(Always one of my favorite program specials to revisit, especially during the Holidays. Sit back during all the hustle and bustle and relax to some of the most beautiful music you have ever heard on acoustic instruments).
Flutist George Tortorelli and harpist Lisa Lynne have often performed at Gainesville’s Downtown Arts Festival in the Fall. They’ve also performed at the Florida Folk Festival in White Springs on Memorial Weekend or any number of festivals around the state…that is when they were not touring across the country with their New Age Music. For many years George Tortorelli played music in a rock ‘n roll band. These days he prefers the soothing sound of his homemade flutes from his bamboo forest around his Gainesville home. Along with music partner Lisa Lynne, they’ve had a number of CDs top the New Age charts. He talked with Donna Green-Townsend about the production of their Christmas CD. Sit back and enjoy this 28 minute special that aired on WUFT in 2011 from Donna’s radio archives.
Will McLean, the first folk artist inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1996
By the time I met Will McLeanhe had already penned most of the hundreds of songs and poems he has become famous for. He’d already performed at Carnegie Hall and made friends with the late Pete Seeger. His glory days performing on the “Old Marble Stage” at the Florida Folk Festival were long since past. The truth is, the day I met him I didn’t even really know him by name. But I think therein lies the reason we became fast friends. Will McLean was one of the most humble men I’d ever met.
It was in mid-November in 1985. I was working in the WUFT-FM newsroom in Weimer Hall at the University of Florida when a tall man dressed all in black (that’s how I remember it) walked into my office and kindly, almost demurely, asked if he could post some fliers on the bulletin boards in the hallway to promote his concert that was to take place that following Sunday night November 17th in the Thomas Center in downtown Gainesville. Just having someone come in and ask to post something was rare. Thinking back on it, I’m surprised I didn’t just say yes or no. I remember being intrigued by this man because of the soft-spoken way in which he asked me. Maybe it was the way he was dressed and his stature that caused me to begin asking him questions, questions that today I’m a bit embarrassed that I asked, but so glad I did.
Photo on Will McLean’s “Florida Sand” album
I remember questioning him about what kind of songs he’d written. Instead of being surprised and offended that I didn’t know who he was he began to softly tell me some of the song titles and what they were about. That’s where my friendship with Will McLean really began. When he got to the song, “Hold Back the Waters,” my heart actually fluttered. I had no idea how popular that song really was or the true history behind the song of the 1928 hurricane in Florida over Lake Okeechobee. Geez, people in Florida had been singing this song like an anthem for more than 20 years. But in 1985 I had only been living in Florida for a little more than two years and was just getting to know Florida history and area musicians. But, I knew that song. I fell in love with “Hold Back The Waters” when I was helping produce a national music series while out in the state of Kansas called, “The Walnut Valley Festival.” The public radio station I was working for as news director, KHCC-FM, had produced 26 one-hour programs for national distribution.
Album cover to record by Red and Murphy & Company I purchased at the Walnut Valley Festival in the early 1980s
My job was to interview all the musicians and produce features for the series. It was my first real introduction to a genre of music you just don’t come across on the radio every day. One of the groups performing in 1982 was Red and Murphy Henry, a bluegrass family band from Florida (now Virginia). I can distinctly remember Murphy Henry introducing the song, Hold Back The Waters, saying it was about a hurricane. Of all the songs I heard at the Walnut Valley Festival those two years in the early 1980s, this was the one song I sat down and wrote out the lyrics to and learned to sing. Listening back to the original tape I can hear Murphy Henry mentioning Will McLean’s name, but at the time I learned it I wasn’t as interested in the artist who wrote it as much as in the story of this devastating storm that pushed Lake Okeechobee’s waters over its banks and drowned between 3,000 to 4,000 people.
The 1928 stormwas before television and the weather channel and before hurricanes even had names. It intrigued me that the Seminoles living in Florida may have warned the storm was coming but people didn’t pay attention. This storm is the reason there is now a dike all around Lake Okeechobee in South Florida. There are many accounts from people recalling the storm describing how they were tied to trees by their families so they wouldn’t be swept away. There are stories about the mass graves following the storm….some marked and some unmarked. Yes, this was an intriguing song about history and my first introduction to what hurricanes could really do.
Photo on Will McLean’s “Florida Sand” album
I loved “Hold Back The Waters.” As soon as Will McLean mentioned it I remember blurting out, “I know that song.” When I told him where I first heard it his eyes just lit up. I wasn’t prepared for him to then ask, “Why don’t you come to my concert and sing it with me.” He had just met me. He didn’t know if I could sing or not. I’m sure I thanked him kindly for asking, but he surely didn’t need me to come and sing. It was his concert after all. He insisted.
Before he left the station I introduced him to our operations manager and our chief engineer and it was decided that WUFT would send its remote recording truck to the concert. I remember sitting in a little room at the Thomas Center that night in November of 1985 practicing the song with Will. I was so afraid I’d forget the words or forget how to play it on my guitar. My fears were relieved when I saw Murphy Henry walk into the Thomas Center, the person I first heard sing the song out in Kansas. It turned out that I didn’t have to worry about playing the guitar, I only had to sing the song with Will and Murphy. My fears about forgetting the words disappeared. 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.”
