Tag Archives: history

Fannie Gibbs Begins WWALS Webinars 2024-01-11

Update 2024-01-14: Video: Fannie Gibbs Begins WWALS Webinars 2024-01-11.

Hahira, Georgia, December 26, 2023 — WWALS Webinars is a new monthly series of lunchtime talks via zoom about topics related to the Suwannee River Basin.

On Thursday, January 11, 2024, from noon to 1PM, we are starting with Fannie Marie Jackson Gibbs of Brooks County, Georgia, long active in issues near the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, especially involving African-American family history. She will talk about the ongoing sewage problems in Quitman, the annual Juneteenth celebrations she organizes at Reed Bingham State Park Lake where WWALS brings boats, family history, and anything else she wants to discuss.

[Fannie Gibbs in a boat at Reed Bingham State Park, Junteenth 2020]
Fannie Gibbs in a boat at Reed Bingham State Park, Junteenth 2020

“We thank Fannie Gibbs for speaking at WWALS River Revue 2023 in September, and we welcome her back to speak longer in this first WWALS Webinar,” said WWALS President Sara Jay Jones.

“I’m honored to have worked with Fannie for many years, and I hope you will all zoom in to hear what she has to say,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuf-igpjsuG9JKDeCUtmqgxujGcIkFZIz3 Continue reading →

The Real Trash Problem is the Producers, and How to Stop It 2023-12-23

Update 2025-06-28: Plastic bag bans keep trash out of rivers and the sea –a study in Science 2025-06-19.

The Crying Indian was Italian, and that ad was paid for by the producers of single-use trash, to shift blame onto individuals. Here’s what can be done about that trash.

Sure people shouldn’t litter, but Anheuser-Busch and other beer makers, as well as Nestlé, Coca Cola, and Walmart, should stop making and selling disposable bottles and cans.

[Single-use trash, The fake Crying Indian, and what can be done about that]
Single-use trash, The fake Crying Indian, and what can be done about that

Fifty years ago those things had deposits on them, and people would collect them for the cash. That could be useful to a lot of people, and a lot more cleanups would happen. Sure, there was still trash back then, but not as much.

People still do in Hawaii and nine other states: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Vermont, plus Guam. They don’t have nearly as big of a litter problem.

But Georgia or Florida do not have such container deposits. Maybe we should change that.

No, recycling will not solve this problem. There’s no market for plastic to recycle, and recycling has been pushed by big oil for years as an excuse to make more plastic throw-away containers. Laura Sullivan, NPR, 11 September 2020, How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled.

You’ve probably seen the famous ‘Crying Indian’ ad from 1971:

Crying Indian
A Keep America Beautiful advertisement by the Ad Council, which was launched in 1971. (Ad Council) – Original Credit: (HANDOUT)

Well, the “Indian” was Italian-American, and that ad was part of a campaign by the trash-producer front group Keep America Beautiful. Continue reading →

Pictures: C.B. Adams speaks about Okefenokee Swampers at Griffis Fish Camp Suwannee Paddle 2023-12-08

Update 2023-12-19: Videos: Food at Griffis Fish Camp on the Suwannee River with Seminole Pumpkin 2023-12-09

Naturalist C.B. Adams spoke at Campfire Cooking at Griffis Fish Camp and Suwannee River paddle. He brought bring props and artifacts, including a Seminole pumpkin and a flintlock musket.

This was Friday evening, December 8, 2023, before we paddled from Stephen C. Foster State Park down the Suwannee River through the Sill back to Griffis Fish Camp on Saturday.

[C.B. Adams speaks around the campfire at Griffis Fish Camp 2023-12-08]
C.B. Adams speaks around the campfire at Griffis Fish Camp 2023-12-08

He told many stories, such as about a man and a bear, about a woman fighting a lion off her child, and about the Seminole pumpkins that the Native Americans used to feed themselves while hiding out in the Okefenokee Swamp.

He brought such a pumpkin, which he says he saw in pictures somebody took after a WWALS Banks Lake Full Moon paddle. For what happened to this pumpkin after Chris gave it to Shirley Kokidko, stay tuned.

Chris “Turtleman” Adams is Continue reading →

Logging Railroads in the Okefenokee Swamp 1889-1942

Here are maps of logging railroads in the Okefenokee Swamp, and detailed maps of railroads and the town on Billys Island.

