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We pause, and remember (Part One)

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Sept. 11, 2001, was a day that began for most of us, like any other — but the events that transpired that day forever changed America.

On that morning, 19 terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes and deliberately crashed two of them into the North Tower and the South Tower of the World Trade Center. They smashed a third plane into the Pentagon. Passengers on the fourth plane overtook the hijackers and forced that plane to slam into an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The attacks claimed the lives of 2,977, as well as the 19 hijackers.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of that fateful day, we asked our readers to tell us where they were when they heard the news and how that day has affected them.

We share their compelling stories here in The Laker/Lutz News’ special 20th anniversary tribute, “Sept. 11, 2001: Remember & Reflect.”

–B.C. Manion, Editor of The Laker/Lutz News

First, helping others; then, overcome by dust and debris
On Sept. 11, 2001, I was caught beneath Ground Zero on my way to work, on a subway train in a smoke- and debris-filled tunnel.

This rush hour train was full of passengers. We had no idea what was occurring above us. After about a half-hour of being stuck in the tunnel between stations, the train began filling with smoke.

The passengers began ripping pieces of cloth from their clothing to protect their noses, in an attempt to filter out the smoke.

Former U.S. Army JAG Corps Captain Edward Rademaker (Courtesy of Edward Rademaker)

Some passengers began crying.

The train motorman hurriedly passed through my train car.

I asked the motorman what was happening, he replied, “I don’t know.”

The motorman then headed toward the last car and left the train.

The passengers, not knowing what was occurring, started to panic.

The passengers began to rush toward the last car.

One passenger fell to the floor, gasping for air with an asthma pump in his hand.

At this point, a retired detective and I took control of the situation.

We had the passengers line up in an orderly fashion and head toward the last car of the train, where the conductor had opened the last door of the last car.

We also picked up the asthmatic man and led him out of the train to an emergency exit of the train tunnel.

After the last passenger left the train, I walked through the smoke-filled train to make sure all of the passengers had been evacuated.

I then left the train, walked the live tracks and climbed up an emergency exit ladder to the street.

Once at street level, I saw the aftermath of the first collapsed tower. I saw several police officers assisting pedestrians. I advised the police officers that I was a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and asked if I could help.

The officers asked me to direct people in the street toward the Brooklyn Bridge, as lower Manhattan was being evacuated.

A short time later, as I was directing pedestrians toward the bridge, the second tower began collapsing.

I ran, but not fast enough.

The dust and debris blinded and covered me, and I could no longer breathe.

Fortunately, I was pulled from the debris and into a nearby building and resuscitated by an EMS worker.

After coming to, I went out of the building for medical assistance.

Several loud explosions were then heard and we all evacuated that building and ran toward the Brooklyn Bridge.

After walking across the bridge, I walked for several hours toward my home, as public transportation was unavailable.

I later caught a taxi home.

I had respiratory problems for several weeks from the dust that I inhaled.

Edward Rademaker originally wrote this for an U.S. Army newsletter in April 2002. (It has been slightly edited). He is a former U.S. Army JAG Corps Captain. 

-Edward Rademaker, Wesley Chapel

The morning of Sept. 11, 2001, began as a normal school day for then Denham Oaks art teacher Cindy Smith. (Courtesy of Cindy Smith)

On morning duty at Denham Oaks
As I was standing on morning duty outside the front office of Denham Oaks Elementary School, happy children passed by, waving and saying “Good Morning, Ms. C, see you in art class.”

The children were laughing and smiling on their way into school, with not a care in the world.

Glancing over, I noticed a gathering group of staff in the office staring at the overhead TV.

Moving closer, I began looking at the screen and saw in disbelief and shock the North Tower being engulfed with flames and smoke.

How is this happening and why?

I was witnessing people hanging desperately from the tower, and even jumping.

It was unbelievable and horrifying.

The thoughts of the potential loss of human life began to break my heart.

The near impossible challenges of rescuing those lives had me thinking about those who are brave and dedicated enough to be there to help.

My thoughts turned to the students who were too young to grasp the enormity of what was happening.

Tears filled my eyes as I thought of the families that would be broken apart.

As the day unfolded, a deep sadness settled in my soul.

I found myself praying for everyone who was affected and for rescuers to have strength.

I knew then, it would be a day and event we would always remember together — united as a nation, and we do.

-Cindy Smith, Land O’ Lakes

An air traffic controller heads into work
I was driving to work for the early shift at Phoenix TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) when my wife, also on her way to work, called me and said that a local radio station had reported that an airplane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

As a pilot and air traffic controller, I told her that the pilot had probably encountered bad weather and crashed into the tower.

I arrived at work and my manager informed me that an air carrier had crashed into one of the towers.

A view of the radar tower at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. (Courtesy of Steve Hadley)

This was unbelievable.

I thought it had to be a hijack or suicide, as it was a clear, cloudless day in New York City.

As you can imagine, our facility was buzzing.

I told my boss that I would stay in the breakroom and monitor the television to see what I could learn. A few minutes later I watched the second plane slam into the South Tower.

I ran into the TRACON and yelled that the South Tower had just been hit.

One of our controllers, a former New York TRACON controller, let loose with a swear word, followed by, “It’s a terrorist attack.”

Everyone was so upset that the manager yelled “calm down and pay attention to your traffic,” as we were in the early stages of a big arrival push from the East Coast.

As that horrible day progressed, the FAA shut down the U.S. airspace and we were tasked with informing the pilots that they had to land at the closest airport that would accommodate their aircraft.

Within just a few hours, all aircraft were on the ground without incident.

Phoenix airspace, which was always very busy, had no air traffic except law enforcement.

Not long after, I was working with an FBI agent by my side running intercepts with F16s on small aircraft that were observed in our airspace and apparently were unaware that U.S. airspace was shut down.

U.S. and Canadian airspace under heavy restrictions reopened on Sept. 13, but it was weeks before there was anything approaching normal air traffic.

Everything changed for us.

Our facility was now under heavy security— no visitors, no leaving for lunch.

We were later surprised to learn that one of the hijackers may have toured our facility from a local flight school where several of the hijackers trained.

-Steve Hadley, Land O’ Lakes

Flight attendant at home, awaiting shift that day
On Sept. 11, 2001, I was at home in Centreville, Virginia.

I was a flight attendant scheduled to fly a three-day trip out of Washington Dulles Airport at 4 p.m.

I first heard about the terrorist attacks when I turned on The Today Show, on TV.

The broadcaster was reporting that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center.

He gave no other information at that time.

Tammy Hansen, a flight attendant for American Airline, was scheduled to work a later shift on Sept. 11, 2001. She knew some crew members who died and attended a funeral for two flight attendants, who were married, who were working on the airplane that crashed into the Pentagon. (Courtesy of Tammy Hansen)

I was in disbelief as to how an airplane could be in that airspace and crash into the tower.

As more information came in, I found myself glued to the TV. I witnessed the second airplane crashing into the World Trade Center on TV.

I couldn’t figure out what was happening. I was horrified!

I took a break from the TV news to walk my dogs.

We lived under one of the landing paths to Washington Dulles Airport.

I remember hearing airplanes overhead.

The airplanes were approaching and flying overhead two by two.

There were two parallel landing runways at the airport.

I had never seen so many airplanes landing all at once at Dulles Airport before.

I just couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

I returned home to learn a third airplane had crashed into the Pentagon.

