(DVDs of the video are available for purchase to benefit “The Friends of the MKR Farm” which supports the MKR Historic State Park in Cross Creek. Scroll down for ordering information)
Life & Times in Cross Creek: Memories and Reflections is a very personal endeavor for me. I first presented a program on the topic at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm in December of 2019. I have continued to add pictures and video ever since. It tells the story of many of my friends and neighbors in Cross Creek, some who have personal memories of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Yearling,” Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
The program features very unique historic video, audio and photos of many of the characters Marjorie wrote about in her book, “Cross Creek,” including “Snow Slater” and Berney Bass who both took care of her orange grove. Berney also took Marjorie fishing and gator hunting through the years. You’ll hear from the late author and artist from Evinston, J. T. Glisson, and the late actor “Rip Torn” who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the Hollywood production of “Cross Creek.” You’ll also meet the Townsend family that Marjorie wrote about in Chapter 4 of “Cross Creek” entitled, “The Pound Party.” The Townsends were also one of the many families who were part of the catfishing heydays in Cross Creek, another special segment of the video.
Here’s an outline of the various segments in the documentary: Segment 1: Friends & Neighbors of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings- runs 10:37 Segment 2: Visiting “Snow” & Ella Mae Slater- runs 5:41 Segment 3: Catfishing Days in Cross Creek- runs: 23:13 Segment 4: The Movie Business Comes to Cross Creek- runs 4:26 Segment 5: Memories of Marjorie- runs: 8:35 Segment 6: Reflections & Credits- runs: 5:10
Isle of View and The Light and the Longing by George Tortorelli and Lisa Lynne- MedicineWind.com
This video premiered on August 8th to celebrate Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ birthday.
DVD cover of the video “Life & Times in Cross Creek”
DVDs of the video are available to purchase for $15.00 plus $4.00 for postage and handling. All proceeds will benefit projects on the farm. Please make your check payable to Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm., and mail to PO Box 337, Micanopy, FL 32667-0337.
Official website of the Murrow Award-Winning Documentary, “Apalachicola Doin’ Time” and various updates
Rally for Apalachicola Bay in August before a Senate field hearing on the health of the bay. (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)
Tuesday, January 9, 2018 UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments on Monday in the 30-year-old water dispute involving Florida, Georgia and Alabama known as the Tri-State Water War. Molly Samuel from public radio station WABE in Atlanta attended the oral arguments. Click to hear her report.
June 1, 2017 UPDATE: Florida asks U.S. Supreme Court to Save Apalachicola River, Oyster Industry:
TALLAHASSEE — Florida is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that it represents the state’s last legal remedy for saving the Apalachicola River and the oysters and people who depend on it. Gov. Rick Scott in 2013 sued Georgia in the Supreme Court, seeking to cap Georgia’s water use upstream on the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers. But a court official recommended in February that the case be dismissed because Florida had not included the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates federal reservoirs on the Chattahoochee River. In a brief filed Wednesday, Florida argues that the court had never found that a state was harmed by upstream water use but then determined it was powerless to do anything about it. If the court dismisses the case, Georgia would be free to continue or increase its water use, Florida said. ….Click herefor the full story.
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October 2013 UPDATE: Florida Governor Rick Scott and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi have moved forward with their plans to file a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court over the decades old Tri-State Water War. The lawsuit is primarily aimed at Georgia over that state’s withdrawals of water from the Chattahoochee-Apalachicola-Flint River system—a river system Alabama, Florida and Georgia all share. At the heart of the ongoing debate is the health of Apalachicola Bay and Florida’s seafood industry.
Click here to view highlights of the Senate field hearing held in Apalachicola on the issue in August of 2013. To learn more about how the Apalachicola community is affected by the “water war” listen and view segments below:
2000 Edward R. Murrow Award Winning Documentary
Fishing boats along the Apalachicola River bayfront (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)
Donna voicing the “Apalachicola Doin’ Time” documentary at WUFT with co-hosts Daniel Beasley and Josh Azriel in 1999
Various locations around Apalachicola, Florida and some of the people interviewed for the documentary.
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Musical Murrow Celebration
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Just prior to the RTDNA Murrow Award ceremony in Minneapolis, MN, singer songwriter Mark Smith had a celebration at his home which included several of the songwriters who had music utilized in the documentary. In this video Dale Crider sings the song that inspired the documentary.