In 1985 I was engaged to be married to Lee Townsend from Cross Creek. He was with me at the Thomas Center. As it turns out, Lee knew Will for a different reason. When he was working as a mechanic in Gainesville he often worked on Will’s old vehicles, doing his best to keep them running, many long after they should have been abandoned. That night Will dedicated a poem to us. It was a poem so appropriate for a couple who lived in the woods in Cross Creek.
I will only say that following that November concert, for whatever reason, that professional recording got stashed away on a shelf and misplaced for nearly 12 years….a whole different story in itself. Eventually, it resurfaced at just the right time because the new program director at WUFT-FM, Bill Beckett, had an appreciation for what this recording meant to history. Working together with the Executive Director of the Will McLean Foundation, Margaret Longhill, we turned the recording into the CD, “Will McLean and Friends, Live at the Thomas Center.” I met Margaret Longhill the same week I met Will in 1985. She truly understood how rare this professional recording of Will McLean was. We’ve been friends now for nearly 32 years.
Will McLean standing beside the van he used to travel around the state writing songs about his Florida sand
Because of the way Will McLean lived, he had very few possessions. After his wife Alice died of cancer Will spent most of his last years travelling around in an old beat up van and hanging out at campgrounds where he could fish or just plug in his extension cord at the homes of various friends. He pawned many of his guitars to obtain money to buy wine and he gave away cassette tapes of his recordings to just about everyone he met. I think he enjoyed revisiting the places around Florida where his grandpa had taken him as a boy. Those trips were the inspiration for many of his songs and poems.
Not all of the stories about Will McLean are pretty, but he was a unique individual….a treasure. About a month after the Thomas Center concert Will came to Cross Creek to help me celebrate my 28th birthday. I remember having a nice little music jam on my screened porch over Cross Creek. What I also remember is that Will chose to just sit back and listen to everyone else sing and play, not wanting to be in the spotlight. As much as I wanted him to play for us, I can now look back and appreciate how he didn’t want to be center stage the way some musicians do. I liked that quality in him.
The same thing happened on March 15, 1986 at my wedding reception in Cross Creek. Someone told me Will McLean had just arrived and was looking for me. He had a wedding present for my husband Lee and me. It was a cassette full of recordings he had made around the campfires at the Florida Folk Festival and other places. Not wanting to be the focus of my wedding reception he kindly gave us his “best wishes” and disappeared. After getting to know Will better over the coming months I invited him into the WUFT studios to do a long interview in 1987. You can hear my first interview with Will in 1985 when I was just getting to know him and the second interview where I knew Will a little better by clicking here. Let’s just say I’m really glad I have those recordings. There are stories in those interviews that needed to be preserved forever.
Painting of Will McLean by Mary Ann Dinella
Will died in 1990 from cancer. Friends gathered for his memorial in the Thomas Center, the same venue where I sang with him less than five years before. Both floors of the Thomas Center were packed. Many of his friends performed Will’s songs and told stories of how they knew him including the late Gamble Rogers, Don Grooms, Bobby Hicks, Dale Crider, Seminole Chief James Billie, Jeanie Fitchen, Mary Ann Dinella, Doug Gauss, Dennis Devine and Wayne Martin. The list is long. There were tears and much laughter as well. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so hard. He touched so many of us in so many ways. This is the first time I’ve ever really written my thoughts about it. Thank goodness someone actually video-taped the service. It is a real treasure to see.
Afterwards many of us went to Gore’s Landing by the Ocklawaha River to disperse Will’s ashes. Some of those in attendance were Margaret Longhill, Don Grooms, Dale Crider and family, Donna Green-Townsend and family, Wayne Martin, and Bobby Hicks to name a few. Gore’s Landing was one of Will’s favorite places to camp. I saw him there while my family was also camping not long before he got so sick.
Sign dedicated to Will McLean at Gore’s Landing
Margaret Longhill chose the Ocklawaha River because before he died, McLean had told her that he had hoped to light a small campfire one last time at Gore’s Landing, his favorite campsite. In this brief recording, you will hear a small portion of that special ceremony at the river:
The late Will McLean considered to be the “Father of Florida folk”
One of the highlights of the festival is the hour when the winners of the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest perform their winning songs. Will always wanted to “Save Florida Through Music.” It’s amazing how many songs there are now about his beloved “Florida Sand.”
If you’ve never been to the Will McLean Folk Festivalyou really should check it out. It’s truly a “songwriters festival.” It’s held at the Sertoma Youth Ranch just 7 miles west of Dade City. It’s small in comparison to many music festivals, but that’s why it’s so special. The performers and the people who attend are all in the same campground, playing music throughout the night.
Jessie and Lee Townsend
My children have grown up there. In 2016 my son Lee and daughter Jessie Townsend performed on both Saturday and Sunday at the festival and honored many songwriters who have passed on in a special “Florida Set.”
I love sharing the legacy of Will McLean with the younger generation. That being said, I can’t tell you how sweet it is that my granddaughter literally fell in love with one of Will’s songs as an infant. If she was crying, it soothed her. When she began to talk, she asked for the song to be played. By the age of two she was singing the words with her Aunt Jessie and Uncle Lee. Here’s a version of them singing it together.
