st. marks stone crab festival 2010

THE WAKULLA NEWS, Thursday, October 15, 2009

InsIde • A message from the Mayor 2S• Canoe and Kayak our Rivers 5S• A Manatee story 7S• Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The

NewsWakulla

Special Section Produced

by

S – The Wakulla News Stone Crab Festival Thursday, October 15, 2009

Dear friends, neighbors and visitors:As mayor of St. Marks and on behalf of

the other city commissioners and city man-ager, I want to invite you to join us for the St. Marks Stone Crab Festival to be held on Saturday, Oct. 24. This event, which has been held annually for more than 10 years, has just recently been organized into a non-profit corporation whose goal is to promote the history and natural resources of our area as well as promote the succulent stone crab.

The citizens of this community have worked hard to make this festival one of enjoyment for you, your families and your friends as well as to celebrate the beginning of our wonderful stone crab season which runs from now through May 15.

Several of our local crabbers venture out into the bay early in the mornings, many of which are cold and damp, to catch the crabs that you may enjoy now and in the months ahead. Once they arrive at the docks, they are steamed and sold ready to eat.

We hope you will have a great time at our festival and will come back and visit us again soon. We have much to offer – eat in our local restaurants, visit the historical Fort San Marcos de Apalache, fish and boat in our rivers, ride our bike trail and enjoy our two riverside parks – one on the St. Marks River and the other on the Wakulla River. Spend some time here and you will see why so many of us have chosen this as our choice for a place to live!

Welcome to the 2009 St. Marks Stone Crab Festival

Shields, City Manager Zoe Mansfield

Wakulla River view from Fort San Marcos de Apalache.

Sustaining Sponsors

In-Kind SponsorsCollosal

Wakulla County Tourist Development Council

JumboCoca-Cola of Tallahassee

Cone DistributorsJoseph E. Morgan Electrical Contractor

Marpan Supply & Recycling-Kim WilliamsPelican Properties of St. Marks/Buck Mitchell

Refreshment Services PepsiShell Island Fish Camp

St. Marks Volunteer Fire DepartmentTri Eagle SalesWakulla Signs

LargeBo Lynn’s Grocery “Miss Joy”

City of St. MarksHistoric Sweet Magnolia

Hydro EngineeringRegister’s Smoked Pork Sausage

Riverside CafeSt. Marks Outfitters

St. Marks Waterfronts Florida Partnership, Inc.T-n-T Hideaway

Wakulla County Sheriff’s DepartmentWakulla Springs State Park

Waste ProWilderness Way

Wildwood Country Club

CollosalProgress Energy

JumboLynn Brothers Seafood

Refreshment Services PepsiShell Island Fish Camp

LargeHang Gang Wallpaper Co.

Kevin’s Guns & Sporting GoodsKimley-Horn & Associates, Inc

Mike’s Marine WaysMorton Building, Inc

Large ContinuedRascal Enterprise/Linda

& Ray BolesShields Marina, Inc.St. Marks Seafood

St. Marks Yacht ClubWakulla Bank

FloaterEppes Decorating CenterFrances Casey Lowe, PA

Score Federal Credit UnionTallahassee State Bank

T-n-T Hideway

CollosalThe Wakulla News

WCTVWakulla Area Times

LargeBig Bend Area Radio

StationsWakulla.Com

Media Sponsors


History of the stone crabBy ELINOR ELFNER

When the Spaniards arrived in the St. Marks area in the 1500s, they probably didn’t eat any stone crabs. Even the local Indians probably didn’t eat them. Stone crab claws may be the only seafood that has become a restaurant specialty without first being prepared and eaten widely by the common people.

There was some stone crabbing out of St. Marks in the 1950s, but the market had not been well estab-lished and it wasn’t until the 1970s that commercial stone crab fishing began to really grow.

