High Springs & Alachua Magazine

High Springs and Alachua

YOUR RESOURCE GUIDE FOR THE HIGH SPRINGS AND ALACHUA COMMUNITIES

Winter 2009-10

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Meet Ashley McDonough New High Springs Main Street Manager

The Cracker Kitchen is Cooking WINTER 2009-10

Newberry Author Janis Owens

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HELPFUL HINTS WHEN BUYING A MOBILE OR MODULAR HOME 1. FREIGHT

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If you are looking to purchase a manufactured home that is not locally built, then you are going to the pay thousands in transport costs. This means in order to have a competitive price the quality of the home will suffer.

Take time to take a factory tour. This allows you to see how your home will be constructed from start to finish.

Don’t just take someone’s word on how your home will be built - go see for yourself.

2. OSB WRAP

5. REPUTABLE SALES CENTER

Make sure the manufactured home you are considering has OSB on all 4 sides. Many do not, instead they use a cardboard type material in it’s place. It’s a cheaper option becuase it’s a lower quality.

Buy from a reputable sales center - check around and find out how long they’ve been in business.

3. NO PLASTIC SINKS Don’t make the mistake of buying a manufactured home that has plastic sinks & faucets in the bathroom. Plastic sinks will stain & crack overtime - creating unwanted repair bills.

6. FACTORY SERVICE TECHNICIANS Make sure the service technicians that will be working on your home come directly from the factory and are not subcontractors that might be unskilled in making the correct repairs to your home.

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You Have a Choice for your child’s education.

Alachua Learning Center Elementary and Middle School located just north of the town of Alachua on State road 235, serves students from all parts of our county.

Charter Schools are part of the Florida Alternative System of Public School Choice and charge no tuition.

While having the benefits of a “small-school” environment the Alachua Learning Center provides a challenging and fulfilling academic, cultural and physical educational program for students from kindergarten to eighth grade.

6 | Winter 2009

The Alachua Learning Center has consistently been rated an “A” school by the State of Florida. We provide a comparatively low student class size and a high teacherto-student ratio. Although we do not “teach to the test”, we regularly score very high on State of Florida FCAT writing, reading, math and science testing.

Nick Jr. Magazine rated the Alachua Learning Center breakfast and lunch program among the “Top Ten” School Cafeterias for healthy diet. Our varied physical education curriculum includes on-campus rock climbing and subscribes to the “President’s Fitness Program”.

The Alachua Learning Center offers inspiring classes on a variety of subjects: Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, P.E. Sports, Rock Climbing, Drama, Music, Clay Sculpting, Computer Graphics, individual Student Book Publishing (writing, design, illustrating), Drawing, Painting, Crafts, Display Projects, and exciting Field Trips. Many other features of our school can be experienced on our internet web-site, alachualearningcenter.com., or call us at 386-418-2080 for more information.

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From the Editor…

Published quarterly by Tower Publications, Inc.

www. towerpublications.com

Albert Isaac is Editor-in-Chief at Tower Publications.

PUBLISHER

Charlie Delatorre charlie@towerpublications.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Albert Isaac editor@towerpublications.com fax: 1-800-967-7382 OFFICE MANAGER

Bonita Delatorre bonita@towerpublications.com

T

he hustle and bustle of the holiday season is upon us, and will just as quickly be past as we welcome in a new year. As I type these words, true to my nature, I have yet to do any holiday shopping. Fortunately, my wife (self-described Voice of Reason) is way ahead of the game and has been stockpiling gifts throughout the year. She thinks ahead, and it is a good thing one of us does or else the children would have little to open on Christmas morning. After all, it is not uncommon for me to be out shopping on Christmas Eve for those last-minute gifts.

So one of my resolutions this New Year’s Eve will be to begin my Christmas shopping early. I dare not resolve to stop procrastinating because as hard as I try that just isn’t going to happen. But I can certainly begin shopping early. Like maybe tonight.

I can think of other resolutions, but I’m not ready to commit them to print. After all, last year I resolved to exercise more regularly. Aside from some bike riding and some seriously strenuous yard work, my exercise routine simply didn’t happen. I also had planned to finish writing my novel. That didn’t happen either.

But there’s always 2010!

In this edition of Our Town Magazine, you will find information about many of the holiday events occurring this winter, from historic home tours to holiday parades and tree lightings. We also present profiles on some interesting people, including Newberry resident Janis Owens who has written a new book, “Cracker Kitchen,” and filmmakers Robert McClellan and Jill Heinerth of High Springs who have created a new documentary about people who have overcome their addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Crystal Henry writes about saving money by shopping at some local consignment stores, as well as ways to save the environment by reducing holiday waste.

Additionally, some of the people here at Tower Publications have taken the time to share their favorite dessert recipes — these will not reduce your holiday waist, but they sure taste good.

For those of you who enjoy making crafts with your children, Diane Shepard shows us how to make some Christmas paper craft s from leftover items.

I, and everyone here at Tower Publications, wish you all a very happy and safe holiday season.

Happy Holidays! §

1010| |Winter Winter2009 2009

ART DIRECTOR

Hank McAfee hank@towerpublications.com GRAPHIC ARTISTS

Tom Reno ADVERTISING SALES

Jenni Bennett Kayla Stump Amanda Chatt Annie Waite Helen Stalnaker Pam Slaven COPY EDITORS

Elizabeth Behrman ADVERTISING OFFICE:

4400 NW 36th Avenue Gainesville, FL 32606

352-372-5468 352-373-9178 fax ATTENTION READERS The articles printed in Our Town Magazine™ do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Tower Publications, Inc. or their editorial staff. Our Town Magazine endeavors to accept reliable advertising; however, we can not be held responsible by the public for advertising claims. Our Town Magazine reserves the right to refuse or discontinue any advertisement. © 2009 Tower Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

When you visit Tioga Town Center, you’ll get your favorite table, extra anchovies,

…and Frank.

Sure, the picturesque storefronts, coffee shop, boutiques, restaurants, postal center, wine bar, world-class fitness center and bakery, make Tioga Town Center a prime shopping destination.

But it’s more than that here— It’s the people who make Tioga Town Center an experience like no other in Gainesville.

People like Frank Ruffino and his staff at Blue Highway a Pizzeria, who take the time to save your favorite table and remember you actually love extra anchovies on your pizza, that will make Tioga Town Center your favorite place to visit.

So come on out! Take a stroll around and talk to the people who will make Tioga Town Center your favorite destination in town.

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Winter 2009 | 11

WINTER 2009 ON THE COVER: The historic Meyer Home (formerly known as the White House) in Alachua was built in 1898. Owners Joe and Susan Meyer have been refurbishing the home for the last five years and plan to be finished by Christmas. Like last year, the Meyers will open their home to the public during the Alachua House and Church Tour held December 19.

Features 18 The High Springs Main Street Program Meet the new manager

By Albert Isaac

23 Holiday Happenings in Our Town Lights of the season shine bright in Newberry, Alachua and High Springs

By Chris Wilson

32 ‘Tis the Season for Making Goodies Contributed by Tower Staff

37 Theatre Park Gets a New Name

Photo by Albert Isaac

46 Local Lions Clubs Lions Clubs help improve their communities

By Larry Behnke

50 Art Around Town Fantastic Friday brings art and culture to High Springs

By Jessica Chapman

58 Don’t Let the Holidays Go To Waste Tips and tricks to reduce, reuse and recycle holiday waste

By Crystal Henry

66 Historic Holiday Tours

Shell of an old building is now Alan Hitchcock Park

Residents in Alachua and High Springs open their homes for the holidays

By Larry Behnke

By Elizabeth Behrman

43 The Pros of Consignment

78 Christmas Paper Crafts

Shops on Alachua’s Main Street

Have fun with recycled cards

By Crystal Henry

By Diane E. Shepard

1212| |Winter Winter2009 2009

Columns Naked Salsa by Crystal Henry .................................30

90 Walking the Camino Doing at 65 what we wouldn’t have dreamed of doing at 45

By Peg Hall

The Garden Way by Debbie DeLoach, Ph.D. ...... 97 Different Note by Albert Isaac ............................ 102 Embracing Life by Donna Bonnell ....................... 119

106 Time Management 101 for Busy Families

Mama Musings by Diane E. Shepard ................. 150 Healthy Edge by Kendra Siler-Marsiglio, Ph.D. .. 160

Getting it all done

By Diane E. Shepard

INFORMATION

114 Bats in the Belfry?

Much-maligned bats bring benefits

By Albert Isaac

122 Cracker Kitchen is Cooking A visit with author Janis Owens

By Marisella Veiga

40 70 87 99 128 142 162 170 172

KIDS FUN PAGE SPORTS SCHEDULES COMMUNITY CALENDAR LOCAL SCHOOL INFORMATION CHURCH DIRECTORY NEWS AROUND TOWN LIBRARY HAPPENINGS ADVERTISER INDEX IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

130 Old Faithful Florida’s first Methodist church still flourishes in Alachua after nearly two centuries

By Sarah A. Henderson

138 Looking Ahead

By Chris Wilson

145 Sobriety Local filmmakers’ latest offering about addiction and recovery

154 John Glanzer Longtime Newberry Mayor and Commissioner becomes City Manager of Archer

Spotlight PAID ADVERTISING FEATURES

Business and education continue to grow

By Albert Isaac

AREA BUSINESS

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Meet the Staff...

Sales and Production

From left to right: Back Row - Charlie Delatorre, Hank McAfee, Albert Isaac Middle Row - Jenni Bennett, Pam Slaven, Annie Waite, Tom Reno Front Row - Helen Stalnaker (Holding Payten Stalnaker), Bonita Delatorre, Kayla Stump, Amanda Chatt

Editorial Team From Left: Chris Wilson, Wendy Norman, Larry Behnke, Alysen Kerr, Sarah Henderson, Allison Candreva, Albert Isaac and Laura Kubitz.

| Winter - Albert 16Editor 2009 Isaac

Publisher - Charlie Delatorre Office Manager - Bonita Delatorre

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Photos by Albert Isaac

Meet th

The High Springs Main Street Program

By Albert Isaac hen Ashley McDonough moved to Florida she wanted a job that put to good use her Master’s of Public Administration degree. In July, she found that job in High Springs, as

W

18 | Winter 2009

the city’s new Main Street Manager.

“I think the reason I even went back to school, and that I applied for this job in the first place, is that I always thought I wanted to do a job where I come in every day and feel

like I was actually doing something productive for the people, for the community,” McDonough said in a recent interview in her new office on Main Street. This distinctive, redroofed historic building is situated in a small triangular lot on Main Street and US 441.

McDonough was raised in the small town of Stowe, Vermont where her parents’ owned a jewelry store.

After graduating from Texas A&M University, and missing the small town atmosphere of her youth, she moved to Huntsville Texas and worked as the program coordinator at Sam Houston State University.

It was there, while working on her master’s degree, she had the opportunity to become involved in the Huntsville Main Street Program.

When McDonough’s boyfriend was offered a position at the University of Florida, the couple knew they would be relocating.

McDonough said she expected to be out of work for many months, but it was only a matter of weeks before she had started the interview process for the Main Street Program manager.

“I knew that I was going to be moving to Florida and so I came across this opportunity and it was perfect,” McDonough said. “I had just finished my master’s degree so it was really just perfectly suited. I feel very lucky, very grateful.”

Although the couple lives in Gainesville, they hope to buy property in High Springs and relocate in the near future. They both enjoy the outdoors and spend a lot of their spare time in the High Springs area.

“I would say almost every

t the new manager weekend,” she said with a laugh. that across the state and even up to doing,” she said. “I’d like to see more McDonough has many plans for Georgia and surrounding states.” extensive building rehabilitation.

High Springs with the Main Street She said this festival would likely We have so many historic buildings Program, ranging from original be held in October 2010, when it is all over town.” artwork painted on the water tower not too hot or too cold, a time when Another of her goals is to write to annual river festivals. people are less apt to be on the river. more grants for these restorations “One of the things and expand what that we’re working on Main Street can do in right now is a river the High Springs area. festival in October,” she “For anything else said. “We are already we want to do we have planning it to be an to find significant entire weekend event.” grants, and to fund This signature raise,” McDonough fundraising event said. “We do that would incorporate through memberships; Courtesy of City of High Springs every resource around business memberships, An artist’s rendition of the future pocket park in High Springs. town, McDonough individual membersaid, with footraces, ships, and personal canoeing, kayak racing, “It would be nice to keep that donations are really helpful, as well.” horseback riding, live music at revenue flowing,” she said.

McDonough wants to dispel various locations and a traditional McDonough also said she would any notion that the program Florida cook-off in downtown like to increase the program’s Limited is designed to assist only those High Springs.

Program Area. The LPA is the area in businesses in the designated Main “The idea would be, all weekend town designated for Main Street serStreet Program area. long, you can pick and choose the vices, which essentially encompasses “The Main Street Program is things you want to do,” she said.

Main Street from Highway 441 south meant to benefit the entire city of “The goal would be to bring people to approximately 2nd Avenue and High Springs,” McDonough said. who might already know about the roughly a couple of blocks to the east “The LPA is something different springs or want to come downtown. and west of Main Street. continued on next page And we’re going to be publicizing “We want to expand what we are

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that we designate in the downtown area, but that doesn’t mean that our program doesn’t want to benefit everyone and anyone.”

During the upcoming fiscal year, the High Springs water tower is scheduled to be painted, which provides an opportunity to do something a little different using Main Street Program’s resources.

“We are trying to secure artists to paint the tower,” McDonough said. “We are closer than ever. We are narrowing down the artists we can choose from.”

Funding for the art project comes from the Main Street Program. McDonough said that people literally travel the world to see unique water towers. One theme in the planning stages is an aquarium scene with aquatic wildlife with a scuba diver looking out onto High Springs.

“Not only is it something that would make the city a unique place for people to visit and for tourists to come but the publicity in that to bring people here is significant,” she said. This project would be achieved through grant funding and fund raising.

Another plan on the table is the creation of a pocket park in the grassy area near the Station Bakery and Café; a new gazebo, redesigned parking spots, landscaping and

benches for people to sit.

Work currently in progress includes landscaping around the new High Springs signs. A local company, Landscapes Unlimited, is donating their talent to improve the appearance of these signs around town, McDonough said.

Fantastic Fridays is another event Main Street produces and promotes.

Last October, local artists showed their talents on Fantastic Friday (typically held on the first Friday of the month) with an opening art reception at city hall. Businesses throughout town promoted local art, and an after hours event was held in the Opera House of the Great Outdoors Restaurant.

“The art show was so much more than we were hoping for,” McDonough said. “We were just so happy it was such a success. And people had bags and were shopping.

That’s what we do it for.”

McDonough said a silent auction was part of the fundraiser at the Opera House, held from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Yellow balloons decorated the shops of the nearly 20 participating merchants.

“Larry Behnke created art maps,” she said. “I would say 90 percent of the people we talked to were not from High Springs. A lot of people sold pieces. So it was just more successful than we could

have ever hoped. We look forward to doing it again.”

Another of McDonough’s goals include regular visits to the local merchants to hear what they have to say.

“This takes time but I think it’s necessary,” she said. “I think that communication is something that is really important.”

McDonough said the Main Street Program is a nonprofit and as such relies upon grants and public and private donations. She encourages people to share their ideas with her to help bring people into High Springs.

“We are a 501(c)3, so there are more things that I think we can do with fundraising, and getting things donated, and in finding grants,” she said. “I would love people to contact me. We can do a lot and we have the resources to do a lot. Anything that brings people to High Springs to visit and see the stores and to shop and to eat and buy locally, I would love for them to come see me. The chamber and Main Street are the best options.” § Albert Isaac is Editor-in-Chief at Tower Publications.

He has lived in High Springs with his family since 1987. editor@towerpublications.com

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By Chris Wilson

3rd Annual Newberry Festival of Lights THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3 5 P.M.-9 P.M. DOWNTOWN NEWBERRY WWW.NEWBERRYMAINSTREET.ORG Get ready for hot chocolate and lots of fun. The Newberry Main Street Organization will host its annual Festival of Lights and holiday lights contest.

Visits by Santa and Mrs. Claus in the city’s downtown “pocket” park on Newberry Rd. will highlight the event. Santa and his wife will listen to the Christmas wishes of all children, and pose for a photo or two.

Carolers will be roaming the downtown streets and there will also be holiday crafts for children. There will be vendors and the downtown Newberry businesses will be open late, offering free snacks and beverages for all.

The Newberry Main Street Organization will use the evening to judge its annual holiday lights contest. This year, the contest is open to businesses only. The winner of the lights contest will get to ride with Newberry Mayor Harry Nichols in the city’s annual Christmas Parade. Entry into the contest costs businesses a $10 donation to the Newberry Main Street Organization and a food donation to the Blessed Hope Foundation.

Alachua Christmas Tree Lighting and Visit from Santa Claus FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4 6 P.M.-8 P.M. ALACHUA CITY HALL & ALAN HITCHCOCK PARK WWW.CITYOFALACHUA.COM The holiday spirit arrives in Alachua with the city’s annual tree lighting ceremony and a visit from Santa Claus.

The big Christmas tree in front of Alachua City Hall (15100 NW 142nd Ter.) will be illuminated just after dark. The ceremonial lighting will be preceded by speeches from Alachua city officials and carols performed by a local choir. There will be a countdown to the actual lighting of the tree.

Afterward, residents are urged to head over to Alan Hitchcock Park to meet and greet Santa. There will be photo opportunities and gifts for all the good boys and girls who welcome St. Nick to the community.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

continued on next page Winter 2009 | 23

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Fantastic Friday “Decorate Downtown” FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4 6 P.M.-10 P.M. MAIN STREET, HIGH SPRINGS WWW.HIGHSPRINGS.COM Enjoy live music and shop ‘til you drop in downtown High Springs. The holiday edition of the Main Street Program’s monthly downtown event will feature carriage rides and live music until 10 p.m. The merchants of High Springs will keep shops open late and there will be a $100 cash drawing.

Cane Day at Dudley Farm SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 9 A.M. TO 3 P.M. WWW.FRIENDSOFDUDLEYFARM.ORG Commemorate Miss Myrtle Dudley’s birthday by grinding sugar cane and boiling cane syrup. Farm tours, craft demonstrations and music are featured on this living history day. Also includes a bake sale and live auction. This is a great chance to see an original Florida working farm from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Admission to event $5/vehicle up to 8 occupants.

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parade through downtown. This year’s parade theme is “The Sounds of Christmas.”

Businesses, organizations, churches, civic organizations and some of the clubs from Santa Fe High School will have floats loaded with holiday fun, as the parade winds its way through the city. Of course there will be a special guest on the parade’s last float, as Santa pays one last visit to Alachua before he hunkers down in the North Pole to get ready for Christmas.

Gussy Lee and Alachua Parks and Recreation Director Hal Brady will again be the emcees at this year’s parade.

Photo by Albert Isaac

Volunteers in period clothing feed sugar cane into the grinder. The horse powers the grinder by walking in a circle.

Alachua Christmas Parade SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12 2 P.M. MAIN ST. IN DOWNTOWN ALACHUA WWW.ALACHUA.COM The city of Alachua and the Alachua Chamber of Commerce are teaming up for the annual Christmas

14th Annual Twilight Christmas Parade SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12 6 P.M. DOWNTOWN HIGH SPRINGS WWW.HIGHSPRINGS.COM The 14th annual High Springs Twilight Christmas Parade will wind its way through downtown, hosted by the High Springs Chamber of Commerce.

For those who missed the annual tree lighting continued on next page

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Winter 2009 | 25

Springs Chamber of Commerce Web site or call Donna Mogler at 386-454-4939.

Newberry Christmas Parade

Photo by Albert Isaac

Santa and Mrs. Claus pay a visit to the High Springs Christmas Parade in 2007.

in High Springs just before Thanksgiving, the parade is a great place to gather with neighbors to revel in the season of giving. After Santa’s float finishes the parade, children will have a chance to meet jolly old Saint Nick.

Applications for floats can be found on the High

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19 5:00 P.M. DOWNTOWN NEWBERRY Jingle bells will be heard ringing throughout downtown Newberry as the city presents its annual Christmas parade.

The city’s revelers will be treated to floats by Newberry’s city departments, local schools and other clubs. Many of the floats have tasty confections that will be thrown to parade goers. Of course, Santa is sure to make an appearance.

Annual House and Church Tour in Alachua SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19 1 P.M. - 5 P.M. WWW.ALACHUAWOMANSCLUB.ORG This historic holiday tour will include about three or four houses and three churches, all decorated for Christmas. The tour in Alachua will begin at the Alachua HOLIDAY EVENTS on page 29

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“YOUR TRUSTED DEALER SINCE 1926” 386-454-1488 • US 441 • High Springs w w w. J D S a n d S . c o m 28 | Winter 2009

Apply

High Springs Historic Homes Tour

Photo by Chris Wilson

Students of the Newberry Elementary Kindergarten riding an impressive float for the Annual Christmas Parade in 2008.

HOLIDAY EVENTS from page 26 Woman’s Clubhouse, where the participants will get a brochure and a map. Everyone will also be given a sandwich bag full of Christmas cookies and a bottle of water.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20 5 P.M.-8 P.M. WWW.HIGHSPRINGSMAINSTREET.ORG The historic homes of High Springs will have their halls decked for the holidays and visitors can learn a lot about the city on this guided tour by the High Springs Main Street Organization.

Tickets for the event cost $25 and can be purchased at the High Springs Farmer’s Market or at the Grady House on the day of the event.

Visitors will be given a map and historical information about each of the 11 homes featured on the tour.

Each home also will have some holiday refreshments.

There are plenty of things to do during the holiday season. So, once the hustle and bustle of the season begins to get to you, try to attend some of these fun events to remind you there is a reason for the season of giving. §

Bienvenidos a

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Winter 2009 | 29

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

By Crystal Henry

S

ince I was a kid the holiday season has been my favorite time of the year. The heaps of presents and decadent food are all fine and well, but it’s the predictability and tradition that I have come to love and rely on. November was always my security blanket that I could count on to be the beginning of the season of same old same old.

However, now that I’m all grown up, married and have my new baby Sunny, my life is full of blissful chaos. It’s now become a crapshoot as to where we’ll be each holiday. My family lives in Texas, and my husband’s family members are scattered in Florida and Louisiana. This may be the first year that I don’t go back “home” for the holidays.

When I was younger, my holiday schedule was as consistent as French’s French Fried Onions on a green bean casserole. Thanksgiving lunch was at Nana’s followed by dinner at Grandma’s. Nana would have turkey and noodles and Papaw’s famous King Ranch casserole. After lunch we would draw names for Secret Santa and try not to spill the beans about who we picked.

After Nana’s I would head to Grandma’s house where I somehow always managed to make room for more turkey and gravy. Grandma would make sure

everyone took home their own loaf of pumpkin bread, and Grandpa would have to make double the mashed potatoes just because of me.

