News from the Creek - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings · VOLUME 20 NUMBER 1 NEWS FROM THE CREEK PAGE 3...
Transcript of News from the Creek - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings · VOLUME 20 NUMBER 1 NEWS FROM THE CREEK PAGE 3...
Volume 20 Number 1 Winter Quarterly 2017
News from the Creek Friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc.
Visit our website at: www.marjoriekinnanrawlings.org
Be sure to visit us at www.marjoriekinnanrawlings.org and
www.floridastateparks.org/marjoriekinnanrawlings for updates and information on The Year of Cross Creek
Barbara Wingo as Marjorie Rawlings at the Ruffled
Rose Tea Room event in January
President’s Message By Barbara Wingo
I hope that you have been able to attend one or more of this year’s events
Celebrating 75 Years of Cross Creek and Cross Creek Cook Cookery. If not
(or if so), there are certainly many more events yet to come.
On January 21 we enjoyed introducing Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and her
writings at the Ruffled Rose Tea Room in Trenton. This included a discussion
of how Cross Creek Cookery came to be written and the reading of excerpts
from Rawlings’ short story, “Lord Bill of the Suwannee River,” based on Tren-
ton’s William E. Bell. Our opening event at the Matheson History Museum in
Gainesville followed that evening. Kevin McCarthy’s presentation on
“Hyacinth Drift,” was excellent and the desserts that followed delicious!
I encourage you to attend one of the library talks on Cross Creek and Cross Creek Cookery and related topics that are listed in our brochure. I had the
privilege of attending Anne Pierce’s very interesting talk at the Fort McCoy Pub-
lic Library. Reminiscences by Carol Fiddia Laxton preceded Anne’s presenta-
tion. Please read Anne’s article in this newsletter to learn more about Mrs.
Laxton’s memories of her life at Cross Creek and of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
The cooking and other presentations at the farm have been aided by the
weather -- pristine blue skies that set off the farm and its environs as well as mak-
ing a visit even more enjoyable. We have had large crowds with ample food.
Please see the article by Carrie Todd for more information on these events.
Our next special event is “A Writer’s Life: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Women Writers Today,” on Thursday, April
13, at 6:00 p.m. at the Matheson History Museum, Gainesville. The evening will feature award-winning authors Susan
Cerulean, Lola Haskin and Dr. Leslie Kemp Poole. The event is cosponsored by the Matheson History Museum and
the George Smathers Library, University of Florida.
In addition you may have noticed in our brochure the art exhibition entitled “Cross Creek Rising: The Consciousness of
Land and Water” that will be held at the Historic Thomas Center from September 29 through January 6. The Friends of
the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm is cosponsoring this event in conjunction with the Historic Thomas Center, City of
Gainesville. The call for artists to submit works has been issued, and artists will be visiting area to create works for the
exhibition. The primary criterion for submission is that the work has as its source of inspiration the natural environs of
North Central Florida, especially the Cross Creek area. Artists will have special access to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Historic State Park for their work.
Again, I want to thank our board members, other volunteers and staff for making these events possible and the Alachua
County Tourist Development Tax Grant Program for funding. I hope to see you soon as we explore Cross Creek and
Cross Creek Cookery!
