Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

When it started 44 years ago, the Rattlesnake Festival was very different from the fall carnival it is today.
Jack Vogel was one of the events founders and remembers those humble beginnings.
“From the early days, the festival was indeed a rattlesnake roundup with people capturing rattlesnakes to enter competitions for size, weight and appearance although no rattlesnakes were slaughtered,” Vogel said. “Real gopher turtles were also used for the races. Children and businesses would paint them and compete for trophies. In the ’80s, however, environmental concerns changed all that.”

Plenty of rattlesnakes will be present this year, but they are not longer the only attraction.
The event, which draws 30,000 to 40,000 from around the Tampa Bay area, is from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16 and 11 a.m.-4-p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17 at San Antonio City Park near city hall. Both admission and parking are free.
“We’ve tried to keep it as affordable as possible for a family to come out and spend the day or weekend,” said Stephanie Stephenson, festival board secretary. “All the shows and crafts and contests are less than $10 to enter.”
Stephenson said it is more of a fall festival today, but there is also an educational element to the event. Part of that teaching comes from the snake and reptile show, which includes many rattlesnakes. The show is $5, $2 for children ages 12 and younger.
Other attractions at the festival include wildlife exhibits, pony rides, crafts, contests and plenty of food, all of which is made at the event.
One of the highlights is the gopher race, which is $1. The event used to have real gopher tortoises, but today mockups of the reptile are used instead.
“It’s an outstanding event and I have participated in it for many years,” said Pasco County Commission Chairwoman Pat Mulieri. “In fact, I will be calling the 1 o’clock gopher race on Sunday.
“The race brings the community together, gives local people a chance to participate and does help the economy of the area,” Mulieri continued.
Mulieri is also the chairwoman of the Pasco Tourism Council. She said the influx of people to east Pasco helps the entire county when people buy gas, get food at the restaurants or stay at a hotel for the two-day festival.
Many people think they serve rattlesnake at the festival, but Stephenson said that is not the case.
“The funny thing is we’ve never served rattlesnake at the festival,” Stephenson said. “I hear that from people. We just have chicken, fish and other carnival food.”
The day will begin with the Rattlesnake Festival 5-mile and 1-mile races starting at 8 a.m. and 8:10 a.m. respectively. About 600 participate in the run each year. The start and finish lines are both on Magnolia Street near San Ann Liquors & Restaurant. The course is challenging with varying terrain and includes hills. For more information or for a registration form, call (352) 588-4444.
Also part of the festivities are the five Miss Rattlers, which will be named in the days leading up to the event. The five new winners will be out and about at the various events throughout the festival.
Contests include the Corn Toss Tournament, best Western Wear contest and the gopher race. For more information on event times, visit rattlesnakefestival.com.
Money from the contest, wildlife shows and food sales goes to benefit area churches and groups like Girl and Boy Scouts
“There’s something for everyone out here,” Stephenson said. “Where else can you see pageant winners, gopher races and rattlesnakes all in one place?”

By Elizabeth Gwilt

From music to wings to cars and hayrides, organizers of this weekend’s Wesley Chapel Fall Festival promise enough attractions to fill a whole weekend.
The festival will take place on Saturday, Oct. 16 and Sunday, Oct. 17 at the Grove mall. Formerly called the Wesley Chapel Craft Show, last year the festival drew crowds of about 30,000 people over the course of two days, and this year’s attendance is expected to be the same.

