Melrose, FL – Florida Defenders of the Environment has named Karen Ahlers Executive Director of the non-profit research organization. FDE board president Steve Robitaille has been interim executive director since October 2013.
Robitaille noted Ahlers is a life long champion of Ocklawaha River restoration since witnessing as a child the destruction wrought by the Cross Florida Barge Canal project. FDE was founded in Gainesville in 1969 by Marjorie Harris Carr in an effort to halt the canal project.
Former Florida governor Buddy MacKay said, “Like Marjorie Carr, Karen is knowledgeable, totally fearless, with a passionate concern for Florida’s environment. Her selection is great news. I look forward to a revitalization of FDE.”
As FDE’s Ocklawaha Restoration Coordinator Ahlers has led the charge to protect the river from massive water withdrawals and to minimize nutrient pollution from the proposed 30,000 acre Adena Springs Ranch grass fed beef operation in the Ocklawaha Basin and Silver Springs springshed.
“Florida’s water resources are under tremendous pressure and I can think of no better place to fight for their protection and restoration than FDE,” Ahlers said. “The foundation laid by Marjorie Harris Carr is still strong with many seasoned environmental warriors ready to step up and be counted.”
A Putnam County native, Ahlers earned statewide recognition for the Putnam County Environmental Council where she served nine terms as president. Her Rally for the Rivers events brought participants from all over Florida to celebrate the state’s natural resources and focus on the continued existence of the detrimental dam on the Ocklawaha. Sandra Kokernoot, founder of Putnam County Environmental Council and former FDE board member, praised Ahlers for her organizing skills and her will to take on enormous challenges. “She made Putnam County Environmental Council one of the leading voices for protecting water resources in Florida,” Kokernoot said.
“Karen has been a long time and effective advocate for restoring the free flowing Ocklawaha River and preserving the purity and quantities of Florida’s natural water sheds,” said Joseph Little, FDE vice president. “She knows and is respected by all the players on both sides of the issues and assumes the role of executive director with no need for orientation. FDE’s executive committee is pleased that she has agreed to undertake this role.”
“It has been a privilege to serve as interim executive director, and in that capacity my respect and trust in Karen Ahlers as an environmental leader and steward continued to grow,” Robitaille said.
She is the ideal person to carry on the legacy entrusted to us by Marjorie Carr, and I look forward to working with her, the board and our members in the months and years ahead,” he added.
Six months ago today on December 2, 2013 Florida lost one its most original singer-songwriters, Garrison Doles. He was only 62 years old. As a feature reporter for the past 40 years I’ve met and interviewed many songwriters, but Garrison Doles stood out to me. He was someone with the unique ability to truly create visual pictures with his words . His style of guitar playing tugged at one’s emotions.
Working as a song contest judge for the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Competition for the past several years, I’ve heard just about every kind of Florida song imaginable. There were songs about history, songs about the environment and funny songs as well. In 2009 I was moved to tears by the words and music of Garrison Doles’ song, “This Florida Again.”
At the time I had no idea who he was. I knew nothing of his former struggles with alcohol or the years he spent playing in smoky bars trying to appeal to audiences who really weren’t there to listen to the lyrics of his songs. I only knew the moment I heard “This Florida Again” it had the “goosebump factor.” What authors Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Patrick Smith did with words to describe the “old Florida” in their novels, Garrison created with music, both in lyrics and the emotion he brought out on the strings of his guitar. I couldn’t wait to meet him.
In 2009 he sat down in the WUFT studios to talk about winning the song contest, what inspired him and to play some of his songs.
In 2010 he returned to the Will McLean Folk Festival and performed his winning song:
During his interview in the studios of WUFT, Doles also shared memories about his early days performing around the state and when he first met the legendary Gamble Rogers.
In 2009 Garrison had just finished one of his newest CDs entitled, “Whenever I’m With You,” and he talked about some of the Florida musicians who played with him in the recording studio.
Doles is survived by his wife, Jan Richardson; his son, Emile; his parents, Harold and Dee; his brothers, Jeff (Suzanne), Greg (Doreen), and Jon (Heather); and many nieces and nephews. He is deeply missed.
