Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

Shopping, office parties and gatherings with friends aren’t the only things happening during the holiday season – special events also are being offered at various venues throughout northwest Hillsborough, Central Pasco and Eastern Pasco County.

Visitors to Richland Baptist Church in Zephyrhills can travel back in time at the church’s 16^th annual presentation of “The Walk Through Bethlehem.”

Each year volunteer crews transform a patch of land near the church – roughly a third of the size of the ancient city of Bethlehem – into a city that feels like it is part of the first century town where the baby Jesus was born, said Roger Denis, a volunteer on the construction crew.

Those taking the walk will be guided through the reconstructed city, where they will see a census taker, city people of all ages, shopkeepers and Roman guards all in period costumes.

As visitors make their way through the city, they’ll hear a conversation between their guide and the various shopkeepers, as the story of the birth of Christ is told, and then they will see a live Nativity scene.

But the tour won’t end there, spectators also will see the crucifixion scene and the empty tomb.

The event is scheduled for 6-10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10; 6-10 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 11; and 6-9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12. The church is at 40443 Stewart Road, about half-way between Zephyrhills and Dade City. Admission and parking are free.

Another live nativity scene is planned on the grounds of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints at 7851 Lutz-Lake Fern Road in Odessa.

Three modern-day carpenters recently were working under a blazing afternoon sun, sawing wood, drilling screws and aligning walls as part of a massive effort to create the setting for a re-enactment of those ago days when a baby named Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem.

When the work is done, “A Night in Bethlehem, a Live Nativity,” will be presented to the public now in its fifth year, is being presented to the public by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 7851 Lutz Lake-Fern Road.

About 100 people are involved in the annual effort. Some transform the field on the east side of the church into the city of Bethlehem, complete shops, inns and a stable. Others assume roles in the nativity, or help with the logistics of putting on the event.

Those attending the event will be asked to sign the “census” as they enter the city of Bethlehem. At the gate, they’ll be asked to pay their taxes – a can of nonperishable food that will be donated to Metropolitan Ministries.

Once inside the city, visitors will find a gift shop, a carpenter’s shop, a pottery shop, a bakery, a candle shop and a Hebrew school.

Kids will be able to play with a dreidel, learn to write their names in Hebrew and sample some pita bread, dried fruit, oranges, olives and cheese.

The spectators will see a depiction of Mary and Joseph looking for a place for stay, said Marilyn Thompson, a volunteer who pitches in each year on the project. Mary will arrive on a horse. Inn keepers will turn away Mary and her husband, Joseph. One innkeeper, however, will allow the couple to stay in a stable.

Near the stable, shepherds will tend their sheep and three kings from the Orient will come to pay homage to the baby Jesus.

Music will accompany the various scenes at the live nativity.

Presentation of the live nativity will happen every half-hour, beginning at 6:30 p.m., with the final presentation beginning at 8:30 p.m. Free refreshments will be served in the church.

ending at 9 p.m. Free refreshments will be served in the church. The event is scheduled nightly, Dec. 9-12.

In another Christmas celebration, Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, on North Dale Mabry Highway, just north of Van Dyke Road, will be hosting “A Home Town Christmas,” a dramatic musical presentation.

Senior Pastor Ken Whitten and his daughters, Kim Whitten and Tana Whitten Knouse, wrote the script for the production, which includes a 300-voice adult choir, 75-piece orchestra and 125-voice student chorus. The cast is an ensemble of about 20 members.

The production, which runs about two hours, establishes a setting, Creates a sense of connection with the audience and delivers a spiritual dynamic, said Ron Upton, the church’s minister of music and worship and producer and director of this show.

Hundreds of people spend countless hours to pull off the annual event, Upton said. “It’s a major undertaking.”

Besides the singers, musicians, actors and script writers, there also are ushers, greeters and parking attendants, he said.

This year’s event is at 7 p.m. nightly, Dec. 10-12.

Tickets are available at www.idlewild.org, or may be purchased at the door. They sell for $12, $10 and $8 each.