During the first half of the twentieth century the coastal areas of the Big Bend and Forgotten Coast missed the spurt of growth common in the rest of Florida. The historically important port at St. Marks had become insignificant. Produce and cotton from the interior was no longer exported here. Railroads had opened from Tallahassee to Savannah, Pensacola, Apalachicola and Carrabelle. Economic development and population growth simply bypassed St. Marks. Like the rest of the coastal area, the population re-mained static or declined while the statewide popula-tion increased by 46 percent. Census data showed St. Marks with a population of 237 in 1900 and only 269 in 1945, with counts ranging from a high of 384 in 1925 to lows of 216 in 1910 and 217 in 1930.

The livelihood of most people along the coast in the first half of the century depended on commercial and recreational fishing. Those not fishing were processing or packing the catch or were providing services for those involved in the fishing industry. There were supply stores, repair facilities, restaurants, bars, transportation and social services. Primarily, it was a fin fish industry with black mullet being the primary fish caught. Sea trout, red snapper and red drum were secondary. However, at one time there was a blue crab processing plant and a small sponge industry in St. Marks.

During the 1950s, St. Marks had a booming busi-ness of fishing party boats for those living inland who enjoyed coming to the coast for the day or a week.

Shell Island Fish Camp on the Wakulla River had eight cabins with boats for rent and guides for hire as well as a marine hardware and tackle store with a few grocery items. Myers Lodge Cabins had 18 rental units and Strickland’s rooms and cabins had about 15 rental units. The average annual traffic of passengers in fishing parties was 15,200.

With the dredging of the St. Marks River and cre-ation of a good channel and turning basin, petroleum businesses requiring barge transport began to grow along the river in the 1950s. These included Tenneco Petroleum, Seminole Asphalt Refining, Ingram Oil, Southern States Terminal and Transport Corporation, Southern States Oil, MacKenzie Tank Lines, Gulf Oil Company and also the City of Tallahassee power plant. The increased commercial barge traffic dampened the attractiveness of the river for the recreational fisher-men. By 1959, the average annual traffic of fishing party passengers dropped from 15,200 to 7,052.

By 1963, St. Marks had 112 occupied houses, an estimated population of 336, but the fishing industry was in decline.

By the 1970s, the stone crab industry began to grow as more northerners visited Miami and loved this seafood delicacy. Today, there are about 25,000 to 30,000 stone crab traps fished out of St. Marks. Each boat uses a hydraulic lift to pull out 550 to 600 traps a day. During the mid-October to mid-May season the harvest only slows during the dead of winter. Although the price for stone crab claws dropped dur-ing the past season due to the devastating economy, local crabbers are expecting the market to increase this year.

It was after World War II before this delicacy be-came popular and the stone-crabbing business grew to be the largest seafood business on the southwest coast of Florida. During the last half of the twentieth century, trappers had come up with hydraulic devices to bring the traps up, doubling the traps that could be pulled in one day.

COAST school will host games for children

Wakulla C.O.A.S.T. school in St. Marks will be sponsoring the children’s carnival games at the Stone Crab Festival on Saturday, Oct. 24.

There will be more than 20 booths of children’s games, crafts and activities. All booths are just one ticket.

Tickets will be 50 cents each or 25 tickets for $10. Wakulla’s Charter School for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (C.O.A.S.T.) is a Florida non-profit corporation established for the purpose of providing Wakulla County residents with a free public parent choice school.

The school supports grades VPK through

8th grade. The children enjoy a full curricu-lum of subjects plus art, music and physical education daily. St. Marks will be the place to be with your children on Oct. 24.

General InformationThe St. Marks Stone Crab Festival will be

held Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will include a variety of entertainment including bands, horsemanship exhibit pre-sented by the Wakulla County Horseman’s Association, a movie presentation of stone crab fishing, and other types of entertainment and fun for everyone.

LYNN BROTHERSSEAFOOD

P.O. Box 86 • St. Marks, FL 32355 • Phone: (850) 925-6083 • Fax: (850) 925-6825

Stop by our booth and watch video of crabbing on our commercial vessel.

Vintage Wooden Stone Crab Traps for sale.