PAGE 2 NEWS FROM THE CREEK VOLUME 20 NUMBER 1
MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Officers: 2017-2018
President: Barbara Wingo
Vice President: Elaine Carson-Spencer
Treasurer: Anne Pierce
Secretary: Murray Laurie
CSO Board of Directors
Mickey Angell
Angel Kwolek-Folland
Murray Laurie
Anne Pierce
Neal and Elaine Spencer
Florence Turcotte
Barbara Wingo
Resource Advisory Members
Dan Cantliffe
Roy Hunt
Michaelyn Luttge
Jim Stephens
Kay Williams
The Year of Cross Creek Celebrating the
75th Anniversary of
Cross Creek
and
Cross Creek Cookery
1942 - 2017
Watch for Monthly Events
Cooking the Book By Ranger Carrie Todd
"I hold the theory that the serving of good food is the one certain way
of pleasing everybody. ... Love and liquor are admittedly fallible com-
forters … Conversation is fallible for not all want to talk about the
same things, and some do not want to talk at all, and some do not want to listen. But
short of dyspepsia or stomach ulcers, any man or woman may be pleased with well-
cooked and imaginative dishes.” (Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Cross Creek, "Our
Daily Bread,” p. 205. )
While we certainly hope that visitors will also turn to books, especially Cross Creek,
for inspiration, comfort, and pleasure, we are providing them ample opportunity to
experience Marjorie's imaginative dishes. This year we are "Cooking the Book,”
Cross Creek Cookery to be exact. Each month we will be highlighting several of
Marjorie's recipes during a special demonstration and tasting program. Stefanie Sam-
ara Hamblin of Hogtown Homegrown as well as our amazing volunteers have been
instrumental in making this program a success.
The year-long celebration started with a demonstra-
tion of "Campfire Cooking with Dutch Ovens.” Deb
and Fred Morgan took the lead to show us how
Marjorie would have cooked over the open fire on
her trip with Dessie down the St. Johns River. We
highlighted her recipes: "Guinea Hen in a Dutch
Oven” (We used chickens.), "Zelma's Ice Box Rolls"
and "Potato Apple Soufflé." The crowd of 65 people
watched as we dismantled the cooking tower of ovens
and then made short work of the delicacies within.
Our second program, "The Land of Hot Biscuits," had even better attendance with
80 people! It was a good thing we made enough biscuits to fill the ice box, which we
used temporarily as a warmer. We highlighted Marjorie's favorite "Mother's Biscuits"
and "Idella's Crisp Biscuits" following the recipes to a "T". But with the "Florida Back-
woods Biscuits," we did a little experimentation. Here we did every combination we
could manage of lard, butter and Crisco for fats with milk and buttermilk. We also
had two types of flour, traditional southern White
Lily All Purpose and King Arthur Unbleached All
Purpose, which is more common in kitchens to-
day. We topped them all with marmalade, honey,
cane syrup, country ham or just plain butter. Ste-
fanie Samara Hamblen and Mary Catherine Al-
ford shared biscuit lore to prime our taste buds.
The result of this was a feast of biscuits where we
compared the different variations and toppings
until only a few morsels remained.
Our future programs promise to be just as appetizing! In March we will highlight the
ripening fruits of the region: loquats, strawberries, blueberries and, of course, citrus.
In April, we will show how we do canning and preserving. If you haven't tasted our
marmalade, then this is your chance! May is all about local food. Hogtown Home-
grown launches the Eat Local Challenge this month, and our May 7th program will
show you how Marjorie's recipes can help you support the local food producers and
(Continued on page 3)
PAGE 3 NEWS FROM THE CREEK VOLUME 20 NUMBER 1
Piety and Leonard Fiddia
Reflections by Carol Fiddia Laxton By Anne Pierce
On Saturday, March 11, 2017, I had the great privilege of hearing
Carol Fiddia Laxton talk about her childhood and her memories of
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. She is the daughter of Leonard Fiddia and
granddaughter of Piety Fiddia. You will recall that Rawlings stayed with
Leonard and his mother, Piety, August through October 1931 while
doing research for her first Florida novel, South Moon Under. Leo-
nard married in 1932 and Carol was born a few years later.
She recalls Marjorie visiting their home from time to time and the fam-
ily visiting the Cross Creek Farm. Carol vividly remembers the first
time she saw the ocean when she was five or six years old. Her father
was to do some carpentry work on Marjorie’s Crescent Beach house,
and Rawlings suggested that since she would be away the Fiddia family
might come and enjoy the week there.