Then, just as the tryptophan wore off and I could fit back into pants without an elastic band, Christmas would come barreling around the corner. On Christmas Eve my brother, Tyler, and I would head over to Nana’s house for dinner. The kids would squirm and fidget after dinner, waiting for the green light to dive into the presents. Last year, at 24, I was still squirming and fidgeting right along with them.

That night, back at Mom’s house we would exchange just one gift. It was the best part of Christmas to see Mom open her gifts from us. She would ooh and ahh over a macaroni necklace with the same enthusiasm as a Waterford crystal vase — maybe even more so.

Around 4 a.m. Christmas morning Tyler and I would tiptoe out of our room to sneak a peek at our presents. The room would be dark except for the glow of the Christmas tree, and I would still get worried about Mom catching us out of bed.

After we opened Santa’s gifts we would head out to Grandma’s for more presents, food and family time.

We stayed until late into the night and played so many hands of cards that we had to use the toothpicks from the veggie trays to keep our eyelids open.

It was a time full of tradition and family that I knew I could count on. The stress from school, a fight with a friend, the loss of a job or a loved one could all be swept away for a short time during the holidays because it

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was a time just to focus on family and togetherness.

Nana’s, Mom’s, Grandma’s — they were all safe places that housed the refreshing dose of love and laughter I needed once a year. Even after I left for college I knew I could rely on those traditions to be there waiting for me as if nothing had ever changed.

Of course, as is life, things did gradually change.

I got married and had to learn to split holidays with my husband’s family, and Grandma passed away so Grandpa had to do the Christmas shopping alone.

This year we have the baby, so driving 20 hours to Texas is out of the question. And flights are so outrageous it is questionable whether I’ll get to see my family at all this holiday season.

I can see those traditions I have come to rely on slowly vanishing. It’s hard to think about a Christmas without Papaw parading around in his goofy Santa hat or Grandpa letting me sneak the first taste of the turkey. It seems like my family traditions are slowly slipping away and it breaks my heart.

But on the other hand, I suppose the traditions aren’t vanishing, they’re only changing. Instead of King Ranch casserole at Nana’s, I get to fix my famous cranberry bread for my father-in-law at my house.

And instead of sneaking to peek at the tree with my baby brother, I get to see my baby girl open her first present on Christmas morning.

I guess the warm comfort of the holidays isn’t about falling into the same routine year after year. It’s about evolving with the changes life has in store, and it’s making new memories and traditions with the people you love. After all, there had to be a first Thanksgiving at Nana’s house. So rather than going home this holiday season to see my family, I will help make this my family’s home for the holidays. § Crystal Henry is a freelance writer. She may be contacted through the editor: editor@towerpublications.com. “where rationality is optional.”

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‘Tis the Season For this edition of Our Town, we asked some members of the Tower Publications family to share some of their favorite recipes. Enjoy!

EARTHQUAKE CAKE • • • from Pam Slaven

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH COCONUT PECAN ICING

Preheat oven to 350°F.

• • • from Jenni Bennett

Spread 1 cup chopped pecans on the bottom of a buttered 13x9 cake pan. On top of nuts put 1 cup coconut, then pour the following batter over the nuts and coconut mixture without stirring.

Ingredients: One two-layer package German chocolate cake mix 1/4 cup softened butter 8 ounce cream cheese softened 3 3/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar

Mix 1 box German chocolate cake mix (Betty Crocker) according to package directions.

Pour the batter gently over the coconut and set aside.

In a saucepan, melt one stick of butter (1/4 lb) and one (8 ounce) package of Philadelphia cream cheese.

Stir in one box of confectioners’ sugar (1 lb).

Pay very close attention to the mixture in the pan as it will scorch easily. For this reason, it’s best to use a heavy bottom pan.

Pour the cream cheese mixture over the top of the cake batter without stirring.

Bake in a preheated 350°F for 45 minutes.

The cake will crack in the middle. That’s why it is called Earthquake cake!

32 | Winter 2009

Preparation: Prepare the cake mix using package directions.

Pour in 9 x 13 inch, greased, cake pan. Mix the butter, cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar in a bowl. Drop by dollops onto the cake batter in pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Let cool.

Coconut Pecan Icing 1/4 cup butter softened 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup evaporated milk 1/2 cup flaked coconut 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract Combine the butter, sugar, evaporated milk, coconut, and pecans in a small sauce pan. Stir in the vanilla, bring to a boil. Simmer for three minutes.

Let cool then pour over cake.

DOUBLE-DECKER FUDGE • • • from Pam Slaven Ingredients: 1 cup REESE’S® Peanut Butter Chips 1 cup HERSHEY’S® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips 2 1/4 cups white sugar 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme 3/4 cup evaporated milk 1/4 cup butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preparation: 1. Line 8-inch square pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Measure peanut butter chips into one medium bowl and chocolate chips into second medium bowl.

2. Combine sugar, marshmallow creme, evaporated milk and butter in heavy 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils; boil and stir 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir continued on next page

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Winter 2009 | 33

in vanilla. Immediately stir one-half hot mixture (1-1/2 cups) into peanut butter chips until chips are completely melted; quickly pour into prepared pan.

Stir remaining one-half hot mixture into chocolate chips until chips are completely melted. Quickly spread over top of peanut butter layer.

3. Cool completely. Remove from pan; place on cutting board. Peel off and discard foil; cut into 1-inch squares. Store tightly covered.

BUTTERFINGER CAKE • • • from Amanda Chatt Ingredients: 1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix 5 Butterfinger candy bars 1 jar caramel ice cream topping 1 can sweetened condensed milk Cool Whip for topping Chocolate Syrup

on the top, and then sprinkle the rest of the broken bars.

Then drizzle more caramel all over and then drizzle chocolate syrup all over in zig-zags.

(Hint! Put all your candy bars in the freezer. When you’re ready to use them, take them from the freezer. Leave the wrappers on and take a mallet or a hammer and smash them inside the wrappers.)

OLD FASHIONED HOLIDAY PINK SALAD • • • from Annie Waite

Preparation: Bake the cake according to package directions and in a 13 x 9 inch pan.

When it’s done, and while it’s still hot, punch holes in the cake and pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top, making sure some of it sinks in the holes.

Ingredients: 1 Large Package raspberry Jell-O 1 can of crushed pineapple (do not drain) 1 can of evaporated milk 1 small bottle of maraschino cherries 1 cup of chopped walnuts Preparation: Refrigerate evaporated milk overnight Heat Jell-O and pineapple with juice until boiling, Turn off heat and let cool.

In a mixing bowl whip evaporated milk untill fluff y, add cream cheese and beat until blended

Do the same with the caramel ice cream topping.

Sprinkle on some of the broken candy pieces.

When it’s cool, spread the Cool Whip topping

As seen on HGTV

Fold in cooled Jell-O and pineapple, chopped cherries and walnuts.

Refrigerate for 8 hours, salad will thicken as it cools.

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PUMPKIN FLUFF RECIPE

Rubberstamps, Scrapbooking

• • • from Kayla Stump Ingredients: 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin 1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

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Preparation: 1. In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.

Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping.

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Chill in the refrigerator until served. Best served with cinnamon graham crackers. §

If you decide to make any of these recipes, feel free to send us a note to let us know how you liked it!

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Theatre Park Gets a New Name

Alan Hitchcock Park

By Larry Behnke ichard Matter is 80 years old. About a quarter of a century ago he bought the Theatre Park property.

“It had trash in it so we cleared it out,” Matter said.

“The roof was gone from an old fire and it had fallen into disrepair over the years.”

Matter said it really was a movie theater at one time, first opened when movies were silent.

“It was in pretty bad shape,” he said. “We had plans for it, but didn’t have the money. I let people use it during those years.”

But it was again boarded up.

Bonnie Del Rosal has her Garden Gallery shop right next door. She thought it would have been a perfect space for her garden items, but Matter did not want to sell it.

Del Rosal said Pegg Dodson spearheaded the effort to make the spot usable again.

“I called it Pegg’s Park,” Del Rosal said of the woman who once worked in her store, “because she did most of the work and really poured her heart into it.”

Dodson liked the looks of the arches, but graffiti-covered plywood blocked the entrance.

“I went to city hall and found who owned it,” Dodson said. “I told Richard [Matter] I’d like to make it into a park.” When he asked her why, she said, “I just want to make it pretty.”

They met for coffee and talked. It was in 1998 when Matter agreed to lease the property to the city for a dollar a year.

The women got people continued on next page to donate concrete work,

R

Photos by Larry Behnke

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Inside the Alan Hitchcock Park. Now a garden, this space was once the site of a movie theater.

The street view of the Alan Hitchcock Park on Main Street in Alachua.

One of the many weddings held in the park during the past decade.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 37

Alachua County, Florida

Fold, flatten and store gift boxes and gift bags to reuse for other gift-giving occasions.

Give a non-material gift such as a phone card or a gift Certificate.

Use reusable shopping bags - Now and throughout the year.

Use edible or compostable items such as popcorn and cranberry strings to decorate trees.

Recycle your packing peanuts and bubble wrap at the nearest Mailbox-type store.

Make a homemade gift such as baked cookies, photographs, etc.

After the holidays, recycle your holiday tree (place on the curb) ³ Don’t forget to remove tinsel, ornaments, etc.

(352) 374-5213 www.thewastewatcher.com

38 | Winter 2009

benches, plants and the labor to make it all happen. But first the boards had to be removed.

“It was in awful shape,” said Del Rosal who pushed back the boards to find clothes, a mattress, trees that had grown up inside and — something else.

“When I took the front board off, a huge yellow boa constrictor crawled out and went under a car parked on the street,” she said.

A young man walking by reached under the car and took the snake home for a pet.

“I walked up and down Main Street to get support for the park,” Dodson said. “A female architect in Gainesville donated the plans. A carpenter offered to build the arched trellis. The high school agriculture department donated shrubs. When you see the result, it was worth all the work.”

Over the years, elderly people have come into Del Rosal’s store and related how they used to go to movies in the space, when admission was a dime, back when black people were only allowed to watch movies from the balcony. The late Bill Irby had told Dodson that the last movie shown at the theater before the fire was “Gone With the Wind.”

During the past decade the space has been used as a welcome resting spot on Main Street. Small weddings are held there. Graduates or prom-goers in limos stop there to have their pictures taken. It has been the site of art shows. Before Christmas it is where children go to visit with Santa Claus. Mike Del Rosal built Santa’s throne and has helped operate a snow machine in years past. Bill Harrison was the original Santa at the park.

The City of Alachua finally did purchase the property. On May 13, 2009, a ceremony was held in the park for Alan Hitchcock, “To commemorate a community leader’s contributions of time, talent and resources,” a plaque reads.

The site is renamed Alan Hitchcock Park and is, “An oasis for the public in the heart of beautiful downtown Alachua.” The park sits on Main Street, which years ago, in honor of Alan’s father, was renamed Bob Hitchcock’s Main Street.

Once burned and trashed, once boarded up and forgotten, the site is now a unique attraction on Alachua’s Main Street.

“So many people have enjoyed the park,” Dodson said. “It’s terrific to see how it gets used; it’s a lovely experience.” § Larry Behnke is a freelance artist, writer and photographer who has lived in High Springs since 1980. larry@ towerpublications.com.

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Winter 2009 | 39

Kid’s Fun Page Word Search

Have fun solving these puzzles.

The answers can be found on page 167.

Sudoku Puzzle

Main Street Program Sober Janis Owens Fruit Bats Consignment Shop Holiday Kiwanis Club

40 | Winter 2009

Lions Club Theatre Park Parade Intuition Sports Jonesville High Springs

Alachua Newberry Recycle Historic Donate Cracker Kitchen Our Town

Crossword ACROSS 2 New City Manager for Archer 3 New book by author Janis Owens 4 These events attract citizens to gather along the streets 6 Flying mammals 7 This High Springs organization recently won an Award of Excellence 8 Name of Bat Conservancy in Gainesville 10 New High Springs Main Street Manager 11 This High Springs service organization hosts music concerts

DOWN 1 High Springs event held on the first Friday of the Month 3 Place to see art in High Springs 5 Documentary made by Robert McClellan and Jill Heinerth 9 This ancient trail in Spain attracts more than 100,000 hikers annually 10 First name of the person the Alachua Theatre Park is named for

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Winter 2009 | 41

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The Pros of

Consignment

Shops on Alachua’s Main Street

By Crystal Henry

S

hoppers spent $30.5 billion moving into new houses and she can either go through them in department stores across expanding families, but they need with the seller or they can leave the nation in December of to find items at a reasonable price. their items with her. She said most 2007, according to the U.S. Census Although the items are secondof the time people just leave their Bureau. Online shopping and mail hand, consignment shops have items, and those that cannot be sold orders brought in an extra $23 guidelines and requirements sellers are donated to organizations like billion that year. But with Peaceful Paths, Hospice or the 2009 holiday season Gainesville Community quickly approaching, Ministries, or they are some businesses are out to given back to the seller. help people make money Cushman said she and as well as spend it. They her husband do mission are called consignment work in Honduras, so they shops, and three shops on take items that cannot be Main Street in Alachua are sold with them on their in cahoots to help ensure mission and give them to their customers get exactly people in need. She said what they are looking for. because consignment shop A consignment shop items are so affordable, Photo by Albert Isaac differs from a departand people can also make (left to right) Stacey Donnini, Destiny Radford and Robin ment store because their Cushman of Hugs and Kisses Consignment take a moment money selling their items, inventory is comprised of from their busy day to pose for the camera. consignment shops are a secondhand goods. People great way to help many bring in clothes, accessories, house must adhere to in order for their people in hard times. wares and even furniture they items to be accepted for sale. Hugs At Valerie’s Loft, once the item would like to get rid of. However, and Kisses owner Robin Cushman sells, the seller receives 40 percent unlike a secondhand shop such as a requires items to be clean-smelling, of the sale price in cash, or 50 thrift store, the consignment shop smoke free and have no stains. She percent in store credit. gives the donor a cut of the profits said they are tactful about rejecting She said people are discovering once the item sells. unacceptable items, however they consignment shops as a new way to “It’s a good way to get rid of do hold sellers to high standards. shop for gifts. They can get brand your things versus giving them “We’re a little bit upscale here,” name items for a fraction of what it away,” said Stacey Donnini, Cushman said. would cost them new. She carries manager of Hugs and Kisses Valerie Taylor, owner of Valerie’s big designers such as Hollister, Ann Consignment in Alachua.

Loft, said while some stores Taylor and Abercrombie and Fitch.

Jeannie Nantz, of Jeannie’s Attic require certain styles and trends, And many of her items still have said her business has picked up she tends to go by the condition the tags on them. since the recession began because of the clothes. Sellers bring their CONSIGNMENT on page 45 people are still getting married, items folded in a box or bag, and www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 43

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CONSIGNMENT from page 43

said. However, they do share a symbiotic relationship because if one store draws shoppers in to Main Street Alachua, those shoppers will also pass by the other two stores. If Valerie’s Loft does not have just the

Jeannie Nantz, owner of Jeannie’s Attic, said she sets a very high bar for the condition and quality of the furniture she consigns in her shop.

She said she does not hesitate to send a piece of furniture back with its owner if it does not meet her requirements because she wants her customers to know they are buying quality upscale furniture.

She said upholstered pieces must be free of animal hair, smoke, rips, tears and Photo by Albert Isaac stains. She does not accept Valerie Taylor, owner of Valerie’s Loft. particleboard, and there should be no broken pieces.

Nantz said she does not tell right blouse a shopper is looking people her prices are low, but they for, Taylor said she can send them are fair. She ensures that both the down the street to Hugs and Kisses. buyer and the seller get a good deal.

Or if the seller could make more And despite the different money selling their furniture at requirements and standards of Jeannie’s Attic instead of Hugs and each storeowner, all three women Kisses, Cushman said she will send complimented each other’s shops. them right over. So each shop gets a Cushman said the shops on Main steady flow of shoppers and sellers.

Street just work well together.

Taylor said she has had 150 new Nantz said she sends people consigners since opening in June. down the street to the other shops “That’s a lot of people,” she said. if they are looking for something Because consignment shops have they cannot find in her store. a standard of quality, Taylor said it Unfortunately, because they all is more like shopping at a boutique. three keep similar hours, they do People do not have to rummage not have the chance to meet, she through anything like they might

have to at some thrift stores.

Nantz said it is safer than selling items through venues such as craigslist.com because it keeps people from coming into your home.

Because independent sellers drive their inventory, there are new items every day.

Taylor encourages people to visit the shops once a week or every few weeks just to check their sizes for new items.

And even though the items start at a low price, Taylor said shoppers should check in every few weeks for marked down items.

Because consignment stores rely on turnover, items in her shop get reduced after they sit on the shelf for about six weeks.

After three months, she said the prices hit rock bottom.

So this holiday season, whether people are looking to earn extra cash or save on gifts, consignment stores seem to be just the place.

“You can really expand your dollar this way,” Taylor said. § Crystal Henry is a freelance writer. She may be contacted through the editor: editor@ towerpublications. com.

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Winter 2009 | 45

Local Lions Clubs Helen Keller could neither hear nor see, yet she has inspired many, including the Lions Club.

By Larry Behnke t the 1925 Lions convention, Helen Keller challenged club members to “become knights of the blind in this crusade against darkness.”

The club accepted her call.

For decades, this world’s largest service organization has helped countless thousands who are hearing and seeing impaired. More than 1.3 million members in 45,000 clubs in 205 countries work to make the world a better place.

In 1917, Chicago business leader Melvin Jones asked, “What if people put their talents to work improving their communities?” That was the seed of the Lions Club; a century later, members are still finding ways to answer Jones’ question.

Sight programs have been a main focus of Lions, but they also work to prevent diabetes and hearing loss. Some clubs have recently also focused on helping protect the environment.

Lions Clubs in Our Town serve in a variety of ways.

A

46 | Winter 2009

Alachua Lions Club For the past decade, Lions have teamed with the local Boy Scout troop to help people become more aware of the blind. Led by four blind people, groups are blindfolded to walk three downtown blocks, which includes crossing streets.

Lions have been a sponsor of Boy Scout Troop 88 for 70 years. Their clubhouses happen to be next to each other across from Alachua City Hall.

During the recent Harvest Festival, Lions offered free diabetes screening inside their clubhouse. They could not have a booth outside on the street because the test strips are affected by heat, and the weather was uncertain.

In November the Lions sponsored its Diabetes Awareness Walk. Monetary donations go to the Billy Irby Youth Memorial Fund.

Christine Hirsch is a retired Irby Elementary School Principal. She is also the first female president of the

s

Photos by Larry Behnke

Alachua Lions Club.

In her second year as president she reflected on what the group has accomplished.

“In March we put on the 71st Cattlemen’s Some of the thousands Banquet,” Hirsch said. of farm toys on display at “It’s the longest running the Farm Toy Show.

Lions event in Florida.”

Lion member Bob Respess A $1,500 scholarship rides in the Newberry is given each year to a Christmas Parade.

Santa Fe High School student for college.

“At Christmastime, we sponsor a family from a local school,” Hirsch said. Lions help them with whatever needs they have.

Lions members serve as tutors each week at Alachua Elementary School. They also work with a high school version of the Lions club, student volunteers called Leos.

Last year, the club bought eyeglasses for 18 people.

“We invite people to join the Lions Club,” said Hirsch, who recently welcomed six new members.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Velveeta Underground was one of several bands that played at the High Springs Lions Music Park during their fundraiser.

High Springs Lions Club The High Springs Lions Club acreage is large and semi-wooded, located just before the Santa Fe River off Highway 27. This club was chartered 62 years ago and the property was purchased a decade later.

The park-like Lions property has often been used for fundraisers through the years, recently to fund research for Duchenne muscular dystrophy to help an afflicted five-year-old boy, Evan Procko. A music festival was held in September in hopes of raising money.

Brian Barkman is the current president. He said the Lions Club has been getting more requests lately to help people who have run into hard times.

“We help the people we can, and have contributed to Catholic Charities, which has had a run on their food reserves,” Barkman said. “We thought having our concert would be a good way to raise some money to help out.”

Unfortunately, the four-day event was sparsely attended and no money was raised.

When new members join the club they are blindfolded and made to walk around scattered chairs in continued on next page

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Winter 2009 | 47

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New members of the High Springs Lions Club are blindfolded and walked around to help them understand being blind. the clubhouse with a cane. This initiation gives them a better understanding of what the blind experience.

In the fall the Lions hold their annual turkey shoot and Bar-B-Q on Saturdays.

“You don’t have to be a good shot to win,” Barkman said. “Often it’s just luck.”

No turkeys are actually shot; the targets are paper.

Frozen turkeys are no longer the prizes; rather gift certificates are given for use at a local grocery store.

Newberry Lions Club The Newberry Lions’ most visible fundraiser is their Farm Toy Show held each February. Some of the thousands of toys are tiny scale models of farm implements. Other “toys” are full size, restored antique tractors displayed in front of the Oak View Middle School cafeteria. A tractor parade and a blindfolded obstacle race (with guidance from a passenger), plus food are other features of the annual event.

Member Bob Respess talked about some of Newberry Lions other activities.

“White Cane Awareness Day happens in October,” Respess said. “The fundraiser in front of Hitchcock’s gives people information about the use of the canes and blindness.”

For the past three years the club has held an Autism Walk to raise money for “Autism Speaks,” a program at Oak View Middle School. People pledge money per lap around the school track to help autistic children. The event was started by Carolyn and Gene Elliott who have an autistic grandchild.

“Our main focus is sight conservation, and hearing too,” Respess said. “We’ve been here since 1943 and currently have 35 members.”

Lions Club members enjoy not only the camaraderie of others, but the knowledge that they carry on the club’s original goal of improving their communities. § Larry Behnke is a freelance artist, writer and photographer who has lived in High Springs since 1980. larry@towerpublications.com.

48 | Winter 2009

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Winter 2009 | 49

Art Around Town

Fantastic Friday brings art and culture to High Springs

By Jessica Chapman

D

owntown High Springs was transformed.

For one night, the stereotypical farm town disappeared for an evening of ritzy-styled art galleries, filling the streets with artwork.

Modeled after The Gainesville Art Walk, High Springs launched Art Around Town on Oct. 2 during the High Springs Main Street Program’s Fantastic Fridays, a program to be continued along with Art in City Hall.

As local businesses were transformed into art galleries for the evening, High Springs residents bounced from shop to shop looking at about 30 to 40 artists’ work, including paintings, photos, sugar art and glass art.

High Springs’ Art Around Town was held in conjunction with Art in City Hall, a program designed to put artwork in High Springs City Hall to provide more culture. Future art walks will be timed with the 50 | Winter 2009

Photo courtesy of Ashley McDonough

Art Around Town concluded with an evening reception at the Great Outdoors Opera House. The artwork featured High Springs' artists, and all of the work was sold.

next Art in City Hall.

