://" style="color: #954f72;">Safety Harbor,</a> I've bathed at Florida's other vestiges from the state's Golden Age of Bathing: Green Cove Springs and <a href="about://" style="color: #954f72;">Warm Mineral Springs</a>. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When researching things to do for a recent vacation in Rhode Island I came across the <a href="about://" style="color: #954f72;">Bodhi Spa</a> in Providence and their product called the "<a href="about://" style="color: #954f72;">Water Journey.</a>" So when I had the opportunity to try it, I jumped right in.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">Heat Up. Cool Down. Relax. Repeat.</h4><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style="font-family: AppleSystemUIFont;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Hydrotherapy is the art of healing through the application of water in any form; hot, cold, steam or ice. Hydrotherapy has been used by cultures around the world for thousands of years. Many historians believe Egyptian royalty were the first to indulge in its health benefits, while others believe it dates back even earlier to Asia, where therapeutic waters were used to cleanse the body and soul of impurities. – from the Bodhi Spa website</i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Water Journey is a hydrotherapeautic system consisting of the following regimens:</span></p><div style="text-align: left;">• Therapeutic 104˚ Epsom Salt Pool<br />• Mineral Rich 98˚ Dead Sea Salt Pool<br />• Stimulating 55˚ Cold Plunge Pool<br />• Aromatherapy Steam Room<br />• Detoxifying Infrared Sauna<br />• Traditional Finnish Dry Sauna<br />• Relaxation Area<br />• Outdoor Zen Garden Space</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />The order with which one proceeds through the Journey is printed on large sign over the Dead Sea Salt Pool. The principle is similar to the ritual seen in Scandinavian countries where after a session in a sauna, individuals jump into icy cold water. For this Floridian, jumping into the 55˚ Cold Plunge was something I pondered with great trepidation; most of our springs are a 72˚ in comparison, and that feels icy-cold. So I approached my experience with a mixture of excitement, interest, and honest-to-God fear!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VqjO09dNhbE/YQRto5u3SLI/AAAAAAAA_zQ/1LXKDKSaJJ0TzqLU_O7_ZYvBGg85N_kCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/144378180_3843482632338866_7666984439304874942_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VqjO09dNhbE/YQRto5u3SLI/AAAAAAAA_zQ/1LXKDKSaJJ0TzqLU_O7_ZYvBGg85N_kCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/144378180_3843482632338866_7666984439304874942_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image from the Bodhi Spa Facebook page</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">New Age Ambiance</h4><div style="text-align: left;">I made reservations the day before and we found the location in what seemed to be an up-and-coming neighborhood near Providence's <a href="https://www.goprovidence.com/neighborhoods/federal-hill-providence/">Federal Hill.</a> My wife, who took the waters with me in Hot Springs and in Bath, chose to sit this one out – perhaps the 55˚ Cold Plunge freaked her out too!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A contemporary-looking facade fronted a waiting room decorated with rock crystals and Buddha statues – typical decor one might find at a yoga studio or new age book store. I was given a robe, flip flops, and locker and then escorted to the dressing room, which was considerably fancier than what I experienced at the vintage bathhouse in Hot Springs. I changed into my bathing suit and entered the door into the hydrotherapy area which was occupied by maybe a dozen other bathers, mostly women. I noticed quickly that I forgot to remove by glasses but I decided to keep them on in order to be able to read the sign detailing the order of the Water Journey regimens. That was a mistake.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WN8Vhy7jDmI/YQRh9mWWn_I/AAAAAAAA_zI/Z4KmhMLS8OkkvmeRO_YMs8mx1oMIXw0IACLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/66825857_2448443008509509_3919412512369410048_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WN8Vhy7jDmI/YQRh9mWWn_I/AAAAAAAA_zI/Z4KmhMLS8OkkvmeRO_YMs8mx1oMIXw0IACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/66825857_2448443008509509_3919412512369410048_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image from the Bodhi Spa Facebook page</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Plunging Ahead</h4><div style="text-align: left;">I started with the 98˚ Dead Sea Salt Pool, which looked like a large Jacuzzi and was already occupied by about four women. I observed immediately that the whisper policy stressed on the website, was not being observed and that there was a lot of talking going on. The water temperature was very comfortable and I noticed that the jets in both salt pools were stronger than what might experience in a typical hotel jacuzzi; they were strong enough to knock you out of your seat! I couldn't notice any discernible difference between the 104˚ Epsom salt pool and the 98˚ Dead Sea salt pool. But soaking in both of them were very pleasant. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySvnXDhkVFA/YQQbuDv0YMI/AAAAAAAA_yw/Ddzbn03-K9kWp9NWGoPSqblTt1d996UqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s958/14777627194_cf713a65e5_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="794" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySvnXDhkVFA/YQQbuDv0YMI/AAAAAAAA_yw/Ddzbn03-K9kWp9NWGoPSqblTt1d996UqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/14777627194_cf713a65e5_o.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Like the powerful jets in the salt baths, spray "douches" in traditional hydrotherapy </i><br /><i>administered powerful jets of water believed to have restorative benefits.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Balneotherapy is the practice of immersion into mineral water, historically originating from "hot springs, cold water springs, or other sources of water, like the Dead Sea," according to wikipedia. The ancient Greeks built temples over springs, the Romans erected elaborate baths all over their empire, cultures all over the world have been taking the waters for thousands of years. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">The salt pools at the Bodhi Spa are the latest version of this ancient tradition. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: AppleSystemUIFont;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: AppleSystemUIFont;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RJQLnB7X_XM/YQRuH4c4apI/AAAAAAAA_zY/55THqHxDAHwVOXEqQ9EqGb7OERvRfCdpQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/Caracalla.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RJQLnB7X_XM/YQRuH4c4apI/AAAAAAAA_zY/55THqHxDAHwVOXEqQ9EqGb7OERvRfCdpQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Caracalla.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Baths of Caracalla</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In Florida, the Gilded Age spas at mineral spring advertised healing a long list of ailments including consumption (tuberculosis), gout, rheumatism, dyspepsia (indigestion), skin disorders, and a wide assortment of other ailments. According to the Bodhi Spa website, their Dead Sea Salt Pool offers relief from fibromyalgia, skin conditions, and Type 2 Diabetes. The Epson Salt Pool helps sore muscles recover after work outs, reduces pain and inflammation, and reduces anxiety and depression. </p><div><br /></div></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">After soaking for about 10 minutes, I showered and headed for the Aromatherapy Steam Room.</p></div></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">Steam Room and Sauna</h4><div style="text-align: left;">Steam baths origins go back to the ancient Romans; I remember seeing the remnants of the thermae in Bath, England, at the Roman baths there. According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammam">wikipedia</a>, a Hammam or Turkish Bath is steam bath or place for public bathing found in the Islamic world using hot dry air for cleansing and therapy. Steam baths or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banya_(sauna)">banya</a> found in Russia and Finland, traditionally create steam with a wood stove.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0kV_d2Dncps/YQSNh0veujI/AAAAAAAA_zg/_XHSNE7BzJc29xcVRbO0nRaO_pOZvzSWACLcBGAsYHQ/s658/Screen%2Bshot%2B2018-09-14%2Bat%2B4.33.56%2BPM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="658" height="288" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0kV_d2Dncps/YQSNh0veujI/AAAAAAAA_zg/_XHSNE7BzJc29xcVRbO0nRaO_pOZvzSWACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2Bshot%2B2018-09-14%2Bat%2B4.33.56%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Advertisement for the Turkish Baths at the Hotel Alcazar in St. Augustine</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Aromatherapy Steam Room at the Bodhi Spa has an overwhelming smell of eucalyptus. When I was a kid and had a cough my mom would rub Vick's VapoRub on my chest and put a humidifier in my bedroom. It was a similar sensation, but amped up quite a bit. I've been in steam baths at Hot Springs and Safety Harbor, but this one seemed hotter. I'm not sure I made it the entire eight to ten minutes on any of my circuits through the Water Journey. It was just <i>too</i> hot. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The traditional sauna was hot, too, and I made the mistake of keeping my glasses on. It was hot enough to actually start melting the emulsion on the lenses and make the frames almost unbearably to wear. When people compare Florida to a sauna, they aren't even close. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But the purported benefits of both rooms are impressive: they relieve stress, remove toxins from the skin, clear up congestion, help heart health, improve sleep and basically sweat out all the bad stuff from your system. I did find that my sinuses seemed to clear up .... until I took a hydration break and drank the icy cold infused water. It was cold enough to make me congested again. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PG4N5Ltg978/YQSOkZ3kWAI/AAAAAAAA_zo/3JdwfWmvaxEJNuBe_TEkcr5esW1JKhdMACLcBGAsYHQ/s2000/roman-baths-small.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PG4N5Ltg978/YQSOkZ3kWAI/AAAAAAAA_zo/3JdwfWmvaxEJNuBe_TEkcr5esW1JKhdMACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/roman-baths-small.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Plunge pool at the Roman baths in Bath, England</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Big Chill</h4><div style="text-align: left;">My family has a history of bad heart health and I must admit, although I am in perfect health (aside from allergies), that I was afraid that going from extreme heat to freezing cold water might make my ticker explode. Again this notion of bathing in icy cold water goes back to the ancient Greeks and Romans who thought it was good for one's health. An expert in an article on <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/love-humor/cold-plunge/">Outside.com</a> says that experts claim that a good cold plunge releases hormones and adrenaline and is even a good heart workout. But other experts in the same article say that benefits are imagined at best and it could even be "potentially dangerous."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So I stepped into the frigid, icy, freezing, way-beyond-chiiiilly water, very gingerly (at best.) Did I mention that the water is 55 degrees? That's almost twenty degrees colder than a spring in Florida. <b>Pain. </b>That's how I describe the experience. Needles poke your muscles which begin to hurt. I tried to stay in the recommended 30 seconds but it was hard because it's human nature to avoid pain. Each circuit I tried to make it deeper into the pool and I must admit I never made it all the way in. Other bathers were able to submerge their entire bodies but I rationalized the they must be native New Englanders, used to icy-cold water. But not for this Florida boy. <i>Nope.</i> No way. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hTXu2OIkfGo/YQRhAPNZ4ZI/AAAAAAAA_zA/IlJfxQcaIGwiRtFQpCot5HO0KO2OPei-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/118481967_3385550164798784_6448537747592205549_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hTXu2OIkfGo/YQRhAPNZ4ZI/AAAAAAAA_zA/IlJfxQcaIGwiRtFQpCot5HO0KO2OPei-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/118481967_3385550164798784_6448537747592205549_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image from the Bodhi Spa Facebook page</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Water Journey</h4><div style="text-align: left;">Other spas I've visited have had similar regimens, but this was the first spa I visited that had no historical connection to famous baths. In a way this was merely an updated version of what Roman senators could have experienced at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baths_of_Caracalla">Baths of Caracalla</a> in the year 221. I think I expected a zen-like, restorative session, but the whole time I was thinking how I might write about the Water Journey and I never completely let down my guard. I felt relaxed, but I think it could have been a different experience if it had been quieter and more peaceful inside the spa. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But there is something to recreating an ancient ritual performed by different cultures across the globe. In other parts of the world, many still believe that water in all its forms has the power to heal. I am fortunate to live in Florida, with largest array of first magnitude springs on the planet and the opportunity for a dip in a cold spring is just a short car ride away. And it's a glorious 72 degrees year round. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aMQbtTOTJV4/YQWvbU_twoI/AAAAAAAA_zw/eA2x_dXHLk8Z2n0So7ny5TDs6plaUR08wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1365/DevilsEye.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aMQbtTOTJV4/YQWvbU_twoI/AAAAAAAA_zw/eA2x_dXHLk8Z2n0So7ny5TDs6plaUR08wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DevilsEye.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ginnie Springs</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-73741553204819876572021-02-09T07:50:00.004-05:002021-02-09T07:50:27.380-05:00 Celebrating Sacred Ground<p><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;"><i><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yPCvVv2kE-c/YCJ9_qf01WI/AAAAAAAA-gA/GFSP7aSppy0pP-pO34_ZbxU8SGAQMBTmwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/MMS3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yPCvVv2kE-c/YCJ9_qf01WI/AAAAAAAA-gA/GFSP7aSppy0pP-pO34_ZbxU8SGAQMBTmwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/MMS3.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;"><i><br />Although Dr. Franklin Branch sought to build a health spa near the healing waters of Manatee Mineral Springs, conflict during the Third Seminole War kept that dream from coming to fruition. But the cultural and historical value of the spring was so great, I included it in my book "Florida's Healing Waters." This account of my visit to the Angola Festival at the spring did not make it into the final manuscript. </i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;">On a steamy weekend in July 2018, </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 21.3333px;">a three-day festival commemorated </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 21.3333px;"><a href="https://reflectionsofmanatee.org/manatee-mineral-spring/https://reflectionsofmanatee.org/manatee-mineral-spring/">Manatee Mineral Spring’s</a> </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;">connection to the community of Red Bays in the Bahamas. Residents of Red Bays, which is located on Androse Island, the largest island in the Bahamas, were on hand to give the gathering a distinctive Bahamian flair with island food, music, crafts, and performances by a colorful junkanoo band. it is very possible that these Bahamans were the descendants of Blacks who <a href="https://reflectionsofmanatee.org/freedom-seekers/">fled the area in 1821</a> when forces led by Andrew Jackson destroyed the settlement. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt;">Speakers from the different organizations who helped create the Angola Festival took turns at the microphone, expressing gratitude and taking a noticeably spiritual tone. A local politician marked the occasion as a new beginning built from the adversity of those who came before.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lx7748eppRE/YCJ-RnuColI/AAAAAAAA-gI/D1nYJSRiY6U54o4I5l4Lse0axliU0IaCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/MMS6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lx7748eppRE/YCJ-RnuColI/AAAAAAAA-gI/D1nYJSRiY6U54o4I5l4Lse0axliU0IaCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/MMS6.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"><br />For me, the highlight of the event, however, was a panel discussion by the archeologists and historians who had worked so hard to uncover Angola’s past. Historian Cantor Brown, Jr. set the tone for the discussion by proclaiming that the location of the festival should be considered sacred ground and that the Angola settlement was once a bright “beacon of freedom” for people fleeing persecution. Cultural anthropologist Dr. Rosalyn Howard offered observations from the year she spent in Red Bays while working on her book “Looking for Angola” – a study of the residents of a tiny town in the Bahamas that was created by fleeing residents of Angola. Anthropologist Sherry Robinson Svekis talked about the process of applying to the National Park Service for official recognition as an Underground Railroad site and New College Archeologist Uzi Baram revealed the discoveries made in the park that led them to the conclusion that the area surrounding Manatee Mineral Springs was the location of the Back Seminole settlement of Angola. The panel was skillfully moderated by “Looking for Angola” project director Vickie Oldham, who helped reveal that the discovery of Angola was a combination of high-tech science and providence. An underground mapping method called radar tomography was used to determine the “ground truth,” so that the archeologists knew where to dig. They found postholes that indicated they were in the right spot, and previous digs had discovered items from the early nineteenth century such as shards of British pottery and clay pipes. This was physical evidence of a settlement before settler Josiah Gates arrived. But the identification of Angola might not have occurred had Tampa-based Witten Technologies, the company that donated the radar tomography service, not been looking for a place to show-off its high-tech equipment. Their offer to demonstrate their services was “total serendipity” according to Svekis.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Op3eWKhLMk/YCJ-Yna1NqI/AAAAAAAA-gM/5cdaWTOJypUyGyRsOhD7DTEcJ8SFraQpACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/MMS4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Op3eWKhLMk/YCJ-Yna1NqI/AAAAAAAA-gM/5cdaWTOJypUyGyRsOhD7DTEcJ8SFraQpACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/MMS4.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"><br />Dr. Brown asserted that early Seminole communities in Florida acted as trading posts for other Native American tribes who came south in the winter, much like modern-day Snowbirds. The colorful plumes worn in headdresses seen in portraits and photographs of other tribes were often collected from birds in Florida. It was fertile hunting grounds, rather than the healing waters that attracted these early visitors to the region.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ab-b5fadkew/YCJ-dh4a1oI/AAAAAAAA-gQ/VCsL3qm059YC4a9RlpVz7EzwY4H2j3YKACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/MMS9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ab-b5fadkew/YCJ-dh4a1oI/AAAAAAAA-gQ/VCsL3qm059YC4a9RlpVz7EzwY4H2j3YKACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/MMS9.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"><br />I learned a great deal from this panel, but perhaps my greatest take away was that we have just scratched the surface in our understanding of this community located near present-day Bradenton. It will be exciting to watch for new developments at this small, out-of-the-way spring in Manatee County. Perhaps one day the spring itself will be restored, revealing the role this sacred water has played in our state’s history. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXKDm1RTTgk/YCJ_cfolYZI/AAAAAAAA-gg/rmOPXmaSTpEaabyfL-Z5YyfR3Av4_vk-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1634/diptych1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1634" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXKDm1RTTgk/YCJ_cfolYZI/AAAAAAAA-gg/rmOPXmaSTpEaabyfL-Z5YyfR3Av4_vk-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/diptych1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archival photograph from the Manatee County Public Library<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-19xQpvMNxDo/YCKCWWXSgoI/AAAAAAAA-gs/Vvs_TatuBgI1hB4i9bHaKyQ4KCpXdVCgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1889/dyptich2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1889" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-19xQpvMNxDo/YCKCWWXSgoI/AAAAAAAA-gs/Vvs_TatuBgI1hB4i9bHaKyQ4KCpXdVCgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/dyptich2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">Archival photograph from the State Archives of Florida</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vhfi_txWUWU/YCKCtzfKk_I/AAAAAAAA-g0/NOTQFf8ccB4TTsiiqVScGUAjRsJGDbvDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1538/diptych3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1085" data-original-width="1538" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vhfi_txWUWU/YCKCtzfKk_I/AAAAAAAA-g0/NOTQFf8ccB4TTsiiqVScGUAjRsJGDbvDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/diptych3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archival photograph from the Manatee County Public Library<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ht9mmxfxHVc/YCKCzzgcm9I/AAAAAAAA-g4/fu0gxGnedGsHj1B47UnLFILIigpR9PwQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/dyptych%2B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ht9mmxfxHVc/YCKCzzgcm9I/AAAAAAAA-g4/fu0gxGnedGsHj1B47UnLFILIigpR9PwQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/dyptych%2B4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">Archival photograph from the Manatee County Public Library<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-18370027949184664132021-01-12T07:03:00.001-05:002021-01-12T07:03:58.433-05:00The Chalice Well, Glastonbury’s Sacred Red Spring<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wmmUkTe_cSM/X_2LGnZpiWI/AAAAAAAA-dM/turkYeuRPYwiNMgf-XHTIy8gUzW35-xpwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wmmUkTe_cSM/X_2LGnZpiWI/AAAAAAAA-dM/turkYeuRPYwiNMgf-XHTIy8gUzW35-xpwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice6.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><i><br />Note: This account of my visit to the Chalice Well in Glastonbury, England, on my 2018 visit to the UK, was originally written for my book, <a href="https://www.rickkilby.com/floridas-healing-waters">"Florida's Healing Waters."</a></i><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the first things my wife and I did when arriving in Bath, England was book a day trip to Glastonbury, a nearby village that is setting for legends about such monumental figures as Jesus Christ and King Arthur. Healing waters are prominent in this ancient mythology and I was excited to visit the <a href="https://chalicewell.org.uk">Chalice Well</a>, described as a sanctuary of “pilgrimage, healing, and peace.”</span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C8PpxbH0XAw/X_2LyL1Do3I/AAAAAAAA-dU/3_60QbnFHJkbd0p_MljUH_1VSg6ksGBswCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C8PpxbH0XAw/X_2LyL1Do3I/AAAAAAAA-dU/3_60QbnFHJkbd0p_MljUH_1VSg6ksGBswCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice%2B5.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The sacred well and gardens was an option on the tour, and three of us hopped off the motorcoach while the rest of the group explored the village of Glastonbury. After paying a small admission to the non-profit that maintains the grounds, we entered a lovely landscaped space of extreme tranquility. The water from the spring descends the length of the garden over a series of terraces and is collected in small pools at various points before exiting the site via a serpentine conduit stained red by the chalybeate waters. Benches surrounded the small basin at the lowest level, called the Vesica Pool, and I noticed the other visitors engaged in quiet meditation around the water. As I headed up the hill following the water’s course, I passed under “Guardian” Yew trees, and entered an area called King Arthur’s Court and its “Healing Pool.” Steps led down to a level wading pool, and if I had more time I would have loved to remove my shoes and experience the waters. Around the path were niches and nooks full of silent meditators, and the smell of incense wafted over the grounds. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8193YEWBxoM/X_2MQ_R61RI/AAAAAAAA-dg/365CBON2qm8Jr9vvcPRildBlEFxExMUcwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice%2B6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8193YEWBxoM/X_2MQ_R61RI/AAAAAAAA-dg/365CBON2qm8Jr9vvcPRildBlEFxExMUcwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice%2B6.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e1l5r08d92M/X_2MTXTtLuI/AAAAAAAA-do/HD51mV3Fw8oW3EUItCmURkgx3Q0SzVqrQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e1l5r08d92M/X_2MTXTtLuI/AAAAAAAA-do/HD51mV3Fw8oW3EUItCmURkgx3Q0SzVqrQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bK_2ZNLvkWE/X_2MZS0jjEI/AAAAAAAA-ds/TigjafVHOVEHmKXYacQrQxUbdF9inU0OQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bK_2ZNLvkWE/X_2MZS0jjEI/AAAAAAAA-ds/TigjafVHOVEHmKXYacQrQxUbdF9inU0OQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fRW7gGdA8PM/X_2McAv6acI/AAAAAAAA-dw/q0wbLvvcDggPvx8hyh88RQjXh88WCUkWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fRW7gGdA8PM/X_2McAv6acI/AAAAAAAA-dw/q0wbLvvcDggPvx8hyh88RQjXh88WCUkWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7iDevtocuzY/X_2MfyZU0JI/AAAAAAAA-d0/dLFpJZtFZfY4D25JRgCtdTIJUFXF7bDRACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7iDevtocuzY/X_2MfyZU0JI/AAAAAAAA-d0/dLFpJZtFZfY4D25JRgCtdTIJUFXF7bDRACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tnv3tUV6SFA/X_2Mjtty8EI/AAAAAAAA-d8/uR_eIFcimM0XcOKr0yj8iWhiyGdZ3uNQACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tnv3tUV6SFA/X_2Mjtty8EI/AAAAAAAA-d8/uR_eIFcimM0XcOKr0yj8iWhiyGdZ3uNQACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice7.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />At the next level water poured out of a lion’s head and filled two small drinking glasses, and the brochure provided stated that this is the only place in the garden where the water is safe to drink, although moderation was urged. I found the water to have a subtle taste of minerals, and after a quick sip I headed up to the well, the source of the sacred water. The well’s cover was a circular wooden block framed in decorative wrought iron with a symbol of two interlocking circles called a Vesica Pisces – said to represent the “union of heaven and earth” – intersected by a sword (perhaps representing King Arthur). Visitors sat in silence on stone benches around the spring, and the shady glen surrounding it retained a peaceful energy despite the presence of a couple kids who appeared unmoved to be in the presence of this sacred water source. It is at this spot where legend has it that Joseph of Arimathea “buried or washed” the Holy Grail from Last Supper, and the iron-stained waters “miraculously” sprang forth representing the blood of Christ.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ftdWhGQAQU/X_2Mt867OHI/AAAAAAAA-eE/BGeZFum_kesmcMgRY_i5vBe5W2CJ4vtngCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ftdWhGQAQU/X_2Mt867OHI/AAAAAAAA-eE/BGeZFum_kesmcMgRY_i5vBe5W2CJ4vtngCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice8.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N66PgYU8STE/X_2MxtnPMdI/AAAAAAAA-eM/jhDf9F9kwkgrFi7pKHhmDhpwbWZfnZAhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N66PgYU8STE/X_2MxtnPMdI/AAAAAAAA-eM/jhDf9F9kwkgrFi7pKHhmDhpwbWZfnZAhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97lpAq-JDZw/X_2M0jdeWMI/AAAAAAAA-eU/OWV9a01tuAk8eFQth9OumTyeD71vwGUIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Chalice10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97lpAq-JDZw/X_2M0jdeWMI/AAAAAAAA-eU/OWV9a01tuAk8eFQth9OumTyeD71vwGUIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chalice10.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />In the well-appointed gift shop near the entrance to the gardens, I noticed a painting on note cards and posters of a semi-transparent, mystical-looking goddess figure hovering over the wellhead, her arms lifted forming the shape of a chalice. This rendering of the “Deva of Chalice Well”, a spirit being said to “guide and protect the forces of nature” reminded me of how the hot springs of Bath were first associated with goddess Sulis, and then the Roman Goddess Minerva. For thousands of years, cultures have associated sacred water with feminine energy. That tradition continues in the present day at the Chalice Well.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QRDqJFKT5V0/X_2MD8jRAjI/AAAAAAAA-dc/kYWbHCd1Epwh7Mr82Fwg5oZujcFPjM50wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/ChaliceDeva634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1426" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QRDqJFKT5V0/X_2MD8jRAjI/AAAAAAAA-dc/kYWbHCd1Epwh7Mr82Fwg5oZujcFPjM50wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/ChaliceDeva634.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-17682351438749045592020-09-05T14:34:00.004-04:002020-09-08T06:16:36.020-04:00Swimming at Silver Springs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrJ6EyjKrho/X1OUIxGh50I/AAAAAAAA-Ww/Cak-ITsV5Dst-RZpdfC7keSUJsIhWr3yQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/SS_pc_new525.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1000" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrJ6EyjKrho/X1OUIxGh50I/AAAAAAAA-Ww/Cak-ITsV5Dst-RZpdfC7keSUJsIhWr3yQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/SS_pc_new525.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The desire to jump into a pristine Florida spring can be overwhelming, especially in the dastardly days of summer. But states' most famous array of springs, Silver Springs, started out as a natural wonder worthy of awe and contemplation, long before it became a recreational resource for swimming. One of the first written accounts of Silver Springs, penned by an officer of the U.S. Army in 1826, described it as a "magical theatre of nature" where one would ponder in "our inward thought the marvelous works of the divine Maker of heaven and earth."<br />
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It is likely the hordes of Gilded Age visitors who arrived at <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2011/01/shrine-of-water-gods-brief-history-of.html">Silver Springs</a> by steamboats initially were just there for sightseeing. Attitudes towards swimming transformed later in the 19th century, as the exercise was looked at through distinctions of class. "Prior to the 1850s, middling and well-to-do Americans rarely lunged into natural waters for recreation or amusement" notes writer Jeff Wiltse in his book, "Contested Waters." That changed by the early 20th century as attitudes towards exercise and spending time outdoors were seen as healthy pursuits. <span style="background-color: white;">But the presence of <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2020/05/hold-line-history-of-bathing-in-florida.html">safety lines</a> stretched across springs or extending into the surf in Gilded Age photographs seem to indicate that there were many during that time period who did not yet swim well.</span><br />
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At some point, however, swimming at Silver Springs became a popular attraction, and those who desired a plunge into the crystal clear waters found a way to whet their appetites. Perhaps the earliest evidence can be found in photographs showing a bathhouse at the spring. By the mid-twentieth century, swimmers competed with glass bottom boats and photo subs for space in the springs' main basin, which had a floating platform and a diving tower. <br />
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I have vague memories of visiting Silver Springs as a young child in the early 1970s, but no memories of swimming – only glass-bottom boats, the statue of Osceola, and the twisted horseshoe palm. I'm not sure when people stopped recreational swimming at Silver Springs – perhaps it was when the adjacent <a href="https://abandonedsoutheast.com/2019/01/07/wild-waters/">Wild Waters Water Park</a> opened in 1978 – reflecting the public's emerging preference for a more sanitized swimming experience. <br />
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Decades passed between my visits to the park. As an adult at Silver Springs, I experienced a Johnny Cash performance during a thunderstorm while standing in several inches of water. My wife and I witnessed the tail end of the <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2011/01/natures-theme-park.html">theme park era</a> when there were unhappy animals pacing in captivity. And later <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-i-saw-at-silver-springs.html">I returned to take pictures </a>with my underwater point-and-shoot camera, canoeing up the Silver River, and avoiding alligators who seemed to want to eat my point-and-shoot camera. I've also reveled in the Old Florida experience of a <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2011/01/vintage-silver-springs-glass-bottom.html">glass-bottom boat ride</a>.<br />