By Molly McGowan

Laker Correspondent

Programs like Pasco County’s Elderly Nutrition services thrive because of the generosity of others, and for the past 33 years, the meal service has been able to provide free food for participants over 60 at eight dining sites throughout Pasco County.

However, back in June, the existence of the Zephyrhills location was threatened when the church partner, which had housed the service for 19 months, was no longer able to afford the cost of hosting the program. Elderly Nutrition Program Manager Gabriel Papadopoulos was left to scramble for a new church in the area that could afford to host the 35 seniors who depended on the lunch service. And that’s where Father Ed Scully stepped in.

Originally from St. James Episcopal in Albion, Mich., Father Scully had just relocated to Florida in March and had been with St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal for only a short time when Papadopoulos contacted him in July. Though Scully’s congregation is in Zephyrhills, he lives in the Temple Terrace area, and thus was astounded that Papadopoulos had located him so soon after his arrival to Florida.

“What’s the probability that this guy would find me in a county I don’t even live in?” Scully said, remembering Papadopoulos’ phone call. “I thought, ‘How can I refuse a guy named Gabriel? He must be an angel.’” So after four months without a church home, Pasco County’s Elderly Nutrition program was able to serve lunch again in Zephyrhills Mondays through Fridays.

Scully is no stranger to serving the elderly community. Back in Michigan in 2002, he spearheaded the campaign to build a soup kitchen in an area with a great deal of poverty. Scully said he remembers how limited both the menu and turnout were that first night. He said the meal consisted of 24 cans of Progresso lentil soup and “there were more professionals there (to view the opening) than there were clients.” By week three there were six clients and the number finally grew to 50, “depending on the meal we were serving,” Scully said. The menu had also evolved, to barbecue or turkey dinners, with salads and desserts.

The program in Michigan relied heavily on volunteers and donations, as does the Zephyrhills branch of Elderly Nutrition Services. According to Papadopoulos, there are about 20 volunteers at the location, and its popularity is growing; the old location usually hosted about 35 patrons, but the new location at St. Elizabeth’s is seeing upwards of 50 on average. Both Papadopoulos and Scully are excited about the program’s growth, and Scully is thrilled by all the different activities provided for the elderly. He said that in addition to church parishioners volunteering on a daily basis, a health and wellness team visits monthly to run blood pressure checks and other basic services. Encouraged by the joined forces of Elderly Nutrition Services and St. Elizabeth’s, Scully wants to do even more for seniors in the area. “There are still too many community elderly who go hungry or fall by the wayside because they don’t have money, he said.”

Regardless of any potential plans for the program, Papadopoulos feels blessed to have made an ally of Scully, and Scully said he feels led by God to provide his church as the Zephyrhills location. “That’s what we’re about,” he said. “Food for the journey.”

By Kyle LoJacono

In Lutz, the holiday season does not officially start until Santa stops by the Old Lutz Schoolhouse for breakfast.

For the last 14 years, local residents have organized Breakfast with Santa, which is always the second Saturday in December so it does not conflict with the Lutz Arts and Crafts Festival. This year the event is Dec. 11 from 8:30-11 a.m. at the schoolhouse, 18819 US 41 in front of Lutz Elementary.

“It started when we stopped doing the haunted house at the school,” said Phyllis Hoedt, one of the directors of the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Women’s Club and a committee member of the Citizens for the Old Lutz Schoolhouse. “It was a way to say thank you to all the people who helped put that event on and to the community for coming. We knew we wanted to keep doing something at the schoolhouse so we came up with this.”

The group did the haunted house for about 20 years, until it was deemed a fire hazard.

Old St. Nick poses no such danger.

Children will get to meet Santa himself and parents can take their own pictures. The continental breakfast is $2 and also includes crafts for the kids and a tour of the schoolhouse, which will be decorated for the holiday season. Once decorated, it is known as the Christmas house.

“It’s just a great morning with the family,” said Bill Westcott, commander of the North Tampa-Lutz Squadron and committee member of the citizens group. “People come out and have a lot of fun with Santa and it’s become a tradition here.”