The Art in City Hall event began the night of artistic festivities for High Springs. Those attending Art in City Hall moved to the art walk along Main Street and then to an evening art gallery and reception at the Great Outdoors Opera House.

“The city was one big art experience,” said Sandi

Richmond, who put together Art in City Hall. “It was an art explosion.”

Richmond said combining Art in City Hall with Fantastic Fridays, which is held on the first Friday of every month by the High Spring Main Street Program, helped make the night successful.

Art in City Hall featured a variety of artists with work depicting the local North Florida area, Richmond said.

The work remained up until Dec. 2.

The youngest featured artist was a 12-year-old art student who is taking classes at Elayne Dubin’s Green Heron Art Studio in Alachua.

“He was ready to put himself out there,” Dubin said of her student. “It’s a life changing experience.”

Following the city hall event, people from all over Alachua County packed the streets to browse through the balloon-marked businesses showing art, said High Photo courtesy of Ashley McDonough

High Springs Main Street Manager Ashley McDonough (right) with artist Tina Corbett (left), whose artwork was featured in city hall, local businesses and at the Opera House reception. Corbett is one of about 30 artists who were featured in the art walk.

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Springs Main Street Manager Ashley McDonough, who coordinated the event.

Each artist found a local business to set up their artwork, and from glass-blown clocks and decorated cakes to paintings and photos, thousands of visitors were lured in to join in the night of festivities.

The High Springs Main Street Program, McDonough said, also offered refreshments and prizes at different businesses.

Dubin, whose art was shown in the Art in City Hall exhibit, said High Springs needed the art walk to create a more cultural experience.

“It helps people get interested,” Dubin said. “Artists are putting their souls out there. It was exciting to see people come out for a night.”

The art walk concluded with the Opera House reception featuring more artwork from local artists.

All of the artwork in the Opera House was sold, McDonough said.

While Art in City Hall showed only art representing the local area, the art walk and Opera House reception featured a variety, with no specific theme, McDonough said.

She said she hopes Art Around Town will become a regular event that everyone in High Springs looks

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forward to each month, adding that there will probably be about three or four events a year.

“I feel like the art walk is a key example of everybody getting on the bandwagon,” McDonough said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better turnout.”

Many people helping coordinate the event did not realize there were so many artists in High Springs.

“Everyone’s so talented,” said Marilyn Vanover, who helped coordinate the night with High Springs Main Street Program. “It was huge. Everyone can be involved.”

Local artist agreed, adding that they are glad people can finally realize there are a lot of talented artists in High Springs.

“High Springs has always needed something like this,” said Larry Behnke, a local artist whose art was displayed in a local antique shop. “It’s good to get artists together.”

Dubin said in addition to the event being a good experience for the community, it is a night just as important for young artists. “[The children] are still telling me about it,” Dubin said. “They’re asking when we will have another one.

A children’s show would be awesome.”

Dubin also said there is more to the art than just a picture — each picture has a story and a reason why the artist chose to paint that picture.

Many artists and members of the High Springs community said they hope the event continues.

McDonough confirmed their wishes. She said the next art walk will take place in February during Fantastic Fridays, and Art in City Hall will also exhibit another show the same night.

The next show will have a special twist, however.

Unlike the past and future High Springs art walks, the February art walk will have a special Valentine’s Day tribute — Sweet Art — with all the artwork having a love or Valentine’s Day theme, McDonough said.

Richmond and McDonough said they hope Art Around Town will be even bigger in February.

“We love showcasing artJessica Chapman ists,” Richmond is a student in said. “We have UF’s College of Journalism. She a huge room may be contacted to grow. It’s via the editor. an experience for the whole editor@towerpublications.com family.” §

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Don’t Let the Holidays Go To Waste Tips and tricks to reduce, reuse and recycle holiday waste

By Crystal Henry

G

rocery carts, greeting cards, shopping bags, wrapping paper, shiny packages, plates of food and holiday cheer. All these things will be piled high this holiday season. But the highest pile of all? The garbage pile.

Americans produce 25 percent more trash each year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, according to greengiftguide.com. But that trash pile can be minimized if people adhere to the three R’s of reduce, reuse and recycle.

Reduce “Reduction is the first step,” said Joni Rollen, City of Gainesville recycling program assistant.

Rollen said there are simple ways for people to produce less waste before they even have to think about reusing or recycling. For instance, people can take reusable bags when shopping for gifts or groceries and use washable dishes and cloth napkins instead of disposable ones. Buying in bulk yields less packaging, and Rollen also encourages people not to buy materials that are not recyclable, such as 58 | Winter 2009

Styrofoam and plastic wrapping, because they have to go straight to the garbage. Artificial Christmas trees can sometimes be made of harmful materials like polyvinyl chloride, which break down slowly in the landfi lls. And although cut trees can be recycled, a more environmentally sound option would be to buy a live potted evergreen tree and plant it after the holidays. Rollen said source reduction is the purest form of recycling.

Sally Palmi, of the Alachua County Public Works, said one way people can reduce their waste is to get creative with gift giving. Offering services like babysitting, piano lessons or gardening do not require packaging. And small gifts such as movie tickets, gift certificates or fishing licenses require very little packaging. Palmi said homemade gift s can reduce packaging waste because the wrapping can be a reusable and eye-catching part of the gift. Homemade cookies in decorative jars or gardening supplies in a flowerpot can add a personal and creative touch.

RECYCLE on page 60

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RECYCLE from page 58 And she said instead of sending out 50 of the same greeting cards to friends and family, consider sending cards electronically.

Reuse After reducing the amount of waste a household generates, Rollen said people should find creative ways to reuse the materials they do have. Shredded paper can

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be used as packaging instead of Styrofoam peanuts, and plastic grocery bags can be used as garbage bags.

“Paper can be used on both sides or as scrap paper,” she said.

Palmi said reusing items like old maps and comics as wrapping paper is a creative way to add a unique touch to gifts as well as reuse paper. And she said greeting cards can be cut up and used as gift tags.

Unwanted items that are in good condition can be reused through local charities and thrift stores.

People looking to make a little extra cash can also take out a classified ad or take their items into a consignment shop.

And while those traditional options are available, many people are turning to the Internet to get rid of and acquire secondhand goods. Web sites such as freecycle.org, alachuaexchange.org and craigslist.com are designed to put individual buyers and sellers directly in touch with one another. Freecycle.org and alachuaexchange.org use a take-a-penny-leave-a-penny approach to reusing items. People list things they would like to get rid of for free, and in turn they can find things they need that others are giving away. Craigslist.com is a free online classified resource for people looking to sell or give away everything from appliances to video games.

Reuse of items is always encouraged before recycling, she said.

Recycle Because not everything can be reused, there is a need RECYCLE on page 64

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S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

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An Ounce of Prevention “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is a very old cliché that holds a large measure of truth.

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ost of us rarely apply this to our health let alone applying this to our pet family members’ health. We are all aware of the tough economic environment we are experiencing. A very common response to this stressful environment is to omit basic annual healthcare for our pets. Although this feels like an appropriate decision in the short term, it can have costly effects. Preventative care has been a central focus in human medicine over the past two decades. The reason for this is an overall reduction in costs as well as early detection of diseases. Most of us know that early disease detection allows for better therapeutic outcome and less overall cost of treatment. In short the care your pet receives is better and costs less over time.

Some of the most common examples of this are the following: Heartworms are carried by mosquitoes, which are a year round pest in Florida. Your dog should be tested annually due to this constant environmental pressure. If they test positive in their annual screening it is likely the condition has not progressed to the point of severe heart disease. Your dog can be treated and cleared of this life threatening parasite. Another good example of successful annual screening is the detection of intestinal parasites, which is a year round threat to our pets. When your dogs or cats are harboring intestinal parasites this poses a potential risks to the humans in your environment. We are at risk of getting parasites through ingestion as well as through our skin.

These parasites are easy to treat before they cause 62 | Winter 2009

severe systemic disease to your pet. It is important to remember that many common diseases are well hidden by your pets until they are severe and costly to treat.

Veterinary Medicine has moved from the annual vaccine philosophy to preventative screening and thorough physical examination. The vast majority of core vaccines are considered to cover your pet for a minimum of three years. Please check with your veterinarian for information concerning the individual needs of your pet. Giving vaccines that are not required for your pet’s life stage or risk factors does not make sense. This is part of the value in having your pet examined by your veterinarian each year. Any life changes, diet changes, or travel to other parts of the country are a few of the examples of topics that may affect recommendations for the next year.

Advances in both laboratory testing and medical equipment help make more accurate diagnosis and treatments. Detecting a chronic or acute disease/ condition in its early stage can save you money and your pet unnecessary pain and anxiety. Instead of working to combat an advanced disease and its complications, your veterinarian can focus on keeping a small symptom from becoming bigger disease.

In many instances, your veterinarian can diagnose a specific condition well before you would detect symptoms. When your pet receives regular preventive care, your veterinarian can track your pets’ health over a period of years. They are more likely to notice small but telling changes in your pet.

In today’s economy, everyone is trying to watch their pennies. Preventive maintenance is one way to keep the overall cost of your pets’ healthcare from turning into unaffordable expensive procedures that may have been prevented by early detection or maintenance care. You love your pet family members. The benefits of preventive pet healthcare are twofold. Peace of mind for you and peace of life for your pet. Remember, most veterinarians will offer affordable wellness packages.

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RECYCLE from page 60 to send materials to be recycled.

Rollen said her motto is, “Don’t buy it if you can’t recycle it.”

She also said it is important to “close the loop” by buying products made from recycled material.

She said buying these products creates a demand for more recycled materials.

Although each city has its own standards for the types of items they recycle, there are plenty of items that can be recycled in each town. For instance, plastic grocery bags that cannot be reused as trash bags can be taken back to the store for recycling.

And there are two recycling centers in Gainesville that buy aluminum cans. So, people can help reduce waste and make some extra cash.

People should also be aware that some items not only take up space in the landfi lls, but they are hazardous to the environment if they are not disposed of properly. Button cell batteries that are found in items such as hearing aids and laser pointers are hazardous waste and should be disposed of at a hazardous waste collection center or taken to a local

jewelry, camera or watch repair store.

Alkaline batteries on the other hand are safe to dispose of in the trash.

However, they should be recycled if possible and replaced with rechargeable batteries.

Households that opt for a live cut tree this year should also be aware of the proper ways to recycle or dispose of the tree after the holidays. Alachua County residents with curbside service can put their live cut tree at the curb for pickup on their yard trash collection day. And any Alachua County resident can take their tree to any of the county rural collection centers at no charge.

Crystal Henry is a Residents freelance writer. He should call may be contacted the center first via the editor. editor@ for details on towerpublications. dropping off com. their trees. §

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Historic Home Tours

By Elizabeth Behrman

C

hristmas lights, carolers and old-fashioned decorations are all on the map this year for the annual High Springs and Alachua historic holiday tours.

The towns of High Springs and Alachua are each offering holiday tours of the historic churches and homes in the area. Each stop on the tours will be decorated for Christmas and open for the public to walk through.

The Alachua Woman’s Club House and Church Tours began in 2000 as a tour of the churches in the area. By 2004, it had grown to include historic houses in Alachua as well.

“Alachua is such a small little place, so everyone’s seen all those churches,” Veda Horner said. Horner heads the committee that plans the tours and is also the historian for the Alachua Woman’s Club.

The High Springs Historic Homes Tour includes only tours of the historic houses in town. This is the third year that the High Springs Main Street Organization is hosting this event since it started in 2006.

At press time, both organizations were still in the recruiting stages, trying to get homeowners to volunteer to open up their homes for a few hours in December. The Alachua House and Church Tour will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on December 19. The Historic House Tour in High Springs will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on December 20.

66 | Winter 2009

Both organizations require their volunteers to provide their own decorations. In Alachua, the homeowners can set out their decorations and volunteers from the Alachua Woman’s Club or the Alachua Historical Society will come and put up their decorations for them if the homeowners are unable. Horner said they have even had participants hire professional decorators before.

“Some people change the scene in their house every

Residents in Alachua, High Springs open their homes for the holidays few years,” Horner said.

In High Springs, the homeowners decorate their own houses. There is never any set theme to the tours and the participants can decorate however they like as long as they are finished before the tours begin.

“All of the decorations and all the lights and all the pretty things — it’s just really special,” said Lucie Regensdorf, owner of the Grady House and the Easterlin House in High Springs.

Regensdorf, who had the idea of starting the tours in

Photo by Albert Isaac

The Historic Meyer House on Main Street in Alachua, decorated for the holidays in 2008.

High Springs a few years ago, said she has never decorated so much since she and her husband bought the Grady House. She plans on stringing lights through the garden between the Grady House and the Easterlin House, and having carolers singing on the front porch. All of this will be in addition to the tree and other decorations inside the house. Though not all of the rooms will be decorated, they will all be open for guests to walk through.

Joe Meyer, owner of the "White House" (now the Meyer House) in Alachua, said he and his wife, Susan, plan to participate in the tour again this year. They decorate the entire inside of the house. Each of the six fireplaces is decorated and Meyer strings the outdoor Christmas lights all the way to the top of the chimney.

“As much as we can, we try to give it an 1800s feel,” Meyer said.

Regensdorf said she thinks the people who come through the houses will enjoy it.

“It’s really nice and fun to see what people have done with the historic houses in town,” she said.

Meyer agreed. He has been restoring the Meyer House, which was built in 1898, for almost five years.

“One of the nice things about a restoration is getting to show it off to people,” he said.

The tour in High Springs will start at the Grady House, where everyone will get a map that tells them a little bit about each house on the tour, in addition to where it is located and how to get there.

“The houses are pretty,” Regensdorf said. “They’re really decorated nicely. It’s just in the holiday spirit.”

The tour in Alachua will begin at the Alachua Woman’s Clubhouse, where the participants will also get a brochure and a map. Everyone will also be given a sandwich bag full of Christmas cookies and a bottle of water.

Though she is not sure which houses will be on the map this year, Horner said the committee that plans the event for Alachua tries to include three or four houses and about three churches. They might even include the public library as well.

“We’ll have houses in the country, and we’ll have houses in town,” Horner said. That way, the people on the tour get the chance to see the homes in the surrounding area and not just downtown Alachua.

Regensdorf said that she likes the fact that the historic homes were houses normal people lived and worked in.

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HISTORIC from page 67 The Grady House was built in 1917 and was used as a boarding house for railroad supervisors. The Easterlin House next door, built in 1896, was the home of the first female mayor of High Springs.

“They’re not mansions,” Regensdorf said. “They were once working-class homes that belonged to working-class people.”

Each house on the High Springs tour will serve a different type of refreshment. Regensdorf said she will probably serve a champagne cocktail and some sort of appetizer.

Both Regensdorf and Horner said there is usually a good turnout for the tours. Regensdorf said there are usually lines of people waiting to get into the houses.

“We get a good response to it,” Regensdorf said.

“People really enjoy it.”

She said the tours, in addition to being a fun holiday family activity, also show off the historic houses in the area, which is an important business in the community.

“I want everybody else to see how pretty it is,” Regensdorf said. “I just wanted to share our home with people.”

Tickets for the High Springs tours will cost $25, all proceeds of which will go to the Main Street Organization for improving and restoring the downtown High Springs area.

“The historic tour is fun and people talk about it and they always ask if we’re going to have it,” Regensdorf said.

Tickets for the Alachua tours will cost $10. The Alachua Woman’s Club will probably be selling hand-crafted ornaments and other decorations at the clubhouse.

Horner and Regensdorf said they only include buildings with historic significance on the tours, and the homeowners are always directly involved.

“I want it to be someone’s home,” Regensdorf said. “I want it to be someplace that someone can’t just walk in. I want it to be a house, a home, where somebody can tell you the history of it.” §

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SPORTS from page 71 1/16 1/18 1/19 1/21 1/26 1/28

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Winter 2009 | 75

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` c c d f WU This year, make a resolution to Embrace Zero Waste.

For more tips on living a more sustainable lifestyle and Embracing Zero Waste

call 374-5213 or visit www.TheWasteWatcher.com

©2009 Alachua County Office of Waste Alternatives

76 | Winter 2009

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS SCHEDULES Mebane Middle School BASKETBALL (Ladies Teams Play First) DATE OPPONENT 1/11 High Springs 1/13 Fort Clarke 1/20 Hawthorne 1/27 Kanapaha 2/1 Lincoln 2/3 Bishop 2/8 Westwood 2/17 Oak View 2/22 High Springs 2/24 Oak View

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Winter 2009 | 77

CHRISTMAS PAPER CRAFTS Have fun with recycled cards

By Diane E. Shepard

T

ry these fun, children-friendly projects and turn recycled cards and cardboard into unique gifts. They are practical and useful, and inexpensive to make because they are made with common household items. Children will love making these for their friends and family.

BOOKLETS

Children love little books. These booklets are fun and easy to make and give as Christmas gifts to classmates and friends. Children may even be inspired to include a drawing and/or a story they have created to illustrate the picture on the front of the booklet.

Materials/Supplies for First Two Crafts: • Yarn or Ribbon (Red or Green) • Typing or Printer Paper • Glue Stick • Assorted Christmas Cards (or All-Occasion/Greeting Cards) • Scissors • Hole Punch • Construction Paper (Red or Green)

1. Select 2-4 cards.

2. Remove the back of each card (not to be used).

3. Cut two card fronts to make them the same size.

4. Glue two cards front to back, for front cover, and same for the back, if desired, or use one card for the front, one for the back.

5. Put the front and back cards together and punch holes along left side 1/2” apart.

6. Cut 5-6 sheets of printer paper to fit inside the two card covers, and punch holes to match cards.

(This will be the pages inside the book).

7. Use two pieces of yarn or ribbon to loosely lace the cards and pages together to form a booklet. *(Young children will need help holding cards for lacing and for tying knots). Lace only one piece of yarn through the last hole. Tie the two ends together to secure the yarn. Do the same thing at the beginning hole. Tie off the front and bottom.

PLANT POT COVER With a little help, children can make these themselves. They make a nice gift for teachers, grandparents or any plant enthusiast.

Variation: *Use alloccasion cards with this project to make the gift for Mother’s Day, Easter, birthdays, etc.

CRAFTS on page 81

78 | Winter 2009

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Protect Your Valuables.

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Guns, Boots & Everything In Between!

3. Trace four trees on green construction paper, cut

CRAFTS from page 78

(Same Materials as for Booklets - see previous page) 1. Choose four cards of the same size or trim four cards to the same size. Glue front and back of each card together.

2. Punch holes along the right and left side 1/2” apart.

3. Lace cards together using two pieces of yarn or ribbon as follows: two cards along one side, other two cards together along one side, pairs together along two other sides. This forms an open-ended square. *(Young children will need help holding cards for lacing and for tying knots). Tie off ending holes by putting only one piece of yarn through the last hole.

Trim yarn and tie two ends together to secure. Do the same thing at the beginning hole. Be sure lacing is loose enough to allow card cover to open up flat.

out, and glue to the four sides of the cardboard tree cutout.

4. Mark dot half way down from top on both tree pieces.

5. On one tree piece, cut a slot from the top down to the halfway mark. On other tree piece, cut a slot up from the bottom, to the halfway mark.

6. Decorate tree pieces with stickers, small pom-poms, hole punch dots, glitter, beads, etc.

7. After all sides of the tree pieces have dried, slip the two tree pieces together into the slots.

*Optional: Make several different sizes for a tree forest. §

4. Set potted flower or plant on a plate or saucer and slip

Diane Shepard is a writer and Mama to two young children. Her next work in progress is a memoir “Keeping Time with Turtles.”

plant cover over and around pot.

CHRISTMAS TREE TABLE DECORATION *Variation: A Snowman, Angel, or Santa could also be made.

diane@towerpublications.com.

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50 Materials: • Cardboard from Cereal Box • Green Construction Paper or Green Gift Wrap • Scissors • White Glue • Various items to decorate tree: Stickers, pompoms, glitter, hole punch dots, beads, etc.

• Paper to cut tree pattern (newspaper or notepaper) 1. Cut tree pattern from a piece of newspaper or notebook paper.

2. Trace tree pattern onto the two larger sides of the cereal box cardboard and cut them out.

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Winter 2009 | 81

SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE

“A Florida Company Doing Business in Florida” Serving Florida since 1934.

G

rowers Fertilizer Corporation is happy to announce the opening of their new store in Newberry, FL. The fully stocked warehouse and retail store is located on Highway 41/27, on the North side of town in the old John Deere building.

“We are ready and wellqualified to provide for all of your fertilizer and crop protection needs. We offer a wide variety of products both for the agricultural industry and for home garden applications.”

With over 65 years of combined experience, our knowledgeable and committed staff stands ready to assist you with your agricultural or outdoor needs and concerns.

Our store offers a wide variety of products for your agricultural, turf and ornamental, lawn, and garden requirements. Our products also include a wide variety of pesticides and herbicides that will handle your toughest problems. Growers Fertilizer can also formulate and manufacture

custom-blended fertilizers, both liquid and dry. Liquid fertilizer can be packaged in a container that suits your needs and dry fertilizer can be bulk or bagged for ease of use. Just tell us what you want and we will be happy to package it to meet your specific needs!

Let us help you develop a comprehensive spray and fertilization program that will meet your requirements and suit your budget. Stop by today to meet our staff and see our new location.

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Winter 2009 | 83

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84 | Winter 2009

SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE

The Pit Bull Overpopulation Problem

I

have had people say to me “You must really hate Pit Bulls, because you want to spay and neuter them all.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

I love Pit Bulls and believe that they are the most abused, overbred, under-appreciated dogs in America. Did you know that almost 40% of all dogs brought to animal shelters are Pit Bulls? Most of them don’t make it out alive, because there are just too many.

Many people don’t care

enough to even bother spaying or neutering. There are several NO- and LOW-cost programs in Alachua County, so money is not really an excuse.

There are untold numbers of unwanted puppies coming in to the shelter just because someone didn’t go to the trouble to do it.

If you breed a litter because your child, your fiancé or your friends say they want puppies, then you’re contributing to the problem.

Pit Bulls have an average of eight

puppies per litter, and even if you give them all away, at least half of them will be bred. Many of those offspring won’t find homes and will end up at the shelter. If someone wants a puppy, there are more than you can count who are already here and waiting for homes. Use the opportunity to teach your child to care about animals and not just themselves. Don’t breed for greed.