As the late singer-songwriter Pete Seegersaid, “Will McLean’s songs will be sung as long as there is a Florida.” Rest in Peace Will McLean, my friend.
Willie Green passed away on June 14th, 2021 at the age of 85. He will be greatly missed. The Yearling Restaurant where Willie performed for 18 years issued this statement:
It is with heavy heart that we announce the passing of Mr. Willie Green June 14th, 2021, at 85 years of age.As some of you may know, Willie was a regular here, playing nearly every day for 18 years!!Willie had other gigs, opening for many big names, but he always felt at home here, and wanted to stay.Our staff took great personal care of him while he was here, from taking him home for Christmas, to buying his clothes, endless harmonicas, restringing his guitars, and driving him to and from The Creek. We became his family.We all learned a lot from Willie too, as did his many fans listening to the stories of his BIG life.The memories he left for all of us will last a lifetime. (We always thought he had 9 lives!)To those of you who had a chance to hear him play, or tell stories, lucky you!For those who didn’t, we suggest you look him up, as there is much written on him.To say that he will be missed seems an understatement… He is and will always be part of what makes The Yearling so special. Our history. Old Florida.Listen close, and you might be able to hear that ol harp….
Thank you,His Friends at The Creek
Earlier Posts I included on this website about Willie Green
Patrons of the Yearling Restaurant in Cross Creek, FL are treated every weekend with the Delta blues sound of Willie Green. Music is Willie’s life. He began playing harmonica as a teenager and eventually picked up the guitar after being inspired by the music he heard in Florida clubs like the Blue Chip, the Down Beat and the Diamond Club.
Life wasn’t always kind to Willie in his early years. He was born in the mid-1930s to a family of sharecroppers and migrant laborers in Pine Level, AL, outside of Mongtomery. He had to quit school at a young age to help support his family by travelling from farm to farm throughout the Southeast harvesting peanuts, fruit and vegetables. Later in life he ended up in Ocala, FL, though the 1980s were also hard times for Willie as well.
Willie Green performing at the 2018 Florida Folk Festival in White Springs
Now in his “golden years” he’s attracting a tremendous following for his authentic blues music. He’s become a favorite at various state festivals such as the Florida Folk Festival, Magnolia Fest, Springing the Blues, the Gamble Rogers Festival and at blues competitions such as the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Willie has opened for well-known blues musicians including Robert Cray and Eric Clapton, Grammy-winning blues musician John Hammond, shared the stage with the late “Honeyboy” Edwards and collaborated with Southern rock group J.J. Grey and Mofro. In 2010, he received Stetson Kennedy’s Fellow Man and Mother Earth Award.
Reporter Trimmel Gomes and Donna Green-Townsend brought Willie into the WUFT studios in 2005 to hear the story of his life and to hear him play a little blues.
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Below are a few more of the songs Willie performed at the Yearling Restaurant in Cross Creek on June 15, 2014:
Song 2
Song 3
Song 4
Song 5
Song 6
Willie playing Baby You Mine
Willie singing a song about Muddy Waters called Hoochie Coochie Man
On October 15th, 1935, or there abouts, a baby boy was born in a rural Alabama sharecropper’s cabin. His mother Mattie and father Willie Green Sr. named him Willie Grant Green. The Grant comes from the famous Union general. Willie doesn’t know the name of the little farm hamlet, only that it was near the city of Montgomery. He doesn’t have any family photos or even a birth certificate. Only that his family were sharecroppers and travelling migrant workers. He was lucky to go school for a of couple years, but was soon pulled from the 4th grade to start working in the fields, picking everything from peanuts to potatoes. Travelling around the southeast in the back of a truck, field to field, farm to farm, he picked vegetables and fruits through his teenage years and into his twenties. By then he had left the family following the crop harvest north as far as Maine, he met a girl there, a local farmer’s daughter. He says he always wished he would have stayed, but time to head back south: more crops coming in the spring. His brother was called to Vietnam. Willie never saw him again.
While still at home as a teenager, Willie would sneak out at night, sometimes catching a ride on a passing freight into Montgomery to the juke joints. He wanted to hear the music, the BLUES music, from the greats like John Lee Hooker, Little Walter, Muddy Waters; all those cats getting home before sunrise to the welcome of a belt in the hands of Mama Mattie, who wasn’t fond of the juke joint scene.
Photo Courtesy of Old City Life publication
One day an old boy gave Willie a harp, and the rest is history. He continued his migrant worker job, with the harp in his back pocket, playing when he could, sitting in with anyone he could. In the 1960s Willie found his way to Florida, were some cousins lived in Pompano Beach. During this time he was called back to Alabama one time. Mama Mattie had passed away on the farm. This was the last time he saw the place and his only relatives there. Willie remembers he inherited her refrigerator, but had no way to haul it home on the Greyhound bus. Back in Florida he found new jobs like pipe laying, driving a pulp wood truck, laying cement roads; anything that made a little dough. Heven started learning to play some guitar to go with the harp. He got to sit in with some of the great blues players travelling through. Cash was king, no bank account needed…..
