CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Evan Maroon, 5, eating a Thanksgiving lunch with his mother, Blair Poole. The students helped out with preparation of the holiday meal.

ALACHUA – Turkey soaked in gravy, creamy white mashed potatoes and homemade cranberry sauce made its presence in the classroom for parents and children at W.W. Irby Elementary School on Thursday, Nov. 21.

Thanksgiving came early to all of the kindergarteners sitting down to a traditional feast with their parents.

Having Thanksgiving dinner at W.W. Irby Elementary with the kindergarteners has become a tradition started by kindergarten teacher Kathryn Lehtola.

The meal wasn’t just any meal for the parents and students, but made with love from the students themselves, Lehtola said. Having spent half of the morning the day before, moving to different stations for each item for their meal, 5- and 6-year-old boys and girls worked to make the parent-child lunch possible.

“Your child has had their hands in, around and about everything you will eat,” Lehtola said.

However, before dinner, all of the kindergarten classes came together, dressed in Native American headbands and pilgrim costumes, to entertain the families with a couple of Thanksgiving-themed songs.

First the children started with the popular “Grinding the Maize,” then there was a song about Bert the Turkey and to conclude the morning’s music was a song about Thanksgiving, which was performed with laminated signs spelling the word “Thanksgiving,” all while Lehtola directed.

Valdenora Fortner, W.W. Irby Elementary principal, said that the tradition is one that promotes family time, which is important to parent-child bonding.

“The kids of course talk it up because they’ve been working on placemats, recipes and food,” Fortner said. “They’re very excited. They’ve even earned some of their feathers for their headbands.”

The preparation for the feast had some educational value, too.

Students learned measurements while cooking and listened to the history behind grinding maize, according to a letter that was sent out to parents announcing the annual Thanksgiving dinner.

While the children and parents sat and ate their homemade Thanksgiving meal, children dove into their mashed potatoes and turkey and parents chatted about the upcoming holidays.

Parents April and Alan Rice attended the Thanksgiving dinner with the school for their second year in a row. The parents looked forward to the dinner this year after experiencing it with their son for the first time last year and asked for the day off weeks in advance in order to attend.

“It’s a good idea because nowadays nobody cooks, so this is a good learning procedure for them at an early age,” said grandmother, Ella Voture.

The children’s experience with cooking and making the food proved was worth it, according to Jeremy Nipper, 5, who said that making the food that he was eating was a lot of fun.

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CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Children sat on Santa's lap and brought him cookies to snack on.

HIGH SPRINGS – Lights, music and art brought an air of festivity to the town of High Springs last week.

The annual Christmas-tree lighting was held on Friday, Nov. 22 in High Springs.

The event, located near the railroad tracks, had Christmas music, lights and refreshments, started off at 6 p.m. and went until 7:30 p.m.

New mayor, Byran D. Williams, opened the lighting of the 8-foot tall Christmas tree with a short speech thanking the Chamber of Commerce.

When the lights went on, parents and children began to gravitate toward the food and drink stands, but some children were more interested in meeting Santa Claus.

“What did you bring me?” asked Lance Lounsbury, playing the part of Santa, as three children brought him cookies.  

One of the stands offering refreshments such as cookies, hot chocolate and pigs in a blanket was managed by the Coffee Clutch Cafe, who also participated in the Art Walk that was held at the same time.

Jesse Lounsbury, son of Lance, ran the table for the Coffee Clutch Cafe to help his mother, the owner of the cafe, Nancy Lounsbury.

“We got the opportunity to come out and have fun,” Jesse Lounsbury said.

Children also had an opportunity to make Christmas-tree decorations. The ornament station was laid out on the ground with paint, glue and glitter gave kids the chance to dig down deep and bring out their inner Picasso by decorating their own leaf ornaments.

The High springs Community School participated in the lighting. The school sat with their table on the back of the lot selling cookies, cupcakes and other baked goods to raise money for the school’s safety patrols.

One parent, Jackie Helton, brought her children for the first time to the event and said that the tree lighting was a great experience for her kids. She said she looks forward to coming back next year.

Volunteer DJ Michael Loveday said that the audience for this year’s lighting had grown significantly since last year.

“There are about 50 percent more people showing up,” Loveday said.

The event began to clear out around 6:30 p.m. when the art walk started, which had various businesses displaying photos, paintings and sculptures by local artists.

Each of the businesses hosting the walk offered food and wine to enjoy while browsing the art collections.

One artist, Linda Tiffany, brought out her photography from the Ponce de Leon exhibit. The retired art teacher said she used to be predominantly a painter, but since teaching children she has had to ease back into it.

“I’m finally getting back to some of my artwork again,” Tiffany said. “I’ve got some paintings going, but I didn’t have them done in time.”

