Escambia 4-H Members Join 750 More In Green For 4-H Day In Tallahassee
February 23, 2018
About 800 members attended 4-H Day at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee Thursday, including over 60 youth from Escambia County.
4-H Day Day at the Capitol is a unique day where the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee is overrunning with a sea of 4-H green. The youth were able to learn about their state government and experience the political process first hand. Throughout the day, 4-H members heard from public officials, participated in educational workshops, and watched their legislators in action.P
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Molino Museum Exhibit Features Midwife Bama Holley
February 23, 2018
The Molino Mid-County Historical Society is presenting an exhibit for Black History Month that features Missouria “Bama” Holley, a well loved and locally well known midwife. She delivered numerous babies in the Molino and North Escambia area from the 1920’s to the 1950’s.
Very little information has been found about Bama, mostly memories and stories which have been passed down through the generations.
Bama was born three days before Christmas 1877 in Alabama to parents that were likely slaves. She moved to Barth sometime shortly after the turn of the century. She married Aaron and continued to live with her three daughters in Barth. Census records from 1920 show her to be a 31-year old midwife, and her husband Aaron a 29-year old carpenter. In 1920 her daughters, considered to be Aaron’s stepdaughters, were listed as Janie M. Turner, 11, Elizabeth Turner, 5 and Mary Turner, 19. It is not known if the children were adopted or Bama’s children by a previous marriage.
By 1930, daughter Janie M. Turner had married to a Straughn in Molino. Janie died in 1943.
Bama was central figure in Barth, Molino, Cantonment and surrounding areas in North Escambia. She helped bring hundreds of children, both black and white, into the world, including the late Lillan Fillingim King. The museum housing the Bama Holley exhibit bears King’s name.
Bama died February 13, 1970, after a brief illness and is buried in Barth in the White Lily Baptist Church Cemetery.
The Bama Holley exhibit will be on display through February at the Lillian F. King Museum in the Molino Community Center, 6450 Highway 95A North. Museum hours are: 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and is open every day except Wednesday, Sunday and holidays. For more information, call (850) 587-2011. Admission is free.
Pictured (top row) Jeanette Ward Parker, midwife Bama Holley holding baby Charles Ward, Almedia Ward, (middle row) Jean Parker, Ida Parker, Jessie Ward, Jr. (bottom row) Doug Parker, Jacob O. Parker, Jr., Bessie Ward and Annie Ward in an undated photograph. Pictured below: The Bama Holley exhibit in the Lillian F. King Museum in the Molino Community Center. Pictured bottom: Bama Holley’s obituary. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Local Students Visit Tallahassee On Annual Youth Tour
February 22, 2018
Ten high school juniors from the Escambia River Electric Cooperative service area recently took part in the annual Tallahassee Youth Tour to learn more about their state legislature and electric cooperatives.
Participants included Gabby Chavers, Lane Hoffman and Logan Hoffman from Central High School; Emily Brown, Alyssa Chavis, Bryce Cook, Jared Damron, Maci Holt and McKayla Hoomes from Jay High School; and Lydia Smith from Northview High School.
While in Tallahassee, the students met with other high school juniors from electric cooperatives throughout the state. Approximately 120 students participated in this year’s Youth Tour event.
EREC delegates toured the Governor’s Mansion and visited the Florida State High Magnetic Field Laboratory Tour. Students participated in a mock session in the House of Representatives and an Educational Court Session in the Supreme Court.
Pictured top: 2018 EREC Youth Tour participants Logan Hoffman, Jared Damron, Lane Hoffman, Bryce Cook, Emily Brown, Alyssa Chavis, Gabby Chavers, Lydia Smith, McKayla Hoomes and Maci Holt.
Northview Celebrates National FFA Week With Breakfast
February 21, 2018
FFA members at Northview High School are celebrating National FFA Week with a variety of events.
Tuesday morning, the FFA officers and members prepared a homestyle breakfast for teachers, staff and invited guests that support the FFA program. Northview’s FFA program has been recognized as one of the top chapters in both the state and the nation.
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Tate High Marks National FFA Week By Hosting Breakfast
February 20, 2018
It’s National FFA week, and Monday morning member of the Tate High School FFA served breakfast to faculty and staff members.
National FFA Week is a time for FFA members to host activities that raise awareness about the role the National FFA Organization plays in the development of agriculture’s future leaders and the importance of agricultural education.
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Camp Fire Kids Celebrate 100th Day Of VPK
February 18, 2018
Students at the Camp Fire Youth Learning Center in Century recently celebrated the 100th day of this years VPK program. Courtesy photos for NorthEcambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: February Tips
February 18, 2018
Here are gardening tips for the month of February from your local Extension Service:
Flowers
- Re-fertilize cool season flowerbeds, using a liquid or granular form of fertilizer. Be careful not to apply excessive amounts and keep granules away from the base of stems.
- Prepare flowerbeds for spring planting by adding and incorporating soil amendments like mushroom compost, manure or homemade compost. Till or spade the bed to incorporate the amendments with the existing soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Allow the prepared bed to lie undisturbed for 3 to 4 weeks before planting. This provides time for some important biological activity to take place, and new plants are less likely to suffer from stem and root rots as a result. Have a soil test done. Sometimes lime is needed. However, a lime application should be made only if the need is revealed by the test.
- Replenish mulch in flowerbeds.
- Prune rose bushes.
Trees and Shrubs
- February is possible the best month for rejuvenation of old, overgrown shrubs. When pruned now, plants have an entire growing season to recover.
- Prune summer flowering deciduous shrubs such as Althea and Hibiscus. Since they flower on current season’s growth, flowering can actually be enhanced by proper pruning
- Do NOT prune the spring flowering shrubs yet. Azaleas, Spiraeas and Forsythia flower during early spring because buds were formed last summer and fall. Pruning in February would therefore remove most of the flower buds.
- Cold damaged trees and shrubs should NOT be pruned until new growth appears. You want to preserve as much healthy plant material as possible.
- Replenish mulch in shrub beds
- Finish planting ornamental and fruit trees.
Fruits and Nuts
- Fertilize established pecan trees. Use a “special pecan fertilizer” that contains zinc. Use 2 lbs. for every year of age of the tree up to a maximum of 55 lbs. Broadcast the fertilizer evenly beneath the tree.
- Fertilize established peach, plum, pear, persimmon, apple and fig. Apply about 1 ½ lbs of a 10-10-10 (or similar) fertilizer for each year of age of the tree until a maximum of 10 to 15 lbs. per tree is reached.
- Blueberries are very sensitive to nitrogen and can be killed easily, particularly when they are young. Fertilize only if your goal is to increase yield or berry size. An annual application of 2 ounces of a special “azalea/camellia” or “special blueberry” type fertilizer per plant in February is ample fertilizer on 2-year-old plants.
- Prune muscadine grapes between mid-February to mid-March. A standard method is to allow 2 to 4 node spurs spaced every 6 inches of cordon. You may notice that pruning cuts bleed, but there is no evidence that this is injurious to the vine.
- Grapes (bunch and muscadine) should be fertilized at the rate of 1 ½ lbs of 10-10-10 for each year of age with a maximum of 5 lbs per plant applied in late February.
- Last call for planting fruit trees! Most fruit trees such as pecans, plums, persimmons, figs, peaches and nectarines are shipped bare roots and should be planted during the dormant season.
- Apply a spray containing horticultural oils emulsion to dormant fruit trees and ornamental shrubs. Follow label directions carefully.
Vegetable Garden
- Several winter vegetables can still be successfully grown by starting them this month. Plant beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, collards, endive/escarole, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard, parsley, English peas, radish and turnips.
- Plant Irish potatoes. Purchase certified seed potatoes rather than using the grocery store kinds. Use 2-ounce seed pieces with eyes and plant them 3 to 4 inches deep.
- Prepare spring vegetable and herb beds for planting by adding and incorporating soil amendments like mushroom compost, manure or homemade compost. Wait 3 to 4 weeks before planting.
Lawns
- Hold off on fertilizing the lawn. It is still too early for an application of nitrogen containing product. Cold temperatures and lack of plant response would likely result in wasted fertilizer. However, your winter weeds would benefit greatly.
Bratt Elementary Dedicates Little Free Library In Century
February 16, 2018
Bratt Elementary School dedicated their second community Little Free Library in Century Thursday afternoon, two years to the date that an EF-3 tornado ravaged Century.
The Little Free Library is located on the lawn of Escambia Community Clinics Century Pediatrics and Pediatric Dental Clinic on Church Street.
In an effort to promote literacy, Bratt Elementary collected over 500 children’s books to stock new Little Free Libraries in Century and Bratt.
The Little Free Library concept is simple — anyone from the community may borrow a book or keep a book or add a book to the library. Anyone taking a book or two from library does not need to return that exact book, and there are no due dates. The library is currently supplied with mostly children’s books, but donations of more books for adults would be greatly appreciated.
Bratt students also dedicated a Little Free Library on Wednesday at the Travis Nelson Park in Bratt. Both libraries are open sunrise to sunset daily.
To read more about the Bratt Little Free Library, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
Century Celebrates Tornado Recovery With Tree Giveaway
February 16, 2018
Thursday, Cqentury celebrated their recovery progress following and EF-3 tornado two years ago with a tree giveaway.
The storm tore through the town with winds of up to 152 mph, damaging or destroying over 100 homes and businesses on February 15, 2016.
The Florida Forest Service made free one gallon potted shumard oak, river birch and fringe trees available to area residents.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bratt Elementary Students Open Little Free Library In Travis Nelson Park
February 15, 2018
A Little Free Library was dedicated Wednesday at the Travis Nelson Park on West Highway 4 in Bratt, thanks to the hard work of students from Bratt Elementary School.
The Little Free Library concept is simple — anyone from the community may borrow a book or keep a book or add a book to the library. Anyone taking a book or two from library does not need to return that exact book, and there are no due dates. The library is currently supplied with mostly children’s books, but donations of more books for adults would be greatly appreciated. The library is open park hours — sunrise to sunset daily.
Bratt students collected over 500 blocks for the new Little Free Library in Bratt and an a second Little Free Library in Century that will that opens Thursday.
Bratt Elementary worked on the community service project for over a year after educators took note of students entering school with lower than expected skills.
“Often students do not have a large bank of words to speak and they have a limited understanding of words that are spoken to them. Bratt Elementary decided if the homes had more books, the students would increase their word bank for both speaking and understanding. When asked, many students stated they have no books at home to read. The idea to collect books and have a free community little library was born,” said Sheila Bryan, guidance counselor at Bratt.
During ‘Red Ribbon Week’ students were encouraged to focus on doing something good instead of only focusing on not doing drugs. The community little library project was introduced and students began donating books. It was amazing to see the students willingly giving away their books to benefit their community,” she added.
Looks for an upcoming story on NorthEscambia.com with details about the new Little Free Library in Century.
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