[Logging Railroads and Billys Island, Okefenokee Swamp]
Logging Railroads and Billys Island, Okefenokee Swamp

The Billys Island maps are by Chris Trowell or revised from his maps. As the redrawn map says, Billys Island is 1.8 miles from Stephen C. Foster State Park, upstream on the Suwannee River and its East Fork. As you can see by the map, it was quite a bustling place. Until the trees ran out.

I don’t know who drew the map of all the railroads in the Swamp, but I would guess Chris Trowell may have had something to do with it. This is presumably the same C.T. Trowell frequently cited in the documents for Floyds Island in the National Register of Historic Places, and his paper included, “Seeking a Sanctuary: A Chronicle of Efforts to Preserve the Okefenokee,” C.T. Trowell, 1998.

These railroads did not all exist at the same time, since they pulled up tracks from one place to go another place.

These maps came from a ranger at Stephen C. Foster State Park, back in 2021. Naturally, right now I cannot find the email he sent with the maps. Continue reading →

Floyds Island 1838, Hebard Cabin 1925, Okefenokee Swamp

Update 2024-12-09: Pictures: Departing Floyd’s Island, Okefenokee Swamp 2023-11-05.

Answers to some popular questions about Floyds Island, up the Middle Fork of the Suwannee River in the Okefenokee Swamp.

Meanwhile, you can help stop a proposed strip mine near the Swamp:
https://wwals.net/issues/titanium-mining

[Collage, Floyds Island]
Collage, Floyds Island

Who was Floyds Island named for?

The Okefenokee was a Creek hunting ground in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Briefly in 1836 and for most of 1838 theSecond Seminole War in Florida extended into the Okefenokee. Roads and forts were built around the perimeter of the swamp, and Georgia militia and U.S. army troops patrolled intensively. They burned down a Seminole village on an island that they subsequently renamed Floyds Island, for Charles Rinaldo Floyd. In response to this violence, the Seminole began to leave the swamp in 1838, but skirmishes continued to occur along the Georgia-Florida boundary as late as 1840.

C.T. Trowell, New Georgia Encyclopedia, Originally published Sep 20, 2002, Last edited Feb 23, 2022, Human History of the Okefenokee Swamp.

Who was Charles Rinaldo Floyd? Continue reading →

Dark Sky Observatory, Cultural History, and Natural History around the Okefenokee Swamp 2023-10-19

Thanks to Kim Bednarek, Executive Director of the Okefenokee Swamp Park, we now know the answer to what puzzled the Clinch County Commission when they reserved $50,000 for cash match for a Dark Sky Observatory: where will it be?

[Dark Sky Observatory, Cultural and Natural History around the Okefenokee Swamp]
Dark Sky Observatory, Cultural and Natural History around the Okefenokee Swamp

The answer is: to the left of Eco Lodge Drive, as you approach the Suwannee River Eco-Lodge, north of Fargo on US 441. Continue reading →

Winners: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2023-09-22

Hahira, GA, September 25, 2023 — Hahira, Georgia, September 25, 2023 — Ten musicians wrote songs and seven sang them, about the delights of the waters of the Suwannee River Basin and the need to preserve them against numerous threats. Jane Fallon came all the way from Dunedin, Florida, to the Turner Arts Center in Valdosta, Georgia, to sing a story about legendary Sun Daughters reflecting on a proposed mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, the headwaters of the Suwannee River. The three judges marked her high on storytelling and presenting the value of the waters, on originality of lyrics and music, and on performance, with extra credit for naming waterways. She took home First Prize in the Sixth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

[Winners: Suwannee Riverkeeper; Cindy Bear and Franc Robert, Best Folk; Jane Fallon, First Prize; Bacon James, Best from Outside; Kyle Bird Chamberlain and David Rodock, tie for Best from Inside; Chamberlain, Best Blues; Rodock, Best AmeriKinda; Keven Stephenson, Best Country --Chuck Roberts]
Suwannee Riverkeeper with the Winners: Cindy Bear and Franc Robert, Best Folk; Jane Fallon, First Prize; Bacon James, Best from Outside; Kyle Bird Chamberlain and David Rodock, tie for Best from Inside; Chamberlain, Best Blues; Rodock, Best AmeriKinda; Kevin Stephenson, Best Country; and Robert Thatcher (not pictured). Photo: Chuck Roberts

Jane Fallon said, “Thank you for the honor in recognizing my song ‘Chant For The Okefenokee’ in your contest. It is always a special feeling to sing a song for an audience that truly understands its meaning. Thank you also for the work you do in trying to preserve the waterways. It is so important.”

