Hemming family farm earns designation as a historical site
Everything you need to know to swim with manatees
AROUND THE COMMUNITY Touch-a-Truck returns, SVEC honors our veterans and more
As a kid, I remember history was something that could often feel far removed from me. After all, in school, it was mostly a series of facts and dates to memorize. But as I got older, I started to notice how many signs of history are all around me, especially in rural communities like ours.
You don’t need to look any further than the existence of electric cooperatives like this one. The existence of hometown power providers like ours goes back to the end of the Great Depression and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s efforts to lift the country out of it. The Rural Electrification Act was passed as part of the New Deal and, just a year later, Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative was born.
One SVEC member, Pat Hines, has been working for years to get recognition for her family’s own piece of local history. Her great-great-great-grandfather, Christmas Hemming, was born into slavery before going on to buy hundreds of acres of farmland in Suwannee County. Last month, the Florida Department of State finally dedicated her Southern Heritage Historical Farm and museum with a historical marker.
You can read more about that journey and the incredible history of Pat’s family in this newsletter. Parts of that story are painful, but her hope is that the history preserved on her family farm can help bring people together. If you’d like to learn more, you can find information on how to schedule your own tour of the farm.
Speaking of great ways to bring people together, the sixth annual Touch-aTruck event at the SVEC office was a rousing success. Thank you to everyone who came out to learn and explore, as well as to all of the sponsors and organizations that participated. If you missed out on the fun, you can still enjoy pictures of some of the highlights on the back page of this newsletter.
You can also learn more about Rapid Fiber Internet’s new refer-a-friend program. We know many of you are already enjoying the benefits of lightning-fast internet connections with Rapid Fiber. Now, just in time for the Christmas season, you can help give your friends and neighbors the gift of fiber internet, while getting a little stocking stuffer for yourself.
Finally, as we come to the end of the year, I want to take a moment to say how grateful I am for all the people who make this cooperative such a wonderful community. Thank you to the office staff who help our consumer-members each day, the work crews who keep our system reliable and strong and the Rapid Fiber Internet team who find new ways to serve our region.
And thank you to each of our consumer-members for the support you give us. It is a privilege to serve you and our community each day. Until 2026, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! ■ facebook.com/sveccoop
SVEC’s office will be closed for the Christmas holiday on Wednesday, Dec. 24, Thursday, Dec. 25, and Friday, Dec. 26. The office will also be closed New Year’s Day, Thursday, Jan. 1, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 19
The 24-hour outage reporting system is always available, and standby crews are ready to restore power if needed. Our drive-thru payment kiosk is also always open for use.
May your days be merry and bright, now and always.
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For almost a century and a half, the deep, sandy soil that covers Pat Hines’ family property on the outskirts of Live Oak has held a very special story about her great-greatgreat-grandfather, Christmas Hemming. Born into slavery, he went on to buy 640 acres of Suwannee County farmland in 1885.
On Nov. 22, that story received the recognition Pat and her family long felt it deserved with a ribbon-cutting ceremony dedicating their Southern Heritage Historical Farm and museum with a historical marker from the Florida Department of State.
“It took me two years to earn that marker,” Pat says. “You have to apply, wait and go before the board to assure them that your history is real. This is our family’s legacy, and it’s something I had to do.”
Born on Christmas Day in the early 1820s, Christmas Hemming was enslaved by the DuPont family — the same DuPonts known for their industrialism and philanthropy. They brought Christmas to Suwannee County, and, when freedom came, he stayed and made the landmark purchase for $1,100 cash.
“The deed shows Christmas signed with an X because he couldn’t read or write,” Pat says. “Because of that, our history was passed down through stories and songs. That’s what led me to start digging.”
Pat’s journey to uncover that history began in a way she describes as divine intervention. She was focused on “moving up the ladder” in her job with the Florida Department of Corrections, but her plans quickly changed during a drive home from North Carolina.