Proud sponsor of St. Marks Stone Crab Festival

Freshstone Crab Claws

by the lb.

& smoked Mullet

WD-001221

BO LYNN’S GROCERY

GROCERIES-MEATS-GAS-OILStop & Shop with Miss. Joy”

(850) 925-6156850 Port Leon Dr. St. Marks, FL

”

EconomyUSED

Where Saving Money MakeS CentS

[email protected]


In 1995, two friends, Stan West and Dave Valancort, had an idea. It was a simple idea that involved renting canoes at the St. Marks riverside. Armed with their grand idea, they went out and bought a dozen canoes and somewhat as an afterthought, a hot dog cart. Soon after Stan and Dave launched their venture, they noticed one surprising and important fact: they were selling more hot dogs than they were renting canoes.

As a result, they concluded that the people on boats and riding the bike trail wanted something more than what was provided by the bar at nearby Posey’s. They discovered that they were getting the “spin-off business from Posey’s,” which, over time, turned into a loyal group of regular customers. Riverside Cafe and Recreational Rentals started to develop a reputation that was positive and growing.

At this point, Stan replaced the hot dog cart with a gas grill, hot plate and micro-wave oven. They began serving wings and blackened grouper sandwiches (which their neighbor, Sue Tooke, taught them to make). This popular grouper treat soon became the “specialty of the house.”

Around 1997, as the business was grow-

ing, Stan and Dave decided they needed some promotion and advertising to expand their operation. Their earliest venture into mass marketing was a live remote with an area radio station. For the remote, they needed an idea to use as a theme. So, Dave, realizing that it was stone crab season, suggested that they have a “Stone Crab Festival.” The short version of the story is simply: it worked! It helped to more solidly put Riverside Cafe on the map and the sea-sonal festival became a central part of their annual marketing program. Riverside “put on” a stone crab festival for nine consecutive years. Ultimately the festival became the St. Marks Stone Crab Festival and a citywide event. The festival is now in its 12th year.

Over the years, the Riverside has evolved into a full service restaurant serving full meals as well as beer, wine and liquor. Music with an island atmosphere has also become a big part of the “Riverside experi-ence.” Stan has since bought out the finan-cial interest of his founding partner, but to this day, they remain the best of friends. Today, Stan and his wife Karòn run the business that has now become a landmark. In 2000, the official name of the restaurant

was changed to Riverside Cafe on the River, Inc. Riverside has now been serving its loyal clientele at their picturesque riverside loca-tion for more that 14 years and has come a

long way from the day Stan and Dave first rolled a hot dog cart up to the shores of the St. Marks River.As told by Stan West.

From hot dog stand to a local hot spot

Shell Island Fish Camp: 1940s to the present

At one time, a cattle gap at this location prevented roaming animals from entering the Shell Island Fish Camp, one of the last traditional fish camps of the 1940s and 50s when fishing was the most prominent activ-ity on the gulf coast. Bo and Lea Lynn were instrumental in early development of the camp and providing improved road access. Since 1962, the Hobbs family has owned and operated the camp, maintaining the historic tradition.

Fishing was the most prominent liveli-hood along the gulf coast from 1900 to 1950. J. T. “Bo” Lynn and his brother Alva purchased this Wakulla River property in the mid 1940s. Alva and his family operated the small business for several years until he relocated to Georgia when Bo and Lea took over. Previously, Bo and Lea had built and operated a grocery store near the St. Marks River.

Continued on Page 5S

Stan West’s Riverside Cafe has grown from humble beginnings.

Visitors to Riverside Cafe come by the establishment at night.

Boats, motors for rentcaBins and motel for rentBait and tackle store

dry storagejohnson sales

and service

Shell ISland FISh CampQuit Wishing………And go Fishing

allen hoBs, oWner

jimmy Bevis, MAnAger

P.o. Box 115st. marks, fl 32355Phone 850/925-6226

St Marks River Cantina59 Port Leon Dr., Saint Marks, FL 32355

(850) 925-9908

Hours:MON – THURS. 10:00 - 10:00

SAT.-SUN. 10:00 - 11:00

Bring your friends by during the Stone Crab Festival to listen to our LIVE Music. And enjoy our Fresh Stone Crab Claws and Seafood Gumbo. And don’t forget we always have Ice cold Beer on Tap or in the Bottle.

