Confessions of a devout lover of Florida

© New York Times

The following is my response to an T.D. Allman's April 1st Op-ed piece in the New York Times. Allman has been creating a furor in Florida academic circles since the release of his"Finding the Florida" book earlier this year...

I must confess as a graphic designer and admitted collector of "Ponceabilia" the most attractive element of T.D. Allman's recent editorial in the Times is the brilliant pen and ink illustration by Johnny Sampson.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I must also admit that I, unlike Mr. Allman was not born in the Sunshine State but have resided here for forty-six of my forty-eight years. But Florida is my home and I love her completely, warts and all.

I attended the commemoration of "The First Landing" in Melbourne Beach and Mr. Allman couldn't have known this, but no statue of Ponce was unveiled on this day. For some reason the statue was not ready and rows of folding chairs faced a statue-less podium on April 2nd. The chaotic event was much like what I love about Florida; diverse, surprising, and slightly surreal. I saw little "illusion" referenced by Allman; the reenactors put on their period armor in plain sight of the attendees; yet the folks still crowded them for photos like they were Mickey at Disney.

I never even got to see the reenactor who played Ponce – he was two hours late and by the time he arrived I had moved on. The real Ponce's biggest contribution was the discovery of the Gulf Stream, the current that allowed the Europeans to return safely back to the Old World –  making it the first highway to return tourists home. As for his landing point, well that is subject of great debate, as any firsthand accounts of the expedition of his journey have been lost and we may never be exactly sure where Ponce first stepped foot in the land he named La Florida.

Mr. Allman points out Ponce's arrival ultimately led to the extinction of the state's original inhabitants, the hundreds of thousands of indigenous people known as the Timucua, Calusa, Ais, Apalachee and others. But he didn't point out that in the 18th century the surviving members of the tribes, along with former slaves, were given sanctuary by the Spanish and were ultimately driven from the state by the British and their allies, the Creek Indians from Georgia and the Carolinas. When the Creeks stayed in Florida, some of these original natives, as well as the former slaves, were assimilated into what we now know as the Seminole nation. Since the day Ponce arrived, Florida has been a melting pot of people of different colors.

Ponce's association with the Fountain of Youth, an archetypal myth with roots stretching back to ancient Greece, goes well beyond Washington Irving to 15th and 16th century accounts by Oviedo and Herrara. The century-old attraction known as the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine was not created by Walter Fraser but by "Diamond Lil" McConnell who claimed to have unearthed the stone cross created by the Spanish explorer on his initial landing.

My favorite statement by Mr. Allman is "if we took the trouble to understand the past, we might stop building our lives on sinkholes." The release of his book "Finding Florida" earlier this year has generated much publicity and kick started a conversation about our state's past. In the complex, multicultural Florida of the 21st century that in itself is an accomplishment. But our state's history is not as cut and dry as Mr. Allman claims and our perspective as Floridians is constantly evolving.

My personal journey to learn more about Florida's past has led me to become a champion of Florida's threatened natural resources including its most incredible wonders – its 1,000 artesian Florida Springs. Much of the indifferent attitudes of those in power in Florida expressed by Mr. Allman have put these real fountains of youth at risk. But instead of taking shots at those that got us here, maybe we should focus our energy on solutions. The challenges facing the state today are complex, as is Florida's rich past.  Narrow definitions and incomplete portrayals of where we came from, can limit the creativity needed to go forward. For those of us who embrace Florida and all her blemishes, a more complete understanding of Florida's past than is presented by Mr. Allman is necessary to prevent our fall into the sinkholes of the future.

My Miracle on 34th Street

About four years ago I had an idea for an exhibit documenting "Ponceabilia" throughout the state and showing the ways in which the myth of the Fountain of Youth had impacted Florida's development. I did a mock-up for a local museum, but by the time I pitched it to them, they had no space for it. So I switched directions and put my energy into a book about the same subject. Last summer after running into Gainesville photographer John Moran at Glen Springs, he offered to pitch my exhibit project to the Florida Museum of Natural History. Sidenote: the complex of the FMNH, the Harn Museum, and the Phillips Performing Arts Center has been dubbed the "Miracle on 34th Street." Fast forward six months, and the exhibit is now open in the Museum's Central Gallery, along with John's Springs Eternal exhibit.