A fourth airplane was heading back to Washington. This was the airplane that eventually crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

I just couldn’t believe that four airplanes could be hijacked all at once!

I never thought skyscrapers would be a target and eventually collapse to the ground.

The horror of all the innocent people, firemen, policemen who passed that day. Unbelievable!

I didn’t fly my trip that day. All airplanes had been grounded indefinitely.

I still couldn’t comprehend it all.

Later, I found out that I knew some of the flight crew members on two of the airplanes.

I attended a funeral for two of them in Culpepper, Virginia.

There we all were, airline employees, proudly wearing our uniforms in support, standing with family and friends.

Such a sad, sad day!

When the airlines were allowed to fly passengers again, I was assigned a two-day trip out of Washington National Airport.

I was a bit apprehensive to fly so soon.

I completed that trip and many thereafter, before retiring from a 40-year career with American Airlines.

I will never forget that day and all the lives lost to terrorists.

I still can’t believe how vulnerable we Americans were that day.

Never forget!

-Tammy Hansen, Land O’ Lakes

New homeowners in Oak Grove
On Sept. 8, 2001, which was a Saturday, my husband, Peter, and I moved into our new house in the Oak Grove community in Lutz.

We were very excited to be moving from an apartment in Tampa to our new home.

On Sept. 11, just three days later, Peter went to work in South Tampa, not far from MacDill Airforce Base.

This photo was taken of Kelley and Peter Caporice shortly before they moved into their new home in Lutz, in 2001. (Courtesy of Kelley Caporice)

He called me to tell me to turn on the TV, to see the news.

I asked, “What channel?”

He said: “It doesn’t matter.”

I turned the TV on just after the second plane hit.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

There was no doubt, at all, as to what was happening.

We soon heard of the plane hitting the Pentagon, along with scary stories of other possible attacks and of our military bases being targets.

Our families and friends began calling. Parents, aunts, cousins — the calls were local and from different states, as we all checked on each other.

We kept saying that we could not believe what we were seeing.

I anxiously waited for Peter to come home, but it would be a while before his company closed for the employees to go home.

I was on the phone with my brother when the first tower collapsed.

I did, too. I just sank to the floor, my heart breaking for those still in or around the building and their families.

It was incomprehensible.

It still is.

I didn’t know anyone in New York or D.C., or that was near any of the attack or crash sites, but I believe we all were impacted by what happened that day.

For me, I knew that going forward, I would be sure to tell my family and friends, with words, how much I loved them, in case…well, you know.

Now, 20 years later, I continue to pray and ask God for comfort and peace for those who lost loved ones on 9/11/01, for the first responders and for their families, and for those who continue to suffer with health or emotional issues from that day.

I ask God to carry them through the hills and valleys, just as He has carried me.

-Kelley Caporice, Lutz

Watching the TODAY show, drinking coffee
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was having coffee, while watching the TODAY show at home in Lutz.

Breaking news interrupted the programming, with video of a plane crashing into the first of the Twin Towers.

I still recall the bright, beautiful blue cloudless sky in New York City and the horror of an assumed airline mishap hitting the building, but at the same time knowing that weather could not have been a factor.

This photo was taken in 2018, when members of the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club, and some others, stood out in front of the Old Lutz School, waving American flags in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The women gather each year to pay their respects. (Courtesy of Patricia Serio)

Shortly thereafter, when a second plane tore into the second tower, I realized immediately that it was not a mistake or accident, but an actual attack — but from whom and why?

As details emerged, it became increasingly horrifying to realize the numbers of office workers, firefighters, police and bystanders who could not escape as both towers collapsed.

This catastrophic attack left an indelible imprint on my psyche, as an American and as a recently transplanted (upstate) New Yorker.

We all immediately became New Yorkers, and Pennsylvanians and D.C. citizens after the full impact of this terrorist attack was realized at all those locations.

Like with the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK, I will always remember where I was, that moment and the profound shock, sadness and anger that ensued.

Much like our parents’ generation experiencing the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and forever changing our lives and our history, we will never forget!

The following year on 9/11/02, as a member of the GFWC Lutz-Land O’Lakes Woman’s Club, we waved flags in commemoration of the first anniversary of the event.

Each subsequent year — up to and including this year’s 20th anniversary — our women have stood tall, waving flags along U.S. 41, in Lutz.

The event is typically accompanied by cars, trucks and 18-wheelers honking their horns, and bicyclists waving, as they pass by.

This flag-filled club event always brings tears to my eyes.

Let us never forget.

-Patricia Serio, Lutz

NOTE: Please see Part Two of reader responses in the story below.

Pasco steps in to help dogs rescued from Hurricane Ida

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Pasco County Animal Services stepped in last week to help with rescue efforts, of dogs that were endangered by Hurricane Ida.

Mike Shumate, who oversees animal services, explained the chain of events leading to the shelter’s involvement and described how it helped.

Waiting for a new home, Blaze, a 44-pound mixed-breed male, came to Pasco County Animal Services in a group of dogs rescued from Gulfport, Mississippi. The Pasco shelter took in the dogs to help the Charleston Animal Society, which pulled dogs from the Humane Society of Southern Mississippi, due to Hurricane Ida. (Fred Bellet)

“We were contacted by some of our network partners who asked if we could help Charleston as they were taking in dogs from the Humane Society of South Mississippi,” Shumate said, via email.

“We said we could take some of the animals they were going to pick up. We were then contacted by Charleston and made arrangements.

“Initially, we were going to meet them in Lake City since they were trying to get to Jacksonville to also drop off dogs.

“We discussed it with Charleston and offered to shelter all 50 dogs overnight at our shelter so they could rest up for the final leg of their journey.

“They were very appreciative. It worked out well, as Humane Society of Tampa Bay (HSTB) was also going to have to drive to Lake City.”

So, instead of traveling to Lake City, HSTB only needed to travel to Pasco to pick up 15 dogs, Shumate said.

This mixed-breed male vies for attention — hoping to entice a new owner to take him home. He’s trying to feel for something under the door.

Charleston transported a total of 50 dogs on Aug. 29, with HSTB taking 15; animal services kept 20 in Pasco; and 15 went to the Jacksonville Humane Society and Halifax Humane Society in Daytona Beach.

Most of the dogs that were transported were medium to large dogs, including pit bulls, hounds, shepherds and retrievers, Shumate said.

There didn’t appear to be any purebreds, he said.

This wasn’t the first time the shelter has stepped in to help out in response to a disaster, Shumate said.

“We have helped numerous shelters with disaster relief efforts, such as Santa Rosa County Animal Services after Hurricane Michael, and we also help other local shelters when they are overcrowded or experience staff shortages, or hoarding or cruelty cases,” he said.

Shumate also explained why the shelter got involved.

“We have been blessed here in Pasco with great resource partners in the local community and surrounding counties. We have a great team who is always looking to help where we can. For us it is a matter of paying it forward — especially for disaster relief or overcrowding.  There may come a time when we need assistance and we know our partners will reach out in our time of need to repay the favors,” Shumate said.

Published September 08, 2021

Waffle, a mixed-breed male, is awaiting his new family.
Amy Spann-O’Conner, branch communications coordinator of public service, looks in on one of the rescued dogs.
This mixed-breed male, standing on his hind legs, is curious to see if anyone is going to adopt him.

 

Where were you, Sept. 11, 2001?

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Some events clearly stand out from others.