Her father, Leonard, raised hogs, killed deer for meat, and sometimes sold moon-
shine (Rawlings was a customer.); however, his main source of livelihood was work-
ing as a carpenter and electrician. He worked on Rawlings’ Kohler generator as well
as doing repairs at the Cross Creek Farm. When electricity came to Cross Creek,
Marjorie gave the Fiddia family the generator.
One question from the audience was, “How did Rawlings meet your father?” Carol
said that she thought it must have been through Chet Crosby of Citra. Crosby had a
citrus packing house there, and Leonard kept the equipment in good repair.
Marjorie, of course, knew Chet Crosby.
Mrs. Laxton said that the she was very close to her grandmother, Piety. When read-
ing about Piety in South Moon Under, the description and language WAS her
grandmother. Carol indicated that the description of Lant in the novel was not so
close to that of her father.
What a treat it was to have this chance to get a firsthand account of the Fiddia family
and Rawlings’ relationship with them!
eat fresh seasonally. As the weather warms, we will highlight okra, the Cinderella of vegetables,
in June and then have an "Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social" in July. We even saved some tan-
gerine juice to make Marjorie's famous "Tangerine Sherbet.” We celebrate Marjorie's birthday
August 5th with a fish fry sponsored by Northwest Seafood. If you like holiday desserts, don't
miss November's pie contest featuring "Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie," Marjorie's most
famous recipe, or "Cookie Decorating" in December.
Most of our food events are out at the Farm, but we will be having a few in Gainesville
too. On April 8-9, two Gainesville restaurants, Public and General, and East End Eatery will
feature Marjorie's recipes as part of a special menu. In September, we will have a Food Truck
Rally at the Matheson History Museum. Again, local chefs will offer dishes from Cross Creek
Cookery or inspired by it. It will be fun to see how the hip Gainesville food scene will present
Marjorie's recipes for a modern audience and reminds us that, even 75 years later, Marjorie
still has a big impact on the world.
(Continued from page 2)
Carol Fiddia Laxton and Anne Pierce
Ye old ice box on back porch full
of goodies
PAGE 4 NEWS FROM THE CREEK
VOLUME 20 NUMBER 1
Alachua and Marion County Library Talks All talks are on “Cross Creek” and “Cross Creek Cookery”
unless otherwise noted.
April 13 A Year of Cross Creek, More
Stories, Archer Branch, ACLD,
5:30pm
May 25 Alachua Branch, ACLD, 6pm
June 20 Year of Cross Creek -- The Secret
River, Waldo Branch, ACLD, at
the Community Center, 2pm
August 1 Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and
The Secret River, Alachua Branch,
ACLD, 2pm
September 10 Waldo Branch, ACLD at the
Yerkes Center, 2pm
September 17 Headquarters Library, Marion
County Public Library, 2pm
Cooking with Cross Creek Cookery and Beyond Cooking Demonstrations and Programs
All events are at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park
with cooking from 10-2 and program at 2:30 pm unless otherwise noted.
April 8, and Cross Creek Cookery Recipes at
April 9 Public & General Restaurant,
Gainesville (Saturday), and East
End Eatery, Gainesville (Sunday
brunch) Recipes from Cross Creek
Cookery will be on their menu!
April 22 Canning with Marjorie Kinnan
Rawlings
May 7 Eating Local: Then and Now
June 17 Okra a la Cross Creek
July 9 Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social
August 5 *Happy 121st Birthday, Marjorie,
with a Fish Fry at the Marjorie
Kinnan Rawlings Historic State
Park, 5 - 7pm (Call 352-466-3672
for reservations)
April 13 A Writer’s Life: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Women Writers Today
Matheson History Museum, Gainesville, 6 - 8pm
July 21 *Tea with Marjorie and Zora, a play by Barbara Speisman,
Matheson History Museum, Gainesville, 7pm (Call 352-378-2280 for information)
August 5 *Happy 121st Birthday, Marjorie with a Fish Fry at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Historic State Park, 5 - 7pm. (Call 352-466-3672 for reservations)
*Tickets reservations and/or fees required.