Crider holding a portrait given to him by Donna Green-Townsend and George Floyd painted by Mary Ann DiNella
For more than three decades Dale Crider worked as a wildlife biologist for the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission. During that time he also followed his other passion, songwriting. Crider wrote many songs about environmental conditions in Florida. “Apalachicola Doin’ Time” was one such song. It was by chance nearly 30 years after Crider penned the song that Apalachicola resident, George Floyd, happened upon one of Crider’s music tapes and heard his song. On that day the concept for the need to tell the story of the Tri-State Water War was born. Crider is considered to be Florida’s Environmental Troubadour. He has inspired musicians across Florida to write songs about the environment.
Listen to an hour-long special on Across the Prairie on WUFT regarding the Re-release and update of the Apalachicola Doin’ Time Documentary Dale and documentary co-producer Donna Green-Townsend were special guests on the longtime Sunday afternoon program on WUFT, Across the Prairie with host Cathy DeWitt. Click on the audio button below.
Cover of Apalachicola Doin’ Time CD
Copies of the two-CD set of “Apalachicola Doin’ Time,” including the music companion CD, are available through the non-profit Will McLean Foundation. Will McLean is considered the “Father of Florida Folk.” He’s the first folk artist inducted into theFlorida Artists Hall of Fame. It was his mission to save Florida through music.
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In 2001 several of the musicians whose songs were used in the documentary were featured at not only the Will McLean Festival (March, 2001) but also the state’s official festival, The Florida Folk Festival (May, 2001). Click on the audio button below to hear the live presentation at the Will McLean Festival. The late Jan Glidewell, longtime columnist with the Tampa Bay Times, introduced Donna Green-Townsend who hosted the special musical event.
Dale Crider, Josh Azriel, Donna Green-Townsend and George Floyd and friend
Funding for the “Apalachicola Doin’ Time” documentary was provided by a grant from George Floyd in memory of Jim Floyd and George Kirvin, two of the earliest heralds of the rivers and bays and their value as an undisturbed natural resource.
Apalachicola Documentary Awards
1st Place National RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award, Best Documentary
1st Place Southeast Regional RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award, Best Documentary
1st Place Florida Associated Press Broadcasters, Public Affairs category
Silver Reel from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, documentary category
Finalist, Atlanta Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Green Eye Shade awards (Southeast 11 state Region)
Finalist, Society of Professional Journalists Sunshine State Awards, Public Affairs category
1st Place, BEA Student Interactive Multimedia competition in the Online category
Silver Addy in the Collateral Material – CD Category for the Apalachicola Doin’ Time CD cover, insert and tray card.
Some of the stations that have carried Apalachicola Doin’ Time:
KBAQ Mesa, Arizona KBOO Portland, Oregon KERA Dallas, Texas KJZZ Phoenix, Arizona Utah Public Radio/KUSU FM Logan, Utah WABE Atlanta, Georgia WETS Johnson City, Tennessee WFSU Tallahassee, Florida WFSW Panama City, Florida WJUF-FM Inverness, Florida WKGC Panama City, Florida WQCS Asheville, North Carolina WSLU Canton, New York WUFT-FM Gainesville, Florida California Public Radio Georgia Public Radio
Documentary Summary by- Co-Producer, Donna Green-Townsend Two hundred yards below the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, the waters of the Chattahoochee River begin a 500 mile journey south. The river flows each day through Atlanta, past Western Georgia cities like Columbus and along the state boundary between Georgia and Alabama — past more than a dozen dams and locks on the way to the Gulf of Mexico. At the Florida-Georgia border the Chattahoochee meets up with Georgia’s Flint River and takes on a new name –The Apalachicola. Sixteen billion gallons of water flow down the Apalachicola into the Bay every day making it Florida’s largest waterway and it’s at the heart of a tri-state water war.
This documentary is an audio journey to the community at the end of the drainpipe so to speak — Apalachicola: a Florida seafood community that worries about being at the mercy of its northern water using neighbors. We journey to the city’s famous waterfront, hear about the history of this unique river town and find out how the community’s affected by the rapid development of ecotourism and growth. We also talk with the key negotiators involved in the current water war involving Alabama, Florida and Georgia as the clock ticks down on a deadline to resolve differences over shared river resources.
There’s a lot at stake for all three southern states: rapid growth in Atlanta creates a strong need to secure drinking water for the future. Farmers want to maintain the ability to irrigate their crops, Alabama residents want to maintain peak hydro power and navigational use, and in Florida, at the end of the Apalachicola River, the seafood industry worries about the future of its oysters, scallops, crabs and shrimp.