A Florida wild animal exhibit is showcasing the animals made popular in the literary works of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
The colorful taxidermy-mount exhibit features most of the species of wild animals found throughout Florida. Many of these, particularly the bear and deer, were made famous by Rawlings in her many books like The Yearling (Pulitzer Prize 1939), and Cross Creek (1942). Some 40 animal mounts, called “Fodderwing’s Creeturs,” belonging to Cross Creek naturalist, Jim Stephens, are displayed against a spectacular mural setting painted by St. Augustine artist, Gayle Prevatt.
Short video above features photos of the animal exhibit
Yearling Restaurant owner Robert Blauer is inviting the public to come and see this new attraction while also enjoying the old-time dining favorites such as gator-tail, catfish and grits, seafood, and sour orange pie, which have made the short drive from Gainesville a memorable dining adventure.
Contact Information:
Mural Artist: Gayle Prevatt, 904-377-7917, gprevatt@aug.com Animal Exhibit: Jim Stephens 352-466-3034, sloughfootcreek@aol.com Yearling Restaurant owner: Robert Blauer, 352-466-3999
Elaine Carson Spencer proudly holds a portrait of her father Robert E. Carson (Contact: Elainecspencer@gmail.com)
Robert E. Carson was a professor of Humanities at the University of Florida from 1946-1971. In his youth, he worked as a professional musician playing the saxophone and clarinet in dance orchestras, theaters, hotels and for a brief time, vaudeville.
Robert Carson performing at one of many venues around the community
His first love was the violin which he started playing at the age of 4. Several years later he switched to the viola which he played in the Symphony Orchestra at the University of Florida for 25 years. He often performed at university events, receptions, weddings and other venues in the Gainesville community.
Professor Carson, or “Doc” as many called him, was a self-taught artist who began in watercolors at the age of 35. His works can be found in galleries as well as in other public locations and in private collections.
Carson sketch inside the Frontier Eden book
Carson sketching outside
In 1966 author Gordon E. Bigelow asked Carson to provide sketches for his book, Frontier Eden, The Literary Career of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
Following the publication of Bigelow’s book, the University of Florida asked Carson if he would be willing to provide tours of the late Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings home in Cross Creek.
Estelle and Robert Carson by MKR home in 1968
Carson sharing some of his sketches while sitting on the porch of the MKR home
From 1968 to 1970 Carson and his wife Estelle stayed at the historic MKR home on weekends and served as the first hosts. Sadly, he died following a car accident leaving Cross Creek in 1971.
Learn more about those exciting years giving tours at the late Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author’s home by watching the video below produced by Donna Green-Townsend and Carson’s daughter, Elaine Carson Spencer.
Carson’s legacy is being continued by his daughter, Elaine Carson Spencer, through the sale of his prints and note cards. Primarily she will be offering the prints of MKR’s home and the bridge. At a later date she will offer other Florida sketches from her father.
Pen & ink sketch of the MKR home in Cross Creek
Pen & ink sketch of Cross Creek Bridge
11 X 14 prints are $25.00 and the price of a package of 10 note cards is $12.00.
Sample of Note cards
For more information or to place an order contact Elaine at ElaineCspencer@gmail.com
Winner of the 2019 Will McLean Song Contest Bob Patterson
Bob Patterson’s winning song “Silver Springs”
Bob Patterson from St. Augustine is the 2019 winner of the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest for, “Silver Springs.” The song has a musical message about the current plight of not only one of the largest artesian springs in the world, but one of the most beautiful springs in Florida located in Marion County. Patterson recalls the day he first saw the spring.
It was in the early 70s when Gamble Rogers showed up at his house in St. Augustine in his old Mustang pulling a boat. Will McLean was with him. The three headed to Gore’s Landing north of Ocala, launched the boat into the Ocklawaha River and headed down to the Silver River and into the headspring.
At the time said Patterson, “It was producing 99.8% pure artesian spring water. Now it’s polluted and it’s getting worse and worse. So there was a sense of urgency about writing that song.”
Patterson didn’t start out writing environmental songs. He recalls a night around 1969 when Will McLean stayed at his house. During a late night music session Patterson sang one of his songs for Will.
“They were kind of those “Baby, Oh Baby” kind of songs,” recalled Patterson. “Will, who was always so ingratiating, would say, “Aww, that’s just wonderful. That’s beautiful Bob. Why don’t you write songs like that about Florida.”
McLean would be proud of Patterson’s songs today. In 2005 he placed in the top three of the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest with a song called, “Lullabye of the Rivers.” It’s become somewhat of an anthem around the state. More importantly, it’s been used by educators to teach students about the natural history, geography, ecology and the state of health of Florida’s Rivers.
“The idea is if we don’t teach the kids about the environment, we can’t expect them to grow up wanting to protect it,” said Patterson. He hopes to obtain funding to create a DVD that could be used in schools to teach more educators how to utilize music in their science and history classes.
Patterson, along with the second and third place finishers of the song contest will be featured at the 2019 Will McLean Festival March 8th thru the 10th at the Sertoma Youth Ranch near Brooksville. This year he also tied for fourth place with his song, “Me and Margaret,” a song referring to the longtime Matriarch of the Florida folk scene, the late Margaret Longhill. Longhill died in 2018, just a few days before the 29th Will McLean Festival, the festival she started thirty years ago.