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<b>
Yesterday, September 4, 2020, the Florida State Park system announced that in about eighteen months <a href="https://www.ocalagazette.com/plans-for-silver-springs-swim-area-unveiled/?fbclid=IwAR3HorSAjA9A41yi00FTS-NrkwMcY_4WpD7FUTTaRLm59QS_ygElKt6Pdco">swimming will return to Silver Springs</a>.</b> On one hand, it would be a thrill to actually swim in Florida's most legendary springs, whose amazing waters made Harriett Beecher Stowe claim that there was nothing comparable to on the earth. But I am nervous about the alligators, who have had the run of the place for quite a long time now. And I am concerned about the impact swimmers might have on the fragile ecosystem of the spring. Perhaps, it will open up the <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2013/10/paddling-through-floridas-newest-state.html">State Park</a> to a whole new group of people – people who will become advocates for protecting the spring and restoring it to a pristine condition. That could be a good thing.<div><br /></div><div>Update: According to this <a href="https://www.ocala.com/news/20181003/could-legislation-restore-swimming-at-silver-springs?fbclid=IwAR1WfYlBVWQ3Z9YBvwpGvvpc3-iTOc4bQhKtYu8IHR6phJ28fhnypCSPipA">article</a> in the <i>Ocala Star Banne</i>r, swimming at Silver Springs stopped in the 1950s because of liability issues. It returned briefly, however, in the summer of 1998.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vGByGDQfyCA/X1OUiD69FFI/AAAAAAAA-W4/E4UKTv5sBRIH2E9HuIP9vgQkkHxh60h1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/ladies%2Browboat.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1084" height="307" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vGByGDQfyCA/X1OUiD69FFI/AAAAAAAA-W4/E4UKTv5sBRIH2E9HuIP9vgQkkHxh60h1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/ladies%2Browboat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's likely most early visitors to Silver Springs entertained themselves simply looking into the "mysterious depths." Photo by the Detroit Publishing Company via the Library of Congress. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/---ydXpMZsO8/X1OVtm-zYyI/AAAAAAAA-XE/r9da_yMtwxEBLGPNmfrx0cJoUGuU2bG9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/n041763.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="600" height="330" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/---ydXpMZsO8/X1OVtm-zYyI/AAAAAAAA-XE/r9da_yMtwxEBLGPNmfrx0cJoUGuU2bG9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/n041763.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from the State Archives of Florida titled "Silver Spings Florida bathhouse, 1916."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r1u2oDaeTok/X1OWM5nSQ0I/AAAAAAAA-XM/UFIGPH-3QIIzFtRlG3OS15xpJhFyS09tQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/s-l1600-7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1200" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r1u2oDaeTok/X1OWM5nSQ0I/AAAAAAAA-XM/UFIGPH-3QIIzFtRlG3OS15xpJhFyS09tQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/s-l1600-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real photo postcard with the caption "Glass Bottom Boats<br />
on Mammoth Spring – Bathhouse – Silver Spring, Florida."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jO-r97Q24L4/X1OZe-xgEwI/AAAAAAAA-XY/enkfCsM_JYUMKpUlOaONIjFoBSV0SF0RwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/s-l1600.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1200" height="257" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jO-r97Q24L4/X1OZe-xgEwI/AAAAAAAA-XY/enkfCsM_JYUMKpUlOaONIjFoBSV0SF0RwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/s-l1600.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By the Jazz Age, Victorian modesty was forgotten and postcards<br />
such as this showed the acceptability of public swimming.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YNa1I3Ks2kk/X1OaVGKfx7I/AAAAAAAA-Xg/k0r1HbuDrcYER5rRTwnknMPz1nJLDe8WwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/s-l1600-3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1200" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YNa1I3Ks2kk/X1OaVGKfx7I/AAAAAAAA-Xg/k0r1HbuDrcYER5rRTwnknMPz1nJLDe8WwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/s-l1600-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note this postcard uses the term "bathing" rather than swimming. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OjLOl9mj5WY/X1ObFqUq7LI/AAAAAAAA-Xs/KvxfVtfBSmoaP37U5rHp3XkiVNKH5YDBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Newt.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1557" height="176" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OjLOl9mj5WY/X1ObFqUq7LI/AAAAAAAA-Xs/KvxfVtfBSmoaP37U5rHp3XkiVNKH5YDBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Newt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There can be no doubt that underwater photography showing the clarity<br />
of the springs had a sizeable role in encouraging public swimming.<br />
This shows underwater pioneer Newt Perry swimming underwater<br />
for Grantland Rice's first underwater film in 1924. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IYq81IAd9no/X1OdCaqHl5I/AAAAAAAA-X4/xlzo-hadB4A7kjdxpho9kVBzNccZ7G51gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_5412.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IYq81IAd9no/X1OdCaqHl5I/AAAAAAAA-X4/xlzo-hadB4A7kjdxpho9kVBzNccZ7G51gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/IMG_5412.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With an assist from Newt Perry, Silver Springs served as the backdrop<br />
for underwater photography for the "Life Saving & Water Safety" guide<br />
created by the Red Cross that was first published in 1937.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3AgXNIPLu4I/X1Od7aLcTeI/AAAAAAAA-YA/3oaZR4MGLt0xUX93KY88BmjNxJyns1k_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/playmates.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1200" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3AgXNIPLu4I/X1Od7aLcTeI/AAAAAAAA-YA/3oaZR4MGLt0xUX93KY88BmjNxJyns1k_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/playmates.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An early underwater real photo postcard.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S4kuE3PPuO0/X1OgIYh-uDI/AAAAAAAA-YM/dM-0Ip4Y3jsskCvcqYbF-GvRiaCJNbyGACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MOZ00017.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1034" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S4kuE3PPuO0/X1OgIYh-uDI/AAAAAAAA-YM/dM-0Ip4Y3jsskCvcqYbF-GvRiaCJNbyGACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/MOZ00017.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2020/01/inside-studio-of-legendary-bruce-mozert.html">Photographer Bruce Mozert's surreal underwater image</a>s were published<br />
in newspapers across the country, taking advantage of the water's amazing clarity.<br />
Image from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rje3sGzPKyM/X1OhSVtf8qI/AAAAAAAA-YU/4WNKyXU3tgYOYl_7HQGWtJot6YZEjaPgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/ss453.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1200" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rje3sGzPKyM/X1OhSVtf8qI/AAAAAAAA-YU/4WNKyXU3tgYOYl_7HQGWtJot6YZEjaPgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/ss453.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used this underwater beauty in the photomontage<br />
for the cover of my first book "Finding the Fountain of Youth."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qBGAMhPLOs4/X1OjmqPRXwI/AAAAAAAA-Yg/j1WeQLyMB9Ap4sdO2NEanfa7oe6ZombnACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/rc13637.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qBGAMhPLOs4/X1OjmqPRXwI/AAAAAAAA-Yg/j1WeQLyMB9Ap4sdO2NEanfa7oe6ZombnACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/rc13637.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water clarity was ideal for motion pictures as well.<br />
Here's Newt Perry with Johnny Weissmuller and Johnny Sheffield<br />
during the filming of "Tarzan Finds a Son" in 1939.<br />
Image from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gNBh7fICghM/X1OkhbXrVVI/AAAAAAAA-Yo/dntuzay5mvUA7gz8MV_ZmqwSg2UBlN4cACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MOZ00537.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gNBh7fICghM/X1OkhbXrVVI/AAAAAAAA-Yo/dntuzay5mvUA7gz8MV_ZmqwSg2UBlN4cACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/MOZ00537.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Esther Williams jokes around during the filming of "Jupiter's Darling"<br />
in 1954 at Silver Springs.<br />
Image from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y1T_ueKMomU/X1OlaVieXFI/AAAAAAAA-Y0/8pyMuR-1EUQD9o9MI6W3sFN7ic6SN3iAgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MOZ00600.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1523" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y1T_ueKMomU/X1OlaVieXFI/AAAAAAAA-Y0/8pyMuR-1EUQD9o9MI6W3sFN7ic6SN3iAgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/MOZ00600.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Howard Hughes 1955 film <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2011/03/jane-russell-at-silver-springs.html">"Underwater"</a> took advantage of the water clarity<br />
with the world's first underwater premiere of a motion picture. <br />
Jane Russell, however, was upstaged by <a href="https://remindmagazine.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/jane-got-the-part-but-jayne-swam-off-with-the-gold/">Jayne Mansfield's "wardrobe malfunction."</a><br />
Image from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-su6kacal4XI/X1OmYqPfI9I/AAAAAAAA-Y8/WmsJ23GD2cwDgJ4J7-D_MVwcbPmFNg_YACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MOZ00387.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1200" height="270" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-su6kacal4XI/X1OmYqPfI9I/AAAAAAAA-Y8/WmsJ23GD2cwDgJ4J7-D_MVwcbPmFNg_YACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/MOZ00387.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Revenge of the Creature" was also filmed at Silver Springs in 1954.<br />
Image from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r47dTzV18_k/X1Om_vZ2kcI/AAAAAAAA-ZI/8wm3Ym9jrngo-HnXr3-rJnQ5m_YaaW3YACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MOZ00457.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1200" height="270" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r47dTzV18_k/X1Om_vZ2kcI/AAAAAAAA-ZI/8wm3Ym9jrngo-HnXr3-rJnQ5m_YaaW3YACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/MOZ00457.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frequent Mozert underwater model and Esther Williams double, Ginger Stanley Hollowell,<br />
set a record for swimming the entire seven-mile length of the Silver River.<br />
Read more about Ginger <a href="http://here./">here.</a> Image from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i7ERYkA4xi8/X1OoIFRxbbI/AAAAAAAA-ZQ/NVPRbXcZitk1_jNsk4VvgR2eVFLxBxvjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/bilde%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="728" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i7ERYkA4xi8/X1OoIFRxbbI/AAAAAAAA-ZQ/NVPRbXcZitk1_jNsk4VvgR2eVFLxBxvjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/bilde%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During segregation, a separate attraction for African Americans<br />
called <a href="https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/333821">Paradise Park</a> was operated by Silver Springs' owners.<br />
It was located east of the Silver Springs attraction.<br />
Image from the Gainesville Sun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRvw3K1Ei-4/X1OpduN4W3I/AAAAAAAA-Zc/nJigN1XelrA2j6HkYSWBkKrVrLsRW-MLACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/SS_map406.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1329" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRvw3K1Ei-4/X1OpduN4W3I/AAAAAAAA-Zc/nJigN1XelrA2j6HkYSWBkKrVrLsRW-MLACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/SS_map406.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This rendering shows the bathhouse, swim shop, and bathing area just above the legend.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pQ2bj3xkGGM/X1OqCNI9QVI/AAAAAAAA-Zk/AnwFoPADhr4QTGiXxT1-AHCpl6DT-3oPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/s-l1600-4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1157" height="257" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pQ2bj3xkGGM/X1OqCNI9QVI/AAAAAAAA-Zk/AnwFoPADhr4QTGiXxT1-AHCpl6DT-3oPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/s-l1600-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An early postcard shows the swimming amenities at the spring. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f4DgCRMbPY0/X1OqjPjNiSI/AAAAAAAA-Zs/iFxyDBrj8dwS9tW_il7AEd_B_F6dVMfGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/PC14401.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f4DgCRMbPY0/X1OqjPjNiSI/AAAAAAAA-Zs/iFxyDBrj8dwS9tW_il7AEd_B_F6dVMfGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/PC14401.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This postcard from the State Archives almost looks more like a swimming pool. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nNFbKVSDhqA/X1Oqx_pP3cI/AAAAAAAA-Zw/A5iB9pPKDVckem_-PRNGun6goFPR3oLlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/s-l1600-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="1482" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nNFbKVSDhqA/X1Oqx_pP3cI/AAAAAAAA-Zw/A5iB9pPKDVckem_-PRNGun6goFPR3oLlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/s-l1600-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A more contemporary postcard view. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zQCPY8YgaEk/X1OrqGszqNI/AAAAAAAA-aY/YgyQaMHWxyAb24Y9tSLNv_5SEDiTyVSlACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MOZ00412.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="1200" height="271" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zQCPY8YgaEk/X1OrqGszqNI/AAAAAAAA-aY/YgyQaMHWxyAb24Y9tSLNv_5SEDiTyVSlACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/MOZ00412.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five photos illustrating swimming at Silver Springs<br />
from the Mozert Collection at the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Silver Springs 2013. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silver Springs from a 2009 visit.</td></tr>
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<i>To learn more about early tourists to Florida's Gilded Age watering spots, check out my new book, <a href="https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813066530" target="_blank">"Florida's Healing Waters."</a></i></div>
</div>Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-29032836754838517182020-09-01T07:17:00.008-04:002021-03-18T10:15:29.576-04:00Shangri-La Springs: Haven for Health<br />
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Florida has at least 1,000 artesian springs and my new book, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Florida's Healing Waters</a>, documents twenty-two spas that were built adjacent to mineral springs during the Gilded Age. They range from places so popular that entire towns developed around the facilities, such as Green Cove and White Springs, to others so ephemeral that the only evidence they ever existed is in the travel literature of the time, such as Moncrief Spring near Jacksonville. It is also likely that many springs were used for therapeutic bathing by locals, but never commercially developed. And some facilities were enhanced with the addition of water from artesian wells, or "pseudo springs." </div>
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Most of these spring-based spas tended to be in the northern part of Florida where there is a higher concentration of springs. A handful existed in Central Florida, but one of the few that was built in South Florida was the spa at Shangri-La Springs in Lee County. </div>
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The spa originated when Harvie E. Heitman, a prolific businessman and early developer of Southwest Florida’s Lee County, and his brother built Bonita Springs’ Heitman Hotel in 1921 as a built as a place for potential real estate investors to stay. The town of Bonita Springs is said to be named for a sulphur spring on the hotel grounds (the town was previously known by the unremarkable name, Survey.) It is claimed that the spring was sacred to the Calusa Indians who lived in the area hundreds of years ago.</div>
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Heitman died in 1922 and the hotel endured several owners and multiple name changes until osteopath Dr. Charles Gnau bought the property in 1962. It was Gnau who saw the potential of the resort as a place of healing centered around the spring. Gnau believed the water of the spring “compared favorably” to the famed waters of the Baden-Baden Spring in Germany. He was ahead of his time, advocating for a holistic approach to health, including eating organic produce and exercising regularly. Gnau built a spring-fed pool with an Indian maiden statue to the property. The next owner, Dr. R.J. Cheatham renamed the resort the Shangri-La Hotel and developed it into an institute of hygiene. <br />
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Today the <a href="http://www.shangrilasprings.com">Shangri-La Springs resort</a> is operated as a day spa, hotel, and restaurant, offering locally grown organic food and a variety of spa treatments including massage, reiki, saunas, reflexology, and aromatherapy.</div>
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Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-81074390223858093742020-06-06T07:46:00.002-04:002020-06-06T17:18:55.849-04:00A Winter Eden for Victorian-era Visitors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Twenty-first century Florida is a casual place – flip flops, tank tops, and shorts are accepted as appropriate attire for almost any situation. The amount of skin revealed at the beach is quite generous and thongs are considered adequate bathing attire. I have observed that when images of Victorian tourists in outdoor situations in Florida are posted on social media, invariably comments are made regarding the significant amount of clothing worn by these visitors. A typical comment is "how did they not pass out wearing stuff like that?" or "I would be miserable wearing that in the heat humidity." <i>See comments on the image above. </i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>State Archives of Florida</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>State Archives of Florida</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>State Archives of Florida</i></td></tr>
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Travelers to our state in the Gilded Age were restricted by rigid, judicious standards of dress (and long sleeves were added protection against the ever-present mosquitoes.) Plus pale skin was considered desirable as those with tans generally were outdoor laborers and freckles were unwelcome for proper Victorian ladies. Another factor in the inordinate amount of clothing was that initially, many of the visitors to the state were not in robust health, as many came to the Sunshine State as invalids, and they dressed like it.<br />
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<b>But the main reason that so many early visitors to Florida were covered in clothing, from the top of their head to bottom of their heals, was that the overwhelming majority of visitors to the state came during the winter months.</b></div>
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<b>A Place for Consumptives</b></div>
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Tuberculosis, what Victorians called consumption, was the plague of the nineteenth century, and although Robert Koch identified the bacteria that caused the disease in 1882, it was not effectively diminished until the 1950s. In Europe during the nineteenth century, one in four deaths were attributed to tuberculosis and the sanatorium movement emerged because people believed fresh air and taking the waters could bring relief from this disabling disease. Many of Florida's first visitors were sent south by doctors who thought Florida's sunshine and healing waters might help their patients. As early as 1823, just a couple years after Florida was transferred to the United States from Spain, a book called "Observations Upon the Floridas" touted that the climate was good for patients of "consumptive habit" and the physicians should send invalids to Florida in winter rather than "an expensive journey to the south of France and Italy." Eventually, the percentage of invalid travelers diminished and the amount of leisure visitors increased, but the state was originally perceived as America's sanatorium. </div>
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<b>America's Winter Resort</b></div>
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The Florida winter travel business began before the Civil War as hostilities between the U.S. Government and the Seminoles diminished, and advancements in travel made to easier for leisure travelers to get to Florida. Steamers began to travel to North Florida from New York in the 1840s. From Jacksonville, riverboats could take visitors as far south as Enterprise in present-day Volusia County. The Civil War temporarily suspended travel, but when peace came so did the visitors from the north. In the 1870s, the railroad made its way to the state, and according to Floyd and Marion Rinhart, authors of "Victorian Florida: America's Last Frontier," the 1880s brought an intense rivalry between rail and ship routes to Florida.</div>
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According to the Rinharts, the last two weeks of February and the first two weeks of March were initially the most popular times of the year, but eventually, the season expanded to include most of the winter and much of spring. But even as people came for the favorable climate and salubrious sunshine, there were plenty of cold days. And much of the travel around the turn of the century was in the northern part of the state, which is considerably cooler than the central and southern Florida. On February 13, 1899, temperatures dipped to 2 degrees below zero in Tallahassee. <span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Jacksonville chronicler T. Frederick Davis wrote that the lowest temperature ever recorded in <a href="https://www.jaxhistory.org/portfolio-items/the-big-freeze-of-1899/">Jacksonville</a> was on February 8, 1835 when it fell to 8 degrees and “scarcely a winter passes without a temperature at some time as low as freezing.”</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freeze in Melbourne, Feb. 8, 1890</td></tr>
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<b>The Great Freeze</b></div>
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Another great example of just how cold it could be in Florida was the state's <a href="https://www.thehistorycenter.org/the-big-chill/">"Great Freeze"</a> – actually two separate freezes in the winter of 1894-95. When the first freeze hit on December 29, 1894 – temperatures of 18 degrees in Orlando killed the citrus. Many of the mature orange trees survived, however, but a second freeze on February 7, 1895 <a href="https://medium.com/florida-history/the-great-freezes-1894-95-and-the-collapse-of-the-florida-orange-industry-7442e5d75337">wiped out groves </a>across the state. It took decades for the citrus industry to rebound and large scale citrus production never returned to North Florida.</div>
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Rockledge grove of Alfred Trafford after the freeze (State Archives of Florida)</div>
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<b>Winter Cities in a Summer Land</b><br />
Despite these occasional cold temperatures, Florida's reputation as the go-to place for those seeking solace from northern winters only increased as the state developed. In the summertime, well-to-do Victorians flocked to northern vacation spots like Cape May, Atlantic City, Martha's Vineyard, and Newport. In winter Palm Beach and Miami were popular, thanks in large part to Henry Flagler. Advertising for his Florida East Coast Railway helped create an image of Florida as a tropical paradise, especially in winter.<br />
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Marketing has always been a big part of luring people to the Sunshine State in winter, so what better way to get people to come to your town, than have winter right in your town's name? Central Florida has Winter Park, Winter Garden, Winter Springs, and Winter Haven. The Interlachen Winter Resort Company promoted "winter homes in a summer land" in efforts to sell real estate in Interlachen, Florida in 1887. A <a href="https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/297561?id=10">pamphlet </a>from the same era created by the Fort George Island Company bragged that despite a few chilly days in December, the winter was mostly "mellow, golden days" and that their island climate was far more invigorating than that of the mainland.<br />
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<b>Bathing in Winter</b></div>
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Many of the images of Victorians in Florida that receive Facebook comments about our "over-dressed" visitors show people at the beach. One of the biggest draws for visitors to our state in winter was its waters. Our beaches attracted sea bathers and springs, which seem freezing to us today at 72 degrees, were actually considered hot springs! But if you consider the air temperature outside was much colder, the water might actually feel comfortable. </div>
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So the next time you see an image of Gilded Age travelers in the Sunshine State clad in far too many clothes, note that these are individuals following the fashions of the day and it might actually be a chilly winter day at the beach! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This ad for the Clarendon House refers to the "Green Cove Warm Sulphur Spring"</td></tr>
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You can learn more about the Gilded Age in Florida in my second book, <i>Florida's Healing Waters</i>. You can pre-order the book from the publisher's <a href="https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813066530">website</a>; it will likely ship sometime in August.<br />
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Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-29506580897516302782020-05-11T17:16:00.002-04:002020-06-05T17:08:17.224-04:00Hold the Line: Sea Bathing in Florida<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The beaches of Florida have been in the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/us/miami-beach-south-pointe-park-close-trnd/index.html">news</a> quite a bit lately. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has wrestled with whether to keep them open for exercise and recreation or shut them down as a way of enforcing social distancing. Images of crowded beaches full of spring breakers reinforced the absurdity of the governor's early policy to limit the spread of the virus. "The beaches are the state’s definitive cultural, physical asset and economic asset" stated <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/04/28/five-things-to-know-about-floridas-closed-for-now-beaches/">an article</a> in the Tampa Bay Times that reviewed the state's inconsistent policies of beach closures.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1sI76LiDRzk/Xqq37pUCdqI/AAAAAAAA-Mg/-8b10YfKGCsoiXPXro51yQfIhWUEVu5UwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/t_8b9cceb3969f4ee286e98fa60c9b3ccc_name_80FCA08287244F059E51EB2945E491F1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1sI76LiDRzk/Xqq37pUCdqI/AAAAAAAA-Mg/-8b10YfKGCsoiXPXro51yQfIhWUEVu5UwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/t_8b9cceb3969f4ee286e98fa60c9b3ccc_name_80FCA08287244F059E51EB2945E491F1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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But to Florida's first visitors of European descent, its beaches were not considered an asset at all – there are no accounts of 16th century Spaniards shedding their armor to bask in their new colony's sun and surf. But near the dawn of the 20th century, Florida's salubrious seashore began to be developed, and one of the primary reasons was that it was believed that sea bathing was beneficial for one's health. Victorian-era bathers, somewhat timidly, eased their way into the surf, even if they didn't know how to swim.<br />
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<b>The Power of Water</b><br />
By the time that Europeans reached the New World, they had a complex relationship with the sea and water itself, recognizing it both as the substance that sustained life and a force that could have incredible destructive qualities. Early civilizations attributed water's power to spiritual entities living beneath the waves, and ancient cultures both feared and revered water. In "<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1565762.The_Beach">The Beach: The History of Paradise on Earth"</a> by Lena Lencek and Gideon Bokser, they describe ancient man's relationship with the beach as a "liminal space of encounters between Manichean forces of good and evil: between earth and water, man and nature, the civil and the savage, life and death." In order to see the beach as a source of recreation and restoration, man had to first "shed the shackles of mythology" and perhaps, more importantly, the concept of free time, "the most radical and most elusive of human commodities," had to be invented.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JTxAI7gIXLU/XrRw54r5nTI/AAAAAAAA-Ms/pPqVb5GxVXUAWceeGSJbayn5ig8ksgtHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/image-asset.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="625" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JTxAI7gIXLU/XrRw54r5nTI/AAAAAAAA-Ms/pPqVb5GxVXUAWceeGSJbayn5ig8ksgtHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/image-asset.png" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Mythical monsters swarmed in the depths of the seas,<br />
preying on sailors and unwary swimmers" according to Lencek and Bosker</td></tr>
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The practice of visiting the beach for health and leisure originated in the eighteenth century and was the result of two developments. The first was the <a href="http://theantiquesalmanac.com/grandtour.htm">Grand Tour</a>, where well-to-do gentlemen re-discovered the culture of the ancient world while touring the European continent. The second development that led to sea bathing was the ancient practice of taking the waters by soaking in and drinking water from mineral springs. The 18th-century saw an eruption of elaborate spas at mineral springs that led to a culture of bathing throughout Europe at places such as Bath, England, and Spa, Belgium.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 12px;">The sons of elite English families of the 17th,18th, and early 19th centuries often spent two to four years traveling around Europe as an extension of their education to broaden their horizons and learn about language, architecture, geography, and culture in an experience known as the Grand Tour." - Antique Almanac</span></td></tr>
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Spa, Belgium: figures making their way towards the Pouhon mineral fountain, 1762.</div>
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<b>The Evolution of Sea Bathing</b><br />
Bathing in seawater for medicinal purposes originated at the seaside town of Scarborough on England's northeastern coast. While sea-loving cultures of Mediterranean often reveled in recreational pursuits at the beach, it was a novel idea to enter the sea intentionally in the cold, murky waters of England. But when sea bathing for healthful purposes became the vogue in the 1700s, the coast of Britain was bursting with seaside resorts in places like Brighton, Weymouth, Margate, and Blackpool. The phenomena spread beyond Britain, according to Lencek and Bokser, and the monopoly of the "therapeutic British beach was gradually challenged along the Atlantic seashore." That included seaside resorts in Belgium, Holland, France, and eventually the United States. <a href="https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/04/15/victorian-prudes-beachside-bathing-machines/">Bathing machines</a> – covered wagons pulled into the surf – allowed female bathers to enter the water with a degree of modesty (while male bathers often swam naked.) These were popular in England in the nineteenth century as few well-to-do ladies knew how to swim. Attendants called "dippers" assisted bathers in and out of the water.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARLmL99etVY/XrkqVec8buI/AAAAAAAA-NY/_qlpTtAF1B0CNbyR5pAMLGTpeRNtJQeugCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MermaidsAtBrighton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="800" height="224" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARLmL99etVY/XrkqVec8buI/AAAAAAAA-NY/_qlpTtAF1B0CNbyR5pAMLGTpeRNtJQeugCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/MermaidsAtBrighton.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Mermaids at Brighton"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bathing machine circa the 1920s</td></tr>
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<b>Sea Bathing in the New World</b><br />