– Deborah Cottrell DVM

West End Animal Hospital 15318 West Newberry Road • Newberry, FL 32669 office 352.472.7626 www.westend animal .com SERVING ALACHUA COUNTY FOR 20 YEARS

Deborah Cottrell, DVM ~ Fred Schirmer, DVM ~ Allison Hiers, DVM COMPANION ANIMAL & EXOTICS • LARGE PHARMACY COMPLETE IN-HOUSE LABORATORY • ACUPUNCTURE DIGITAL RADIOLOGY VIDEO OTOSCOPY • SURGERY SUITE DROP-OFF SERVICE • BOARDING • DOCTOR ON CALL 24-HOURS

OPE RATION PIT- N I P FREE SPAY OR NEUTER FOR PITBULLS AND PIT MIXES All dogs must be Alachua County residents and have valid Alachua County Rabies tag.

If your pet is not current, a vaccine and tag can be acquired the day of surgery for $25.00

www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 85

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Vans, trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles may be an additional charge. Extra charge for two tone body work, rust repair and stripping of old paint.

86 | Winter 2009

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS Fantastic Fridays FIRST FRIDAY EACH MONTH (except January) 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Downtown High Springs Carriage rides, music and late-night shops www.city.highsprings.com

High Springs Farmer’s Market Thursdays, 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Corner of Main Street and First Avenue. 386-454-3346

Tioga Town Center Farmer’s Market Mondays, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Jonesville

Newberry’s Backyard Bar-B-Q Business Members Networking Tuesdays, 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Come network. Free appetizers and drink specials. 352-472-7260

High Springs Sewing Society THIRD THURSDAY EACH MONTH 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

The Wellness Spa of High Springs 340 NW 1st. Ave. 386-454-8889

Salsa Aerobics sponsored by CHOICES Mon. and Wed. each month, Noon The Wellness Spa of High Springs 340 NW 1st. Ave. 386-454-8889

Zumba Classes sponsored by CHOICES Every Fri., 10 a.m.

The Wellness Spa of High Springs 340 NW 1st. Ave. 386-454-8889

3rd Annual Newberry Festival of Lights and Holiday Lights Contest Dec. 3, 5 p.m.- 9 p.m.

Downtown Newberry www.newberrymainstreet.org

Alachua Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa Visit Dec. 4, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Alachua City Hall and Alan Hitchcock Park

Cane Grinding Day Dec. 5, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Dudley Farm Historic State Park 352-472-1142

Shop Stroll & Dine in Alachua Dec. 11 and 18 Christmas with Caroling on Main St., Santa and more.

Alachua Annual Christmas Parade Dec. 12, 2 p.m. www.alachua.com

High Springs Twilight Christmas Parade Dec. 12, 6 p.m. www.highsprings.com

Newberry Christmas Parade Dec. 19, 5 p.m.

Downtown Newberry

Alachua Annual Tour of Homes and Churches Dec. 19, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. www.alachuawomansclub.com www.VisitOurTowns.com

High Springs Historic House Tour Dec. 20, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

The Grady House

25th Annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire Jan. 30-31 and Feb. 5-7, Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sun. 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Alachua County Fairgrounds www.gvlculturalaffairs.org

Plow Days Feb. Fri. and Sat. 5 and 6 Dudley Farm Historic State Park 352-472-1142

Newberry Lions Club Farm Toy Show Feb. 6, 12 p.m.

Tractor Parade Oak View Middle School, Newberry

Race the Tortoise 2010 March 13, 8 a.m.

O’Leno State Park This is an out-and-back race along the Park’s scenic, paved main road.

Awards to first three finishers in each age group. Profits from the race will help the Park buy an audio/visual system for training/education and finish establishing its nature center.

386-454-1853.

O’Leno Ole’ Chili Cook-off March 27, 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

O’Leno State Park Registration begins March 1, $20 per chili entry. 386-454-1853 Winter 2009 | 87

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

We are Senior A dvocates C

AREtenders is a leading provider of home health nursing, rehabilitation and personal care services. We are a family of companies with names you can trust. For over thirty years, we have been providing skilled compassionate home health care in our local communities. We bring our expertise into the home - the ideal setting to promote healing, comfort and support to those facing the challenges of aging.

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Our Senior Advocacy philosophy addresses these challenges in a revolutionary new way.

Our clinical team looks beyond the obvious needs of the patient to become advocates in all dimensions of physical, mental and emotional well-being. Our goal is to promote independence, allowing seniors to age in place for as long as possible.

2009 COMMUNITY EDUCATIONAL SERIES Talks regarding Diabetes Education, Medication Management, Alzheimer’s Family/Caregiver Support and more. Free and open to the public. Please call our office for more information

Please call or visit our website for information about our services.

(352) 379-6217 • www.caretenders.com 88 | Winter 2009

“My nurse treated me like family, when my family was unable to take care of me.”

A Special Kind Of Caring...

That’s The Caretenders Tradition We are senior advocates committed to providing home health care that looks beyond the obvious needs of seniors – enabling them to live in their own homes as long as possible.

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Call For More Information About How Caretenders Can Help You.

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www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 89

Walking the Camino Doing at 65 What We Wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Have Dreamed of Doing at 45

Photo by Peg Hall

Camino Day 7: Russ is surrounded by heather, lavender and gorse on the highest part of the trail (about 4500 feet), near La Cruz de Ferro where pilgrims leave a stone they have carried from early on their trek, symbolizing the shedding of life's burdens.

Photos provided by Peg Hall

(Left) Camino Day 1: Peg and Russ start out from Leon on their first full day of trekking.

(Below) Camino Day 15: Russ shares the trail with a group of cows and sheep being herded along by farm dogs.

Photo provided by Peg Hall

Camino Day 11: Peg takes a photo of the vista after arriving at O Cebriero, a tiny mountain village built in the 9th century.

By Peg Hall alk from Gainesville to Savannah carrying 22 pounds on my back... Crazy?

Crazy for sure, if I had picked those particular 200+ miles to walk.

On the other hand, my husband Russ and I just walked about that far in Spain, on the 1,000-year old, 1,000-mile long trail — El Camino de Santiago de Compostela (the Way of St. James, in English) — and it was our best trip ever.

The Camino attracts more than 100,000 hikers annually. They are called pilgrims in accord with the history and heritage of the trail. In the Middle Ages, as many as 500,000 a year are said to have walked the Camino to St. James’ burial place as a pilgrimage.

W

It was January when we made the fateful decision to go. Preparation was a big part of the adventure. We began walking daily. We started dieting, successfully losing as much as our backpacks would weigh. Our Golden Retriever was a loyal companion until we built up to 5-mile distances and then, having 9 dog-years under his fur, he let us know he’d prefer to skip the longer training walks.

Mostly we walked near home, including at the San Felsaco Hammock State Preserve, where the 5.8-, 4.6-, and 2.5-mile trails are full of birds, deer, feral pigs, turtles, wildflowers, oaks, pines — and benches. The

www.VisitOurTowns.com

continued on next page Winter 2009 | 91

"The rule of thumb, we learned, is that your backpack should weigh no more than 10 to 15 percent of what you weigh." trails even have a few Florida hills, which was the best we could do to prepare us for Spain’s version of the same.

We joined the organization American Pilgrims on the Camino, and started following their, and other, web discussions. We researched — and bought — all kinds of nifty gear! Nothing cotton ... it doesn’t dry overnight.

Everything lightweight.

We studied up on hiking boots, raingear, high-tech shirts, pants, socks and even underwear (anti-microbial, if you can imagine such a thing). Lightweight guidebooks with big-print maps, with descriptions and phone numbers of places to stay, found their way into our collection

of essentials, along with a cheap cell phone that would work in Europe.

The rule of thumb, we learned, is that your backpack should weigh no more than 10 to 15 percent of what you weigh. The lightweight packs weigh 3 to 5 pounds empty, leaving 12 to 15 pounds for all your stuff — including water to drink along the way.

We put together a presentation about the Camino and gave it at PrimeTime at Santa Fe College, and NARFE, an association of federal employees. It was a chance to show off our purchases, and to have people try on our backpacks and try out our walking sticks.

When the big day arrived in mid-May, we flew to Madrid, took a train to León and booked ourselves into a monastery-turned-pilgrim inn for a recovery day. Then we strapped on our packs, and it all began.

We walked for 22 days in a row. We amazed ourselves by doing things now in our 60s that we never would have considered doing a few decades ago... like walking for almost a month in a foreign country where we speak the language only haltingly, carrying everything we need on our backs, confidently following little yellow arrows painted on trees and rocks by unknown trail-keepers.

The Camino smiled almost nothing but sunshine on

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us for the first 19 days, and gave us temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Perfect! Then it drizzled part of days 20 and 21, and poured on the last day. We rejoiced in our luck, knowing it would be foolish to expect no rain at all for three weeks straight.

Each day we got up about 7:00, started walking about 8:00, stopped for our first café con leche within a couple of hours and our second after a couple more. We arrived at our day’s destination between noon and 2:00 having walked 10 miles, on average.

You will note that our pace was more tortoise than hare, with plenty of time for picture-taking, being awestruck by the vistas, talking to other hikers, trying out local foods and wines, exploring villages, and smelling the roses that bloomed everywhere. The trail goes through woods and fields, avoids traffic and noise most of the time; it channels pilgrims through remote, quaint, very old towns.

Pilgrim spending is a major financial resource for the villages. Nevertheless, our cost per-day for everything, including hotels, food, one flight (the other used frequent flier miles) and the trains, was about $75 apiece.

After collapsing for a short rest, we’d shower, wash our hiking clothes so they’d dry by morning, put on our other set of duds (we only brought two of each thing), and just enjoy the place we’d ended up. Afternoon siestas restored our muscles and late dinners restored our spirits.

Although the afternoons and evenings created rich memories, the Camino is really all about the walking. On this León-to-Santiago section, the route is well worn by centuries of pilgrim feet and decades of local attention.

At first, we walked on wide trails of packed clay or on rural roads. We crossed the high plain, El Páramo, a region some guidebooks called bleak but we found beautiful — in a New Mexico high-country way. We skirted

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snow-capped peaks. The villages we walked through probably looked little different when the pilgrims of the Middle Ages came through.

After a few days, the trail narrowed to a rocky path, and crossed open, rolling hills covered with so many lavender, heather and gorse bushes that even the air seemed to be purple and yellow. Wind turbines on distant ridges were the major 21st century reminders.

Charming accommodations were abundant.

Ah, yes, the accommodations. Many pilgrims stay in “alberques,” pilgrim hostels costing less than $12 a night.

They are first-come-first-served, one-night stays, in bunk beds. Room sizes vary from 4-person to over 100-person.

Despite hearing that they are “part of the Camino experience,” we didn’t stay in any. We opted for a small hotel in bigger places and a casa rural in smaller ones. A casa rural is like a boarding house or B&B. They tend to be rustic, fieldstone houses. They have a small number of rooms, some with shared baths. We opted for a bath in our room every night.

I talked with a British hiker who loved the experience of the alberques but failed to convince me that I would, especially when she described all the snoring and the constant nighttime parade of pilgrims climbing down

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from their bunk beds to go to the bathrooms down the hall. She said the albergue pilgrims called us casa rural pilgrims, the fluffy towel crowd. For us, fluffy is good.

Russ and I walked independently, not with a tour or a guide. Most hikers did the same, just two people together following the abundant trail markers. But we were almost never out of sight of other hikers. We met them in the restaurants, in the coffee bars and where we stayed. We often saw the same folks again in another village.

We also met many pilgrims, both men and women, walking solo. Guided walks, with your backpack taxiing on ahead of you, were also abundant and popular.

The walking was the best part, just walking, being on our own two feet and crossing a big part of a whole country. We tried to pin down why that felt so good. The pleasure of successfully doing something at 65 that we wouldn’t have done, maybe couldn’t have done at 45, was part of it. But it also was the pace, the color, the plants, the hills, the towns, the people, the ghosts of pilgrims-past sharing our stone-walled rooms in ancient dwellings.

We may now be addicted to trekking. We will look for other long walks to take. But it is hard, for a while at least, to imagine anything to match what we found on the Camino. §

"Russ and I walked independently, not with a tour or a guide. Most hikers did the same, just two people together following the abundant trail markers."

Peg Hall, a Gainesville resident, is a retired university administrator and faculty member. She has written a book and more than a dozen articles for scholarly and professional publications. She and her husband, Russ, are working on a book to be published later this year about the New American Cheese.

Blog http://www.pegandruss.blogspot.com

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96 | Winter 2009

T he Garden Way Favorite Christmas Plants that Thrive, Year after Year

By Debbie DeLoach, Ph.D.

I

n North Florida our Christmas season is accompanied by an array of both traditional and uniquely American Christmas plants. Hollies, living Christmas trees, southern magnolias, poinsettias, Christmas cactus and mistletoe are foremost on this list. Luckily, with a little effort and knowledge, we can keep these plants growing year round so they are available for display when the holiday season returns each year.

While much of our winter landscape goes dormant and leafless, hollies remain green and provide the added counterpoint of red berries. Many holly varieties grow well here, but only female plants produce berries. Dwarf varieties are frequently sterile and also lack berries. Most hollies are shrubs, although a few, such as the American holly, are trees.

Even the shrubs can grow very large, so learn the size at maturity of your holly choices before purchasing, and be sure that your chosen variety will not outgrow its allotted space. Most hollies thrive with moderate water in light shade to full sun. They love acid soil, so slow-release azalea fertilizer, used according to the package instructions, is great.

Living Christmas trees are actually potted trees you can plant in your yard following the holidays.

The University of Florida is hosting their Annual Poinsettia Show and Sale on December 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the greenhouses behind Fifield Hall on campus. The event is free. Students in the Environmental Horticulture Club will be selling a wide variety of poinsettias as a fundraiser for their organization. Enter campus from Southwest 34th Street onto Hull Road and follow the signs.

Traditional trees of northern climes aren’t suited to our protracted summer heat and humidity, but three conifers that grow well here stand out and are sold in pots. Dr. Susan Kossuth, of BK Cedars in Alachua, recommends our native red cedar while Bill DuBois, of Bill DuBois Christmas Tree Farm in High Springs, recommends the ‘Carolina Safire,’ a variety of Arizona cypress. Both thrive in dry areas. Leyland cypress is a third choice and it prefers fertile soil with regular water applied in the morning. All of these trees get quite large and prefer full sun.

The large, stiff leaves of our southern magnolia provide a textural contrast to the smaller leaves of hollies and the coniferous needles in our winter décor and flower arrangements. We also appreciate the contrasting sides of the leaves of this uniquely American Christmas plant. The top is deep, shiny green while the bottom is fuzzy and orange-brown.

Southern magnolias prefer full sun and flourish with

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regular water or moist soil. Trees planted in welldrained, arid soils will suffer and may succumb to pests and disease. The roots are very sensitive, so don’t drive anything heavier than your riding lawnmower over the root area.

Poinsettias brighten our holidays with perfect Christmas colors of red and green. Now, thanks to floriculturists such as those at the University of Florida, we can choose from a vast array of colors, ranging from blood red to pink to white with stripes, speckles and crinkles, too. UF Horticulture Professor Robert Black, author of “Dr. Bob’s Gardening Tips,” advises us to keep our poinsettias in a cool, dry, sunny location once they begin to fade and drop their leaves.

Keep the soil lightly moist and continually pinch back new growth that reaches four to five inches long. In September, stop pinching and be sure your poinsettias get absolutely no light at night. Fertilize three times a year — spring, summer, and fall.

Christmas cactus, a popular, low-maintenance pot plant, provides an annual bounty of eye-popping winter blooms. Gene McAvoy, Horticulture Agent with the Hendry County Extension Service, recommends withholding water for six weeks after

blooming, and using a rich, well-drained potting mix.

Remember, this is a cactus, so don’t let it sit in water.

Starting in late winter the plant needs frequent, very weak fertilizing, and water only when the top inch of the soil is dry. For an easy care regimen just mix the fertilizer in your water so your cactus gets a very dilute feeding every time you add water. Keep your cactus outside in bright light but avoid direct sunlight. In North Florida, our 50 to 60 degree F autumn nights will trigger the bloom response, but do not leave your cactus outside in weather colder than that.

Finally, let’s not forget mistletoe. This isn’t a plant you can grow because it doesn’t use soil. It roots on and in the branches of hardwood trees, pulling water and minerals from the tree and returning food to the tree in exchange for its hospitality. Mistletoe is poisonous, so wash your hands after handling it and keep it away from children. Drawbacks aside, it is the food plant for caterpillars of the lovely Purple Hairstreak butterfly. And don’t forget, your Christmas festivities would be just a bit duller without a sprig of mistletoe hanging from a doorway. § Debbie DeLoach, Ph.D. is a freelance writer and garden consultant living in Gainesville.

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Dreaming of a White Christmas

By Albert Isaac

G

rowing up in Miami offered little opportunity to see snow, save for one winter in 1977 when the white stuff came down and the headlines screamed, “Snow in Miami!” I inscribed the word “SNOW” in the ice on my windshield and took a photo.

Nevertheless, this was not the first time I’d experienced snow. When I was 5 years old, my family lived in North Carolina. And although I’ve seen photos of my siblings and me bundled up like Eskimos, I can’t say I have any real memories of the snow. I remember other things, such as Halloween when I was a pirate and my brother was a ghost who continually stumbled because

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his sheet had twisted and his eye-holes were on the back of his head. My sister was a fairy princess, which I thought was totally inappropriate for Halloween because she was not scary like pirates and ghosts.

Winter came and everything froze, but I only know the stories my parents have told me. Such as the one about my younger brother who was bundled with so many layers of clothing when he fell down he could not get back up.

Or the one about Dad, on an icy mountain road, trying to stop his car from sliding off the cliff. As the story goes, he got out to hold it, hands on the hood, feet sliding on the slick surface. Mom no doubt considered him a lunatic, but somehow he stopped it.

Mom said those winters were so cold sparks would fly when she put the keys in the ignition.

After a year of three beautiful seasons and one of bitter cold, we moved back to Miami. Our blood thinned. Winters in Miami to us soon became so cold I had to put socks on my hands to ride my bike (we didn’t own gloves). Meanwhile, our next-door neighbor had family members visiting from up north that would sunbath in the backyard. In bathing suits.

While we froze.

I was 19 before I saw snow again. A childhood friend and I went to the mountains. All around us was a winter wonderland. I remember the remarkable silence a blanket of snow can offer, the only sound the crunch of our tennis shoes in the snow. Yes, tennis shoes. We were too stupid I mean cheap to buy boots.

I remember the prismatic sparkle of every step, as the bright sun glinted on the crystalline surface. It was surreal. It was beautiful.

In college, I brought my friends to the family homestead of my aunt and uncle. Six of us crammed into a Duster. Upon coming to our first patches of newly fallen snow, one of my fellow-Floridians badgered me to stop the car so he could get out and play.

Eventually, I capitulated. He hopped out of the car and, much to our amusement, immediately slipped on the ice and busted his butt. He crawled back into the car grumbling about the cold.

Yes, it does get cold in dem dere mountains. But is also gets cold in High Springs — indeed, sometimes it

even snows.

It was the day before Christmas Eve, 1989, when the temperature dropped and so did the snow. Santa had delivered a new swing set that year, and Santa’s helpers (my wife and I) had one day to assemble it while our daughter was away with the grandparents.

The wind blew snow off the roof Meanwhile, our and onto our next-door neighbor exposed necks. had family members We quickly discovered we visiting from up north could not thread that would sunbath in nuts and bolts the backyard. In bathing while wearing gloves. I don’t suits. While we froze. think my hands have been that cold since I had to lie on my back on the frozen asphalt to remove tire chains in NC. But we persevered. We assembled as much as we could in the living room. Then we hauled the pieces outside and put it together, barehanded, in the bitter cold.

Then we played. We sled down our backyard on a piece of cardboard. Our white cat caught its first bird (it pays for a cat to be white when it snows — then again, the bird may have frozen to death).

Icicles hung on the fence, and the frozen field behind us glittered and sparkled like a million tiny prismatic Christmas lights.

Since then we’ve taken the family on several trips to frolic in the snow, to have snowball fights, to make snowmen and to make memories. For us southerners, it’s always a miraculous thing to experience — especially since we can come home to milder winters. §

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he annual Pond Lighting at North Florida Regional Medical Center is always a special event. This year, that is even more true. On December 4, 2009, we will mark the 20th annual Pond Lighting!

Our festivities take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the shores of our duck pond.

During a season that is all about giving, Pond Lighting mirrors that spirit because it is a gift to the community from North Florida Regional Medical Center employees, volunteers and their families. Each year, dozens of people plan, design and work to make certain Pond Lighting happens without a hitch. They expect nothing back. They love working for Pond Lighting, and it gives them joy each time to watch their guests experience the event.

On this 20th anniversary Pond Lighting, thousands of people will find their way to the duck pond and enjoy 50,000 lights and displays, visiting with Santa and Mrs. Claus, Rudolph and his reindeer, Frosty and -- of course -- Mr. Grinch. Local entertainers will lead the way in performing the music of the season. Storm Roberts will be back once again from 98.5 WKTK-FM to serve as master of ceremonies.

All are welcome for Pond Lighting. Guests do not need to bring any money because the event is free. Please bring your holiday spirit and enjoy complimentary cookies, hot chocolate and coffee.

We look forward to seeing you!

More information is available by calling (352) 333-4970.

104 | Winter 2009

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Diana Fava believes anyone can learn to be an artist.

“Sometimes, all it takes is slowing down and learning how to see,” Diana recently said.

“Learning how to see things for what they really are, that is the key to becoming an artist.”

Diana is a High Springs resident and owner of Diana’s Originals. Her love of art and the study of the creative process is a passion she’s enjoyed for many years. Diana is a teacher of several local art programs, including the popular Flora & Fauna with Arts & Medicine program at Shands Hospital, and she enjoys sharing this passion through group and private art lessons held in her converted studio home. She also paints the homeless at St. Francis House every month.

Designed for all skill levels, Diana’s classes are limited in size to allow for a more intimate relationship between student and teacher.

Known as a teacher of technique, her weekly classes of 4-6 students lasts six weeks and are available for students of all skill levels, from beginner to the advanced artist. Private lessons are also available and designed for those students who want or need more individualized attention.

An area artist for many years, Diana recently featured some of her own work at the annual Thornebrook Fine Art Show.

As a winner of an award of distinction, one piece was selected as the t-shirt design for next year’s 2010 show. Known for her work with watercolors, Diana also works with water-soluble oils, mixed media and scratch art. Much of her work is on display and available for purchase in her personal gallery located within her home studio. Located only 20 minutes from Gainesville, this local artist is excited to work with budding artists.

“Many times I get students who have always wanted to learn to paint, but for one reason or another, never did,” Diana said.

“They never took the time to slow down and do something for themselves. Never took the time to take that leap of faith or courage it takes to learn something new. I love helping them leap!

I love helping them learn!”

If you would like additional information on Diana’s art classes, information about the programs she’s involved with or interested in touring her personal gallery, give her a call at 386-454-4130 or visit: www.DianaFava.com

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Winter 2009 | 105

Getting It All Done Time Management 101 for Busy Families

By Diane E. Shepard Feel like there is never enough time in the day to get everything done? Read on for key timesaving strategies.