There’s nothing sweeter than attending a special “Mother’s Day Program” at your child’s elementary school. In 2001 I attended such an event in Ms. Stephanie Warmouth’s 2nd grade class at P.K. Yonge Elementary School in Gainesville. With the help of reporter Alexa (Woell) Elliott we put together this musical montage of the program highlights mixed with actual comments from the moms and kids themselves about the meaning of “Mother’s Day.” This particular feature won “Best Use of Sound” from the Florida Associated Press Broadcasters in 2002. Enjoy this special tribute from my audio archives from WUFT and Happy Mother’s Day!
Performing has been a personal passion for me since I was a young girl. Though it wasn’t something I pursued professionally, singing and playing has been a fun part of my life and just naturally comes from being raised in a musical family. My dad, Sterling Green, taught me my first few guitar chords when I was around the age of 10 or 11 and let me plunk around on an old electric guitar. I always loved to sing, though I didn’t purchase my own guitar until after college. My two older brothers Dan and Sterling both learned to play guitar as well and my younger brother Stan learned to keep rhythm on a snare drum while my mom added her part by playing a comb.
On weekends in the 60’s and 70’s we’d get together with my dad’s brother Ralph who played guitar and sang and our Uncle Forest who played the fiddle and we’d spend hours and hours making some great music together. Those were special times. Sadly, both my dad and his brother passed away in 1982 only five weeks apart from heart problems, but what they taught us will live on in our memories forever.
In the early years, whenever my mom could, she’d sign my brothers and me up for various talent shows around our small town of Montgomery City in Missouri. I have to laugh when I think about taking 4th place at the “Old Settlers Picnic” in nearby New Florence, MO for singing “Worms.” I think I won a whole $2.00. My brothers fared much better winning 2nd with their version of “Wildwood Flower.” Later we had the opportunity to play on stage with some of the members of Lee Mace’s Ozark Opry in a talent show. I was only in 8th grade and sang a rather adult song, “Charlie’s Shoes.” We didn’t win, but it was a great experience for all of us.
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Though that was a long time ago, my family’s love for music has been passed down to our children. My brothers Sterling and his son James, Dan and his son Daniel and Stan’s son Sam all play guitar. My own son Lee plays banjo and guitar and my daughter Jessie loves to sing. (My daughter Ellie used to play guitar and I hope will take it up again one day).
Pat & Dorsey Lee Townsend, Sr. in the 1940s.
My husband Lee grew up playing music as well following in the footsteps of his dad, Dorsey Lee Townsend, Sr. It’s been said he spent four decades playing around North Central Florida with his brother Jesse and even Chubby Wise. Music is just good for the soul.
In 1981 and 1982 while working as the News Director for KHCC-FM in Hutchinson, KS I had the opportunity to conduct interviews with all of the musicians and top contestants of the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS. Our station then produced a 13-part series of music programs for national distribution on public radio two years in a row. The experience of meeting such legends as Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Bryan Bowers, Dave Grisman, Tim O’Brien, Sam Bush and Bela Flek was all it took for me to be renewed with musical energy.
Florida’s Black Hat Troubadour
In 1983 I moved to Florida to begin work as a news producer for WUFT-FM. Less than two years later I had the opportunity to meet Florida’s Black Hat Troubadour, Will McLean. I had learned one of his most famous songs, “Hold Back The Waters,” while producing the “Walnut Valley Series.” When he realized I knew his song he asked me to sing it with him at his November, 1985 concert at the historic Thomas Center in Gainesville. That concert eventually became a CD produced by WUFT. Here is the introduction to the song that night in 1985
and here’s the recording of Will McLean, Murphy Henry and me singing “Hold Back The Waters.”
Just a few years later I bought a nicer guitar and began to go to music jams in the Gainesville area.