They etch a permanent image in our minds, of where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news.

The day July 20, 1969 was like that for millions. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon that day.

When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, it touched the collective soul of the nation.

And then, there was Sept. 11, 2001.

On that morning, 19 terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes and deliberately crashed two of them into North Tower and South Tower of the World Trade Center. They smashed a third plane into the Pentagon. Passengers on the fourth plane overtook the hijackers and forced that plane to slam into an empty field in Pennsylvania.

While all of this was happening, most of us were simply going about our daily routines.

Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001, when you heard about the terrorist attacks?

How did you find out?

How did you react? How did it affect you? Has it had lasting impacts?

As the nation marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11, we want to pause to share the personal side of the story — as told through the memories of our readers.

We will be publishing a collection of essays, which will be edited for brevity and clarity.

Please be as concise as possible. Include your first and last name, and the community where you live, which will be published with your submission.

Please also include your email and telephone number, so we can reach back for additional information, if we need it.

If you have appropriate photos that you can scan and email, we’d love to consider those for our tribute, too.

Deadline for submissions is Sept. 10. Our planned publication date is Sept. 15.

Please send your submissions with the words — Sept. 11 Tribute — in the subject line,  to .

Published September 01, 2021

COVID-19 cases are straining hospitals, health care workers

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Hospital admissions of patients with COVID-19 continue to rise, adding to the strain already being experienced by local hospitals.

Admissions for patients with COVID-19 are at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon and Washington, according to statistics kept by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Things are so serious that Pasco County Fire Rescue Fire Chief Scott Cassin and EMS Division Chief Paula Coleman have issued a video, asking residents and guests to avoid using the 911 system unless they are experiencing a true emergency.

“Hospital emergency rooms are currently being inundated with patients, and the time it takes to be seen in an emergency room is skyrocketing across our community,” the fire chief says in the video.

“Many hospitals are at, or over, capacity and ambulances are currently holding patients at hospitals for hours at a time, due to a lack of available beds and hospital staff.

“This is causing an ambulance shortage across the county, and is causing long wait times for our 911 callers,” Cassin says.

Coleman adds: “Please help us provide lifesaving interventions for those who truly need them. If your 911 call is not an emergency that needs immediate medical attention — such as chest pain, shortness of breath, stroke symptoms, serious trauma or other life-threatening illnesses or injury — please consider contacting your primary care physician, or utilizing a walk-in clinic or urgent care center. This will get you the help you need in a timelier manner, while at the same time assist an overtaxed health care system,” she says.

“Let’s all do our part to save the ambulances and ER visits for those who urgently need those services,” Coleman says.

Michael Weiss, epidemiology program manager for Florida Health-Hillsborough County, gave a big-picture look at Hillsborough County’s COVID-19 situation during an Aug. 18 emergency meeting of the Hillsborough County School Board.

“Right around June into July, we started this steep increase,” Weiss said.

“We are trending upwards. We are at 1,622 cases per day in our county. Positivity is around 22%. During the pandemic, this is the highest for both of those values.”

“This recent increase has coincided with a few things. In July, we had relaxed community mitigation measures, and we also saw the introduction of the delta variant into our community.

“These two things combined really increased the case transmission and the case rate in our community,” Weiss said.

“Hospital visits and hospitalizations both related to COVID are both at the highest levels seen at any point during our pandemic — during the entire pandemic. Hospitals are recording twice the number of COVID patients they saw in 2020 winter peak,” the epidemiologist said.

“Pediatric hospitalizations are also increasing. They represent a small percentage of the overall COVID hospitalizations, but they are also increasing. We are seeing both admissions and emergency department visits for pediatric cases increasing.

“Hospitalizations generally lag behind the case increases, so we expect the hospitalizations to continue to increase in the near future,” he added.

“Across all of these age groups, the hospitalizations are overwhelmingly in the unvaccinated population. Hospitals are reporting anywhere from 80% to 90% of cases are in unvaccinated individuals,” Weiss said.

Hospitals are making adjustments as the COVID-19 caseloads increase.

AdventHealth has halted elective procedures at AdventHealth Carrollwood, AdventHealth Dade City and AdventHealth Zephyhrhills, and at its AdventHealth Sebring facility, according to a media advisory issued Aug. 20.

“This decision allows us to further plan for the increased need for hospital beds, resources, and advocate for patients and team members. Patients will be notified if their procedure will be canceled,” the hospital chain announced.

AdventHealth “continues to see a significant increase in COVID-19 cases at its facilities across West Florida and has far surpassed its highest peak at any point in the pandemic,” the advisory adds.

The hospital system’s 10 hospitals in its West Florida Division had 600 currently admitted COVID-19 positive patients, according to the Aug. 20 advisory.

BayCare, another health care system in The Laker/Lutz News coverage area, paused all of its elective surgeries and procedures at its hospitals in Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties, regardless of whether they require an overnight stay, effective Aug. 14, according to the hospital’s website.

“This will help reserve resources for the urgent and emergent needs of severely ill patients,” the posting says.

“COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased 10-fold since the beginning of July, and today we have more than 1,000 COVID positive patients in our 14 acute care hospitals across the Tampa Bay area,” Glenn Waters, chief operating officer for BayCare, said in a website post.

“We’re making these operational adjustments to be sure we can continue providing safe, high-quality care to the recent influx of COVID patients, in addition to hundreds of other people in our hospitals with unrelated, serious medical issues,” Waters said.

In a new development, Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference last week to announce the opening of local sites to provide a new monoclonal antibody treatment for patients who are 12 years old or older. The treatment can prevent hospitalization or death in COVID-19 patients.

DeSantis presided at the opening of the site at the Fasano Hurricane Shelter, at 11611 Denton Ave., in Hudson.

Another site has opened in Hillsborough County at King Forest Park, at 8008 E. Chelsea St., in Tampa. The only access into the park is off Orient Road just north of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, according to a Hillsborough County news release.

Both sites will be open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For additional details, call the Florida Department of Health Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Support Line at 850-344-9637.

COVID-19 statistics: Aug. 13 to Aug. 19

Florida
New cases: 150,118
Positivity rate 19.8%

Hillsborough County
New cases: 11,161
Positivity rate: 22%

Pasco County
New cases: 4,223
Positivity rate: 26.4%

Source: Florida Department of Health

COVID-19 symptoms
Symptoms of COVID-19 may include:

  • Fever or chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Published August 25, 2021

Cummer Sons Cypress played huge role in Lacoochee

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Two events occurred in 1923 that would have a significant impact on the community of Lacoochee, in Northeast Pasco County.

Arthur and Waldo Cummer — as the grandsons of Jacob Cummer — brought the Cummer Sons Cypress Company to the county.

The fully electric cypress sawmill and box factory would go on to become one the largest sawmill operations in the United States.

The company also would play a role in providing jobs for survivors of the Rosewood Massacre, which occurred in January 1923.

Nearly a century ago, one of the largest sawmill operations in the United States was located in Lacoochee, in northeast Pasco County. (Courtesy of Bob McKinstry)

Contemporary news reports said that massacre — which destroyed the tiny Black community in Levy County — resulted directly from a white woman’s false claims that she’d been raped by a black man.

In his book, published in 2005, author William Powell Jones recounted how managers for Cummer “arranged for a train to drive through the swamps, picking up survivors of the Rosewood Massacre and offering them housing and employment in the brand-new colored quarters in Lacoochee.”