“The Holy Spirit tells me, ‘I want you to retire,’” she recalls. “I tried to ignore it because I had just been promoted, but I heard it again, and again. Finally, I pulled over, cried and said, ‘OK, Lord.’”
Later, while sitting in the gazebo behind her house, she says the story of Christmas Hemming’s life and legacy came to her “like a ton of bricks.” It became her first book, “Christmas in the South: A Proud Southern Heritage.”
The book led to unexpected connections, including a visit from a DuPont descendant.
“When one of Abraham DuPont’s great-great-greatgranddaughters read my book, she came here to meet me,” Pat says. “We became friends, and I told her I just wanted her to know my family is part of her family’s history, too.”
Pat’s mission became educating others to believe the past should connect, not divide.
“People expect anger when you talk about slavery,” she says. “But my perspective is, we can’t heal if we don’t talk about it. Slavery didn’t just affect African Americans, it affected everybody.”
Pat continues to share that message with audiences across Florida and the South, guided by the same faith she says guided her great-great-great-grandfather.
“Christmas prayed, and God answered,” Pat says. “He
lived to be nearly 111 years old, and that Christian heritage has been passed down through our family.”
The Southern Heritage Historical Farm is a living link to the past. The property includes preserved fence posts set by Christmas himself, kitchenware used by his son, Handy, and granddaughter, Polly, and a section of an old railroad bed Pat discovered while metal detecting in 2017.
Inside the museum, visitors can see many artifacts, including two quilts made by enslaved women in Pat’s family dating to the early 1800s. “They’re treasures,” Pat says. “We have 139 years of family history in our museum and throughout the property. I just want people to come out, learn and be inspired.”
As her efforts evolve, Pat is planning a nature trail and is working on two more books — a prequel called “Who Is Christmas Hemming?” that begins in an African village, and
for over a century.
ABOVE
Location: 13158 116th (Christmas Hemming) St., Live Oak
Features: Museum of family artifacts, 19th-century quilts, preserved fence posts and a planned nature trail. Canning, basket-weaving and quilt-making classes available.
Historical marker: Commemorates Christmas Hemming, a newly freed man, who bought 640 acres for $1,100 in 1885.
Tours: Wednesdays through Saturdays, by appointment only: E-mail shhf1885@gmail.com or call 386-364-3208.
a sequel to her first book chronicling her friendship with the DuPonts.
“I want people to know history is still being written,” Pat says. “We can’t change what happened, but we can change what happens next. That’s what I told the DuPonts.”
As she looks ahead, Pat often reflects on how far her journey has taken her, from working as Suwannee County’s first African American EMT to standing on the land her ancestor once bought against all odds.
“I’ve been through a lot — racism, hardship, heartbreak — but God was preparing me for this,” she says. “Everything that’s happened was leading to this farm, this story and this purpose.” ■
1 1/2 cups pulp-free orange juice
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup yellow mustard
1 fully cooked, bone-in ham (6-8 pounds)
30 whole cloves
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Whisk together the orange juice, sugar, ginger and mustard.
With a sharp knife, remove any skin from the ham and trim the covering of fat to 1/4-inch thickness. Score the ham surface in a diamond pattern, making shallow cuts every 3/4 inch. Insert a clove in the center of each diamond.
Place the ham in a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan lined with aluminum foil. Pour the whisked mixture over the ham. Bake on the lowest oven rack for 3 hours, basting the ham with the juices every 30 minutes. When you remove the ham from the oven, let it stand 15 minutes before slicing to yield 8 to 10 servings. ■
Electricity powers modern life, but it is dangerous if not handled carefully. Check back here each month for new tips on how to stay safe around electric power at your home or business.
To ensure that twinkling decorations and the glow of a stockings-adorned fireplace are the only things lighting up your home for the holidays, follow these tips for fire prevention.
• Before you use them, check all lights, decorations and extension cords for damage.
• Plug outdoor lights and decorations into ground fault circuit interrupter outlets.
• Never use extension cords or decor marked for indoor use outside.