The original mock-up for the exhibit created in 2009

I could not have scripted the series of events and coincidences that led to the exhibit opening last week, but it felt really good to see it made manifest. I have ten 40" X 60" panels plus one really cool "put your head in the hole" tacky tourist photo-op. The professionalism and support I received from the museum was incredible and I'm proud to contribute to the museum where I took summer classes as a kid.

If you are in Gainesville, please check it out. Hopefully it is amusing to look at, educational, and thought provoking. And the demise of Florida's springs that John has documented is a very important issue for a state that has promoted itself as a fantastic land of natural wonders. Together our two exhibits examine the 500 years of myth of the Fountain of Youth from roadside kitsch to a potential environmental catastrophe.

John's wonderful nature panel in the foreground looking towards my exhibit

L-R: Lesley Gamble, Springs Eternal Partner and creator of the Urban Aquifer bus project
and Springs Eternal website; Rick Kilby, Finding the Fountain of Youth creator (me);
John Moran, creator of the Springs Eternal exhibit and brilliant nature photographer;
Dr. Bob Knight, noted springs authority

John's spectacular manatee clerestory window

Overview of the Springs Eternal exhibit

A dried-up White Springs shows what can happen to our springs

My exhibit, Finding the Fountain of Youth; Discovering the Myth
of Florida's Magical Waters, is on display at the Florida Museum
of Natural History in Gainesville through December 15, 2013.

There will be an Earth Day event at the museum on Saturday, April 20th featuring another panel discussion by the Project's members and an appearance by one of the Urban Aquifer buses.

Fantastic Florida Upcoming Events

The first two months of 2013 are crammed full of great historical and environmental Florida events. I wish I had time to do them all, but I will have to pick and choose which ones ones I can attend. Here are just a few of my faves.

There are two historic events tomorrow (Saturday, January 12th) in West Volusia County. First in the Historic Volusia County Courthouse in downtown DeLand, the second performance of "Ponce de Land Landed Here" will be performed, complete with re-enactors and lawyers. This live court drama will attempt once-and-for-all to set the record straight as to the whereabouts of Ponce's initial landing place in La Florida. Click here for more information or to watch it live.

Just up the road in DeLeon Springs is having their annual "Day in Florida History" event featuring re-enactors from different eras of Florida history and a vintage tractor show. I went a couple years ago and found it to be entertaining and fun.

Further up the road in St. Augustine, Flagler College will be celebrating the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Hotel Ponce de Leon, the grand Spanish Revival complex which houses the College.

Next Thursday, January 17 the Florida Sierra Club is having a rally in Tampa to demand environmental protection of Florida's waters. There will be a press conference and march to the EPA information session. More information here.

The next day in Sarasota, my friend Robin Draper of Authentic Florida is putting on a fundraiser for the Scrub Jay program at Oscar Scherer State Park. Speakers include Florida's own Ansel Adams, Clyde Butcher, the brilliant Florida writer Jeff Klinkenberg, and Jack Perkins, who's voice you would recognize anywhere. It starts at 10 am at the Girl Scout Conference Center on Friday, January 18. More information here.

On Saturday, January 20, the Orange County Regional History Center will host the authors of "Ditch Of Dreams," the story behind the ill-fated Cross Florida Barge Canal. The results of this project to bi-sect the state can still be seen in the form of Rodman Dam and Rodman Pool which interrupt the flow of one of Florida's most scenic rivers, the Oklawaha.

Photo by John Moran

On February 1st the Center for Earth Jurisprudence is hosting a conference for those interested in advocating for the earth's legal rights.  The event, titled "Rights of Springs: Strategies for Change Makers" will be held at the Barry University School of Law in Orlando. More information here.

The next big event will be another Rally for Florida's Water like the one I attended at Silver Springs over the summer. Featuring former Senator Bob Graham and Seminole County Commissioner Lee Constatine, this event will raise the awareness of the importance of protecting Florida's most important resource, its water. The event will be February 16 from 10 am to 4 pm at Wekiva State Park.

On Sunday, February 24, the following weekend, the always fun Floridiana Festival gets underway at the Palladium Theater in downtown St. Pete. For more information, click here.

Further out, there are two big events related to my upcoming book. First my book's companion exhibit, "Finding the Fountain of Youth: Exploring the Myth of Florida's Waters" opens in the Central Gallery of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville after a Members only event on March 21st. My graphic panels will be part of John Moran's Springs Eternal exhibit on display at the Gainesville museum through the end of the year. More to follow...