Arthur and Waldo Cummer’s father, Wellington Wilson Cummer, first arrived in town with his riding gear, complete with jodhpurs and boots, holding a riding crop under his arm.

“It was strange attire compared to the casual dress (of the day),” noted Nell Moody Woodcock, a long-time resident of Lacoochee and later a reporter for The Tampa Tribune.

Woodcock’s name is among nearly 100 links on the Pasco County history website, Fivay.org — featuring people sharing memories of the Cummer Sons Cypress Company.

Jacob Cummer, known as “Uncle Jacob” to family and friends, had vast timber holdings in several states.

Arthur Cummer explained why the company chose to locate in Lacoochee, in testimony given before the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission, in 1934.

“We located the sawmill plant at Lacoochee in order to be in reasonable reach,” Arthur Cummer said.

Described as a point of entry for what is now known as the Green Swamp of Florida, logs arrived at the new Lacoochee sawmill from land that totaled more than 50 square miles in Pasco, Sumter and Polk counties.

Bill McKinstry, a company manager for the Lacoochee sawmills, rides a logging train to Lacoochee on April 25, 1939. (Courtesy of Bob McKinstry)

The Green Swamp is one of the state’s largest watersheds as the headwaters for the Peace River, Withlacoochee River, Ocklawaha River and Hillsborough River.

In the 1920s it was “a vast reservoir of 100-year-old cypress trees,” as described by Woodcock, in her recollections on the Cummer mills in Lacoochee.

At its peak, workers lived in approximately 100 homes along sand streets with wood sidewalks in Lacoochee.

Cummer was the largest employer in Pasco County with more than 1,100 employees, and it was one of few employers across the country that provided jobs during the Great Depression.

Having the largest payroll in the county made the Lacoochee office a prime target — and the company fell victim to three masked bandits who escaped with $11,700 in cash.

The work was grueling.

Ronald Stanley, who was put on a logging train by his father one summer in the early 1940s, was among the workers.

He described the tough working conditions he faced, recorded on the Fivay.org website.

He awoke at daybreak and spent hours waist-deep hauling sawed-down cypress logs out of the swamp.

It was hot, and there were mosquitoes, and the danger of snakes and alligators.

“For all this summer fun, I was paid $.45 per hour (typically under $5 per day),” Stanley recalls on Fivay.org.

One of three steam shovels that had been used to dig out the Panama Canal later was purchased by the Cummer lumber company to haul logs at the Lacoochee sawmill. (Courtesy of Pioneer Florida Museum & Village)

During World War II, Cummer employed 50 German soldiers from the prisoner of war work camp in Dade City.

One POW was 18-year-old Arthur Lang, a tank commander from Erwin Rommel’s famed Afrika Korps.

He was smitten by a teenaged girl named Mildred.

He managed to exchange handwritten notes to Mildred when no one was looking. She worked with her mother at the Cummer’s crate mill.

“I regret it to this day that on the last day there, I could not shake her hand,” Lang wrote after he was back in Germany, after the war.

At Lacoochee, the Cummer operations were immense for this self-contained company town.

The sawmill alone measures 228 feet by 45 feet. The mill also included a veneer plant, which was 228 feet by 45 feet. It also had a crate factory, of 200 feet by 100 feet; and a lathe and shingle mill, with a capacity of 60,000 lathe per day, according to the story “Big Cypress Mill Completed at Lacoochee, Florida,” published in The Manufacturer’s Record on Nov. 22, 1923.

From 1934 to 1940, the Cummer mill in Lacoochee averaged 13 million board feet each year. The company set a record in 1937, producing 25 million board feet.

To make sure that it was not all work and no play, the company sponsored a semi-pro baseball team called the Lacoochee Indians.

That team won the Central Coast championship in 1947, in a league that also included San Antonio, Dade City and Brooksville.

James Timothy “Mudcat” Grant recorded memories of his father working at the Lacoochee mills. He later became the first black American League pitcher to win a World Series game in 1965.

Mudcat also recalls weekend movies starring Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.

“Every time I go to Angel Stadium, Gene (Autry) comes through, and we get a chance to speak,” Grant told the St. Petersburg Times on April 9, 1989. “The first thing he says is: ‘How is everything in Lacoochee?’”

Autry was the owner of the Angels Major League baseball team from 1961 to 1997.

Alyce Ferrell, who worked at the Lacoochee Post Office, met her future husband at a dance at the armory in Dade City.

He would fly low over Lacoochee in his Corsair F4U fighter aircraft and dip one wing of his plane. That was a signal to let Alyce know he needed to be picked up at the Army/Air base in Zephyrhills.

In 1945, Alyce married that instructor for Marine fighter pilots: Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr.

Years later ‘Ed McMahon’ would begin a 36-year career as the announcer and sidekick for television talk show host Johnny Carson.

During the decade of the 1950s, the Green Swamp was heavily logged by the Cummer Sons Cypress Company.

The company, which hummed along for decades, finally came to its end near the close of the 1950s.

“It took time to process all the logs which had been gathered at the Lacoochee sawmill, but the last cypress was finally milled on June 5, 1959,” wrote historian Alice Hall for The Tampa Tribune on July 14, 1984.

Although the community voted against incorporating as a town in 1954, several companies have attempted business operations at the old Cummer site including Wood Mosaic Corporation, Interpace, GH Lockjoint, and Cal-Maine Foods.

A precast concrete plant is currently up and operating as a supplier for major road projects in Florida. The Dade City Business Center bought this site in 2019 for $1.2 million and is leasing the land to the concrete plant. Nearly 100 new jobs are expected, once the plant is running at full capacity.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at .

Published August 18, 2021

This 105-year-old enjoys life’s simple pleasures

By

Regina Petrone will be the first to admit that she’s not as agile as she used to be.

After all, at 105, who is?

But the Land O’ Lakes woman still lives on her own, drives herself to the bank and grocery store, and makes scarves and hats for the homeless.

Recently, she celebrated her 105th birthday, at a party hosted by her son, Pete, who lives just minutes away.

This is a childhood photo of Regina Petrone, taken more than 100 years ago. (Courtesy of Debbi Petrone Cosme)

“The party at Pete’s house was such a wonderful feeling,” Regina said.

It was a nice Italian meal, complete with special cupcakes.

“They had 105 balloons all over the floor. They had balloons all over the ceiling,” Regina said.

Pete chimed in: “We had a big sign outside.”

That celebration, though, was small, compared to the party for Regina’s 100th birthday.

A limousine picked her up at her house to drive her to the party at Grace Family Church, in Lutz.

“That was the best party ever, ever,” Regina said. “I just had the feeling of peace and contentment.

“Everybody was happy. We had like 60, 70 people,” Regina said.

Pete interjected: “Try like 120.”

“All of my family were there. Nieces and nephews,” Regina said.

Friends came in from New York, too, Pete said.

But those were just two of the special birthday parties Regina has enjoyed through the years.

There was another one, in particular, that played a pivotal role in her life.

That was the party when she had her first date, with her future husband — John Anthony Petrone, whom she’d met a few months before.

“I worked in the library. He worked in A & P (grocery store), which was around the corner from the library,” she said.

“I used to go in there every day to buy some greens because that’s what my mother wanted.

“She made soup every night.

“I would go at lunchtime.

“That’s where I met him.

John and Regina Petrone (the couple in the middle) on their wedding day, on Oct. 19, 1941.