Thursday, October 15, 2009 St. Marks Stone Crab Festival The Wakulla News – S

Continued from Page 4SIn 1965, Miss Joy bought that store and

business. She chose to maintain “Bo Lynn’s” name, although the locals call the place “Miss Joy’s.”

In the early 1950s, Bo Lynn was instru-mental in having the small dirt road leading to Shell Island paved. This made way for the expansion of the fish camp during the years of party boat fishing in St. Marks. Additional rental cabins, docks, a larger camp store and a home for the Lynn family were constructed. Shell Island became a full service fish camp, offering boat and motor rentals, guided fish-ing trips and a well stocked store.

On Dec. 9, 1957, in the days before mod-ern weather forecasting, radio communica-tion and cell phones, there was a tragedy. Bo Lynn, Kermit Jacobs, a native of St. Marks, and Bo’s dog, Butch, were returning from

a duck hunting trip on a small cabin boat when a storm suddenly came up. They were east of the lighthouse, the temperature was unusually low and the wind was so strong it held the tide out. The hunting party never made it back to St. Marks. That “nor’easter” capsized the boat, and Bo, Kermit and the dog were never found.

In 1962, the Hobbs family purchased the fish camp and have kept the historic camp as authentic as possible. Many fish tales have been shared over the years in the old-fashioned camp store, one of the oldest structures at the camp. “It’s been through several storms, but has weathered each one quite well,” said owner Allen Hobbs. He is proud of the fact that Shell Island Fish Camp is one of the oldest fish camps in Florida and claims to have access to the best speckled trout fishing in the State of Florida.

Shell Island Fish Camp

By MIKE McNAMARAEvery time I launch my kayak

into the St. Marks River, I am taken back to a time in history that makes my imagination come alive. Like a boy re-enacting a scene from a Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn adventure, I can feel the past come alive. From pirates, Indian wars, Spanish inva-sions, sunken ships and lost cities, the past 500 years screams to a young man’s sense of adventure.

I can imagine the days of a bus-tling ship building port (Newport), caught in the shadow of the civil war, hurricanes and yellow fever. Steamships hauling cotton, a slower pace in a different era. All secrets

held by the St. Marks River. Today all is quiet. The town of

Newport is sleepy, a campground, boat landing and oyster bar is the history of the day. In today’s busy world, the one aspect of life gone by that I wish still existed is the slower pace. The time when all things moved like a steamship, five knots and steady.

Then, as I paddle out into the black water, I realize that this place, on this river, the pace remains. Like a secret held by “time past,” relax, I remind myself, you are here. And for the next few hours, I am as much a part of history as those civil wars soldiers, but my pace is slower.

The big ships are gone and there are no civil wars on the horizon, but life on the St. Marks is teeming. As if time has reached a point of ebb and flow, the life on the river starts to resemble what the first settlers must have seen. A wild river full of life. a deep black water river, winding through a hammock of hardwoods with manatees and leap-ing mullet, what strange creatures. Huge cypress trees are littered with cormorants and anhingas. A lush swamp lines the edge of the river allowing the seepage of tannic acid, giving a tea colored appearance to the water. What an odd and majes-tic place.

As I paddle south away from Newport, I hug the edge of the hardwood hammocks. This always gives me the best chance to find wildlife. Turkey, deer, raccoons all surface on the tidal flats. Lush growth of aquatic plants line the creek mouths, not the invasive kind found in most Florida rivers. The St. Marks with its black water and deep ledges has protected itself from unwanted visitors. Herons, ospreys, hawks and owls are all seen this morning. As the edge of civilization appears, I quietly paddle around a handful of docks that belong to the newest residents of the river, again, marking their place in history.