Linda Richards, a professional organizer and business owner in Gainesville, emphasizes the “we’re all in this together/teamwork” philosophy for families.

“Anything parents can do to involve their children in learning to take care of their home and their personal lives, helps the children become more capable, responsible adults,” Richards said. “And at the same time, it eases some of the burden on the parents’ shoulders.”

GETTING OUT THE DOOR Get ready for the next day the night before. Have kids choose their clothes and lay them out. Mom and dad do the same. Make lunches ahead of time, too.

Make it a family activity by allowing kids to help choose and to prepare.

Have a place by the door to store keys, backpacks, purses, briefcases, coats, umbrellas, portfolios — everything needed for the day.

106 | Winter 2009

Richards suggested posting a ‘to-go’ checklist by the door to help everyone remember everything they need each morning.

“For very young children, a picture of each item works well,” she said.

If every morning is a last-minute panic rush for the family, try timing how long it takes for everyone’s morning routine from bed to car (and everything in between).

“You may see it actually takes longer than you thought,” Richards said. “Many people simply are not realistic about the amount of time needed to get ready, and once they adjust their time frame their mornings run much more smoothly.”

“If you have a baby or a toddler, pad the time you plan to leave with about 10 minutes extra to help you with that unexpected messy diaper or finding that lost shoe,” Richards said.

“Synchronize clocks. Some can be off by as much as 10 minutes,” she added.

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Plan meals in advance (at first of the week). Prepare a weekly menu and buy all at once. When preparing a meal, make enough food for leftovers to cover one or two nights. Include each family member’s favorites a few times a week.

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parents, but it also teaches children crucial life skills.

Even younger children can help cook, set the table or unload the dishwasher.

“I’ll never forget how amazed I was once when visiting my sister’s family,” Richards said. “I watched in awe as I saw her children clear the table, without argument, right after we ate.”

Richards said her sister’s children had always had jobs like this, so it was completely automatic and natural for them to do so.

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“The old adage ‘many hands make light work’ certainly is true,” Richards said.

Involving children in all aspects of housekeeping that they can safely do will help both kids and parents. It is beneficial for all children to learn the basics like vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, dusting, and doing dishes.

Not only does it increase their self-esteem, but it also teaches them responsibility. Sure, they may complain, but learning to care for a home is a life skill that they will come to appreciate when they get older, Richards said. Just be sure to praise their efforts and show sincere appreciation for their help, she emphasized.

“I had my three kids start doing their own laundry at age 12,” Richards said.

Laundry is a huge issue for many families. Richards advises her clients that it does not matter whether they do it daily or weekly, “as long as it is all put away and 100 percent done on wash day.”

If it is not, she suggested doing it a different way, and finding the schedule that works for one’s lifestyle. If the laundry is getting done but not making it into the bedroom drawers, she suggests purging the drawers.

Most often, what is in them is not being used, she said.

Then there will be room.

No more hand-washing delicates. Wash them in the delicate cycle in mesh bags.

Invest in clothes that require no ironing.

Richards recommended trying to keep the dishwasher, trash cans, and washer and dryer emptied as soon as they are full.

GROCERY SHOPPING Always use a list. Keep it on the computer for easy and quick updating. It should include all the normal staples, just add any new items accordingly. To eliminate backtracking, arrange the grocery list into general TIME MANAGEMENT on page 110

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TIME MANAGEMENT from page 108 sections like, “Dairy,” “Frozen” and “Produce,” following the order in which the items are located in the store.

Post the list on the fridge. Train all family members who are old enough to add to the list any items they finish, Richards said.

Avoid shopping during the busiest times, typically 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. One working mom with three young children does her grocery shopping Monday nights after they are tucked in bed, when her husband is home to watch them.

Take advantage of “2-for-1” sales and stockpile. This cuts down on last-minute supermarket trips.

TECHNOLOGY TIME-SUCKERS Technology is great, but it can eat away the time in the day. Limit computer gaming, Internet and television time. Americans watch an average of four hours a night.

Do not get bogged down in e-mail and instant messaging. If necessary, set a timer. Turn off the automatic notification sound. Check e-mail just twice a day.

Screen calls with answering machines and caller ID. Be aware how much time is spent on cell phones

and Blackberrys.

If any of these are problem areas, consider what Richards calls a “technology diet.” Try giving up one electronic device for the day or even an hour.

UTILIZE SHORT-CUTS Whenever possible, pay bills and shop online.

CALENDARING With families being so busy these days, Richards advised using some kind of calendar system to manage activities. Use one family calendar (perhaps a dry-erase style). Post in a high-traffic area like the kitchen.

She recommended holding a family meeting once a week (perhaps Sunday) to discuss the upcoming week’s activities and to arrange for any rides, appointments or variations in the normal schedule.

Every night (perhaps at dinner) meet to review everyone’s schedule for the next day, to confirm things and address any changes.

Richards cautioned that if there is not enough white space in the family calendar, then the family may be TIME MANAGEMENT on page 112

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TIME MANAGEMENT from page 110 over-scheduled.

Brainstorm time-management issues as a family.

“Kids are very creative and might just come up with a unique solution you’d never thought of before,” Richards said.

To avoid being caught off-guard, check young children’s backpacks every day for important papers, permission slips and notifications.

EVERYONE NEEDS DOWNTIME Parents are the guardians of their children’s free time and solitude. Take care not to over-book their days.

Children of all ages must have downtime to play.

Try limiting children’s activities to one or two a week.

(Parents may want to try this, too). Let children choose to keep the activities that mean the most to them.

Arrange car-pooling with other parents.

These things can dramatically reduce the entire family’s stress level.

Another benefit, Richards said, is that this may also teach kids “that life does not have to be a ‘blur’ of racing from one activity to the next, and it might even help them live a more balanced life as an adult.”

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Strive to preserve the family dinner hour. The family who eats together and shares together stays together. Cut down or eliminate activities that occur during this time.

“I once heard a home economist say that many kids are not learning basic conversational skills and manners anymore because they eat alone while watching TV or [playing] video games,” Richards said.

Another benefit to being together is kids will often open up to share concerns when they are engrossed in an activity such as setting the table, she said.

SET PRIORITY GOALS FOR EACH DAY “Remember that there is a difference between being productive and being busy,” Richards said. “Focus on one to three top priority goals daily and let the less important activities fill in the cracks that open up in your day.”

Then, at the end of the day, “you can feel a sense of accomplishment for staying on task with your most important priorities, instead of getting sidetracked all day with less significant things, which makes you feel very busy but leaves you with a feeling of frustration,” she said. § Diane Shepard is a freelance writer from the Green Cove Springs area. She may be contacted at diane@towerpublications.com

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Committed to creating an extraordinary experience for the customer, owners Bill Decarlis and Graylan Franklin worked tirelessly to build a salon that not only provided the best the industry had to offer in terms of tanning equipment, but do so within an elegant and tasteful design.

“We tried to make something special,” said coowner Bill Decarlis. “We want everyone to enjoy their tanning experience with us and feel like they’re getting the best quality tan they can have.” His

commitment to personalized service allows for a safe and secure experience.

With nine rooms dedicated to tanning, consisting of eight beds and one stand-up booth, the latest in tanning technology awaits you. Closely monitored tanning sessions along with multi-level intensity beds allows for an even, non-burning tanning session. Spray tanning sessions are also available. TAN USA’s certified staff will help you achieve your specific objectives by offering a wide variety of tanning programs designed to meet your every need.

Having owned Gold’s Gym in Gainesville for more than 15

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Stop by and check out their newest location in the heart of Alachua next to Moe’s or call them at 386-518-6010 to arrange a tour. Open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.4 p.m., TAN USA is waiting to help you look great!

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Winter 2009 | 113

P

T H F t s e

Bats in the Belfry?

Much-maligned bats bring beneďŹ ts

By Albert Isaac

B

ats have flown the night skies for 50 million years. They can be found living on every continent in the world, except Antarctica.

They can range in size from the smallest creature weighing less than a penny to a fruit-eating flying fox with a wingspan of six feet. Some pollinate crops, and 70 percent of all the bats in the world devour insects.

Many small insectivorous bats can eat up to 2,000 114 | Winter 2009

mosquito-sized insects in one night. Yet, despite the many benefits bats offer they still strike fear into the hearts of many.

Through the years, bats have received less attention than more popular animals such as tigers, elephants and rhinos, and thus receive less funding for conservation-related activities, according to the Lubee Bat Conservancy in Gainesville.

“Decades of neglect by scientists and conservation biologists have left over half of the 1,116 bat species on our planet classified as threatened or near threatened with extinction,” states the Lubee Web page.

Each October, for one day only, the conservancy hosts the Bat Festival, opening their doors to the public so visitors may see these remarkable flying foxes up close. Fruit bats are not native to the United States but are vulnerable to extinction. The Lubee Bat Conservancy focuses their attention on fruit bats because they are vital to the world’s rainforests, deserts, and to the economies of developing countries.

Although perhaps seldom seen, bats are prevalent. One group of bats, known as foliage dwellers, live in the leaves and Spanish moss of trees while another group, known as crevice dwellers, live in places like caves, sinkholes and football stadiums.

“These are completely separate groups and never the twain shall meet,” said Deborah Cottrell, a veterinarian at the West End Animal Hospital in Photo by Albert Isaac Newberry. Her interest in The bat house at West End Animal Hospital houses thousands of Mexican bats began in the mid-90s Free-Tails and Evening Bats. Barriers on when bats were found the poles prevent predators such as living in a nearby old snakes from climbing into the house and hardware store. eating the bats.

“They had bats up in the shingles,” Cottrell said. “The baby bats would fall out sometimes and not be able to get back up.”

Cottrell was called upon to help rescue the baby bats.

“And that’s when I started learning about them,” she said.

Around 1999-2000, Cottrell became involved with the University of Florida’s Bat House when Pest Management Coordinator Ken Glover called upon her after finding injured and orphaned bats that had fallen out of the house.

“The bat house was completely cutting edge, nobody knew what the bats would like,” Cottrell said. “I helped to come up with and design the extra roosting slats that they put on the UF bat house, which helped the babies because it would help prevent them from falling.”

The UF Bat House was finished in 1991 but it took four years before bats began moving in. Over the years, the bat population has continued to grow until an estimated 100,000 bats held residence.

Bat Facts Bats are mammals, in the order of Chiroptera, which means hand-wing.

All living bat species fit into one of two major groups, the Microchiroptera or the Megachiroptera.

Like humans, bats give birth to poorly developed young and nurse them from a pair of pectoral breasts.

All bats can see, but some use a special sonar system called echolocation.

A bat’s body is best adapted for hanging upside down. Its knees face backwards. Bats have specialized tendons that hold their toes in place so they are able to cling to their roosts without expending any energy.

In fact, bats must flex their muscles in order to let go of the roosting surface.

Vampire bats do not actually suck blood. They lap it up like a dog drinking water from a bowl.

There are just three species of vampire bats in the world and they all live in Latin America.

The oldest bat caught in the wild was a banded little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), which was 34 years old at the time of recapture.

- Courtesy of Bat Conservation International

continued on next page

www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 115

“The use of bats on organic farms can reduce pesticide use by 50 percent.”

Then, on August 16, 2009, the slats inside the bat house collapsed under the weight of the inhabitants. Some bats were killed, many others became homeless.

But as bad as it was, it could have been worse.

“It was really, really fortunate that this did not happen during the maternity season when there were thousands of babies attached to those slats that couldn’t fly,” Cottrell said. “Bat babies in North America are born the first week in June.”

The collapse occurred right after weaning, Cottrell said. She suspects the bats were vibrating their wings, warming up to do their evening fly-out, and all that vibration probably contributed to the collapse.

Repairs to the bat house were completed by the first week of October.

“Within three weeks they began moving back in,” Ken Glover said in a recent telephone interview. He expects the repaired house to fi ll up soon. “If the occupancy rate that we observed continues on track, it should be full by next spring.”

Glover has been with the bat house project from nearly the beginning. The idea was conceived and plans were developed just prior to his arrival to UF. “I got to watch the house being built,” Glover said.

Glover gained experience with exclusions; modifying the places on campus where bats live so when they fly out in the evening they cannot get back in. This way bats

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have to find new places to hang out.

“We build a one-way door,” he said.

Glover said that by October 22, bats occupied the first 10 fins of the structure inside the bat house. By the 26th, about 56 fins were being used. Glover said he is seeing an exponential increase in occupancy.

With plenty of food and water for these flying mammals, Glover said the only limiting factor is available habitat. For this reason, UF intends to build another bat house near the existing structure.

“There are plans being developed by the physical plant division — architects and engineers — within 10-20 feet of the existing building,” Glover said. “It is in the planning stages. The UF athletic association has committed some money to this project and Bacardi has committed some money.”

The late Luis F. Bacardi founded the Lubee Bat Conservancy in 1989. However, the Lubee Bat Conservancy is no longer funded by the current Bacardi Corporation; it is now an independent non-profit, relying on grants and donations to function.

Despite the bat’s reputation of being a rabies-carrying flying rodent that sucks blood and makes nests in women’s hair, they are actually fragile creatures, mammals that provide many ecological benefits, from pollination to insect control.

“Bats eat a lot of bugs,” Cottrell said. “The use of bats on organic farms can reduce pesticide use by 50 percent.”

According to a UF IFAS Extension Web site, “Bats consume insects that are major pests of agricultural crops. Several species that occur in Florida have been reported to play important roles in reducing crop damage in other states.”

In south central Texas, bats can consume 4 billion corn earworm moths per night. Th is reduction in insecticide application could save farmers $19/ acre on conventional cotton fields and $35/acre on

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Top: This bat easily fits in the hand of Veterinarian Deborah Cottrell. This bat had been injured. Once they recover, the injured bats are released.

Bottom: A fruit bat climbs in the cage at a recent Bat Festival held in October at the Lubee Bat Conservancy in Gainesville.

transgenic cotton fields.

“The value of the pest control services bats provide for cotton producers in south-central Texas was estimated to be $741,000 per year,” states the Web site.

Plus, bat guano makes good fertilizer.

While bats, like all mammals, can have rabies, the chances are less than those of other wild animals, Cottrell said.

“The incidence of rabies in bats is about one-half of 1 percent,” Cottrell said, “compared to indigenous raccoon and skunk populations, which run anywhere from 10 to 20 percent. But of course, if you find a downed bat on the ground, that is going to increase the chances that it could have rabies.”

Both Cottrell and Glover urge people not to touch bats.

“If you find a bat on the ground, it does not mean it has rabies. It could be a baby,” Cottrell said. “But you can’t really take any chances, so you never, ever handle a bat barehanded. You can pick it up in a towel, put it in a box and call us.”

Cottrell said when someone handles a bat barehanded they are more than likely condemning that bat to death.

“If the health department finds out you have handled a bat barehanded they will kill it and test it for rabies,” Cottrell said. “This is an important message I try really hard to get parents’ to convey to their kids. We have these tragic cases — tragic for the bat anyway — all the time, where somebody will bring in an injured bat that they found, but their kid had picked it up and petted it and that’s it. That’s death for the bat. Period.”

One reason people can easily come into contact with bats is because bats do not fear people, Cottrell said.

Sometimes bats get into homes and people often overreact and start hitting them with brooms.

“There’s no reason to kill a bat,” Cottrell said. “Just call us.”

Bat problems? Call Deborah or Iaon Cottrell at West End Animal Hospital: 352-472-7626. § Albert Isaac is Editor-in-Chief at Tower Publications. He has lived in High Springs with his family since 1987. editor@ towerpublications.com.

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Winter 2009 | 117

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When Students Travel

By Donna Bonnell

S

how different these inexperienced individuals would be after a trip that would change their lives. Mrs. van Montfrans asked her students to keep a log of their feelings. Quotes from their journals best tell the story.

Right after leaving Kaylee Parsons wrote, “I’m beyond stoked to be leaving little old Newberry and receiving a taste of the real world ... I feel I’m really going to meet a better quality of people on this trip, people not yet corrupted by the ‘I want bigger, better, shinier attitude!’”

omething remarkable happens when youth travel outside their small town safety zone. They return educated and ready to make a positive difference.

Nine Newberry High School (NHS) students made an extraordinary journey on an EcoTeach trip to Costa Rica.

They rescued sea turtles, planted trees and delivered school supplies to needy children. Providing those services was a great global gift, but the planet gained much more.

Veronica van Montfrans, science teacher at NHS, introduced her plan when the students were underclassmen. It seemed like an unattainable goal, as many had never ventured far from home.

Photo by Veronica van Montfrans In addition, the trip was costly NHS Teacher, Trip Sponsor and the economy was suffer(ABOVE) Nine Newberry ing. Fundraising was a major High School students make a undertaking. Nine persevered difference in Costa Rica. and met the challenge. Two years Wes Beardsley, Naomi Daniels, later, their dreams came true.

Linda Davis, Matt Evans, Olivia Hardy, Danni Johnson, Wes Beardsley, Naomi Gavin Johnson, Sean McCauley Daniels, Linda Davis, Matt and Kaylee Parsons sort Evans, Olivia Hardy, Danni school supplies to donate Johnson, Gavin Johnson, Sean to needy children.

McCauley, Kaylee Parsons and Photo by Naomi Daniels, Newberry High School Senior their sponsor, Veronica van Newberry High 2009 Graduate, Danni Johnson, with two Costa Rican students.

Montfrans, were finally ready for their 10-day adventure abroad.

Communication would be difficult, as telephone and Naomi Daniels noted while on her first plane ride, Internet service is limited in Central America.

“When you are on the ground looking up at the sky, and With some reluctance, the time came for parents to continued on next page say goodbye. What their families did not realize is just www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 119

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the clouds so far in the sky, it is amazing. But to actually be eyelevel with the clouds is a dream come true!”

On their first day, the EcoTeach group went to a local grocery store to purchase phone cards. In front of the business, a poacher was blatantly selling illegal turtle eggs. By seeing this conservation crime firsthand, they realized the enormity of ecological concerns. A horrified Danni Johnson recorded, “... exact thing we came to help prevent. It was crazy to see.”

In the days that followed, they learned how to help protect the fragile environment by working turtle walk shifts to ward off poachers, digging up fresh sand for a turtle hatchery and transplanting leatherback eggs.

Sean McCauley spotted hatchlings crawling out of the ground in one of the walkways by the turtle hut. They rescued the babies from a death of suffocation in the compacted sand. An enlightened McCauley stated, “I feel so great about finding/saving those baby turtles!

Valerie (their host) said those eggs were probably put there by poachers as a slap in the face ...and I found them!”

Their rigorous schedule included working on a reforestation project, living with host families and discovering the joys and challenges of living a simple life. They embraced foreign surroundings by white water-rafting, zip lining through the forest, swimming in a hot springs warmed by a nearby volcano and lunching with the Malako tribe.

Exhilarated by what she witnessed, van Montfrans returned to NHS and shared amazing stories about nine students who left Newberry as children and came back world ambassadors.

Gavin Johnson’s journal entry summed up the experience perfectly. “Costa Rica is a beautiful place.

The people and nature have so much to offer to anyone who is willing to learn. The people of Costa Rica are so humble. Even though they have so little, they would give it all away to someone who needed more. This experience has taught me to take life as it comes and never pass up the chance to make a memory.”

Johnson’s thought-provoking quote brought a smile to his teacher’s face.

“The turtles of Costa Rica have a great lesson to teach as well. Though a turtle cannot walk faster than one mile per hour in the sand, they can swim over one hundred miles a day. Life is not about how fast you go, it is about how far you go.” § Donna Bonnell is a freelance writer who moved to Newberry in 1983. She enjoys living and working in the town she now calls home. Donna@towerpublications.com

120 | Winter 2009

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CRACKER KITCHEN IS COOKING A visit with author Janis Owens

By Marisella Veiga

T

he front dining room at Conestogas Restaurant on Main Street in Alachua buzzed with people’s greetings and the high and low tones of conversation. About 35 women had reserved seats to enjoy dinner and a conversation with a favorite Florida author — Janis Owens.

Servers brought pitchers of iced tea. Readers cracked open roasted peanut shells from the baskets on the tables while reviewing the menu selections. Hardcover copies of the author’s new book, “The Cracker Kitchen” — a cookbook with histories, recipes and stories — were passed from hand to hand.

Some fans brought copies of Owens’ other books for her to sign. Three of Owens’ literary novels are set in Florida. The covers of “My Brother Michael,” “Myra Sims” and “The Schooling of Claybird Catts” peeked out of tote bags resting against the legs of the dining room chairs. Here and there, a stack of books was piled next to a place setting.

Rosanne Morse, who owns The Pink Porch Bookstore just down the street from the restaurant, introduced the author. She organized the mid-week event and explained she was an Owens’ fan.

She had first learned of Owens through a book club.

She and other members had cried and celebrated the triumph that is Owens’ first novel, “My Brother Michael.”

One day, Owens, who lives in rural Newberry, walked into the bookstore to browse and made a purchase. When Morse read the name on the credit

card, she exclaimed, “You’re the Janis Owens!”

The recognition surprised and pleased the author.

When Owens related her version of their first meeting, she added that she and her sister-in-law were shopping on Main Street and had gone into The Pink Porch.

“Laura, come here, you want to hear this,” Owens said, jokingly, to her sister-in-law.

Such a moment was important to Owens because so much of her work is about claiming identity — especially as a Florida native, a Cracker.

Janis Owens was born in Marianna, Florida in 1960. When she was a toddler, the family moved to New Orleans and then Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They returned to Central Florida, where she continued in elementary school in Ocala.

Shortly after graduating from high school, Janis married Wendel Owens, then a University of Florida graduate student. In 1983, after their first daughter was born, Owens graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in English. The couple has three daughters.

At Conestogas Restaurant, Owens began her talk by expressing her joy at being back home in Florida after touring to promote the book.

Outside of the American South, the word “cracker” is loaded with negative connotations. She uses the word easily because she is proud of her heritage.

“But when I go outside the South and say I’m a

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Winter 2009 | 123

Photo by Albert Isaac

Author Janis Owens shares a laugh with friends during a recent book-signing event at Prestwick Properties in Newberry. From left: Suzy Holder, Kathryn Tierney and Janis Owens.

cracker, the hair stands up on people’s necks. If there are black people in the room they burst out laughing,” Owens said in a February interview with The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Besides Owens, who are these people who are moving to embrace the name Cracker?

“We’re native Floridians, we’re plain spoken, working class. Some of us are farmers,” she said during a lively presentation in Alachua. “It’s an old culture and an

evolving culture.”

Crackers do not identify with the Old Plantation Society, she said.

In introductory remarks in “The Cracker Kitchen,” she is more specific about who Crackers are: “We’re the Other South: eighth generation children of immigrants who came to America on big wooden ships long before the Civil War and steadily moved inland, the pioneers of three centuries.”