One Christmas season when my mother and I were discussing Christmas presents she told me not to get her anything that cost a lot as she knew I was struggling to pay for three children in daycare. I rounded up some of my favorite music buddies and asked if they’d consider getting together to produce a CD for my mom. I had just met some of these guys, but they all said yes. With the help of WUFT-FM ‘s (former) Program Director Bill Beckett we gathered at Bill’s home and recorded around 11 tracks for what became known as “Train Wreck.” Bill mixed as he recorded while we were all gathered around microphones in a large circle in his living room. The gathering included David Cook on piano, Art Crummer on dobro, Dave McBrady on banjo, Dan Peterson on bass, Ned Stewart on guitar and Ray Valla on mandolin. We’d practice the song once, maybe twice, and walla….we did it for real. It was an amazing night. Four more tracks were recorded on a separate night, including two songs written by my friend Priscilla Bingham and with the additional help of Ron Bowman on fiddle. Here are the tracks on the CD:
Track 1- Intro and Wreck of the ‘ole 97
Track 2- Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
Track 3- Goodbye Little Darlin’
Track 4- Blue Kentucky Girl
Track 5- Don’t Come Cryin’ To Me
Track 6- Shady Grove
Track 7- Cryin’ My Heart Out Over You
Track 8- Sadie
Track 9- No One Will Ever Know
Track 10- Rough and Rocky
Track 11- Down South
Track 12- Peach Pickin’ Time in Georgia
Track 13- I Wouldn’t Change You If I Could
Track 14-Old Fashioned Love
Track 15- From Loving You
My mother treasured that CD, especially when she went through four years of dementia in a nursing home. Music helped to soothe her and it helped her to remember. It’s so interesting how dementia patients can remember lyrics despite memory loss.
Following the recording of the first Train Wreck CD I began to do more live performances at folk festivals and church events. See some of the videos below:
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Performing Highway of Sorrow with Art Crummer on dobro and Lynn Hall on banjo at a Sunday Sampler in Dunnellon, FL in the spring of 2000
Someday We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart:
“Where Could I Go”
Donna, Jessie and Lee Townsend singing Never Grow Old at the Homecoming services for the Providence United Methodist Church in Windsor, FL on October 26, 2014
Donna, Jessie and Lee Townsend performing I’ll Fly Away at the Homecoming services for the Providence United Methodist Church in Windsor, FL on October 26, 2014
Singing Little White Church at the Homecoming Services for the Providence United Methodist Church in Windsor, FL on October 26, 2014
Singing Where The Soul of Man Never Dies at the Homecoming Services for the Providence United Methodist Church in Windsor, FL on October 26, 2014
The following music tracks are some of my favorite live performance recordings:
By The Mark performed at the Providence United Methodist Church in Windsor, FL in October 2012 with Lee Townsend on guitar and vocals and Cedric Forson on vocals
Conch Island performed at the Will McLean Folk Festival in 2001 with Art Crummer on guitar
Hot Buttered Rum performed at the Will McLean Folk Festival in 2001 with Art Crummer on dobro, Dave Cook on guitar, Annie McPherson on mandolin and Dennis Devine on bass
I’m Goin’ Back To the Old Home performed at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV in August, 2000
Mississippi You’re On My Mind sung around a campfire at White Springs during the FL Folk Festival in 1999
Never Grow Old performed with my son Lee on banjo
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“Angel Band and Old Rugged Cross” Medley performed at the New Cross Creek Baptist Church at the April, 2013 Homecoming Sing
“I Saw The Light and I’lly Fly Away” medley performed at the New Cross Creek Baptist Church on October 14th, 2012
Mississippi You’re On My Mind
Performing “Never Grow Old” with son Lee and daughter Jessie at the Paran Baptist Church Gospel Sing on Saturday, April 5th, 2014
“Where The Soul of Man Never Dies” performed by Donna and Lee Townsend at the New Cross Creek Baptist Church at the April, 2013 Homecoming Sing
Boat ramp at MKR park in March, 2014Boat ramp at MKR Park in September, 2013
Business has picked up in the Cross Creek area in the past few weeks thanks to heavy rainfall during the first three months of this year. Lake levels are up in Orange and Lochloosa Lakes in Alachua County resulting in more boat traffic in recent weeks. People are fishing and airboating once again.