Here is the first half of her lyrics: Continue reading →

Ten Songwriters in Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest in WWALS River Revue

Update 2023-09-06: WWALS River Revue on WKUB 105.1 FM 2023-09-06

Hahira, GA, August 16, 2023 — All ten songs were so good we couldn’t decide, so we accepted them all as finalists. We’ve got six songwriters from Florida, three from Georgia, and one from Tennessee. Genres range from easy-listening pop to a mining protest chant. Come hear them at the Finals of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, 6-10 PM, Friday evening, September 22, 2023, at the Turner Center for the Arts, Valdosta, Georgia. Also enjoy a catered sit-down meal, speakers, a silent auction, and a kayak raffle.

[WWALS River Revue Flyer 2023]
WWALS River Revue Flyer 2023
PDF

“Traditionally we extend the song submission deadline twice, but we didn’t need to this time,” said longtime organizing committee member and new WWALS Board member Scotti Jay.

Follow this link for tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and more:

https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2023/

WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman said, “Your ticket or sponsorship helps support everything WWALS does, from water quality tests, paddle outings and swimming & boating lessons, to chainsaw cleanups, and beyond to advocacy to stop trash at its sources, strip mines, and pipelines. We work for water trails, solar power, and the Right to Clean Water, with growing engagement for youth and marginalized communities.”

“We’re gonna rock the autumn equinox,” said organizing committee chair and WWALS President Sara Jay Jones. “Thanks to our sponsors so far: Georgia Power, Brooksco Dairy, Landis International, Michael Smith, Clyde Butcher Gallery, Great Dame, Georgia Beer Company, Azalea City Woman’s Club, Agri-Supply, Olympia Bend Shooting Range, and Jack’s Chophouse. You, too, can be a sponsor!”

These are the ten songwriter finalists, in alphabetical order, with a bit they wrote about themselves: Continue reading →

Judges announced for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest in WWALS River Revue

Update 2023-08-03: Song submission extension and Headliner for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest in WWALS River Revue

Hahira, GA, July 27, 2023 — The judges for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest in the WWALS River Revue are Joe Smothers from Lowndes County, Georgia, Anna Stange from Madison County, Florida, and Tony Buzella from Columbia County, Florida. Joe and Tony have judged before; Anna is new to this Contest.

“I’m very pleased to welcome Joe Smothers and Tony Buzella back again, plus new judge Anna Stange,” said WWALS President Sara Jay Jones. “We’re gonna rock the Autumn Equinox.”

[Songwriting Flyer 2023]
Songwriting Flyer 2023
PDF

Judge Joe Smothers is from Reidsville, NC, lives in Valdosta, and often plays The Salty Snapper, with a second home in Cortez, FL, with his wife Murphy. Joe’s mom Betty purchased a Stella guitar at the local pawn shop when he was thirteen. Born in the Piedmont area of North Carolina in 1950, he toured with his teenage inspiration, the legendary Doc Watson, and played on more than a dozen albums with him. Joe has performed at every Merle Fest (31) and was asked to perform at Doc’s funeral. Joe toured extensively with Jack Lawrence as a supporting act for John Prine, Leo Kottke and Emmylou Harris, to name a few. He has released two albums: These Things I Know, and ‘Terpretations. His song “The Three Buglers” — a mix of fiction and history on Taps — won him a first place at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS, in 2007.

“We are excited to see and hear the talented songwriters and discuss future water protection goals,” said new organizing committee member Matt Prentice.

Judge Anna Stange moved to Madison, Continue reading →

Juneteenth and River Ferries: Speakers in WWALS River Revue 2023-09-22

Update 2023-07-27: Judges announced for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest in WWALS River Revue.

Hahira, GA, July 20, 2023 — We have two excellent speakers for the first-ever WWALS River Revue. Fannie Gibbs will talk about how her extensive family history research ties into Juneteenth and our rivers and creeks. Ken Sulak will talk about “Paddling into the Past: Finding Florida in the 1800s, Trails from Georgia, and Early Border Ferries.”

[2023-07-20--WWALS-River-Revue-0001-crop]
PDF

“We’ve worked with Fannie and Ken for years, and we hope you’ll like what they have to say as much as we do,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

This first-ever WWALS gala is an indoor fundraising gala, with catered sit-down meal, speakers, silent auction, and kayak raffle. It will be held 6-10 PM, Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia.

Follow this link for tickets, sponsorship opportunities, how to contribute to the silent auction, and more:

https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2023/ Continue reading →