Other cultural traits have survived as well, including regular religious practice (Owens is Pentecostal), strong family ties (almost pathological, she says) and tasty (not low calorie) food presented on an attractive table.

Cracker culture is a fusion culture, a mix of all sorts of ethnicities and histories, dating back to Colonial America, she wrote in an earlier e-mail interview.

“Cracker cooking was born of poverty and ingenuity, which is reflected in the simplicity of the recipes — few ingredients and overall cheapness,” Owens said. “It was also a pioneer culture, which meant that the resources on hand were the resources you used.”

“The Cracker Kitchen” holds 150 recipes and many, many stories including historical data that reveal her people’s cultural ways. These are contributions from

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Owens family members and friends.

Recently, Florida Humanities scholar Andrew Huse gave a talk in St. Augustine on the cultural influences â&#x20AC;&#x201D; among them, Cuban, Caribbean, African American and Native American, and Snowbird â&#x20AC;&#x201D; impacting Florida cuisine. The Cracker contribution was key in his presentation, Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Delicious History. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All the lasting food traditions are peasant foods from â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bottom upâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; types of culture,â&#x20AC;? he said, adding that foods tell so much about a peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s migration and culture. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nothing demonstrates culture more vibrantly than food,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like families, recipes have genealogies.â&#x20AC;?

One dish well known throughout the American South is Chicken Perloo or Pilau or Perlu, its spelling varies depending on the region. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Cracker Kitchenâ&#x20AC;? has a recipe for this Cracker chicken and rice dish. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This dishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pedigree goes back to Persia,â&#x20AC;? Huse said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were the first to cook rice over an open flame.

The Persians took it to Spain, where it became known as paella. Finally, the dish made its way to the South and the Florida frontier.â&#x20AC;?

Although they may not have gotten to the original

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For more information visit www.janisowens.com source of a particular dish, many home cooks can trace their recipes back a generation or two. Others, like Owens, have a more difficult time doing that since their teachers — often a mother or grandmother — cooked without recipes.

“My mother has never cooked with a recipe — she just throws in ingredients from whatever she has resting in her pantry when she starts to cook,” Owens wrote.

Owens started browsing through cookbooks and cooking meals on a daily basis as a teenager, when her mother went back to work.

For the past 25 years, the author has cooked at least one main meal a day, usually supper, as she had three children at home. To date, her youngest of the three daughters has shown the greatest interest in cooking.

With this cookbook, everyone can embrace a little bit of Cracker culture, one dish at a time. § Marisella Veiga is a Cuban-born writer who went into exile in 1960. She was raised in Minnesota and Miami and makes St. Augustine her home.

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Area Worship Centers HIGH SPRINGS ALLEN CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH 386-454-3574 10 S.E. MLK Drive Rev. Ocelia Wallace, Pastor ANDERSON MEMORIAL CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST 386-454-3433 935 SE Lincoln Ave. BETHLEHEM UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 386-454-1996 County Road 778 Pastor Clarence Desue CHRIST ANGLICAN FELLOWSHIP 386-454-1845 323 SW CR 778 Pastor Michael LaCagnina CHRISTIAN FAMILY WORSHIP CENTER 386-454-2367 220 NE 1ST Ave. Dr. Lloyd S. Williams CHURCH OF CHRIST 386-454-2930 520 NE Santa Fe Blvd.

CHURCH OF GOD BY FAITH 386-454-1015 US Hwy 27 THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS 386-454-4282 24455 NW 174th Ave. Pres. Keith Brown HIGH SPRINGS CHURCH OF GOD 386-454-1757 210 NW 182 Ave. Pastor Terry W. Hull FELLOWSHIP CHURCH 386-454-1700 16916 NW U.S. Hwy. 441 Pastor Jeff Powell

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH of HIGH SPRINGS 386-454-1255 17405 NW US Hwy 441 Pastor Richard Stauffer GRACE CHURCH OF HTE NAZARENE 386-454-9709 Santa Fe Blvd.

HOLY TEMPLE CHURCH WITH GOD 386-454-0313 615 SE ML King Drive IMPACT FAMILY CHURCH 386-454-1563 16710 NW US 441 Pastors Edwin & Angela Anderson JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES 386-454-3509 330 SE 7th Ave. MIRACLE TEMPLE CHURCH 386-454-4298 605 SE 1st Place THE MISSION CHURCH OF HIGH SPRINGS Meeting at the Seventh Day Adventist Building 230 NW 1st Ave. 352-870-0247 Pastor Keith Helsel MT CARMEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 386-454-4568 1230 NW 1st Ave. Pastor Byran Williams MT PLEASANT BAPTIST CHURCH 386-454-2161 29603 NW 142 AVE Pastor Steve Brooks MOUNT OLIVE BAPTIST CHURCH 386-454-3447 948 SE Railroad Ave. SAINT MADELEINE CATHOLIC CHURCH 386-454-2358 17155 NW Highway 441 SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH 352-497-2221 230 NW 1st Ave. Pastor Anthony Crawford

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 386-454-1505 20112 North US Hwy. 441 Pastor J. Eddie Grandy

SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH 386-454-4978 Shiloh Church Rd. Pastor Earl Tuten

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 386-454-1037 205 North Main Street Pastor Glen A. Busby

SHILOH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH 386-454-3126 1505 NW Main St.

128 | Winter 2009

SPRING RIDGE FIRST CHURCH OF GOD 386-454-3600 5529 NE 52nd Place Pastor Todd L Wymer SPRINGRIDGE FIRST CHURCH OF GOD 386-454-4400 420 Spring Ave. ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 386-454-9812 1st Ave., next to city hall Rev. David Kidd SPRING HILL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Located at High Springs exit 79 off I-75 North of Gainesville (on Old Bellamy Rd.) Pastor James Richardson

ALACHUA ALACHUA CHURCH OF CHRIST 386-462-3326 14505 NW 145th Avenue Minister Doug Frazier ANTIOCH BAPTIST CHURCH 386-497-3121 Jordan Road (Ft. White) CHURCH OF GOD BY FAITH 386-462-2549 13220 NW 150th Ave. CRUSADERS FOR CHRIST, INC. 386-462-4811 NW 158th Ave. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF ALACHUA 386-462-1337 14005 NW 146th Avenue Pastor Doug Felton FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF ALACHUA 386-462-2443 14805 NW 140th St. Pastor Rob Atchley FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ALACHUA 386-462-1549 14623 NW 140th St. Rev. Virginia McDaniel

FOREST GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-3921 22575 NW 94 Avenue

OLD SHILOH MISSIONARY BAPTIST 386-462-4894 16810 NW CR 239

GREATER NEW HOPE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-4617 15205 NW 278th Ave. (Bland)

RIVER OF LIFE ASSEMBLY OF GOD 352-870-7288 14200 NW 148th Place Alachua, Fl 32615 Pastor Greg Evans

HARE KRISHNA TEMPLE 386-462-2017 17306 NW 112th Blvd.

HOPE COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-2188 13719 NW 146th Avenue Pastor Eugene Polk LEGACY BAPTIST CHURCH 352-538-5595 255 S. Main St. Pastor John Jernigan LIVING COVENANT CHURCH 386-462-7375 Pastor Brian J. Coleman NEW OAK GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-3390 County Road 1491 Pastor Terry Elixson, Jr. NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH OF GOD AND CHRIST 386-462-4891 1310 NW 155 Place Pastor R. L. Cooper NORTH PLEASANT GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-3317 25330 NW CR 239 Pastor Edwin A. Gardner NEW SAINT MARY BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-7129 13800 NW 158th Ave. SANTA FE BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-7541 7505 NW CR 236 Pastor William Pruitt MT NEBO UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 386-418-1038 9975 NW 143rd St. Pastor Ricardo George Jr. NEW SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-2095 18610 NW CR 237 NEW ST MARY BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-7129 13800 NW 158th Ave.

ST LUKE AME CHURCH 386-462-2732 US Highway 441 South ST MATHEWS BAPTIST CHURCH 386-462-2205 15712 NW140 Street Pastor Isaac Miles TEMPLE OF THE UNIVERSE 386-462-7279 15808 NW 90 Street www.tou.org WESTSIDE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST 386-418-0649 15535 NW 141st St.

NEWBERRY ABIDING SAVIOR LUTHERAN CHURCH 352-331-4409 9700 West Newberry Road BETHEL AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 352-474-6215 23530 NW 3rd Ave. Pastor Theodora Black CHRISTIAN LIFE FELLOWSHIP 352-472-5433 Pastor Terry Fulton CHURCH OF GOD BY FAITH 352-472-2739 610 NW 2nd St. Pastor: Jesse Hampton

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 352-472-4005 24845 West Newberry Road Pastor Kenneth Kleckner GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH 352-472-9200 22405 W. Newberry Road Pastor Ty Keys JONESVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH 352-472-3835 17722 SW 15th Ave. Pastor Corey Cheramie JOURNEY CHURCH 352-281-0701 22405 W. Newberry Road Milam Funeral Home Chapel Pastor Dr. Michael O’Carroll MT ZURA FULL GOSPEL BAPTIST CHURCH 352-472-4056 225 NW 2nd Ave. Pastor Natron Curtis NEW ST PAUL BAPTIST CHURCH 352-472-3836 215 NW 8TH Ave. Pastor Edward Welch NEWBERRY CHURCH OF CHRIST 352-472-4961 24045 West Newberry Road Minister Batsell Spivy DESTINY COMMUNITY CHURCH 352-472-3284 420 SW 250th Street Pastor Rocky McKinley OAK DALE BAPTIST CHURCH 352-472-2992 Highway 26 and 241 South

THE CHURCH AT STEEPLECHASE 352-472-6232 Meeting at Sun Country Sports Center 333 SW 140th Terrace (Jonesville) Pastor Buddy Hurlston

PLEASANT PLAIN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 352-472-1863 1910 NW 166TH St. Pastor Theo Jackson

CORINTH BAPTIST CHURCH 352-472-7770 5577 NW 290th St. Pastor Henry M. Rodgers

ST JOSEPH’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 352-472-2951 16921 West Newberry Road Pastor John DiLeo

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF NEWBERRY 352-472-2351 25520 West Newberry Road Rev. Jack Andrews

UNION BAPTIST CHURCH 352-472-3845 6259 SE 75TH Ave Pastor Travis Moody

Editor’s Note: Please help us. If we have left out a church or information or provided incorrect information, please let us know! Send us your information by calling 352-416-0203 or faxing 352-373-9178 or emailing editor@towerpublications.com. We welcome your contributions and suggestions.

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Winter 2009 | 129

Photo by Sarah A. Henderson

Old Faithful Florida’s first Methodist church still flourishes in Alachua after nearly two centuries

By Sarah A. Henderson

L

ole McMillan was 11 years old when she first walked into the sanctuary at First United Methodist Church of Alachua. That was 70 years ago.

“I’ve done a lot of things in the church,” McMillan said. “But I’m not a singer. I think I’d empty the church.”

McMillan is one of two historians at First United Methodist Church of Alachua, the first Methodist church established in the state of Florida in 1822.

Not only did she spend the majority of her adolescent years in the church, but she was also married there, and her five children were baptized there.

130 | Winter 2009

“It’s just always been a part of me,” she said. “I can’t imagine my life without it.”

The First United Methodist Church has a unique history, McMillan said, spanning centuries. According to the church’s Web site, one could say the history of the church stretches back to London in 1739 when Methodism founder John Wesley gathered the first group of Christian worshippers called Methodists.

When Wesley and his followers journeyed to FAITHFUL on page 132

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FAITHFUL from page 130 Photo by Sarah A. Henderson

After a 1910 fire destroyed the original $1,800 Alachua sanctuary built in 1897, construction began on the present day sanctuary in 1912, which cost a total of $7,000 to complete.

Though the sanctuary was completed in 1897 at cost of $1,800, both it and the parsonage were destroyed in a December 1910 fire.

America hoping to convert American Indians and other early settlers to the faith, Methodism finally reached Florida in 1821 in the form of a mission called Alapaha. It reached parts of southern Georgia, northern Florida and southeast Alabama, outreach all ran

by John J. Triggs. By 1822, Triggs and his Methodist Circuit Riders reached the Suwannee River Area.

John Slade, considered the father of Methodism in Florida because of his extensive work as one of Florida’s first Methodist preachers, arrived in the state in 1823. Around the same time, another preacher, John Jerry, was sent to a St. Augustine mission, but his Methodist messages also reached communities west of there, including Micanopy and Newnansville, where the first sanctuary of the First United 132 | Winter 2009

Methodist of Alachua would be built in 1865.

However, few churches existed or were constructed before 1840, and what would become McMillan’s 350-person congregation today began as small bible study groups in barn stables, brush arbors, courthouses and individual homes such as Maxey Dell’s Meeting House.

The same year the first sanctuary was built in Newnansville, the Alachua County seat was moved to Gainesville. Though the church was able to sustain itself after the county seat transfer, the Santa Fe and Western Railroad was soon built through the present city limits of Alachua in 1882, bypassing Newnansville and the First United Methodist Church by a mere one and a half miles. Many called the newly erected train station that accompanied the new tracks Newnansville, but the postmaster began calling it Alachua, and the name stuck.

By 1888, the original Newnansville church structure was in poor condition. Church leaders were also aware that because of the railroad, many of the Newnansville Church members were now living in Alachua and were wanting to organize a mission there. After some discussion of abandoning the church in Newnansville and building a new structure in Alachua, preacher Charles Inman gained enough support and began planning a new Alachua building into which the Newnansville congregation would relocate.

Though this sanctuary was completed in 1897 at cost of $1,800, both it and the parsonage were destroyed in FAITHFUL on page 134

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FAITHFUL from page 132 a December 1910 fire. According to the Web site, before the embers cooled on that fire, $1,200 in donations were collected to begin planning the replacement buildings.

The new parsonage was built in 1911, and while the present day sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church of Alachua was under construction in 1912, the nearby Baptist Church opened its doors to the Methodists who were in need of a place to worship.

Church historian McMillan said her church has accomplished a lot in the Alachua community since 1912, especially with its youth programs. Early successes include the founding of the first Boy Scout Troop in the area in January 1912 and the organization of the church’s first youth program in 1915. Youth programs are still strong and flourishing at the First United Methodist Church of Alachua under youth minister Jeff VanValey.

As far as changes to the architecture and church grounds are concerned, to name a few, the church expanded the number of Sunday School rooms by adding a second story to the sanctuary in 1934, dividing that space into classrooms. From 1964 to 1967, the sanctuary

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What began as a small group of worshippers in Maxey Dell’s Meeting House in the 1820s, the First United Methodist Church of Alachua flourished into today’s congregation of about 350 members, according to church secretary Pat Harrell.

was completely renovated. In 1990, a new fellowship hall, kitchen and pastor’s office were completed.

Gifts, including offering plates, electric organs, a piano, the Communion Table and even a sound system, were added in later years, most in memory of various church members.

The longest pastor to ever serve at the First United Methodist Church of Alachua was the Rev. George Lutz for eight years beginning in 1983. The current pastor is Adam Zele.

FAITHFUL on next page

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On Oct. 12, 1997, the Rev. Cornelius Henderson, Bishop of the Florida Conference, gave the 175th Homecoming Message, which marked the passing of 175 years since the founding of the original Newnansville Church. Special recognition was given that day to those who were long-time members of the church.

One of these members, Ernest Spencer, is the longest-running member of First United Methodist Church of Alachua. He has been part of the congregation for 80 years. Rose Anne Spencer, his wife, has been a member for 68 years.

“If you didn’t believe in God and have all these people for support,” Mrs. Spencer said, “it’d be a sad, sad life. I would not want to live in a city or town and not be active in the church.”

Since she joined the church in 1941, Mrs. Spencer has seen things change, mainly in music and dress style, but she is happy to see the changes. She said they encourage others to attend services and help create a friendlier atmosphere. Other changes she has seen over the years include the addition of weekday services and small weeknight bible studies. Also, Vacation Bible School is

now held in the evening instead of the daytime since most mothers work as much as fathers do these days.

Mrs. Spencer said the highlight of her earliest experiences at the church was each Thanksgiving when she returned home to Alachua from college at Florida State University. Numerous churches from the area congregated and worshipped together at what

Ernest Spencer is the longest-running member of First United Methodist Church of Alachua. He has been part of the congregation for 80 years. was called the Union Thanksgiving service, held the Wednesday before the holiday. She said she loved to see all her friends in one place after being away at school for so long.

“Church life meant a lot to everyone,” she said. “It was our social life, our religious life, our everything else.

“It’s been everything to me.” § Sarah Henderson is a student in UF’s College of Journalism. She may be contacted through the editor: editor@towerpublications.com.

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Looking Ahead BUSINESS & EDUCATION CONTINUE TO GROW

138 | Winter 2009

By Chris Wilson

A number of new businesses and educational opportunities have become available as Our Towns look forward to 2010.

These state-of-the art facilities represent new technologies, environmental thinking and cutting-edge research.

SFC’s Perry Center For Emerging Technologies Enjoys First Semester Santa Fe College’s new Charles R. and Nancy V. Perry Center For Emerging Technologies opened in Alachua in late September. The first Santa Fe College branch in Alachua will train students in the fields of biotechnology, biomedical engineering technology and clinical laboratory science, which is one of two programs at Santa Fe that offers students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor’s degree.

“Biotechnology is using living things, instead of manufacturing,” said Kelly Gridley, Ph.D., dean of the Center for Emerging Technologies.

“It’s a platform for a lot of pharmaceutical companies now. If you go back to ancient times, it’s like using yeast and yeast byproducts to make bread or beer. It’s become more genetically-based. But, any time you use a living thing to make a product there are controlled things, like temperatures and humidity. It’s just like cooking.”

The $7.8 million building is located in the heart of Alachua’s growing biomedical business area on U.S. 441, east of the city’s downtown. Its location is directly across the street from the Progress Corporate Park, which features such biotech and pharmaceutical firms as RTI Biologics, Nanotherapeutics, Pasteuria Bioscience, Inc., the University of Florida Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator and many others.

Santa Fe College president Jackson Sasser said the building was the result of great partnerships. Aside from the principal donors, Sasser cited help from the city of Alachua, the University of Florida, federal, state and

local governments and Alachua County’s public schools.

“The Perry Center is emblematic of the partnerships we must forge to serve students and the community,” Sasser said.

The first phase of the Santa Fe campus features a 17,367 square foot building with state-of-the-art labs. An additional 6,501 square foot phase two building will open in January 2010, with additional classrooms, an additional computer lab, a large training room, an area for catering, and mechanical, electrical and IT support areas.

Currently, the first phase of the campus features three lab suites.

There are two classrooms and both are equipped with SMART Technology, featuring a document camera, computer and DVD player that can be projected onto a screen for the entire classroom to see. There is a biotechnology lab, a cell culture lab and a lab for clinical lab sciences.

The clinical lab sciences lab also features a “clean room” for students to don sanitized gear before they enter the laboratory, which features stainless steel tables and a more sterile environment. Even though it is not a true clean lab, Gridley believes the practice will help students get used to the procedures used in working in clean labs.

“Each of the labs has a different look and feel,” Gridley said.

“The biotech lab has a more research look to it. The [clinical lab sciences] lab has a more industrial look to it. The [cell culture lab] is really more of a teaching lab that is about people putting their eyes on stuff and having a teacher accessible while they’re doing it.” www.VisitOurTowns.com

Photos by Chris WIlson

Top: Santa Fe College freshman Greg Oelfke, who is studying biomedical engineering, uses the instruments in the new biomedical engineering classroom.

Bottom: Santa Fe College Center for Emerging Technologies Dean Kelly Gridley.

continued on next page Winter 2009 | 139

The building also features a computer lab with 40 personal computers. When phase two is finished, there will be an additional lab with another 40 computers. Gridley said this will allow the campus to host standardized testing for high school students, and the computers are also available to Santa Fe students.

“When we get more space, we’ll also be running some general prerequisite classes,” Gridley said. “We might have a general biology class or microbiology or nursing prerequisites that we can offer in the evening.”

Currently, the facility is the home office of four faculty members, including Gridley, Birgitta Kimura, Ron Tinckham and Eileen Monck.

“We have lots of space to grow the program,” Gridley said. “In our old space, we were all kind of crammed in there.”

Santa Fe College shares a special

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relationship with Santa Fe High, which recently got a new building for its science classes and thirdyear Institute of Biotechnology magnet program.

Students at the high school spend time in labs using equipment similar to those used at biotechnology labs.

Gridley helped Santa Fe High School secure the grant for its program from the National Science Foundation.

“We worked with them to help them develop the curriculum,” Gridley said. “They’re biotechnology program is a feeder into ours.”

All of this is good news for the biotechnology sector, which Gridley said has suffered in recent years from staffing shortages.

It is also good news for Alachua County, where students can now attend the programs at Santa Fe High School and Santa Fe College before seeking a job with one of

the companies in the Progress Corporate Park.

For information, call 352-381-3750 or visit www.sfcollege.edu.

SunState Federal Credit Union Opens New Jonesville Building SunState Federal Credit Union opened its eighth branch and its first Jonesville branch in October.

The new two-story building located on Newberry Road is 6,700 square feet. The building also has two drive-through lanes.

“From I-75 [heading] west, we have more than 4,600 members living here already,” said SunState president and CEO Jim Woodward.

“This is a strategic location for us.

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Newberry-Jonesville Chamber of Commerce president Anne Bello, SunState’s Jonesville branch manager Cathy Ratliff, Sunstate president/CEO Jim Woodward and SunState board chair Janet Larson cut the ribbon on the new Jonesville branch.

branch there are more than 3,800 households and 81 percent of those have a household income over $35,000. There are 12,000 cars that drive by this branch every day.”

The building features a biometric, palm-reading safe for safety deposit transactions. There is a self-service cash and coin counting machine, two computer terminals for e-banking transactions and a “kid zone,” which features money management computer games. It also is a “ticket-less” bank, which features less paperwork for transactions. The second story will be used as a training area for all SunState employees.

“With the technology we’re using, we can go on for the next decade or so,” Woodward said. “There is no paper involved in transactions.

Our members can go right up to the teller and walk behind the desk and see their transactions being entered.

They will leave with a receipt, so there is a record of their transaction.”

SunState is a communitychartered credit union, which means anybody who lives, works or attends

school in the credit union’s fivecounty area can become a member.

“This building kind of evolved,” Woodward said. “It’s easier and cheaper to build a two-story building. So, rather than going off and renting spaces for training, we can do that here.”

The new location will be run by branch manager and Newberry resident Cathy Ratliff, who has been with SunState for 23 years.

“It’s exciting to be in a new community and be ready to serve the public,” Ratliff said. “We’re like a family here. I love the interaction with the public and I love to help people with their financial needs.”

For information, call the SunState Jonesville branch at 352-332-9090 or visit www.sunstatefcu.org.