As one of the original founders of the Gamble Rogers Folk Festival, Patterson has functioned as the event’s Artistic Director for 24 years. In 2011 the Stetson Kennedy Foundation awarded him the ‘Fellow Man and Mother Earth Award’ for his work in actively keeping folk culture alive in Florida.
Patterson was a 2011 first place winner in the North Florida Folk Network song writing contest in the category of Best Florida Song. In 2014 he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Storytelling Association.
He has been a featured performer at the annual Florida Folk Festival at White Springs for more than 45 years and was recently inducted into the St Augustine Music Hall of Fame. In addition to critically acclaimed CDs Patterson has authored two books, Forgotten Tales of Florida, and, Dorothy. Both books are loaded with Florida folk lore and history and have become very popular in the folk community and beyond.
2nd place finisher Paul Smithson
Paul Smithson’s 2nd place song “Ninety-One Days”
Paul Smithson, is the 2nd place finisher in the 2019 contest for his song, “Ninety-One Days” about the late former Governor Lawton Chiles and the way he was known for walking across the state of Florida as he campaigned for office.
Smithson spent his early years in New York. He relocated in his early teens and considers Florida his home. He has lived most of his life (aside from a 10 year hiatus in California) in Lake County, Florida. Smithson, who lives in Eustis, Florida says his first memories of the Sunshine State were the citrus groves that used to dominate the landscape. He watched these groves freeze out in the 80s, to be replaced by strip malls and subdivisions.
At 56, Smithson says he has witnessed the state he fell in love with evolve into something other than what it was, but he also knows that Florida is persistent. There remains the swamps, prairies, and pined forests of Ocala, the Canaveral Seashore, and the numerous lakes of central Florida, to name only a few of his favorite haunts.
He has taught literature and composition since 1998, beginning at the University of Central Florida, sojourning through California, and ending up back in central Florida. He currently teaches AP Literature and AP U.S. History at his Alma Mater: Eustis High School (class of 1980).
Smithson says his musical/songwriting influences include Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, and Steve Earle. His interest in Florida history began with Gilbert King’s The Devil in the Grove, a book documenting the story of political corruption and racial injustice in 1940s-1950s Lake County. Smithson says he was so moved and inspired by the book that he composed, recorded, and released a CD by the same title. The CD contains songs that provide both a narrative and a variety of points of view of the major and minor players.
Smithson’s song, “The Last Train Out of Fernandina,” tied for fourth place in this year’s contest. He currently performs with John French as Smithson & French. This duo focuses on songwriting, harmonizing, and generally simply having a good time doing it.
3rd place finisher Razz Taylor
Razz Taylor’s 3rd place song “Arcadia Cowboy”
Razz Taylor is a singer-songwriter and performing independent recording artist living in Arcadia in south Florida. He was raised along the shores of Lake Okeechobee in South Florida and began singing for friends and family when he was just six years old.
Taylor’s 3rd place song, “Arcadia Cowboy” is about living in a small town in Florida and not wanting to be tied down.
His song, “Okeechobee,” which placed sixth in this year’s contest, is an autobiography about growing up hunting and fishing on the big water of Lake Okeechobee and the yearning of wanting to return to those childhood days.
Taylor says he is deeply influenced by traditional country music with a twist of the Oklahoma and Texas sound of red dirt country music. You can find his music on cdbaby, iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube. You can find him on Facebook at RazzTaylor and the Mystic River band.
“All the excitement about the newly-released movie “Creed II” starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone brings back thoughts about one of the most memorable days of my life in Hollywood as an extra in the filming of “Rocky III.”
Sylvester Stallone at filming of Rocky III in 1981 (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)
The first “Creed” movie garnered Oscar buzz for Sly Stallone as Best Supporting Actor. Though he didn’t win the coveted golden statue, the film did well in the box office. “Creed I” featured an older version of Stallone’s character, “Rocky Balboa” who decides to help Adonis, the son of his old nemesis Apollo Creed played by actor Michael B. Jordan.
In “Creed II” light heavyweight contender Adonis Creed, once again under the tutelage of Rocky Balboa, faces off against Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer who battered Adonis’ father so badly during the fight decades before that Apollo Creed died in the ring.
It was in 1976 when a much younger Stallone captivated the country with his debut as Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer who went on to become the heavyweight champion boxer of the world.
The rags to riches boxing tale became the highest grossing film of 1976. ‘Rocky’ received 10 Academy Award nominations. The film knocked out heavyweights ‘All the President’s Men,’ ‘Network’ and ‘Taxi Driver’ to win Oscars for Best Picture, Director and Editing.
Thus began a long-running series of ‘Rocky’ movies.
All the anticipation about the lastest “Creed” movie stirs up interesting memories for me about the day I found myself working for free as an extra during the filming of “Rocky III” while visiting Hollywood, California.
Sylvester Stallone and Mr. T preparing for a scene in Rocky III in 1981 (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)
I was in California in 1981 attending a National Public Radio Conference and decided to stay a few extra days with a friend since I had never been to the Golden State. One day on the trip while walking along Venice Beach my friend and I came across a guy looking for extras for the filming of the fight scene between Rocky and “Mr. T” for the film “Rocky III.” Since my friend had to work the next day I thought, “why not….this could be very interesting.”
My friend dropped me off at Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. Hundreds of other extras like me were ushered into the seats around the arena and given instructions on what was expected from us.