My first scheduled talk about my book will be at the main branch of the Orange County Public Library on June 8 at 2 pm.  As I haven't put my talk together yet, there is no information available yet, but I promise to post it as soon as possible.

So mark your calendars and I hope to see you and some of these important Florida events!

My journey to the Fountain of Youth

I feel like I need to go to confession, even though I am not Catholic. Father, forgive me for I have not blogged in almost six weeks–I'd confess to my readers. But the reason is good–my Fountain of Youth project is going to be published and be included in a museum exhibit!

In past blogs I've revealed my obsession with Poncebilia, the Fountain of Youth, and Florida's springs. As I traveled to sites around the state, I began to see a narrative develop and my initial thought was to create an exhibit for the Orange County Regional History Center. So I started collecting ephemera and taking photos to support that exhibit. When it became apparent the exhibit space wasn't available at the History Center, I shifted my goals to a book. Originally I thought I would merely collect images, create an outline and hand it over to my friend Joy to write. But as the project came more into view, we decided that I really need to be the one to write it. So I soldiered on–collecting, photographing and writing whenever I had a free moment.

As I was working on the project, I got an email from an individual in Gainesville who was collecting images for a similar book about the Fountain of Youth. While I couldn't share my images, (because of my own project), I found that this individual was a kindred spirit and she introduced me to the work of Gainesville artist Margaret Tolbert and her Aquiferious facebook page. This opened up a whole new world and the book grew to not only include images and text about Florida's Fountains of Youth in the past, but also content about the current and future states of Florida's springs. That's how I learned about the proposed  project threatening Silver Springs. When the Save Silver Springs artwork I created caught the eye of nature photgrapher John Moran and his girlfriend Leslie Gamble, we collaborated on posters for a protest. I ran into John again at a Glen Springs clean-up in Gainesville and he wanted to learn more about my book project. After showing him the content for my book and my original exhibit proposal, he invited me to be part of an exhibit he was planning for 2013 at the Florida Museum of Natural History, then titled "Amnesia Springs." He also loved my book and sent an email to the publisher of his book "Journal of Light," University Press of Florida.

Photo by John Moran of me at Glen Springs

Poster I created with John Moran and Leslie Gamble at the Silver Springs protest

Weeks passed after that initial email introduction and I kept collecting materials for the book, and refining the text with the intent of self publishing. Then I received a call from the publisher expressing interest in my project. From that point on, events happened at a rapid pace. The text was finalized and sent to readers with a pdf of a preliminary layout. The manuscript was sent two experts on the subject, both of whom are authors of books on similar subjects, and they both gave glowing recommendations. The book was then submitted for approval by the editorial board. After the board gave thumbs up the project was rushed into production so it would be ready for spring of 2013 and the 500th anniversary of Ponce's landing in La Florida. The final manuscript was submitted, a contract was signed and I went to work on the layout, expanding it to 144 pages.

Before I finalized the layout I delivered a paper at the Society for Commercial Archeology's Conference in New Jersey titled: "Finding the Fountain of Youth: Florida's Magical Waters as Roadside Attraction." As I am a graphic designer by occupation, not a writer, the book is driven by the layout, and I was fortunate that the publisher allowed me design it. The final layout was submitted last week, and the book is now in the publisher's hands. I am currently waiting for edits, and in order to make our print date the book needs to go to the printer by December.

My goal with the book was to create something that would appeal to an audience that would not normally purchase a book about Florida history. Full of pop culture imagery, it is designed to be eye-catching and easily readable. It explores how the myth of the fountain of youth has become part of the branding of Florida and how our adoption of that paradigm has led Floridians to make choices that aren't necessarily the best for our state. In a way the book chronicles my own journey that started at the Fountain of Youth and grew into my desire to document Ponce de Leon imagery throughout the state, and culminated in recent trips to Florida's magical springs. At each step on this journey, I had no idea what the next step would be. I was committed to making the project happen, but I didn't know how. But I kept pressing onward.

So 2013 looks to be a big year for Ponce and me. The book should hit the shelves sometime around the 500th anniversary of Ponce's arrival and my part of the exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History should open in March. There is much work to be done, and there are many details that still need to be worked out. But I'll keep on taking one small step at a time, believing that somehow it is going to work out to be something fabulous and wonderful, and that it can make a real difference for our state in the end.