For many months boaters couldn’t navigate Cross Creek to get in to either lake because of dense plant growth due to low rainfall. According to the St. John’s River Water Management District, Alachua County received 14.28 inches of rain between January 1st and March 18th. That’s 11.33 inches more than the same period last year. The Keystone Heights area has received 14.35 inches since January 1st, which is 12.02 inches more than the same period last year.
Local residents in Cross Creek say that in the past week they observed the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission releasing 125,000 fingerling bass in Orange Lake. Area residents are calling this a positive move to help recreational fishing for the near future.
Original Story in September, 2013
Cross Creek Lodge owner Gary Palmeter stands near grass-filled boat slips
By Donna Green-Townsend and Amanda Jackson
Cross Creek Lodge once catered to fishermen, hunters, and people with a love for the great outdoors. But with lake levels staying low for many years it seems the lodge will never thrive as it did in the past. Owner and operator of the Cross Creek Lodge Gary Palmeter opened the doors to his business, which sits on the creek between Orange and Lochloosa Lakes, more than three decades ago. With lake levels constantly rising and falling he has only been able to operate for 12 of the 33 years he’s been in business. (Video below includes interviews with Dale Crider on Newnans Lake and with Gary Palmeter on the Cross Creek area)
“I’m losing a lot of money every year, we used to have a cafe, that’s gone,” says Gary Palmeter, “Had we had enough water we could have probably maintained that. If the state would do something about the hunter permits that they allow people to use we could have hunters here. Right now we have hunters, a few of them for maybe like 2 months. We used to have a number of people that stayed here through the hunting season, but if they don’t get a permit, which is a lottery type thing, they don’t come. That’s a loss to not only the community but the county because that’s tourist dollars, out the window!”
Palmeter says he feels there’s more to this problem than just rain. A sinkhole under Orange Lake, which is a major source of contention between Marion and Alachua counties, is also thought to be draining a large amount of water from the lake.
“So that’s you know the crux of the problem besides the rain. I mean yeah, we get water levels and I understand that we’re not going to maintain a high level, but with the water continually flowing out of the lakes there’s nothing that’s ever going to be done to help stabilize them.”
Low water level at the boat ramp at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park
But for those who think that large amounts of rain that accompany Florida summers can refill the extremely low lakes, Palmeter knows the reprieve is only temporary.
“Even when we got the two hurricanes that came late in 2004 if I remember right, that water only held for 18 months. It was up sufficiently so that we could have boats here launch. We had boat and motor rentals again. And we’re not going to go through that again I don’t think.”
For now, boats slips at the Cross Creek Lodge are filled with grass instead of boats. Other local businesses have been suffering as well. Although it is still open for business, the Yearling Restaurant in Cross Creek, is up for sale. With continued limited lake access Palmeter says its hard to keep these businesses running.
Though the business is still open, there’s a for sale sign in front of the Yearling Restaurant in Cross Creek
“We still keep the motel going and we try to keep the campground going the best we can, but the motel hasn’t done anything because most of the people that want to come here to stay are fishermen. The first thing when they call I explain the situation. And I like to be up front with people, and as a result it probably in some way hurts our business. But I kept thinking in the long term it would improve but it hasn’t. We’ve lost our base of business, the fishermen that used to come here. They call and sometimes want to bring their son to where they used to fish. Well, they can’t do that anymore. So you’ve really lost your whole base of business.”
Alachua County Environmental Protection Director Chris Bird says that no matter how much it has been debated over the past 50 years there isn’t anything that can be done to the Orange Lake sinkhole without causing even more damage.
“The geology of that lake is such that if you did try to plug them up, the sinks in the bottom of the lake, assuming you thought it was a good idea, most likely what would happen is that there would just be other sinks that would open up other places because there’s just a lot of pressure,” says Bird. “And the way that system naturally flows is that actually the southern part of Orange Lake is recharge. They’ve actually done dive trace studies that suggest that that water is draining back into the aquifer. And it’s part of the Silver springshed, so again, there’s just a lot of important relationships. And because of that, at least in my opinion, it would not be wise to start trying to mess with mother nature.”