In the 1800s, Cape May on the Jersey shore became a popular destination to escape from crowded city-life in Philadelphia. Atlantic City appealed to the masses, while the elite found the beaches at places like Bar Harbor, Maine and Newport, Rhode Island more to their liking. Despite the fact that in the early 19th century, most upper-class individuals did not know how to swim, the phenomena of bathing machines was not popular in the States. Swimming was associated with"amusement and physical vigor" which was taboo unless it was undertaken for the purposes of "spiritual or mental development" according to religious beliefs of the period, claims author Jeff Wiltse in the book "Contested Waters." The author claims that the paradigm around swimming began to shift around the midcentury, as the growing middle class, as well as upper classes, started to spend time in seaside resorts and rural retreats dubbed "watering places." With the industrial revolution came increased leisure time and it became acceptable to travel for pleasure and recreation, a concept heretofore unheard of. In America, social reforms were linked to health movements and the then-novel idea of eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly became popular, preached by reformers such as Dr. Harvey Kellogg at his Battle Creek Sanitarium. Bathing and swimming were considered desirable, healthy pursuits.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6pJWW0c0G_o/XrR4INcU8MI/AAAAAAAA-M4/-515d7HaVCke6H8VHutUJwlZ6-NJx6KbACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/main-image-5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1200" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6pJWW0c0G_o/XrR4INcU8MI/AAAAAAAA-M4/-515d7HaVCke6H8VHutUJwlZ6-NJx6KbACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/main-image-5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f7f7f8; color: #323248; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The bathe at Newport </span><span style="background-color: #f7f7f8; color: #323248; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> from Harper's Weekly,</span><span style="background-color: #f7f7f8; color: #323248; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> 1858</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breathing exercises at the Battle Creek Sanitarium</td></tr>
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<b>Discovering the Beaches of Florida</b><br />
Florida's early cities developed at sites where there were good safe harbors for sailing vessels, but until the 19th century, most of the coastline was underutilized at it was seen to possess little value for agriculture or commerce. Key West, St. Augustine, and Pensacola were the most populated cities, and they all were believed to possess therapeutic waters for sea bathing. But it wasn't until after the Civil War, when northerners started venturing into the state in large numbers to escape harsh winters, that the state's coasts started being seen as an asset. The elegant seaside resorts created along the Atlantic by Henry Flagler, helped establish Florida as the "American Riviera."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertising published by the Florida East Coast Railway</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winter bathing is featured in this FEC Railway brochure</td></tr>
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Sea bathing, (also called surf bathing), was an essential part of the appeal of these Gilded Age retreats, and photos of the beach from this era show the popularity of the beach. What is also evident, is that despite the growth of popularity in swimming, many of the visitors to the beach were inexperienced swimmers at best. "Lifeguard observation towers, cork-filled life belts, and the surf reel–a giant spool of strong rope– became standard pieces of surfside equipment, "writes Lencek and Bosker. In photos of the beaches at Flagler's Palm Beach resorts produced by the Detroit Publishing Co., safety lines are evident extending far into the surf. Based on postcards and photos of this time period, these safety lines were a critical part of the beach experience, offering means for bathing to those who could not swim. Safety lines are often seen in images of springs where visitors took the waters as well. Eventually, as the popularity of swimming grew, Flagler built saltwater pools surrounded by bathing casino structures and staffed by swimming instructors.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A postcard shows safety line extending into the surf in Miami</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7VZPygYQe3E/Xrkwgvf0EJI/AAAAAAAA-OM/eepZaRSVtrQkXSpU6wAbcyNpA4SlnjzrwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/4a29010v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1024" height="249" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7VZPygYQe3E/Xrkwgvf0EJI/AAAAAAAA-OM/eepZaRSVtrQkXSpU6wAbcyNpA4SlnjzrwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/4a29010v.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The safety line extends across the image from left to right</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the safety line featured in this image from Palm Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vx1-sKeqlzg/XrlMrDhet3I/AAAAAAAA-Ow/nTG3N5Ptkc8zw1YrAe2NxVD5fP4ztynRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20171110666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="950" height="207" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vx1-sKeqlzg/XrlMrDhet3I/AAAAAAAA-Ow/nTG3N5Ptkc8zw1YrAe2NxVD5fP4ztynRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20171110666.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea bathers in Pensacola (FHS image)</td></tr>
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At the dawn of the 20th century in Florida, carefully venturing into the therapeutic surf clutching a safety line was replaced by the practice of recreational swimming. Today, the beach is seen as a vital asset, when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis re-opened the beaches he said it was important for people to have outlets for getting exercise, sunshine and fresh air. After centuries of being ignored, today the healthful energy of the beach is considered essential to the state's residents and its economy.<br />
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<i>The history of sea bathing in the Sunshine State is further explored in my upcoming book, "<a href="https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813066530&fbclid=IwAR0Kksey7w6XjWUx_8tEF49Aa2WgBghxZzdcuFmmcIa0JA8j7-8Aqlpl28Q">Florida's Healing Waters,"</a> scheduled for publication this fall by the University Press of Florida.</i>Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-67399066724986579672020-02-02T08:56:00.001-05:002020-02-19T05:57:35.771-05:00St. Augustine's Gilded Age Tourist Amusements<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This blog and all my subsequent writing is the direct result of my fascination with the city of <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-love-st-augustine.html">St. Augustine.</a> My wife and I visit at least once a year, and I never seem to run out of entertainment options, despite the fact that I've making treks to the ancient city my whole life. There are both high brow and low brow offerings – from spectacular architecture and sophisticated museums to cheesy gift shops and campy tourist traps. I can't seem to get enough of either.<br />
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The Gilded Age visitor would have had also had a variety of entertainment options and as the city exploded with travelers in the last few decades of the nineteenth century there was no excuse for ennui on a visit to St. Augustine. If you were staying at a hotel in the Flagler system, (the Ponce de Leon, Alcazar, or Cordova) it was almost like staying in an all-inclusive resort. The list of leisure activities was vast and varied from cakewalks, dances, and concerts at the Ponce to a spa experience across the street at the Alcazar – complete with gymnasium and an enormous indoor swimming pool. Outdoor activities included tennis, golf and baseball (both played on the grounds outside the fort), and the ever-popular Victorian pastime of bicycling.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MZaDybCruUA/XjbPw8aFVxI/AAAAAAAA-H0/sjIeMaldm34g_Rq-Zm3qKNDybd523Gz4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Bathing%2Bpool%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bcasino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="1600" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MZaDybCruUA/XjbPw8aFVxI/AAAAAAAA-H0/sjIeMaldm34g_Rq-Zm3qKNDybd523Gz4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Bathing%2Bpool%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bcasino.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swimming in the pool of the Alcazar Hotel was a favorite activity of Victorian visitors to St. Augustine. Image from the Library of Congress. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J1UPyPydrxw/XjVxixIpVSI/AAAAAAAA-HE/LxfYN0GDeScnC1IAyyOMqVBU8w5wJhbnACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Sea%2Bwall%2BHarpers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1462" data-original-width="1001" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J1UPyPydrxw/XjVxixIpVSI/AAAAAAAA-HE/LxfYN0GDeScnC1IAyyOMqVBU8w5wJhbnACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Sea%2Bwall%2BHarpers.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Promenading on the seawall; colorized illustration from <i>Harper's Weekly</i><br />
courtesy of the Matheson History Museum.</td></tr>
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Of course, promenading along the seawall was an essential activity, as it was seen as both healthful to inhale the salubrious salt air and it fulfilled a valuable social component to see and be seen by prospective mates and potential rivals. According to the City of St. Augustine website, the historic <a href="https://www.citystaug.com/363/History">St. Augustine Seawall</a> has long been "an integral part of the city’s fabric — a coquina sentinel from rough waters, a promenade for romantic strolls and waterside socials." Along the seawall, several other entertainment options presented themselves, the equivalent, perhaps, of the establishments one might find today on present-day St. George Street. Here are a few of my favorite second-tier diversions that competed for the opportunity to separate Victorian visitors from their wallets.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qGTKxPWyVsw/Xi2C9JiObjI/AAAAAAAA-As/F-4fkFuDU6MTm_Vz49brxXz94NfKWE_hwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/78843161_10206335224535339_5616971153265393664_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1600" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qGTKxPWyVsw/Xi2C9JiObjI/AAAAAAAA-As/F-4fkFuDU6MTm_Vz49brxXz94NfKWE_hwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/78843161_10206335224535339_5616971153265393664_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Vedder's on the left side of the sea wall, Capo's Bath House on the right.</td></tr>
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<h3>
Dr. Vedder's Museum and Menagerie</h3>
Dr. John Vedder practiced dentistry in the old city in a Spanish Colonial building not far from the Cathedral. Accreditation for medical doctors and dentists was a bit sketchy in the nineteenth century and it appears likely that Vedder learned his trade from studying his son's dentistry textbooks, (his son earned a dentistry degree from Union College). The senior Dr. Vedder, a native New Yorker who worked on railroads up north, moved to St. Augustine in the late 1870s.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-okF1Zo7-YIc/Xi7VyC10cRI/AAAAAAAA-B8/CNGYt4xi1jY8F989L6RyA9z_eNQ_hbuOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/dr%2Bjohn%2Bmuseum%2Bhi%2Bdefinition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1273" data-original-width="1600" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-okF1Zo7-YIc/Xi7VyC10cRI/AAAAAAAA-B8/CNGYt4xi1jY8F989L6RyA9z_eNQ_hbuOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/dr%2Bjohn%2Bmuseum%2Bhi%2Bdefinition.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Vedder on Treasury Street, photo from Shorpy.com.</td></tr>
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Apparently, teeth and trains weren't Vedder's only interests and he, like many Victorians, was an "avid collector of natural specimens and began displaying these specimens in his office," according to <a href="http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~wabnoles/family/veddermuseum.html">this online account.</a> A flattering profile published in the Hartford (Kansas) News states that he began the study of taxidermy in 1876 and soon became an "acknowledged authority on the subject." The article claims that he created the "finest collection of live animals and birds, Indian relics, mounted fish, reptiles, crustaceans, etc. in Florida." Eventually, his collection's popularity dwarfed his dentistry practice, and he began operating Dr. Vedder's Museum and Menagerie across from the Yacht Club, full time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
Looking west down Treasury St. from Bay St., circa 1880.<br />
The gentleman on the right appears to be Dr. Vedder. From the State Archives of Florida. </div>
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Advertisements list the contents of his Curiosity Shop in great detail; "all the most poisonous reptiles on earth," the "St. Augustine Monkey Owl," "Dens of Alligators," and "Oceanic Wonders" including the "Monster Man-Eater Shark." All this and more for a reasonable two-bit admission price. Vedder's building, located on Bay Street across from the seawall next to Treasury street, sported large painted signage that made it nearly impossible to miss.<br />
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African American boys posing in front of Dr. Vedder's Museum on Bay St.<br />
From the State Archives of Florida.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vintage postcard from the State Archives of Florida. Note the alligator in front of the building. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This view shows the Sea Wall which was where Gilded Age visitors promenaded.<br />
From the State Archives of Florida. </td></tr>
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The establishment thrived until Vedder's death in 1899 and it eventually came into the possession of the St. Augustine Historical Society. Ads in the 1906 Standard Guide show a rare glimpse inside the building, which in addition to Vedder's collection, included Native American artifacts, "relics" from the Spanish occupation, maps, and more. Sadly, the historic coquina building was destroyed in the fire of 1914.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Treasury Street postcard with a sign for the Museum.<br />
From the State Archives of Florida. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rare image of museum interior from the 1906 Standard Guide.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Listing for St. Augustine Historical Museum before the fire.</td></tr>
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<h3>
Capo's Bath House</h3>
I'm obsessed with what I call "Florida's Golden Age of Bathing" and I have a <a href="https://www.rickkilby.com/shop">book</a> about the subject coming out this fall. St. Augustine's largest spring actually bubbles up in the Atlantic, so taking the waters in the city limits was a bit of a challenge. Capo's Bath House was a perfect solution for those needing a hydropathy fix, especially invalids and hypochondriacs, both of whom frequented St. Augustine in great numbers during the 19th century. The octagonal-shaped building was just south of the fort on Matanzas Bay near the end of Treasury Street across the street from Dr. Vedder's Museum. It had a stone foundation but was mostly made of wood. It was built around 1870 by Philip V. Capo, a descendant of the Minorcans who escaped from Andrew Turnbull's ill-fated colony in New Smyrna. Capo served the Confederacy during the Civil War and after the end of hostilities like so many Floridians of the era, he went to work making money from Yankees.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sea wall with Capo's Bath House from the Library of Congress.</td></tr>
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The facility offered baths in both hot and cold seawater, sulfur water baths, and showers, which were at that time more about hydropathy than hygiene. Capo also rented sailboats from a pier that extended beyond the bath house into the bay. According to writer Stuart B. McIver, women and children would bathe at low tide and then at high tide, a "ball war raised to the top of a wooden pole" to signal it was men's bathing time. Ideally situated adjacent to the promenade, the location was hard to miss, but sadly the structure also burned down in the fire of 1914. Today you can still see a few of the terracotta-colored steps that led to the bath house along the seawall. The lounge of the famed <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=conch+house+restaurant+st+augustine+fl&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8">Conch House Restaurant</a> was created to look like the bathhouse, repeating the same eight-sided design with a similar clerestory.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s5z85m8eQlE/XjAYdalJOpI/AAAAAAAA-DE/IY74b2gTtZQSIBWTvG7Shv48DC1FVGNBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Capo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="960" height="257" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s5z85m8eQlE/XjAYdalJOpI/AAAAAAAA-DE/IY74b2gTtZQSIBWTvG7Shv48DC1FVGNBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Capo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of Sanborn Fire Insurance map showing the location of Dr. Vedder's Museum<br />
(marked "Curios and Museum") and Capo's Bathhouse on either side of Bay Street.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lounge of the <a href="https://conch-house.com/">Conch House Restaurant</a> is an homage to Capo's Bathhouse.</td></tr>
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<h3>
Whitney's Fountain of Youth/Oldest House/Burning Spring Museum</h3>
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John F. Whitney was another northern entrepreneur who invested in St. Augustine's 19th-century infrastructure, developing the Ravenswood neighborhood beyond the St. Sebastian River and creating several notable attractions. The home of the Massachusetts newspaperman and former politician was constructed on Spengler Island, and there he entertained notable guests there such as <a href="https://www.staugustine.com/article/20101025/NEWS/310259982">Mary Todd Lincoln</a>. Whitney, the grandson of cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney apparently knew notable celebrities of the era including Thomas Edison and P.T. Barnum. Historian Thomas Graham called Whitney the "prototype of the modern Florida land developer," and he published a booklet called "A Brief Account of St. Augustine and Its Environs" to further promote his investments. Much of the booklet is devoted to glowing accounts of the healthful climate of St. Augustine, but it also included floor plans for new houses and a great deal of advice for one interested in making a home in Florida.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1T477qNGAQY/XjAsAuyz9kI/AAAAAAAA-Dw/D8Gyiowz1KIYRRPmlEWZB2wplNoejkV1ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-01-24%2Bat%2B6.19.51%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1T477qNGAQY/XjAsAuyz9kI/AAAAAAAA-Dw/D8Gyiowz1KIYRRPmlEWZB2wplNoejkV1ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-01-24%2Bat%2B6.19.51%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note Ravenswood at the top of this map from the St. Augustine Directory from 1885-86.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSUx6je4_9E/XjK4W-SNUXI/AAAAAAAA-E8/pM-YDxLCUFMlFXupFEafQBooBGPBL7eBACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-01-30%2Bat%2B5.56.48%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1370" data-original-width="922" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSUx6je4_9E/XjK4W-SNUXI/AAAAAAAA-E8/pM-YDxLCUFMlFXupFEafQBooBGPBL7eBACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-01-30%2Bat%2B5.56.48%2BAM.png" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whitney's entire booklet can be viewed <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t22b9pn2k&view=1up&seq=1">here.</a></td></tr>
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As he developed the property around his home, an area he dubbed Ravenswood, he turned to the myth of Ponce de León s quest for waters of immortality as a gimmick to attract potential investors. He constructed a small observation tower over a small spring and proclaimed it to be the fountain of youth and visitors could drink the famed life-giving elixir. Whitney's Fountain of Youth appears on several tourist maps from the era and an ad in the Standard Guide includes this description:<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One of the most historical spots in America, Tonic </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Water, Iron, Iodine and other' medicinal properties. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">CAUTION! Do not drink more than three glasses at one </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">time. It acts quickly and takes away that tired feeling. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">HAPPINESS RESTORED. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></span></div>
According to the <i>St. Augustine Social</i> magazine, the spring was located in West Augustine near the present-day Crookshank Elementary School. This spring attraction is not the same Fountain of Youth Park that was developed by "<a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2013/01/viva-florida-500-mythbusters-edition.html">Diamond Lil" MacConnell</a> around the turn-of-the-century and is still owned and operated by the Frazier family today.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 11px;">"Whitney's Ponce de Leon Springs Fountain of Youth Tonic Water No. 1513 St. Augustine, Fla." From <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StAugustineHistory/">Dr. Bronson's St. Augustine History Facebook page</a>, used courtesy of the Usina family.</span></td></tr>
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In addition to having multiple Fountains of Youth, St. Augustine had more than one oldest house museum, including <a href="https://www.staugustinesocial.com/looking-back-don-toledo-house-insincere-gift/">Whitney's Oldest House</a>. Whitney's son Everett, leased what is now known as the Gaspar Papy House - Don Toledo House in 1903 and advertised it as "The Oldest House in America, ... built in 1516 by Don Toledo, for his Indian bride, assisted by the Seminole Indians..." But as a historical account in the Library of Congress points out, 1516 is only three years after Ponce de León discovered Florida, 49 years before Pedro Menendez founded St. Augustine, and there were no Seminole Indians in Florida until the 1700s. The house was actually constructed by a Greek named in Gaspar Papy early in the 19th century. Ads boasted of "mahogany doors, coquina floors, and furnishings over 200 years old." Everett Whitney ran the attraction until 1912 but the next owners continued to operate it under as "Whitney's Oldest House." The collection was eventually purchased by the St. Augustine Historical Society. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KmKWkI6yQHs/Xi-d5iiqlsI/AAAAAAAA-CY/isGImZ9tmx8jSvoa6cPOxTNVO-Fe1waGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/whitneys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1536" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KmKWkI6yQHs/Xi-d5iiqlsI/AAAAAAAA-CY/isGImZ9tmx8jSvoa6cPOxTNVO-Fe1waGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/whitneys.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior of Whitney's Oldest House, Library of Congress</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcards from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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According to Thomas Graham, it was the younger Everett's idea to feature a pen of alligators at the Fountain of Youth location. The genesis of his concept appears to have derived from a single gator that made the unfortunate decision to settle in the spring; soon Whitney had a dozen alligators, in addition to "bears, wildcats, snakes, and other Florida animals." Alligator wrestling attracted more visitors to what was then a remote location in west St. Augustine, but at some point, Whitney moved some of his alligators to South Beach on Anastasia Island near the terminus of the trolley line that traveled between the town and the island. Eventually, the South Beach alligator attraction was taken over by Felix Fire and George Reddington, and they are given credit for being the founders of the <a href="https://www.alligatorfarm.com/our-history/">St. Augustine Alligator Farm</a> that still exists today.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JN-vi00fbXo/Xk0Sy7xVRVI/AAAAAAAA-Jk/km6aSVkUhYchbI0vcEAnDjvLEZxUcN2wACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/86935634_10206631128732759_4756908217143918592_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1261" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JN-vi00fbXo/Xk0Sy7xVRVI/AAAAAAAA-Jk/km6aSVkUhYchbI0vcEAnDjvLEZxUcN2wACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/86935634_10206631128732759_4756908217143918592_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Could this be Whitney's alligator pen? Photo from a private collection, circa 1900, shared by Tim Jackson on the Historic Florida group on Facebook. Used with permission.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ehURlEjd32U/XjLA-l3RysI/AAAAAAAA-FI/ZPX4X97ALPsTwGrDqKduT96yE0mYM8RygCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/rc00050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ehURlEjd32U/XjLA-l3RysI/AAAAAAAA-FI/ZPX4X97ALPsTwGrDqKduT96yE0mYM8RygCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/rc00050.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1880s image of the horse-drawn trolley to Anastasia Island<br />
from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2RlpIfEUtqA/XjLBfOguL9I/AAAAAAAA-FQ/L5NxMLqh9P0BKy5zmoTO_I0PP-lSj4EAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/21167629_1609052705812441_4789682160593212016_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="1600" height="100" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2RlpIfEUtqA/XjLBfOguL9I/AAAAAAAA-FQ/L5NxMLqh9P0BKy5zmoTO_I0PP-lSj4EAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/21167629_1609052705812441_4789682160593212016_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panoramic image showing the South Beach Alligator Farm and Burning Spring Museum.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated photograph of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm<br />
from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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Adjacent to his South Beach alligator pen, Everett Whitney opened a dubious attraction known as the Burning Spring Museum, another attraction full of Florida "curiosities" including an artesian well that when ignited "burned like alcohol." One account testifies that gas was poured on the spring before it was ignited, which might explain its apparent flammability.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xa82mdD_H0s/XjLIw3oAw0I/AAAAAAAA-F0/nsb81tQIjRAX_vsYMNppPEdHNe4MZWY6wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/flc_br0005_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="316" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xa82mdD_H0s/XjLIw3oAw0I/AAAAAAAA-F0/nsb81tQIjRAX_vsYMNppPEdHNe4MZWY6wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/flc_br0005_01.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"History of the Burning Spring" from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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Here is a description by Hewstone and Hazel Raymenton, travelers to St. Augustine in 1916:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Soon after crossing the toll bridge we came into sight of the sea. At about the same time we passed close to the lighthouse which forms such a landmark when viewed from the city. It is painted in a manner to resemble a stick of black and white peppermint candy . . . At this place there is an alligator farm much like the one we saw at Los Angeles. There may not be so many alligators here but there are more of the large sized specimens. One old monster is said to be fully four hundred years old and there are several others not much younger. There are, in addition, several huge leather back turtles and cages of numerous different animals and birds. In one room is a collection of reptiles including an iguana and two gila monsters. One diamondback rattlesnake was so excited by the keeper that he rattled loudly for fully five minutes. Most curious of all is a spring of water, the fumes arising from which can be ignited. When allowed to rise through a pipe a fierce flame could be got but, strange to say, there seemed to be no burning qualities in it. The water itself did not have an unpleasant taste."<i><a href="https://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/c.php?g=748852&p=5445892"> – Hewstone and Hazel Raymenton, 1916</a>, from the holdings of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History</i></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tire advertisement from St. Augustine urging motorists to visit Anastasia Island, circa 1921,<br />
from the State Archives of Florida</td></tr>
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Fire and Reddington eventually moved the alligator farm further inland to its current location and the original location of the alligator pens and the burning spring "succumbed to erosion" according to Graham, and both were visible along the shoreline at low tide for many years afterward.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7xWjN4X_664/XjLH11nSmSI/AAAAAAAA-Fs/Lfg7Y1D47ZY9UOzS2NyMtFm9hv9DduIMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/pr75953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="857" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7xWjN4X_664/XjLH11nSmSI/AAAAAAAA-Fs/Lfg7Y1D47ZY9UOzS2NyMtFm9hv9DduIMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/pr75953.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated promotional image from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm<br />
from the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<h3>
Museums, Curiosity Shops, or Both?</h3>
The Victorian appetite for Florida's "curiosities" seemed immense – there was another establishment mentioned in the <a href="http://1885 St. Augustine Directory">1885 St. Augustine Directory</a> called "The St. Augustine Museum" with an "almost endless collection" of historical objects, oddities, and novelties. On the map in the tourist's guide, it is listed in the legend three times, as a "Collection of Old Spanish Relics," a "Circulating Library," and the "Bric-a-Brac and Antiquarian Store." The section preceding the museum's multiple page descriptions is a section titled "Curiosity Stores" that states that there were several establishments where the "natural productions of Florida can be obtained," the foremost being the Fort Marion Store within the Museum. It appears clear than many of the natural oddities on display in museums, could also be purchased. <br />
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Larry Roberts, author of "Florida Golden Age of Souvenirs" explains that natural science was a popular hobby among Florida visitors as "Darwinian doctrine fashionably infused Victorian intellect." "One could assume that tourists with dawning scientific curiosities would enjoy whiling away the hours seeking items of intrigue for their developing specimen collections" Roberts explains. "Bio curios" included seashells, exotic bird feathers, alligator teeth, and other miscellaneous items crafted from natural specimens. The line between museum and gift shop seems fuzzy and curio shops appeared to stock their stores with the same historic and natural novelty goods that were on display in museums of the era. The plethora of Florida curio stores in St. Augustine and other destinations is a phenomenon worthy of exploration in a future post.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9j4rp6e86BE/XjQhsuEJSQI/AAAAAAAA-GM/6wRkk3_pi54ZLJulfz61-_nSGO0q82m8wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-01-24%2Bat%2B6.26.30%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="1600" height="261" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9j4rp6e86BE/XjQhsuEJSQI/AAAAAAAA-GM/6wRkk3_pi54ZLJulfz61-_nSGO0q82m8wCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-01-24%2Bat%2B6.26.30%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Museum was located opposite the fort near the city gates.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add for a business selling Florida curios in the 1885 St. Augustine Guide.</td></tr>
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Is there still a market for offbeat oddities and natural curiosities in the 21st century? One merely needs to look only as far as <a href="https://www.legendsofamerica.com/fl-ripleysodditorium/">Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium</a>, in operation continuously for 70 years in St. Augustine, to find out the answer is yes. In all my visits to the city, I've never visited Ripley's – it's just another reason for a return trip. If I could only purchase a Fiji Mermaid in the gift shop...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The building in the background of this <a href="https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/326090">1892 cyanotype</a> is the Castle Warden<br />