Hoedt said the money goes to support the schoolhouse. The building is very old and needs various repairs on a regular basis. It recently had two windows replaced with money raised from similar events. Women’s Club and Civil Air Patrol Squadron help decorate the schoolhouse for the breakfast. There are various holiday events at the Christmas house in the days following the morning with Santa, including nights of singing holiday songs.

The Christmas house will be open to the public from 6:30-9 p.m. each Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday following the breakfast except the week of Christmas and New Year’s Day. For more information, call Hoedt at (813) 949-1937.

By Tammy Sue Struble

A woman who responded to a “We Buy Military Photos, Uniforms” advertisement helped Zephyrhills collector John Bolender obtain some first-hand memorabilia from a day that lives in infamy in American history.

Chief Warrant Officer Clyde Daughtry spent 27 years in the Navy, according to the contents of his footlocker that Bolender now keeps at East 54 Mini Storage in Zephyrhills, where he has a room stuffed with military memorabilia. On Dec. 7, 1941, that former Naval photographer was stationed at Pearl Harbor. When Japan bombed that base 69 years ago this week, Daughtry was three decks below aboard the docked USS Argonne.  Some of his shipmates ran below to inform him “we were being attacked,” according to his journal.

Daughtry hurried to topside to see for himself, thinking it was a “sham.” It was no sham – there was a “large splash 100 ft.” (from him).

He ran below to get his 16 mm film camera together. Mr. Daughtry explained that most of the crews on the ships in the harbor were sleeping at about 7:55 a.m. when the attack on Pearl Harbor began because they had weekend liberty.

“We were taken so much off guard,” Daughtry wrote, “most of the damage was done before our guns got into action. The (Japs) flew so low, they could be seen laughing at my shipmates running on deck” from the machine guns on their planes.

Daughtry was able to film over the last half of the attack as it took him around 10-15 minutes to get his camera together.

When the day was done, the Navy photographer turned over his film to the Navy. His footage was one of few films of the attack. For years, Clyde tried to locate the original films and get credit for his photography that day. The Navy researched and confirmed his films had existed; however, they were unable to locate the originals.

In 1983 the Department of the Navy sent Clyde Daughtry, Retired USN, a letter of congratulations and stated, “We … owe you a double debt of gratitude, both for making the film in 1941 and for persevering in your search for it over the years.”

Clyde passed away Nov. 17, 1985 in Fort Myers, Florida. His last excerpt in his notes on the attack on Pearl Harbor, “Their (sp) was much more damage I didn’t know about, but from one sailor to another, that was Hell on Earth Dec. 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor.”

By B.C. Manion

We all have turning points in our lives.

For Linda Carr, one of hers came when she was in her young 20s and her mother asked her to fill in for her at the concession stand for Carr’s brother’s football team.

Carr worked the French fry station and had a blast.

“I absolutely loved it,” she said.

She decided that was the kind of work she wanted to do.

Carr went on to carve out a career in the fast-food industry, working for chains including Burger King, Checker’s, Wendy’s and Subway for a combined total of more than two decades.

About six years ago, Carr had another turning point. She decided to go into business for herself.

She decided she wanted to have a bagel restaurant, but she didn’t know a darn thing about making bagels.

So, she made a deal with some bagel shop owners: She’d work in their shops for free, if they would teach her the tricks of the trade.

“People thought I was crazy,” she said.

But she observed: “There is no bagel school.”

She spent time working at bagel shops in various locales, including Manhattan, New Port Richey, Ocala and Ft. Lauderdale.

The bagel shop operators were generous with their knowledge, she said.

Bagels are not all created equal, Carr said, adding there is no denying that New York bagels taste different than those made elsewhere.

“The difference between New York bagels and here is the water,” Carr said, conceding she can’t replicate that distinctive taste.

However, she said, she strives to satisfy her customers by providing fresh bagels in a variety of flavors.

“I have a lot of New Yorkers come in who say the bagels are good.”

She guarantees that the bagels sold in her Bagelicious & More shops are made that day. Whatever isn’t sold that day is made into bagel chips or donated to the Helping Hands Pantry at Atonement Lutheran Church, 29617 SR 54.

Carla Haberland of the church’s food pantry said Bagelicious provides hundreds of pounds of bagels each week in donations.