Chris Wilson is a freelance writer living in Newberry. He may be contacted through the editor: editor@towerpublications.com.

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Winter 2009 | 141

News Around Town...

Photo by Chris Wilson

W

Newberry Opens Archery Center

Newberry city officials and other principals involved with the construction of the Easton-Newberry Sports Complex cut the ribbon on the new facility.

BY CHRIS WILSON

The bows are drawn and the arrows are flying at the new Easton-Newberry Sports Complex.

Newberry officials, other contributors and guests gathered at the end of October to cut the ribbon on the $2.5 million facility.

The construction of the facility has been collaboration between the Easton Sports Development Foundation, the National Alliance for the Development of Archery (NADA) and the city of Newberry. The Easton Foundation donated about $1.5 million toward the project and there were also donations made by local construction and contractor companies.

“The foundation is very proud to be a part of this,” said Easton Sports CEO Jim Easton. “This is the third [archery] center we’ve opened this year, including the ones at Michigan State University and in Yankton, South Dakota.”

Newberry City Manager Keith Ashby also touted the collaboration between government and business.

“This represents a major public and private enterprise,” Ashby said. “I am so proud of the way this whole thing has come together. From our

142 | Winter 2009

commission’s ability to step out as a progressive commission, in this environment, I am just so proud of everyone.”

Easton said the Foundation’s goal is to develop Olympic caliber archers, through programs at its regional archery centers.

“I see the community activity here in Newberry like I’ve never seen before,” said Doug Engh, executive director of NADA. The building features an indoor archery range, a gym equipped with volleyball and basketball courts, offices for the NADA staff and coach and classrooms.

There is also an outdoor archery range and a 3D archery range in the wooded area behind the sports complex.

The facility is expected to host regional, national and international archery competitions, training for archery coaches, bow hunting training and safety and local recreational programs.

Ashby said the city has already received calls from hotel companies and other businesses looking for a Newberry location. He believes the center will have a great impact on the city’s economy. §

F

3

Go Lady Hawks!

Lady Hawks Win County Championship

Photo by Chris Wilson

SPECIAL TO OUR TOWN

In October, the High Springs Community School (HSCS) Lady Hawks Volleyball team won 2-0 against Westwood Middle School to capture their first Alachua County Middle School Championship held at Santa Fe High School. The Hawks finished the season undefeated with a record of 12-0 for the first time under Coach Scott Burton. Last year, the team lost the championship to Westwood. § For more information about Lady Hawks Volleyball, please call High Springs Community School at 386-454-1598.

Photo courtesy of Delia Lander

Lady Hawks team members run to the center of the court to celebrate their victory against Westwood Middle School. A smiling Coach Scott Burton can be seen in the back center.

Alachua Hosts World Series Contract Signing Ceremony SPECIAL TO OUR TOWN

The cities of Alachua and High Springs will make history in 2010 by hosting the state of Florida’s first ever Babe Ruth Softball World Series.

Both cities welcomed Babe Ruth National Commissioner Robert Faherty for the official signing of the contract to host the 2010 Babe Ruth Softball 12-Under World Series. Alachua Recreation Director Hal Brady was the master of ceremonies for the contract signing ceremony held October 20, at Alachua City Hall.

Santa Fe Babe Ruth is the official organization that signed to host the Babe Ruth World Series in August of next year. Santa Fe Babe Ruth Softball is a volunteer program composed of girls primarily from the Alachua and High Springs area and serves ages 4 to 16.

“The community support from both cities has been overwhelming,” Brady said. “We had the very first Babe Ruth Baseball World Series in Florida in 1992 and now we’re going to have the very first Babe Ruth Softball World Series in the state in 2010. This is a great event for our communities and we’re looking forward to the preparations leading up to August 2010.” §

www.VisitOurTowns.com

Photo courtesy of the City of Alachua

Seated L-R: Santa Fe Babe Ruth Softball President Earl Findley and Babe Ruth National Commissioner Robert Faherty; standing L-R: High Springs Vice Mayor Byran Williams and Alachua Mayor Bonnie Burgess.

Winter 2009 | 143

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Sobriety LOCAL FILMMAKERS’ LATEST OFFERING ABOUT ADDICTION AND RECOVERY

By Albert Isaac

W

hen Robert McClellan was a young man of 20, he began working with big name musical acts. And McClellan, like many people, got caught up in the rock-and-roll lifestyle. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He became a “user.”

Realizing he had a problem, he joined the Navy and served for nine years. He became a combat photographer, attached to the Navy Seabees. And most importantly, he got clean and sober.

McClellan now does contract work as a nurse at a local prison. He has been free of his addictions for 20 years. Additionally, he is a recovery coach, helping others deal with their addictions. And, in his spare time, he writes screenplays and makes video documentaries with his wife, film producer and world-renowned cavediver, Jill Heinerth.

“Real Sobriety” is their most recent offering, an award-winning documentary about real people with real addictions who find real sobriety.

“This was a project squeezed in-between the other adventures in our lives, the paid gigs,” McClellan said during a recent interview in the home he shares with his wife in High Springs. “It is a labor of love, and also a project with limited resources.”

Photo courtesy of Jill Heinerth

Robert McClellan and his wife Jill Heinerth share a light moment. The team have recently completed an awardwinning documentary, “Real Sobriety.”

www.VisitOurTowns.com

FILMMAKERS on page 147 Winter 2009 | 145

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FILMMAKERS from page 145 As McClellan and Heinerth traveled the world working on other projects, they shot footage of the often-exotic places they visited. Many of these clips were used in their new documentary.

“A lot of the cutaways are from Australia” McClellan said. “A lot of the street scenes are from Toronto. Some of the beaches and water scenes are from the Canary Islands. And, of course, all over Florida.”

These “cutaways” provide serene segues between the sometimes gritty interviews of people talking about their battles with addiction.

“I wanted to present a bunch of people here,” McClellan said. “There are a lot of hardcore stories here.

They have been to the darkness, and they’ve come out of this darkness into the light and now they are being useful, they are doing service work, they are passing it on to the next generation of newcomers.”

The idea for “Real Sobriety” was born while McClellan and Heinerth were driving home from Canada.

“I started telling Jill my story, what it was like when I was drinking and drugging, what happened when I got sober, and what life is like today,” McClellan said. “And as I was telling the story, Jill says, ‘I wish I had a camera.

I wish I could just shoot this as you are saying this.’

The filmmaker in her immediately said, ‘This is a story people need to hear.’”

“I had so many questions for him, from being outside the recovery world,” Heinerth said in a telephone interview. “I mean, from the moment we met he had been clean and sober for X number of years. I had all these questions, like ‘Would it bother you if I have a glass of wine?’ As he started to reveal things, I realized people outside of this don’t know this.”

Heinerth said this dynamic of McClellan’s history

of addiction and recovery and her life free of these problems provided a balance in producing this project.

“So [“Real Sobriety”] will reach people from Robert’s situation, and then it will reach people that are friends and relatives of people in recovery,” she said.

With Heinerth in charge of production and editing, and McClellan overseeing sound design and directing, the couple began shooting video of McClellan telling his story.

THE SOBER MOTORCYCLE CLUBS FASCINATED ME. THERE IS A WHOLE CULTURE OF BIKERS, HARDCORE BIKERS, WHO ARE SOBER. “We couldn’t have planned this marriage better,” Heinerth said with a chuckle.

Then McClellan began seeking “likeable people that folks could relate to,” — and professionals. McClellan wanted to make a film that would appeal to a broad range of people.

“I wanted experts,” McClellan said, “but I didn’t want people in lab coats with ties.”

So, in one scene there is a young woman talking about wanting to hang herself. In another there is a biker saying, “If you’re sitting drunk, and out of your mind with a gun in your mouth, we want you.”

“The response we’ve had from it is absolutely phenomenal,” Heinerth said. “A guy looking at the film said he was literally in the situation where he was ready continued on next page

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Photo by Albert Isaac

Robert McClellan talks about his latest documentary, “Real Sobriety,” in the home he shares with his wife Jill Heinerth.

to give up. He saw himself in that guy with the gun in his mouth. The film took away the shame.”

“The people were so good about it,” McClellan said.

“The sober motorcycle clubs fascinated me. There is a whole culture of bikers, hardcore bikers, who are sober.

These are guys who have all been to prison, they’ve been Outlaws and Hell’s Angels and that kind of stuff. They get clean and sober but they want to continue to do the biker lifestyle, only without drugs and alcohol. They actually adhere to the same motorcycle rules as all the other guys, but they just don’t drink or drug. What these guys do now is raise money for charities and help build children’s wings on hospitals and that sort of thing.”

McClellan’s goal is to see his documentary become part of a treatment curriculum.

“I would like treatment centers and professionals to embrace this film and use it in those group settings as a therapeutic tool,” McClellan said. “This is a new concept, which is different from a 12-step program sponsor walking you through the steps, which has strict rules and guidelines. But if you are recovery coach, you can work with people beyond that. You can help them find therapists, you can help them find jobs, you can help them meet their own their goals.”

McClellan said a lot of young people are not interested in a 12-step program because of issues with spirituality and authority. This method is about attraction rather than promotion.

“You can be so much more useful to people just by example,” he said, “by people being attracted to what you have, not by being forced.”

The idea of attracting people as opposed to coercing them has proven successful in centers such as one in Delray Beach, run by Dr. Harold Jonas, which is a coffee house more than a treatment center, McClellan said.

148 | Winter 2009

“You come to this coffee house by attraction,” he said. “On a Friday night that place is packed with young people — actually people of all ages — but a lot of young people who really otherwise would be out at clubs drinking and drugging.”

In this drug-free environment people interact with each other and also with professionals, with recovery coaches.

McClellan said Jonas and Jeannie Saros are two worldrenowned professionals who both appear in the film.

Jonas is a psychotherapist who started the recovery coach program. Saros trained McClellan as a recovery coach.

“Jeannie is my recovery hero,” McClellan said.

“She’s absolutely an amazing person who’s helped thousands of people.”

McClellan said he would like to see recovered addicts step out of the shadows and demonstrate by example that happiness is attainable.

“This is very controversial in the recovery community,” McClellan said. “I think that people who have long-term recovery have a responsibility to stop hiding in church basements, like 12-step programs, and come out into the community and live proud; to come out of this recovery closet. Because people in the community need to know that we are sober. They need to know that it is possible to live, after 20 years, happily and successfully in recovery, to be a positive role model.

If you’re still hiding in the church basement, then you are probably not doing a very good job of carrying the message that it is possible to live a happy life in sobriety.”

McClellan is certainly out of the “recovery closet.” He spreads his story of recovery with his film and through podcasts on the Internet.

“I have to say that I’m immensely proud of this film and Robert,” Heinerth said. “I’ve learned so much.

The people that I’ve met in making the film are so incredible. It’s their lifestyle now. They are working to make a positive impact on society. It’s been a wonderful experience.”

“The main message here is I wanted to make a film about real people, that are really in recovery, that can tell their stories in a way that a person sitting in treatment can relate to,” McClellan said. “These are real people, who have moved beyond and are living really successful lives in recovery, successful meaning happy.

“This is the only gift that you keep by giving it away.” § For more information visit realsobriety.com Albert Isaac is Editor-in-Chief at Tower Publications. He has lived in High Springs with his family since 1987. editor@ towerpublications.com.

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Winter 2009 | 149

Further Lessons in Patience

By Diane E. Shepard

T

hese days, I’m always in a hurry. Constantly spinning multiple tasks at once, like a plate-spinner spinning too many plates at one time, then CRASH! They all fall down. I rush the kids from Point A to Point B in a mad dash to get things done. Yet my multitasking seems futile. I end up doing nothing well. I’m having trouble slowing down, relaxing, and enjoying my kids, my family and my life.

It’s also getting harder to wait for things to turn around with the economy. I am impatient for things that I want and need for my family and myself.

It’s not a ‘good’ impatient either — like the way Elizabeth starts asking in March if it’s Christmas yet; or the way she wants to tear open all at once every window of the Advent calendars we use to count down the days until Christmas. Or the way none of us can wait to sample our eggnog cookies fresh from the oven. Or even the way Nicholas frantically yells “Wats dat?!” if we don’t answer him quick enough as he waves an alphabet letter in our face.

No, this is the kind of adult impatience that simmers and brews for a long time threatening to boil over at any moment. It rises from the frustrations of hopes, dreams and goals not yet realized.

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It’s the ‘What happened to my Master Plan?’ type of impatience. I was supposed to have at least one of my writing projects/books completed by now (yet it seems, I’ve barely had time to write one good page lately). I was supposed to have lost the last five pounds from my second baby, and we were supposed to have more money in savings and have the house farther along with improvement projects by now.

The lessons we need to learn present themselves to us everyday, if we have the eyes to see them.

The stress is getting to me and my family. It’s my call to action. Typing “patience” into the search engine, I discover a quote by Lao Tzu. “Do you have the patience to wait until the mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?”

This resonates through me like a ripple in a stream.

But I’ve been here before, trying to learn how to slow down, be still and wait — with patience.

Lessons unlearned are doomed to repeat themselves.

My buddy Ebenezer Scrooge knew this only too well.

Enter my own personal Ghost of Christmas Past: my daughter, the bearer of gifts, the teacher of many of the lessons I’ve had to learn. In she walks with a new book, “Henry the Impatient Heron.”

“Mommy, I thought you might want to read this,” she says, smiling, as she sets it in my lap.

And she’s off again, to spread her wisdom elsewhere, with her little guru-in-training brother in tow. Well, I don’t have to be hit on the head (or maybe I do?). I settle in to read — yes, a children’s book — to myself.

Of course she was right.

Young Henry is one impatient heron. Always moving and splashing about, he steps on his siblings, and barely stops long enough for his parents to feed him. He cannot make himself stand still in the water, and patiently wait for his food to present itself to him (like herons should do).

But with some guidance from a wise heron, he learns how to catch his own food; finally learns how to be still and patiently wait, by pretending to be a stick. (“Until the mud settles and the water is clear;” otherwise, how else can you see your food, or whatever else you’re waiting on?).

The lessons we need to learn present themselves to us everyday, if we have the eyes to see them. There are no coincidences. We get exactly the lesson we need when we need it, if we are open to receive it.

I guess we’re all waiting on something. The important thing is how we choose to wait.

Sometimes it takes a lot of wading (or waiting) in muddy waters before a lesson can really stick. Some lessons take a lifetime to learn. (This one is mine).

“Do I have the patience to wait until the mud settles and the water is clear? Can I remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?”

Maybe I can, with the help of my own wise heron-daughter.

The right action will present itself at the right time, if we are patient. If we’re moving too fast, we will miss it.

Clarity comes in stillness. Whatever we’re waiting on will come — eventually. Be it food, change or Christmas.

Merry Christmas! § Diane Shepard is a writer and Mama to two young children. Her next work in progress is a memoir “Keeping Time with Turtles.” diane@towerpublications.com

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Winter 2009 | 153

John Glanzer Longtime Newberry Mayor and Commissioner becomes City Manager of Archer

By Chris Wilson

J

ohn Glanzer got into local politics on a bet back in 1983.

Then the owner of a Newberry print shop, Glanzer was chatting with Buck Tyler, a local storeowner and Newberry city commissioner.

Tyler was considering not running for reelection. Glanzer promised to toss his name into the hat if Tyler did not run.

“I thought you could just go in and do stuff,” Glanzer admitted.

“But, there are so many rules. You have to look at the ramifications of any decisions you make. You see how long the process takes and you find yourself saying, ‘How can you get anything done?’ If people see what goes on in local government, you would see things are not as black-and-white as what you read in the newspaper.”

Glanzer was named city manager of Archer in October. After having served as a Newberry city commissioner from 1983 to 2000 and as Newberry’s mayor from 2000 until April 2009, Glanzer will now turn his attention to a neighboring city and a position that has had five different people serving in 2009 alone.

“I’ve given Newberry more than 25 years of my life,” Glanzer 154 | Winter 2009

said. “Newberry has good people and a competent government.

Now, Archer is getting all of my attention.”

While Archer is facing a number of issues, Glanzer believes he will bring to the table open communication, an in-depth understanding of city government and an ability to help Archer residents and government officials reach a common goal.

“We are elected by the people for our intellect and ability to take information and make a decision for the community,” he said. “We have to be able to compromise.

There should be no sour grapes for decisions that don’t go your way.

You have to implement every decision, even if you don’t agree with it, to the best of your ability.”

As somebody who worked alongside Glanzer when he was mayor, Newberry City Manager Keith Ashby believes Archer picked the right man for the job.

“They’re getting a gold mine in John,” Ashby said. “He’s very intelligent, a great analyzer and he doesn’t overreact, which is very important in this business. He always had a lot of good ideas. He’s local, so he understands the community he’s

coming into.”

Ashby said he would offer Glanzer three pieces of advice when it comes to being a city manager. First, he said he learned from Winston Churchill that most emergencies are not emergencies and you should think about things for 24 hours before making rash decisions. He also said Glanzer will have to have thick skin. Ashby told Glanzer to use the resources around him.

Among the major issues facing Archer is the need for a sewer system. Archer is entirely on septic systems, many of which are substandard, not properly maintained or even illegal, according to Glanzer. It is also a major health and safety issue, because Archer’s low-lying areas can flood and those septic systems can negatively affect the groundwater.

“A sewer system is a tricky issue for a small community, because it’s very expensive,” Glanzer said.

“We have to look for grants and free money from the federal and state governments, because a bond issue would be way too expensive for a community like Archer.”

Glanzer believes taking care of

Photo by Chris Wilson

Newberry resident John Glanzer in his new role as manager of the city of Archer.

the low-lying areas that are subject to flooding is the second priority he needs to address as manager. He said the city also has a great need for better code enforcement, because there are many substandard homes that have been left open for use by vagrants.

One of the many issues Glanzer helped champion in Newberry was the addition of sports and recreation facilities and programs.

He said that is one of the major concerns facing Archer citizens.

“This is a lower income city that has a very small tax base, especially after homestead exemptions and all of that,” he said. “Recreation, for that reason, has been on the short end of the stick and recreation programs have suffered. We’ll be trying to create a volunteer base or a booster group. We have to get them enthused and make them

trust the city for support.”

Glanzer said in order to get all of this work done, it will take a team effort. And, when asked about some of the things he accomplished in Newberry, he quickly pointed out that he could not have done anything without the work of other people in city government.

Glanzer helped provide Newberry with a sports and recreational tourism economic base, with the Newberry Easton Sports and Archery Complex, a partnership with the school board on Diamond Sports Park and the initial phases of the Cooperstown Dreams Park plan that is currently being worked on.

He also helped Newberry become the state’s only city to have been designated an urban service area, where the community can handle comprehensive plan amendments and prevent overdevelopment on its www.VisitOurTowns.com

own without the state interfering.

“I can’t say I did this all on my own,” Glanzer said. “I was working with people.”

And, while he’s moving on from Newberry to Archer, Glanzer said Newberry will always hold a special place in his heart.

“I was a long-haired, hippy kid and a single father when I moved to Newberry back in the 1970s,” Glanzer said. “I got funny looks when I walked into businesses. But, the people of Newberry really took me under their wings. They showed concern for my son. They showed me what a small town could be like.

If you give people your ear, you listen and you explain why certain decisions are made, you will get compassion and understanding.” § Chris Wilson is a freelance writer living in Newberry. He may be contacted through the editor: editor@towerpublications.com.

Winter 2009 | 155

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Winter 2009 | 159

Family Mealtime Benefits: the Science

By Kendra Siler-Marsiglio, Ph.D.

Y

ou and your spouse just returned from work and you’re exhausted; the kids just finished their afterschool activities and have lots of homework. Although eating together sounds like fun, your family’s busy schedules can nix the best intentions. But, your family may want to reconsider its priorities. Here’s the scientific skinny on why family dinners are so important.

Since the late 1970s, American families have cut back 33 percent on family dinners. Although this may just seem like a sign of the times, it could be harming your kids — and you.

What’s in it for your children?

Would you believe that family mealtime is more powerful for your kids’ scholastic accomplishments and social adjustment than time spent in school, studying, church, making art, or playing sports?

According to a 2001 article in “Journal of Marriage and the Family,” the time kids ages 3-12 spend eating meals in the home is the single strongest predictor of better grades and fewer behavioral problems. These results were statistically controlled for the children’s demographics including age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, age of the head of the family, family structure, parents’ employment, income and family size.

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Simple Rituals for Improving Family Ties (2000),” indicates that family meals generate the largest amount of family interaction and sophisticated word usage when compared to family-friendly activities including toy playing and storybook reading. The book makes a compelling argument for strong correlations between child vocabulary development and mealtime conversations, particularly when meals prompt extended discussion around specific topics.

Just this year, the Barilla Company (think pasta and Italian sauce) also invested in national family meal research.

The study’s surveys showed that frequent family meals, especially those with fewer distractions, are associated with lower children’s weight. The percentage of children identified as overweight approached three times greater for families having family meals less than five times per week.

According to the Nemours Foundation, one in three kids is overweight. In the Barilla study, parents identified only about one in ten kids as overweight.

So, it’s likely that Barilla’s participating parents were underestimating their children’s weight issues.

Meaning: the positive effects of family meals on kids’ weight may be even higher than reported.

What’s in it for your teens?

It can be argued that teens need family meals even more than younger age groups.

In 2000, the Council of Economic Advisers to the President revealed strong ties between regular family meals (five or more dinners per week with a parent) and

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teens’ academic success, healthy psychological adjustment, lower rates of alcohol use, reduced drug use, postponed sexual behavior and lower suicidal risk. Teens realized these family mealtime benefits irrespective of their social class and whether they had one- or two-parent families.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University independently found that teens with two or fewer family meals per week were three times more likely to use marijuana and two and a half times more likely to smoke cigarettes than teens with five or more family meals per week.

This same study showed that teens with more family meals also reported lower family conflict, a higher proportion of parents who praised them and a greater ability to confide in a parent.

Although teens reported that scheduling conflicts and family run-ins during meals were their primary barriers to engaging in family dinners, most teens reported enjoying family meals and believe they would eat more healthfully if they ate more often with their parents.

family meals are good for adults, too.

The survey showed that more frequent family dinners are linked to higher life satisfaction in domains of mental and physical wellness, relationships and life accomplishments. Having family dinners with fewer distractions such as ringing phones ringing and iPods had the same effect on life satisfaction as greater frequency of family meals.

Think you and your family could benefit from joint dinners? If so, then start tonight! § Kendra Siler-Marsiglio, Ph.D. is the Director of the Rural Health Partnership at WellFlorida Council.

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Alachua Branch Library ................................................................................................................................................................................. 14913 NW 140 St. 386-462-2592 High Springs Branch Library.............................................................................................................................................................. 135 NW First Ave. 386-454-2515 Newberry Branch Library........................................................................................................................................................... 110 South Seaboard Dr. 352-472-1135

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON SCHEDULED EVENTS GO TO WWW.ACLD.LIB.FL.US

ALACHUA BRANCH PROGRAMS FOR ALL AGES African American Read-IN Sunday, Jan. 24, 2 p.m.

