Why should you read a column called “Life in White Springs”? It’s a fair question, especially if you live in Suwannee County or Lafayette County. I mean, why would you folks who live in or near Live Oak, Wellborn, Dowling Park, Branford, McAlpin, O’Brien, Mayo, Day or way over in Hatch Bend want to know what’s going on in White Springs? Well, if you’ll bear with me and read this column, probably for the first time, I think you’ll usually find some universal substance in the content that is of interest to all of us. This is not a gossip column. It is a column that explores the pleasures, benefits and challenges of small town/rural life. This is not a society column but it is a column that appreciates both the multi-generational families and the “newcomers” who value the diversity of our people and the history, tradition, heritage, culture, architecture, folklife and natural wonder that surrounds us all. Life in White Springs more than likely has a lot in common with life in your small town, and in this column we will explore the many aspects of small town/rural life that we share. Like the Suwannee River that flows through our region, we have a common thread in the fabric of our community lives. It may be a little different in White Springs than it is in Live Oak, Branford or other places in the region, but, like the river, we all have some things in common, some things that we all share, we all care about, and that make us realize that we’re all in this rural, North Florida, Suwannee Valley life together. Together, we can be more aware, stronger, and more resilient.
If you live elsewhere, this column will occasionally entice you to come to White Springs, perhaps for the Florida Folk Festival, perhaps to canoe on a section of the river that is different from where you live, perhaps to hike out to Big Shoals and experience the majesty of Florida’s only class three rapids, located on “your” Suwannee River. We might get you to come for the White Springs Quilt Trail. Now gentlemen don’t resist! A lot of these quilts are located on buildings you would enjoy visiting! White Springs is part of the Florida Quilt Trail that now encompasses the communities of Trenton, Madison, Lake City, Live Oak, Englis, Chiefland, High Springs, Horseshoe Beach, Branford, Monticello, Wellborn Williston, Jensen, Jasper, Bell and Yankee Town. Quilt trails bring visitors to town, and visitors help our small town economies. White Springs has a beautiful historic district and a nice antique mall located in one of the region’s few remaining old country store buildings, The Adams Country Store. We might invite you to come see our spring, which is now flowing again! We may share with you our concerns about water issues and springs that apply to all of us. Perhaps you’ll come ride some of our bicycle trails or attend one of the seven cycling events hosted by the Suwannee Bicycling Association. Seven bicycling events??? Hosting hundreds of riders per event???? And they’re all from out of town, folks. It’s called eco-tourism and it’s because we have hundreds of miles of the best rural on road and off road bike trails in the state. Or, if you’ve got agricultural roots, we may persuade you to come to the Antique Tractor and Engine show. It’s this weekend and it’s amazing! (More on that further down in the column.)
The point of all this information is that there is a lot going on in White Springs that will be of interest to you, wherever you live. We welcome you! But we also realize that White Springs is not a world unto itself, that there is a lot going on in your part of our region that is worth sharing. We are curious to know more about your area too. We can share information and resources, and even problems and solutions.
Again, we’re all in this together. “Life in White Springs” is all about information that is helpful in building a stronger and more vibrant community, and we’ll often ignore city limits and county lines in our mission. To help us build a better, larger, stronger and more informed community all across our Suwannee region, give “Life in White Springs” a try and, more importantly, give us some feedback and let us hear from you!
Do you love old antique farm tractors? We have some wonderful events over at our partner’s place, the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, and coming up this weekend is one of my all-time favorite events at the park, The Antique Tractor and Engine Show! A visit to this event puts you in touch with your rural heritage in a way that no history book could ever duplicate. Merri and I have been to practically every one of these tractor and engine shows and we have many photos of us and our family members sitting on some of the old tractors. It’s a hands on experience where I’ve seen everything from gasoline powered washing machines to antique, fully operational steam engines, and it’s a perfect, outdoor event for the whole family, because adults and kids really have a great time sharing the experience. Antique tractors and farming equipment reflecting 200 years of rural American history will be on display throughout the festival. Visitors will be able to watch demonstrations of wheat threshing, shingle milling, corn grinding and unusual engines used for everyday purposes. Exhibits will include collections of flywheels, hit and miss engines, water pumps, vintage pedal tractors, antique cars and farm equipment. These “antiques” are alive, and if the running of an old “hit or miss” engine can’t transport you back in time, then you are too firmly stuck in the present! There will be competitions and games for the whole family! On Saturday, an antique tractor parade will feature everything from customized lawn tractors to restored farm machinery. There are “Tractor Pulls” daily. This event takes place from Thursday, April 5 to Saturday, April 7, 9:00am - 5:00pm.
The 51st Easter Sunrise service in White Springs at the Stephen Foster Park was, as always, a singularly unique and powerful gathering, unlike any other in the area, state or nation. Held outdoors in a striking setting at the base of the world’s largest tubular bell carillon tower, the service was officiated by a diversity of representatives hailing from eleven different area churches, with a mighty Sunrise choir comprised of choir members from seven churches and accompanied by a large chorus of morning songbirds! The event was attended by a large and inclusive audience from as near as White Springs and as far as Gainesville. It was worth the early rising and the trip, short or long, because it brought together a community for a spiritual celebration that will be remembered and cherished. If you were there, I don’t need to explain it, and if you weren’t there, my efforts to describe it would fall far short. You’ll just have to come next year to the 52nd.
Now let us give thanks! Events like the Sunrise Service don’t just happen. They require a lot of planning and a lot of work! Thanks go out to the staff of the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park and the White Springs area churches and all the many people of those organizations too numerous to mention by name here. It takes a village!
Lovely Mae Williams is someone who has always been kind and warm to Merri and me, starting back when Merri first came to White Springs in the early seventies. Now we want to join the community in wishing Lovely Mae a happy birthday in advance of April 12th, when she will officially celebrate her eighty fifth year! (yes, I got her permission!) Happy Birthday Lovely Mae! I hope your good health and generous spirit are contagious!
I’m always glad to hear about goings on in the community and will be glad to share anything appropriate for this column. Email is the best way to contact me, but any way is welcome. I am thankful that we truly are all connected, and I hope that we can continue to feel proud of who we are and where we’re headed, and that we all appreciate that White Springs and its surrounding region is a very special place, to be honored and protected. As always, I look forward to seeing you out and about, enjoying your community and your life in White Springs or wherever you may be.
Walter McKenzie
386-303-1394
lifeinwhitesprings@gmail.com