To see a music video highlighting lake levels click below:
Orange and Lochloosa lakes are not the only lakes experiencing low levels in Alachua County. Newnans Lake has also felt these water fluctuations. Retired wetlands and wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Dale Crider has seen the level changes while living by the lake. Crider says the situation is not much different from the water level issues in Keystone Heights.
“I think it’s like most north Florida lakes that it’s tied in to the Floridan aquifer which is overpumped and underfed right now because we’re not getting the rains we used to,” says Crider, “and it’s overpumped from all sources from municipal to agriculture to you name it. It seems like there’s such a capacity for this water to be soaked up and disappear through sinkholes and underground terrain. You know there’s not this capacity to fill up the aquifer so that it bubbles above the surface anymore.”
Water line on a cypress tree on the shore of Newnans Lake shows how much the water level has dropped in just a couple of weeks
Crider pointed to a tree where the water level line was three weeks ago which showed how far it had decreased in a short time. He says it demonstrates the lakes still aren’t healthy
“There’s still this suction kind of thing and I don’t think this flood that we’ve had made that big of an impression for that long that it would have filled up the aquifer to where we can go back to using water normally. I don’t think we’ll ever reach that point where what we used to call normal use of water for watering our lawn or just filling our swimming pool more frequently or whatever we do with it, I think those days are past.”
Something Crider and Palmeter both agree on is that county officials and water regulators will need to do a better job of overseeing Florida’s water resources.
On March 21, 2013 the Punch Brothers wowed the crowd when they made their debut at the Suwannee Springfest in Live Oak, FL. Band members include lead vocalist and MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile on mandolin, Paul Kowert on bass, Chris Eldridge on guitar, Noam Pikelny on banjo and Gabe Witcher on fiddle.
The Punch Brothers, an acoustic quintet, performs everything from punked out bluegrass to classical. Below you’ll find some of the tunes they performed at the March, 2013 Suwannee Springfest.
“Rye Whiskey”
Jammin’ out….
Their encore “The Auld Triangle”
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Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers in the WUFT Studios
On March 25th, 2009 Chris Thile and the entire Punch Brothers band were in Gainesville for a performance at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. While in town the band stopped by the WUFT Studios and gave a short performance:
(Raw Interviews from 1985 and 1987 featured below)
(all photos courtesy of Margaret Longhill and the Will McLean Foundation)
In November of 1985 Will McLean showed up at my office at WUFT-FM on the University of Florida campus. McLean, known to many as the “Black Hat Troubadour” penned hundreds of songs, stories and poems about what he called his “beloved Florida sand.” McLean, who died in 1990, was the first folk artist inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.
As I documented in earlier posts, McLean wanted to hang up some fliers about his November 17th, 1985 concert at the historic Thomas Center in Gainesville. I had only lived in Florida about a year and a half at that point. Though I had never met him and didn’t know a lot about him I did know one of his songs very well. “Hold Back The Waters.” It was about the 1928 Hurricane that killed between 3,000 to 4,000 people. The song had become very popular in folk music circles. That fact alone enticed me to ask Will to sit down for an interview in 1985. A couple of years later, after I’d gotten to know him better, I asked Will to come in for a second interview. The two interviews have been in my personal audio archives for nearly 30 years. I thought it was about time I shared them on my website.
Author’s note: My voice sounds very young in these old interviews. Also, the interviews below are from cassette dubs from the original reel to reel tapes. Some of the 1985 cassette dubs have gotten a little scratchy over time. I am anxious to see how the original reel to reels will sound if I can get my hands on a reel to reel machine. The 1987 dubs from the cassette below sound much better. I’m including both years for the sake of archival history).
I’m posting the interviews in a couple of different ways. You can either listen to the interviews in their entirety or listen to them in separated segments (see below).