which has served as the home of Ripley's Believe it or Not since 1950.<br />
From the State Archives of Florida. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard of Fiji Mermaid from Ripley's.</td></tr>
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<br />Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-9766192665493816312020-01-17T06:26:00.002-05:002020-01-17T07:08:17.283-05:00Inside the studio of the legendary Bruce Mozert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It seems like Bruce Mozert's work is everywhere these days. An exhibit called "Underwater Innovations: The Florida Springs Photography of Bruce Mozert" recently opened in Tallahassee. The 2020 calendar produced by the <a href="https://www.floridamemory.com/">State Archives of Florida</a> features Florida springs and uses many of his images. Because the State Archives <a href="https://www.thedestinlog.com/news/20190331/cf-and-government-purchase-bruce-mozerts-iconic-photos">accessioned</a> the <a href="https://www.floridamemory.com/solr-search/results/?q=%28n2018%5C-20%20OR%20tt%3An2018%5C-20%5E10%29&query=n2018-20">Bruce Mozert Collection</a> in 2018, they scan new Mozert images seemingly every week, and copious amounts of his magical photos crowd my social media feeds. The collection contains approximately 25,000 negatives, thousands of prints, and hundreds of films. Mozert was prolific.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learn more here: https://bit.ly/2TwSY9c</td></tr>
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On December 29, 2014, I had the pleasure of meeting this pioneer in underwater photography. Gary Monroe's book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Springs-Underwater-Photography-Mozert/dp/0813032202">"Silver Springs: The Underwater Photography of Bruce Mozert"</a> helped to elevate Mozert's work to the status of fine art, but originally he was a successful commercial photographer based at Silver Springs. His creative and campy underwater images were sent to wire services nationwide and helped to make Siver Springs into one of the highest attended attractions anywhere.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> A Mozert photo reproduced in the <i>Pittsburgh Press</i> in 1954</td></tr>
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Gary set up the meeting with Mozert and I was accompanied by my Springs Eternal Project partners John Moran and Lesley Gamble. I was inspired by the meeting and took pages of notes but for some reason, I never wrote about it until now. According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Mozert">Wikipedia</a>, Mozert was born in 1916, which means he would have been 98 when we visited! He passed away less than a year later on October 14, 2015.<br />
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His studio at the time was in a nondescript building near Silver Springs. The space was packed with photos, still and video equipment (all analog), and miscellaneous ephemera all over the walls. My kind of place. The front reception area had a stack of prints for sale, for sale at reasonable prices, a fact that made Gary cringe since he was working hard to establish Mozert's work as fine art, worthy of art galleries and museums. In the back was a darkroom and film editing equipment, and his office, packed with mementos and images of almost a half-century of work at Silver Springs. Photos covered almost every inch of wall. Gary helped get the reproduction rights for the use of one of Mozert's images in my first book, "<a href="https://www.rickkilby.com/finding-the-fountain-of-youth">Finding the Fountain of Youth,"</a> and I was extremely grateful. I proudly presented him with a copy of the book.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by John Moran</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mozert photo in my book</td></tr>
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This is from my notes:<br />
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According to Mozert, he came from a family of inventors. His father, grandfather and great grandfather were all inventors. His <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zo%C3%AB_Mozert">sister</a> was a well-known illustrator in New York and she helped Mozert get a photography gig for a shoe company. He was headed to Miami for the assignment when he detoured to Silver Springs because he heard they were making Tarzan movies there. The underwater photography of the day used 55-gallon drums as underwater housings. Mozert built his housing from a piece of an inner tube connected to a metal box that he welded to hold the camera. It took him almost all night to make the apparatus and he bought an underwater mask at a dime store.<br />
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He also talked about the infamous preview of Howard Hughes movie <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2011/03/jane-russell-at-silver-springs.html">"Underwater" </a>starring Jane Russell where Jane Mansfield quite literally burst upon the scene, a story I had heard from Ginger Stanley Hollowell as well. Mozert claimed that he took a revealing photo that helped Mansfield get noticed. Lloyd Bridges, who filmed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Hunt">"Sea Hunt"</a> at Silver Springs, was "down to earth," but he said Esther Williams whom he worked with on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter%27s_Darling">"Jupiter's Darling"</a> was "temperamental."<br />
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He also reminisced about "blasting out the spring underwater" with a firehose and dumping seashells from the ocean into the spring for photography purposes, two practices that the State of Florida would probably frown upon today. He seemed aware of the declining condition of Florida's springs noting that the water table was going down, and that man had "tampered with (nature) so much."<br />
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Women in Jantzen bathing suits posing by a sign for the underwater theater </div>
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at Silver Springs, from the State Archives of Florida.</div>
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After spending time talking to Mozert in his studio, we offered to take him to lunch, and I had the opportunity to drive him to a pizza place on Silver Springs Boulevard. At the restaurant, they had several of his photos framed on the wall, and the photographer proudly posed in front of this work. He seemed to enjoy the attention and telling stories from his past. Sadly as I search my memories of my impressions of Mozert years after the visit, I wish I remembered more. I recall that he seemed proud of his involvement with local civic organizations – he had Lions Club memorabilia displayed on his wall next to hand-tinted images of bikini-clad underwater models. I was overwhelmed by the office and studio, it seemed like a time capsule from Florida's Golden Age of Roadside Attractions that was unchanged by time.<br />
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Writer Jeff Klinkenberg states that in its heyday, Silver Springs was a wonder of the world – Florida's Grand Canyon. I'm fascinated with the people who inspired so many tourists to visit this now-famous remote location near Ocala. The spring's owners, Carl Ray and W.M. "Shorty" Davidson, were extraordinary marketers who came up with novel, innovative methods of promoting the attraction. Newt Perry, the "human fish," was featured in Mozart's underwater images and he developed unique techniques to stay underwater that were used at Wakulla and Weeki Wachee Springs. <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2009/12/bathing-beauty-from-creature-feature.html">Ginger Stanley</a> started out doing office work and ended up as a model in many iconic Mozert images. Ross Allen dedicated almost fifty years to studying the wildlife around the park at his reptile institute. To me, these individuals were icons in Florida history – people who had a huge impact on our state's development who created ripples that still reverberate today. And Bruce Mozert, who found himself in the right place at the right time and ended up spending a lifetime creating enchanting images, is foremost among these pillars of tourism history. For me, this trip to Mozert's studio was like visiting a temple of Old Florida. I am grateful for the opportunity to have made the pilgrimage.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bruce Mozert with flash and underwater camera from the 1950s via the State Archives of Florida.</td></tr>
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<br />Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-62631508579547033102020-01-08T18:52:00.001-05:002020-01-09T08:23:17.835-05:00Reclaiming the Sublime on the Ocklawaha River<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Not surprisingly, <i>Picturesque America</i> took the lead in promoting the funeral moss, grotesque trees, and wild chaotic vegetation of the Florida swamps of the Ocklawaha River. For the well-to-do northerners, the boggy, overgrown southern wetlands offered the perfect dark adventure. For these Victorians, taking a boat ride down a swampy southern river was a thrilling escape into the unknown, a peep show of the grotesque, a blending of the realistic and fantastic, which thrilled in a strange and disturbing way. It was the dark side of the picturesque." <i>– From "Souvenirs of the Old South: Northern Tourism and Southern Mythology" by Rebecca Cawood McIntyre</i></blockquote>
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After the Civil War, northern visitors streamed into Florida and a large number of them took steamboats to Silver Springs via the Ocklawaha River. Palatka was a boomtown where travelers transferred to smaller boats suitable for the winding narrow passageways of the what Creek Indians called "ak-lowahe", meaning muddy or crooked river. The trek into the dark, mysterious wilderness was in alignment with Victorian sensibilities of the time, part of their obsession with the sublime, defined for Victorians as a feeling of <a href="http://victorian-era.org/the-sublime.html">"inner greatness of the soul</a><a href="http://victorian-era.org/the-sublime.html">"</a> related to the "sense of grandeur that fuels awe and wonder." As a reaction to the Industrial Revolution that was taking place in the cities of the north, Gilded Age travelers sought out the sublime in nature, and the Romantic Movement helped to perpetuate the notion that a connection with nature was healthy for the soul.<br />
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Nineteenth-century travel literature helped promote this fantastic riverboat trip and authors Harriett Beecher Stowe and Sidney Lanier both wrote about their pilgrimages to Silver Springs. A superb example of the nineteenth-century hype surrounding the Ocklawaha trip can be found in the words and images of an influential publication know as <i>Picturesque America</i>. The enormous two-volume set was edited by poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant, who wrote about his own trip up the St. Johns River in 1850's <a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/webextras/webextras/50">"Letters of a Traveler: Notes of Things Seen in Europe and America."</a> There are nine hundred detailed engravings in the <i>Picturesque America </i>volumes and the images of the Ocklawaha were created by artist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Fenn">Harry Fenn</a>, a prominent illustrator of the era. The romantic language and captivating imagery had an enormous effect on tourism and it earned its publisher a million dollars, according to writer Rebecca McIntyre. The result of the publicity can be noted in the sheer volume of tourists coming into the state, then called "strangers." Historian Tracy Revels documented that in 1874 a reporter estimated 50,000 visitors had traveled by steamboat to Silver Springs. There were 74 steamboats servicing the St. Johns River alone!<br />
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While most of the passengers on the steamboats cruising up the Ocklawaha were reveling in the sublimity of the experience, others saw dollar signs in the form of the ancient cypress trees that lined the river. As the river was logged out, part of the tour became passing long rafts of floating logs on their way to a mill in Palatka. When the age of railroads dawned, it became easier to reach Silver Springs by train, and a trip up the Ocklawaha became superfluous. Steamboats were replaced by watercraft with internal combustion engines and by the 1920s the Ocklawaha's steamboat era had ended. But Silver Springs grew into the premier midcentury attraction in the state and the pastel-colored, glass bottom boats are now Florida icons.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard showing Silver Springs, probably from the 1950s.</td></tr>
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The romantic, sublimity of the river was forgotten and by the 1930s the waterway was seen as an important link in a <a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/frontiers/article/95">canal</a> that would bisect the state, provide jobs and stimulate the economy. Serious construction did not start until decades later in 1964, but it was stopped in 1971 because of ecological concerns raised by an environmental group led by <a href="https://fladefenders.org/history/marjorie-harris-carr/">Marjorie Harris Carr</a>. The project was officially de-authorized a couple decades later and the state took over and created what is now called the <a href="https://www.floridastateparks.org/Cross-Florida">Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Land clearing and controlled fires at Eureka, circa 1960s from the <a href="https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/1314">State Archives of Florida</a>.</td></tr>
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One of the legacies of the ill-fated project is in an artificial reservoir that has to be drawn down every four years in order to kill the invasive growth that clogs up the 7,500-acre pool. I first <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/02/return-to-oklawaha.html">visited</a> during the drawdown nine years ago, exploring the area that was smashed by giant crushers and winding through an eerie forest of ghost cypress stumps. During the last drawdown, I had plans to kayak to one of the many springs that are drowned by the tons of water in the reservoir, but a heavy rain "browned out" the springs and I canceled my trip.<br />
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Looking for a river's roots</h3>
My efforts to get to the <a href="https://floridaspringsinstitute.org/the-ocklawahas-lost-springs/">"Lost Springs"</a> of the Ocklawaha were almost spoiled again due to heavy winter rainfall, but I decided to forge on, whatever the conditions, as this opportunity might not present itself for four more years. So I arranged a trip with Captain Karen Chadwick of <a href="http://northstarcharters.net/">Northstar Charters</a>, my guide nine years ago. On an overcast, late-December day I set out with my brother and his girlfriend's kid, climate change activist Levi Draheim. As we launched from the former steamboat stop at Eureka, clouds threatened, and the river flowed with a strong current from the rainfall of recent days. While it was far from a picture-perfect Florida day, the conditions created a sense of gloom and mystery, the perfect atmosphere to try to imagine how this untamed river might have been viewed through the eyes of Victorian travelers in the nineteenth century.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The steamboat <i>William Howard</i> leaving Eureka Landing from the <a href="https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/8528">State Archives of Florida</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henry Fenn illustration from <i>Picturesque America</i> showing a riverboat on the Ocklawaha at night.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The foreboding atmosphere when we launched was in time replaced by blue skies. <br />
Image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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One of our first stops was at the gate of an dam spillway that was never completed, a hideous monument to man's hubris in the pristine wilderness. Looking very much like a dam, it seemed out-of-place in a channel dredged for barges that never came. To me the parts of the waterway that were manmade had a different feeling than the original channel, the conduits carved out by machine were wider, straighter, and felt soulless compared to winding, organic original watercourse. "As we wound along through the dense vegetation, a picture of novel interest presented itself at every turn" notes the writer of <i>Picturesque America</i>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The never-used dam spillway at Eureka, photo by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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As was often the case on nineteenth-century excursions of the river, the journey up the Ocklawaha was made at night, and the surrounding forest was lit by firelight. "No imagination can conceive the grotesque and weird forms which constantly force themselves on your notice as the light partially illuminates the limbs of wrecked or half-destroyed trees, which, covered with moss or wrapped in decayed vegetation as a winding sheet, seem huge, unburied monsters..." Although we traveled by day, I observed that the edge of the dense swamp surrounding the river is still lined with amazing trees of different shapes and varieties. One particular "monster" was a huge hollow cypress, accessible only because of the drawdown, still standing because lightning must have damaged it and loggers thought it unworthy of harvesting. Inside it was large enough for several people and holes in the tree made perfect windows. For me, standing in this goliath was one of a highlight of the trip, a moment in which we felt like Hobbits or other creatures of folklore, finding shelter in a magical realm.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The big tree, image by Kilby Photo. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect in its imperfection, image by Kilby Photo. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking up towards the top of the hollow cypress, image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's hard for me to imagine cutting one of these mighty trees with just an ax.</td></tr>
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Another highlight for us was the opportunity for spectacular bird-watching – my brother, Levi and I are all bird lovers. This portion of the river was chock full of limpkins, ibis, herons, egrets, wood storks, hawks, and a lovely group of Roseate Spoonbills – a rarity I'm told. In <i>Picturesque America</i>, passages are devoted to the water turkey (Anhinga), white crane (egret), and turkey-buzzards that "wait patiently" for the decomposition of an alligator. Gators seemed to be around every turn as we wound our way downriver, and they rarely felt obliged to move as we passed, allowing for spectacular views of these prehistoric-looking animals. Today, we are satisfied to shoot these ubiquitous reptiles with cameras, but Victorian visitors often shot alligators with rifles for sport. <i>Picturesque America</i> tells of the "sudden interruption of a rifle ball" against an alligator's "mailed sides."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roseate Spoonbills. Image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4GkWa2-VVUw/XhZMCYcnYLI/AAAAAAAA96c/Ec8DGNaW1vwrA8DmvUd1A6BGrprtywB5ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="1500" height="233" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4GkWa2-VVUw/XhZMCYcnYLI/AAAAAAAA96c/Ec8DGNaW1vwrA8DmvUd1A6BGrprtywB5ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_KPH5562.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Egret. Image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-efNKQgpm0FI/XhZMK2OKy_I/AAAAAAAA96k/ndgA0o6Uqn8676PVzc1c5LvxiOxGgcJ-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="1500" height="217" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-efNKQgpm0FI/XhZMK2OKy_I/AAAAAAAA96k/ndgA0o6Uqn8676PVzc1c5LvxiOxGgcJ-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_KPH5577.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White Ibis. Image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tuKXYEE_lY/XhZMcSQM1UI/AAAAAAAA96s/etefrBxbAuo9XE9x-1hGz0qrpJhRXV4cACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/P1010223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tuKXYEE_lY/XhZMcSQM1UI/AAAAAAAA96s/etefrBxbAuo9XE9x-1hGz0qrpJhRXV4cACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/P1010223.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Alligator. Image by Rick Kilby.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlW_bQj6Pu8/XhZaigjME-I/AAAAAAAA97Y/iU9mWP8xSOMRmX4gBmgYgz-oBZKu7hLsACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_2832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlW_bQj6Pu8/XhZaigjME-I/AAAAAAAA97Y/iU9mWP8xSOMRmX4gBmgYgz-oBZKu7hLsACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/IMG_2832.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In some ways, not much has changed since 1872.</td></tr>
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One of the more interesting illustrations of the book shows a mailbox nailed to a large cypress tree – an everyday object incongruous in this wild setting. In addition to the ugly vestiges of the canal project near Eureka, a surprising manmade-object along the river was the home of Dr. Stange, a physician once based in McIntosh, Florida who included Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings among his patients. He tragically drowned in the river, but the ruins of his once beautiful home survive, including the remnants of a swimming pool. The tile floors and masonry walls are being swallowed up by jungle and the windows now serve as frames for the unchecked wilderness that will soon reclaim this crumbling edifice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWuMXYrAJE8/XhXHfh7C6AI/AAAAAAAA95A/fFR_f9rNbrUhn4oF3NL9Ege1wnvMM6CcgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IOA_ock3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="754" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWuMXYrAJE8/XhXHfh7C6AI/AAAAAAAA95A/fFR_f9rNbrUhn4oF3NL9Ege1wnvMM6CcgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IOA_ock3.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The illustration is titled "A post-office on the Ocklawaha."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RUuSU_KqDCM/XhZlUaoNSQI/AAAAAAAA98Y/SwXkKriL5vEn3YWmKlwAKxL4yj9NAcdYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RUuSU_KqDCM/XhZlUaoNSQI/AAAAAAAA98Y/SwXkKriL5vEn3YWmKlwAKxL4yj9NAcdYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/_KPH5417.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The house of Dr. Strange, image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<h3>
Into the transparent depths</h3>
In the nineteenth century, the payoff of any journey up the Ocklawaha was a stop at the magnificent Silver Springs, at that time the largest array of freshwater springs in North America. In <i>Picturesque America</i>, the author marvels at the transparency of the water and drops a pebble wrapped with a piece of white paper to watch it flutter into the depths. We were not so sure if the spring we were visiting would be visible at all with the recent rains, so as we navigated into the narrow spring run, we crossed our fingers. As we pulled into the cove of Cannon Springs, it still possessed that unmistakable blue-green hue present in most of Florida's springs. Levi jumped in immediately and my brother and I soon followed, hovering over the boil and posing for the photos to document our trip to a remarkable lost spring. Although it felt cold initially, the water felt great once we got accustomed to it, and we were welcomed with hot chocolate once we got out. While the spring was not a first magnitude wonder, it still had its own charm, as all Florida springs do. The fact that it is ephemeral, made the visit even more special. The spring was browned out the following day by rainwater released upstream.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XnRsP5A6pGs/XhZcc7g9YQI/AAAAAAAA974/cQHlnfb0cuodFb184mXog02kTju5e10eACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IOA_ock5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1000" height="312" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XnRsP5A6pGs/XhZcc7g9YQI/AAAAAAAA974/cQHlnfb0cuodFb184mXog02kTju5e10eACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/IOA_ock5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silver Spring from <i>Picturesque America</i>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lRZdx6DIIGM/XhZJA8hUFSI/AAAAAAAA95g/K3qkmqtkYsIUbHJCyAxuD_PoPqL4La1iQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lRZdx6DIIGM/XhZJA8hUFSI/AAAAAAAA95g/K3qkmqtkYsIUbHJCyAxuD_PoPqL4La1iQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_KPH5332.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The canopied spring run to Cannon Springs, image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gsqFICBKFzw/XhZb_E42QjI/AAAAAAAA97w/ZlDhR9eiIqsXZL5n08tOH1JE39Xy4snBACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gsqFICBKFzw/XhZb_E42QjI/AAAAAAAA97w/ZlDhR9eiIqsXZL5n08tOH1JE39Xy4snBACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_KPH5300.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Levi and I agree – the dam is dumb. Image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fcK4QQTVFWE/XhZaxiqAYUI/AAAAAAAA97c/5auQSU0pe0E82VSlFvLJPvzhdA1ybH9CgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/P1010260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fcK4QQTVFWE/XhZaxiqAYUI/AAAAAAAA97c/5auQSU0pe0E82VSlFvLJPvzhdA1ybH9CgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/P1010260.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Levi the fish, image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u8GIOgUYQ1c/XhZbpM0tz6I/AAAAAAAA97o/semZb765amA9zAYjoy3Dkatv1himJ7UZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u8GIOgUYQ1c/XhZbpM0tz6I/AAAAAAAA97o/semZb765amA9zAYjoy3Dkatv1himJ7UZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_KPH5295.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cannon Springs, image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<h3>
A sublime sink</h3>
Sublime is not a word that most of us use often in our present-day vocabulary; we tend to gravitate to over-the-top terms such as awesome, spectacular, and mega-everything. A few, however, seem comfortable talking about a sense of spirituality that can be found when experiencing the natural world. In my mind, there is little doubt that the Ocklawaha River is a special place, and that we need to reverse the damage caused by our attempts to channelize this wild waterway. Those who want to preserve the dam and maintain the status quo believe that the reservoir has created a paradise for bass fishing. But as a child, my father and I went undertook many fishing trips on the undammed portion of the Ocklawaha near the St. John River and we met with plenty of success. And we were not alone – I remember wave after wave of bass boats speeding down the river to their favorite fishing holes.<br />
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Perhaps what is needed to reclaim the river is a paradigm shift towards the values of the Victorians who sought out the mysterious and sublime. An inwardly focused approach, based less on external thrills and more on the journey of the spirit, could have an enormous effect on this part of Florida. <i>The soul of a river waits to be released.</i><br />
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Author Bill Belleville writes of yearning for an opportunity to "sink into gator time," which he describes as an appreciation of the "long natural continuum" that our wildlife enjoyed in the time before man. "Sinking," describes Belleville, is an act that that requires the "timeless patience of a reptile to be so deep inside nature that you become blissfully unaware of all else." If you should have the opportunity to float down the untamed Ocklawaha River, I wish you a good "sink."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HPrpmWhpmQ0/XhZNz0jQ52I/AAAAAAAA97M/tfCxzyYb9VExbms7MDXg_BpXLP70c0OqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1500" height="286" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HPrpmWhpmQ0/XhZNz0jQ52I/AAAAAAAA97M/tfCxzyYb9VExbms7MDXg_BpXLP70c0OqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_KPH5323.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by Kilby Photo. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGxf7DImhao/XhZdGWMVCaI/AAAAAAAA98E/5HY9bMAybHIvb8RLML6ttCUt4qCXqGKgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGxf7DImhao/XhZdGWMVCaI/AAAAAAAA98E/5HY9bMAybHIvb8RLML6ttCUt4qCXqGKgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_KPH5397.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by Kilby Photo. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zycdUPeofuE/XhZNeVgKHaI/AAAAAAAA97A/QHEsxh-GkTUFYbEdZT3e1V8oM6sotTA2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zycdUPeofuE/XhZNeVgKHaI/AAAAAAAA97A/QHEsxh-GkTUFYbEdZT3e1V8oM6sotTA2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_KPH5431.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by Kilby Photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ke06L6PNmAA/XhZdSIQ8Y-I/AAAAAAAA98I/Smt070G9WrABGQpfDhtFGmDPPhBg3sF_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/_KPH5374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1035" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ke06L6PNmAA/XhZdSIQ8Y-I/AAAAAAAA98I/Smt070G9WrABGQpfDhtFGmDPPhBg3sF_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/_KPH5374.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by Kilby Photo. </td></tr>
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Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-62659537697842825802019-12-14T11:12:00.002-05:002019-12-15T18:51:20.884-05:00Revisiting Warm Mineral Springs<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 4.32pt; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qgQMOkBl_6A/XfN8mlqnCCI/AAAAAAAA904/UIXaiHijUwcOxn7KhfWQtBwwnPVYzU7agCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/P1010124_lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qgQMOkBl_6A/XfN8mlqnCCI/AAAAAAAA904/UIXaiHijUwcOxn7KhfWQtBwwnPVYzU7agCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/P1010124_lo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=371057245307283394" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">I have a mental wish list of ideal places where I’d like to give presentations and Warm Mineral Springs is at the top of my list. My reasoning is that the North Port, FL spring incorporates two aspects of Florida history that interest me the most – the <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-journey-to-fountain-of-youth.html">myth of the fountain</a><a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-journey-to-fountain-of-youth.html"> of youth</a> and the practice of taking the water at mineral springs. Florida has over 1,000 freshwater springs, all of which are unique and have their own magic. But there is nothing quite like Warm Mineral Springs. The spring's geology and archeology separate it from other Florida springs, but it has an interesting history and exciting future as well.</span><br />
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The spring's remote location, in southwest Florida, meant it missed <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2018/03/hunting-for-relics-of-golden-age.html">F</a><a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2018/03/hunting-for-relics-of-golden-age.html">lorida's Golden Age of Bathing</a> in the late 19th century. Much of that part of the state was considered dangerous Indian territory at the same time steamboats were traveling up and down the St. Johns River delivering patrons to elegant spring-based spas. Englishman F. Trench Townsend visited the spring on a hunting and fishing trip and published an account of his journey called "<a href="https://archive.org/details/wildlifeinflorid00townrich/page/n8">Wild Life in Florida"</a> in 1875. His rustic camp along the Myakka River is a dramatic contrast to the Victorian splendor of the accommodations at springs on the opposite side of the state. He wrote of the spring “To the taste, the water was salt and sulphurous, peculiarly nasty and offering a strong contrast to its marvelously clear and tempting appearance.” The author attempted to bathe in the spring but spied "the scaly body" of an alligator on the opposite bank, and changed his mind.<br />
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The spring was utilized by settlers in the area for years and a 1922 ad claims it to be the best place in Florida for the "right man to build a hotel, sanitarium, and city," noting that its medical waters were especially potent for curing skin diseases. The "right man", turned out to be the right woman, when Philadelphia millionaire George K. Brown purchased the spring for his wife Lillian in 1923. It is likely that the Browns knew of the property because of George's brother, <a href="https://atom.library.miami.edu/brown-franklin-quimby-1862-1955">Franklin Quimby Brown</a>, who at the age of 29 became president of the Florida Southern Railroad. Brown's railroad was absorbed by tycoon Henry Plant in 1896, and after Plant's death in 1899, it was Brown who arranged for Plant's luxurious <a href="https://www.plantmuseum.com/about/the-museum">Tampa Bay Hotel</a> to be sold to the City of Tampa. Despite Lillian Brown's wish to develop the property surrounding the spring, as evidenced by a classified ad she placed in 1924 soliciting investors, she did little to enhance the site during her ownership. <o:p></o:p></div>