It was very exciting to see Stallone up close dressed in his boxing attire. I can still visualize the atmosphere of the place. Some type of foggy-looking mixture was piped in to make the arena look smokey. I remember how I expected to see some real fight scenes. But, alas, this was Hollywood and that’s not the way it’s done. Scene after scene demanded retake after retake. Videographers shot the same scenes from various angles, even from the ceiling.
Donna with Mr T at filming of Rocky III in LA 1981
It was long day. The film crew served boxed lunches and handed out raffle tickets for a few prizes to keep the arena extras calm. But it was “Mr. T’s” willingness to go out into the crowd on a meet-and-greet that made the day fun for many.
What surprised me was how the movie crew wanted the crowd to cheer wildly during the fight scenes, but in gesture only. We weren’t allowed to make any noise. All of the sound would be added later. That’s more difficult than one might think, especially for a broadcast girl like me.
I took along my little pocket camera for the day. Surprisingly, no one seemed to mind that I kept taking a lot of pictures of the action all around me. I did get pretty close to Sylvester Stallone at one point. I remember he stared straight at me with what seemed like a look that said, “Hey lady, haven’t you taken enough pictures yet?” Just as I snapped the picture he turned his head to the right. It made the picture even better. Fake blood dripped from his face. His torso had a shine to it from the baby oil the crew had sprayed on to make it look as if he was sweating. Awww Hollywood.
I’m told the crew filmed two separate endings so the extras and others wouldn’t know who actually won the fight until the final picture came out. Here are some of the photos I took that day.
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I’m often asked if I can spot myself in the actual “Rocky III” movie. I have tried to pause the tape when I see shots that I was there for, but it’s so hard to see individual crowd members in all the fake smoke. Plus, the edits are all so quick. That’s what makes the ‘Rocky’ series of movies so exciting.
My favorite moments included getting the chance to stand right behind Rocky’s fight corner during some of the scenes as he was being pummelled by Mr. T. It seemed so real.
When I returned back to my job as News Director of KHCC-FM in Hutchinson, KS after my vacation, the local newspaper there wrote a little feature article on my experience. I still feel a little guilty that the headline they came up with gives the impression I didn’t enjoy being an extra in the movie.
Though it wasn’t as exciting as one might expect, it was still interesting to see how movies are made. More than that, it was exciting to share an arena with Rocky Balboa….even if I had to share it with hundreds of other people.
On March 3, 2018 Carol Fiddia Laxton toured the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Home in Cross Creek, FL. She had last visited the home when she was 18 years old many decades before. Her father wanted her to talk to Marjorie about what she was going to do after high school. Marjorie encouraged Carol to go to college for at least two years.
Carol’s father and grandmother were close friends of the late Pulitzer-Prize winning author. Before writing “The Yearling” which won the Pulitzer, Marjorie wrote “South Moon Under.” The inspiration for the characters and setting for both books came from living with Carol’s family back in the scrub of Marion County. There Marjorie learned the ins and outs of making moonshine, hunting, fishing and the “cracker ways” of early Florida.
Carol’s father and grandmother were good friends of Rawlings. The late author lived with the family for a time to gather information for the books she was writing, including, “South Moon Under” and “The Yearling.”
See highlights of the 121st and 122nd birthday celebrations for Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings at the MKR Historic State Park in Cross Creek, FL.
Visitors who attended the 122nd Birthday Celebration for Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in Cross Creek, FL in August of 2018 were treated to recipes from her Cross Creek Cookery book, music and tours of the farm. Volunteers with the Friends of the MKR Farm and staff from the MKR Historic State Park served up watermelon sherbet, mango ice cream and black bottom pie as well as birthday cake. Music was provided by Eli Tragash and Virginia Carr.
More than 120 people turned out to help celebrate Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 121st birthday in Cross Creek in August of 2017. Guests were treated to a fish fry with all the fixings including fried fish, grits, hush puppies, coleslaw, cake and sherbert made from tangerines and oranges from Marjorie’s grove on the farm.
See video highlights of the event below:
The Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm and the staff of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park sponsored the event with support from Visit Gainesville/Alachua County. Northwest Seafood in Gainesville donated and fried the fish.
Meanwhile, at the Yearling Restaurant in Cross Creek, visitors can see a Florida wild animal exhibit which showcases the animals made popular in the literary works of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
Owner of the Yearling Restaurant, Robert Blauer, has recently added the colorful taxidermy-mount exhibit featuring most of the species of wild animals found throughout Florida. Many of these, particularly the bear and deer, were made famous by Rawlings in her many books like The Yearling (Pulitzer Prize 1939), and Cross Creek (1942). Some 40 animal mounts, called “Fodderwing’s Creeturs,” belonging to Cross Creek naturalist, Jim Stephens, are displayed against a spectacular mural setting painted by St. Augustine artist, Gayle Prevatt.
Blauer is inviting the public to come and see this new attraction while also enjoying the old-time dining favorites at the eatery such as gator-tail, catfish and grits, seafood, and sour orange pie, which have made the short drive from Gainesville a memorable dining adventure.