David West, director of the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, said the event has undergone some changes in recent years.
“It’s no longer just a craft show,” West said. “We have such a variety of activities now: food vendors, pumpkin patches, live music all day — you name it.”
A custom car show is one highlight of the festival, with classic cars on display Saturday and Hot Rods taking center stage on Sunday.
Entire areas at the festival are designated just for the kids. Traditional autumn-themed entertainment such as scarecrow making and hayrides are available, but bubble machines, rock-climbing walls, human hamster ball rides, moon bounces and face painting are offered as well. Geoffrey the Giraffe from the Toys ‘R Us franchise will also make an appearance.
Battle of the Wings is one returning attraction, with Texas Roadhouse, last year’s winner, coming back to defend its title.
Restaurant manager Karina Evans is confident that Roadhouse wings will win again. “Our wings are always fresh and we have a legendary sauce,” Evans said.
“We are changing things up a bit this time. We are trying out a new flavor at the contest, and we’ll see what the other restaurants do,” Evans said.
This year, however, the competition says it’s ready. Ken Santo, owner of Santo’s Pizza and Pasta, says his wings are better. Santo came in second place at last year’s festival, but he doesn’t plan on changing his recipe.
“We serve a ton of wings at my restaurant. Our wings use the best products and the sauce takes four hours to make,” he said. “I’ve eaten the competition’s wings, and they’re decent, but I know mine are better.”
Both restaurants will be selling food at the festival along with other local eateries.
In addition to all the interactive fun, eight live bands will be playing through the duration of the festival. Looper Band, GreenLight Iguana, Bryan Edwards, and Ferengata will perform Saturday, while Sunday’s entertainment lineup includes Harold Jones, Nunes at Night, The Bucket List and 10th Concession.
“We are really hoping that families will come and have a great time together; there really is something for everyone,” West said.

Sharing recipes is a source of joy for mother and son

By B.C. Manion

They don’t have a fancy test kitchen, sophisticated equipment or years of formal culinary training, but this Lutz mother and son have big dreams.
They’re aiming for their own cooking show.

Years ago, they would have never pictured themselves having such lofty ambitions, but that was before they turned their hobby into a publishing venture that they hope will lead to bigger things.
Indeed, it already has.
Iris and Michael Raie are scheduled to appear Oct. 15-17 at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. They will be talking about their cooking techniques and recipes and signing copies of their book, “No Place Like Home: Southern Cooking with a Latin Flair.”
The mother and son say their love of cooking is rooted in generations of good cooks in their family.
“My mother was an excellent cook,” Iris said. Her grandmother was too, she said. “My mom grew up in the kitchen cooking. I grew up in the kitchen cooking.”
Michael has cooking in his genes too. “I grew up in a household that cooked. I fell in love with it.”
When he was just 4, Michael said, Iris caught him standing on a chair near the stove frying bacon.
“I came downstairs and I smelled bacon,” Iris said. When she went to see what was going on, she saw that Michael had the task well under control.
“Most boys like playing with cars and trucks, but my love was cooking” Michael writes in the cookbook. “My toys were an Easy Bake Oven, play stove and pots and pans.”
While the mother and son said they have always loved to cook, decorate and entertain, neither expected to turn their passion for making delicious foods into a larger pursuit.
The family used to live in South Tampa, Iris said. They decided to move out to Lutz several years ago after suffering some personal losses.
Michael’s big brother, Scott, who had epilepsy, died suddenly while he was sleeping. That happened in July 1997.
“I almost had a nervous breakdown,” Iris said.
Three years later, Iris’ husband, Jack, suffered a stroke that left him disabled.
The family decided to move to Lutz to begin making new memories, Iris said. Her mother, Lillie Pope, moved with them – and at 85 she was still cooking.
“Shortly after we moved here, we started seeing her decline,” Lillie said. In 2006, Lillie died, and while Iris knew her mother’s recipes by heart, they were not written down anywhere.
Friends encouraged Iris to compile the recipes in a book, and after she’d begun the project she decided to branch out and add her own recipes and some from her friends. Creating the book was a monumental task.
As Iris and Michael made Lillie’s dishes, they had to constantly measure ingredients that for years they’d added by a pinch or a handful.
The project was pricy. Buying the ingredients to make all of the recipes was expensive.
It also was time-consuming. They spent many long days prepping the ingredients, preparing the dishes and then cleaning up afterwards.
Ultimately, they decided to self-publish the book.
Their initial efforts of working with a publisher were frustrating and disappointing. The company did not do much to help them promote the book and its first royalty check bounced, Iris said. Eventually, the company went bankrupt.
She and Michael decided to try again with a second publisher, Tate Publishing & Enterprises, based in Mustang, Okla. The new publisher quickly agreed to take them on, and after making some changes, the new version was released on April 13.
Now the pair plans to self-publish a series of five cookbooks. Once they sell enough volumes they will recoup the money they have paid to the publishing company, Iris said.
Already, they are tasting more success. They’ve been on radio and television programs and will be featured in a podcast, called “The Delicious Story,” produced in Des Moines, Iowa.
They recently taught a cooking class on southern cuisine at The Rolling Pin in Brandon. They demonstrated how to make fried green tomatoes, chicken and dumplings, skillet cabbage and country-fried apples.
They hope the Epcot talks will open many new doors.
Their next cookbook, slated to come out next year, will be called “No Place Like Home: Holiday Creations.” Other books are planned on children’s recipes, desserts and international foods.
Besides tapping into her personal history to recall family recipes, Iris says she sometimes dreams up new flavor combinations. “I’m asleep and a recipe comes to mind,” she said.
Sometimes she researches several recipes for the same dish and then combines portions of the various recipes to create a new approach.
She also enjoys eating foods at restaurants and then figuring out a recipe to mimic the flavors she’s tasted.
The 280-page cookbook features a broad array of recipes, including appetizers, beverages, breads, breakfast items, salads, salad dressings, seafood, entrees, vegetables, side dishes, pies, cakes, cookies and candy.
Specific entries include recipes for guacamole, salsa, fried ravioli, fried green tomatoes, cheese olive puffs, quiche Lorraine, cranberry walnut bread, chicken salad, buttermilk biscuits, Spanish bean soup, collard green soup, baked tilapia, devil crabs, chicken and yellow rice, red beans and smoked sausage, pot roast and picadilla.
The $21.99 volume also includes recipes for fruit punches, an old-fashioned malt, deep-dish peach cobbler, sour cream pound cake and an assortment of cookies and candy.
Sharing recipes is a source of joy, Iris said. She said she doesn’t understand why some people want to keep them secret.
“There was a lady at the church where we used to go and she made the most delicious pickles and the most delicious apple butter,” Iris recalled. “I said, “I would love to have that recipe”
“She said, ‘Honey, I don’t give my recipes out to nobody,’ ” Iris said.
Michael added: “She said, “I’m taking them to the grave with me.”
“And she did,” Iris said. “To me, that is a waste. I would want to share – (so that) our recipes live on.”
For more information about the cookbook go to http://noplacelikehome.tatepublishing.net.

Pumpkin Roll-Up Cake

Cake ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3s cup cooked pumpkin
3/4s cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
½ cup powdered sugar

Filling ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
1 8-oz package cream cheese

Directions
Combine cake ingredients, except for the powdered sugar. Mix with an electric mixer. Cover a 12 by 15 cookie sheet with wax paper. Pour cake batter on the wax paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Sprinkle ½ cup powdered sugar on a clean dish towel. Flip cake over on the sugared towel. Remove wax paper and roll cake up in the towel. Unroll the cake when it is cool.
Mix the filling ingredients with the electric mixer. Spread the filling evenly onto the unrolled cake. Roll the cake up again. Sprinkle with remain powdered sugar. Serve after chilling.

Hearty Turkey Chili

2 20-oz packages ground turkey
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced green peppers
1 cup diced celery
3 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
2 1.25-oz packets of chili seasoning mix
2 16-oz cans chili beans, undrained
2 10-oz cans Rotel tomatoes and green chiles (undrained)
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Olive oil

Preheat large saucepan on medium high for 2-3 minutes. Place a little olive oil in the pan and brown turkey for 5-7 minutes, stirring until it crumbles. Transfer to a large soup pot. Clean the pan and coat it with oil to sauté onion, green pepper, celery and garlic. Cook for approximately 6-8 minutes. Transfer sautéed vegetables into soup pot with meat. Stir mixture. Add the remaining ingredients to the soup pot. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until cooked and flavors are well blended.
Note: This recipe makes a large pot of chili, which will serve about 10 people.
Optional: Chili can be served with grated sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Daniel Bond doesn’t show his 30 years of hunting rust

By Kyle LoJacono

It had been 30 years since Daniel Bond was on a hunting trip, but it seems the Pasco Lutz resident has a natural gift for it.
He was one of nine veterans invited to the 11th annual Billy Ray Parnell Purple Heart Memorial Hunt at Legends Ranch in Michigan Aug. 30 to Sept. 3. All nine were wounded while serving in the military and received Purple Heart awards.
“It was unbelievable,” Bond said. “The most amazing thing is how much different veterans are treated now as opposed to when I served in Vietnam. We didn’t get parades or anything like that when we got home, so it was very humbling to have this kind of treatment and to see how much public opinion has changed.”

Bond, 62, was the only one from Florida on the trip. Six of the nine were Vietnam War veterans, while one apiece was from World War II, the Korean War and the war in Iraq.
In his youth, Bond hunted regularly where he grew up in Michigan, but his injuries combined with the cold of the Midwest state forced him to give it up. Even though he had three decades of rust to kick off, he did so quickly and got a 9-point whitetail buck that weighed 180 pounds.
“The amazing thing is the last day we took a picture with all the guys and the seven deer we got,” Bond said. “It was great to hear all the stories from the guys of how they got their bucks.”
All the deer will be stuffed and mounted for free for the veterans. Bond said he will get his sometime next year.
Skipper Bettis, the ranch’s owner, said he started the event because he had a friend named Billy Ray Parnell who signed up with him for military service. Bettis was not allowed to serve because of a bad knee. Parnell went to Vietnam in 1970 and was killed in action.
“I do the event each year to honor my old friend and to give back to our heroes,” Bettis said. “It’s a small thing I can do to give them a good time and thank them for everything they’ve done.”
Bond served in the military for two years starting when he was drafted in May 1968. At the time he was a 21-year-old college student entering his sophomore year. Bond said people needed to take 12 credit hours to be considered full-time students and avoid the draft.

“I was taking 14 hours and dropped one class, which took me to 11,” Bond said. “I remember thinking at first what if I get drafted, but then figured they wouldn’t draft me and I’d just take 12 hours again the next semester. I was wrong.”
He received his draft notice three weeks later. Instead of going to the Army, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He said while it was not his original plan, he was still very proud to serve his country.
He was injured Nov. 1, 1968 when he was shot three times by an AK-47. The first shot hit him just above the left knee. He was down for about an hour in a swamp before being shot again, which grazed his back. He was hit the last time an hour and a half later in his side near his hip. The last bullet traveled up into his chest near his arm.
He was taken to a hospital in Chicago, which he stayed at for more than two years. He had to stay for so long because a lot of infection had set in during his two and a half hours in the swamp. The wound to his knee still gives him problems and he uses a cane to get around.
Bond said his family has a long history of military service dating back to the Civil War. His father, Kenneth, was a pilot in World War II and his son, Garrett, is a commissioned officer in the Marines.
Bond retired from a job as long-haul truck driver about two years ago. He lives with his wife Rosa.
For more information on the ranch or the hunting tournament, visit www.legendsranch.com.

By Kyle LoJacono

Thousands of people walked in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in Dade City last year and organizers are hoping for even more participants as the event comes to The Shops at Wiregrass.
The eighth edition is breaking from the traditional location at Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City for the more central location in Wesley Chapel. Organizers from the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) Pasco Unit wanted to give people the chance to participate in the only such event in the county.

“A lot of people know about the Relay For Life walks we do in the spring, but Strides is something we do each October especially to raise money and awareness for breast cancer,” said Stephanie Watts, ACS’ Pasco unit community representative. “Money raised at the relays goes to fund research, advocacy and services for all forms of cancer. Strides is just for breast cancer.”
The event is a 5K (5 kilometers or 3.1 miles) noncompetive walk around the mall that starts at 9 a.m. Registration is at 8 a.m. Pink ribbons will be all over the mall for the event.
“I really believe in the event because it raises money to fight the disease, but also gets women thinking about and getting screenings,” Watts said. “My cousin (Christine Watts) was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35 years old and my aunt (Camell Moore) was at 32. It’s not just for women 40 and older.”
Pasco County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Paula O’Neil has participated in the event as a walker the last six years and has taken on the role as event chairwoman for 2010. O’Neil has never had the disease, but her mother was taken by it.
“It’s just so beautiful to see people come together for the event,” O’Neil said. “I agreed to chair the event because of my mother and we’ve lost several employees at the clerk’s office to breast cancer. We also have several survivors who work here, so I’m reminded of how common the fight is every day. It’s personal to the clerk’s office.”
It is so personal to O’Neil and her Strides team, Clerks for a Cure, they have challenged other parts of Pasco’s government to raise money for the event. The challenge is called the pink government challenge.

O’Neil said the government team that brings in the most money in the challenge will receive a trophy at the walk. Other government groups participating include the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, Department of Engineering and Will Weatherford and his staff.
Last year the event drew 1,500-2,000 participants and raised $148,000. Watts said administrative costs are no more than 5 percent.
As of Oct. 6, Clerks for a Cure, which has 65 members, had raised $5,765, the third most by a county team. That is a large number, but one team is on the national Strides leader board.
Jazzercise Bosom Buddies has already brought in $23,075, the fifth most in the country for a group. Kris Dail is the Jazzercise team leader and her team will be leading a stretching and warm-up session to get walkers prepared for the event.
Much of the team’s money came from a fishing tournament called Reeling for Racks. Dail said the jazzercise studio in Dade City wanted to be a part of the event because many on the team know people who have had the disease.
“It’s a small way for us to show our support,” Dail said. “We do a lot of fundraising throughout the year from the fishing tournament and bake sales. We were determined to get as much as we could to fight the disease.”
The Pasco event also features the fifth leading individual, Linda Davenport, who has raised $18,595. Those interested in donating to any team or individual can do so at makingstrides.acsevents.org/pasco, where interested walkers can also register for the event.
For more information on the event, call Watts at (800) 940-1969 ext. 5612 or e-mail her at .
“You can see how much it means to the survivors and those still fighting it,” O’Neil said. “The really special thing is the money stays in Pasco County, so when people pitch in it helps their backyard.”

By B.C. Manion

On a recent morning at the Early Childhood Campus of Carrollwood Day School, a group of youngsters were planting peas, carrots, lettuce, Zucchini, eggplant and other vegetable seeds in earth boxes on a patio.

When 5-year-old Abby Garavuso popped out of the classroom door onto the patio, she shrieked.  The kindergartner could not believe how much a plant had shot up since she’d last seen it. She was beside herself with joy.
The plant was growing from a seed the children had planted as part of an experiment, said Betty Campbell, lead teacher at the campus.
Besides planting the vegetable seeds, the children will tend to the plants, draw pictures of the vegetables, dissect them and taste them.
The youngsters are engaged in the International Baccalaureate approach to education, which differs from the approach to learning used in traditional schools.
“I think the primary difference is that students discover information. We don’t teach facts. We want thinkers. We look for more than one right answer,” Campbell said.
“It doesn’t matter what you teach, it’s the concepts you are teaching: “What are things like? How are they connected to other things? What is your responsibility? All of those bigger concepts,” Campbell said.
“Whatever we teach here can be picked up and taken anywhere in the world,’’ Campbell said. The lessons are also developmentally appropriate, she said.
Carrollwood Day School’s Early Childhood Campus at 12606 Casey Road begins accepting children at the age of 2. The youngsters don’t become part of the IB program until age 3.
The school also has its Bearss Avenue campus at 1515 W. Bearss Ave., where it educates students in grades one through 12.
It is not unusual to have IB at the high school level, but it is not common to offer that form of education to young children.
Carrollwood Day School is the first school in Florida to be authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization to offer all three IB programs, from preschool through grade 12. It also is the sixth school in the nation approved to do so.

