Poarch Creek Christmas Parade Winners Named
December 5, 2009
Float winners have been named from Friday night’s Poarch Creek Indian Christmas Parade. First place went to the Creek Indian Enterprise Development Authority (CIEDA) for “Snoopy ” (above). Second place was awarded to the Housing Authority for their float “Beauty and the Beast” (below). Third place was awarded to the Public Works/Utilities Authority for “Peter Pan” (below middle) and the Poarch Creek Fire Department received honorable mention for their float “Lil’ Abner” (below bottom). Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Byrneville Elementary Holds Annual Christmas Carnival
December 5, 2009
Byrneville Elementary School held its Christmas Carnival Friday night at the school.
The annual event, sponsored by the school’s P.T.O., featured a special guest from the North Pole. Santa Claus was on hand for photos and Christmas wish lists.
The carnival also included a host of games, including a ring toss, cake walk, football toss and more. The evening’s festivities ended with a gift basket auction, with proceeds going to the P.T.O.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the Byrneville Elementary Christmas Carnival, click here.
Pictured above: Hailey Smith (left), 4, presented her written Christmas wish list to Santa Claus Friday night at Byrneville Elementary School. Her sister, Ciara Smith, 7, looks on as Santa reads the list. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
A Christmas Wish: A Cure For Olivia
December 4, 2009
The Bush family’s Christmas wish is simple — a cure for Olivia.
Olivia Bush’s story started July 22, 2003, almost four months before there should have been a first chapter in her life. Born at just 22 weeks, she weighed only one pound six ounces. She stayed in the NICU three and half months, defying doctors and coming home two weeks before her due date. Olivia is the second youngest baby to ever survive at Sacred Heart Hospital.
The current-day chapter Olivia’s story is perhaps best told by her mother, Amber Bush:
“Olivia is now 6 years old. She is blind and can only see light with her left eye. She has a shunt to drain fluid off of her brain, and has frequent seizures.
“Our little miracle girl started first grade this year and loves to go to school. She is spoiled rotten by everyone she meets and has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. She loves to rock and spin and everything needs to be fast. Roller coasters, throw up rides, and bumps are her friends. Olivia doesn’t meet a stranger. She has the greatest smile and laugh and always brightens our day. She is such an inspiration to everyone she meets, and she has come such a long way. Her favorite song is the BIBLE and she tells everyone to sing it to her.
“After enduring the NICU, she came home on oxygen and a heart monitor, and doctor after doctor. Then started the therapy. She is still in physical, occupational, speech, vision, and mobility therapy.”
Now, Olivia is heading to Miami Children’s Hospital. She will she the same doctor that cured the seizures of her cousin, Northview High student Nathan Therrell. NorthEscambia.com introduced our readers to Nate in November of 2008 when he was on the sidelines as Northview’s waterboy. After undergoing surgery at Miami Children’s Hospital, Nathan played in Northview’s Garnet and Gold Game in May of 2009, void of seizures. (Read about Nathan here.)
Olivia will be in Miami Children’s Hospital December 14-16 for a battery of tests that her parents hope will end with a successful treatment plan. It’s their Christmas wish.
“Pray for guidance in this matter and that the seizures will subside,” mom Amber said. “Please pray for Olivia. She has come such a long way, and we are so thankful. God has truly blessed us with a living angel and we are very grateful.”
A successful benefit car wash for Olivia Bush was held in Century on Saturday, December 5.
Pictured top: Tad, Olivia, Simon and Amber Bush. Pictured top inset: Olivia was just one pound six ounces when she was born at 22 weeks. Pictured bottom inset: Olivia Bush at six-years old. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Teen Attends Global Youth Forum
December 4, 2009
A Century teen recently attended the Global Youth Forum in Washington, D.C.
Charles Houston, a resident of Century and a student at West Florida High School, attended People to People International’s eighth annual Global Youth Forum. Houston was one of more than 200 students ages 13-18 who took part in the forum, which was devoted to the theme “Global Sustainability: It’s All Connected”.
GYF delegates are committed to PTPI’s mission of promoting international understanding and friendship among the world’s people, and arrived prepared to learn how they can work together with peers from around the world to create a better, brighter and greener future. During the course of five days, delegates worked through a curriculum that broadened their understanding of sustainability, learning how our choices as consumers have a global impact.
A variety of speakers joined the delegates to share their expertise. Andrew Revkin, an environmental journalist for The New York Times, discussed what he has learned from his years traveling the globe to research how the way we live affects our climate. Simran Sethi, named “one of the top ten eco-heroes of the planet” by the UK’s Independent, asked the students to think about ways in which they can reduce.
Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, executive director of the Global Footprint Network, stressed the need to remember that there is only one planet earth. He explained the depletion of natural resources and went on to introduce the “Ecological Footprint”, a balance sheet that compares how much nature we have to how much nature we use. Each speaker reminded the students that no matter their career paths, they can contribute to a sustainable future.
