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From Our Resident Feature Writer...
Before Surfboards & Bikinis
Disappointed by the locked doors on Monday, Tuesday afternoon was set aside for the small but surprisingly good New Smyrna Beach Historical Museum. The museum is located in the historic district, on Sams Avenue, just off Canal, the main street. The top photograph is a look at the corner of Canal and Sams Avenue at some time in the 1930s. The museum is a hundred feet off the right edge of the photo. The store on the corner is now a restaurant called Jason’s Corner Restaurant and where I had lunch before going to the museum. The best thing about Jason’s? The outside table on Canal Street. The club sandwich was nothing more than an ordinary halved ham & Swiss on rye with a tiny bag of potato chips and a Beverly Hills price tag. I asked the waitress about the photo on the menu (same photo on the right) and she said, “I think it’s old.”
The Historical Museum building (second on the right) dates from 1872, was the first public school in New Smyrna Beach and cost $42 to build. The outside appearance is deceptive. Nothing from the exterior gives any clue to the richness of the collection inside. Yes, it is small but not one foot of its space is wasted. For any visitor patient enough to look closely at the exhibits, the result is an excellent overview of the city’s history, its founding and its early years. The volunteers on duty are very knowledgeable and eager to answer questions.
In April of last year I wrote a few lines about the history of New Smyrna Beach and it’s too bad I didn’t know then what I learned today. Some of this earlier remarks could use a dash of correction fluid. To my own loss it wasn’t until recently that I learned about the city’s historical museum.
During the eighteenth century years of empire building, Spain and Britain agreed to exchange parts of their New World holdings, and in 1763 Cuba went to Spain while Britain got Florida. Dr Andrew Turnbull, a Scottish doctor and at one time British Consul to the city of Smyrna, Greece (now Izmir, Turkey) knew that the British crown sought to plant colonies in the newly acquired Florida territory and so developed a plan to take European settlers to the area. Planning, negotiation, and gathering enough capital took time, but by 1763 he had received for his project a 60,000 acre land grant on the east coast of Florida, had procured eight ships, 1,400 indentured servant-colonists and the minimum stocks needed to seed a colony in Florida.
It was a plan grander by far than any previous British attempts and everyone involved had high hopes. The settlers were contracted to labor until the colony became profitable, at which point they would be given land in Florida. They came mostly from the Mediterranean island of Minorca, but also from Italy, Greece, Spain and Corsica. The colony was established and named Smyrnéa after the home of Turnbull’s wife and site of his former consulship, Smyrna, Greece. It was to be an agricultural colony, the main crop being indigo (photo at the right). This became a profitable export, with two or three harvestings a year. Unfortunately for the settlers and for Dr Turnbull, an artificial form of blue dye was on the horizon. But the beginning was profitable and the colonists were optimistic.
In time drought and disease began to badly tax the settlement and discontent became commonplace among the increasingly hungry people. Dr Turnbull and his investors were primarily businessmen and the loses began to weigh heavily. The colonists felt used and tied to an indenture that promised no end. By 1777 the Smyrnéa colony had reached an end. The American Revolution combined with drought years, disease and discontent finally brought the venture to its knees.
For the next 100 years the area was controlled for the most part by native Indians. In 1887 the town of New Smyrna was incorporated. The population was 150.
Most visitors to the city these days are here for the beach, the fishing and the scenic beauty of those beaches. I have a friend coming to visit soon from Japan. One of the must-see places during that time will be the New Smyrna Beach Historical Museum.
120 Sams Avenue, New Smyrna Beach • Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-4:00 p.m.
William Leet
February 9, 2011
EDITORS NOTE: Special Exhibit
The War Between The States
Feb 1 - May 31, 2011
View artifacts of the Civil War (1861 to 1865) at an extensive exhibit at the New Smyrna Beach Museum of History. This exhibit will be held from February through May, 2011 in the North Room of the Museum located at 120 Sams Avenue in New Smyrna Beach.
Not Exactly Bubble Bath
Back in the old neighborhood Ward’s Creek had a bad rep. It was one of those nasty slivers of questionable water and other nebulous ‘ingredients’ that made even an eleven year-old boy’s lip curl with creepy uncertainty. We were ‘careful’ about playing near the creek, but probably not anywhere near as careful as mothers could wish. It really didn’t take a scientist to look into the slimy swirls of Ward’s Creek and see that some of the stuff bobbing around in the water didn’t belong there. Bootsie once told me that he knew a boy who fell in, and two days later caught the polio and was living in an iron lung. That story should have put the brakes on anyone with an eye to playing on the banks of Ward’s Creek, but it never did. The point of this recollection about a dirty stream in my childhood is connected to the nasty yellowish foam that was always in the water of that creek, or lodged against the rocks and clumps of garbage. Of all the possibly dangerous gunk that floated in and on that water, the one that scared us most was that godawful foam that hung on like poisonous meringue. That we steered clear of.
It took awhile but today I finally made an effort to find out just what that dirty old foam is. Ward’s Creek is now 750 miles away but the name and memories of it were called back this morning by the excess of sea foam that decorated the Florida beach outside my door. In any season a long walk along the Atlantic will provide something new to see as long as the walker isn’t too wrapped up in either iPod or cellphone. Birds one day, shells the next and who knows what the next. Today is was heaps and puffs of sea foam piled liked fallen clouds bobbing and jittering on the sand. Why today? Why never before in my months of daily walking? I spent a little time looking it up.