Three hours into being lost in a little boy’s imagination, I reach the modern age. A power plant, barge canal, the beginning of the town the old river gave birth to. Industry, again has reached its ebb and flow, as the City of St. Marks, sleepy in its own right, compared to years past. It is a fishing community built on the banks of history: marinas, restau-rants and a boat landing followed by a state park. Poetically the San Marcos de Apalache State Park ends the trip down this historic river. The park breathes 500 years of the ebb and flow. Listen, you might hear cannon fire, steamship whistles or maybe that leaping mullet.

Take paddle down the scenic St. Marks River

Canoeing and kayaking around Wakulla CountyBy JACKI YOUNGSTAND

We are blessed with 85 percent of Wakulla County being waterfront. Our coastline waters are included in the Florida Circumnavigation Saltwater Paddling Trail which covers 1,515 miles beginning at Big Lagoon State Park near Pen-sacola, extending around the Florida peninsula and Keys, and ending at Fort Clinch State Park near the Georgia border.

This trail consists of coastal marshes, islands, tidal creeks and a diverse community of plant and animal life. The town of St. Marks is sand-wiched by the St. Marks River and Wakulla River. The St. Marks River, the color of this clear, blue-green river results from its limestone bottom, has a variety of waterweeds above and below the surface. The current is mild and it is possible to paddle upstream easily. The banks are lined

with a preponderance of cypress, magnolia, palm and other lowland vegetation. After flowing under a roadway, forming a true natural bridge, the river resumes again with St. Marks Spring and flows some 11 miles to its confluence with the Wakulla and three miles on to the Gulf of Mexico. The only public access points are at the Newport Bridge boat ramp off Highway 98 and the City of St. Marks boat ramp adjacent to the San Marcos de Apalache State Park.

The Wakulla River Canoe Trail is officially des-ignated as part of Florida’s Statewide System of Greenways and Trails. The clear, spring-fed river is wide, almost straight, and lined with cypress trees. Wildlife is abundant, anhinga, cormorant, osprey, herons, eagles and many wading birds can be seen on the river, along with turtles, ot-ters, alligators and manatees. The slow current

makes paddling the six mile river easy so take your time to view the underwater grasses, snails and fish. Public access points are at Highway 365 bridge “Upper Bridge” just south of the Wakulla Springs State Park fence, Highway 98 boat ramp “Lower Bridge” and at the new St. Marks Wakulla River City Park. .

Kayak fishing has become very popular

in our area due to having both saltwater and freshwater fishing accessible. Forgotten Coast Kayak Anglers sponsors a kayak fishing tourna-ment every March. Outfitters for guided trips or rentals in the area are St. Marks Outfitters in St. Marks, T-n-T Hide-a-way Canoe & Kayak Rental and Sales on the Wakulla River, and The Wilderness Way on Highway 365.

St. Marks SeafoodsSpecializing in Stone Crabs

Wholesale & RetailCaught Fresh Daily

Stone Crabssold by the pound

Tallahassee

St. Marks

Seafoods

71 Riverside Dr., St. Marks, FL 850925-6489


Scenes of St. Marks

Clockwise f rom top r ight , Spanish moss hangs f rom an old t ree at For t San Marcos de Apalache where the St . Marks and Wakulla Rivers meet . Above , seafood meets barbecue at the St . Marks Smokehouse and Oyster Bar. Lef t , the St . Marks Cantina invi tes guests in for food and beverages . Lef t middle , two anglers launch their boat at the St . Marks c i ty boat ramp for a day of f ishing on the f lats . Top lef t , a boater re turns f rom an enjoyable day on the water and trav -e ls up the Wakul la River in ant ic ipat ion of another t r ip . Photos by Keith Blackmar and cour tesy of the St . Marks Stone Crab Fest ival Committee . More scenes of St . Marks appear on Page 11S .


