My article has a caption above it, "Around the Banks," and just to be clear, it doesn't mean I am traveling from First Federal to Lafayette State Bank and then to TD. It means "Around the Banks of the Suwannee," a river that touches all the counties in our area and a river that is dear to most of us.
Stephen Foster immortalized the river when he wrote "Old Folks at Home," the state song of Florida. He never saw the river, but when he took his pen, scratched through Pee Dee and changed it to "Swanee," musical history was made.
A friend recently made a short trip to Savannah, Ga., staying at the Marshall House in the Juliet Gordon Lowe suite. I texted and related to her that Juliet Gordin Lowe, founder of the Girl Scouts of America, established the second Girl Scout troop in the United States in White Springs, Fla. There is a marker at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park that commemorates its establishment.
Before Palm Beach, before Miami Beach, before many of the state's busiest tourist destinations, White Springs was "the place" to see and "be seen" among the elite of the day. The late Orrie Moore Kendrick, a lifetime resident of White Springs who taught piano to generations of children, related a story to me about the halcyon days of White Springs which occurred around the turn of the 20th century.
The once-grand Colonial Hotel had its grand opening on New Year's Eve 1911. Orrie's mother owned and operated a millinery and dress shop that catered to the hotel and resort trade. Her mother made a trip to Paris in late August 1911 to purchase couture fashion for the folks coming to White Springs and sent Orrie a Worth Original to wear the night of the Colonial opening.
As she described that ball, one could close their eyes and hear the 20-piece orchestra from New York hired to play, as well as the swish of silks and stains on the dance floor. In those days, folks came to the springs for health improvement, to take the water, to bathe and drink and to have massages.
As mentioned, change occurs. Gone are the once grand resort hotels from White Springs; only the Telford on River Street remains, a silent memorial of a once grand past. However, today, folks are still coming to White Springs for wellness and renewal, physical and mental. Folks still cycle on bicycles, canoe and kayak on the river, and hike on beautiful trails to enjoy the Big Shoals on the Suwannee River, the only White water rapids in the state of Florida.
In a way, Foster's song, which immortalized our Suwannee River, is still bringing thousands to enjoy the beauty and majesty of our home here, "Around the Banks of the Suwannee." It is my beloved home. "There's where my heart is turning ever."
From the Eight Mile Still on the Woodpecker Route north of White Springs, wishing you a good day.