A celebration of books relating to the African American experience in the United States.

PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN Preschool Story Time Thursdays, 11:00 a.m.

High School Holiday Jam for Preschoolers Thursday, Dec. 17, 11 a.m.

Santa Fe High School Music Ensemble and Choral Group will be offering a selection of holiday music geared toward preschoolers and their parents PROGRAMS FOR TEENS Wii-Day at THE SPOT Tuesdays, 2:00 p.m.

Bring your friends for Wii gaming PS3 at THE SPOT Thursdays, 2:00 p.m.

Bring your friends for PS3 gaming 162 | Winter 2009

PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS Computer Class Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m.

Jackson’s Theater Presents…

When King Came Saturday, Jan. 16, 2:30 p.m.

A Midnight Cry: The Underground Railroad to Freedom Saturday, Feb. 20, 2:30 p.m.

This moving historical drama is inspired by the true story of a young slave’s journey to freedom through the Underground Railroad.

HIGH SPRINGS BRANCH PROGRAMS FOR ALL AGES Multicrafters Monthly on second Thursday, 6:00 p.m.

Any non-messy craft like scrapbooking, quilt, knit or bead Crafter’s Cirle Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m.

Oct. 14 through Nov. 25 Any non-messy craft like embroider, quilt or knit

PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN

PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN

Preschool Story Time Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m.

Preschool Story Time Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m.

PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS

PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS

Thursday Evening Book Group Monthly on first Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

The Jane Austen Book Club Monthly on fourth Wednesday, 6:00 p.m.

Mystery Reading Group Monthly on third Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

The Early Settlers of Newberry Thursday, Feb. 4, 6 p.m.

Reconnect with the past and get in touch with Newberry’s roots.

NEWBERRY BRANCH PROGRAMS FOR ALL AGES Crafty Clique Mondays, 5:30 p.m.

Come crochet, knit, quilt or scrapbook with fellow enthusiasts Newberry History Buffs Monthly on first Thursday, 6:00 p.m.

An informal gathering to talk about the history of Newberry Clases de ingles/ English (Classes for Spanish speakers) Monday, Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m.

ALACHUA COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT LIBRARY BRANCHES WILL BE CLOSED:

Thursday, Dec. 24 CHRISTMAS EVE

Friday, Dec. 25 CHRISTMAS DAY

Friday, Jan. 1 NEW YEAR’S DAY

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O

ur family prides themselves on being one of the last traditional

g gun stores around. We have everything from handguns to long guns, in 22lr cal. all the way to a .50 cal. rifle. If it is tactical, we’ve got what you need.

In 2006, Pickett Weaponry Service purchased Harry Beckwith’s store in

FIRE AR MS

Micanopy as a second convenient

Hundreds of new and pre-owned handguns, rifles and shotguns in stock.

location. Now we have acquired the pistol range located next door to Harry

ACCESSORIES Holsters, ammo, targets, grips, hunting gear, 511 tactical clothing, concealment purses, cleaning supplies & more.

Beckwith Guns.

SAFES Protect what you have worked hard to earn.

Our air conditioned pistol range has 10

Large free delivery area.

shooting lanes up to 25 meters long.

GUNSMITHING

Open 7 days a week for your shooting

2 full-time gunsmiths to repair, customize, or refinish

convenience. We have plenty of ammo and targets available. Bring your

your firearms.

CONCE AL WE APONS PER MIT CL A SSES

handgun or rent one of ours. We are

Classes are held monthly at our Micanopy location.

the area’s only indoor pistol range!

PISTOL R ANGE

Variety • Quality Friendly Service

(M I C A N O PY LO C AT I O N) Come use your pistol in the only air conditioned indoor pistol range in our area. You can even try out a pre-owned handgun before you buy.

2 Locations For Your Convenience PICKETT WEAPONRY SERVICE

HARRY BECKWITH GUNS & PISTOL RANGE

25220 W. Newberry Rd. Newberry, FL Ph: 352-472-4876

12120 S. HWY 441 Micanopy, FL Ph: 352-466-3340

— GIF T CERTIFICATES AVAIL ABLE — www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 163

Nov. 28th through Christmas Eve Over 5 Million Lights Including 3-D Displays along a Meandering 2-Mile Trail! Also Featuring Hot Chocolate and Cookies, Craft Village and Live Entertainment.

Build your familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Christmas memories with us!

Come for the evening or inquire about our weekend packages.

Corporate holiday parties and packages available that include Complimentary Suwannee Light tours!

(386) 364-1683 MusicLivesHere.com 164 | Winter 2009

CALL-AMATTRESS SUPERSTORES Closeout Mattress Sets

Deluxe Pillowtop Mattress Sets

Twin ........... 89 Full ............ $129 Queen ....... $149 King .......... $189

Twin ........... $ 249 Full ............ $ 299 Queen ....... $ 349 King .......... $ 399

Pre-Owned Mattress Sets

Visit Our Channels

Twin ........... $ 49 Full ............ $ 69 Queen ....... $ 89 King .......... $ 99

www.callamattressinc.com myspace.com/callamattress youtube.com/callamattress facebook: call a mattress superstore

$

SUPERSTORE 4390 SW 20th Ave. Gainesville, FL 352.376.0953 *FREE BEDFRAME Not valid with any other special

DOWNTOWN 203 SW 16th Ave. Gainesville, FL 352.378.6005 w/ purchase of any pillow top or memory foam mattress

Police Impounds

for Sale!

As Low As $500

Many Makes and Models All Available Now!

1-4 Bedroom

HOMES FOR SALE HUD Homes Available NOW from $ 199/mo.

5% down 15 years at 8% APR for listings call

Cars - Trucks - SUVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s For Listings Call:

1-800-366-9813 ex. N581

800-366-9783 extension 5460

www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 165

†

PUSH, PULL OR$ DRAG IT IN!

We’ll Give You At Least 3000 For Your Trade! †

2010 HONDA

2010 HONDA

CIVIC DX

Automatic

$

159

LEASE FOR

ACCORD LX Automatic

PER MO.

*Expires 1/4/10. Lease payment for 30 months, $1,899 down, 12k miles per year with approved credit.

LEASE FOR

$

209

*Expires 1/4/10. Lease payment for 36 months, $2,799 down, 12k miles per year with approved credit.

2005 HONDA

2005 HONDA

CIVIC

STK#193A

YOUR PRICE

$

6,990

PER MO.

ACCORD

STK#91251A

YOUR PRICE

$

8,990

Prices plus tax, tag and license. †$3000 minimum for your trade or we’ll make your first payment up to $300. All offers with approved credit.

Artwork for illustration purposes only. Vehicles subject to prior sale. See dealer for details.

CUSTOMER APPRECIATION AWARD

$

200

Your Name: Your Address: Referral’s Name:

HAVE YOUR REFERRAL STOP BY WADE RAULERSON HONDA AND PRESENT THE REFERRAL VOUCHER, GIVING THEIR FULL NAME, ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER. UPON CAR PURCHASE, A CHECK OF APPRECIATION WILL BE PROMPTLY MAILED TO YOU.

166 | Winter 2009

Limit one per customer.

OIL CHANGE

$

9.95

NO WAIT, NO APPOINTMENT

Valid only at Wade Raulerson Honda. Hybrids and others may be higher. Expires 1/30/10.

Puzzle Answers from pages 40 & 41

Kid’s Fun Page

CLERICAL

JOBS Earn $12 to $48 hour Full Benefits Paid Training Federal Positions

Now Hiring Entry Level

1-800-320-9353 ext. 2101 www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 167

Drive Home

TODAY!

Always great vehicles Always great prices!

• No Credit Check!

• $2,000 OFF any financed vehicle.

• Cars Starting at $0 down

• 30 day warranty on financed vehicles.

Sun City Auto Sales

(352) 338-1999 168 | Winter 2009

C&D LANDFILL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC • Roll-off can service for everyone • 10,15,20,30 & 40 cu. yd. containers • Flat Rates • Mulch Available • Landfill Open to the Public Call dispatch

Landfill Location: 20103 SW ARCHER RD. ARCHER, FL

352-472-3414 www.wastonsitework.com

The Best in the Business!

• Site Clearing & Grading • Earth Work / Fill Dirt • Underground Utilities • Paving, Grading, and Drainage • Construction of Driveways e s andd Cu Culverts

“EXCEEDING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS DAILY.”

We recycle!

352-472-9157 www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 169

Advertiser Index REAL ESTATE and APARTMENTS C&G of Chiefland ..............................................................158 C&G of Lake City .........................................................4 (HS) Clayton Homes ....................................................................51 Coldwell Banker MM Parrish .................................176 (HS) Forrester Realty ..................................................................30 Horizon Realty, Ed & Joan Sroka.....................................86 HUD Homes for Sale.........................................................165 Joy Glanzer of Prestwick Properties ..............................95 Michelle Pickett of REMAX ............................................ 149 North Ocala Prestige Home Center ...............................68 Prestige Home Center of Lake City ................................111 PRO Realty..........................................................................100 Spring Hill Village Apartments .......................................69 Village Retirement Community ....................................... 3

AUTOMOTIVE SALES and SERVICE Byron’s Auto Detailing .....................................................175 City Boy’s .............................................................................159 Jim Douglas Sales & Service ............................................28 Just Customize ...................................................................127 Maaco Collision Repair and Auto Painting...................86 Police Vehicle Impounds..................................................165 Pure Pressure Car Audio & Detailing .............................51 Quality Auto Detailing.....................................................147 Quality Collision Repair.....................................................94 RPM Auto ............................................................................. 73 Sun City Auto.....................................................................168 Wade Raulerson Honda..................................................166

BANK / FINANCIAL / INSURANCE Allstate Insurance, Cathy Cain ........................................20 Campus USA Credit Union .................................................9 H&R Block............................................................................64 Pat Gleason, Financial Advisor, CPRS® ..........................49 Sunshine State Insurance ................................................ 112 SunState Federal Credit Union........................................56 Three Rivers Insurance .....................................................118

MEDICAL Alachua Dental ...................................................................44 Alachua Family Medical Center ...................................... 52 Caretenders .........................................................................88 Dr. Angel Reyes Dentistry..................................................71 Dr. Tyrone Plastic Surgery.................................................69 Douglas M Adel DDS ........................................................125 Haven Hospice ................................................................... 121 NFRMC ............................................................................2, 104 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ...................................... 96 Tioga Dental Associates ............................................4 (NB)

FITNESS and BEAUTY 1st Nails ................................................................................ 112 Big Ron’s Yoga College .....................................................157 170 | Winter 2009

Curves for Women ............................................................. 35 Cuts & More ........................................................................79 Excel Tanning and Hair Design ......................................116 Jodie’s Beauty and Barber Shop .....................................39 Kelly’s Creations Salon ....................................................100 Nails N Spa .........................................................................160 Sarah Vierra Salon ..............................................................14 TAN USA............................................................................... 113

PETS and VETS Bed ‘n Biscuit Inn ................................................................86 Doggie Styles .................................................................... 134 The Flying Fish....................................................................101 Gainesville Pet Rescue .....................................................153 Haile Plantation Animal Clinic .........................................31 House Call Vet ....................................................................153 Newberry Animal Hospital ..............................................63 Oliver & Dahlman ............................................................ 103 Pampered Paws, Inc. ........................................................101 Pamper Your Pet ................................................................153 Paradise for Pets Grooming Salon ................................. 72 Susie’s Pet Sitting ..............................................................153 Vacation Station Pet Resort ...........................................152 West End Animal Hospital ...............................................85

CHILD CARE / EDUCATION Alachua Learning Center ....................................................6 American Academy ......................................................... 103 O2b Kids................................................................................28 Spencer House Montessori............................................ 136 St. Francis Catholic High School...................................... 33 The Whole Child ................................................................133

RETAIL / RECREATION ABC Ultrasound ..................................................................42 A Newberry Florist & Gifts .............................................. 73 Alachua Pawn & Jewelry.................................................173 Badcock Home Furniture & More .........................141, 149 Bead All About It.................................................................42 Bennett’s True Value .....................................19, 45, 70, 126 Best Drugs.......................................................................... 126 Blue Springs ........................................................................ 131 Call-A-Mattress..................................................................165 Canterbury Showplace ...................................................146 Cootie Coo Creations......................................................... 35 Daba Design Works ......................................................... 150 Diana Originals Art and Teaching Gallery .................. 105 Enchanted Memories ......................................................100 Farmer’s Market of High Springs..................................100 Fletcher Center....................................................................48 Florida Swap Meet ............................................................. 53 The Flower Exchange ......................................................100 Four Wishes Bridal ...........................................................160 The Garden Gallery ..........................................................144 Gatorland Kubota ..............................................................93

ADVERTISING OFFICE: 4400 NW 36th Avenue • Gainesville, FL 32606

352-372-5468 The General Ship It & More Store ........................ 100, 101 Gypsy Palace....................................................................... 112 Harry Beckwith Guns & Pistol Range.......................... 163 Hillbilly Rocks .....................................................................118 Hitchcock’s Foodway........................................................ 151 Hugs & Kisses Consignment ........................................... 33 The Jackson Store ...............................................................39 Katsu Dojo Karate .............................................................135 Klaus Fine Jewelry .............................................................. 22 Kitchen and Spice ...............................................................117 Liquor and Wine Shop, The ....................................175 (NB) Lentz House of Time..........................................................64 Miracles Maternity Boutique ..........................................42 Music Junction ..................................................................100 The Oasis at High Springs ..............................................108 Paddywhack .........................................................................17 Painted Lady Boutique...................................................... 53 Panda Moni Yum Arcade ......................................... 48, 120 Phones & More ................................................................... 65 Pickett Weaponry Service .............................................. 163 Prissy Pals .............................................................................54 Radio Shack........................................................................108 Regina’s Fine Jewelry........................................................101 Rum Island Retreat ........................................................... 131 Sapp’s Pawn , Gun and Archery ......................................24 Silverwind Jewelry & Gifts .............................................. 73 Skate Station Funworks..............................................40, 41 Smithy’s Antiques ............................................................146 Stitch In Time Embroidery................................................ 72 Suwannee River Music Park ..........................................164 Thornebrook Gallery .........................................................42 Tioga Town Center...............................................................11 Valerie’s Loft ........................................................................98 West End Golf Course ..................................................... 103

EMPLOYMENT CD Case Assembly - Work from home .........................133 Government Jobs ....................................................... 52, 167 Weight Loss Employment ................................................97

MISCELLANEOUS Alachua County EPD ........................................................ 120 triRX Online Pharmacy ....................................................161 Weight Loss & Wellness .................................................. 151

SERVICE and HOME IMPROVEMENT 3-Way Electrical Service .................................................... 72 Absolute Tree Pro ............................................................. 126 Al Mincey Site Prep .......................................................... 102 Alachua Farm & Lumber...........................................80, 174 AllState Mechanical, Inc. .................................................. 73 All Season Outdoor Power & Performance ..................55 Alachua Printing .................................................................86 Almond Oil ........................................................................... 53 Andy’s Satellite ...................................................................93

352-373-9178

fax

Artful Upholstery & More ...............................................34 Authorized Carpet Cleaning ..........................................109 Bath Fitter ............................................................................84 Blake’s Lawn Care, LLC......................................................133 Blooming House Nursery...............................................140 Bounds Heating & Air ............................................ 176 (NB) The Buck Stove....................................................................26 Carpet & Things by Sherrie ..............................................94 Clint S. Davis LLC ................................................................159 Creekside Outdoor Improvements ................................ 27 DirecTV................................................................................ 103 Fences & Gates by IMI..................................................... 107 Floor Store .................................................................... 75, 144 Fresh Coat Painters ...........................................................137 Gonzales Site Prep ........................................................... 126 Great Lakes Carpet & Tile.................................................. 17 Griffis Lumber .................................................................... 131 Grower’s Fertilizer Corporation ......................................82 Gulf Coast Metal Roofing................................................. 77 Heckard Door .......................................................................21 Home Improvements by Andy Bixby ............................ 74 Innovative Home Builders ...............................................36 Jack’s Small Engine Repair................................................24 Kim Mamuzich Cleaning .................................................. 52 Landscapes Unlimited........................................................61 Larry Resmondo Air Conditioning.................................161 M&R Granite ......................................................................156 Natural Order Organizing ............................................... 60 Overhead Door Company ................................................83 Quality Cleaners ..................................................................15 Red Barn Home Center ....................................................124 S.E. Williams Electric, Inc. ............................................... 150 SMASH Pest & Lawn Specialists ....................................125 Southland Rock & Stone ..................................................92 Up Rite Enterprises Inc. .....................................................79 Waste Watchers .....................................................38, 47, 76 Watson Construction ......................................................169 Whitfield Window and Door......................................... 134

RESTAURANTS and DINING Brown’s Country Buffet...................................................110 Conestogas Restaurant ....................................................68 Coffee Clutch.....................................................................100 D’Lites Emporium................................................................81 Dave’s NY Deli .....................................................................59 David’s BBQ ....................................................................... 107 Gator Domino’s............................................................... 5, 59 El Toro Mexican Food & Salsa ..........................................15 La Mia Café ..........................................................................64 Los Aviña Mexican Restaurant .......................................29 Mad Hatter’s Café ...............................................................31 Main Street Pie Company - A Pizzaria ..........................118 Newberry Deli & Grille ......................................................31 NY Pizza Plus.........................................................................15 Panda Moni Yum Arcade ......................................... 48, 120 P’diddles ............................................................................... 25 Papa G’s BBQ .......................................................................93 Villaggio’s Pizzeria.............................................................. 72

www.VisitOurTowns.com

Winter 2009 | 171

ALACHUA POLICE DEPARTMENT ............................................................. 386-462-1396 ALACHUA COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE ................................................... 352-384-3101 (For Alachua and County residents) ALACHUA CITY HALL................................................................................... 386-462-1231 HIGH SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT .....................................................386-454-1415 HIGH SPRINGS FIRE DEPARTMENT .......................................................... 386-454-2056 HIGH SPRINGS CITY HALL .........................................................................386-454-1416 ALACHUA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE....................................................352-955-1818 (For Newberry and County residents) ALACHUA COUNTY SHERIFF NEWBERRY SUBSTATION ....................... 352-472-6402 NEWBERRY FIRE DEPARTMENT ..................................................................352-472-2137 NEWBERRY CITY HALL................................................................................ 352-472-3259 ALACHUA COUNTY CRISIS CENTER ........................................................ 352-264-6785 FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL .................................................................... 352-955-2150 POISON CONTROL .....................................................................................800-222-1222 VICTIM SERVICES.........................................................................................352-264-6760 AMERICAN RED CROSS ............................................................................. 352-376-4669 HURRICANES AND STORMS .....................................................................352-264-6500 COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY .............................................................. 352-373-7667 SALVATION ARMY....................................................................................... 352-376-1743 UNITED WAY 2-1-1 for North Central Florida Hotline .................211 or 352-332-4636 ALACHUA COUNTY DRIVER LICENSE .......................................................352-955-2110 DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN & FAMILIES .................................................352-955-5017 ALACHUA COUNTY FORESTRY DIVISION .............................................. 352-955-2239 ALACHUA COUNTY PROPERTY APPRAISER ..........................................352-374-5230 ALACHUA COUNTY CLERK OF THE COURT ..........................................352-374-3620 ALACHUA COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION .......................................... 352-374-5245 ALACHUA COUNTY CODE ENFORCEMENT ..........................................352-374-5240 ALACHUA COUNTY VETERANS SERVICES..............................................352-264-6740

172 | Winter 2009

For All Your Retail Needs...

TV’s DVD Players, DVD’s, Guns, Gun Safes, Home Entertainment, Electric Guitars, Tools Galore!

Huge, Huge, Huge Jewelry Selection

We Buy Scrap Gold!

Alachua Pawn & Jewelry Sales and Loans Now Online! www.AlachuaPawn.com

16130 NW US HWY 441 P.O. Box 2049, Alachua, FL 32615

M-F: 9am-6pm - Sat: 9am-1pm www.VisitOurTowns.com

386.462.5429 Winter 2009 | 173

Alachua Farm & Lumber

Photo courtesy of Woods ‘N Water Magazine and Ken Hosford

F-R-M’s Midway 20% Deer Pellets are specifically designed for maximum protein absorption for whitetail deer.

F-R-M’s Super 12 is an all-natural textured feed for cattle, horses, and goats.

F-R-M’s full line of pet foods offers a formula that’s just right for the lifestyle of your dog.

Complete Line of 14101 N.W. 145th Ave.

Alachua, FL 174 | Winter 2009

Feeds

386.462.3003

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s All In The Details Over 20 years of experience Hand Washing â&#x20AC;˘ Hand Waxing â&#x20AC;˘ Full Details The CyberKnifeÂŽ is painless for patients.

But tumors should be afraid, very afraid.

WEDNESDAY SPECIAL!

12 Car Wash

$

The Cancer Center at North Florida Regional Medical Center is one of the few facilities anywhere with the CyberKnifeÂŽ Robotic Radiosurgery System. This incredible non-invasive technology is a gigantic leap forward from traditional radiation treatments. What used to require up to 45 radiation treatments now takes only one to ďŹ ve. It is also a painless, bloodless alternative to surgery. In addition, we oďŹ&#x20AC;er the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy that delivers a precise 3-D radiation dose while sparing healthy tissue. Cutting-edge technology delivered to you with old-fashioned hospitality â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that is our unique approach. Because to us, everything revolves around you.

To learn about cancer treatment, or for a physician referral, call Consult-a-NurseÂŽ 24/7 at 1-800-611-6913.

Byranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Auto Detailing & Car Wash â&#x20AC;&#x153;Professional Service, with a Personal Touchâ&#x20AC;?

17886 NW US Hwy 441 â&#x20AC;˘ High Springs â&#x20AC;˘ 352-871-7988

X X X O G S N D D B O D F S D P N t / F X C F S S Z 3 E ( B J O F T W J M M F ' -

09NFR059_CancerCenter_Cyberknife_OurTown_7.375x10.5.indd 1

INCLUDES: Complete Wash, Vacuum, Windows, Door Jambs, and Interior Wipe

11/10/09 12:18:36 PM

High Springs and Alachua

YOUR RESOURCE GUIDE FOR THE HIGH SPRINGS AND ALACHUA COMMUNITIES

Winter 2009-10

FREE TAKE ONE

www.VisitOurTowns.com

Home Tours RESIDENTS OPEN THEIR HISTORIC HOMES FOR FESTIVE HOLIDAY TOURS

Meet Ashley McDonough New High Springs Main Street Manager

The Cracker Kitchen is Cooking WINTER 2009-10

Newberry Author Janis Owens