Interpreted by MICKEY CANTNER (A fictional story based on true facts)

Good morning! This is Izzy. I am your local Wakulla River reporter. It is my pleasure to bring news about what is happening in the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers. This is my home territory during the summer months. My an-cestors lived in this river thousands of years ago and I am glad to report we are still here. Recently some Florida researchers caught up with me in the river. I was not happy when the research boat approached me and threw a large net over me. I tried to get away, but once they caught me and told me they only wanted to give me a health check-up and would not hurt me, I agreed. They measured me to find I am 8 feet, 6 inches long. They said I weigh approximately 850 pounds. My skin looked good with only a few scrapes. Someone pulled my mouth open and looked at my teeth. They said I have really bad breath. I have lots of flat teeth for chewing grasses that I eat. One of them said I looked pretty healthy for a manatee my size and I should live for a long time, maybe as long as 60 years if I take good care of myself. They had the nerve to attach this thing around my tail, then they set me free. Now everywhere I go people point and stare. And it seems that the same boat that caught me shows up every once in a while to check up on me. I don’t understand how they find me. Maybe this thing on my tail is some kind of tracking device.

Enough about my personal life. It has been a busy year in the rivers. I have seen lots of birds flying overhead. I enjoy poking my head out of the water to have a look at the eagles catching their dinner. Then an osprey or two try to take the fish away from the eagles. Sometimes they seem to be fighting in the air. Under the water I have seen lots of mullet and turtles. Sometimes the turtles get lazy and try to catch a ride on my back. I don’t mind, but their little feet are scratchy. We manatees have lots of fun swimming around people’s docks. Sometimes we see humans who try to

touch us. Maybe they don’t know it’s a big “no no” to touch manatees. I like to be touched sometimes, but then I will want to be touched again and again. It teaches us bad habits that could harm us in the future.

The sad news is one of my best friends, Daisy, was hurt by a fast moving boat. It had a sharp, fast moving thing hanging in the water under the boat and it made some big gashes on her back. The boat was going so fast that when it hit her, they didn’t even stop. I guess they thought she was just a log or something. Daisy started swimming funny and her head hurt real bad. I tried to help her, but I am only a manatee and didn’t know what to do. Luckily for her, some other nice people in canoes saw her and knew she needed help. They called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and reported where she was. They stayed with her until another big boat came. Those people pulled her up on that boat and took her to a special place so a doctor could help her. I heard later that Daisy was not coming back to the Wakulla River ever. It broke my heart to think I would never see my best friend until we met again in heaven.

Boaters need to watch out for us slow moving manatees. Sure we could get out of the way, if you could warn us in time. Have you ever put your head underwater and had someone talk to you. It is really hard to un-derstand because the sound is all garbled. It is for us, too. We are hard to see because our color is motley gray. And we are mammals, not fish. So we have to come to the surface to breath, just like you humans. So please put a look out person on front of your boat. Wear polarized sunglasses so you can see us better. We manatees need all the help we can get. There are not many of us left in this world. I have about 30 friends in this area. Weekends on the rivers are like being in the middle of a drag race for cars, only it’s boats. Boats are zooming everywhere. Manatees are advised to stay away from the St. Marks River on the weekends. It is like I-10 at rush hour. Why are people in such a hurry? The rivers are a place to slow down, relax and enjoy the view. We do.

Last year, researchers said there were only 3,800 manatees in Florida, but 337 died last year, too. That’s about 10 percent of our family. A lot of those who died were because of boat

strikes, like Daisy’s death. Our reproduction rate is slow. That means we don’t have many baby manatees being born.

The good news is one manatee mom gave birth in Sally Ward Spring this year, which is near Wakulla Springs. The boats are a lot slower there. Some of my friends spent the winter and summer in Wakulla Springs. The water is nice and warm all winter and the people in the boats are very careful around them. They said lots of people come to see them everyday. I like to head south to Crystal River for the winter months along with a lot of my other friends. The river water and ocean water get too cold for me here.