Sea foam or spume is created by the natural agitation of seawater and on most days is seen as nothing more than the usual curly white foam that rides on the back of incoming surf. There are times when the usual becomes multiplied by higher concentrations of dissolved organic matter from a breakdown of algae blooms offshore. Chemical compounds in this breakdown work as a super foaming agent. There are several things like fat and protein involved, but in layman’s terms the seawater is churned by breaking waves in the surf zone, foaming agents (chemicals) in the turbulence trap air and form continuous bubbles that stick to each other because of surface tension created by the chemicals from the algae. The low density of these foam heaps makes them shiver and sometimes blow along the sand.
Comforting to think that on this pristine beach where water and meager amounts of sea foam frequently splash against my feet and legs the foam is harmless. That isn’t always the case. There is a Ward’s Creek version of sea foam that appears on some beaches around the world. In areas where polluted stormwater from rivers or drains empties into the ocean beaches can be polluted with foam containing viruses and other contaminants. There is a type of harmful algae bloom along some coastal areas that creates foam causing skin irritation and breathing difficulty.
The two photos above give a good picture of how the chemicals from the algae appear under close view. In one it looks as though a handful of jewels have been scattered in the foam, and in the magnified view at the bottom the colors are richer and it looks very much like two black figures stand framed inside bubbles.
February 17, 2011
William Leet
 River Quest Charity Challenge
Sat., March 5, 2011 @ 8:00 am
New Smyrna Beach Riverside Park
105 S Riverside Drive
Registration Closing Date
Tues., March 1, 2011 @ 6:00 pm
Brief Description
This is an event similar to the amazing race, but geared around the history of New Smyrna Beach and the area. This is an event to challenge mental and physical abilities, but is easy enough for anyone to complete each Quest.
Fees
Teams of 2 - $50 until 2/15; $60 2/16-26; $70 2/27-3/5
Teams of 2 with Dinner for 2 - $110 until 2/15; $130 2/16-26; $150 2/27-3/5
Teams of 4 - $90 until 2/15; $100 2/16-26; $110 2/27-3/5
Teams of 4 with Dinner for 4 - $210 until 2/15; $240 2/16-26; $270 2/27-3/5
Dinner Only - $30 until 2/15; $35 2/16-26; $40 2/27-3/5
Note:Online registration ends Tuesday, March 1 at 9:00 pm Eastern/6:00 pm Pacific
The River Quest Charity Challenge is a unique race of running and/or walking which includes trivia, obstacles and challenges that requires participants to exhibit teamwork, resourcefulness, determination and the ability to make decisions on the fly as they search for the River Quest Check Points scattered in unknown locations throughout the city. The event begins with teams of two or four receiving a clue at each checkpoint that must be solved to reach their next destination. There will be a variety of physical and mental challenges.
All participants will receive a medal and a goody bag, with participants who pre-register by February 26 also receiving a shirt. Pre-registered participants may pick up their event packet on Friday, March 4 from 9 am - 1 PM at Clancy's Cantina, 301 Flagler Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169. Race-day registration and packet pick-up will be from 6:30 am to 7:30 am.
The evening of the River Quest Charity Challenge there will be a sit-down dinner at Sugar Mill Country Club (100 Club House Circle, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168) at 6:00 pm. Mark Pinhasovich, at home winner of The Biggest Loser season 10, and his winning cousin Merav Fiorella will both speak and then do autographs. Please contact us if you have special dietary needs or other requests.
Friday, February 04, 2011 5:42:14 PM
The race is a separate fee from the dinner banquet in the evening. So, sign up for both and meet and get autographs by Biggest Loser Mark and his Amazing Cousin Merav. This will be an amazing event you wont forget.
Kayaking
The Indian River Lagoon has dozens of kayak areas from south of Port Orange to Oak Hill but the only marked kayak trail is off the IRL Park managed by the Marine Discovery Center.
Mosquito Lagoon is a favorite place for many paddlers and is truly one of Florida's treasures - described as "one of the top 10 places to paddle in the U.S."
There are multiple places to launch but most frequented are: the National Seashore Park, the Indian River Lagoon Preserve Park, the third Ave and Peninsula launch, the Marine Discovery Center and the Spruce Creek launch.
Low tides expose mud flats and oyster bars that in fall, winter and spring attract a wide variety of wading birds and shorebirds; American oystercatchers are fairly easy to find. Dolphins and manatees are commonly seen in the deeper waters of the intra coastal waterway.
Throughout the lagoon you can stop on islands with white, sandy beaches - areas that are protected because of shallow water. Motorboats are unable to negotiate them, leaving them virtually untouched. Numerous wading birds, including roseate spoonbills and wood storks, shorebirds, ospreys, cormorants, brown pelicans and, in winter, white pelicans should be seen. Bald eagles are a good possibility. Look for a stunningly handsome, black-and-white shorebird with a big reddish-orange bill. Oyster bars in Mosquito Lagoon are likely places to see American oystercatchers.
Look down in the water and you may see horseshoe crabs, redfish, mullet and stingrays
There are many backwater areas where there are few visuals for positioning - thus the potential of getting turned around in a tight mangrove lined waterway that can quickly turn into a maze.
If you are not familiar with the area, it is highly recommended that you contact one of several kayak operators: the Marine Discovery Center, Beach Bike and Kayak, JB's Fish Camp or Sunset Eluay.
JB's FiSH CAMP KAYAKS
859 Pompano Avenue
386 427-5747
info@jbsfishcamp.com
www.jbsfishcamp.com
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