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By 1950, it was apparent new owners had big plans for the springs, now dubbed the "original Fountain of Youth," and by 1954 lots surrounding the spring could be purchased for just $25 down and $7.50 per month! The facilities that are present today were developed in 1959 in time for the state's Quadricentennial celebration and they were <a href="https://www.yoursun.com/northport/news/warm-mineral-springs-buildings-now-in-national-registry-of-historic/article_72cfdc6e-d64c-11e9-8d67-7342bb43b793.html">recently added</a> to the National Historic Register of Places due to the outstanding architectural design by Jack West. The spring was added to the register in 1977.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The <a href="http://www.wmslss.org/">Warm Minerals Springs/Little Salt Spring Archeological Society</a> graciously paid for me to stay in the <a href="https://www.warmmineralspringsmotel.com/">Warm Mineral Springs Motel</a>, (future post coming), so I had the opportunity to visit the spring early the next morning after my presentation. The spring didn't open until 9 a.m., so after breakfast, I walked the road between the motel in the spring for exercise. It was misty and damp, and the fog-obscured road helped create a mysterious atmosphere. On the walk back I noticed kids waiting by the road for the school bus, each with their own electronic devices, in their own introverted bubbles that prevented any social interaction with each other.<o:p></o:p><br />
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By the time I got to the spring shortly after nine, the regulars were streaming in, and the steaming spring was peaceful and serene. I waded into the water, circling the ancient cenote in the shallow, wading portion of the spring and made a clockwise circuit, taking photos and observing the other bathers. Like on my first visit, I observed that many of the visitors to the spring spoke Russian, Polish, or some other Eastern European dialect. In stark comparison to the children waiting silently for the school buses, there was a great deal of verbal interaction between the mostly-elderly bathers, and it was clear that the social aspect is an important part of the bathing tradition. After about an hour, I left the water, changed clothes and returned to Orlando.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The facilities were, for the most part, unchanged since <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2011/03/old-world-meets-new-age-at-warm-mineral.html">my first visit in 2011</a>. There was a refreshing absence of branding and marketing, a sharp contrast from my visit eight years earlier. The space occupied by the Evergreen Cafe is now headquarters for lifeguards and some of the new-age artwork has been removed from the park. The gift shop was sparsely stocked and I saw no bottled spring water for sale this time. The price to take the waters, $20 for a non-resident, seemed consistent with the price I paid to bathe on my first visit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I learned a great deal about the spring from my new friends in the Archeological Society, and I gathered that there was a sense of cautious optimism with the <a href="https://www.cityofnorthport.com/visitors/visit-north-port/warm-mineral-springs-park/warm-mineral-springs-park-master-plan?fbclid=IwAR2VS248UFcXMWjWvjfsYkxnbGVcIK3ugNRiSJIRlgwXaWXWkOCw7RLR7CA">master plan</a> to upgrade the facilities there. The plans include a trail system and an outdoor amphitheater. The City of Northport also paid for a survey of the architecture and have seemed to decide it is worth preserving. It is possible the Cyclorama may even be restored, a subject which I'll delve into in a future post. <o:p></o:p><br />
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When I think of Florida's springs, I picture amazing pristine natural resources – cerulean jewels hidden deep in the woods of north Florida. Many springs are better known as recreational resources – county and state parks that attract swimmers, divers, picnickers, and fun-loving Floridians. A few are historical sites such as Suwannee and White springs in North Florida. But beyond the one-of-a-kind archeology, geology, and architecture, Warm Mineral Springs is a cultural resource, the closest thing we have in Florida to taking the waters at a mineral spring in Europe. I imagine that the conversations and rituals that occur in Budapest's famed <a href="http://szechenyispabaths.com/">Széchenyi Thermal Baths</a> are not all that different from the ones that occur on a daily basis in North Port. Studies have shown that one of the most important components of longevity and happiness is social interaction. From what I've seen the folks taking the waters at Warm Mineral Springs get as much from connecting with each other as they do from the minerals in the water. Perhaps it is the Real Fountain of Youth.<br />
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<i>Note: I will explore Warm Mineral Springs history in my book "Florida's Healing Waters" to be released in Fall 2020. <a href="https://www.rickkilby.com/shop">Stay tuned for details</a>. </i><br />
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Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-27852504464038276902018-03-24T10:45:00.001-04:002020-09-25T06:05:18.509-04:00Hunting for Relics of a Golden Age<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O10-T6ltzJY/WrZPdugZ7-I/AAAAAAAA76s/OQzSIK0btokDFb24rBbpstXhxpf9R2x_gCLcBGAs/s1600/Worthington%2Bpool.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O10-T6ltzJY/WrZPdugZ7-I/AAAAAAAA76s/OQzSIK0btokDFb24rBbpstXhxpf9R2x_gCLcBGAs/s400/Worthington%2Bpool.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Union County Historical Society</td></tr>
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Five years after <a href="https://floridasfountainofyouth.blogspot.com/">"Finding the Fountain of Youth"</a> was published, I am fortunate enough to still have speaking events, most recently at the <a href="https://mathesonmuseum.org/">Matheson History Museum</a> in Gainesville. Since this <a href="http://www.gainesville.com/opinion/20180309/rick-kilby-preserving-our-past-at-floridas-springs">talk</a> coincided with the start of Spring Break, it seemed like an excellent opportunity for some spring hunting. Lately I'm not hunting for beautiful cerulean swimming holes, but rather the vestiges of what I call "Florida's Golden Age of Bathing." That refers to the era after the Civil War when invalids and tourists poured into the state looking for restoration and relaxation in dozens of spring-side spas.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Union County Historical Society</td></tr>
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The first stop on my tour of forgotten springs was <b>Worthington Springs</b>, about a half hour north of Gainesville. I knew from Jane Keeler's excellent post on the <a href="http://www.desolationflorida.com/2016/03/worthington-springs.html">Desolation Florida blog</a> that there was not much to see from the Union County spring's glory days as a destination for tourists, picnickers, and the infirm. Sadly, <a href="https://www.naturalnorthflorida.com/blog/along-the-santa-fe-at-chastain-seay/">Chastain-Seay Park</a>, where the <a href="http://www.gainesville.com/news/20040610/magic-of-the-springs">Worthington Springs Hotel</a> and the spring-fed bathing pool once stood, was closed due to high waters and the only evidence of the site's history was photographs posted outside the park's boundaries.<br />
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The <i><a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18540930/worthington_description/">Tampa Tribune</a></i> from June 27, 1910 describes the property as an "ideal place" for outings and vacation stays:<br />
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"The Spring is magnificent and strongly impregnated with sulphur, affords ample bathing facilities and under the able management of Ira Lamb is kept in a first class manner. There is no reason why any one should go elsewhere for an outing when all the requirements are here. No mosquitoes, fine shade right in the midst of where melons, vegetables, chickens, fresh milk and all else to make (l)ife pleasant are found in abundance."</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy Matheson History Museum</td></tr>
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After making a few photographs of the signs outside the park, my wife and I headed to Taylor County, home of <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ruins-of-the-hampton-springs-hotel"><b>Hampton Springs</b></a>. The site of a former resort hotel and spa is now a county park, and it has recently received much attention after the County decided to <a href="http://perrynewspapers.com/?p=18113">fill in the spring pool</a>. The County Commission quickly <a href="http://perrynewspapers.com/?p=18169">reversed their decision</a> after residents protested the loss of a favorite swimming hole. I talked to the County Administrator who was caught off guard by the <a href="http://perrynewspapers.com/?p=18282">vocal reaction</a>, but seemed to see an opportunity in the outpouring of energy from advocates of the spring. This was my second visit to the spring – my first stop was after a talk in Tallahassee on a cold day in 2014. There was no one in the park that day as I poked around as a "polar vortex" threatened the state capital with potential snow flurries and the park was slightly erie and very quiet. I could see evidence of vandalism then, and the problem has persisted, contributing to the county's initial decision to fill in the spring pool, although the main reason was to minimize liability.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image of Hampton Springs from my 2014 visit</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filling in the spring, courtesy J.T. Davis</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Page from a 1920s promotion booklet from the State Archives of Florida. <br />
Note the semi-circular area in the photo on the right. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Esia9sljylU/WrZRz6KKwsI/AAAAAAAA77o/0cEDKcFwG4Ifx_m0h3iEiUto0_w7B7AHwCLcBGAs/s1600/Hampton.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Esia9sljylU/WrZRz6KKwsI/AAAAAAAA77o/0cEDKcFwG4Ifx_m0h3iEiUto0_w7B7AHwCLcBGAs/s400/Hampton.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This appears to be the semi-circular area pictured above.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This shallow pool is between the semi-circular area and the deeper pool.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What appeared to be the indication of high mineral content in the water of the spring pool.</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water flowing into the recently restored spring pool.</td></tr>
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<br />
On this visit the park was again quiet and I could see evidence of where heavy machinery had removed the concrete debris and gravel used to fill the spring. The main pool was full of algae-laced spring water on my first visit, but it was mostly dry this time, allowing me the opportunity to descend the stairs and survey the pool. The smell of sulphur permeated the air and there was evidence of minerals deposits from the flowing spring water, which made a miniature waterfall as it flowed down the side of the pool. Taylor County cobbled together a series of grants in the early 2000s so that this historic site could be surveyed and partially restored. Their foresight has created an opportunity for future generations to learn about an era when visitors arrived via train to take the waters, hunt, fish, golf, and participate in other leisure activities, all while staying in a luxurious hotel. Beyond maintaining a swimming hole for locals, preserving the remnants of this site create a glimpse into a time when "taking the waters" at Florida springs provided the foundation for today's <a href="http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us.html">tourist economy</a>.<br />
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Houses at sulphur springs – Newport Springs, 1924 from the
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Newport Springs between 1920 and 1939 from the State
Archives of Florida</div>
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People gathered at springs – Newport Springs, 1926 from the
State Archives of Florida</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newport Springs 2018</td></tr>
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<br />
Traveling west on U.S. 98 into the state's Big Bend region, our next stop was <b>Newport Springs</b>, in the tiny unincorporated village of Newport, Florida. According to <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18550554/newport_article/">1998 article</a> in the <i>Tallahassee Democrat</i>, this out-of-the-way location boasted a flourishing hotel as early as 1850, and guests arrived by train and mule-drawn wagons. Today the spring is still located just off the unpaved Plank Road, but is surrounded with a menacing fence marked with no trespassing signs. It was a bit disappointing that we couldn't get closer to the water, but it is good to know the watering hole still exists, unlike the pool at Worthington Springs.<br />
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Text near the bottom of the sign reads “A Florida Learn and
Serve Project." Learn and Serve America (LSA) was a program of the <a href="http://www.nationalservice.gov/"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Corporation for National and
Community Service</span></a>. Created under the National and Community Service
Act of 1990, LSA distributed grants in support of service-learning in order to
simultaneously enrich the education of young people, demonstrate the value of
youth as assets to their communities, and stimulate the use of <a href="http://www.learnandserve.gov/about/service_learning/index.asp"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">service-learning</span></a> as
a strategy to meet unmet community needs. The federal appropriation for Fiscal
Year 2011, signed on April 15, 2011, eliminated funding for the Learn &
Serve America program which provided funds for the Florida Learn & Serve
program. This sign is a remnant of that program.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ue2oS32_wtU/WrV7KEUINRI/AAAAAAAA75I/Fl2a_bs6a3koU93PEhtUT3puYn0eBCQ-ACLcBGAs/s1600/n041683.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="600" height="230" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ue2oS32_wtU/WrV7KEUINRI/AAAAAAAA75I/Fl2a_bs6a3koU93PEhtUT3puYn0eBCQ-ACLcBGAs/s400/n041683.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The final stop on our journey was <b>Panacea Springs</b> located in a roadside park just across from the <a href="http://www.visitwakulla.com/Plan/Welcome-Center">Wakulla Welcome Center</a> in the unincorporated town of Panacea. A large sign marks the spot where about half dozen small mineral springs still trickle into different size basins. According to <a href="https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70039549">Bulletin No. 31</a>, the State of Florida's definitive report on springs, the site was home to a 125-guest hotel and some 20 medicinal springs in 1911. An <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18535979/panacea_hotel_ad_1901/">ad</a> from the <i>Weekly Tallahasseean</i> in 1901 boasts of new mineral and salt water pools, hot and cold water in all rooms, baths in the hotel, and "all modern conveniences" (including shuffleboard!) According to much more recent <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18535116/2008_article/">2008 article</a>, different springs were purported to cured different ailments and were labeled as such, including Arthritis Spring and Liver Spring.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SBXWRQL3W0A/WrV7OH1t6DI/AAAAAAAA75Q/efjzzKuPaEwSUHXTWYfbfAYtlfOdNZxbwCLcBGAs/s1600/pr08217.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="600" height="245" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SBXWRQL3W0A/WrV7OH1t6DI/AAAAAAAA75Q/efjzzKuPaEwSUHXTWYfbfAYtlfOdNZxbwCLcBGAs/s400/pr08217.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The spring closest to U.S. 98 had a brick wall around it leading to a circular opening, so I assumed it was the famed "Cypress Stump Spring" from which water flowed directly out of a stump. Nearby were several other rectangular basins of differing sizes, some sheltered, others completely open to the elements. One spring filled a pool large enough for several people, others were about the size of hot tubs. All of them had cloudy water that seemed to indicate a high concentration of minerals in the spring water.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LcUsO4Rwcmo/WrV7sPn41fI/AAAAAAAA75s/PRwa4nzNxwgAFI98RkUgwzoGApibA1WzwCLcBGAs/s1600/RP06004.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="600" height="312" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LcUsO4Rwcmo/WrV7sPn41fI/AAAAAAAA75s/PRwa4nzNxwgAFI98RkUgwzoGApibA1WzwCLcBGAs/s400/RP06004.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cypress Stump Springs from the State Archives of Florida</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7InhtSJHfMc/WrZPRTmE7PI/AAAAAAAA76o/rIkE7Nikj9coLmZXkfovXUSVAUVU4Xy9gCLcBGAs/s1600/Cypress%2BStump.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7InhtSJHfMc/WrZPRTmE7PI/AAAAAAAA76o/rIkE7Nikj9coLmZXkfovXUSVAUVU4Xy9gCLcBGAs/s400/Cypress%2BStump.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Cypress Stump Spring?</span></td></tr>
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The most interesting spring was near the rear of the park, where three, (at one time four), brick columns supported a roof above a small, round basin, that reminded me of a spring one might find in a temple in the ancient world – a temple that was home to an oracle. Located right next to the creek, one of the columns had been pushed down into the water and another was decorated with graffiti. This place where the water was at one timed believed to have miraculous properties is very much at risk.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-meYCV3NkxwY/WrZZ5cSvQUI/AAAAAAAA79E/fQcHAVE9-k4KbB4tss_LrRbgA0Mos2RtACLcBGAs/s1600/oculus2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-meYCV3NkxwY/WrZZ5cSvQUI/AAAAAAAA79E/fQcHAVE9-k4KbB4tss_LrRbgA0Mos2RtACLcBGAs/s400/oculus2.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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Across the street at the Welcome Center I found some archival images of the spring, but no historical interpretation. I emailed Wakulla County through their tourist website, and the county official who responded said that the park was located on private property and the county is not responsible for the park's upkeep. Yet the park is promoted as a destination for tourists and is mentioned on printed materials and included on <a href="http://www.visitwakulla.com/Communities/Panacea">websites</a>. Additionally in 2015 the Welcome Center once posted renderings of restoration plans for the park. I have inquiries pending, and my hope is that these remnants of another era are somehow preserved.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 photo from the Wakulla Welcome Center, courtesy Karen Chadwick.</td></tr>
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In summary, the spring pool at Worthington Springs is now covered by a parking lot. The spring pool at Hampton Springs was recently filled, and then emptied when residents reacted strongly to the loss of their swimming hole. The basin at Newport Springs is fenced off, and the spring pools at Panacea are crumbling and at risk of falling by the wayside. I like the words of the mission statement of the <a href="http://dos.myflorida.com/historical/about/vision-mission-and-values/">Florida Division of Historical Resources</a>: "To inspire a love of history through preservation and education" by cultivating "connections between people and place." These spring pools are invaluable assets of our state's history where enormous opportunities exist to create connections between people and place. To let these assets crumble and disappear or in some cases, even be paved over, is unacceptable. One does not need an oracle to see the cloudy future facing these irreplaceable historic resources.<br />
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<i>Archival images of Panacea Springs from the <a href="https://www.floridamemory.com/">State Archives of Florida</a></i></div>
Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-58737537830600375932017-10-06T08:03:00.001-04:002017-10-06T09:36:53.680-04:00Looking for Billy Bartram<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h0MsyOBu4WM/WddmWE1kbUI/AAAAAAAA6qU/VCqgTLAtuAAVkOJMMAUlSMl6xQE2rcqywCLcBGAs/s1600/launch_lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h0MsyOBu4WM/WddmWE1kbUI/AAAAAAAA6qU/VCqgTLAtuAAVkOJMMAUlSMl6xQE2rcqywCLcBGAs/s400/launch_lo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Note: <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/naturalists/bartramw01.htm">Wi</a><a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/naturalists/bartramw01.htm">lliam Bartram </a>first came to Florida in 1765 with his father <a href="http://www.unf.edu/floridahistoryonline/Bartram/intro/intro.htm">John</a>, who was exploring the new <a href="http://floridahistory.org/british.htm">British possession</a> for King George. After failing as a Florida plantation owner, William, aka Billy, returned to Florida on his own in 1774 and in 1779 published an epic narrative of his journeys throughout the southeast titled </i><a href="https://www.ncpedia.org/travels-william-bartram">Travels</a><i>. His lyrical prose inspired a generation of writers and naturalists to follow – they continue to inspire people today, including myself.</i><br />
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Even though there are historical markers and signs marking
the <a href="http://bartram.putnam-fl.com/">Bartram Trail</a> throughout the state, the small city of <a href="http://www.palatka-fl.gov/153/Downtown-Palatka">Palatka </a>seems to have
taken ownership of Bartram in Florida. Their festival of all things Bartram is known as the <a href="http://bartram.putnam-fl.com/?page_id=3940">St. Johns River Bartram Frolic</a>, a reference to a Native
American ritual at Spalding’s Lower Store called the "Indian Frolic" in William
Bartram’s writings. The two-day long event held the last weekend of September
features historical reenactors, boat excursions, hiking, biking, and kayak
tours, art, music, and a symposium featuring Bartram presentations. My first
foray into the Frolic was a kayak trip to two of the springs visited by
Bartram: Satsuma and Welaka Springs. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soon after putting in at the Shell Harbor boat ramp in Satsuma</td></tr>
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The forecast looked bleak the day before the excursion, but
the overcast skies resulted in comfortable cooler temperatures. The water of
the mighty St. Johns looked like swirling black ink and it was still swollen
from the passage of Hurricane Irma three weeks prior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our mission was to follow the route that was explored by
John and William Bartram on <a href="http://bartram.putnam-fl.com/?page_id=1923">December 27, 1765</a>.<br />
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A short paddle up river led us
our first stop at Satsuma Spring, a site described in John Bartram’s journal
but only recently discovered by our tour leader, Bartram aficionado Dean
Campbell. From the river the spring run was impossible to detect, only by
interpreting the topography was it found, as much of the east side of the river
is composed of steep bluffs, and springs can only at low points along the
river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spring is located on
private property and the Bartram festival organizers had arranged our visit
ahead of time with the owner. A nearly horizontal live oak guards the spring’s
entrance and our tour leader informed us that Native Americans often
intentionally bent trees to indicate the presence of water sources.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spring is in a small ravine and the
owner had lined the path with mulch to cover up the mud created by Irma.
Confined within a semi-circular basin made of cement filled-sand bags to
prevent erosion, the spring wreaks of sulfur, one of the clues that linked it
to the Bartrams. John Bartram’s journal described the spring this way: <i>"a
large fountain (big enough to turn a mill) of warm clear water of a very
offensive taste, and smelt like bilge-water, or the washings of a
gun-barrel...."</i> The smell of sulfur, while stinky to most made one
of my fellow paddlers feel nostalgic as she explained that she grew up drinking
sulfur water and actually liked the smell. Another paddler claimed that it
made an excellent mosquito repellant and drinking the water would keep the bugs
at bay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The property owner told us
that the torrential rains from Irma had “opened up” the spring and improved its
flow. On this gray overcast day the spring water possessed the distinctive cerulean
hue I’ve come to associate with Florida’s most beautiful springs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a few minutes of soaking in the
history and natural beauty of this 3rd magnitude spring, we returned to our
kayaks and paddled on.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Native Americans were known to have intentionally bent trees to indicate water sources</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TEAYtSgqI2M/Wddmogks3vI/AAAAAAAA6qc/ld45aWhC4tA4Xr9I3eIzjd_vuCN_SAGZQCLcBGAs/s1600/Satsuma4_lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="1200" height="208" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TEAYtSgqI2M/Wddmogks3vI/AAAAAAAA6qc/ld45aWhC4tA4Xr9I3eIzjd_vuCN_SAGZQCLcBGAs/s400/Satsuma4_lo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Observing the spring vent</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-arwdjnhiOh0/WddmvE2VT4I/AAAAAAAA6qg/UzLROMj-BTEpsj4jU0qf0x7jYPOPWUb7QCLcBGAs/s1600/SatsumaSpring_lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="674" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-arwdjnhiOh0/WddmvE2VT4I/AAAAAAAA6qg/UzLROMj-BTEpsj4jU0qf0x7jYPOPWUb7QCLcBGAs/s400/SatsumaSpring_lo.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The white stuff on the leaves is bacteria that indicates the presence of sulfur</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's what it looks like where the Satsuma Spring run enters the river</td></tr>
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Next was Nashua Spring, also on private property, but in
this case we could see nothing more than the Bartram Trail sign marking its
location on the river. We paddled on, under leaning live oak limbs, around
newly downed tree trunks, and past a half dozen locals in powerboats throwing
cast nets in the pursuit of shrimp. At Turkey Island we turned left into a cove
towards Welaka Spring, another third magnitude spring – one I remember fondly
from my adolescence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I was
teen my friends and I would trek up this cove until water hyacinths impeded our
progress. Then we’d be forced to wade the rest of the way through the dark
water, (with the hyacinths at face level), until we reached the spring. There
was a rope swing and one could swing out right over the spring boil and plunge
into the freezing water, an oasis of clarity in the otherwise root beer-colored
cove.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dean Campbell explaining what the Bartrams would have experienced on this part of the river</td></tr>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3BLUEV4r28w/WddnNJJ-AII/AAAAAAAA6qw/FO5yxPjZVLMLKokvjXqg1R2WdueDtrbMgCLcBGAs/s1600/Dean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3BLUEV4r28w/WddnNJJ-AII/AAAAAAAA6qw/FO5yxPjZVLMLKokvjXqg1R2WdueDtrbMgCLcBGAs/s400/Dean.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
As we paddled to the spring I notice immediately, (with
great glee), that there are no longer water hyacinths to be found anywhere. The
only object near the spring is a floating house – a homemade houseboat on
pontoons – positioned adjacent to the boil. The spring is “browned out”,
meaning the water level of the surrounding river is so high that the brilliant
blue hue, so noticeable at Satsuma Spring, is not evident here. There is,
however, a significant boil on the surface indicating a high amount of water
flow. While our tour leader relates anecdotes about the spring’s history, the
rain we had dodged earlier began to fall gently, and we paddled back down river
to our starting point, following the Bartrams’ footprints and grateful that
they can still be found over 250 years after they explored this location.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l4mViiwuNEc/WddnT9augSI/AAAAAAAA6q0/pupCo9uWPwocvvFyrz_aNyxWbBsn7Y2HgCLcBGAs/s1600/WS_lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l4mViiwuNEc/WddnT9augSI/AAAAAAAA6q0/pupCo9uWPwocvvFyrz_aNyxWbBsn7Y2HgCLcBGAs/s400/WS_lo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These Bartram Trail signs mark locations visited by William</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M1OfWMFLsyo/WddnV8pW8kI/AAAAAAAA6q4/eLyjIN_nDvQnWmP9aiydnTKS7q91kurAACLcBGAs/s1600/WS2_lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="1200" height="242" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M1OfWMFLsyo/WddnV8pW8kI/AAAAAAAA6q4/eLyjIN_nDvQnWmP9aiydnTKS7q91kurAACLcBGAs/s400/WS2_lo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dean over the boil of Welaka Spring</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FcK4IShW5nw/WddnZKtor6I/AAAAAAAA6q8/ZECPgwQJG0wjZ3czb7HGh1FCclW-R9zJQCLcBGAs/s1600/WS3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FcK4IShW5nw/WddnZKtor6I/AAAAAAAA6q8/ZECPgwQJG0wjZ3czb7HGh1FCclW-R9zJQCLcBGAs/s400/WS3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dean speculates that his floating house was moved back <br />
in the cove as protection from Hurricane Irma</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy_05kL7PIU/WddtfzNHMFI/AAAAAAAA6rk/2goNlAHQqD4JL0KoEuoqk4qq1yUB96mmQCLcBGAs/s1600/Welaka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1023" height="271" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy_05kL7PIU/WddtfzNHMFI/AAAAAAAA6rk/2goNlAHQqD4JL0KoEuoqk4qq1yUB96mmQCLcBGAs/s400/Welaka.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yours truly as a teenager, jumping into Welaka Spring</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day the featured event of the Frolic was the
Bartram Symposium with five different speakers. Despite persistent rain, an
enthusiastic audience of about 65 people enjoyed close to three hours of
presentations about the 18th century botanist and explorer. Over-sized framed
prints of William Bartram’s drawings ringed the room and a Bartram re-enactor was
on-hand, posing for selfies with eager Bartramphiles. The first two speakers
were co-authors of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://upf.com/book.asp?id=HALLOC01">Travels on the St.Johns River</a></i>, a book devoted entirely to the Bartrams expeditions up and
down the river. Thomas Hallock, a professor of English at the University of
South Florida St. Petersburg, gave a brief Bartram overview and co-author
Richard Franz, an emeritus scientist at the Florida Museum of Natural History, discussed the flowers Bartram observed along his trip on the St. Johns. Next
the Environmental Archaeology Collection Manager at the Florida Museum of
Natural History, Irvy R. Quitmyer, talked about the archeology of the region,
specifically the indigenous people who lived near the river before the Bartrams
arrived. Brad Sanders of the Bartram Trail Conference next discussed
plans to attempt to designate a <a href="http://www.bartramtrail.org/">Bartram Heritage Corridor</a> along the routes
traveled by the Bartrams (seven states in total.) The Symposium concluded with
an animated presentation by Bartram muralist and reenactor <a href="http://www.my-art-gems.com/art1kbio.htm">Dean Quigley</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nAVcLQiYDFQ/WddnnqjhPTI/AAAAAAAA6rA/kQq04A19f4sDJrAGMYBM2NP5_jUnX8XcwCLcBGAs/s1600/Bartram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="1600" height="270" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nAVcLQiYDFQ/WddnnqjhPTI/AAAAAAAA6rA/kQq04A19f4sDJrAGMYBM2NP5_jUnX8XcwCLcBGAs/s400/Bartram.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bartram reenactor at the <a href="http://www.palatka-fl.gov/256/St-Johns-River-Center">St. Johns River Center </a>in Palatka</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CRRrKBtaPI4/WddntMUGKFI/AAAAAAAA6rI/FW6l3ZnsTqcZDCLcVi83KMedffAtKhh_wCLcBGAs/s1600/symposium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="1600" height="273" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CRRrKBtaPI4/WddntMUGKFI/AAAAAAAA6rI/FW6l3ZnsTqcZDCLcVi83KMedffAtKhh_wCLcBGAs/s400/symposium2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bartram reenactor stayed in character throughout the symposium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hl5wjwjd0l8/Wddntcnb4HI/AAAAAAAA6rM/IGRcMvEuQucYaxRUXpFDV_L-kS6wrngCACLcBGAs/s1600/symposium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="1600" height="322" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hl5wjwjd0l8/Wddntcnb4HI/AAAAAAAA6rM/IGRcMvEuQucYaxRUXpFDV_L-kS6wrngCACLcBGAs/s400/symposium.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bartram Frolic organizer Ken Mahaffey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
William Bartram’s travels were published just 15
years after America declared independence from England. His powerful spiritual