“We bag them up, six in a bag,” Haberland said. People picking up food at the pantry enjoy getting the bagels, she added. “They love them.”

Bagelicious & More has two locations now and is planning to add a third soon. The quick-service café at 30032 SR 54 in Wesley Chapel opened about two years ago and another location opened about six months ago in Zephyrhills at 6215 Abbot Station Drive.

A third location will be set up at Moffitt Cancer Center at International Plaza, a new Moffitt location that is slated to open next summer.

Bagelicious & More will be providing the food service at that Moffitt location, Carr said, noting she was invited to bid on the work and was selected through a competitive process. “I was recommended by some of my customers,” Carr said.

The café in Wesley Chapel has a simple décor with chairs and tables, a flat-screen television and free Wi-Fi. The bagels and cream cheese spreads come in a wide assortment of flavors, but the menu also has a broad array of other items for breakfast, lunch or snacks.

The restaurant serves Seattle’s Best Coffee and offers all of the same specialty drinks as are available at Starbucks, Carr said, mentioning she has a contract with them.

Popular lunch items include a chicken salad melt, Cuban sandwiches, soups and salads. Burgers can be ordered on a bun or a bagel, and there also are salads, soups and wraps.

Bagelicious does catering, handles orders for sack lunches and prepares breakfast for Learning Gate Academy in Lutz.

Kim Burns, who lives in Wesley Chapel, drops by the restaurant about three times a week.

“It’s close to my home and it’s quality food,” she said. The turkey club is one of her favorite sandwiches, she said.

She thinks the prices are fair and she likes the staff.

“They’re very friendly,” Burns said.

Carr also thinks highly of the staff. “I enjoy my staff. I enjoy teaching them.”

One of her employees is her daughter, 28-year-old Gayla Ramon, who works with her at the Wesley Chapel location.

In one sense, this mother-daughter pair is carrying on a family tradition.

“I lost my mother seven years ago,” Carr said. But, she noted, “When she (Carr’s mother) was 16 or 17 she worked in a restaurant with her mother (Carr’s grandmother).”

After years of working for employers and helping them make reach their sales goals, Carr finds it deeply gratifying to be building a business of her own.

The restaurant industry requires hard work and smart management, Carr said. Besides serving tasty food, it requires keeping tight control on costs for labor and supplies.

“You have to fight for your food costs,” said the seasoned restaurateur, who has developed a thorough knowledge of the ins and outs of business through her decades of experience.

Besides the innate challenges of the restaurant business, Carr said she’s had an added challenge with SR 54 being torn up for road construction.

When the project is finished, it will be fantastic, she said. Meanwhile, fewer customers are willing to pull into her business because it is harder to get out.

Even so, Carr has a really good feeling about her future path in the bagel business.

“I felt very guided as I did this project,” she said. “Everything fell into place.”

She is optimistic her business will continue to grow and thrive.

“Bagelicious will be well-known,” she predicted.

By Glenn G. Gefers

of www.photosby3g.com

Continuing an annual ritual, Betsy Altshuler, a Land O’ Lakes resident and board member of the American Culinary Federation, stopped recently at the SR 54/Collier Parkway Publix Land O’ Lakes to take advantage of their buy-one-get-one peanut butter sale.

But she wasn’t just looking for a good deal for herself.

She ordered 15 cases of creamy peanut butter — a tall order that will benefit dozens of families in the community. By collecting donations and being frugal, Altshuler was able to purchase 180 jars of peanut butter that will  make their way into the cupboards of those in need.

After leaving Publix, Altshuler went to the Suncoast Harvest Food Bank on Ehren Cutoff to donate her trunk full of Jif — plus other items. Her donation totaled 543 pounds.

Elizabeth Fields, executive director of Suncoast, processes many dropoffs each day from people just like Altshuler. The organization will top 3 million pounds in donations this year.

Suncoast has 10 employees and about 10 volunteers, including one 86-year-old who faithfully helps out each week.

From the warehouse, Suncoast distributes to more than 100 shelters, soup kitchens and pantries. For more information about Suncoast, visit www.suncoastharvest.org or call (813) 929-0200.