“I paid no attention to him. After a while, he started asking me out.

“I said, ‘No, no, no.

“That went from February to July,” Regina said.

“He told me he was having a birthday party. I said, ‘OK.’

“My mother said, ‘Go, have fun.’

“So, I went to the birthday party, which was in Hicksville, and I met his family, who were terrific.

“They treated me so good — like a sister — right away,” said Regina, who grew up in Glen Cove.

John grew up in Hicksville, where he lived with his brothers and his sisters. They lived on their own because their parents had died.

Regina and John married in October, with the expectation that John’s military service would end in January. Instead, World War II broke out and John was assigned to help protect the Panama Canal Zone, where he served until the end of the war.

Creating a home life in Hicksville
After John returned, the couple settled in John’s hometown. That’s where they raised their five boys: Chuck, Anthony, Pete, Bill and Timothy (who died in his 40s from a car accident).

John sold insurance and Regina ran the house — making meals from scratch, and canning fruits and vegetables from the family’s half-acre garden.

John and Regina Petrone had five sons, whom they raised in Hicksville, on Long Island in New York. Shown here, from left to right (front row), are: Bill, Pete, Regina (mom), Anthony and Timothy; and (back row), Chuck and John (dad).

The days started early, Regina said.

“I’ve been getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning ever since the kids were small,” she said.

It took a couple of hours each morning to make the boys breakfast and get them ready for school, she said.

Though they grew up in a close-knit family, the boys are scattered now.

Pete lives minutes away from Regina. Chuck lives in Dallas, Georgia; Anthony, in Anchorage, Alaska; and, Bill, in New London, Connecticut.

Regina talks frequently with her sons and other family members on the phone.

She also stays in regular contact with two dear friends — Debbi Lizza and Joanne Berger — who keep her posted on what’s happening in Hicksville.

“We write each other every week. Every once in a while, we call. But we’re old-fashioned, we like to write. They’re always sending me little goodies,” she said.

Regina moved to Florida in 2004, after living in Pennsylvania for four years.

Her sons wanted her to move closer to family, so she did.

She and her boys have rich memories of the life they had in Hicksville.

“They were wonderful kids. I have wonderful boys. None of them give me any problems,” Regina said.

The family garden was a source of food for the family, and a way to make money, too.

“You name it. We had it,” Pete said.

“From radishes to pumpkins. Broccoli. Cabbage,” Regina said.

“Potatoes. Strawberries. Asparagus,” Pete added.

“All kinds of berries,” Regina continued. “Apples. Pears. Peaches.”

And, corn and cucumbers, too.

Regina Petrone models one of the hats she’s made to help others. So far, she’s completed about 300 hats and scarves, and she continues to make more. While her primary focus was on family life, over the years she has volunteered her time and talents in a number of capacities. (B.C. Manion)

Pete’s brothers share those vivid recollections of the family garden.

“We had just about everything you can think of — any kind of vegetable,” Chuck said. “We canned our own food. We made our own jellies and jams.

“We had a root cellar where we kept our potatoes and onions and carrots,” Chuck said.

The family raised chickens and sold eggs, too.

“The kids sold the vegetables that were left over, in a little farm stand. That was their allowance — from what they sold, the eggs and the vegetables,” Regina said.

Besides picking vegetables, the boys did other chores.

“In high school, we all started cutting firewood. We worked really hard doing that. That’s how we made our money in high school,” Anthony said.

Work was such a regular part of their life — they didn’t see it so much as work but as part of their daily routine, Bill said.

Chuck noted: “All of us, when we started working — whatever job we did, delivering newspapers, peddling vegetables around the neighborhood — we had to give at least 10% to our mother for what she called ‘room and board.’  And then, when we became 18, she gave us all that money. And more.”

Family rules were crystal clear, Anthony said.

“It was a very disciplined household. Dinner was every day at 5 o’clock,” he said. And, when the church bells rang at 7 o’clock, it was time to be home.

But there was more to life than hard work, rules and responsibilities,  the boys said.

They also knew how to have fun
“We would go to the beach almost every day for an hour or two,” Chuck said.

Of course, Chuck added: “If we didn’t do what we were supposed to do, we didn’t go to the beach that day.”

Bill remembers the lively family gatherings.

“We’d have these big barbecues in our backyard. You’re having like 50 people or more — 25 kids running around the place.

This box contains numerous hats and scarves that Regina Petrone has made to help the homeless. They are distributed through Grace Family Church, according to Regina’s son, Pete, who lives minutes away from his mom. (B.C. Manion)

“My mother cooked all of the food,” he said.

Her pies, he added, were legendary: “Her pies are still talked about today.”

The family had lots of pets, too.

“We had rabbits at one time,” Regina said. “I had one snake in the house. And, I hate snakes.

“But one of my boys liked snakes and it got loose.”

There were dogs, too.

“My husband was a hunter,” Regina said, so they had golden retrievers, English Springers and all kinds of other dogs.

Regina had a turtle.

It was one of those turtles people used to buy for a quarter, she said.

Regina’s turtle lived for more than 50 years, moving freely about the house, just like a member of the family.

She called him Turtle.

“I was not imaginative,” she said, with a laugh.

Anthony added: “We had a big black cat called Mother Cat because she got pregnant every three months.”

The family sat together in front of the TV, to take in football and baseball games.

“I was an avid baseball and football fan, when my husband was alive and my children were all together,” Regina said. Her favorite teams were the Mets, the Jets and the Brooklyn Dodgers — before the Dodgers moved away.

Over the years, Regina said, she’s always enjoyed a good laugh.

She remembers Chuck coming home after school, with a joke for her he’d picked up that day.

“I always looked forward to them,” Regina said.

Now, he sends her five pages to six pages of jokes every month, that he finds by scouring the internet.

Throughout Regina’s life, most of her focus has been on the family. But she also has been active in charitable pursuits. She volunteered at a soup kitchen, and at a rock and butterfly museum, and in literacy efforts.

She still uses her talents to help others.

“I like to crochet,” Regina said. “I’m making scarves and hats for the homeless.”

She estimates she’s made about 300 pieces, which are distributed through Grace Family Church.

She still enjoys doing puzzle books and watches a limited amount of TV.

“I don’t put the TV on until 5 o’clock. Then I look at the news for an hour, at the most — the news is terrible. Then, I Iook at Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, and some of the game shows,” she said.

She likes card games and typically plays once or twice month, when a nephew and his wife come by.

Although she still drives, she sticks to daytime hours and never goes out on main roads.

But, Pete said, she’s not stuck at home. “We go out at least three days a week, to get her out of the house.

“Whatever she needs, she gets,” he added.

Her sons marvel at their mom’s longevity.

Regina offers a simple explanation for her lengthy life: “If it wasn’t God’s will, I wouldn’t be here.”

At 105, she’s still going strong
Regina Petrone
Born July 3, 1916, in West Hampton on Long Island
Married to John Anthony Petrone, on Oct. 19, 1941  (She’d been married to John for 45 years, when he died on Nov. 22, 1986)
The couple had five sons: Chuck (Dallas, Georgia); Anthony (Anchorage, Alaska); Pete (Land O’ Lakes); Bill (New London, Connecticut); Timothy (deceased)
Regina has seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren

She’s a woman with definite preferences
Favorite foods: “American food. I like ordinary steak and potatoes. Pork chops. Hamburger. American food. Soup.”
Dessert: “I do like lemon meringue pie. And I do like a nice, delicious — it has to be delicious — chocolate cake. It has to be delicious. It can’t be run-of-the-mill.”
Movies: “Movies? I didn’t have a favorite. We didn’t go to movies too much. I was not a movie-goer.”
Music: “My favorite singer was Nat King Cole. I loved him. After him, was Dean Martin. I loved him. Of course, Perry Como.”
Card games: “My favorite is pinochle, but nobody plays pinochle.”