“The guest speakers were amazing, each of them presented different ways we are affecting the globe and how we can work together effectively make sure the Earth will be sustainable for generations to come.” Houston said.
Additional conference activities included a presentation by the Anacostia Watershed Society, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the Anacostia River, a scavenger hunt through the National Mall and several Smithsonian museums, lunch with “George Washington” at the Hard Rock Café and a trip to the recently opened Newseum.
Seven students contributed additional worldviews to the forum during the International Student Panel session. Panel members hailed from Peru, Macedonia, Jordan, Israel, Bulgaria, Colombia and South Africa. They spoke about their lives and the culture and customs of their countries before participating in a question and answer session with GYF delegates.
“GYF was an amazing experience that I am never going to forget, I never thought that I would have a roommate from Bulgaria or even enjoy breakfast with Mary Jean Eisenhower. The lessons that I learned from GYF are lessons I will keep for a lifetime. I am hoping that I will be able to raise enough money to go to Peru this summer with PTPI to attend what was known as the Global Humanitarian Youth Forum, now called Experience: PERU! In July.”
If you are interested in helping Charles Houston of Century attend the forum in Peru this summer, email us here at news@northescambia.com and we will put you in touch with him.
Pictured top: Charles Houston of Century (third from left) with Mary Jean Eisenhower (second from left), President & CEO of People to People International and granddaughter of PTPI founder and former U.S. President, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
1959-2009: Molino Homemakers Celebrate 50 Years
December 3, 2009
In December of 1959, June Cleaver was the perfect homemaker on the Leave It to Beaver television series. In Molino, a group of homemakers began to gather in December 1959 to learn more about becoming better homemakers. And the group they formed, the Molino Homemakers Club, is still going strong.
On Wednesday, members of the Molino Homemakers Club gathered to celebrate the club’s 50th anniversary.
“They saw a need for an organization to teach them, make them better homemakers and let them meet their neighbors,” current Molino Homemakers President Nancy Holland (pictured left) said. She was a young wife and mother of a newborn and an 18-month old when she joined the group in the early 1970’s. She and her husband had just moved to Molino, and she was looking to meet other women in the community and learn more about being a good homemaker.
There have been a lot of lessons learned and a lot of friends made during club meetings that focus on everything from canning, to cooking, to sewing to anything Martha Stewart. Often, generations of homemakers from a family have been members of the group.
Today, club members range in age from their 40’s to their 80’s. Young wives and young homemakers are conspicuously absent from the group. Holland admits that the June Cleaver traditional homemaker is a dying breed in today’s world.
“So many of the young women work now,” she said. “And those that aren’t working are busy with small kids and so much else. Maybe if we taught more microwave cooking…”
Wednesday’s 50th anniversary meeting started as all other meetings — not with the tap of a gavel, but with the tap of a large spoon.
After quick business meeting — including a reminder that dues of just $5 per year were to be paid in January – it was time for show and tell.
One member displayed a newly finished quilt for the other ladies. We won’t share her name because the quilt will be a Christmas gift, and we don’t want to spoil the surprise.
“I spent about seven hours working on that edge,” she said, admitting that she did stop a few times to see a couple of “important” things on television as she worked on the quilt.
Another member displayed a large cross stitch design that she had just finished. She explained that her design included cross, stem and back stitches. It’s a sewing art form that is becoming rarer today.
“You can’t hardly find the patterns any more in the stores,” she said. “They just quit carrying them.”
Following the show and tell session, the women of the Molino Homemakers Club held a cookie exchange. It’s simple concept — bake a few dozen cookies to share and go home with samples of each cookie baked by other members.
Sharing is, and always has been, part of the group, Holland said. “Club members are always here for each other.”
The Molino Homemakers Club started with a meeting in the home of Lillie Miller in December 1959, a meeting organized by Ethel Atkinson from the Escambia County Extension Service. Charter members included: Elsie Enfinger, Sara Gibbs Rikard, Margaret Helms, Mary Louise Lackey, Lillie Miller Stock, Olene Robinson, Rathma Saunders and Anne Vidak.
Sara Gibbs was elected president and meetings took place monthly in a member’s home. Miller and Vidak were hostesses of the first meeting. with Atkinson presenting a program each month. Just as today, lunch was prepared by the members and served after each meeting. The first December 1959 meal included potato salad, Waverly wafers, homemade pickles, wedding cookies and tea.
Each quarter, the club president and a delegate would attend a County Extension Council workshop and then return to the club to share the information. Countless projects and countless lessons were held over the five decades of the club. Club members would enter the results of their new found skills in the county fair — items like handmade quilts, crocheting, knitting, crafts and canning. Many ribbons and a little prize money would always return to the club from the fair.