descriptions of what he encountered in Florida inspired writers and authors of
the period, from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Taylor_Coleridge">poet Coleridge</a> to influential transcendentalist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau">Henry David Thoreau</a>. What I
learned from attending the Bartram Frolic is that his beautiful words still echo up and
down the St. Johns River and they still have the power to inspire. What
an amazing legacy.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y2aZyhefAXs/WddsZbfx2vI/AAAAAAAA6rc/MmyGKUqQ2SsOU1mMjWMKmA_9TM6_dJljACLcBGAs/s1600/Bartram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y2aZyhefAXs/WddsZbfx2vI/AAAAAAAA6rc/MmyGKUqQ2SsOU1mMjWMKmA_9TM6_dJljACLcBGAs/s320/Bartram.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interpretive Bartram sign in Welaka</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3mcgeK88Yd0/Wddnpx02LLI/AAAAAAAA6rE/XAA30Q665vQv86N9GFgCdsxg_n_O-mI-wCLcBGAs/s1600/Puc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3mcgeK88Yd0/Wddnpx02LLI/AAAAAAAA6rE/XAA30Q665vQv86N9GFgCdsxg_n_O-mI-wCLcBGAs/s400/Puc.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Seminoles named William Bartram Puc Puggy which means "Flower Hunter"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-2474859819037964052017-07-04T11:54:00.001-04:002017-07-04T12:28:53.614-04:00Freedom Ride 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bj2PBaD9x78/WVumBS-4PBI/AAAAAAAA6cs/VPRGHL2G-444Yuly85n6pqh9SsIPbrApQCLcBGAs/s1600/merica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bj2PBaD9x78/WVumBS-4PBI/AAAAAAAA6cs/VPRGHL2G-444Yuly85n6pqh9SsIPbrApQCLcBGAs/s400/merica.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I did my first Freedom Ride in <a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2010/07/freedom-ride.html">2010</a>, peddling close to home, taking photos appropriate for the Fourth of July. The rides have expanded over the years going down into Pinecastle and up into College Park. Last year my wife and I spent a memorable Independence Day in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at <a href="http://www.strawberybanke.org/">Strawberry Banke</a>, an incredible collection of historic buildings. We saw a group of immigrants become U.S. citizens, heard Governor <a href="http://maggiehassan.com/">Maggie Hassan</a> read the Declaration of Independence, and interacted with re-enactors depicting different eras in American history.<br />
<br />
This year we are home for the Fourth, so I once again resumed my personal tradition of exploring my freedom with a bicycle-powered photo safari. I look forward to this ride every year.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zZg9jjI9UlA/WVutGdPujTI/AAAAAAAA6dM/xXHRPiuriSI6aIHG_ovDkuxeJVuzKojcwCLcBGAs/s1600/Constitution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zZg9jjI9UlA/WVutGdPujTI/AAAAAAAA6dM/xXHRPiuriSI6aIHG_ovDkuxeJVuzKojcwCLcBGAs/s400/Constitution.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Constitutional Reflections</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5pMXJKx_ebE/WVumX7Ucr6I/AAAAAAAA6cw/agxDZ9z20GQ4VMKT9Z7D-4qtoco8gOrEgCLcBGAs/s1600/grow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5pMXJKx_ebE/WVumX7Ucr6I/AAAAAAAA6cw/agxDZ9z20GQ4VMKT9Z7D-4qtoco8gOrEgCLcBGAs/s400/grow.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freedom to grow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G7GT_XAXdr4/WVur9xyZR9I/AAAAAAAA6dA/T3GZQiEFyZUDozEQgJ52jjz6PVZX4PP7ACLcBGAs/s1600/silo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G7GT_XAXdr4/WVur9xyZR9I/AAAAAAAA6dA/T3GZQiEFyZUDozEQgJ52jjz6PVZX4PP7ACLcBGAs/s400/silo.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manhole Monolith</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-reb15BlZLIk/WVur_ppJYqI/AAAAAAAA6dE/EigCP-d7ffAY39GaDcbMI189dwB9g_crgCLcBGAs/s1600/cherokee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-reb15BlZLIk/WVur_ppJYqI/AAAAAAAA6dE/EigCP-d7ffAY39GaDcbMI189dwB9g_crgCLcBGAs/s400/cherokee.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherokee Dreamcatcher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-THwHPtIX6BE/WVusmPkUbAI/AAAAAAAA6dI/wwadb4kd1ewwqO7nWZIM9ajR-Sh-OAotACLcBGAs/s1600/urbanlines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-THwHPtIX6BE/WVusmPkUbAI/AAAAAAAA6dI/wwadb4kd1ewwqO7nWZIM9ajR-Sh-OAotACLcBGAs/s400/urbanlines.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up and down back and forth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cCdKC5uGiqI/WVutpJp9eyI/AAAAAAAA6dQ/fHec86G15gYqBoYCMjVqqU7yuLn76inJwCLcBGAs/s1600/art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cCdKC5uGiqI/WVutpJp9eyI/AAAAAAAA6dQ/fHec86G15gYqBoYCMjVqqU7yuLn76inJwCLcBGAs/s400/art.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">County Colors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UMX3vHvdB0o/WVuufQHKSAI/AAAAAAAA6dU/M_aVc1DOPokf_8YpqlHXPQIeecLN-IAigCLcBGAs/s1600/leaper2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="1600" height="291" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UMX3vHvdB0o/WVuufQHKSAI/AAAAAAAA6dU/M_aVc1DOPokf_8YpqlHXPQIeecLN-IAigCLcBGAs/s400/leaper2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Leaper's Light</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P_ScyhQQGTg/WVuw669J-JI/AAAAAAAA6dg/2E7ydlvu5FAUadNVUGfAsP4gk9wewKW8QCLcBGAs/s1600/greenleo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P_ScyhQQGTg/WVuw669J-JI/AAAAAAAA6dg/2E7ydlvu5FAUadNVUGfAsP4gk9wewKW8QCLcBGAs/s400/greenleo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Concrete Majestic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UpbQ7twtC9Y/WVux6N5PndI/AAAAAAAA6do/OGgkcJuQyxMx5WPbvkxqtWqwXRtH1D-bgCLcBGAs/s1600/blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UpbQ7twtC9Y/WVux6N5PndI/AAAAAAAA6do/OGgkcJuQyxMx5WPbvkxqtWqwXRtH1D-bgCLcBGAs/s400/blue.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Cool Gray</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JNhVBvLbSOg/WVuzFGbokOI/AAAAAAAA6dw/OvsDB3Zr4_wE4_KRMZPUDgrrNcATpJS2wCLcBGAs/s1600/shadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JNhVBvLbSOg/WVuzFGbokOI/AAAAAAAA6dw/OvsDB3Zr4_wE4_KRMZPUDgrrNcATpJS2wCLcBGAs/s400/shadow.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Shadow selfie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eBAsptCMgro/WVu0NEpheuI/AAAAAAAA6d4/YUwiRttxNZ4XBSeoYj8KrLc1ONqp2HuJQCLcBGAs/s1600/Pulse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eBAsptCMgro/WVu0NEpheuI/AAAAAAAA6d4/YUwiRttxNZ4XBSeoYj8KrLc1ONqp2HuJQCLcBGAs/s400/Pulse.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Pulse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r4ULfaHNlwQ/WVu0NNhmtjI/AAAAAAAA6d8/IREE8f23fCwOUksn7qlDEAo9ZdbUJcRCACLcBGAs/s1600/Pulse2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r4ULfaHNlwQ/WVu0NNhmtjI/AAAAAAAA6d8/IREE8f23fCwOUksn7qlDEAo9ZdbUJcRCACLcBGAs/s400/Pulse2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Pulse 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bars and scars</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Primaries</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A bit faded</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Natural patterns</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Detention Retention</td></tr>
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I seemed to focus on color and pattern this year. I try to let the pictures come to me now, if I had a deliberate intention it seems contrary to the concept of freedom. My favorite images tend to be simple and graphic, as a graphic designer, I think that's how I'm wired.<br />
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The weather was fairly comfortable for this time of year and the sky was a brilliant blue. The recent rains left many opportunities for reflections.</div>
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Until next year, enjoy your freedom and take time to notice your world, every day.</div>
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Other Freedom Rides:</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/rick.kilby/media_set?set=a.3693242603830.2151718.1058239510&type=3">2012</a></div>
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<a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2013/07/freedom-ride-3.html">2013</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/rick.kilby/media_set?set=a.10202987991594923.1073741832.1058239510&type=3">2014</a></div>
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<a href="https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2015/07/freedom-at-fifty-power-of-place.html">2015</a></div>
Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-71030861873459657122017-06-25T14:44:00.000-04:002020-01-09T06:30:58.052-05:00Spring hunting in Eureka Springs<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gmFYAor-yes/WUPdsujGIfI/AAAAAAAA6P8/IWBlUTR7LTQ-ycHmGMVCZmPFLZrKmt_dgCLcBGAs/s1600/SweetSpring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gmFYAor-yes/WUPdsujGIfI/AAAAAAAA6P8/IWBlUTR7LTQ-ycHmGMVCZmPFLZrKmt_dgCLcBGAs/s400/SweetSpring.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet Spring</td></tr>
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Green Cove Springs in Clay County, Florida recently opened <a href="http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/clay/2017-06-20/historic-spring-park-pool-reopens-splash-green-cove-springs">new facilities</a> around their legendary artesian spring. Around the spring head formed concrete creates what looks like a wading area dotted with large limestone boulders. From what I can tell from the photo posted by the City, it looks like the entire spring is now protected with a decorative iron fence. After sharing the image on Facebook, someone noted that they thought it looked "odd".<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from the City of Green Cove Springs</td></tr>
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Springs in Florida have been piped, pooled, and protected since they first became resources for taking the waters in the 19th century. Bathhouses were built around the water like the grand spring house at White Sulphur Springs in North Florida. In order to create a space where the Victorian tourists felt comfortable, natural spring basins were contained and 'improved upon' by man. In my opinion, Florida's springs are one of the state's greatest natural resources, and the fact that we have felt the need to improve upon them has always fascinated me.</div>
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But in Arkansas the springs in most cases do not create large pool-like basins – they are often small trickles that emerge from rocky hillsides. I was fascinated to see how the thermal waters were pooled and piped into bathhouses in <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2017/06/taking-waters-in-hot-springs.html">Hot Springs</a>. Northwest of Hot Springs, in the mountain town of Eureka Springs, I was interested in how the built environment around the waters of the healing springs had evolved.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Eureka Spring mural shows, l-r, Native Americans, tents of early settlers, and Eureka Springs as a boomtown.</td></tr>
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One of those hillside springs had a small tub like depression carved into the rock, supposedly by Native Americans who used it for healing purposes, and it may have been the reason the entire town came into being. This spring, now known as Basin Spring, is located in the heart of the historic downtown. The spring's reputation of healing powers first caught the attention of Dr. <span style="text-align: justify;">Alvah Jackson, who set up a hospital using spring water to treat wounded Civil War soldiers from both sides. The Doctor's cave hospital soon grew into a successful business, and when his associate was cured of a "crippling disease," the word soon spread. Founded in 1879, the town of Eureka Springs exploded with growth, and "</span><span style="text-align: justify;">visitors flocked to the original encampment of tents and hastily built shanties," according to <a href="http://www.eurekasprings.com/historical/">eurekasprings.com</a><span id="goog_603760103"></span><span id="goog_603760104"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>. </span><br />
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Basin Spring</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Today Basin Spring is a great example of how beloved water resources are often "piped, pooled, and protected." Basin Spring Park occupies space next to the <a href="http://www.eurekasprings.com/historical/basinpark.html">Basin Park Hotel</a> carved out of the surrounding hillside. A decorative arch proclaims the waters there to be the "Balm of Life" and a large fountain is the focal point of the park. Beneath the fountain, the plumbing resembles that of a contemporary home, so it is unclear if the water in the fountain is from the spring or the local water supply. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">A stairwell leads up the hill and where more pipes and valves appear to collect the famous healing waters. The view of the town is outstanding from that vantage point, and it is amazing to me that what was once the 4th largest town in the state, sprung up almost overnight based merely on its reputation for miraculous springs. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pipes under the fountain in the park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pipes near the apparent source of the spring</td></tr>
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Eureka!</h3>
A vintage travel brochure published by the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad titled "Heart of the Ozarks" claims that the "City of Healing Waters" boasts some fifty springs within the city limits. The Eurekasprings.com website says there are actually sixty-three. For the few days I was in town, I made it my mission to locate as many of the springs as I could. <br />
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Sweet Spring</h3>
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Named for the taste of the water, this spring trickles out below street level, so twin sets of twisting stairs were created to make it accessible. Like a number of the springs throughout the city, Sweet Spring was surrounded by gorgeous landscaping. In this case, the manmade enhancements to the springs are quite pleasing to the eye.</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Harding Spring</span></h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">Next down the street is Harding Spring, named for a photographer who often used the spring as a backdrop for tourist photos. It is also the site of a famous healing where young Jennie Cowan regained her eyesight from using its waters after seven years of blindness.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful landscaping surrounded many of the city's springs</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: justify;">Crescent Spring</span></h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">Further down the road is Crescent Spring with its ornate gazebo, originally built in 1885. Located close to the <a href="http://www.crescent-hotel.com/">Crescent Hotel,</a> this spring who's flow is a mere trickle today, was said to have remarkable healing power, "almost as much as the Basin." </span><br />
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Grotto Spring</h3>
On the opposite side of the Crescent Hotel is Grotto Spring, located within a grotto-like cave. I visited around dusk, after a ghost tour at the Crescent Hotel, and must it admit finding this spring especially creepy!<br />
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Magnetic Spring</h3>
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Said to magnetize anything metal that came in contact with the water, Magnetic Spring is located just outside the town's central commercial district. It was reputed to help cure addiction and it has two structures – a pavilion covering the spring and a picnic pavilion. I met a man there who frequented the site and he said he had recently seen someone soaking their legs in the water in search of healing.</div>
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Calif Spring</h3>
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Located next to the small Eureka Springs history museum, this spring appears to have stopped flowing. Ironically when I asked about the location of the spring at the museum, they didn't know where it was.</div>
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Congress Spring</h3>
I was stumped trying to find this one, supposedly near the town's Carnegie Library. On my second trip to an antique store, I noticed a small sign in the back window. Looking through the window I could see what looked like a cave out back. When I asked the store owner about it she told me to pull up the floorboard. Congress Spring was running right underneath the building! She said they've done die trace studies and have never figured out where the water ends up.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Congress Spring runs under the floor of the building on the left of this image</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I noticed this sign...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... and saw a cave behind the building</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water flows right beneath the floor!</td></tr>
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<br />Gadd Spring</h3>
Another surprising discovery was a spring located inside a <a href="http://mountaineclectic.com/">gift shop</a>. While Congress Spring was secretly hidden beneath the floor of an antique shop, <a href="http://mountaineclectic.com/gaddspring.html">Gadd Springs</a> is actually used in the promotion of gift shop.<br />
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Springs everywhere</h3>
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On our last night in Eureka Springs, my wife and I dined at the <a href="http://www.grottoeureka.com/">Grotto Wood-Fired Grill and Wine Cave</a>. The greeter led us through the dark restaurant to the table in the corner, next to a rocky formation. Upon further investigation, there was a spring emerging from the rocks, and water flowed downward toward a drain. I was ecstatic to be able to dine right next to a flowing spring, (plus the food was excellent as well, I highly recommend dining there.)</div>
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As we left we climbed down some steps after dinner, I noticed water seeping out from rock under the main commercial street. Then I noticed water running across the parking lot. Seemingly in Eureka Springs, there are springs everywhere. For a spring hunter like me, it's amazing. I was astounded at the vast number of springs, and how the reputed healing power of the water was responsible for the creation of an entire town carved out of steep Ozark hills. While the water is not revered as it once was, the town itself seems as healthy and vital as ever.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water seeps from a hillside</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spring water flows across a parking lot.</td></tr>
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Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-30677542604845770022017-06-15T17:36:00.001-04:002017-06-15T19:13:09.945-04:00Taking the waters in Hot Springs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When the attendant asked for my sheet, there was no turning back. I had stripped off my clothes, stuffed them into a locker, and entered the men's bathing area clad in only a thin cotton sheet. What I was about to experience was close to the what visitors to Hot Springs would have participated in 100 years ago, in this very bathhouse, including the nudity.<br />
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My wife and I journeyed to Hot Springs, Arkansas to feed my curiosity about the history of medical tourism connected to springs. In Florida after the Civil War, elaborate facilities housed bathers who found our springs to have great curative powers. Places like Green Cove, White Sulphur, and Suwannee Springs were home to elaborate bathhouses with ornate Victorian-style facilities such as hotels and spas for their upper class clientele. For a brief time hydrotherapy became an important treatment for curing a variety of ailments, and sanitariums and spas offering methods for healing involving water popped up all over Florida. <a href="http://lightnermuseum.org/history/" target="_blank">Henry Flagler's Alcazar Hotel</a> in St. Augustine had elaborate spa facilities; <a href="http://www.allday.com/cornflakes-and-colonics-bizarre-health-treatments-from-john-harvey-kel-2180812509.html" target="_blank">John Harvey Kellogg</a> opened a branch of his Battle Creek Sanitarium in Miami Springs; and the Seventh Day Adventist Church practiced hydrotherapy at the <a href="https://www.floridahospital.com/orlando/history" target="_blank">Florida Sanitarium</a> in Orlando. Studying the history of hydrotherapy in America wet my appetite to experience the practice myself. That's how I found myself naked in <a href="https://www.nps.gov/hosp/index.htm" target="_blank">Hot Springs</a>, warily handing over my bed sheet to a stranger.<br />
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<b>From Fordyce to Buckstaff</b><br />
While touring the elaborately restored <a href="https://www.nps.gov/hosp/learn/historyculture/fordyce-bathhouse.htm" target="_blank">Fordyce Bathhouse</a>, the Park Ranger shared that two of the bathhouses on <a href="https://www.nps.gov/hosp/learn/historyculture/bathhouse-row-today.htm" target="_blank">Bathhouse Row</a> still allowed one the opportunity to soak in the famed mineral waters. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/hosp/learn/historyculture/quapaw-bathhouse.htm" target="_blank">Quapaw Baths and Spa</a> offered a more contemporary spa experience with facials, massage, and "Hot Stone Alignment." The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/hosp/learn/historyculture/buckstaff-bathhouse.htm" target="_blank">Buckstaff Bathhouse</a>, however, offered the ultimate "thermal mineral bathing experience" that was virtually unchanged from what bathers have undergone in Hot Springs for decades. After the Ranger's description of the <a href="https://www.buckstaffbaths.com/" target="_blank">Buckstaff</a> process, even my wife, who is not a fan of spas, agreed that we had to give it a try.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k3PX-zXVNtQ/WUKxpjpCUxI/AAAAAAAA6E0/N5-5O5Ds4jUgbIP-rMHayoIJqGTw7UevwCLcBGAs/s1600/Fordyce_lobby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1084" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k3PX-zXVNtQ/WUKxpjpCUxI/AAAAAAAA6E0/N5-5O5Ds4jUgbIP-rMHayoIJqGTw7UevwCLcBGAs/s400/Fordyce_lobby.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of the lobby of the Fordyce Bathhouse, restored by<br />
the National Park Service.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JxcXYmrOtOc/WUKxzuws7lI/AAAAAAAA6E4/3Pjylg6l2HkM8wp0kDTrvzsQG1L9wB5ugCLcBGAs/s1600/mermaid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JxcXYmrOtOc/WUKxzuws7lI/AAAAAAAA6E4/3Pjylg6l2HkM8wp0kDTrvzsQG1L9wB5ugCLcBGAs/s320/mermaid.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of the spectacular stained glass at the Fordyce Bathhouse.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m8vC6HUJxss/WUKxpk0LodI/AAAAAAAA6Ew/bdF8ot2B9Uwfw_F7zRv5Vw1h3Oi38ZxbACLcBGAs/s1600/Fordyce_sculpture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m8vC6HUJxss/WUKxpk0LodI/AAAAAAAA6Ew/bdF8ot2B9Uwfw_F7zRv5Vw1h3Oi38ZxbACLcBGAs/s400/Fordyce_sculpture.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fountain and tile work in the lobby of the Fordyce bathhouse.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oNe39BGfcg/WUK3HVNmKjI/AAAAAAAA6FQ/8KYud9K6os01CVyPMiy8AuvfuvR8oB3RACLcBGAs/s1600/Quapaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1040" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oNe39BGfcg/WUK3HVNmKjI/AAAAAAAA6FQ/8KYud9K6os01CVyPMiy8AuvfuvR8oB3RACLcBGAs/s400/Quapaw.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unlike the Buckstaff, the Quapaw offers a communal bathing area <br />
like those in Europe and Asia (no nudity.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>At the Buckstaff</b><br />
We arrived at lunch time when the baths were closed and were told to return at 1:30. By 1:15 the line had all ready began to form in the lobby, and we waited for our chance to sign-up. Buckstaff offers a variety of services, but we signed up for the Whirlpool Mineral Bath treatment that included a tub bath, sitz bath, vapor cabinet, needle shower and hot pack towel treatment for $33.<br />
<br />
Buckstaff Baths opened in 1912 and is the only Hot Springs bathhouse that still provides the traditional bathing experience. The bathhouses on Bathhouse Row catered to different clientele – while the decor and architecture of the Fordyce bathhouse obviously catered to the upper end of the economic spectrum, the more Spartan appointments of the Buckstaff make it clear that it was for folks with less means. The building itself has a covered porch along the front with enormous columns that appear to poke out between eye-catching blue and white striped awnings. The lobby is smaller and more minimally decorated in comparison to some of the more upscale neighbors like the Fordyce which boasts beautiful fountains and tile work in the lobby to entice guests.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H56Mt3z3NkQ/WUK1TDjT_bI/AAAAAAAA6E8/wIS2wWhnBk8Gu0A2XRZSgM6ERccEj83pwCLcBGAs/s1600/010057pv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="1024" height="283" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H56Mt3z3NkQ/WUK1TDjT_bI/AAAAAAAA6E8/wIS2wWhnBk8Gu0A2XRZSgM6ERccEj83pwCLcBGAs/s400/010057pv.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Buckstaff Bathhouse. Library of Congress.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uVo-P3ofmuw/WULlY9BW78I/AAAAAAAA6GE/2Op1-9Ysp6EHW_cYkWvCJx9Um8osYyS-ACLcBGAs/s1600/buckstaff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="263" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uVo-P3ofmuw/WULlY9BW78I/AAAAAAAA6GE/2Op1-9Ysp6EHW_cYkWvCJx9Um8osYyS-ACLcBGAs/s400/buckstaff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
After we paid for treatments my wife and I split up; as is tradition the baths are segregated by gender. The women's baths were on the second floor, the men's on the first floor adjacent to the lobby. I was the first male in the men's bath after the staff's lunch break, so it felt a bit odd as I began my bathing experience in a large facility without any other bathers. After depositing my clothes in a locker, I headed into the bathing area, a large open room that appeared to take up the entire back of the rather large building. In the center of the room were rows of vinyl covered tables, much like those you would see used by contemporary massage therapists. Along the walls were various marble stalls with various hydrotherapy devices; sitz baths to my right, enormous tubs on my left. I didn't have time to look around much as the bath attendant, dressed in entirely in white, (as is the tradition), led me to my mineral bath.<br />
<br />
<i>A note of self-disclosure, I have always been modest about nudity. In middle school swimming class I wore underwear under my bathing suit so I wouldn't have to be naked in front of the other kids. While I'm not that kid any more, I must admit I was a bit uncomfortable getting buck naked in front of a complete stranger at Buckstaff Bathhouse.</i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oiNY2f1js0s/WUK1hwF0VrI/AAAAAAAA6FE/8VIvTL8NnSIRWqZ0k2lla5WLnoNkybQxQCLcBGAs/s1600/010059pv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="734" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oiNY2f1js0s/WUK1hwF0VrI/AAAAAAAA6FE/8VIvTL8NnSIRWqZ0k2lla5WLnoNkybQxQCLcBGAs/s400/010059pv.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The men's changing area at the Buckstaff. Library of Congress.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rYvmC1vW2Pc/WUK1uBc5NyI/AAAAAAAA6FI/-NzyGVT36KUMM-8rLkF_7AG33tJTWJTdQCLcBGAs/s1600/010060pv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1024" height="285" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rYvmC1vW2Pc/WUK1uBc5NyI/AAAAAAAA6FI/-NzyGVT36KUMM-8rLkF_7AG33tJTWJTdQCLcBGAs/s400/010060pv.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ap2NSMhmrtI/WUKuS98JAwI/AAAAAAAA6Ek/KcammdmxfUgClDWCTyS9WJOehc6gnLbRwCLcBGAs/s1600/010061pv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="1024" height="283" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ap2NSMhmrtI/WUKuS98JAwI/AAAAAAAA6Ek/KcammdmxfUgClDWCTyS9WJOehc6gnLbRwCLcBGAs/s400/010061pv.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little has change since this photo was taken. Library of Congress.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g06K3xqtn2c/WUK2E50lxzI/AAAAAAAA6FM/1f3zQpyq2SsZJeviu1xzaWK1NrDbbpCTQCLcBGAs/s1600/010140pv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="1024" height="286" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g06K3xqtn2c/WUK2E50lxzI/AAAAAAAA6FM/1f3zQpyq2SsZJeviu1xzaWK1NrDbbpCTQCLcBGAs/s400/010140pv.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's what the tub looks like, sans plumbing. Library of Congress.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Hot mineral bath</b><br />
The attendant helped me into the enormous tub. He instructed me to place my feet on the far end of the tub and lean back. The water felt hot at first, but I got used to the temperature fairly quickly. The temperature gauge by my right foot showed it was 104 degrees. The hot mineral water comes from 45 separate springs on the side of Hot Springs Mountain and the average temperature of the water at its source is 143 degrees. Here is an explanation from the Park Service of why the water is hot:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #666666;">Rain water collected throughout the recharge area northeast of town slowly converges at a maximum depth of probably between 6,000 to 8,000 feet at a point just west of the Bathhouse Row area. Here the rocks are cut by a series of large faults. Cracks and fractures associated with these faults provide the hot water with an escape route up to the surface. Heated by the natural heat gradient within the earth, the trip up is so rapid, that there is very little cooling of the water. Of the approximately four thousand years it takes the rainwater to make its round trip, perhaps only a year or so at the very most is needed to get back up the surface.</span></blockquote>
<br />
The whirlpool was created by a vintage looking device that looked like a cross between a kitchen mixer and outboard engine. It was attached to the tub above my left foot and the electric engine was perched just above the water. I wondered what would happen if it were to fall from its perch – I could see the headlines in my mind: "Florida man electrocuted in Hot Springs mineral bath." I did my best to put those fears out of my mind and relax into the warm flowing water.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--OkSGq7885Y/WUKtb6jSVhI/AAAAAAAA6Eg/C7YZqaO-uOMj3zf73yvAUVCe_m23Xr7xgCLcBGAs/s1600/010138pv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="1024" height="286" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--OkSGq7885Y/WUKtb6jSVhI/AAAAAAAA6Eg/C7YZqaO-uOMj3zf73yvAUVCe_m23Xr7xgCLcBGAs/s400/010138pv.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whirlpool motor at the Buckstaff was similar to this one. Library of Congress.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
At one point the attendant added more water to the tub and it was noticeably warmer coming out of the tap. I was promised a 20 minute soak but I could tell by the clock on the wall it was much more like 15 minutes. By the time the attendant returned with a towel to take me to the sitz bath, I was so comfortable in the tub that it took great effort on my part to remove myself from the warm mineral waters.<br />
<br />
<b>Sitz bath</b><br />
The attendant then led me to the sitz bath which had a small wooden seat resting in it that he proceeded to scrub with Ajax. I figured it was because my short stature might require a boost to fit correctly. I sat in the little tub while warm water cascaded over my mid to lower back. It felt heavenly, like taking a long warm shower (but without the guilt of wasting water or electricity.) After a few minutes I was once again rousted from my relaxed state to cross the room for my vapor cabinet experience.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mHoQJETZQyY/WUKvD-SpsjI/AAAAAAAA6Eo/8z3jbdUuFCUOUUx8o5pQdC98Yv61AEAfwCLcBGAs/s1600/18484493579_b901010312_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="427" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mHoQJETZQyY/WUKvD-SpsjI/AAAAAAAA6Eo/8z3jbdUuFCUOUUx8o5pQdC98Yv61AEAfwCLcBGAs/s640/18484493579_b901010312_c.jpg" width="339" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a vintage illustration of a sitz bath.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CuuoQ7V2pWw/WULIb9nzZKI/AAAAAAAA6Fg/I2BT8mh_7TgSb3lkWVEI2N_Y9tZmRT5WACLcBGAs/s1600/sitz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CuuoQ7V2pWw/WULIb9nzZKI/AAAAAAAA6Fg/I2BT8mh_7TgSb3lkWVEI2N_Y9tZmRT5WACLcBGAs/s400/sitz.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitz bath in the Fordyce Bathhouse.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Vapor cabinet</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
