THE 26th ANNUAL
Riverview/Apollo Beach
See article on Page 12
MARCH 10-11, 2018 C E L E B R A T I N G
February 2018 Volume 16, Issue 2 Ph: 657-2418 1 6
Y E A R S
O F
P U B L I S H I N G
Boyette Springs Elementary Celebrates 25 Years With Carnival & Special Dedication 1 2 3
Dark Horse Kozmic Pearl Damon Fowler
By Kate Quesada
will be available to purchase for $1 each or 25 tickets for $20. Attendees will also be able to pay to arrest their teacher, principal or parent who then must stay in jail until they are bailed out. There will also be a
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Hummingbirds Willow Hill Selwyn Birchwood B
Boyette Springs Elementary School is holding a ceremony and winter carnival to celebrate 25 years this month. Pictured are former BSE principals Kelly S McMillan (2012-2015) and Shirley Trujillo (1992-2005) and current principal, Tamethea Simmons.
silent auction. In addition to dinner plates featuring choice of chicken or sausage served with baked beans and cole slaw from Trust Me BBQ for $8, there will be a bake sale and carnival snacks such as popcorn, pickles and pretzels. Soda and water will also be available for purchase. Music at the event will be provided by DJ Dubble Up and many local vendors will be on hand for shopping. Funds raised will help the PTA plan events to help support the school. “Our goal as a PTA is ensure that families are active participants in the life of the school, and feel welcomed, valued and connected to each other, to school staff and to what students are learning and doing in class,” said O’Mahony. For information on the event, visit www.facebook.com/BSEPTA. Anyone interested in attending the carnival as a vendor or sponsoring the event should email bseptahelpers@yahoo.com. The school is located at 10141 Sedgebrook Dr. in Riverview.
C O M M U N I T Y
By Michael Smith
The International The museum has Independent a full-size 1903 Showmen’s Museum Ferris wheel. Other in Riverview is dediitems on display cated to showcasing include a vintage the history of traveling merry-go-round, entertainment shows Geranimo’s top hat in America. and Buffalo Bill’s While primarily a six-gun. Colorful museum focusing on wagons and hunthe history of the travPhoto courtesy of International Independent dreds of informaShowmen’s Museum tive exhibits tell the eling carnival, it also The International Independent Showmen’s includes circuses, Museum is filled with vintage rides and arti- story of this colorful Wild West shows, entertainment that facts from a bygone era. Patent Medicine disappeared from Shows and others that encomthe American landscape. passed the ‘Tented World.’ Housed in a modern “The history of America 54,000-sq. ft. building that would be replete without is fully accessible, the acknowledging the contribution museum offers two floors of these outdoor shows,” musecontaining thousands of um Executive Director David artifacts from the 1800s “Doc” Rivera said. “This type of through the 20th century. unique entertainment was foreThe museum, located front in the first half of the 20th at 6938 Riverview Dr., is century as it was the only type of enteropen from 12 Noon to 5 p.m. on weektainment most small towns and cities in ends and offers free parking. The cost of admission is $10 for adults, $7 for stuAmerica would ever get to experience.” dents with ID card, and children under 10 According to Rivera, at one time, are free. scores of huge 60-car railroad trains For more information, visit showcrisscrossed America carrying big circusmensmusem.org. es, carnivals, Wild West shows, Repertory Theater and minstrel shows. These self-contained shows carried as many as 1,200 people with them and held colorful parades in the city streets, drawing thousands of spectators who marveled at their first sight of an Asian elephant or Bengal tiger carried in an ornate cage wagon pulled by a team of eight perfectly matched white horses. They rode thrilling rides, ate cotton candy, 39 and got their first glimpse of a motion picture at their local fairs. They heard a mechanical device that played music like HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR .....................PG 7 a full orchestra and saw strange, unusual FLORIDA STATE FAIR. .......................PG 10 people and beautiful costumed exotic dancers. BIG CAT RESCUE...............................PG 14 The Showmen’s Museum strives to LOCAL AUTHOR................................PG 21 preserve this history through artifacts and colorful exhibits that bring back that sense EYE ON BUSINESS ............................PG 25 of wonder to a much more enlightened SOUTHSHORE LIVING ...............PGS 40‐41 and technologically advanced society.
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Osprey Observer 918 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. Brandon, FL 33511-6121
Photo courtesy of Michelle Colesanti
Boston resident Wendy Scheinfeld enjoys a visit to the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach. After a recent cold spell, hundreds of manatees could be seen huddling together in the warmer waters at TECO’s Big Bend Power Plant discharge canal.
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Showmen’s Museum Chronicles History Of Traveling Shows Including Buffalo Bill’s Six-Gun
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Riverview’s Boyette Springs Elementary (B.S.E.) School is celebrating 25 years of teaching this month with a dedication ceremony and winter carnival open to the community. The event will take place on Saturday, February 17 with a ceremony from 1-2 p.m. and carnival from 2-5 p.m. “We encourage B.S.E. students, alumni, their families and community members to join us in celebrating a quarter of century of excellence,” said PTA President Danielle O’Mahony. “Come out and learn about all that we have accomplished over the past 25 years.” The ceremony will include music from the school’s show choir, a performance by a student harpist, guest speakers and memories shared by former students. The carnival, a fundraiser for the school’s PTA, will offer activities for the whole family, including bounce houses, laser tag, a video game trailer, face painting and classic and new carnival games from balloon darts to a goldfish pond with real fish. Most activities and all games will be charged on a ticket system. Tickets
P O S I T I V E
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