To read the full written script with photos click here.
Apalachicola’s oyster industry see historic collapse in 2012 from drought and salinity (originally aired April 26, 2013)
The severe drought in 2012 caused an historic collapse of Florida’s oyster industry. During the past year a variety of state agencies have been working for the Florida Sea Grant Program to try and understand all the causes for the fishery disaster. The cooperative effort is working toward designing a plan to help restore and manage the industry in the future. WUFT’s Donna Green-Townsend talked with the Director of the Florida Sea Grant College Program, Karl Havens, who is heading up the University of Florida’s Oyster Recovery Team, about the findings outlined in the group’s special report this week.
Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper: The website of the non-profit organization that keeps tabs on everything that deals with the Chattahoochee, including a section on tri-state water issues. Background information on the river, legal issues, and information about joining the group.
Apalachicola Chamber of Commerce: The online home to the Apalachicola area. Find out about the historic nature of “Florida’s Forgotten Coast.”
Tupelo Honey: The largest and densest stands of Tupelo trees grow in the swamps of the lower Apalachicola and Chipola Rivers. Nowhere are Tupelos so dense that honey can be made from and certified pure Tupelo.
Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve: The Apalachicola Reserve includes two barrier islands and a portion of a third. The Reserve also includes the lower 52 miles of the Apalachicola River and its associated floodplain, small portions of adjoining uplands, and the Apalachicola Bay system. The overall high water quality of the Apalachicola estuary, with the combined effects of other factors, provide the ideal living conditions for estuarine biota and have resulted in the creation of a highly productive estuarine system. The myriad of habitats found within the Reserve support a wide range of plant and animal species, many of which are threatened or endangered.
Corps of Engineers: The various recreation sites on the Chattahoochee, Flint and Apalachicola river system, including various lakes, locks, dams, and campgrounds.
Read the original 1999 interviews with key players in the tri-state water war:
See the special video presentations of the tribute to Margaret Longhill below the text which were produced by Gail Carson and Paul Garfinkel
Margaret Longhill (all photos by Gail Carson)
The 27th annual Will McLean Music Festival at the Sertoma Youth Ranch near Brooksville honored Margaret Longhill on March 12th. Longhill has been the gentle, guiding hand and inspiration for hundreds of musicians who have found their voices for Florida.
Since she first met Will McLean (1919-1990), the first folk artist inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, she has continued to keep the flame burning of Will’s desire to “Save Florida Through Music.”
“Music is a magical way to teach the value of our blessed, flowered land,” says Longhill.
Margaret making her entrance to the special Saturday night tribute on March 12th
Whether it’s her support for the young performers or the annual ‘Best New Florida Song Contest,’ Longhill, the Will McLean Foundation President Emeritus, possesses the ability to nourish and encourage songwriters across the state simply with her incredulous smile and engaging enthusiasm. As a result, the library of songs about this “Land of Flowers” continues to grow.
“I’d like to be known as a lover of Florida and promoter of music, especially about Florida. And I was a convert because I’m from Tennessee and I love Tennessee too, but you know, when you live in Florida you just adopt Florida,” says Longhill.
Margaret Longhill being interviewed by Donna Green-Townsend
The presentation on Saturday night, March 12th, included a live interview with Longhill on stage by Donna Green-Townsend interspersed with performances by three former “Best New Florida Song Contest” winners.
Ken and Leigh Skeens performing, “The Empty Chair”
Ken Skeen and Leigh Skeens performed the song that won the very first contest called, “The Empty Chair.” Ken not only won first place during the very first song contest in 1992, but also won second place and tied for third. He then worked for a number of years as the song contest coordinator.
(from left to right) Mike Jurgensen, Pete Price and Pete Hennings performing “Music Drifts Along This River”
Mike Jurgensen, accompanied by Pete Price and Pete Hennings on guitar and bass performed Mike’s winning song, “Music Drifts Along This River.” Mike has won the song contest three times and is now working as a judge for the annual competition.
Amy Carol Webb and Ron Litschauer perform, “Oh Margaret” during the special tribute to Margaret Longhill
Margaret recited Will McLean’s poem, “My Soul Is a Hawk,” accompanied by Wayne Martin on fiddle and Dennis Devine on guitar. Amy Carol Webb, a past song contest winner, then performed a special song she wrote for Margaret’s birthday a few years ago called, “Oh Margaret.” She was accompanied by Ron Litschauer on mandolin.