Contact Information:
Mural Artist: Gayle Prevatt, 904-377-7917, gprevatt@aug.com Animal Exhibit: Jim Stephens 352-466-3034, sloughfootcreek@aol.com Yearling Restaurant owner: Robert Blauer, 352-466-3999
UPDATE: On Sunday, March 11th, 2018 friends, family and performing songwriters gave a “Farewell to Margaret” through songs and poems during the 2018 Will McLean Music Festival. (Thanks to Gail Carson for providing the video)
Earlier post on March 1st, 2018:
A mass will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 1460 W. St. Elizabeth Place, Citrus Springs, FL 34434 on Tuesday, March 6th at 11 a.m.
Margaret Longhill (photo by Gail Carson)
“The Matriarch of our Florida Folk community passed away,” that’s how friends describe the loss of Margaret Longhill who died early Thursday morning, March 1st at her home in Dunnellon at the age of 96.
Longhill, born October 16, 1921, was the oldest of seven children of John and Angela Longhill. Though born in Kentucky she grew up in Memphis, TN. After high school Longhill left home to become a Sister of Mercy at the novitiate in Dubuque, Iowa, where she took the name Sister Mary Amora. During her tenure as a nun, she taught various grade levels at St. Bernard Academy in Nashville and Immaculate Conception Academy in Memphis, eventually becoming the Dean of Students at Edgecliff College in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Margaret Longhill and Will McLean
Her love for Florida came when she moved to the state in the early 70’s to teach at Central Florida Community College (now Central Florida College) in Ocala, Lecanto, and Brooksville, FL. She fell in love with Florida’s history, environment, music and people. A neighbor introduced her to Will McLean (1919-1990), a native Floridian who was passionate about the love of the land and dedicated to protecting Florida’s unique environments. Longhill became an avid member of the Florida Folklore family, and began a campaign to teach the whole world about the beauty and the fragility of Florida’s environments. She and a group of Will’s followers held the first Will McLean Music Festivalin April of 1990. The festival is now in its 29th year.
Organizers of the upcoming Will McLean Music Festival are planning a “Farewell to Margaret Longhill” on Sunday at 4:30, March 11th during the three day festival which runs March 9 – 11th at the Sertoma Youth Ranch near Brooksville, FL.
Margaret Longhill at Artists Hall of Fame Induction for Will McLean
Longhill started the festival in 1990 to honor the late Will McLean who is considered the “Father of Florida Folk.” She also was instrumental in getting McLean into the prestigious Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1996.
Longhill and McLean were close friends and she spent her life keeping McLean’s goal alive of “Saving Florida Through Music.” To that end she established the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest which has garnered thousands of new songs in the state.
Ken & Leigh Skeens with Longhill
Ken Skeens, a musician and songwriter from Fort Myers was the first winner of the contest in 1992. Ken along with his wife Leigh says, “Margaret, you hear her name and you feel her love. You sense her calm resolve and how its power sustains the essence of Florida in her sure and steadfast way. You feel her selfless, abiding will and her keen strength of purpose as it nurtures Florida’s legacy. It assures, encourages and inspires new and future creative artists. Margaret walked the walk as she shared her humanity and her wisdom. With her eyes as piercing as an eagle and as gentle as a dove she made our family richer. Because she walked among us and beside us in her gentle loving grace, we are all forever blessed. Thank you Margaret. Love, love, love.”
Paul Garfinkel with Longhill
Other former winners like Paul Garfinkel from Deland, FL also applauded Longhill’s lifelong work and her ability to encourage aspiring musicians along their careers,
“Margaret was the best of us,” said Garfinkel. “I don’t recall her ever, in the 23 years I’ve known her, reacting in anger or spite, but only in the spirit of conciliation, hope, and compassion. She was an “includer”, a facilitator of dreams and an inspiration to the hesitant. In 1996 she gave me, sight unseen, a chance at presenting my music on the Will McLean Festival stage. I found a musical home there among hundreds of new friends, and that home and those friends have lasted for decades now. Next to my wife, those gifts that Margaret gave to me are the center of my universe. Any time that I step onto any stage, anywhere, I owe it all to her loving encouragement. And I will now miss her every time I do. Florida has lost one of its most valuable treasures.”
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Recently Longhill was instrumental in facilitating the transfer of the Will McLean Collection which contains hundreds of letters, poems, song lyrics and personal artifacts of McLean into the Department of Special and Area Studies at the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida.
Longhill is survived by her youngest sister, Ann Elise Connors, her sister-in-law, Jean Longhill, 22 beloved nieces and nephews, dear friends Jon and Deedee Semmes, as well as many, many friends and admirers.
A mass will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 1460 W. St. Elizabeth Place, Citrus Springs, FL 34434 on Tuesday, March 6th at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers – pictures, remembrances and donations may be made to: The Will McLean Foundation
12088 Palmetto Ct., Dunnellon, FL 34432 (http://willmclean.com)
Quotes from other songwriters and festival organizers:
Longhill with Red Henry
Red Henry (Musician and longtime friend of Will McLean and Margaret and former Florida resident now residing in Winchester, VA)- “Margaret was the prime mover behind much of Florida music today. Her creativity, determination, and kindness brought musical joy to a great many in the Florida folk community.”