One day I was munching on some sweet grasses along the St. Marks River near the new boat ramp in St. Marks. Along came a powerboat that came real close to me. Then the people started poking a stick at me and saying I had a crab trap on my tail. I tried to swim away because it was not the same boat that was usually so nice to me. But they kept chasing me, that sharp thing that hangs down in the water almost cut my tail off. I thought of Daisy, so I got out of there fast! Then I heard someone from shore yelling at them to leave me alone. Thank you to that person who knew my “crab trap float” is really my radio satellite tracking device.

I traveled to Ochlockonee Bay and swam up the Sopchoppy River, then to the Buckhorn Creek and finally into the Crooked River. I was in search of the sweetest grasses to eat and just wanted to get away from all the boats. Sorry to say there was just as many boats there as in the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers. Along the way I met up with my friends Harold and Ellie. They had one of those crab trap like floats on their tails, too. I will return to the beautiful Wakulla and St. Marks rivers next April. Hey, I hear there will be a big Stone Crab Festival in St. Marks.

For more information about my species, visit: www.fws.gov or www.savethemanatee.org. Photo by Sue Damon.

Izzy the Manatee reports on county rivers

Wakulla County rivers are often home to the threatened manatees.

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Harvesting stone crabs can be delicate operationBy JACK RUDLOE

The stone crab (Menippe mer-cenaria) reminds me of the great Old Man of the Mountain. There the crab sits in his burrow with his great massive claws folded up in front of him daring anyone to come close.

In the south, the stone crab is prized as a great delicacy. Fisher-men collect them, break the claws off and throw the crab back. If they survive that long in a defenseless condition, they will regenerate new massive claws over a period of a year. Farming stone crabs has been the interest of numerous entrepre-neurs because the claws fetch close to two dollars a pound, but the rate of growth in the crab, according to investigations at the University of Miami, has proved too slow and

cumbersome for commercial use.So they are captured in crab

traps along with blue crabs. In certain localities a wooden slat trap that resembles a lobster pot is used. In either case, if the trap is set on a bottom of flat lime rock or oyster reef, chances are it will get quite a few stone crabs. They dwell in crevices and small caves with only their massive brown claws tipped with black sticking out.

When you approach one it quickly draws back into its burrow. A good collector, wearing canvas gloves, can reach into the burrow and snatch the stone crab out. But you’ve got to watch those claws. Some of them are a full eight inches in length and so strong that the crab uses them to crush oysters, grinding the shell to bits

with one claw, scooping out the meat and putting in into its mouth with the other.

Actually, no one has lost a finger from a stone crab to my knowledge. I know several crabbers who have received some vicious pinches from them, severe black-and-blue marks, but have not lost a finger. At one point I was digging ground for our gravel-filled tanks for some specimen and my finger found its way into the clutches of a monster stone crab and nearly got mangled.

A word at this point—when any big crab latches onto your finger the worst thing you can do is snap the claw off. Even though you’re in pain, the pain will be worse if you do so, because the claw gives a spasmodic tightening when sud-

denly broken off. The best thing to do is place crab, hand (or toe) and all, into a bucket of water and let it relax and it lets go of its own accord. Or you can take careful aim with a hammer and crush the claw at the base of the first joint where the muscle attaches. But if you miss you may be worse off than before. I remember one captain on a shrimp boat who had a big Portunus grab on his toe. Shouting, he ordered the crew to bring him a bucket of water and gently edged the crab into the bucket. The crab tired of holding on and let go. The captain, in a rage, kicked the bucket over and stamped the crab to pieces.

Blue crabs, other portunid crabs and sluggish bottom-dwelling crabs can be the predominant part of a shrimp-boat catch. Therefore, it

is very important that a fisherman protect his hands and other parts while culling through the catch. In the Gulf, I knew one deckhand who encountered a great deal of distress, all of it his own doing.

He had leaky pants and parts of him were hanging out. And as he squatted over the catch taking out handfuls of shrimp, a blue crab reached up and grabbed a claw-full and hung on. The shrimper jumped and leaped and howled and hopped up and down the deck, supporting the crab with his hand but not daring to pull it off. The rest of the crew, holding their sides with laughter, grabbed a bucket of water and the crab and the attached parts were placed in it. After what was described as a very long time the crab let go.