• Never leave space heaters unattended and turn them off when you leave the room.
• Heating pads and electric blankets are cozy, but they cause nearly 500 fires each year, according to Electrical Safety Foundation International. Inspect them for cord damage, look for dark, charred or frayed spots and never fold them when they are on. ■
To learn more about building safe electric habits, click the Outages & Safety tab on svec-coop.com, and follow us on social media.
/sveccoop @sveccoop
BY LAUREN T. JADEN, VISIT FLORIDA
To say manatees are huge is not an overstatement. They are enormous by any standard, measuring as long as 10 feet and weighing up to 1,000 pounds. I swam with these gentle giants in the Crystal River of Citrus County, the only place in North America where you can legally snorkel with manatees in the wild. Here are a few takeaways from my epic winter adventure.
I could see as many as 20 manatees at one time. Some rested like giant blimps on the river’s bottom, but many were close to snorkelers. A calf was the first manatee to approach me. I guess he approved of the way I scratched his back — softly using my nails to rub the algae off of him, as I had been instructed. When he flipped over to reveal his pale stomach to me, which I also scratched, I could see the little toenails on his flippers, reminiscent of those on an elephant, which is the manatees’ closest living relative.
Some of the manatees rested in their sanctuary, aware of where people were allowed and where they were not. Marked off by rope and buoys, sanctuaries are where manatees can breed, eat, nurse a calf or just take a snooze without being bothered.
I never ran out of manatees to play with or watch, and if the
cold water hadn’t gotten to me, I could have stayed there forever. My trip only lasted four hours, yet I’ll always remember it. I even sometimes dream about gazing into the eyes of a gentle giant who swam across the river to greet me.
When you first enter the water, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the size of these mammals. Don’t panic. Just relax, float on the surface and enjoy the experience. The calmer you are, the more likely it is a manatee might swim over.
Bring warm clothes. You’ll be wearing a wetsuit in the water, which is a constant 72 degrees, but when you get out, you’ll probably feel chilled. If your tour doesn’t include warm drinks, bring a thermos of your own.
Ask what equipment your tour includes and what you will need to rent. A mask, snorkel and wetsuit are necessary, but fins are not. You’ll mainly only need to float, and if you are unfamiliar with using fins, you can stir up the water and frighten the manatees.
Follow the rules for manatee interaction. You can only touch them with one hand at a time so that it’s obvious you are not trying to ride or hold them. You are not allowed to chase manatees, and all interaction has to be on their terms. Feeding them is prohibited, and you must stay out of sanctuaries.
You don’t have to get into the water to celebrate these amazing creatures. Check out:
Florida Manatee Festival
Jan. 17-18, downtown Crystal River gomanateefest.com
Orange City Blue Spring Manatee Festival
Jan. 24-25, Valentine Park themanateefestival.com
For the sixth year, SVEC’s annual Touch-a-Truck event brought together families and neighbors from across our area to see, touch, honk and explore a diverse range of service vehicles. Touch-a-Truck, held the morning of Nov. 22, gave children the chance to ride in a bucket truck with SVEC lineworkers, meet Sparky the Fire Dog, play in inflatables and much more. Along with the machines to explore, there were food and beverage vendors and many memorable activities.
In celebration of Florida Arbor Day, SVEC is giving away 150 Florida elms. These are beautiful, vase-shaped shade trees that can grow up to 80 feet tall. To get your free elm, come by the co-op’s Live Oak office, 11340 100th St., on Saturday, Jan. 17, starting at 9 a.m.
There is a limit of one tree per member, available on a first-come, first-served basis. Proof of SVEC membership, such as a utility bill, must be provided when you pick up a tree.
SVEC proudly celebrates our local veterans by taking part in the annual Live Oak Veterans Day Parade. On Nov. 11, SVEC’s mini bucket truck, hoisting the American flag and driven by two of the veterans on our staff, Casey Ryan (Army) and Kimbridge Wilkison (Navy).