Lee and Jessie Townsend along with bass player David McBrady performing at the Margaret Longhill Tribute Presentation. (photo by Gail Carson)
The tribute also included a Will McLean song, Macclenny Farewell, performed by two young performers, Jessie and Lee Townsend, who represent Longhill’s passion for supporting the musical talent of youth at the festival. Jessie and Lee were accompanied by David McBrady on bass.
A very special thank you to all the folks behind the scenes who made the presentation possible including Ron and Bari Litschauer, Lynn Wodjenski and countless others who helped to set up the living room scene and lights and who made the presentation run smoothly.
Here are the videos of the special tribute to Margaret Longhill produced by Gail Carson and Paul Garfinkel. The first video was produced by Gail:
Paul Garfinkel’s six segments on the Tribute to Margaret Longhill from Saturday, March 12, 2016 show a wider perspective on the special evening:
Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
Part Four:
Part Five:
Part Six:
Gail Carson also produced another video for Margaret to thank her for all she has done to promote and to preserve Florida Folk Music. The video demonstrates, through a number of voices, the unforgettable impact Margaret Longhill has had on so many songwriters and performers, especially young performers.
Singer-Songwriter-Musician Mike Jurgensen From New Port Richey Continues to EntertainMike Jurgensen has won the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Competition three times. Now he serves as one of the contest judges. It’s a testament to his talent. Whether singing solo or performing in the band 2PM, Mike’s smooth “James Taylor-style” voice captivates the audience. Two of his songs, “Margaret” and “Music Drifts Along This River,” were included in the national Edward R. Murrow award-winning documentary, “Apalachicola “Doin’ Time” produced by Donna Green-Townsend in 2000.
Mike currently performs with the trio, “2PM” which includes musicians Pete Price and Pete Hennings. During the group’s latest appearance as part of the Sunday Sampler Series at the historic train depot in Dunnellon, FL they performed one of Mike’s latest songs, “Let’s Just Play One More.” The song captures how music can go late into the night around campfires at music festivals around the state because it’s just hard to pull yourself away from a great jam with friends.
Mike Jurgensen sat down with Donna Green-Townsend to talk about what inspires his songwriting:
Feature on Mike before a concert at the Studio Arts Center in Crystal River, Florida.
2PM performing the Herb McCullough Song, “Love Is All There Is,” at the 2018 Will McLean Festival.
2PM performing David Crossland’s song, “When The Buffalo Comes Back,” at the 2012 Will McLean Festival
2PM performing Ken Skeens’ song, “Down A Barefoot Road” at the 2012 Will McLean Festival.
Biography:
Michael Jurgensen has lived in the Tampa Bay area since 1968, when he moved from his native Chapel Hill, NC. Mike began playing the guitar when he was seven years old, but it was not until 1992 that he began performing in public seriously. It was then that he discovered the Iron Horse coffee house in Tarpon Springs, where he began playing open mics. Over the next two years he branched out to do open mics and feature sets at other Tampa Bay area coffee houses and restaurants, as well as regularly emceeing the Iron Horse open mics.
He has also played at several local fairs and festivals, and he has been the featured artist a number of times on various live radio shows on WMNF in Tampa. Although Mike had written several songs prior to 1992, he has only been writing seriously since 1992. Mike was a finalist in the 1994 and 1996 South Florida Folk Festival song-writing competitions, and he won the Best New Florida Song award at the 1998 Will McLean Festival.
In April of 1994 Mike joined the well-known Florida acoustic group, Myriad, which had been together for about 4 years at the time. Together with Myriad, he played concerts at coffee houses, radio shows, benefit concerts, and festivals around the state. The group also has several recordings including two CDs, “Song Circle” and “New Strings.” Mike also has a solo recording project.
In recent years he has performed as part of the trio known as 2PM featuring Mike, Pete Price and Pete Hennings. The trio has performed at a wide variety of Florida festivals and music venues and has three CDs: “Keepin’ Time,” “Let’s Just Play One More,” and their newest project, “Writing on the Wall.”
More information on Mike’s group “2PM” is available at their website. To hear more of Mike’s music click here. Mike can also be reached by mail: 6985 Coronet Dr. / New Port Richey, Fl 34655
To learn more about the artists and their music for the Apalachicola Doin’ Time documentary click on the links below: