SONS OF DEWITT COLONY TEXAS
© 2000-2010, Wallace L. McKeehan, All Rights Reserved8
Lake Weir High Class
of 62---Index
Belleview Chronicles (1995)
(In 1995, Charles Pennington, Belleview resident and
Lake Weir High graduate of '67 wrote the following series of anecdotes concerning life in
Belleview in the '50's and '60's.
Provided by Richard Turek, '64, and reprinted by permission of the author, Charles
Pennington)
Watermelon Time in Dixie
| Lake Lillian | Doc Peterson's | Belleview's Pack Houses | Smith's Grocery Store
| Nothing to Do | The Frog Pond
Down on the Corner | Long Gone | Boy Scouts - The Early Days of Belleview Troop 167 | The Dump | Halloween Fun | Lake Weir Football
Be Thankful For... | Football
Revisited | School Patrol
 Belleview, FL 03 August, 1995
Watermelon Time In Dixie
I was born in Belleview in the summer of 1949. Back then Belleview was a small
agricultural community bearing little resemblance to the "strip mall" it has
become. We had packinghouses and a canning plant and most of the work at my Daddy's garage
was farm equipment. Sometime in the late spring Mr. Tony, the watermelon broker,
would come to the elementary school and recruit a couple of 6 to 7 year old boys as
watermelon labelers. This was a coveted job as it paid $1.00 a railroad car and on a good
day you might get to label as many as three cars. This was a small fortune in 1955 and
would enable you to treat all your friends at Doc. Peterson's soda fountain and still have
money left over. All this activity took place over by the old Ice Plant where there
was a sidetrack and a spur track. They would pack a car with 'melons and then our work
would begin. Our tools were a stack of gummed labels and a watermelon rind. We were small
enough that we could crawl around on the 'melons and not bruise them. We would take a
label, swipe it on the watermelon rind, and label every top 'melon in the car. The 'melons
were different then too, usually running 40 to 60 lbs. and a 100 lb. melon was an everyday
occurrence. Now most 'melons are in the 20 lb. range. It was exciting for a small
boy back then with the crews coming in with the trucks and the rail cars being packed.
Water was in mason jars and lunch was eaten under that great old oak they want to cut
down. We would label after school and all day Saturday and Sunday. Spirits were high and
you would usually see just about everybody in town there. Sometimes I stop there and gaze
off behind the old Ice Plant and I can almost see the rail cars and feel my hands still
sticky from a day of labeling. That's all I have to write about that.
 Belleview, FL 10, August, 1995
Lake Lillian
Lets talk about Lake Lillian. It seems to be a subject of debate these days so let me tell
you a little about it in the 50's and 60's. First of all the water was much clearer
back then. About like Lake Weir is now. And we all believed Lake Lillian was bottomless.
The story going around when we were kids was that a farmer was watering his sheep there
and somehow some fell in and were sucked under and later surfaced at Silver Springs. I
think adults started it just to keep us from swimming there and it worked. Somebody
usually got pushed in almost every day all us kids were there but they always scrambled
right back out. There were no ducks back then, probably due to the fact that we
always had at least one small 'gator in the lake. But we did have plenty of fish and
turtles. If you were under 14 years old you could fish there 2 weeks during the summer and
during Christmas vacation from school. Lots of local boys and girls fished there, usually
playing as much as fishing. There were many rods and poles that disappeared into the lake
when the "big one" hit and someone was off playing. The fishing was usually good
with lots of big bass caught each season. Catfish and bream were abundant too. One time
Fred Brown and I caught a wash tub full of catfish and thought that was just great until
Big Fred made us clean them all. Most of the rest of the year the lake was pretty
quiet. Sometimes on Sunday some of the big boys would play football there and us little
kids would hang around and watch. There were concrete shuffleboard courts there too but
nobody used them by the time I came along. There was a walking path then too. It ran
straight along the west side of the lake and was mostly used by the folks that lived on
Front Street to get to the drug and grocery stores. It was a well-worn path and it seems
odd to me not to see it there anymore. It is always there when I visualize the lake.
It's nice to see so many people use the park now. I'm personally not too crazy
about the ducks, but my grandchildren love them and I guess they are a novelty to children
who didn't grow up in a time when just about everybody had chickens and a duck or two.
It would be nice if the lake was clear again, it would also be nice if my hair
would grow back, but I guess the City Commission probably won't really be able to fix
either one of those problems. I guess I'll just have to learn to live with the green lake
too.
Belleview, FL 17 August, 1995
Doc Peterson's
I don't recall anybody ever calling it the drug store although that was what it was. I
guess that is one of the things that set small towns apart is that a lot of the businesses
are referred to by the owner's name. But Doc Peterson's was the drug store. It was located
on the south side of what is now Earth Science. The spot where the building was is now the
parking lot. Doc Peterson was the Pharmacist and owner. It had all the usual drug store
things, greeting cards, boxes of candy, home medical supplies, magazines and books. But it
had one thing that set it apart from other drug stores, a real soda fountain. It had
a counter and stools and a couple of tables over on the side. It served sodas, ice cream,
coffee, and Stewart Infra Red Sandwiches. These were ready-made sandwiches that were
heated up in toaster oven of sorts and for my money beat anything that you can zap at the
7-11 nowadays. You could get a cherry, vanilla, or chocolate coke for a nickel. Relax kids
it wasn't that easy to get a nickel back then. During the summer a kid who was away at
college usually got the "Soda Jerk" job. The one I remember most was John
McKeever who now is an attorney in Ocala. The best job in town for boys at that time
was sweeping up and mopping the floor at the drug store. Sometimes a boy would keep it for
a couple of years and the rest of us would come around every so often to put our bid in
for it. I had it for a year or so and best part was getting to charge at the soda
fountain. Doc was always cheerful and patient with us and encouraged us to excel in
school. My father’s garage was where Belleview Import Auto Repair is now so I
would usually go by there on my way home from school. Belleview Elementary was located
where City Hall is now so it wasn't far to go (If my kids are reading this it was 10 miles
in the snow). I would usually go to Doc Peterson's if I had a nickel and even if I didn't.
The comic book rack was in the corner and since I would be real quiet Doc would let me
hide behind it and read the comic books all afternoon for free. I don't know if he did
this to encourage me to read or if he knew we couldn't afford to buy them. In either case
he got me started reading and it has been a pleasure all my life. Thanks Doc!
Behind the drug store was Belleview Growers and Packers packing house so during the fruit
season there was a lot of activity around there. One of the rituals of manhood for my
buddies and I was to steal a grapefruit and see who could throw it all the way to the
sidewalk on the other side of the 4 lane. One day we were out front pitching grapefruit
and one smashed on the windshield of a Semi going by. The driver slammed on the brakes,
jumped out and chased us through the drug store. Thank goodness Doc Peterson saved us, but
he didn't let us forget it for a long time. I have a lot of good memories of Doc
Peterson's, reading comics, cherry cokes, and mopping the floor on Saturday evening.
Someday I think I'll go by Paul Anderson's fruit shop and get me a couple of grapefruit
and try to chunk'em across the 4 lane. If you see me out there stop and chunk one too.
Heck, I'm big enough to deal with them truck drivers by myself now.
 Belleview, Fl. 24 August, 1995
Belleview's Pack Houses
When I was growing up in Belleview we had two packinghouses and one canning plant. The
packinghouses were Abshire Packing and Belleview Growers and Packers. The canning plant
was Sunlite Products. The packinghouses were primarily for citrus fruit and the canning
plant was for tomatoes and peanuts. Vernon Abshire was the owner of Abshire Packing
and the building was located on the corner where the Dynasty Restaurant is now. Belleview
Growers and Packers were owned by Charles Freeman and Otis Knight and that building is
still standing behind Earth Science. Sunlite Products was located on Baseline Road and
what is left of that building is now a produce market. It was owned by Dan Wilkes.
The citrus packing houses usually operated all day and into the night during the season.
Fruit was brought in from the groves, which used to be all around us till the freezes of
the early 80's. At the packinghouses it was graded, washed, colored, (the buying public
wanted orange oranges) and waxed. It was then packed for shipping and loaded on trucks to
be delivered all over the United States. Any fruit that was deemed unacceptable was loaded
on the juice trucks and taken to the juice plants. You could buy locally grown fresh
squeezed orange juice in cone shaped paper containers at any number of places around town.
Now you get "Florida Squeezed" orange juice, which means it probably, came from
South America and was squeezed in Florida. Almost everyone in town worked at one of these
places at one time or another as they were usually short of help and would work their
schedule around whatever you normally were doing. I trucked fruit in both of these
packinghouses as a teenager and can remember my Grandmother grading at Abshire's. One good
thing about the fruit season was that it usually coincided with the Christmas holidays and
offered us a chance to earn a little extra money. I never worked at Sunlite Products but
my father built a lot of the machines that were used there. He also worked on the trucks
for the packing houses and I can remember the men that owned and ran these places pulling
up in our front yard to talk to Daddy at just about any time. Much like a lot of
agricultural businesses you had to "make hay while the sun shined", so there
were no normal hours for anybody. One thing that I remember about Sunlite besides
their great canned boiled peanuts was that the run off water from canning tomatoes ran
into the ditch between the railroad tracks and Baseline road. Sometimes it got pretty deep
and pungent with all that tomato water fermenting in the sun. Still now occasionally when
I drive by there I half expect to smell it. Of course nowadays everyone would be up in
arms if you did something like that, but it never seemed to do any real harm back then. Of
course back then people thought cigarettes wouldn't hurt you. Apparently some of these
same people still work for the tobacco companies if you've been watching the congressional
hearings. (Smokers I'm not on a soapbox here, smoke all you want, I don't care). We always
seemed to have plenty of what was in season around the house. I don't think it was just
our house, I think everybody kind of shared the extra bounty. As recently as 15 years ago
I can recall coming home to a box of fruit on the front steps or 4 or 5 watermelons piled
in the front yard with no idea where they came from. It still seems kind of strange to me
to actually buy watermelons or citrus fruit but that is about the only option we have
since the main thing we seem to produce around here anymore is more places for more people
to move in to. Oh well, enough of this, I think I'll go jump in the truck and see if I can
find an orange grove to remind me of how sweet orange blossoms smell.
 Belleview, Fl. 31 August, 1995
Smith's Grocery Store
Bruce Smith's grocery store was the one I remember as being the main one in town. Before
it I have vague memories of Hames Grocery on Front Street, but Smith's was the one I grew
up with. When I first remember it the store was located on the corner where the Gate
station is now. Later on it was moved to the new building where Discount Auto Parts was
until recently. It was pretty much just your regular grocery store except for the meat
market, and that part of the store was world class. When I was growing up in Belleview we
had a large Polish and Russian immigrant population. One of the things that Bruce made was
kielbasa sausage. He made fresh and smoked which he smoked in his own little smokehouse
out behind the store. I don't know where he got the recipe or if it was the cuts of meat
he used but I have never been able to find any that even comes close to his. When we were
kids going camping we all would go buy a couple of links of Bruce's smoked kielbasa and a
couple cans of beans and we could eat like kings. Bruce knew meat and never compromised
where his meat market was concerned. In my memories the first store on the corner
seems like an open-air market even though I'm sure it wasn't. The meat market was in the
back and was always spotless. Things were pretty easy going there, I remember when I was
about 10 I had a pet 'possum that used to ride around on my shoulder and on occasion I
would go by Smith's and Bruce would give me a scrap or two for my 'possum. One day I
happened to be walking by the meat counter with my 'possum on my shoulder when Bruce was
putting out a pan of fresh liver, I guess this was too much for the 'possum to resist
because he jumped right into the middle of all that liver. Needless to say that was the
end of my 'possum getting to go in the store. I worked for Bruce during high school
as a bag and stock boy. It was a great job for a kid, you usually got enough tips to buy
your snacks during the day and your pay would get you a new shirt or pair of Levis. One of
my favorite customers was Mr. Hugh Crowe, he and his wife shopped every Saturday and when
I would take his groceries out he would always tip me a dime and say "Here kid go buy
yourself a cigar". Another unique thing about Smith's was that when you killed
a deer you could take it to Bruce and he would put it in his cooler and later cut and wrap
it for you. I can't imagine hauling a deer to Winn Dixie or Publix in the back of my truck
these days. The folks that worked there were like family. Mrs. Law and Mrs. Kapicak
were the cashiers and general all around helpers. Bruce even loaned me the money to buy
the land that I still live on today. You would have a hard time finding a store like
Smith's or a man like Bruce anymore and I think we all are a little bit poorer for it. But
I'm proud to say I worked there and can call Bruce my friend and I think I can safely
speak for all of us that knew Bruce that he made our lives a little better.
 
[In addition to a great meat market, Smith's Grocery not infrequently
had a fresh fish section largely stocked by "donations" from local Belleview
fisherman who caught far more than they could eat during Crappie season from local lakes
and from forays to the West Coast for flounder, grouper and sheepshead--WLM]
[Jaybird Point on Smith Lake was not only the site of an occasional
"skinny dip"
hence its name, but the site of old time Baptist and Pentecostal baptisms--WLM] |
Belleview, Fl. 7 September,
1995
Nothing To Do
"There is nothing to do". Ah the summertime lament of the teenager. If you've
got any in your house you have probably heard this more than once. It sure makes me miss
the days when I could give them a spoon and let them go dig in the yard. I guess when we
were kids there was nothing to do also, but I'm going to list a few places we used to go
to. Jaybird Point- This was the closest place to Belleview to go swimming and was located
on the south side of Smith Lake. Just a little dirt road and a small beach. We swam there
lots of hot days and ate lots of burnt hot dogs. Now there is a mobile home community
there. Lion's Den on Lake Lillian- They used to show movies out back on Saturday
nights for the kids. I can remember buying candy out of one of the side windows that
served as a concession stand. American Legion Hall- Held dances on Saturday nights
for kids. Sometimes with records and sometimes with a live band. One of my favorites was
Ralph Wynn and the Wynn Jammers. Ralph still is playing around the area. Johnson's
Beach- Located in Ocklawaha, had swimming, quarter pool, tables, pinball machines and a
dance floor. On Saturday nights they always had a live band and kids from all over would
come there. Back then Ocklawaha was a family vacation spot. Now I would forbid my kids to
even go there. Eaton's Beach- Located on the Weirsdale side of the lake had
swimming, real pool tables (even a snooker table), and pinball. In the old days they even
had a bowling alley. My father was a pin boy there in 1925. Bob Hauser who was the owner
watched our progress at shooting pool and would slowly let you move up to the better
tables. The greatest honor was when you were finally allowed to shoot on Bob's
"private table". I can remember mild winter days when Bob would call me at home
and invite me over to shoot snooker with him on Sunday afternoon. I thought I was the most
privileged guy around. High School Sports- Football still gets a pretty good turn
out, but I am amazed at how few kids go to the basketball games. We only had 400 kids from
the 7th to the 12th grade at Lake Weir but it was always standing room only at the basketball games.
High School sports are still the best dollar value entertainment around. And the
concession stand is pretty good too. A much better value than the $5 I spent for cold
popcorn and a warm coke at the Dolphins- Bucs game the other night. Salt Springs, Juniper
Springs, and Alexander Springs- located in the forest these were usually family trips but
it always seemed magical when we went there. The water was so cold and clear and you
always saw wildlife on the drive to and from. Of course Salt Springs had plenty of
"wildlife" at the Juke on the weekends too.
Well. There is a short list for you. Most of these places are still around though some
have changed quite a bit. I still think there is plenty to do around here but maybe that's
because I'm a teenager a few times over now.
 
[Gator Joe's, named after the famous giant Lake Weir gator that gave away the Ma
Barker gang back in the '30's is on the site of Johnson's Beach, Ocklawaha of the
'60's. For the modern era, it serves very well done tasty and liberal portions of
classical Florida Cracker fare, all kinds of seafood, gator, froglegs, but disappointingly
no rattlesnake or moccasin--WLM]
Belleview, Fl. 14 September, 1995
The Frog Pond
When the main highway running through Belleview was widened to 4 lanes we acquired
something that had more interest to us kids and that was the storm sewer. Actually the
storm sewer wasn't that interesting but the catch basin that came to be known as the
"Frog Pond" was. The Frog Pond was located where the current sewer plant is now
and I guess a small part of it still exists. Back then it had a small hammock on the north
side and as hard as it may seem to envision now was a great place to fish and hunt. It was
sort of a kid's domain, we dug caves, made rafts, swam and camped out there. It was also a
great place to fish and gig frogs. I don't know how the fish got there after the rain
runoff filled it up. I guess local folks stocked it but they were there and that was all
that mattered to us. Unlike Lake Lillian you could fish there all year. Also the squirrel
and bird hunting was real good there. I guess now it would horrify people to see
kids walking around with loaded guns, but back then it was the normal thing. I had my
first automatic rifle at six and had been drilled in gun safety from as soon as I was old
enough to understand how dangerous guns were. I think a lot of the problems we have with
guns now stem from the fact that most of the adults, much less the children were never
taught proper gun safety and don't have the proper respect for what a weapon can do. (No
NRA stuff here, just attempts to explain the way things were.) My family enjoyed
many meals of fish, duck, squirrel, rabbit, quail and dove that came from back by the frog
pond. Oops, I left out frogs legs, are a delicacy. Even my own children would probably run
from the house screaming now if I were to offer up this fare for the evening meal, but
back then we looked forward to it. There were plenty of catfish, bream and bass in
the Frog Pond. We used to fish there almost daily and it seemed like all the different
groups of kids staked out their own territory. One time when the pond dried up Johnny
Wallace and I counted over a hundred large bass that had died. Also on the south side of
the Frog Pond was Cherry's horse farm. Mr. Cherry bred Shetland ponies and we used to
sneak over there and ride them from time to time. This was usually broken up when Mr.
Cherry or one of his hands would spot us and fire a shotgun up in the air. Then we would
all scramble back to neutral ground at the Frog Pond. It is amazing to me that the things
that seem so everyday and insignificant at the time become the stuff of our strongest
memories. To write an article about the Frog Pond probably is pretty stupid, but I know
for the kids that grew up and played around it this will jog some memories that are
reminiscent of Mark Twain stories. Oh well, I had a lot of fun in and around that 'ole mud
hole and I'm glad it was there for me.
Belleview, Fl. 21 September, 1995
Down On The Corner
When I was growing up the intersection of 484 and 441/27/301 was the center of
Belleview. Where the shopping center is now at that intersection was Gale's Trailer Park.
And in the northern corner of what is now the parking lot was the Variety Store and Walt's
BarberShop. The Variety Store was a small 5 and 10 cent store. Walt's BarberShop is still
there and still is being run by Walter Reaves. Back then and probably still today Walt was
cutting most of the heads in Belleview. Walt's was always a neat place for a boy to be, we
got to listen to jokes and Walt had a way of making you feel like you belonged there. I
remember when Hubert Oliver was working with Walt he was playing fast pitch softball also.
Now Hubert could throw a softball faster than most people could throw a hardball, so when
any of us boys showed up Hubert would get us to catch a few. Hubert could go through a lot
of boys in a day because none of us could stand to catch more than a few of his pitches.
In the building where Big A auto parts is now was Ed and Walts Bar. It was a
neighborhood bar run by Ed and Walt Lazur. It was a really nice place, always clean and
neat inside. I can remember going in and ordering a cocktail when I was a kid, I always
got the same thing, ginger ale with a cherry in it. Nobody thought anything about it then.
Of course I think my folks were doing their part to help pay the mortgage. Over by Walt's
was a light pole and every so often on Saturday you would see a mule tied up there. That
meant that Uncle Nick Brown had come to town. Uncle Nick lived where the new Belleview
Middle School is now and would ride his mule to town if he decided to visit Ed and Walts.
It didn't matter how much Uncle Nick had to drink all he had to do was get on that mule
and it would take him home. Personally, I think Uncle Nick was on to something. I
certainly would be happy to see mules tied up to light poles in a lot of places around
Belleview now. Another unique thing to that corner was the albino squirrels. There were
always a few of them out playing in the trailer park and neighborhood. I don't know how
they got there but they were there as long as I can remember. Maybe they are still around
and I'm just not around as much to spot them. They were always a bright spot in the day
and were something of interest to show folks who came to visit. Later on Mr. Gale
built the shopping center there and the Thriftway became Belleview's first "Super
Market". Walt's located in the shopping center and is still there today. I hope Walt
lives to be at least a 150 years old because I find it kind of comforting for him to still
be there. I would also like to see a resurgence of albino squirrels and mules tied to
light poles but I'm sure these new folks that run the city would have none of that.
Oh well, my wife says I'm just getting old and cranky, she might be on to something too.
Belleview, Fl. 28 September, 1995
Long Gone
Here is a short list of things that you don't see or do around Belleview any
more, some I miss and some I don't.
Going to town--- This always meant Ocala. It seemed like such a long way to go back then.
My Mother and her sisters would plan their week around a trip to town so they could all go
in one car. Now I commute to Tallahassee one day a week and think nothing of it.
Migrant Labor Buses--- They used to follow the crops and would pass through town a couple
of times a year. 25 to 30 people crammed on an old school bus. They traveled in it and
lived in it at the farm. Bless their hearts, they had a rough life.
Hagin the pea man--- Mr. Hagin would come up in your front yard yelling "Pea
man" so you would know who it was. He always had a big burlap sack full of shelled
peas and sold them by the coffee can full. My Mother would always drop what she was doing
to buy some peas from Mr. Hagin. I know I ate a couple of them burlap sacks full over the
years.
Nugie, Frances, and Willie Mae--- These three black women were sisters who were part of
just about everybody in towns' household at one time or another. They did housework and
cared for children and the sick. They could walk right in and take over the running of the
household as if they had just left yesterday. And if you came home and one of them was
there you didn't think anything about it. They were that much a part of our lives back
then. Even when I grew up, if I ran into one of them I still got a hug and a kiss and they
would announce to all present "This is one of my babies". They were fine women
and I sure am proud to be one of "their babies".
Belleview, Fl. 5 October, 1995
Boy Scouts - The Early Days of Belleview Troop 167
The Boy Scouts was something I just couldn't wait to get old enough to get into
when I was a kid. Besides baseball it was about the only organized activity for boys back
then. Now Troop 167 is a first class troop thanks to Frank Almeida who has been The
Scoutmaster for years, but back then we were a rag tag bunch of kids but we had a lot of
fun. We used to meet at The Scout Hut, which is now the main building at Cherokee Park. We
were just local kids and I guess by today's standards we would be considered a pretty
shabby bunch. Once when we had a troop Inspection I was the only scout that got 100%. That
was because I was the only scout with a complete uniform. It was a good thing my cousin
Gene Goolsby was sick because I got to wear his pants. All I had of a uniform was the
shirt and neckerchief. We had two Scoutmasters while I was in the troop, Art Muniz
(Bob's father), a giant of a man, who was so strong that when we went swimming he would
stand knee deep in the water and take the whole troop on. We never could get him down; he
would just toss us around like we were nothing. The other one was Mike Milligan, he was
the husband of Blanche Milligan who was the sixth grade teacher at Belleview School. Both
these guys were great to us, and now in retrospect I admire them even more for just
putting up with us. Camping was big thing for us to do back then even if it wasn't a scout
trip. We camped all the time. One place we camped a lot was where Cherokee Park is now. I
know it is hard to believe, but there wasn't much there back then. We also camped out at
Mr. Milligan's farm near Pedro. He had a pond outback with a Chickee (Seminole Indian hut)
built beside it and would take us there regularly. Usually he would hang around the
campfire in the evening and tell us a story or two and then go on back to the house till
morning. Then we would run wild until we all fell asleep. If we got too loud he would
comeback and take the perpetrators in his Jeep to Crum Cemetery and put us out and make us
walk back to camp. That usually took all the vinegar out of us for that night. Once my
"buddies" talked me in to letting them see if they could pull me up in the air
inside this parachute they had hung from a high tree limb. It seemed like fun until they
left me up there all night. The pond had lots of fish and frogs in it. Mrs. Milligan
would give us straight pins to bend into hooks and twine for line and we would catch our
supper. It also had a raft and was great for swimming. One winter we were camping out
there and we had a warm spell so we decided to go skinny-dipping. John Tahlier was the
first in and said the water was just great, so the rest of us jumped in all at once. It
was like jumping into a block of ice it was so cold. Our first instinct was to kill John
who was laughing at his joke, but before we could catch him or get out of the water Mrs.
Milligan drove up. Now we were trapped, none of us was going to get out of the water naked
in front of a teacher. I'm pretty sure Mrs. Milligan knew what was going on because she
visited with us for what seemed like an eternity. When she finally left and we scrambled
out for the campfire even our butts were blue. When we were kids here we rambled in
the woods and fields all around this area. We knew all the caves and neat places. It was
Huck Finn days back then. I wish I could have taken my sons back in time and given them
that part of my childhood. Probably they will miss the Belleview they grew up in also and
want to give it to my grandsons. I guess that's what storytelling is all about.
Belleview, Fl. 12 October, 1995
The Dump
I have been out of town a lot this week and have run up on that old"
deadline" that Bob Muniz was talking about the other week. So I'm going to write a
short column this week. The subject I have chosen is the dump. I know that a lot of
you spend time at the baseball complex these warm evenings. But I wonder if many of you
know that it is the site of the old city dump. When we were growing up that was where
everyone dumped their household trash and what has now come to be known as "hazardous
waste". Boy life was much easier then, it didn't matter what the by-product of what
ever you were doing was, and you could leave it at the city dump. Of course it might not
stay there as it was legal to scavenge in the dump back then and there was usually someone
there who might ask "Are you gonna throw that away?" Sometimes they might even
help you unload it. My father would let me drive the car the back way from our home
by what is now Belleview Elementary to the city dump. At first I would have to sit on his
lap, but by the time I was 10 or 11 I could reach the pedals and he started letting me
drive there by myself. Pretty good way to get an 11-year-old to take out the garbage.
There were always lots of stray cats at the dump and I can remember that if you
wanted a kitten it was a good place to get one. After they got a little older they were
too wild to catch. I wonder when the switch from cats to seagulls at the dump took place.
Are the cats like the wolves unable to tolerate civilization only to be replaced by
seagulls as the coyote has replaced the wolves? Anyway, I don't remember the seagulls ever
being at the dump. As a native of both Belleview and Florida I'm starting to feel more
like a dump cat every day. Thanks to Louise and Don Deegan for the look at the great
old photo album of Belleview and the memories we shared. I need all the help I can get
recalling the old days and they were very helpful.
Belleview, Fl. 19 October, 1995
Halloween Fun
Well, here we go. I guess it's about time to talk about something controversial.
I'm going to write about Halloween. It seems to me that today sometimes we give a
little too much importance to some fairly simple things. I'm not gonna focus on the good
and bad of Halloween. The things that make me for it, are the little kids. They only see
it as an opportunity to wear a costume and get a bag full of free candy. The
Halloween Carnival at Belleview School was a big event when I was growing up. We would
show up at the school first thing in the morning and wait for the first truck load of
field crates (boxes used to bring oranges in from the groves) to arrive. We would help
unload them and set them up as the foundation for the different booths. The fishpond and
the dart toss were big favorites of mine. We would spend the day helping set it up and
then rush home to dress up for it. We didn't have many store bought costumes back then so
we always had an abundance of hobo's. The costume usually consisted of your play
clothes, a stick with a neckerchief full of rags tied to it, and a dirty face (not much of
a stretch for most of us). Ghosts were pretty easy too if you could get that sheet
out of the house without your mother catching you. They would have lots of little prizes
to win and we all went home with a pocket full of them. Remember those Chinese
handcuffs? Those little woven things that you could stick your fingers in but got tighter
when you tried to pull them out. The first time I saw them that was the only prize I
wanted to win. I wonder what happened to them. Probably the Consumer Products Safety
commission determined that if you put your fingers in them and pulled them tight for four
hours your fingers would turn red. Usually the Halloween Carnival (now called the
Fall Carnival for reasons of political correctness I assume) wasn't held on Halloween
night so we still got to do some trick or treating. There weren't that many houses to go
to back then so it didn't take too long. That way we had time for 50's style tricks.
We soaped windows, strung toilet paper, squirted shaving cream on street signs and stuffed
potatoes in exhaust pipes of cars. The bigger guys always came up with something good,
there was usually somebody's old outhouse sitting on the front lawn of the school the next
morning, and one-year they even got a small cow on the roof. Never did figure out how they
did that one. When we lived in Coral Ridge in the late 70's one of us would have to
stand at the door handling out candy from dusk 'til around eleven. The line of kids never
stopped. I think some of the parents got as big a kick out of it as the kids did. I know I
always enjoyed raiding my kid's bags, and for once they had enough candy that they didn't
mind. I guess my point is to lighten up a little, buy a big bag of candy and turn
the porch light on. Give yourself over to the moment. When those little ghosts and goblins
come giggling up your driveway make a big deal over their costumes and load'em up with
candy. If you have any heart at all I guarantee you will have just as much fun as they do.
Belleview, Fl. 26 October, 1995
Lake Weir Football
Lake Weir High School was much smaller when I played football there. Lake
Weir only had about 400 students then and since we had no middle school that was from the
7th to the 12th grades. Most of us started playing JV football in the 7th grade and
stayed with it right up till we graduated. Even though we had a lot less students
then we still had more boys going out for football than Lake Weir does today. Lake
Weir High was the only high school in south Marion County and took students from
Belleview, Summerfield, Ocklawaha, and Weirsdale elementary schools. Usually you went to
school with the same kids until the 6th grade. Then you got to know the other kids
from around our end of the county. Since we usually competed against each other in Little
League Baseball this was the first time that people from all around south Marion all
supported the same team at a sporting event. We didn't have a field house back then
so we had to dress out in the locker rooms under the gym. The football field was out
behind the school and if you got there early enough you could pull right up to the fence
and watch the game from your car or truck. We would start practice in August with
our first practice at 7:30 in the morning. I can remember me and a bunch of my buddies all
going in the same car with "House of the Rising Sun" blaring on the radio. We
would practice a couple of hours and then come back that evening and do it again.
This was during the Vietnam war and we would usually have a couple of guys who were going
in the military working out with us during the pre-season so they could be better prepared
for boot camp. We didn't have a weight room or any of that stuff. And we still managed to
lose most of our games just like today's team (apologies to my former teammates - I was
gonna say we won them all but I knew somebody would remember). Once when we played
Williston we even had to play barefoot because they didn't have enough shoes to go around.
We not only beat them for our only win that season but we got to feel superior because we
had shoes. We all loved playing football. We had to because there sure wasn't much
glory in it for us. I remember once a fan told me that for every game we won for the rest
of the season he would give me a case of beer. I know we were too young to have beer
and I think he knew how safe a promise that was. I still love going to the high
school football games. Sometimes I sit in the stands and pretend it is us out there. Then
I come back to earth and remember that my left knee is now held together with bailing wire
and my old football coach is in prison for drug smuggling. Boy, how things change.
Belleview, FL November 2, 1995
Be Thankful For...
By the time this is published it will almost be Thanksgiving. I thought
that I might list a few things to be thankful for around Belleview. Be thankful for
seeing a familiar face when you are in town. It is always a pleasant surprise to see
someone else who actually grew up here. Be thankful that the City Commission hasn't
decided that filling in and paving Lake Lillian is a good idea. They would have it done
before you could make two laps around the track. Be thankful for Tammy Kersey. A
lone voice of reason crying in the wilderness. Be thankful for the knowledge that
most of the people living in Belleview are really levelheaded, nice folks. Be
thankful for lower humidity. This should be self-explanatory. Be thankful Steve Ladd
hasn't called you a bad name. Although I personally would like to give Steve permission to
call me anything, anytime he feels like it. I will take it like a man and expect the same
from him. Be thankful for all the drive through windows at the fast food places. I
think I prefer to have my children sitting behind me when I eat. It kind of spoils my
appetite to have to look them in the face and talk to them during dinner. Be
thankful that Don Milton is not on your case this week. Otherwise everyone will know about
that bad conduct grade you got in Jr. High and the time you threw up on your date when you
were 17. Be thankful that most of this column is tongue-in-cheek. You can sort out
what is and isn't. Be thankful you live in Belleview and all we have to gripe about
isn't that momentous or life threatening. As my father used to say, "If you
laugh at yourself first, it takes all the fun out of it for everybody else."
Happy Thanksgiving!
Belleview, FL November 9, 1995
Roadside Attractions
One of the things that seems to have faded away in the last twenty years are
roadside attractions. Now we only have the giant tourist attractions but back when I
was growing up just about anybody could go after that tourist dollar. We always had
Silver Springs though it has seen some changes too. We also had Rainbow Springs, which I
believe the state just bought. We also had Six Gun Territory, which was a full size
western town where I worked as a gunfighter for a couple of years. Six Gun has been
torn down now so about the only thing left of it is Six Gun Plaza, a shopping center that
was built on the site. Ocala Caverns was a neat spot when I was a kid. It is still
there but nobody does anything with it. It was a big sinkhole and garden with a couple of
caves and a really neat underground spring. Halfway to Ocala was John Hamlin's Birds
of Prey. This was a tourist attraction that centered around all kinds of exotic birds.
Later on it became Florida Adventure Land, a really cheezy place that boasted Big Sam, the
worlds largest bull. Sam was actually an ox, but he was still pretty big. Across the
street where Tri-City Aluminum used to be was Atkinson's. It sold all kinds of tourist
stuff and boasted King George, the worlds largest alligator. Now old George was pretty
big. He might have been the largest at that time. I worked there as a kid pumping
gas and taking care of King George and the baby alligators (caimans) that we sold. We kept
him full of mullet so he was pretty docile most of the time. We also had a huge alligator
snapping turtle in that pen too. One night old George must have been pretty hungry or in a
bad mood because when we came in the next morning George had killed and eaten the turtle.
This was quite a feat considering that turtle was about 3 feet across his shell. But
my favorite tourist scam of all was the place north of Orange Lake that in addition to
citrus fruit invited you to come in and see the Red Bats. When you got there they had a
case in back that displayed two baseball bats that had been painted red. I've been
scouting around for something big to attract tourists to our area. If ya'll come up with
anything I sure could use some help. I thought I had found the Worlds Biggest Gopher Hole
but then a couple of days later I saw a dirt hauling truck pull out of there. I had
a couple of other suggestions from some local folks as to some other "Worlds
Biggest" ideas, but I told them that nobody had to drive very far to see big dummies
anymore.
Belleview, FL November 16, 1995
Football Revisited
I just finished reading Coach Hughes letter to the editor and I think that I
should offer an apology to him and the team for any insult they may have perceived.
Actually the line that so offended him contained a typo and should have read
"teams". The intended point of my article was to show how Lake Weir
football united our communities for the first time. We had all been pretty isolated from
each other in those days. For a high school to be built in South Marion meant that we
would all pull together for a change. I am proud of my ties to Lake Weir and the
area. My father was in the first graduating class at Weirsdale School. I am a
graduate of Lake Weir and I have raised five more graduates of Lake Weir. We are a
Hurricane family. I lettered three years in football and track. In my junior year I
injured my knee in football and finished it off pole vaulting. You will never know the
feeling I had when I had to stand on the sidelines my senior year and watch the team take
the field for the first time without me. I had been there every year since the
seventh grade. It was a great surprise to me when I was awarded my senior letter for
"spiritual support of athletics". Another point I was trying to make was
that we had a much smaller group of kids to draw from and still had a good turnout. So
many boys start out in JV and then get discouraged and leave because it seems like so much
work for so little reward. But if they would just hang in there they would see that
the work is all worth it and it is the team and the love of the game that are the rewards.
It really didn't matter if we had a winning season; we just wanted to play football.
I must admit that I did not know that Lake Weir was having a winning season. I
began work for a new company this year and have had to travel a lot. Most Fridays I am
lucky to even get home at a reasonable time.
It also might have to do with the fact that for the first time in fifteen years I don't
have a child attending Lake Weir. Though as I mentioned in one of my earlier articles I
still think that high school athletics are the best entertainment for your dollar.
In closing I would like to say that I congratulate the Hurricanes on a winning season. I
know first hand how tough that has been for them. I also was a bit surprised that
anybody paid any attention to my column. I assumed the rest of the world was sort of like
my kids and pretty much ignored anything I had to say.
Charles Pennington - Lake Weir High Class of '67.
(I will be out of town for the next couple of weeks and may not be able to submit my
column. But I should be writing again before Christmas. I know this isn't earth-shattering
news and that most folks will have the same reaction my youngest had. Big Deal! Have a
Happy Thanksgiving.)
 Belleview, FL November 23, 1995
School Patrol
This year the School Safety Patrol celebrates its 75th anniversary. The School
Safety Patrol started in Michigan in 1920 and almost immediately became affiliated with
the American Automobile Association. It quickly spread nationwide with the help of
AAA who supplied the belts, badges, training, and programs needed for a School Safety
Patrol. I can remember how proud I was when I was chosen as a Sergeant in Belleview
School Safety Patrol. I even wore that belt and badge around the house when I was home.
We would help Police Chief Joe Smith with the school crossing and we would also
monitor the halls to make sure no one was running or rough housing inside the building. We
would show up early and stay a little late to perform our duties. It not only
promoted safety but it also taught leadership and responsibility. Thanks to the
School Safety Patrol, the national pedestrian death rate per 100,000 children ages 5 - 14
has dropped from 10.4 in 1935 (the first year records were kept) to 3.0 in 1986. By 1993,
the rate under age 10 was 1.4, down 65% from 1965. Pretty impressive figures when you
consider that children are largely responsible for this. Every time I drive by a
school crossing and see a Safety Patrol member standing there I feel a certain kinship
with them. I am sure they wonder why this old guy is smiling and waving at them.
This might be a good time for you to do the same. They are doing a great job and get very
little recognition for it. And remember, only cross with the light and NO RUNNING!
(Thanks to Mrs. Milligan for suggesting this column.)
(Photo: Belleview Safety Patrol in the '50's; courtesy of Richard Turek)
Additional links to the area:
Capsule History of
Belleview by Vince Murray
SONS OF DEWITT COLONY TEXAS
© 2000-2010 Wallace L.
McKeehan, All Rights Reserved
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