Today, the 30 or so members of the Molino Homemakers Club has outgrown those home meetings, holding each monthly meeting on the first Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. at the Molino First Assembly Church. Two charter members, Sara Gibbs Rikard and Mary Louise Lackey, still attend club meetings.
“Though faces have changed, the Homemakers continue to enjoy the friendship, devotions, programs and always a good lunch following the meeting,” said club member Terri Brown. “Our purpose is to be an instrument to others for the art involved in learning crafts, homemaking skills, areas of concern within our community, the state and the world. We continue to share our talents and wisdom to the next generation of homemakers.”
Pictured top: Members of the Molino Homemakers Club: (top, L-R) Olene Carraway, Jana Peaden, Frances Cheney, Elizabeth Barlow, Barbara Jones, Carol Carter, Dot Halstead, (second row) Millie Brantley, Annie Smith, Mary Beauchamp, Shirley Clayton, Kelly Connell, Tara Turnipseed, Barbara Hendrix, Becky Dorch, (third row) Terri Brown, Mary Jernigan, Ann Philen, Melba Lamb, Ruth Miller, Carolyn Peterson, Penni Summers, (sitting) Mary Louise Lackey, Lucile Whitegon, Linda Cmehil, Elsie Perry and Nancy Holland. Pictured top inset: Club President Nancy Holland. Pictured middle inset: Olene Carraway picks the perfect cookies during the club’s cookie exchange. Pictured bottom inset: Cupcake pin cushions that were given to each member. Pictured below: Wednesday’s 50th anniversary meeting of the Molino Homemaker’s Club. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Christmas Parade This Saturday
December 1, 2009
The 7th Annual Molino Christmas Parade will be held this Saturday afternoon at 1:00 with a special guest from the North Pole.
The parade will begin again this year on Crabtree Church Road at Sunshine Hill Road and end 1.8 miles away at the Molino Ballpark.
After the parade, for all the good little boys and girls, Santa Claus himself will be on hand at the ballpark for a visit and Christmas gift wish lists. A meal including a hot Alabama Wing House barbecue sandwich, chips and a drink for $5 will be available at the Molino Ballpark after the parade. Bake sale goods will also be available
All funds raised from parade entry fees, the bake sale and the barbecue meals will benefit needy children in the Molino community, according to Sonja Luker, one of the parade organizers. The guidance counselor at Molino Park Elementary School will assist in choosing Molino area children in need of Christmas gifts.
If you or your organization would like to be in the parade, you can pre-register at Fran’s Diner, or register the day of the parade. Fees are $15 for a float or vehicle and $5 for each motorcycle, golf cart or horse. Four-wheelers and go-carts will not be allowed. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded for best float and best horse. Parade participants must line up by noon.
For more information, contact Sonja Luker at (850) 232-4973. Jayson Ging at (850) 587-2825 or Fran’s Diner at (850) 587-2803.
Donations such as toys and non-perishable foods can be dropped off at Fran’s Diner.
For more information and a parade entry form, clickh here.
Pictured: Scenes from the 2008 Molino Christmas Parade. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Keep The Wreath Fire Safety Campaign Begins
December 1, 2009
Two red bulbs were lit last year for residential fires in North Escambia as part of the Keep the Wreath Green safety awareness program.
Monday, Escambia County Fire-Rescue and the City of Pensacola Fire Department kicked off the 2009 “Keep the Wreath Green,” program designed to promote fire safety during the month of December. With this program, officials hope to reduce the number of fires during a time of serious fire danger with simple, life saving tips.
This year, the sixth year of the campaign, five-foot wreaths will be on display at 22 different locations throughout the holiday season. These sites are the Old Escambia County Courthouse on Palafox Place, the Public Safety Building on W Street, all 18 primary county fire stations, and two fire stations within the City of Pensacola. Every time firefighters respond to a residential fire a green light bulb will be replaced with a red one to remind citizens of the dangers posed by holiday decorations.
To help citizens stay safe and “keep the wreath green,” officials are providing a holiday safety tip for each day of the month; visit www.keepthewreathgreen.com for a complete list.
Last year, red bulbs were lit for two North Escambia fires:
On Sunday, December 14 a fire was reported in the 5800 block of Nokomis Road in Davisville. Upon arrival, firefighters found fire coming from the window at the end of a mobile home, moving down the hall toward the rest of the house. The fire was extinguished before any further damage was done to the home. The fire was caused by a child playing with matches and catching the bed on fire. There were no injuries.
Another fire was reported December 23 in 2200 block of Welcome Road, just south of Quintette Road. When firefighters arrived they found smoke coming from the home and a fire in one of the rooms. The fire was quickly extinguished, and the house sustained fire damage to one room and smoke damage throughout the rest of the home. There were no injuries.