Some facts about 1916, the year Regina was born
The U.S. population was slightly under 102 million
Monet painted his Water Lilies series
A stamp cost 2 cents
Sugar was about 4 cents a pound
The light switch was invented
The Boston Red Sox won the World Series
A house in the U.S. cost about $5,000; a car, $400
The first 40-hour work week officially began
Nathan’s hot-dog-eating competition got its start
Just 6% of Americans were high school graduates
The Eiffel Tower was the world’s tallest building
Just 8% of homes had telephones
Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity (in full mathematical detail)
The National Park Service was born
The Professional Golfers Association began*

Excerpts from a list compiled by Annette and Chuck Petrone, to mark Regina Petrone’s 105th birthday

*Regina told The Laker/Lutz News: “I walked a golf course once and I got freckles. I said, ‘No more.’”

Published August 11, 2021

SADD names local student for national post

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Shaina Finkel likely didn’t know at the ripe old age of 6 that one day she would be taking her place on a national stage for a group that’s primary mission is to save lives.

But that’s exactly what happened on July 28, when the Wiregrass Ranch High School student was sworn in as the national student president for Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).

Her selection was celebrated during a national news conference, which took place at Wiregrass Ranch High School and was streamed by SADD’s social media channels.

Shaina Finkel is the new national student president for Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). The Wiregrass Ranch High student was sworn in during a national news conference last week, and took a moment to thank a long list of supporters in life, including her parents, grandparents, SADD chapter members and the Wiregrass Ranch school administration. (Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)

One of the key speakers at the event was Greg Finkel, the adviser for the SADD chapter since Wiregrass Ranch High opened. He’s Shaina’s dad.

“We do it to save lives,” said Finkel, who has been the adviser of the Wiregrass chapter since it began in 2008.

The chapter’s T-shirts have a Superman logo on the front and words on the back that say: “How to save a life.”

His pride in his daughter’s accomplishment was palpable, as he struggled, occasionally, to maintain his composure.

She was just a little girl, he said, when she asked if she could come along to a chapter meeting.

Finkel thought to himself: Why not?

She became a regular, and even at that early age, she was a leader, he said.

Whether the chapter was working with young kids or the elderly, he said, “she took over.”

As she grew older, she became even more involved.

At one point, she asked Finkel if he thought she could become chapter president.

He said he didn’t see why not, but they would have to see about it when she got to high school.

Shaina became president of the Wiregrass chapter during her sophomore year, and now, as a rising senior, she is entering her third year in that role.

Last year, though, she told Finkel: “Dad, I would like to see if we can go a little bit further.

“And,” he added, “here we are.

“Pretty amazing.”

Kids today face greater pressures
Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning joined in the celebration.

“This is a big deal. This is a very big deal, isn’t it?” Browning said, adding he understands that today’s students are under a great deal of pressure.

“It was way different 45 years ago, when I graduated from Pasco High School,” the superintendent said. It was different, too, he added, when his sons, who are now in their 30s, graduated.

The leadership, exhibited by Shaina, and other officers in Wiregrass’ SADD chapter, “goes a far distance in encouraging students to make great choices in their lives,” Browning said.

SADD president and CEO Rick Birt conducted the swearing-in ceremony, as Shaina became student president of an organization with 7,500 chapters nationwide.

“Today, we honor your community, we honor your chapter, we honor the resilience and the compassion of one remarkable young woman as she assumes a new leadership role,” Birt said.

“As the national president, she will serve as our key spokesperson, representing SADD in the media,” he said.

She also will help advise and guide the organization in its programming and structure, while working closely with SADD staff, students, advisers, partners and stakeholders across the country, he said.

Shaina said she applied for the role because she was looking “to bring the amazing work that my chapter does to a new level. I wanted them to be in the spotlight. I think we work so incredibly hard here, to make change, to really empower students and I just thought that needed to go to a new level.”

She said she saw the application for the position on social media.

“With little hesitation, I went ahead and I applied. It really was a shot in the dark,” Shaina said.

“To me, SADD is very much an opportunity. It is an opportunity to be more than yourself. To help others. To help the community.

“It gives you the opportunity to connect with others who have the same mindsets and the same goals and aspirations, that you have,” she said.

Helping students find a place they belong
She sees the organization as a way to tackle issues and to play an important role in the lives of others.

“I believe many high schoolers, and middle schoolers for that matter — they’re very lost. They don’t know their group of people. It’s very hard to find a group of people that believes the same things as you.

“So, SADD allows for students across the nation to come together and find each other … to be able to work together, to make incredible changes,” she said.

The past year brought many obstacles, she said. But, she added, the students and adults involved with SADD “are so ready to adapt and be able to change on a dime, to keep helping students.”

Shaina wants to make mental health a key priority.

“There is such a negative stigma that surrounds having a mental illness. You walk around campus and nobody really sees it, but if you really just tune in and think about it, there are so many students who are right next to us who are struggling. They are suffering. And, they feel alone because they’re too embarrassed to go and speak out about what they’re feeling,” she said.

That’s because, she said, “they don’t realize there is someone right next to them who has, or does, feel the same way.”

SADD wants “to show kids that they’re not alone and to touch those topics that most people try to avoid because they are uncomfortable topics,” she said.

Published August 04, 2021

Looking to add some interest to your landscape?

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When Joel Jackson wants a little adventure, he just picks up his camera and goes for a field trip — without ever leaving his yard.

“For 30 minutes or 45 minutes, I walk around the house. I see all of these insects and bugs and butterflies. I take pictures of them and I love it,” said Jackson, recent recipient of a Tampa Bay Community Water Wise Award, for residential landscape, in Pasco County.

Joel and Barbara Jackson display the award that Joel received for his water-wise yard. He’s a huge advocate of Florida native plants — which require less water and attract bees, birds and butterflies. He said he consults Barbara when choosing plants to add to their yard. (B.C. Manion)

When Jackson sets out on his explorations, he never knows exactly what he’ll encounter.

One day, as he was capturing an image of a swamp hibiscus, a butterfly flew in and landed on the  bloom — right on cue.

On another day, he may observe a lady beetle perching on a Duck Potato plant, or a Monarch caterpillar curled up on a flower bud.

On a really lucky day, he’ll capture a Monarch emerging from its chrysalis.

Chances are good that he’ll see something interesting: His yard is a showcase of flourishing Florida native plants. It’s exactly the kind of landscape that attracts all sorts of birds, bees and butterflies.

His yard also demonstrates what can be achieved — even with a limited use of water and little, or no, use of fertilizer and pesticides.

Narrowleaf Silkgrass is a perennial wildflower, not a grass. It grows to 30 inches high and has showy autumn yellow flowers.

Jackson, who lives with his wife, Barbara, at 23438 Cherbourg Loop, in Land O’ Lakes, said the secret is learning how to work with the ecosystem.

“When you do go native, you have to have information,” he said.

Jackson has built up his knowledge — through professional and personal pursuits.

