Charlotte County Centennial 2021

The Lemon Bay Historical Society invites the public to the Historic Green Street Church Museum Tuesday, November 16 at 7pm for a special presentation on Charlotte County’s 100th Anniversary.

Our speaker will be Dr. Jennifer Zoebelein, the  historian for Charlotte County. Her presentation will celebrate Charlotte County’s centennial by examining its history before and after its creation in 1921, highlighting those individuals, places and events that have contributed to the county’s development over the last 100 years.

 

A native of Long Island, Dr. Zoebelein received her Ph.D. in History from Kansas State University in 2018 and joined the staff of Charlotte County Libraries and History in November 2019 after working as the Special Projects Historian at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City.

Passionate about history since high school, Jennifer has worked for the New-York Historical Society and the National Park Service.

For more information on Charlotte County’s Centennial, visit: charlottecounty100.com

Save the date: Tuesday, November 16 at 7pm at the Historic Green Street Church Museum, 510 Indiana Ave., Englewood.

Admission is free but donations for the upkeep of the iconic building will be greatly appreciated.  CDC guidelines will be followed.

4 War Vet, Ft. Ogden and More

The Lemon Bay Historical Society has again opened the Historic Green Street Church to the public for monthly community events.

Thomas Kreidler

Our next event will be on Tuesday, October 26 at 7pm. Thomas Kreidler, historian and Civil War re-enactor will do a presentation on Francis Calvin Morgan Boggess, a pioneer settler of Fort Ogden, a soldier, schoolteacher, cattleman and civic leader.
Our speaker, Thomas Kreidler, is a former Army officer, Vietnam veteran and retired professor. His hobby is cleaning veterans’ headstones and has spent many days at Indian Creek Cemetery in Punta Gorda, which has more than 100 veterans’ graves.
“It’s time alone to think about their stories,” he says. “I introduce myself and tell them I’m there to give them a haircut and spruce them up a bit.”
He’s even cleaned the graves of prominent men like Albert Gilchrist and Joel Bean.

Learn about Calvin Boggess and more Tuesday, October 26 at 7pm at the Historic Green Street Church Museum, 510 Indiana Ave., Englewood.

Admission is free but donations for the upkeep of the iconic building will be greatly appreciated.  CDC guidelines will be followed.

 

What is a Cracker?

It is said the term “Cracker” comes from the cracking of the whip Florida cow hunters used to herd cattle. Florida was the first cattle producing state in America — not Texas, not Missouri – Florida. In the early 1500s Spanish conquistadors landed on the shores of Florida and attempted to colonize the area. They were thwarted and attacked by Native Americans. The colonists abandoned their quest, leaving behind horses, hogs and Andalusian cattle they had brought by ship: this was the first livestock in North America.

“Florida Crackers” by Frederick Remington

The Florida livestock bred and ran wild for centuries. Prior to the Civil War, a rugged brand of individual settled along Florida’s central corridor. They relied on bullwhips to flush cows out of the palmetto scrub. They used 10-to-12-foot-long whips made of braided leather. The snaps of these whips would break the sound barrier making a loud CRACK. Thus these early settlers became known as Cracker Cowmen, Cow Hunters, or Florida Crackers. They provided food for the Confederate soldiers during the Civil War and also rounded up cattle for shipment to Cuba. The Cubans loved Florida beef and paid for the cattle with gold doubloons. Today the term Cracker is used to refer to anyone who is a true native Floridian.

At this year’s Cracker Fair there will be classic country music by John Tuff and Friends, historical songwriter James Hawkins will be returning to our stage and we are looking forward to be introducing a few new artists as well. There will also be a Cracker whip demonstration, local food, a lemon dessert baking contest, kid’s games and all sorts of crafts and fun for all. Come one, come all: Saturday, February 8th from 10 to 4 at Dearborn Plaza (AKA Pioneer Park) on Dearborn Street. Admission is free.


A Litard Knot Floater

The storm was a “litard knot floater.” Mike Miller (with Florida Backroads Travel.com) quotes his friend Howard who is a Florida Cracker. A Cracker is a true Native Floridian. Mike says Crackers have a language of their own. He explains, “a ‘litard’ is a fat pine knot used like kindling to start fires. A fat pine knot is very heavy, and it takes a lot of water to make it float.”

Most Floridians say the term Cracker comes from the cracking of the whip Florida cow hunters used to herd cattle.

Physicists Alain Goriely and Tyler McMillen at the University of Arizona explain: “The crack of a whip comes from a loop traveling along the whip, gaining speed until it reaches the speed of sound and creates a sonic boom. Even though some parts of the whip travel at greater speeds, it is the loop itself that generates the sonic boom.”

For the past sixteen years Englewood has been celebrating the Crackers and Old Florida with a Cracker Fair. This year the tradition continues. We hope there will be fair skies and no “litard knot floaters!”