A Local Folkus » History

Wendell Berry is speaking at Stetson Monday Feb 1

John — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:23:20 +0000

What what what ….. Wendell Berry is in Florida?

Yes my friends it is true. Wendell Berry one of my favorite authors is speaking at Stetson University in a free lecture series Monday night the 1st of February. I’m heading up to attend the lecture and I can’t even express how excited I am. Berry’s non-fiction writing has played a pivotal role in developing many of my beliefs. Through his writing I’ve come to appreciate the importance of nurturing of our local community, that the good life is more than consuming and that working with the earth, even in the middle of a modern city, is vitally important to the health and well-being of my family.

The lecture is sponsored by the university’s Values Council. His talk, “Simple Solutions and Package Deals,” is based on the council’s theme for the year, “How Shall We Live?”. Berry will be discussing the impact of economic globalization on the way we live and it’s sure to be lecture chock-full of thought provoking ideas.

According to Berry, the good life includes sustainable agriculture, appropriate technologies, healthy rural communities, connection to place, the pleasures of good food, husbandry, good work, local economics, the miracle of life, fidelity, frugality, reverence, and the interconnectedness of life (via wiki).

Here are the details of the lecture: Stetson University at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, in the Lee Chapel of Elizabeth Hall, 421 N. Woodland Blvd. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Hope to see you there.

I’m a Cracker and proud of it!

John — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:41:03 +0000

Having been born and raised in Florida and being married to a 5th generation Floridian I’ve always been fascinated with Cracker Culture. I’m not talking about the pejorative term Cracker, but the nickname given to the pioneering families that settled Central Florida. On Sunday the Sentinel published a story titled ”Central Florida’s Towns that Time Forgot” full of images and short narratives about Central Florida’s unique history.

The stories and images reminded me of the growing up years I spent on the Deseret Ranch hunting and fishing along the Econlockhatchee river in east Orange Country with my Father. Walking through the pastures and wetlands of this area I often saw the remnants and traces of the bygone Cracker era. Dilapidated turpentine stills and Cypress mills with their rusted artifacts proved an imagination stirring site for me.

With these haunting memories still a stir I had the good fortune of discovering the Florida Historical Society’s website and their weekly radio magazine Florida Frontiers. A visit to their show’s website offered an archive of truly fascinating Florida history. The show airs on our local public radio station 90.7 WMFE on Thursday’s at 6:30 and you can subscribe to their podcast as well.

I’m seriously excited about exploring their archive and catching the show each week. I hope it continues to stoke my desire to explore Central Florida’s unique history. I’m sure you’ll be seeing other posts about Cracker Culture here in the future. I never thought about A Local Folkus might also showcase the folks of Florida’s past but heck they’re pretty interesting too!

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