Larry Behnke, a member of the Art Co-op and one of the artists on display during the art walk, said the event was great for both local artists and businesses because it gives people the opportunity to notice places that they wouldn’t usually see.

“The fun part is that there are 15 other artists around town, and in High Springs most of the businesses close at 5 p.m.,” Behnke said. “This allows them to stay open at night and people come downtown and say ‘oh I didn’t know this shop was here,’ and so this is getting the public out to see not only different artists, but different businesses in the town.”

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C.M. Walker/Alachua County Today

Sue Weller being sworn in for another term as a commissioner. Shortly after, she nominated Byran Williams as the next mayor.

HIGH SPRINGS – A motion by newly re-elected High Springs City Commissioner Sue Weller resulted in the unanimous approval of Commissioner Byran D. Williams as mayor of High Springs for the upcoming term.

Commissioner Scott Jamison had already nominated Weller for the position, which she has held for the past year. Weller nominated Williams to run against her.

Jamison then nominated Weller for vice-mayor, a position she won.

After seats were changed to reflect the new positions, Williams said he was surprised by the turn of events, but would gladly fulfill his duties as mayor.

Williams’ election as mayor seemed unanticipated by some in the audience who thought Weller would be a sure bet to continue as mayor for another year after having recently won re-election against challenger Bobby Summers for her seat on the commission.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Jamison said as he nominated Weller for mayor. Later, he said he thought things had been going well with Weller as mayor for the past year and did not see a reason to change. He said he ultimately voted for Williams because he thought he would also do well in the position.

“You’re mayor for a year and then someone else gets to be mayor,” Weller said in a later interview. “That has been the protocol in the past and it seems to work.”

“I nominated him for the position because I knew he would do well,” she said.

Williams is the most senior commissioner of the five currently serving on the High Springs City Commission. He served as mayor during 2005-2006, and as vice-mayor during 2008-2009 and 2010-2011. He has served on the commission off-and-on since 2003, according to city records.

Earlier in the evening, Weller was sworn in for another three-year term following her re-election to the commission against Summers on Tuesday, Nov. 5. She thanked the 710 people that voted and her supporters who helped to re-elect her and commented that she would like to see the city commission work as a group to help solve the challenges facing the city in the future.

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CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Ashby Green sips on his cup of coffee during an early morning drive through a field of cattle. He and Roger West raise cattle on eight different locations throughout Alachua County, including Alachua, Newberry and Gainesville.

ALACHUA – Every cut of beef and vegetable leaf in Hitchcock’s supermarket represents countless hours of labor from 2 percent of the American population.

This week, the Florida Farm Bureau is celebrating Farm-City Week, honoring the men and women who work to supply the food lining the shelves of grocery stores.

Farmers like Roger West, who raises cattle in eight locations across the county, make up the 2 percent of Americans who feed the country.

“A lot of people don’t really realize where their food comes from and how much work it takes to reduce it and process and get it to them,” West said.

West raises around 350 cattle each year across 1,800 acres of land around Alachua County.

He works six or seven days a week, making sure his cattle are healthy, have a good weight and have a decent amount of food and water.

“From the standpoint of cattle production, it’s about 75 percent science and 25 percent art,” West said.

Better understanding of genetics and nutrition has allowed American farmers to get the same amount of beef that was being produced in the 1950s with far fewer cows, he said.

“Each cow is producing more beef through technology,” West said.

The University of Florida has been a leader in performing the research that helps farmers be more efficient with their livestock.

One of the farms West works lies between Alachua and High Springs, just off U.S. Highway 441. Jeffords Farm was named after Belle Jeffords, an active participant in the Alachua County Cattlemen’s Association. It was named after her to carry on her legacy of good stewardship and responsible land use, said Ashby Green, West’s business partner.

“This farm and the people running it are doing the right things,” he said. Jeffords Farm cooperates with the Suwannee River Water Management District to use its resources responsibly.  

Around 10 a.m. on a cool Tuesday morning, Green rolled up to the farm in a white truck, ready to talk about the life of a cattleman.

Green, a former veterinarian, looked at the weight of the livestock to make sure they are ready for winter. They are weighted on a scale of one to 10. For this time of the year, a six or seven is optimal, he said.

He walked through the fields, giving off a call to the cows. They waited until he got too close before dispersing, keeping their distance from Green.

“They have a lot of personality,” he said. “They’re very much like people.”

The biggest challenge facing farmers today is educating the consumer on how cattlemen produce beef, West said.

Farm-City Week runs from Nov. 22 to Nov. 28, and is intended to celebrate the relationship between farmers and supermarkets, honoring their contributions to the quality of life of Floridians and people across the country, according to the Florida Farm Bureau.

Every time someone buys food, whether it is local or not, it helps the market and supports farmers,   said Micanopy farmer John Newbanks.

“We should be appreciated at least three times a day when you sit down for your meals,” said farmer Green.

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