He’s a member of the Suncoast Chapter of Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS), in Hillsborough County; the Nature Coast Chapter of FNPS, in Pasco County; and, the Tampa Audubon Society.

Before retiring, he worked for decades in grounds maintenance, landscape design and management, park planning and park design, and other roles — shifting between the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County.

He managed two bond issues in Hillsborough County — one for $10 million to develop Lettuce Lake Park, Alderman’s Ford, Upper Tampa Bay and three nature parks; and another for $20 million for park improvements.

He wasn’t introduced to native plants until he was in his 30s.

The time a Monarch chrysalis takes to emerge as a butterfly varies according to the temperature. The warmer it is, the less time it takes.

He said he frequently worked with advisory boards, and a member of one of those boards asked him: “You’re doing native plants, aren’t you?”

“I said: ‘There are native plants?’”

He decided it was time to learn about them.

So, he started visiting native plant nurseries and observing how the plants grew.

This Lady Beetle seems quite at home on this Duck Potato plant. Duck Potato grows in wet ditches, pond edges and banks. It is commonly used in pond and wetlands restoration.

Then, he began experimenting in his half-acre yard at home, near the community of Lake Magdalene, in Hillsborough County.

“What made the difference was when I started to realize how important the native plants were to the wildlife,” Jackson said.

After retirement, he and Barbara moved to their current home, which is next to the Cypress Creek Preserve.

During a recent interview, he walked around, talking about some of his native plants, trees and shrubs.

“This tree, here, is a weeping yaupon. It’s a wonderful tree. It has a lot of really neat advantages. It’s a holly. It’s one of five hollies that we have that are local,” he said.

The tree’s leaves, he said, can be used to make tea — which he did, just the day before.

Stokes’ Aster is native to Florida’s wet pinewood. It has very splashy flowers in the summer. Its bright flowers attract bees and butterflies. It prefers wet, but well-drained soil.

He has a dwarf blueberry plant, too.

“What’s nice about this is that it’s easy to grow. It has a wonderful flavor. It’s a marvelous plant,” Jackson said.

He also has coreopsis, which is the state’s wildflower. And, he has blanketflower that he says is easy to grow.

His Spiderwort, he said, “comes out in the morning, and by night, it’s folded up and gone.”

There’s coontie in his yard, too. That’s “probably the most waterwise plant you can get. It’s a cycad. It’s not a palm,” he said.

A walkway leads from the front of his home to the back. It’s aptly named, Butterfly Crossing — because butterflies can be seen fluttering about in an area loaded with plants that attract butterflies, bees and other pollinators.

“The firebush has flowers that butterflies like. At the same time, hummingbirds like them,” Jackson said.

Simpson’s Stopper is a shrub or small tree of 15 feet to 40 feet tall. It is a long-lived evergreen perennial. Pollinators are attracted to white flowers. Its edible berries attract birds.

The wildlife enthusiast also has nesting boxes for bluebirds, a duck box and a bat box. He has wetlands plants, too.

The lawn out front is lush and healthy.

“It has not been fertilized in years — probably four or five years,” Jackson said. Plus, he said, he uses no pesticides.

He lets nature take its course.

He’s vigilant about conserving water, too.

“We don’t do anything on a routine basis.

“I have a soil sampler that I push down and I check the soil for moisture,” Jackson said. “I don’t irrigate, until I know the soil needs it.”

He also notes that within a single yard, water needs can vary greatly — so it’s important to know your landscape, and its needs.

Swamp Milkweeds are perennial wildflowers that prefer fertile, organic soils. They grow 1 foot to 2 feet tall. They are butterfly nectar plants, and are larval plants to Monarch and Queen butterflies.

He said he can go nearly a year and only irrigate three or four times, or perhaps even less.

“In the summertime, we very rarely ever irrigate because we get a lot of rain here in Florida,” he said.

When sharing his passion for native plants, he typically doesn’t begin by talking about the plants.

Instead, he said: “I start off with: ‘Is wildlife important to you?’

“I tell them:  ‘If you really like birds, you need to do native plants.’”

Occasionally, he’ll encounter pushback from people who have zero interest in native plants.

But some people are more receptive, and they will give native plants a try.

Jackson said he knows that’s true because he’s received emails, particularly during the pandemic, from people who tell him: “You know, I put some native plants in my yard and I go out there and I can’t believe all of the birds and the butterflies I’m getting.’”

That’s exactly the kind of enthusiasm he’s hoping to inspire.

It’s good for wildlife. It’s good for the environment. And, it’s good for people who want to enjoy their landscapes, he said.

“Your yard can be an exciting place. Native plants bring life to your yard,” Jackson said.

If your organization would like to invite Joel Jackson to give a talk about native plants and their benefits to wildlife, you can reach him by email at .

Coreopsis leavenworthii (Tickseed) is the official Florida Native Wildflower. It comes in 16 varieties and blooms in spring and summer. It grows 12 inches to 24 inches tall, and thrives in full sun. It is common to damp pine woods and roadside ditches. It attracts bees and butterflies, and is a popular roadside flower.

Good Central Florida Native Plants for wildlife
Wildflowers: Beach sunflower, Black-eyed Susan, Partridge pea, Spiderwort, Starry rosinwood, Tickseed, Tropical Sage
Shrubs, vines and grasses: American Beautyberry, Blazing star, Blue-eyed grass, Coral Honeysuckle, Dotted horsemint, Elderberry, Firebush, Florida green eyes, Frostweed, Rouge plant, Saw palmetto, Southern Dewberry, Stokes aster, Walter’s viburnum, wild coffee
Trees: Cabbage palm, Coral bean, Dahoon holly, Red mulberry, Simpson’s Stopper, Yaupon holly
Butterfly larva host plants: Coontie, Frogfruit or Turkey Tangle, live oak, milkweeds, Passion flower (corky stem), Passion flower (purple), Twin flower

Source: Joel Jackson

The Tampa Bay Community Water Wise Awards program recognizes individuals and businesses that are committed to conserving water resources and protecting the environment by using the best in attractive, Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ as well as irrigation systems or techniques that minimize water waste.
The Tampa Bay Community Water Wise Awards are a partnership between Tampa Bay Water, University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Office, and each county in the region.
Winning landscapes represent the beauty and resiliency of the natural environment.
Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore bestowed the award for residential landscape to Joel Jackson, of Land O’ Lakes. Pasco County Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick bestowed the award for non-residential landscape to Laura Starkey, of Heartwood Preserve.
To find out more about the awards, visit Awards.tampabaywaterwise.org.

Published July 28, 2021

The Laker/Lutz News wins best in class in state newspaper contest

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The Laker/Lutz News received 27 awards in the 2021 Florida Press Association Weekly Newspaper Contest, and won first place, overall, in its division.

The top honor resulted from a team effort — with awards received for news and feature stories, page design and photography.

Diane Kortus, publisher of The Laker/Lutz News, stands alongside Jim Fogler, president and CEO of the Florida Press Association and Intersect Media Solutions. (Courtesy of Florida Press Association)

Newspaper staffers Kevin Weiss, B.C. Manion and Matt Mistretta each played an important role in securing the recognition. But so did special contributors Joey Johnston, Kathy Steele, Christine Holtzman, Fred Bellet, Doug Sanders, Lillian Cucuzza and Steve Vinik.

Behind-the-scenes work by Mary Rathman, editorial assistant, and Stefanie Burlingame, graphic designer, also played critical roles in the newspaper’s success.

Points received from each of the winning entries are tallied to determine which newspaper will be declared the first-place winner. The Laker/Lutz News won that distinction in Division A, for weekly newspapers of 15,000 or more — the largest circulation division in the competition.

Staff writer Kevin Weiss hauled in six awards at the 2021 Florida Press Association Weekly Newspaper Contest, including three first-place honors. (Kelli Carmack)

Entries from The Laker/Lutz News received seven first-place, 12 second-place and eight third-place awards.

The newspaper won top honors for coverage of the impact that a retiring coach had on his players, both on and off the court; the threat posed by a possible ‘twindemic;’ and, the mighty Wurlitzer playing on at Tampa Theatre, despite the pandemic.

Other first-place awards came for stories that detailed a panel discussion on social issues and race relations; a local javelin standout ready for a bigger stage; and, the flurry of construction projects underway in Pasco County Schools.

A shot of the Neowise Comet, when it was closest to earth, won first place in the reader-generated photo category.

The honors were presented during a July 16 luncheon at the Florida Media Conference, held at the Westin Sarasota, in Sarasota.

The contest drew 1,167 entries, from a total of 51 newspapers across Florida. The contest was judged by experienced editors and publishers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Washington.

The Laker/Lutz News, locally owned by Diane Kortus, covers the communities of Odessa, Land O’ Lakes, Lutz, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, Dade City, San Antonio and St. Leo.

Here is the complete list of The Laker/Lutz News winning entries:

Front Page Makeup: Matt Mistretta, second place

Page Design: Matt Mistretta, third place

Sports Spot News Story: Kevin Weiss, first place

Sports Feature Story: Kevin Weiss, first place; Joey Johnston, third place

Portfolio Photography: Christine Holtzman, second place

Photo Series in One Issue: Christine Holtzman, second place; Fred Bellet, third place

Reader-Generated Photo: Lillian Cucuzza, first place; Steve Vinik, third place

Feature Photo: Christine Holtzman, second place

Spot News Photo: Christine Holtzman, third place

Community History: Doug Sanders, third place

Outdoor & Recreation: Kevin Weiss, second place

Local Government Reporting: Kevin Weiss, third place

Roads and Transportation: Kathy Steele, second place

Faith and Family: B.C. Manion, second place

Arts Entertainment & Review Reporting: B.C. Manion, first place; Joey Johnston, second place

Health, Medical & Science Reporting: Joey Johnston, first place; Kevin Weiss, second place

Education Feature: Christine Holtzman, second place

Education News: B.C. Manion, first place

Feature Story, Profile: Kathy Steele, second place; Joey Johnston, third place

General News Story: Kevin Weiss, first place

COVID-19: Feature Story: B.C. Manion, second place

Published July 21, 2021

Fred Bellet took this shot as one in a series of photos of Sophia Moon, a girl in Lutz who is wild about goats. Bellet won third place in the category of photo series in a single issue. Kathy Steele won second place for her feature profile about the girl. (File)
Volunteer Deanna Okun, left, administers a medical exam inside the Medical Detainment room, to student Jyles Morales, during a living history simulation at McKitrick Elementary. The children were learning about Ellis Island. Christine Holtzman was awarded a second place in the feature story category and a second place for this particular photo from the series that accompanied the story (File)

Local novelist’s ‘Lake Roland’ was inspired by real case

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As a journalist, Charlie Reese knew how to ferret out the facts and crank out stories on tight deadlines.

As a novelist, Reese — that is, C. Roloson Reese — has delighted in letting his imagination run wild to create just about every detail in his first published book, “Lake Roland.”

The Lutz author didn’t imagine every single detail because the novel is based on a two-paragraph news wire story that Reese read about eight years ago.

Charlie Reese, who published his novel, ‘Lake Roland,’ under the name C. Roloson Reese, is a former journalist and current businessman who lives in Lutz. The novel’s inspiration came from a two-paragraph news wire story the author had read, involving a missing persons case. (Courtesy of Charlie Reese)

The news wire account was about a 45-year-old mystery involving missing persons — solved essentially by accident.

“It just stuck with me — longer than any other newspaper story I’ve ever come across as a reporter or as a reader,” Reese said.

He decided to give that tiny nugget of a story a life of its own.

“I felt moved to tell the story, the back end of the mystery, as best as I could imagine it,” Reese said.

“Once I started reflecting on it, it wouldn’t let go of my imagination. So, I sat down and I wrote the first chapter.

“The real-life characters, they disappeared around high-school age — at least a couple of them,” Reese said.

The novel is told from the vantage point of Tom O’Malley, who spent a lifetime dealing with the mysterious disappearance of his pal, Mark. They’d been inseparable.

In creating the story, Reese thought about how it would feel if his best friend from high school had gone missing.

“I just imagined what that would be like — what kind of a hole that would have left in my life,” Reese said. He explored how having that type of loss would affect the families and friends of the pair that went missing.

“That’s what started me on this particular book. I just felt called to flesh out the characters behind the story,” Reese said.

The novel begins before the actual disappearance.

“I wanted to build some background because, any story you cover as a reporter, there’s always a backstory. And, it’s quite an interesting backstory in many cases. And, we don’t really do it justice. We can’t. We’re limited by deadlines. We’re limited by space. And, we really can’t tell the story with as much passion or thoughtfulness, as we can — or we should, or is possible,” Reese said.

Novels don’t have those limitations.

The actual missing persons case in the news wire story occurred in Oklahoma.

Reese decided to set his story in Baltimore, where he grew up and went to high school, and where there actually is a Lake Roland.

“As I got to writing — which is really a creative exercise — I just felt so emotional at times. But I was also so alive with being able to create these characters and storylines.

“Although the book is not autobiographical, it is a collection of characters and people I knew over the years.

“Running through my mind were many of the people and characters I’ve met over the years. Their stories.

“We come across so many different people, in our travels, in our work, in our families.

“So, it’s real amalgamation of all of these different characters and people that I’ve met, and usually admired,” he said.

Once Reese started writing the novel, the work went quickly. He asked his wife, Judith, to read chapters and offer feedback during the process.

In essence, the book was finished in 2013 and Reese occasionally has revisited it through the years.

This spring, he decided it was time to give the novel a final edit and to publish it.

Although this is Reese’s first published novel, he’s been a writer — in some form or another — since childhood.

He began reporting stories in the Tampa Bay area when he was a student at the University of South Florida, writing for the Oracle. Then, he reported for The Laker and later became the editor of The Lutz News and the former Temple Terrace Beacon.

He went on to work in media relations and communications with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Institute for Business & Home Safety. He’s also been published in the former Tampa Tribune and in the St. Petersburg Times, before it became The Tampa Bay Times.

His love for writing dates back to childhood.

As a boy, he wrote poetry, which he read aloud to his family.

In college, he studied literature.

And, while he’s spent much of his career working with words, he said he’s learned more about the art of writing by reading great authors.

Being tuned in to people and places, is essential, too, he said.

“Observing and listening are probably the best things a writer can do,” Reese said. “That’s what poets do.”

“Lake Roland” by C. Roloson Reese, is available at Barnes & Noble Press (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lake-roland-c-roloson-reese/1139075421?ean=9781666262001).

To see a video about “Lake Roland,” visit https://www.facebook.com/211702412202894/videos/960288408037265.

 

Published July 14, 2021