My only previous experience with steam bathing was a very short stint in the steam room at the <a href="http://www.safetyharborspa.com/" target="_blank">Safety Harbor Resort and Spa</a>. I found it hard to breathe and impossible to see. Traditionally at Hot Spring bathhouses there are two types of vapor cabinets, the type where one's head is exposed and the walk-in type. I was taken to the walk-in type for two minutes of steam. I found it hard to breathe through my nose, so I breathed through my mouth. The air had an interesting earthy, sweet taste. Soon sweat was oozing out of every pore in my body. While at first I found it to be claustrophobic and uncomfortable, again by the time the attendant came to get me out I didn't want to leave!<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yVKWcaWyJw0/WULyaxBQUWI/AAAAAAAA6GY/QMv1IBUAHmg6iprqySuL2sO1vn6bY0UmwCLcBGAs/s1600/vaporcabinets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yVKWcaWyJw0/WULyaxBQUWI/AAAAAAAA6GY/QMv1IBUAHmg6iprqySuL2sO1vn6bY0UmwCLcBGAs/s400/vaporcabinets.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fordyce Bathhouse vapor cabinet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e0kLw1XmPXQ/WULMpq5ur4I/AAAAAAAA6Fs/Ql32v5qAuJ0nP1r7_2XYgXiMkhMlRWPtACLcBGAs/s1600/26306v-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="1024" height="318" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e0kLw1XmPXQ/WULMpq5ur4I/AAAAAAAA6Fs/Ql32v5qAuJ0nP1r7_2XYgXiMkhMlRWPtACLcBGAs/s400/26306v-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sweating in a vapor cabinet. Library of Congress.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zuODkn58elQ/WULMl4q3gQI/AAAAAAAA6Fo/TW2tqKsrXpk6Vx71wXkzj-DHkUWl1KdWACLcBGAs/s1600/010139pv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="728" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zuODkn58elQ/WULMl4q3gQI/AAAAAAAA6Fo/TW2tqKsrXpk6Vx71wXkzj-DHkUWl1KdWACLcBGAs/s400/010139pv.jpg" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buckstaff Bathhouse walk-in vapor cabinet. Library of Congress.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Hot pack treatment</b><br />
The attendant asked if I had an area of my body that I would like "packed" with hot towels. Remembering how good it felt to have warm water pouring on my lower back in the sitz bath, I asked him to apply the towels to my back. I laid face down on the table and warm damp towels were applied to my back. Then I was wrapped up tightly in sheets like an Indian papoose. There is something calming and relaxing about being confined like this, a similar treatment was used in asylums to calm agitated patients. Ten minutes later the attendant returned to take me to the needle shower.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cNP9bLqqMwA/WULZpT1vHEI/AAAAAAAA6F0/e9psMN346P8ttiC2yjy4w8-ulta_zRNGgCLcBGAs/s1600/LPC-007-014-003A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="816" height="258" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cNP9bLqqMwA/WULZpT1vHEI/AAAAAAAA6F0/e9psMN346P8ttiC2yjy4w8-ulta_zRNGgCLcBGAs/s400/LPC-007-014-003A.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hydrotherapy treatment, image from the Willard Digital Collection/Willard Library</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Needle shower</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I'd seen images of people in needle showers with hoses pointed at their backsides that looked like cruel torture devices. They still have the equipment in the Lightner Museum in the spa of the former Alcazar Hotel. So I wasn't quite what to expect as I stepped into the Buckstaff's needle shower. The website <a href="http://www.homethingspast.com/vintage-antique-showers/">HomeThingsPast.com</a> defines a needle shower this way:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #666666;">A needle bath or needle shower directed
jets of water all round the torso. Sometimes the water flow could be adjusted,
and a particular setting was promoted as a liver shower or bath,
supposedly offering a stimulating massage for internal organs. Its energizing
effects were considered more suitable for men than women. Needle showers were
marketed to gentlemen’s athletic clubs as well as private houses. Some people
call them cage showers.</span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I found it to be relaxing, but was a little disappointed that the water pressure wasn't as epic as I had imagined. When the attendant returned the last step left in my hydrotherapy treatment was the cool down room.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l-nHne0ljNg/WULhWnbK_cI/AAAAAAAA6F8/AYjQr0QJjMwOcj_TjbdHdksj5n2-7o_zwCLcBGAs/s1600/neeedle_sitz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l-nHne0ljNg/WULhWnbK_cI/AAAAAAAA6F8/AYjQr0QJjMwOcj_TjbdHdksj5n2-7o_zwCLcBGAs/s400/neeedle_sitz.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Needle shower and sitz bath at Fordyce bathhouse.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ANj0kImABVE/WULkAYnbCXI/AAAAAAAA6GA/Z7YVSrdmljMdPGB1QXJlijx-eqBb9L6-gCEwYBhgL/s1600/needleshower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ANj0kImABVE/WULkAYnbCXI/AAAAAAAA6GA/Z7YVSrdmljMdPGB1QXJlijx-eqBb9L6-gCEwYBhgL/s320/needleshower.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fordyce bathhouse needle shower.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lightner Museum needle shower in St. Augustine. </td></tr>
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Needle shower in France, circa 1880.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Cool down</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I was directed into a room full of massage tables where I was instructed to chill for about 10 minutes. The space was simple and sterile looking – white subway tiles on the walls, ceiling fans overhead, and a TV near the door. Another bather came in and I considered striking up a conversation to compare our experiences, but I was decided I was too blissed out and I didn't want to risk breaking the spell by talking. After a few minutes, I left and got dressed, and then went outside to wait for my wife. While I was seated in an Adirondack chair on the Buckstaff's front porch, some other tourists came by to pose for pictures. One of them was smoking and I almost felt like yelling at them for bursting my healthy bubble. It felt like every pore of my skin was open; every cell in my body relaxed. I decided to run to the gift shop next door before my wife got there and almost couldn't get out of the chair. I was that relaxed. It felt good.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cool-down room in the Fordyce Bathhouse.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Conclusion</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
My wife did not experience the same level of relaxation that I did, and she later pointed out that the building was definitely showing its age. While it was not hospital clean, to me the age of the surroundings only added to the experience. The archival images from the Library of Congress used in this post are not that different from how it looks today, only with more wear and tear due to the passage of time. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I was disappointed that I was not given drinks of spring water throughout the process as I had anticipated (my wife was). Hydrotherapy as practiced in the late 1800s and early 1900s included taking the waters both internally and externally. To compensate, my wife and I capped off our experience at the <a href="http://www.superiorbathhouse.com/our-story/" target="_blank">Superior Bathhouse</a>, now a brewery, with the only craft beer brewed using hot springs mineral water. Now that's refreshing!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Xdd9215CoA/WUL23M87G4I/AAAAAAAA6Gc/GNB5s8VS8f0sTCwHOBb-R9NYsN1AtTOfACLcBGAs/s1600/superior-bathhouse-brewery-bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="800" height="293" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Xdd9215CoA/WUL23M87G4I/AAAAAAAA6Gc/GNB5s8VS8f0sTCwHOBb-R9NYsN1AtTOfACLcBGAs/s400/superior-bathhouse-brewery-bar.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: , serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px;">Superior bathhouse photo by Leslie Fisher for All About Beer Magazine.</span></td></tr>
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Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-69841321594358819832016-05-30T15:02:00.000-04:002016-05-31T07:26:34.153-04:00Goodbye Greasy Goodness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I must admit I have stopped to take pictures of the Olde Dixie Fried Chicken sign more than I've actually eaten there. It is one of the few vintage signs left in the Orlando area, and occasionally I like to ride my bike into historic Pine Castle where the restaurant is located on photo safari. So when I heard it was shutting down, I made the conscious decision to ignore the fact that I normally try to adhere to a plant-based diet, and I stopped in for lunch.<br />
<br />
It was quit chaotic when I arrived – folks lined up along the back wall waiting for take-out orders, what seemed like 8 or 10 women working hard to full those orders, and a disorganized crowd milling around the order counter. Immediately I was truck by the notion that if there was system in place, it wasn't clear. Was there line at the order counter, when did you pay, was there table service or pick-up? Turns out if you dine in, and they bring you your food, which I did in order to soak up the ambiance.<br />
<br />
The place looks like it hadn't changed in half a century, the interior consists of wood paneling and stacked rock walls covered with posters of John Wayne. Large clusters of chicken collectibles line the counter. A mural of an old Southern plantation surrounded by oaks draped in Spanish moss covered the wall behind the cash register. There were amazing midcentury details like an incredible terrazzo compass rose and Googie-like multicolored hanging lights.<br />
<br />
The smell of fried chicken coated everything, and the women behind the counter were in constant motion taking freshly fried chicken parts out of the fryer and putting them in boxes. At lunchtime the restaurant posted on Facebook that due to demand they had bought more chicken (as they were going to only stay open until they ran out.) As I was leaving I heard one of the ladies say they had run out of boxes, despite ordering about 5,000 of them.<br />
<br />
While I was enjoying my delicious chicken breast, (it was so fresh and hot I couldn't pick it up with my fingers), one of the guests asked a member of the staff what was going to happen to the restaurant. She said they were looking for a new location, and I believe she said in Oviedo. I also overheard that the she understood the building would not be demolished, it would just not be Olde Dixie Fried Chicken anymore.<br />
<br />
The place was crowded with a diverse group of people in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I found that interesting since the Confederate flag is prominently featured in the establishment's sign. My theory is that they named it "Olde Dixie" after the Dixie Highway which followed the route of Orange Avenue through Pine Castle.<br />
<br />
There are very few restaurants with any history in the Orlando area, and even fewer buildings with original mid-century details. I'm sad to see this place go. And the chicken was moist and crispy, the cole slaw sweet and tasty, and the mac and cheese was delicious. I guess I'll go back to my plant-based diet until I have to say so-long to the next Orlando dining institution ready to bite the dust. Let's hope that's in the distant future.<br />
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Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-84761376050668489532016-04-10T09:56:00.000-04:002016-04-10T10:05:11.610-04:00Textures of the ancient city<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just returned from an overnight trip to my favorite city in Florida, St. Augustine. Although it can be touristy and crowded, there is magic there that I'm always able to tap into. My wife an I journey there at least once a year, and are never disappointed. This weekend the weather was perfect and the light was incredible. Waking the city, I constantly make new discoveries and can simply lose myself in the rich textures on display in this incredibly lovely place.<br />
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<br />Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-32246671663239775622015-11-01T06:44:00.001-05:002015-11-01T13:42:40.630-05:00Shuffling my way to a world ranking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When Michael Zellner, president of the <a href="http://www.world-shuffleboard.org/" target="_blank">International Shuffleboard Association</a>, invited me to participate in this year's shuffleboard world championships, I wasn't sure if I was qualified. Although I received a special exemption to play against the world's best players, I knew that my game was not up to snuff to play in a tournament of that level. But Zellner convinced me that his invitation was a significant honor, and I didn't feel like I could say no. So I spent the past week playing against some of the best shuffleboard players anywhere. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fast courts, freshly beaded</td></tr>
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The tournament started with a practice round on Sunday and I quickly determined that the courts at the <a href="http://wcdshuffle.yolasite.com/" target="_blank">Clearwater Shuffleboard Club</a> were fast and they had lots of "drift." Drift is when the disk "drifts" off line due to the slant of the court. I soon learned that skilled players can use the drift to their advantage to tuck a scoring disk behind a blocking disk. The first day concluded with a reception at the Clearwater Beach hotel where most of the players were staying.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan of the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club in Brooklyn greets the Allens <br />
from the Allen R. Shuffleboard Company at the tournament's opening reception</td></tr>
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The tournament officially kicked off the next day as the teams from all over the world paraded behind their flags. We were welcomed by local dignitaries and shuffleboard officials. A recording of the national anthem for each country was played, and I have to admit I got a little choked up at the thought of representing the USA.<br />
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After lunch, matches began and I was extremely nervous. There is a warm-up ritual before each game, and I found it completely confusing. This was my first shuffleboard competition at any level, and I was not sure what to expect. My first match was against a French Canadian with years of experience and I soon found myself in a deep hole that I could never dig out of. I learned very quickly that there is a big difference between recreational shuffleboard, what I later heard referred to as "shoot and giggle", and competitive shuffleboard. My opponents were all very cordial, and most of them were helpful and friendly, but they all played to win. In most of my games I was over matched, and once the game was out of hand, my opponents gave me tips on strategy.<br />
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I learned more about the game in one week than I had learned in two years of the Orlando Shuffle. At this level, there is a great deal of strategy and nuance. Players know where to aim, where not to aim, and possess the skills to put the disk exactly where they want to. Age is irrelevant, but experience is. The winner of the men's tournament was the same age as me, 50, but he's been playing since he was eight years old! The players could tell you which disks were faster than others and which parts of the courts were slow. Ultimately I lost far more matches than I won.<br />
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My first win came against a Norwegian who led by two scores with three frames left. I cut his lead in the next frame and then he was 'kitchened' on the next frame. The kitchen is the area in the back of the scoring triangle, and landing your disk in the kitchen results in ten off your score. It's the equivalent of a 'pick 6' in football, and it is the great equalizer in shuffleboard. I was tutored to beware of the kitchen, but not be afraid of it. I avoided the kitchen my final frame to beat the Norwegian, who would go on to become one of his country's best players in the tournament.<br />
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With my confidence high I entered a match against an undefeated American and at the end of eight frames I was up by a whopping 36 points. The next eight frames he challenged me to try to knock his disks into the kitchen by placing them deep in the scoring area. I knew that he would be right back in the game if I landed in the kitchen, so I allowed him to score. He slowly caught up until he passed me on the last shot of the match. It was a devastating loss. I didn't sleep much that night.<br />
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I found when I was in close matches my heart beat fast, my adrenaline flowed and I felt incredibly alive. Overall I was in four close matches, losing two and winning two (both against Norwegians.) I also was on the plus side of one lopsided match against an inexperienced player from Ohio. But the majority of my matches were learning opportunities against better players where I was soundly defeated.<br />
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Wednesday evening I gave a five minute speech at the end of the Hall of Fame banquet about the Orlando Shuffle. I reported how over the last two years with the help of a handful of committed shufflers, we have attempted to revitalize the game in Orlando. After reviewing the old Florida Shuffleboard Association directories on hand in Clearwater, it looks like the official Orlando Shuffleboard Club dissolved in the late '90s. Now we shuffle on the first and third Saturday each month, and I have high hopes that we can start a league next year. My talk was well received and I think our future efforts will be broadly supported by other players in the state.<br />
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When Orlando had an active club, it was in the Northern district with clubs from Volusia and Lake counties. According to another shuffler, the district had as many as 14 clubs at one time, but is now down to five. New Smyrna Beach alone has gone from four clubs down to one. But the game of shuffleboard seems much healthier in areas of Florida with larger retirement communities. According to Jim Allen of the <a href="http://www.shuffleboard-1.com/" target="_blank">Allen R. Shuffleboard Company</a>, municipal shuffleboard facilities are becoming more scarce, while courts that are amenities for retirement communities are still desirable. As real estate prices soar, the amount of land a shuffleboard complex needs can often become too valuable to be used for recreation. Many of the European players are used to playing on plastic or 'poly' courts, which are becoming more prevalent.<br />
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Lakeside, Ohio has a <a href="http://www.lakesideohio.com/recreation/shuffleboard" target="_blank">shuffleboard club</a> that has tournaments for kids, and they produced Bob Jones, Jr., this year's men's champion. In addition to the success of Brooklyn's Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club and the St. Pete Shuffleboard Club, a new indoor club in Ohio has opened, bringing the game to even more new players.<br />
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While many of the participants were retirees from up north, most of the international players were younger. But the large municipal clubs like those in Clearwater and St. Cloud where the retirees play are not as healthy as they have been in the past. So I guess I'll keep the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/328293583758/" target="_blank">"Save Our Shuffleboard"</a> Facebook group active so that folks don't take this great game for granted.<br />
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I'm still processing all I learned this week. I made great connections and met new friends. There is a distinct shuffleboard culture and it was fun to be part of the the game's community for a week. I soared after spectacular highs and re-grouped after crushing lows. I got a deeper look into the intricacies of a game that can be both infuriating and rewarding. I got schooled. But it was a small price to pay because at the end the week I held the ranking of the 56th best mens shuffleboard player in the world. <br />
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<br />Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-86902855326100401792015-09-10T08:16:00.001-04:002015-09-10T12:59:02.448-04:00Bottled Spring Water and the Mouse: Florida's New Faux Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After the Civil War, tourists from northern states began flocking to Florida via newly-constructed railroads systems and steamboats. The tropical paradise they visited was full of natural wonders and the exotic flora and fauna was mysterious and untamed. Soon visitors to this new Eden began discovering the state's many beautiful artesian springs. Modern facilities were created so guests could stay and take the waters, a centuries-old practice in Europe where it was believed almost any ailment could be cured by soaking in or drinking mineral water. Green Cove, Suwannee, and Magnolia Springs were three of the best known spring-based health spas with elaborate resort complexes.<br />
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The notion of healthful spring water in Florida was so powerful that bottled water from the springs became a commodity with many springs bottling and shipping water to other parts of the country. The evidence of water bottling at Florida springs during this era can still be found today. Here are just a few examples of Florida springs that were used for bottled drinking water:<br />
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<b>Hampton Springs Water, Hampton Springs (near Perry)</b><br />
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This remarkable product claimed to cure "indigestion, rheumatism, dyspepsia, stomach and liver troubles, and skin disease." Today Hampton Springs is a Taylor County park.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard from the State Archives of Florida</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spring pool at Hampton Springs today</td></tr>
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<b>Magnesia Springs, Hawthorne</b></div>
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Water bottled at this spring near Gainesville was <a href="http://mixsonian.com/lifeline/1998/MonsterAtMagnesiaSprings/magnesia_springs_history.htm">sold to Camp Blanding </a>for 50 cents for a five gallon jug. The spring is now privately owned, although there has been some <a href="http://www.gainesville.com/article/20150823/COLUMNISTS/150819668/1206/opinion?p=1&tc=pg">recent discussion</a> suggesting it be restored as a public facility again.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Read more about Magnesia Springs <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2014/11/hope-springs-eternal-magnesia-springs.html">here</a>.</td></tr>
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<b>Orange City Water from Volusia Blue Spring</b></div>
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According to the <a href="http://www.ourorangecity.com/about-our-city/orange-city-town-history/">Orange City website,</a> Orange City Water earned the “highest award that the world can give for its water at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition." They also claimed that "John D. Rockefeller, Sr. had Orange City water sent to him wherever he traveled, and even used it for bathing."</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">From the State Archives of Florida</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">From the State Archives of Florida</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">From the State Archives of Florida</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vzuw4n2b2aU/Ve7DOwk0zDI/AAAAAAAAxbY/01aJ_-VWd5I/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-09-03%2Bat%2B10.09.50%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vzuw4n2b2aU/Ve7DOwk0zDI/AAAAAAAAxbY/01aJ_-VWd5I/s400/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-09-03%2Bat%2B10.09.50%2BAM.png" width="170" /></a></div>
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<b>Espiritu Water from Espiritu Santo Springs, Safety Harbor</b><br />
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Historian J. Michael Francis recently confirmed the historical inaccuracy of the account on the historical marker in front of the Safety Harbor Spa that states Hernando De Soto thought he "discovered the fountain of youth sought by Ponce de León" when he found these springs he dubbed "Espiritu Santo Springs." Despite the falsehood, few springs have the longevity of human history as these springs in Safety Harbor, and it is one of three springs in the state where one can still take the waters for therapeutic purposes. I believe the water is still available for drinking purposes at the spa today.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R3Azn0ClAnQ/Ve7DURrP53I/AAAAAAAAxbg/5yW4PwBokRE/s1600/spa709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R3Azn0ClAnQ/Ve7DURrP53I/AAAAAAAAxbg/5yW4PwBokRE/s400/spa709.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JxggJ3A_cuE/Ve7DewXNF8I/AAAAAAAAxbo/vUh1Am-opCw/s1600/Espiritulabel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JxggJ3A_cuE/Ve7DewXNF8I/AAAAAAAAxbo/vUh1Am-opCw/s400/Espiritulabel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LkUJUAfJ47M/Ve7Dicr3uaI/AAAAAAAAxbw/H_BfX-GRI38/s1600/esprititubottling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LkUJUAfJ47M/Ve7Dicr3uaI/AAAAAAAAxbw/H_BfX-GRI38/s400/esprititubottling.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Safety Harbor bottling facilities. Photo by the Burgert Bros. </div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 17.92px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">From the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.</span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QUWE9b88BQg/Ve7DwBuX0WI/AAAAAAAAxb4/DRfqHY0dF9c/s1600/orangecitywater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bl8CK3Ei26o/Ve7FF6-_YVI/AAAAAAAAxcE/XTeSyF6im1U/s1600/P1100767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bl8CK3Ei26o/Ve7FF6-_YVI/AAAAAAAAxcE/XTeSyF6im1U/s400/P1100767.jpg" width="397" /></a></div>
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<b>Deerfoot Mineral Spring, DeLand</b><br />
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I recently stumbled across this <a href="http://lakeberesfordpark.blogspot.com/">blog account</a>: "Around 1890, DeLand entrepreneur J.B. Taylor decided to tap the spring and sell the water under the Deerfoot Water Company name. His company first marketed the water for sale as a medicinal supplement. Later on, the paddle boats used it as their water source. Mr. Taylor later installed a 100-foot well that, according to the USGS’s 1913 publication Geology and Ground Waters of Florida yielded a sulphur water also believed to have medicinal properties."</div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kkgRDxlZQVw/VfARCEZyUUI/AAAAAAAAxcc/-16Kw4iT0aU/s1600/Picture%2B3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kkgRDxlZQVw/VfARCEZyUUI/AAAAAAAAxcc/-16Kw4iT0aU/s400/Picture%2B3.png" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">From http://lakeberesfordpark.blogspot.com/</td></tr>
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<b>Purity Springs, Tampa</b></div>
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I first learned of Purity Springs from this <a href="http://tampaniatampa.blogspot.com/2013/02/purity-springs.html">Tampania blog</a> and have visited the site of the Tampa area water bottling plant <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2013/03/tampas-historic-urban-springs.html" target="_blank">several times</a>. This small spring is now an oasis of calm near the chaos of urban Tampa.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RK2XJ7N5SA8/VfAp2rXhwuI/AAAAAAAAxcs/0_5YlD--D7E/s1600/Men_standing_by_delivery_trucks_situated_in_front_of_the_bottling_department_of_the_Purity_Springs_Water_Company_water_tower_in_upper_right_corner_Tampa_Fla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RK2XJ7N5SA8/VfAp2rXhwuI/AAAAAAAAxcs/0_5YlD--D7E/s400/Men_standing_by_delivery_trucks_situated_in_front_of_the_bottling_department_of_the_Purity_Springs_Water_Company_water_tower_in_upper_right_corner_Tampa_Fla.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Men standing by delivery trucks situated in front of the bottling department<br />
of the Purity Springs Water Company, water tower in upper right corner: <br />
Tampa, 1928. <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">From the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zDM7LE5yrJc/VfFxTazoWjI/AAAAAAAAxgc/j7mYGTJ1AT8/s1600/Purity2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zDM7LE5yrJc/VfFxTazoWjI/AAAAAAAAxgc/j7mYGTJ1AT8/s400/Purity2.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<b>Fenholloway Sulphur Water</b></div>
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From <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=798587467&fref=nf"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Joe Dunn</span></a>’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/floridatrailblazer/permalink/879961398749024/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Florida Trailblazer</span></a> Facebook page:</div>
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“Found these photos while researching the old town of <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/taylorcountyhistory/home/fenholloway">Fenholloway</a> in Taylor County. One of the things it was noted for was the mineral springs there. In the early 1920's the Fenholloway water was sold locally from a pick-up truck. The business later expanded and trucks delivered the water all over North Florida and South Georgia. The water was pumped from the springs, bottled and transported to Live Oak, Mayo, Cross City, Greenville and other cities in the area. Sometime in the late 1930's to the 1940's the spring dried up due to groundwater pumping. After that the mineral water had to imported then the business closed sometime in the 1950's.”<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9o_TwOI7dHg/VfCrGpZWcmI/AAAAAAAAxdE/jHIw3UB_riA/s1600/Fenholloway1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9o_TwOI7dHg/VfCrGpZWcmI/AAAAAAAAxdE/jHIw3UB_riA/s400/Fenholloway1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">From https://sites.google.com/site/taylorcountyhistory/home/fenholloway</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PnCrGdONzio/VfCrGvLYfRI/AAAAAAAAxdA/1cgr4KnV6ig/s1600/Fenholloway2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="345" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PnCrGdONzio/VfCrGvLYfRI/AAAAAAAAxdA/1cgr4KnV6ig/s400/Fenholloway2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">From https://sites.google.com/site/taylorcountyhistory/home/fenholloway</td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Bottled Water in Florida today</b></h3>
The popularity of bottled water in the 21st century has led to a renaissance of the water-bottling industry in Florida. Many major brands fill plastic water bottles with ancient water from the Floridan Aquifer according to journalist Cynthia Barnett in her book<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mirage-Florida-Vanishing-Water-Eastern/dp/0472033034" target="_blank"> Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.</a></i> "Three of of the largest water-bottling companies in the world pump or buy their product from the Suwannee District" states Barnett about the region that is the heart of Florida's spring country. With springs across Florida facing an uncertain future due to over pumping and pollution, many environmentalists bristle knowing that water that would ordinarily bubble up in a spring now often ends up in a plastic bottle to be shipped out of the state. Although Barnett points out the amount of water withdrawn by water bottlers is small compared to the hundred of millions of gallons used by industrial and agricultural interests in the state, she also makes the point that the state's water regulators "simply do not understand the overall impact the water bottling industry has on Florida."<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zydzuWYsxGk/VfDZW9df--I/AAAAAAAAxdY/Sm00jXaTzrY/s1600/DS3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zydzuWYsxGk/VfDZW9df--I/AAAAAAAAxdY/Sm00jXaTzrY/s400/DS3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Florida's Newest Spring</b></h3>
I was working in downtown Orlando at the <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2009/09/this-stuff-matters.html" target="_blank">Church Street Station</a> entertainment complex when Disney opened its own nighttime entertainment destination known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasure_Island_(Walt_Disney_World_Resort)" target="_blank">Pleasure Island</a>. While Church Street was Bob Snow's singular vision, merging mostly Victorian decor into nostalgic showrooms, Pleasure Island was a fictitious warehouse district with state-of-the-art nightclubs and bars sprinkled with Disney magic pixie dust. Eventually the luster wore off and Pleasure Island's unique venues like the Adventurer's Club and Mannequins Dance Palace <a href="http://www.mouseplanet.com/8443/Who_Killed_Pleasure_Island">closed</a>.<br />
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In 2013, Disney began construction on a new incarnation of the Pleasure Island/Downtown Disney area known as <a href="https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/disney-springs/" target="_blank">Disney Springs</a>. According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel, the complex will have the "look of an early 20th century Florida town"<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;"> </span>and renderings showed design elements that reflected the era
of Florida’s spring water bottling history.