Other Events
Throughout the year, we will publish a quarterly update of the events we have planned for The Year of Cross Creek
Upcoming Events for Year of Cross Creek
PAGE 5 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 1 NEWS FROM THE CREEK
LIFETIME MEMBERS
Ginny and Gunter Arndt
Danny and Judy Baker
Sheila Barnes
Catherine Beazley
Diane E. Beck
Roger and Linda Blackburn
Sybil Ann Brennan
Mary W. Bridgman
Dan Cantliffe
Ginger Carter
Norma Davis
Patricia Ann Davis
Sheila Dickison
John and Balinda Ferree
Sue Gaintner
Ordy Greenly
Robert E. Haines
J. C. Harrell
Judith Harris
Candace Henderson
John and Phyllis Holmgren
Roy Hunt
Deanne Clark & William H. Jeter, Jr.
Brenda Keith
Shirley Kiser
Richard Knellinger, P.A.
Angel Kwolek-Folland
Murray Laurie
Shirley Lucas
Michaelyn Luttge
Colleen, Frank and Lana Mahoney
Janet Matthews
Ruth Maughan
Philip S. May, Jr.
Judith McFadden and Ilene Nathanson
Mary Lisa McGaughran
Robert D. McReynolds
Eleanor and Andy Merritt
Elinor N. Midgette
W.L. Miller
James R. Nici
Rebecca Nullier
Alan Palmer
Spence Perry
John Henry & Margaret Anne Pierce
Liz Pooley
Dana Preu
A.L. Rhinehart
Art & Edda Ross
Shirley and Pierre Thompson
M. List Underwood, Jr.
Pamela Lydick Whiting
Colleen Whitlock
Barbara Wingo
Corporate Members
Alachua Conservation Trust
Blue Highway Restaurant
Horseless Carriage Club of America
Mansbridge Editing & Transcription
Flo Turcotte and Dr. Kevin McCarthy at his presentation at our kick-off event in January
A Writers Life:
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and
Women Writers Today
Thursday, April 13, 2017 - Matheson History Museum - 6pm
The Matheson History Museum, Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm,
and The University of Florida’s George A. Smathers Libraries are honored to wel-
come an esteemed group of women authors to discuss Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’s
impact on women writers today. This free event will take place on Thursday, April
13, and will be held at the Matheson. The evening will feature award-winning authors
Susan Cerulean, Lola Haskins and Dr. Leslie Kemp Poole. This program coincides
with the Matheson’s current exhibition, “River of Dreams: The St. Johns and its
Springs,” which runs until June 24, 2017. Florence Turcotte, Friends board member
and Literary Manuscripts Archivist at UF’s George A. Smathers Libraries, noted,
“We all find solace, insight, and inspiration in Rawlings’s writing. I’m looking forward
to hearing from these three women about how they found their own voices by listen-
ing to Rawlings.”
Susan Cerulean is an award-winning writer, naturalist, and activist. Her works
include Coming to Pass: Florida’s Coastal Islands in a Gulf of Change, Tracking Desire: A Journey after Swallow-tailed Kites, Unspoiled: Writers Speak for Flor-
ida’s Coast, and Between Two Rivers: Stories from the Red Hills to the Gulf.
Lola Haskins is an award-winning author and poet. Her works include How Small, Confronting Morning, The Grace to Leave, and Strange Tales Unearthed.
She often collaborates with musicians, dancers, and visual artists. Her poetry has
been published widely, including in The Atlantic, London Review of Books, and
The New York Quarterly.
Dr. Leslie Kemp Poole is an award-winning historian, Assistant Professor of En-
vironmental Studies at Rollins College, and the author of Maitland and Saving
Florida: Women’s Fight for the Environment in the Twentieth Century. In 2008
she appeared in the PBS documentary In Marjorie's Wake which retraced a
1933 trip on the St. Johns River taken by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
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deductible. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be
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