Mother organizes local version of global vigil to honor children who have died

By B.C. Manion

In the photograph, James David Birk and his sister, Samantha Adamo, lean toward their younger brother, Houston Adamo.
They’re all smiling broadly.

It’s the kind of photograph families often snap at the holidays.
This one was taken at the Hillsborough River State Park on Thanksgiving one year ago.
It was one of the first times in years that Linda Adamo had bothered to bring a camera to take pictures at the annual gathering, a tradition begun by earlier generations of her family going back more than 50 years.
Roughly 60 relatives and friends were there. They’d had a tremendous day, stuffing themselves with turkey and side dishes, playing games, laughing, chatting and checking out advertisements for the next day’s sales.
“We just had a really nice time,” Linda said.
James left for awhile, to watch a football game with a friend.
That’s when the bright, cheerful Happy Thanksgiving goes dark.
On his way back to spend the night camping with his family, in a tradition James had known his entire life, the 21-year-old lost control of his 2007 Ford Charger. He crashed into some trees and flipped, just minutes from his family.
Emergency personnel had to cut open the vehicle to free James from the wreckage. The University of Central Florida student was taken to Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, where he was pronounced dead.
It sent the family’s world reeling and they’ve been trying to regain their footing ever since.
“Burying your child is unreal,” Linda said. “It’s like an out-of-body experience. Completely. Completely,” she said. “You need help.”
She and her husband, Tim, got some help, but they — along with Samantha and Houston — still struggle with James’ death.
“I still don’t function right. There are still some days that I can’t get out of bed,” Linda said.
She knows there are others who have experienced the same kind of loss and pain.
That’s why she decided to try to organize a candlelight vigil on Dec. 12 at the Lutz Little League, in an event that coincides with Worldwide Candle Lighting Around the Globe. The Lutz event begins at 6 p.m., with the candle lighting at 7 p.m.
“It’s worldwide and in every different time zone,” Linda said. “For one hour you light a candle, so for 24 hours there will be a candle lit for every child who has died.”
Everyone is welcome to the vigil. Those sharing the event don’t have to be grieving the loss of their own child — they can be supporting someone else whose child has died. And it doesn’t matter how old the child was when he or she died, or when the death occurred, Linda said.
Time passes, but the grieving continues.
James’ accident was a nightmare, said his grandmother, June Cannon. “We try to guess and mostly we think it was a deer,” she said, speculating that he may have swerved to miss hitting one. “We don’t know though.”
They do know that alcohol did not play a role, Linda said, because an autopsy was performed.
The force of the accident caused massive internal injuries, June said. “It crushed his heart.”
James was the kind of guy who was always going out of his way to help others, Linda said.
He loved his sister and brother, she added.
He cared so much about Samantha that he would drive in from Orlando to watch her do a three-minute cheerleading routine. And, if James heard Houston was having a problem with his Xbox, he’d drive to Land O’ Lakes to fix it.
He was well-loved, Linda said. More than 500 people turned out for his visitation.
Tim said he still misses James so much that he periodically sends him text messages.
When James died, a lot of people didn’t know what to do, the couple said.
But some friends from the Lutz Leaguerettes knew just the thing.
They built a sanctuary in the family’s backyard, with brick pavers, chairs, mature palm trees and a fire pit – right in the spot where James had dug his original fire pit.
“James loved fires,” his grandmother said.
The friends who built the backyard oasis had these words etched onto one of the bricks: “James David, loving son & brother, your flame will forever burn in our hearts.”
A candlelight vigil, in memory of James, and others like him, seems fitting.

What: Worldwide Candle Lighting vigil in remembrance of children who have passed away
Where: Lutz Little League, 770 Lutz-Lake Fern Rd.
When: Sunday, Dec. 12 — 6 p.m. event begins; 7 p.m. candle lighting
Who: For bereaved families of Hillsborough and Pasco counties.
Highlights: Special readings, music and an announcement of the name of each child who has passed away. Please bring a photograph of the child who has passed away to be displayed on a special table. Also, candles will be provided, but feel free to bring one in case the supply runs out.
Contact: Linda Adamo, (813) 841-4374 or