Will McLean Interview in 1985
1985 Full Interview
Early photo of Will McLean’s grandparents
Segment 1: Will shares stories about his grandfather and mother
Segment 2: Will talks about the public radio Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor
Florida’s Black Hat Troubadour, the late Will McLean
Segment 3: Will shares the story of his song “Hold Back The Waters”
(l to r) Dale Crider, Will McLean and Gamble Rogers
Here’s the song Hold Back The Waters:
Segment 4: Will shares the story of performing at Carnegie Hall in NYC with Pete Seeger
Segment 5: Will talks about giving his music away and his song Macclenny Farewell
Here’s the song Macclenny Farewell:
Segment 6: Will shares the story of his wife Alice’s cancer battle and finding new love
Segment 7: Will talks about environmental concerns
(l to r) Paul Champion, Gamble Rogers and Will McLean
Segment 8: Will talks about his friends Gamble Rogers, Paul Champion and Cousin Thelma Boltin
Cousin Thelma Boltin, Gamble Rogers and Will McLean 1988 50th Anniv of The Yearling in Cross Creek (photo by Iris Greenfield)
Segment 9: Will talks about the Florida songs he’s written that he’s most proud of
Lottie and Will McLean as children from Chipley, Florida
Here is Will’s song Florida Sand:
Here’s Away O’ee:
Segment 10: Will shares more about his Carnegie Hall performance in NYC
Will McLean Interview in 1987
Full interview with Will McLean in 1987 Part One
Part Two of the full interview in 1987 Will addresses whether he’d ever go back to Rosewood to try and gather material for a song
Shorter separated segments:
Segment 1: Will shares the story behind his song The Ballad of Scotty
Here’s the song Ballad of Scotty
Segment 2: Will talks about the inspiration for his song Wild Hog
Here’s the song Wild Hog:
Segment 3: Will shares the story of Cush Holston
Here’s Will’s song Cush Holston:
Segment 4: Will gives the background on Tate’s Hell
Here’s Will’s song Tate’s Hell:
Segment 5: Will talks about his grandfather
Will McLean performing on a set with audience on stage
Segment 6: Will talks about “who” he is and why
Segment 7: Will shares the story of being run out of Rosewood (he refers to it as Rosehill)
Segment 8: Will talks about the 1928 hurricane and his song Hold Back The Waters and his relationship with the Seminoles
Here are Will’s songs Seminole and Osceola’s Last Words:
Lais doing dance interpretation while Will McLean performed at the Florida Folk Festival
Segment 9: Will talks about his dream for a ballet featuring his songs of Florida
The late Cousin Thelma Boltin with Will McLean circa 1988 in Cross Creek
Segment 10: Will talks about what he’s been writing lately
Segment 11: Will talking about whether he would go back to Rosewood to try and gather song material
Segment 12: Will talks about environmental concerns for Florida
Frog Blog Update: Listen to the latest frog sounds from a swamp after the heavy rain on St. Patrick’s Day:
“My frog blog”… So I start this blog paragraph by saying first, that it’s not easy for me to step out of my comfort zone to talk about myself. For four decades as a journalist I have always tried to keep the word “I” out of my stories. I (smile here) was trained to write in “third person objective.” So when the popularity of blogging took off, it wasn’t something I jumped into. Since retirement I have decided to share a few personal thoughts from time to time…but they won’t be editorial thoughts on politics…. just observations or experiences I want to share. So here I go (again, feels funny to say “I”)
Since I don’t have to punch a time clock in a newsroom now, I had the luxury this week of hopping in my car at 3:00 a.m. with tape recorder in hand to capture the sounds of the LOUD chorus of frogs down the road who obviously knew it was about to rain. I must say, I don’t know much about the mating rituals of frogs but maybe that’s partially what the frog symphony was really all about. Here’s a short excerpt of what it sounded like this week: I always feel it’s special to hear that kind of frog chorus around the lakes here. It doesn’t happen every night around Cross Creek. I have plenty of recordings of the sounds the little peepers and tree frogs make that can lull you to sleep. No…this was a cacaphony of frogs on every pond, in every ditch and all around Orange and Lochloosa Lakes.
