Donna Green-Townsend
Multimedia Productions
The Father of Florida Folk, Will McLean, penned hundreds of songs about Florida. McLean, who was the first folk artist inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame loved to watch sandhill cranes. In Florida there are migratory sandhill cranes and cranes that stay in the state all year long. Below is a video produced … Continue reading Courtship Dance of the Florida Sandhill Crane
Every Fall a new litter of baby squirrels emerge from the dead Bay tree outside my bedroom window. It’s such a delight to see them scrambling around the tree for the first time and playing with each other. I know when I see them it won’t be long before the mother squirrel will carry them … Continue reading Baby squirrels in the “Mystery Tree”
Originally aired on WUFT in 2000 It’s now been 25 years since Danny Rolling terrorized the Gainesville Community when he killed five college students. Many students have come and gone from Gainesville since that time, but residents will always remember what happened in August of 1990. The 34th Street wall and markers in the palm … Continue reading Years After the Gainesville Student Murders The Community Still Remembers
UPDATE: More than 3 years after 11 people lost their lives in multi-vehicle pileups on a foggy and smoky Interstate 75 near Gainesville, transportation officials are finally adding and testing new signage to help prevent a similar tragedy. In addition to the electronic signs, the Florida Department of Transportation has also installed poles on both U.S. 441 … Continue reading New warning signage finally appears on highways crossing Payne’s Praire
DNA testing identifies another body at infamous Florida School for Boys By Ben Montgomery, Times Staff Writer Tuesday, August 4, 2015 2:20pm TAMPA — Robert Stephens was murdered in 1937 and buried in an unmarked grave on the campus of Florida’s oldest state-run reform school, the Florida School for Boys, in the Panhandle town of … Continue reading Another body identified from the shuttered Dozier School for Boys
The 1946 Invasion of Privacy Trial of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings vs. Zelma Cason has captivated lawyers and literary experts alike. On June 18th thru June 20th, 2015 the public got a flavor of the famous trial when the award-winning play by Larry Parr, “Invasion of Privacy,” took to the stage of the Fine Arts Hall at … Continue reading Marjorie K. Rawlings: Invasion of Privacy Trial continues to fascinate
Every spring St. Augustine plays host for the annual Gamble Rogers Festival. The festival honors the late singer songwriter who joins the late Will McLean in the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. Rogers is known for his Travis-style guitar fingerpicking along with his storytelling which brings a mythical Florida county called Oklawaha into the national spotlight. … Continue reading Honoring the late guitar-picking, storyteller Gamble Rogers
Editor’s note: It’s been just a little more than a year since the Memphis-bred songwriter Jesse Winchester died from cancer. Since that time a variety of artists have released a tribute album to the beloved songwriter called “Quiet About It: Tribute to Jesse Winchester.” The album includes such artists as Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor, Vince … Continue reading Remembering Singer Songwriter Jesse Winchester
The first place award for the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest goes to poet Hank Mattson from Lake Placid, FL and musician Dana Robinson from Cabot, VT for the song, “When This Old Hat Was New.” Mattson says the poem depicts the dogged determination of Jacob Summerlin, a famous Florida Cracker of the 1800’s, to … Continue reading The Winner and Finishers of the 2015 Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest Named
Temperatures in Florida’s Panhandle and North Central Florida reached into the lower 30s on several days during the past few weeks. During these cold snaps hundreds of manatees head to the warm spring waters of the state. It’s not unusual to see more than 300 manatees in Kings Bay in Crystal River, Florida. In recent … Continue reading Manatees and Tourists: Citrus County’s Balancing Act