Lis and Lon Williamson with Longhill
Elisabeth Williamson (Singer songwriter and a former winner of the song contest from Keystone Heights)- “As Matriarch of the Florida Folk tribe, Margaret Longhill leaves behind a lasting legacy that will serve new generations in perpetuity. She has inspired countless songs and stories, not just about Florida through the annual Will McLean songwriting contest, but about her personally as an iconic and beloved figurehead of Florida folk culture. Her unbridled enthusiasm for the people who make music, especially the young folks entering the scene, along with her beauty of spirit and loving regard will be deeply missed by all who knew her.”
Lynn Wodjenski with Longhill
Lynn Wodjenski (Will McLean Festival Coordinator)- “Margaret had an uncanny ability to recognize what someone could be and she took great joy in fostering that talent. Many of us in the Florida Folk community owe Margaret a debt of thanks for realizing our potential before we did ourselves. She helped many achieve a dream – be it as a performer, writer, or coordinating a festival.”
Mike Jurgensen
MikeJurgensen (Musician and three-time winner of the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest from New Port Richey)- “Margaret had an immeasurable impact on the Florida folk music community, and we mourn our loss as we would a family member. Her love for Florida and for songs that celebrate Florida’s history, culture, and natural beauty inspired the writing of thousands of Florida songs. Those songs have been the centerpiece of the Will McLean Music Festival, which Margaret founded, nurtured, and grew into one of the major festivals in the state. She has been the heart and soul of our community for many years, and she is indelibly etched into our hearts. I know that many more songs will be written in her memory, honoring Margaret’s loving vision.”
Longhill and Amy Carol Webb
Amy Carol Webb (Performing songwriter and past winner of the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest from Sunrise, FL)- “Margaret had a gift for hearing the truest music within each of us and calling it out — gently but fiercely. ‘No’ was not an answer. And ‘yes’ poured out in song.”
Bari Litschauer with Longhill
Bari Litschauer (Musician and key coordinator of the Will McLean Music Festival schedule from West Palm Beach)- “For each of us, there are probably only a few folks we keep prominently in our rear view mirror. Margaret is one of those souls who will remain forever in my rear view mirror reminding us to Keep the Music Alive, which is how she signed her email correspondence. GodSpeed to you, my friend and much love.”
Bari’s husband Ron has these memories and thoughts about Longhill- “One of my favorite quotes from Margaret, when asked how she started the Will McLean festival, “ I didn’t do anything, it just happened.”
Ron Litschauer
Ron Litschauer adds, “My favorite memories include watching her dance, ride on the back of a motorcycle around the campground, visiting our campsite holding a coffee cup which “not so secretly” contained two fingers of whiskey, insisting upon driving her own camper to the festival, and quietly accepting help from anyone who was around to help her get it properly placed and hooked up. Margaret had a positive demeanor that was impossible to say no to. She remains an inspiration and example to us all that unconditional love and encouragement always wins. As she so often reminded us, we were all her “Treasured Artists.” The festival and her spirit will endure, but Margaret, the person, can never be duplicated or replaced. She was one-of-a-kind and I will deeply miss her.”
Dennis Devine with Longhill
Dennis Devine (Musician and friend from San Antonio, FL) “Margaret was the gentle rock that held our Florida music community together. Her ideas and encouragement motivated us all. Her soul is now soaring with the hawks.”
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Click here to to go back to the Will McLean Website
I will only say that following that November concert, for whatever reason, that professional recording got stashed away on a shelf and misplaced for nearly 12 years….a whole different story in itself. Eventually, it resurfaced at just the right time because the new program director at WUFT-FM, Bill Beckett, had an appreciation for what this recording meant to history. Working together with the Executive Director of the Will McLean Foundation, Margaret Longhill, we turned the recording into the CD, “Will McLean and Friends, Live at the Thomas Center.” I met Margaret Longhill the same week I met Will in 1985. She truly understood how rare this professional recording of Will McLean was. We’ve been friends now for nearly 32 years.
When I returned back to my job as News Director of KHCC-FM in Hutchinson, KS after my vacation, the local newspaper there wrote a little feature article on my experience. I still feel a little guilty that the headline they came up with gives the impression I didn’t enjoy being an extra in the movie.
On March 3, 2018 Carol Fiddia Laxton toured the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Home in Cross Creek, FL. She had last visited the home when she was 18 years old many decades before. Her father wanted her to talk to Marjorie about what she was going to do after high school. Marjorie encouraged Carol to go to college for at least two years.
See highlights of the 121st and 122nd birthday celebrations for Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings at the MKR Historic State Park in Cross Creek, FL.
More than 120 people turned out to help celebrate Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 121st birthday in Cross Creek in August of 2017. Guests were treated to a fish fry with all the fixings including fried fish, grits, hush puppies, coleslaw, cake and sherbert made from tangerines and oranges from Marjorie’s grove on the farm.
Longhill, born October 16, 1921, was the oldest of seven children of John and Angela Longhill. Though born in Kentucky she grew up in Memphis, TN. After high school Longhill left home to become a Sister of Mercy at the novitiate in Dubuque, Iowa, where she took the name Sister Mary Amora. During her tenure as a nun, she taught various grade levels at St. Bernard Academy in Nashville and Immaculate Conception Academy in Memphis, eventually becoming the Dean of Students at Edgecliff College in Cincinnati, Ohio.