I love the sounds the frogs make when communicating this way. What sets it apart from the usual nights of frogs chirping is that the sound seems to start from one side of the lake or pond and then continues to the opposite direction and then back again as if there is a special message being passed from frogs on either side of the lake or pond. I still don’t know what that message is and have had plenty of people laugh at me when I try to imitate what it sounds like. Oh well. I enjoy it and that’s all that matters to me. Here’s a version (longer) of another frog chorus on Orange Lake a few years ago on New Year’s Eve before a big rain:
And here is another favorite recording of frogs croaking before a thunderstorm:
Though this isn’t the “actual” gopher tortoise I saw that day, it looked just like this one my daughter is holding from an earlier tortoise encounter
The next morning after capturing the frog chorus at 3 a.m. this past week I had to head to “town” to go to an appointment. That’s when my next “nature encounter” appeared. As most “Creek folks” do, when I spotted a large gopher tortoise in my lane on the highway I pulled my car off to the side of the road to go and move it. She was one of the largest tortoises I’d seen in a while. I’m assuming it was a female wanting to lay eggs somewhere across the road. Apparently they always remember their favorite spots to lay their eggs because they don’t seem to care that they have to cross busy county highways to get there. I picked her up and jumped across the ditch and put her under the fence line and returned to my car. As I pulled away I hoped I wouldn’t see her splattered on the road when I returned home…assuming I was right about her desire to travel across the highway just to lay eggs. Heck, it might not be egg-laying season and the tortoise may have simply wanted to just see what was on the other side of the road…kind of like the “why did the chicken cross the road” question. Nonetheless, I felt my 24 hour nature experience with frogs and the tortoise reminded me of just why I love Cross Creek.
Lee performing on banjo at the 2018 Blueberry Festival in Island Grove, FL with band members Jessie (Townsend) Armstrong on vocals (far left), David McBrady on bass and Andy Garfield (far right) on guitar
Lee Townsend
(For bookings or to contact Lee send an email to dltownsend3@gmail.com or call 352-672-7574)
The following YouTube Videos are from some of Lee Townsend’s various bluegrass performances around North Central Florida. (Read about Lee’s musical story and see pictures of Lee below the You Tube videos)
Jessie and Lee Townsend
Lee and Jessie Townsend’s CD Sampler is ready. Click here to listen to highlights.
On Friday, April 29th, 2016 Red and Chris Henry along with David McBrady joined Jessie and Lee at Gatorbone Studios to begin recording six additional songs for their new CD called, “Tribute.” Here’s a sample of one of the recordings, “Oh Kissimmee River,” written by environmental troubadour Dale Crider from Windsor, FL. The song points out the folly of the government’s effort to straighten Florida’s Kissimmee River.
Lee and Jessie recently performed at the 27th Annual Will McLean Music Festival. Here’s one example of the songs they performed, the late Jim Ballew’s “When I Die”
Here’s Lee and Andy Garfield performing “Up 18 North” on the Azalea Stage.
To see more highlights from Jessie and Lee’s performances at the Will McLean Festival click here:
To see highlights from Jessie and Lee’s performances at the Florida Folk Festival click here:
Homecoming Service at the New Cross Creek Baptist Church
On April 26, 2015 Jessie and Lee Townsend performed “What Wondrous Love Is This” at the Homecoming Services of the New Cross Creek Baptist Church on April 26, 2015
2015 Will McLean Festival
On March 15th, 2015 Lee and his sister Jessie performed Will McLean’s “Macclenny Farewell” during the Hour of Power on the Main Stage accompanied by David McBrady on bass.
Lee and Jessie also made great harmony on the Azalea Stage at the 2015 Will McLean Festival performing Townes Van Zandt’s, “If I Needed You” with help on the bass and harmony by David McBrady.
The trio even got in some bluegrass with “Drivin’ Nails In My Coffin.”