Included was a "permanent fixture" in the Downtown Disney skyline, the Springs Bottling Co. Marquee.<br />
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My initial reaction to seeing the renderings was mixed. On the one hand, as a lover of Florida history, I'm intrigued by the idea that Disney would chose to pay homage to this romantic era in our state's history when travelers took long journeys in train cars to stay in remarkable Guilded Age hotels and take the waters. But as someone who cares deeply about the future of Florida's springs, I also hoped if Disney was creating a fake spring environment, that they might take the opportunity to educate their millions of visitors about our state's real springs, which are threatened by the explosive growth of Florida. I was not the only one who felt that Disney's choice for theming lacked sensitivity and several well-known <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-disney-springs-galls-environmentalists-20150117-story.html">environmentalists expressed </a>disappointment as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Fv-DJYk5xE/VfDeU3ejqRI/AAAAAAAAxfg/4E_KoJzxAEI/s1600/os-disney-springs-pictures-081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Fv-DJYk5xE/VfDeU3ejqRI/AAAAAAAAxfg/4E_KoJzxAEI/s400/os-disney-springs-pictures-081.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of the back of the Springs Bottling marquee via the Orlando Sentinel.</td></tr>
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I had this letter printed in the <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-letters-sunrail-marketing-072415-20150723-story.html">Orlando Sentinel</a> editorial page:<br />
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<i><b>Disney’s teachable moment</b><br />As a Floridian who cares deeply about our state’s springs, I have mixed feelings about the new Disney Springs development. </i></blockquote>
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<i>From a historical perspective, I appreciate how the company is paying homage to a fascinating era in our state’s past, when springs helped hasten the development of the state, offering a resource that could be bottled and sold. Murals on the site for bottled mineral water echo real vintage advertisements for bottled spring water from both nearby Wekiwa and Blue springs. </i></blockquote>
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<i>However, I am disappointed that the designers of Disney Springs seem to be ignoring that water withdrawal from the Floridan Aquifer is a sore subject for environmentalists. As the Central Florida Water Initiative looks for new ways to quench the thirst of our region without overtapping our maxed-out aquifer, perhaps a building with giant letters at the top stating “springs bottling plant” is not a good idea. An architectural rendering of this was shown in a photo gallery on the Sentinel website. </i></blockquote>
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<i>According to the Disney website, the top priority in the company’s environmental policy is to “improve water and energy efficiencies.” My hope is that Disney will take advantage of the huge volume of tourists streaming through its gates to create awareness of the water challenges facing the region. I would love to see interpretive signage at Disney Springs created to educate the public about the geology and ecology of Florida’s springs. It’s a teachable moment. </i></blockquote>
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<i>Rick Kilby Orlando</i></blockquote>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b>My visit to Disney Springs</b></h3>
Eventually curiosity won out and I had to see Disney Springs for myself, despite the fact that much of it is still under construction. I was pleased to find ample, free parking as a new parking garage had been completed since my last visit. Many of the buildings in the Downtown Disney area have remain unchanged and it was not until I crossed over the bridge past a construction area that I noticed newly constructed buildings. There were several structures that are clearly an homage to the architecture of the early 19th century. Much of what I saw, including the impressive <a href="http://www.theboathouseorlando.com/" target="_blank">Boathouse Restaurant</a>, reminded me of buildings created by the St. Joe Corporation in their panhandle projects like <a href="http://watercolorflorida.com/" target="_blank">WaterColor</a> and <a href="http://www.watersound.com/" target="_blank">WaterSound</a>. The same seaside visual vocabulary I've seen used by New Urbanist architects along the Gulf of Mexico marks the waterfront area. Ironically, one of the yet-to-be completed buildings bears a strong resemblance to Orlando's historic train depot, where my office was located when I worked at Church Street Station.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xY-FFgv-QdM/VfDbF3FFmoI/AAAAAAAAxds/spohcn8Vs0w/s1600/DS1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xY-FFgv-QdM/VfDbF3FFmoI/AAAAAAAAxds/spohcn8Vs0w/s400/DS1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disney Springs building, partially completed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v3AZ0mdbzEM/VfDbTpLXDbI/AAAAAAAAxd0/nNWpkoQLw4Y/s1600/P1030350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="315" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v3AZ0mdbzEM/VfDbTpLXDbI/AAAAAAAAxd0/nNWpkoQLw4Y/s400/P1030350.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of the very similar Orlando historic railroad depot.</td></tr>
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While I was aggravated trying to negotiate through the Labor Day crowds I had several distinct impressions. Disney has always done nostalgia well, and Disney Springs is no exception. Like the <a href="https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/" target="_blank">Grand Floridian Resort & Spa,</a> they have been able to channel the spirit of another era. But it is still largely a retail and and dining area, and in my opinion the Church Street Station complex was superior in its attention to detail and authentic artifacts and antiques. I still have mixed feelings about the complex, but I hope to return when Disney Springs is complete. When I do, I'll be looking <i>hopefully</i> for an interpretive display with verbiage about Florida's real springs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ItN0OQJ_Flg/VfDbnjvdMbI/AAAAAAAAxeA/yWIQtBWql9c/s1600/DS6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ItN0OQJ_Flg/VfDbnjvdMbI/AAAAAAAAxeA/yWIQtBWql9c/s400/DS6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boathouse Restaurant has a fleet of several "Amphicars" available for "swims."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-16NsJFKRYHw/VfDbn60PUTI/AAAAAAAAxeY/2qcQw4GbDOg/s1600/DS7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-16NsJFKRYHw/VfDbn60PUTI/AAAAAAAAxeY/2qcQw4GbDOg/s400/DS7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Propellers are located just beneath the tail fins. "Swims" go for $75 per person.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amphicar just beyond a few of the Boathouse's vintage motorboats.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tIlFOk_Nts0/VfDbo5ax4FI/AAAAAAAAxeQ/7AzZd5bnSuI/s1600/DS9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tIlFOk_Nts0/VfDbo5ax4FI/AAAAAAAAxeQ/7AzZd5bnSuI/s400/DS9.jpg" width="355" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many spectacular watercraft on display.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SI0-N49h-nA/VfDbnrVZn-I/AAAAAAAAxd8/O0srlhV-Sos/s1600/DS10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SI0-N49h-nA/VfDbnrVZn-I/AAAAAAAAxd8/O0srlhV-Sos/s400/DS10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While a bit pricey, the atmosphere of the Boathouse was terrific.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qwcX26XIqgI/VfDc_arf4_I/AAAAAAAAxe4/C9zkIWYj7qQ/s1600/IMG_6935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qwcX26XIqgI/VfDc_arf4_I/AAAAAAAAxe4/C9zkIWYj7qQ/s400/IMG_6935.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YiqwYsAh2WI/VfDc_sIkerI/AAAAAAAAxes/nq1cbmTbjs0/s1600/IMG_6939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YiqwYsAh2WI/VfDc_sIkerI/AAAAAAAAxes/nq1cbmTbjs0/s400/IMG_6939.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YhGnijnFVI4/VfDdNAR_fmI/AAAAAAAAxfA/CR6xkEid8Js/s1600/DS11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YhGnijnFVI4/VfDdNAR_fmI/AAAAAAAAxfA/CR6xkEid8Js/s400/DS11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn2RP-A3Aro/VfDdP1hkP8I/AAAAAAAAxfM/MoN0UT1na5s/s1600/DS4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn2RP-A3Aro/VfDdP1hkP8I/AAAAAAAAxfM/MoN0UT1na5s/s400/DS4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HUczEKRm6sA/VfDdPkeWGNI/AAAAAAAAxfI/guwy3r3FM90/s1600/DS5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HUczEKRm6sA/VfDdPkeWGNI/AAAAAAAAxfI/guwy3r3FM90/s400/DS5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These whimsical renderings bear little resemblance to an actual Florida spring.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YcH-zLf8RmE/VfGlFlyjgpI/AAAAAAAAxhM/4rO4h4O_DQI/s1600/save%2Bour%2Bsprings_low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YcH-zLf8RmE/VfGlFlyjgpI/AAAAAAAAxhM/4rO4h4O_DQI/s400/save%2Bour%2Bsprings_low.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's my hint to Disney for springs signage, illustration by <a href="http://dawnschreiner.com/" target="_blank">Dawn Schreiner.</a><br />
Learn more about <a href="http://springseternalproject.org/take-action-now/" target="_blank">what you can do for our springs here.</a><br />
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Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-46613929205176372312015-07-05T10:13:00.000-04:002015-07-05T12:55:00.360-04:00Freedom at Fifty: the Power of Place<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lqqgnwor650/VZhMNOS1zHI/AAAAAAAAxTw/0oquq_zXgYU/s1600/FR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lqqgnwor650/VZhMNOS1zHI/AAAAAAAAxTw/0oquq_zXgYU/s400/FR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was excited to embark on my <b>5th Annual <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2014/07/freedom-ride-4.html" target="_blank">Freedom Ride</a></b>, a <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2013/07/freedom-ride-3.html" target="_blank">tradition</a> in which I enjoy the freedom of <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2010/07/freedom-ride.html" target="_blank">riding my bike</a> with no agenda other than <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/07/freedom-ride-2.html" target="_blank">taking photos</a> of whatever strikes my fancy. My odyssey began at an industrial area between the newly renovated Orlando Train Station and I-4, an area normally too busy to ride a bike. On this day, however it was like a ghost town so I felt free to ride around and investigate the textures and colors created by the processes of manufacturing and recycling. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IAp8F52COmw/VZhNQPR4bWI/AAAAAAAAxT4/5-4y_YW81vk/s1600/FR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IAp8F52COmw/VZhNQPR4bWI/AAAAAAAAxT4/5-4y_YW81vk/s400/FR2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking for the red, white, and blue at a recycling plant.</td></tr>
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I remembered that nearby Kuhl Street intersected Gore and headed in that direction because the original route of the Dixie Highway through Orlando followed Kuhl Avenue briefly before rejoining Orange Avenue further south. <a href="http://www.us-highways.com/dixiehwy.htm" target="_blank">The Dixie Highway</a> was a system of roads that connected the South to the Midwest in the early days of the automobile, before state and federal roads used a numbering system to identify their routes. The Western alignment of the Dixie Highway went from Chicago to Miami, going north and south through Orlando, mostly by way of Edgewater Drive and Orange Avenue. I have been been working with the <a href="http://www.polk-county.net/boccsite/Our-Community/History-Center/" target="_blank">Polk County History Center</a> on an exhibit commemorating the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Dixie Highway Association, so I've been driving as much of the original road as possible. I was thrilled to find the short stretch between Gore and Lake Lucerne still paved in bricks, perhaps the original bricks driven over by Model Ts and Stanley Steamers almost a century ago. This unexpected discovery was the first of many on this Independence Day and I realized there was a connection between the Dixie Highway and freedom. The age of the automobile brought more independence to Americans than ever before, as a vacation in Florida was now possible to a whole new class of people. Whereas before steamboats and train cars brought the American elite to places of leisure like Palm Beach, the advent of the automobile and the Dixie Highway opened the way for the middle class to visit the Sunshine State. And they've been arriving in cars by the millions ever since.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nhsZtyn4f7E/VZhNiTaPkjI/AAAAAAAAxUA/00yPnsOvna8/s1600/FR3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nhsZtyn4f7E/VZhNiTaPkjI/AAAAAAAAxUA/00yPnsOvna8/s400/FR3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHHE4xc54l0/VZhNjjsxgfI/AAAAAAAAxUI/2E_ZwSbjfo0/s1600/FR4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHHE4xc54l0/VZhNjjsxgfI/AAAAAAAAxUI/2E_ZwSbjfo0/s400/FR4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Could these bricks date back to the days of the Dixie Highway?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wbn5-Fi3n-Y/VZhN4_cCDqI/AAAAAAAAxUQ/nu9coVOeXMw/s1600/FR5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wbn5-Fi3n-Y/VZhN4_cCDqI/AAAAAAAAxUQ/nu9coVOeXMw/s400/FR5.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wonderful Midcentury architecture on Lake Lucerne.</td></tr>
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I headed to downtown where I had worked for almost a decade – a place where I'd witnessed enormous change. When I started working there soon after I moved to Central Florida, the soul of old Orlando still lingered. Places like Mac Meiner's BBQ, Chastains, and the beloved <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2008/12/shopping-for-vintage-orlando.html" target="_blank">Ronnie's Restaurant</a> were still serving Orlando natives. Even <a href="http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-11-18/news/os-sam-behr-dead-20131118_1_shoe-store-sam-behr-joanne-behr" target="_blank">Sam Behr's</a> Shoe Store still existed on Church Street. But downtown was pretty humble outside of the <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2009/09/this-place-matters-part-2.html" target="_blank">Church Street Station</a> attraction where I worked. So to find relics of the prior age feels like being an urban archaeologist, discovering pieces of a bygone age. Just by the looks of new construction near downtown, the great recession appears to be ending.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GVVTag08wq0/VZhOpGA_fBI/AAAAAAAAxUY/Atq1HOC5bjE/s1600/FR6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GVVTag08wq0/VZhOpGA_fBI/AAAAAAAAxUY/Atq1HOC5bjE/s400/FR6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A boutique hotel moved into the old Orlando Utilities Building <br />
but left these wonderful remnants from the past behind.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BCXf7F-L4vs/VZhPIBBZk3I/AAAAAAAAxUg/GuKymZc1008/s1600/FR8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BCXf7F-L4vs/VZhPIBBZk3I/AAAAAAAAxUg/GuKymZc1008/s400/FR8.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Citrus icon Dr. Phillip Phillips' legacy lives on in Orlando through the philanthropic organization of the same name. My hope is that this building bearing his name someday finds new life.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x2uTjb6ne6w/VZhPLIir82I/AAAAAAAAxUo/liorAYvm0to/s1600/FR11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x2uTjb6ne6w/VZhPLIir82I/AAAAAAAAxUo/liorAYvm0to/s400/FR11.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.news965.com/news/online/wdbo-history-timeline/nnJM/" target="_blank">WDBO</a> dates back to 1924 and is said to stand for "Way Down by Orlando."<br />
It would be sad to see this wonderful Art Deco building fall by the wayside.</td></tr>
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I rode to a Mediterranean Revival property I knew was at risk of being torn down to make way for a high rise on Lake Eola. The charming home turned office building is a relic of an earlier age when private houses existed on the shores of Orlando's favorite park. <a href="https://friendsofcasafeliz.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/why-historic-preservation-needs-government-the-free-market-cant-do-it-all/" target="_blank">Historic preservation</a> is on my mind these days as communities in Florida are faced with difficult questions of growth and property rights versus quality of life and community character. Sadly we seem to lose more and more historic buildings with character every day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6hZpIKJCZPM/VZhQf6BOAKI/AAAAAAAAxU0/_Ppm8IvwBLM/s1600/FR7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6hZpIKJCZPM/VZhQf6BOAKI/AAAAAAAAxU0/_Ppm8IvwBLM/s400/FR7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's unlikely this 1920s home will be moved.</td></tr>
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<b>Return to College Park</b></div>
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<i>Tana Porter recently published an excellent book about the history of College Park, see it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/College-Images-America-Neighborhood-Association/dp/1467113352" target="_blank">here</a>. </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kr2S0p-7pG4/VZhXCpfa1LI/AAAAAAAAxVk/e_kxkAU1CXM/s1600/FR14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kr2S0p-7pG4/VZhXCpfa1LI/AAAAAAAAxVk/e_kxkAU1CXM/s400/FR14.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drive-in worship, every Sunday at 8:15!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmcBfzZzdzU/VZhXUbPqxcI/AAAAAAAAxVs/wYXvjVoDBZ8/s1600/FR12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmcBfzZzdzU/VZhXUbPqxcI/AAAAAAAAxVs/wYXvjVoDBZ8/s400/FR12.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The expansion of I-4 led to these young cypress trees being cut down. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--lpcKqcbC28/VZhXWVH82cI/AAAAAAAAxV0/FU7m-UwmY3w/s1600/FR13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--lpcKqcbC28/VZhXWVH82cI/AAAAAAAAxV0/FU7m-UwmY3w/s400/FR13.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's unclear who painted the stumps red, but the effect is that the trees bleed when cut down. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4APdkgLRr6A/VZhXaKDdb5I/AAAAAAAAxV8/7HkA4ysRFpA/s1600/FR18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4APdkgLRr6A/VZhXaKDdb5I/AAAAAAAAxV8/7HkA4ysRFpA/s400/FR18.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the opposite side of Lake Ivanhoe, noble cypress await their fate.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sE_ESx1WfYI/VZhXcDZhSOI/AAAAAAAAxWE/Tj54P0_pY0w/s1600/FR19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sE_ESx1WfYI/VZhXcDZhSOI/AAAAAAAAxWE/Tj54P0_pY0w/s400/FR19.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This residents are rallying around this patch of live oaks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3usr2VLMvvk/VZhaF6m9fOI/AAAAAAAAxWU/5KITYCUrvcs/s1600/FR21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3usr2VLMvvk/VZhaF6m9fOI/AAAAAAAAxWU/5KITYCUrvcs/s400/FR21.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To protest the cutting of these trees, e-mail loreen.bobo@dot.st.fl.us</td></tr>
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I headed to College Park, a neighborhood where much of my early adult life had been spent. College Park seems to be <a href="http://rethinktheprinceton.org/" target="_blank">ground zero</a> for questions of growth and preservation. When I moved there, Edgewater Drive still had service stations with mechanics, a drugstore with a soda fountain, and lots of mom and pop businesses. College Park was originally developed during the <a href="http://floridahistory.org/landboom.htm" target="_blank">land boom</a> of the 1920s. Many of the houses on the street where I lived were built during the time Florida's population started to skyrocket immediately following World War II. My tiny bungalow had no central air, marvelous oak floors, and a mature orange tree in the backyard. I had elderly neighbors next door and there was a school crossing guard at the corner who waved at every car that went by. It felt like living in a small town.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6-nmiOJJ0-s/VZhYgOAt9FI/AAAAAAAAxWM/ICgI-544GAU/s1600/FR27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6-nmiOJJ0-s/VZhYgOAt9FI/AAAAAAAAxWM/ICgI-544GAU/s400/FR27.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While living in College Park, I had no idea the main commercial road through the neighborhood <br />
was once the Dixie Highway.</td></tr>
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When I moved away almost a decade later, most of the elderly neighbors who lived near me were replaced by young couples. Today the spot where the gas station used to be, has become the location of a multi-story condominium building. Many of the mom and pop businesses have been replaced with hipster hangouts. I felt conflicted as I rode down Edgewater Drive; a rush of good memories flooded over me. Perhaps middle age is where you start to feel like you're not a hipster anymore, but you're not an old timer either. You're stuck in the middle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D5uqM3aDeck/VZhecIAogkI/AAAAAAAAxX0/VGGL0tLZyR8/s1600/FR28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D5uqM3aDeck/VZhecIAogkI/AAAAAAAAxX0/VGGL0tLZyR8/s400/FR28.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very different downtown College Park: "Juice" bikes, a Midcentury Modern <br />
furniture store, and a multi-story condo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iq1HIS3eGk0/VZheFOuspVI/AAAAAAAAxXs/eTsfHdNCWb8/s1600/FR26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iq1HIS3eGk0/VZheFOuspVI/AAAAAAAAxXs/eTsfHdNCWb8/s400/FR26.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="http://rethinktheprinceton.org/" target="_blank">battle</a> between growth and quality of life is being fought here.</td></tr>
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Riding along the edge of Lake Ivanhoe, remembering my favorite houses, where I fished with my Little Brother, where I had a picnic with my family, I felt a range of very powerful emotions fueled by returning to the places where those memories were made. I went to the old apartment where I used to live, peddled down streets I remembered well, and noted what had changed and what had endured. Would my memories still survive if these places had been torn down? If my old pink apartment ceased to exist, would a new building still inspire recollection and introspection? Memories of my Dad during a memorable Christmas at the pink apartments came rushing back. Now that my Dad is gone, those memories are priceless. But does a physical place have the power to preserve memories, or is that just nostalgia on my part? <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZE_lqkI80k/VZhbBwX91bI/AAAAAAAAxWk/M5u_4DAffaQ/s1600/FR16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZE_lqkI80k/VZhbBwX91bI/AAAAAAAAxWk/M5u_4DAffaQ/s400/FR16.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favorite historic homes on Lake Ivanhoe.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T7BBa7JVCUs/VZhbPa8wvFI/AAAAAAAAxWs/NsJ1b9Bysb4/s1600/FR17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T7BBa7JVCUs/VZhbPa8wvFI/AAAAAAAAxWs/NsJ1b9Bysb4/s400/FR17.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A <a href="https://friendsofcasafeliz.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/midcentury-modern-winter-parks-hidden-heritage/" target="_blank">Midcentury Modern</a> beauty.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5yUmZcgZ6V8/VZhbiuYVVaI/AAAAAAAAxW0/nVRJred_GPE/s1600/FR20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5yUmZcgZ6V8/VZhbiuYVVaI/AAAAAAAAxW0/nVRJred_GPE/s400/FR20.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabulous flamingo on this home's front door.</td></tr>
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From a broader perspective, as more people are attracted to a neighborhood and start to remake it with larger, more contemporary houses, does the neighborhood lose the charm that originally attracted them to it? As I rode my bike down entire streets stocked with brand new houses, I wondered if this was the same place at all. So I headed the opposite direction to see if my old house still survived.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-giO066X9f08/VZhc8k-jo1I/AAAAAAAAxXU/D2dYiNn-E0g/s1600/FR24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-giO066X9f08/VZhc8k-jo1I/AAAAAAAAxXU/D2dYiNn-E0g/s400/FR24.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's more Florida than pink apartments? I lived here before buying a home in College Park.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pErHk18r2lw/VZhc93YFXeI/AAAAAAAAxXc/Q47yuMXYli4/s1600/FR23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pErHk18r2lw/VZhc93YFXeI/AAAAAAAAxXc/Q47yuMXYli4/s400/FR23.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadly they put a picnic table in the middle of the <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/01/is-shuffleboard-worth-preserving.html" target="_blank">shuffleboard</a> court. <br />
Even sadder is the fact that I never played shuffleboard when I lived there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FSQ-vxIq7zE/VZhdA7jDeOI/AAAAAAAAxXk/Cz9j8kYmXMo/s1600/FR25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FSQ-vxIq7zE/VZhdA7jDeOI/AAAAAAAAxXk/Cz9j8kYmXMo/s400/FR25.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wonderful nod to history where a pineapple plantation and a park with a <br />
waterslide called "Joyland" once existed on the shores of Lake Ivanhoe.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rCud59oYtRI/VZhfHVS8PBI/AAAAAAAAxX8/0hg2WY6bg14/s1600/FR31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rCud59oYtRI/VZhfHVS8PBI/AAAAAAAAxX8/0hg2WY6bg14/s400/FR31.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Howard_Atha_House" target="_blank">Howard Atha House</a> is on the National Register of Historic Places.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-apOm4YWKYdQ/VZhfJHY7LOI/AAAAAAAAxYE/kz2IJsP6gK0/s1600/FR32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-apOm4YWKYdQ/VZhfJHY7LOI/AAAAAAAAxYE/kz2IJsP6gK0/s400/FR32.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Kerouac lived in College Park. His home now is a place <br />
for writers and poets to stay as artists in residence.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iNu_QlrYu8Y/VZhfKQf4juI/AAAAAAAAxYM/fhFMr2SfUqc/s1600/FR33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iNu_QlrYu8Y/VZhfKQf4juI/AAAAAAAAxYM/fhFMr2SfUqc/s400/FR33.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home by noted local architect <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2009/04/homes-of-james-gamble-rogers-ii.html" target="_blank">James Gamble Rogers</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhR1kY_VQFs/VZhfLvKkflI/AAAAAAAAxYU/CTm2tHgosck/s1600/FR34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhR1kY_VQFs/VZhfLvKkflI/AAAAAAAAxYU/CTm2tHgosck/s400/FR34.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This beauty was recently in the news when a small plane crashed into their garage.</td></tr>
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When I bought my house, my Dad questioned my choice. It was on a busy street and he thought my decision making process may have been overly influenced by the attractive young lady living there with her husband and young son. But when I sold it a decade later and made a healthy profit, I could tell my father was proud of me. The house had been turned into a rental property so I was nervous as I approached.<br />
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Because it was a busy street, it appeared that much of the changes that had engulfed the rest of College Park had escaped my old street. Most of the modest homes remained unchanged, a fact that made me very happy. As I neared my house I saw my old neighbor Marty. Marty was actually a mechanic who worked in one of the service stations that used to be on Edgewater. When the garage closed he became a caregiver to my elderly neighbor. Buoyed again by the stroke of good fortune of running into an old neighbor, I pressed on to my house to find that it looked pretty good. It looked like who ever lived there loved the place, and that made me even happier.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kkbhz_C4pRM/VZhb4X1Kp0I/AAAAAAAAxW8/IejCr2tfxNc/s1600/FR29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kkbhz_C4pRM/VZhb4X1Kp0I/AAAAAAAAxW8/IejCr2tfxNc/s400/FR29.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My former neighbor Marty and one of his creations</td></tr>
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<br />
As I passed back through <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2010/05/change-constancy-in-downtown-orlando.html" target="_blank">downtown</a>, documenting which pieces of the past had changed and noting those that have survived, I sought out places that I had written about in previous blogs to check on how they've held up (I really need to do this urban bike ride thing more often than once a year).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NULrSBFzUtI/VZhaqUv2W5I/AAAAAAAAxWc/sGB-RCnoEzQ/s1600/FR15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NULrSBFzUtI/VZhaqUv2W5I/AAAAAAAAxWc/sGB-RCnoEzQ/s400/FR15.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-deco.html" target="_blank">art deco h</a>ome, one of my College Park faves, is currently for sale.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-92IRBIqkzbc/VZhVfPn-wtI/AAAAAAAAxVE/kAUvJu3N-8U/s1600/FR9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-92IRBIqkzbc/VZhVfPn-wtI/AAAAAAAAxVE/kAUvJu3N-8U/s400/FR9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This former church and synagogue was on the the <a href="http://www.floridatrust.org/endangered-sites/" target="_blank">Florida Trust's most threatened list</a>.<br />
Today it is being converted into condos!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tTzra1LpDjo/VZhV3jMIgJI/AAAAAAAAxVM/W8m74V6CPdk/s1600/FR36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tTzra1LpDjo/VZhV3jMIgJI/AAAAAAAAxVM/W8m74V6CPdk/s400/FR36.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure what the future holds for this <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-state-of-preservation.html" target="_blank">building</a>, a former armory <br />
near the city's "Creative Village" project.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LzWP2ojw6G0/VZhWLmlREmI/AAAAAAAAxVU/nNtSAzPcA2c/s1600/FR37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LzWP2ojw6G0/VZhWLmlREmI/AAAAAAAAxVU/nNtSAzPcA2c/s400/FR37.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside this glass box lies the former <a href="http://scottymoore.net/orlando.html" target="_blank">Orlando Municipal Auditorium</a>, a building with great local historical significance. With the opening of the new Performing Arts Center, will this be preserved?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HLYWcI5bjDo/VZhWsggNhbI/AAAAAAAAxVc/mIuAnSBuEdQ/s1600/FR35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HLYWcI5bjDo/VZhWsggNhbI/AAAAAAAAxVc/mIuAnSBuEdQ/s400/FR35.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An all-too-common sight in Florida.</td></tr>
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<br />
I steered my bike to <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2011/12/pine-green.html" target="_blank">Pine Green</a>, a remarkable home created by Central Florida artist/builder <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2009/03/searching-for-sam-stoltz.html" target="_blank">Sam Stoltz</a>. My lucky streak continued as the owners happened to be working in their yard and they gave me a quick tour of the property. I'm thrilled when caring folks buy a historic property and preserve it for future generations to enjoy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2dv7_jcNJ2Y/VZhcTZVDFfI/AAAAAAAAxXE/v6ubSLofVYM/s1600/FR38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2dv7_jcNJ2Y/VZhcTZVDFfI/AAAAAAAAxXE/v6ubSLofVYM/s400/FR38.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I never noticed how this Sam Stoltz creation looks like a face!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-79PU4DJkueI/VZhcU7rDONI/AAAAAAAAxXM/Gp6CDHMvLYk/s1600/FR39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-79PU4DJkueI/VZhcU7rDONI/AAAAAAAAxXM/Gp6CDHMvLYk/s400/FR39.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The current owners recently met with the former owners of the home and <br />
discovered it was originally named "<a href="http://pineygreen.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Piney Green"</a>, not "Pine Green"!</td></tr>
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My Freedom Rides are normally about just spontaneously peddling around and snapping photos. But today, everything I saw seemed to connect to themes of change, freedom, and the power of place. As a fan of historic preservation I seek out places like <a href="http://www.visitstaunton.com/" target="_blank">Staunton, Virginia</a>. My wife and I recently vacationed there because of the historic architecture and character of the town. It crushes me when places in Florida like the Bellevue Biltmore are demolished. To me, these structures are more than wood and nails, they are living memories with a soul that should be preserved. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-__SpR_2QaBM/VZk5zcQLnOI/AAAAAAAAxYo/lOfo9X6TkPM/s1600/staunton6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-__SpR_2QaBM/VZk5zcQLnOI/AAAAAAAAxYo/lOfo9X6TkPM/s400/staunton6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, historic Staunton, Virginia <br />
proved to be a wonderful destination for our summer vacation.</td></tr>
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But we tend to live in a world of contrasts. Perhaps true freedom is the fact that we have two seemingly polar opposites, the urge to grow and the urge to preserve, and that we have the power to chose which force wins? Growth seems to be inevitable in Florida, even Ponce de Leon tried to acquire beachfront property. The Calusa Indians, in an effort to preserve their lifestyle, ended the Spaniard's quest, but ultimately succumbed to the Europeans. Growth won out. Maybe nothing has changed in Florida in 500 years? The question is, can we grow without harming other living things while respecting the history made by those who came before us?<br />
<br />
Maybe I am just feeling fifty, reliving my glory days, but not so sure about what the future holds. Maybe true freedom lives somewhere in that uncertainty.Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371057245307283394.post-3813744397240658582015-04-14T20:55:00.001-04:002015-04-14T20:55:29.507-04:00Cosmic Thoughts on the Demise of a Roadside Trading Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was driving home from the <a href="https://howardtodumfloridaspringsinstitute.wildapricot.org/event-1874504?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=4%2F7%2F2015" target="_blank">"Give Springs A Break"</a> event in Northcentral Florida where my head was filled with lots of information about springs, much of which was not warm and fuzzy. Hydro geologist <a href="http://www.projectbaseline.org/staff" target="_blank">Todd Kinkaid</a>, one of the premier scientists studying the flow of underground water in the state concluded that springs will become "ephemeral systems." That means they will no longer have enough water pressure to flow normally unless large rain events increase the amount of water bubbling to the surface. Depressing stuff.<br />
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I stopped at Wildwood just before the turnpike to gas up and I noticed a rundown trading post next to the "Florida Citrus Center" where I was pumping fuel. In a previous blog I explored the <a href="http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2010/06/wildwoods-cherokee-trading-posts.html" target="_blank">Cherokee Trading Post</a> on the other side of Wildwood near the Turnpike. I drove over to photograph the weathered signage on the side of the building and was surprised to find that the roof had caved in and the entire building was full of plants. The age of roadside "Trading Posts" has long passed; our culture has more sensitivity towards Native Americans and places like this are no longer politically correct. Exploring the crumbling structure felt like observing an archeological relic from the not-to-distant past. The overgrown interior reminded me of the resiliency of nature and how that when left alone, the earth's environment will bounce back with remarkable speed. Perhaps mankind is ephemeral, and the earth is just waiting us out to set things right.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6d8RCSJs-Pc/VS2xdcOYrFI/AAAAAAAAWQE/EHBllldfDm0/s1600/Tradingpost2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6d8RCSJs-Pc/VS2xdcOYrFI/AAAAAAAAWQE/EHBllldfDm0/s1600/Tradingpost2.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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Florida seems to be in the midst of tremendous growth spurt again, and the forces of change are at work all along the roadside. When viewed from the limited window of a human lifespan, the amount of damage mankind makes to natural systems can seem overwhelming. But as Todd Kincaid reminded us, the amount of time humans have been around compared to the age of the planet is infinitesimal and the havoc we wreak on the environment is just a blip on the radar of cosmic time. The detrimental effects of our short-sightedness may not ultimately harm the planet itself, but rather merely cripple our own species. Let's hope we see the errors of our ways before it's too late.<br />
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<br />Rick Kilbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08515464705852515607noreply@blogger.com0