On a recent day at the Bearss Avenue campus, students were engaged in all sorts of learning activities.
Two fifth-graders sat in a hallway working as a team to research the potential health risks posed by artificial sweeteners. Youngsters in a first-grade classroom sang Zippity Do Dah as they put away some poetry and got ready for another lesson. Sixth-graders researched connections between ancient Egypt and the present day.
The walls in the school’s corridor are chock full of examples of hands-on work. On one wall, there are maps the children have drawn. On another, students answer a series of open-ended questions.
One question asks what they want to be when they grow up. One child wants to be a football player.  Another, an astronaut. A third, a musketeer.
Another question asks about their pets. One child writes: “I wish I had a rabbit.”
While some people may think the IB approach is meant only for highly intelligent students, Carrollwood Day School takes a more universal view.
“It’s for everybody to learn how to think,” said Ellen Nafe, principal at the Early Childhood Campus.  “It’s not skill and drill, not workbook. (It’s) What would you do if? How can you find out?”
“My view of the IB is that it is really for any student that is willing to work hard and wants a good college prep education,” said Ryan Kelly, CDS’ high school principal.

Students at Carrollwood Day School said they enjoy going to school there.
“This is a great place that has a lot of activities and it’s very fun,” said 12-year-old Jakob Vidal, who has attended the school for two years.
His classmate, Sarah Katherine Massey, is in her first year at the school. She thinks the smaller classes and better technology give students better opportunities for learning. She said the teachers are helpful too.
The 12-year-old said attending CDS has changed her attitude about school. “I’m really happy, “Yeah, let’s go to school’. Before I was like, “Do I have to go to school, really?”
For more information about Carrollwood Day School go to www.carrollwooddayschool.org.

By Kyle LoJacono

When people think of hospital volunteers they tend to envision older women in pink outfits, but in reality people of all ages and genders can benefit from giving their time.
“We have students as young as 14 to our oldest volunteer who is 96,” said Susan Bennett, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills volunteer coordinator. “We interview the volunteers to find out where they would be most happy and be of most help here. That way they can have a good time while giving back to the community.”

The influx of winter residents in east Pasco County makes the need for volunteers greater at the hospital. Currently its volunteer group, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills Auxiliary, has 275 members, but 82 are on leave. To be a volunteer, people need to be at least 14 years old and commit to one four-hour shift weekly for 25 weeks.
“We have four main groups of people who volunteer,” Bennett said. “High school kids usually do it for volunteer hours, while college students are looking for job experience.
“Then you have people just looking for employment and use the volunteering as a foot in the door and let me tell you, I’ve seen that work,” Bennett continued. “More than one person has gotten a job from volunteering here. Then you have the older population looking to stay active and social.”
One volunteer is 15-year-old Jenette Norris, who is home schooled. Older sisters Jessica and Jaimie also volunteered at the hospital.
“I wanted to get some volunteer hours and I heard it was a good place to do that from my sisters,” Norris said. “I like doing it because I know it really helps the other people here get more done.”
On the other end of the age spectrum is Auxiliary president Wilma Eshenour, 82. She has recorded more than 1,400 hours volunteering, a hobby she shares with husband John. Eshenour said she started just to help people and will do so as long as she can.

Volunteers like Norris help in the hospital’s 60 departments doing tasks like answering phones, filing documents, opening mail, helping in the cafeteria and working in the Auxiliary Gift Shop.
“If we didn’t have this kind of help, we couldn’t get half the things done we do now,” Bennett said. “It allows our nurses, doctors and other staff more time with the patients.”
Those working in the gift shop help in another way. All the money from items bought at the store are currently going to fulfill the Auxiliary’s $50,000 commitment to the hospital’s new Compressive Breast Institute. Money from the shop also bought the new shuttle used to take patients to and from their vehicles in the parking lot.
While the hospital has many volunteers now, Bennett said the turnover is usually high, making the need for new helpers a constant. For more information on becoming an Auxiliary volunteer, call (813) 779-6256. Applications can be found at the hospital, 7050 Gall Blvd. in Zephyrhills or by visiting www.fhzeph.org/Careers/Volunteer.aspx.