Lee playing banjo on Wild Hog by Will McLean performed by Whitey Markle and the Swamprooters at the Will McLean Festival 2015
Blue Linewalkers at the 2013 Florida Folk Festival
“Cold Sheets of Rain” with Erik Alvar on bass, Andy Garfield on acoustic guitar and vocals, Lee Townsend on banjo, Amanda Anderson on fiddle and vocals and Christian Ward on fiddle
“The Lucky One”
“Little Boy of Mine in Tennessee”
“Ookpik Waltz”
“Bury Me Beneath the Willow”
Lee Townsend and Amanda Anderson
“Down In The River To Pray” and “A Living Prayer” presented at the New Cross Creek Baptist Church, January, 2012
Orange and Bluegrass Band Performing in Waldo, 2013
“Little Boy of Mine in Tennessee”
“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”
“Nine Pound Hammer”
“Soldier’s Joy”
Jamming at Lis and Lon Williamson’s Porch in 2013
“Groundspeed”
Tumblin’ Creek Bluegrass Band On The Main Stage At Florida Folk Festival, 2013
Performing “Landslide” at the P.K. Yonge High School Graduation in 2011
“Foggy Mountain Breakdown”– Jamming at the Hippodrome
Lee at around three years old
Lee Townsend loves to play music, especially bluegrass. Even at the young age of 3 he wanted to play the guitar.
Pat & Dorsey Lee Townsend, Sr.
His love for music isn’t a total surprise. His grandpa Dorsey Lee Townsend was a great guitar player who played with his brother Jesse Townsend around the Cross Creek area in the 1930s through the 1970s. His other grandpa, Sterling Green from Missouri, also played the guitar and had a family band.
Lee’s mom and her siblings singing in a talent show accompanied by members of Lee Mace’s Ozark Opry
Lee learned his first music chords from his mom (Donna Green-Townsend) and dad (Dorsey Lee Townsend, Jr.)
Lee jamming with his dad in Cross Creek, FL
Lee with his mom Donna Green-Townsend
Lee and his first guitar teacher David Cook
Singer-Songwriter Jon Semmes from Dunnellon
David Cook gave Lee his first professional guitar lessons. His parents along with musician and singer songwriter Jon Semmes from Dunnellon helped purchase his first “real” guitar. It wasn’t long before he decided he also wanted to try out playing the banjo. His Aunt Linda and Uncle Jim Johnson provided his first one.
Randy Hollinger and bluegrass band members playing for runners in a Gainesville marathon
At P.K. Yonge High School Lee had the opportunity to take Mr. Randy Hollinger’s instrumental ensemble class. The class included not only a bluegrass band, but a rock band, blues band and a girl’s punk rock band.
Finale of one of the P.K. Yonge Instrumental Ensemble concerts.
The bands put on a big show every May on the school’s performing arts center stage. But the bluegrass band had a life of its own and soon the Tumblin’ Creek Bluegrass Band began performing at a variety of venues, including the Will McLean Folk Festival, the Florida Folk Festival, United Downtown in Gainesville, the Micanopy Fall Festival, and the Alachua Downtown Festival among others.
Members of the Tumblin’ Creek Bluegrass Band
The Tumblin’ Creek Bluegrass Band performing in 2013 at the Will McLean Folk Festival
Not surprisingly, when Lee went on to college he joined a bluegrass club and a band soon formed called Orange and Bluegrass.
First gathering of the Gator Bluegrass Club
Orange and Bluegrass Band performing at a Waldo bluegrass festival
As with many acoustic bands, there’s always a mix and match of performers at various festivals. On Memorial Weekend of 2013 one of those mix and match groups became the Blue Linewalkers who performed on the Main Stage of the Florida Folk Festival. Performers included Erik Alvar on bass, Andy Garfield on vocals and guitar, Lee Townsend on banjo, Amanda Anderson on Fiddle and vocals and Christian Ward on fiddle.
The Gatherings – Folk and Blues From The Land of Flowers 26 part live-music series
Segment 5: Will talks about giving his music away and his song Macclenny Farewell
Segment 6: Will shares the story of his wife Alice’s cancer battle and finding new love
Will McLean Interview in 1987
Segment 1: Will shares the story behind his song The Ballad of Scotty
Segment 2: Will talks about the inspiration for his song Wild Hog
Segment 3: Will shares the story of Cush Holston
Segment 4: Will gives the background on Tate’s Hell
Segment 8: Will talks about the 1928 hurricane and his song Hold Back The Waters and his relationship with the Seminoles