Pictured above: The wreath at the Century fire station. Pictured below: A December 14, 2008, fire in Davisville. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
North Escambia Students Of The Month Named For November
November 30, 2009
Escambia County Students of the Month for November have been named by the Escambia Association for Administrators in Education. The awards are presented monthly to two students from participating schools.
The following students were named from North Escambia area schools:
- Bratt Elementary: Aiden S. Broadhead, PK; Ta’keyzha D. Johnson, fourth grade.
- Jim Allen Elementary: Deontrey A. Brown, third grade; Kayla A. Doten, third grade.
- Molino Park Elementary: Meredith F. Morgan, third grade; Leonard R. Solano, third grade.
- Ernest Ward Middle: Timothy M. Born, eighth grade; Jensyn L. Warner, sixth grade.
- Ransom Middle: Lauren A. Spencer, seventh grade; Chandler W. Cotton, seventh grade.
- Northview High: David A. Lambert, 11th grade; Holly N. Dickson, 10th grade.
- Tate High: Leslie A. Godwin, 12th grade; Dalton S. Campbell, 10th grade.
Pictured top: David Lambert and Holly Dickson, Northview High School’s Students of the Month for November. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Satsumas Available From Davisville Man’s Orchard
November 29, 2009
A local man is selling the fruits of his labor — satsumas from his orchard.
Jimmie Davis has 67 satsuma trees in his three-year old orchard in the Davisville community. Some of the individual trees are five or six years old. The satsumas, which are similar to a mandarin orange, are for sale.
To purchase the satsumas, call (850) 327-6711 or stop by 9941 Highway 97.
Pictured above: Jimmie Davis of Davisville with one of his satsuma trees. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cut Your Own: Local Christmas Tree Farm
November 27, 2009
Many area residents will enjoy Christmas tradition again this year with a fresh, locally grown Christmas tree.. The Country Pine Christmas Tree Farm near Bratt is now open daily until Christmas.
“You come here for the old time experience,” said farm owner Andy Bogdan. “This is so much more than just a plastic tree.”
Visitors to the Christmas tree farm stroll around the trees, which are located in an “L” shape field around a scenic pond with a fountain and ducks. Once the perfect tree is found, visitors can cut their own tree with a supplied saw, or have Bogdan cut it down.
The tree is then shaken to remove any loose needles (and bugs), then it’s ready to head home or it can be bagged for easier transport.
During the “experience”, visitors can also enjoy free cookies, apple juice, candy canes for the kids and lots of Christmas music. “The kids can run and play, and have the time of their lives looking for just the right tree,” Bogdan said.
Tree varieties include Virginia Pines, Leylend Cypress and Carolina Sapphires. If you have allergies, he said the Leylend Cypress is the perfect tree. It will not drop needles and has virtually no smell. The Carolina Sapphire has an intriguing aroma that is a mix of lemon, lime and mint. The Virginia Pine has that classic pine Christmas tree smell.
True fresh cut trees cut on the farm will last from before Thanksgiving until well after Christmas, Bogdan said.
Country Pine Christmas Tree Farm is one of the few remaining Christmas tree farms in Northwest Florida or South Alabama, and is the only one in the immediate area. There were a few more prior to hurricane Ivan and Dennis, Bogdan said, but most did not survive.
“You had the direct damage from the wind,” he said. “Then you have the delayed die back from damage to the trees. Exotic bugs and fungus that were not here before were blown in, and trees around here had no resistance.”
“”The trees have had good growth since the hurricane. An average seven or eight foot tall Christmas tree will grow from a seedling in about four years. “They grow much faster here in the South than they do up north,” he said.
With a little straightening and tender loving care, Bogdan’s trees post-hurricane are ready for a living room and a visit from Santa. Prices vary depending on the variety of tree and height.
Bogdan and his wife moved to the Davisville area from Miami after he retired from Eastern Airlines. He was looking for a little something to do in his retirement and settled on Christmas tree farmer over 10 years ago.
“I’d never farmed before, but ended up with a Christmas tree farm,” he said. “But it’s a nice business. It’s not like being a doctor or a lawyer where people you deal with are not happy. At a Christmas tree farm, everybody is happy when they come here.”
For more photos from the Christmas tree farm, click here.
The Country Pine Christmas Tree Farm is located at 5001 Still Road, just south of Highway 4. A map is at the bottom of this page. The farm is open 8 a.m. to dark daily. Trees range is size from table-top to 12 feet. (850) 327-4600.
Pictured top: A few of the trees at the Country Pine Christmas Tree Farm near Bratt. Pictured middle: At the Christmas tree farm, you can use one of their saws to cut your own tree. Pictured below: The Country Pine Christmas Tree Farm stand with tree accessories plus goodies like free apple juice, cookies and candy canes for the kids. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