Old World meets New Age at Warm Mineral Springs

Despite living in a state surrounded by water, it had been so long since I last went swimming that I couldn't even find a bathing suit in my wardrobe. So perhaps I was a little giddy to be back in the water again. Or maybe, just maybe, Warm Mineral Springs really is the Fountain of Youth, and I was deliriously enjoying the effects. As I dog paddled around the circular spring, I felt incredibly happy, unusually buoyant, and at peace despite being surrounded by dozens of health seeking strangers.

I first heard of Warm Mineral Springs in my quest to discover all the places that claimed to be Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth throughout the state. That was a couple years ago, so perhaps my excitement at touching the 87 degree water was fulfilling a long anticipated desire to bathe in the legendary waters. Obviously a bigger deal in the 1960s, Warm Mineral Springs appeared to be the epicenter of Florida's 1960 Quadricentennial, according to pictures I found in the State Archives. And after purchasing a brochure on eBay that promoted the sale of lots around the Springs, it is clear that a mid-century Florida developer had big dreams for this piece of Sarasota County. This excellent blog details the Spring's history.

State Archives of Florida

Rendering by noted illustrator Russ Smiley shows the developer's master plan

Today it's hard to miss the Springs from U.S. 41 near North Port Florida. A large, alien-like sculpture that was probably the focal point for the housing development around the springs, creates a sense of arrival as it straddles the median of the road leading to the famed water feature. Nearby a wonderfully designed mid-century motel flies flags from Europe next to Old Glory, as the spring has come to cater to a decidely old world crowd. And if you miss the large sign for the motel, there is a huge arrow pointing the way to the springs.

The motel was designed by Sarasota School architect Victor Lundy

As you approach the Springs, it's clear that the housing development never quite reached its potential, and the houses look a little worn and modest in comparison with the McMansions of 21st century Florida. Halfway down the road is another well-designed mid-century structure that is in dire need of restoration. When I finally reached the springs, I was surprised at the large number of cars in the parking lot on this beautifully warm February day.

The buildings all still have a classic 1950's look although it's clear that the company that owns it has put effort into branding the old attraction for today's health conscious spa goer. Signs all over the property reinforce the benefits of the mineral laden waters. It was $20 to get in the water, and I wasn't going to miss it. Mrs. Ephemera decided to sit this one out, electing instead to hang out in the groovy little cafe, curled up in a book, while I regained my youth.

I found the objects from this vintage postcard (center), including several sculpted figures, relocated throughout the property

Patrons staked out turf around the spring and there were several ramps leading into the water which felt surprisingly chilly at first. The water wasn't crystal clear like most Florida Springs but was pale green and had a bit of a sulphurous odor. A floating rope separated the wading area from the swimming area and the spring was crowded with folks of all ages moving through the water in a clockwise direction. Piped-in classical music made for quite the surreal setting and soon the aquarobics class started and up tempo tunes filled the air. Aside from the modern exercise, it felt as if I was otherwise transported into the Victorian age, "taking the waters" at one of Florida's famed healing springs.

I floated on my back, dodging the occasional ball of algae, a sign that not even the Fountain of Youth is exempt from our state's water quality issues. I felt as if I could float for hours, and would have except for my respect for Mrs. Ephemera's generous patience. After a great little lunch, I stopped in the gift shop and bought a plastic bottle of the legendary water (almost $10.) It appears that one of the minerals in high concentration in the water is magnesium, and the water is sold as laxative. Maybe that explains its wondrous powers...

Plaque reads: "THE ORIGINAL FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
ACCORDING TO AUTHENTIC HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS, THIS WARM SALT SPRING IS THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH VAINLY SOUGHT BY PONCE DE LEON. HIS SEARCH FOR IT LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF FLORIDA ON EASTER SUNDAY 1513 ... IT IS NOW KNOWN THAT FOR MANY CENTURIES FIRST INDIANS AND LATER WHITE MEN JOURNEYED MANY MILES IN SEARCH OF THEIR HEALTH AND WELL BEING BY BATHING IN AND DRINKING THESE WATERS ... AFTER MANY YEARS OF RESEARCH STUDYING DOCUMENTS AND MAPS IN THIS COUNTRY AND ABROAD, JONAS E. MILLER OF WASHINGTON D.C. WAS ABLE TO ESTABLISH THE ABOVE FACTS. HE DISCOVERED THIS SPRING AS THE ORIGINAL FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH IN FEBRUARY 1942."

The owners of the Spring, while marketing their property as a full service spa with a new age vibe, are playing up the Fountain of Youth angle, perhaps in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon's landing in Florida in 1513.