Bowles will be featured in exhibitBy MADELEINE H. CARRSpecial to The Wakulla News

In the spring of 1803, the visions of cre-ating an independent Muskogee Nation in the Spanish borderlands were dashed once and for all.

Representatives of the lower Creek Indians gathered in Coweta (Alabama) at a unique meeting of U.S. Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins and a representative each from the powerful trading firm of John Forbes and the Spanish Governor Folch at Pensacola.

The Spanish borderlands had been a hotbed of international intrigue follow-ing the creation of the United States in 1783. As they convened to scheme the arrest of one British loyalist called Wil-liam Augustus Bowles, the land in the future Wakulla County began to take on a unique characteristic known as the Forbes Purchase.

Bowles had visions of creating his own country in the Spanish borderlands. He had attacked the Spanish fort San Mar-cos in 1800. To the Spanish and Thomas Jefferson, Bowles had interfered in the area long enough. By the time Jefferson became U.S. president he was putting into effect a plan for the country’s expansions into former Spanish borderlands.

In a clever plot to take land from the Creeks, the U.S., The Firm and Spain threatened a trade embargo with the Creeks until Bowles was turned over either to the Spanish or the U.S. govern-ments. As an incentive, The Firm (formerly

Panton, Leslie and Company) would take 1.4 million acres of land to satisfy Creek debts. It is today’s Forbes Purchase.

Spain offered a bounty of $4,500. Bowles—not officially invited to the Coweta meeting for obvious reasons—was a surprise visitor. He arrived with 60 body guards. The Creeks confronted him and demanded proof that he had British sup-port for a separate nation. He had none.

On the request of U.S. Indian Agent Hawkins, an intermarried white man called Sam Moniac along with a troop of Creeks surrounded Bowles with guns at the ready, handcuffed him and paddled him down the Alabama River. They col-lected their reward from the Spanish Governor Folch at Pensacola.

During his 40-year-long life, Bowles managed to see the world. Three years after he fled the Spanish rebuff at San Marcos de Apalache fort he was impris-oned in Cuba. Bowles’ life ended with a defiant hunger strike and he died in the infirmary at Morro prison in 1805.

In the aftermath of the American Revo-lution, Spain, Britain and eventually the U.S. and William Bowles used the gifting of trade goods to advance their political ends.

Just how Bowles was able to exploit the short arm of the law during the second Spanish Florida period is the subject of a new exhibit.

Sponsored by the Wakulla County His-torical Society, “William Augustus Bowles: Portrait of a Scoundrel?” will open at the

San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park on Sunday, Nov. 22.

The exhibit is made possibly with a grant awarded by the Florida Humani-ties Council, the state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The public is invited to the opening event free of charge. Other events are planned in January and February in St. Marks to highlight the Spanish borderlands and stateless loyalists who allied themselves with various Creek villages.

William Augustus Bowles

(Taken from articles by George Eberl and Harvey Steiman in “Floridian” of Feb. 17, 1974)

How well do you know the lexicon of the stone crab hunters? See answers below.

What is a retread?What are darks?What are lights?What’s a floater?Why are stone crabs called stone crabs?What’s the difference between lobster

and stone crabs?Is being “on the hill” good or bad?Are smaller claws more flavorful?What’s a green stone crab?Why are stone crabs a restaurant deli-

cacy?ANSWERS to STONE CRAB QUIZ

A “retread” is a stone crab which has grown new claws.

“Darks” refers to moonless nights, a prime time for stone-crab fishermen.

“Lights” are nights when the moon is out, meaning that the crabs will doubtless be burrowed down in the sand to avoid their enemies.

“Floaters” are stone crabs which have shed their old shell and now wear a thin shell, not yet filled out with meat.

It is generally agreed that these crabs are called stone crabs because they look like stones when resting on the floor of the Gulf with claws drawn in.

Continued on Page 9S

A stone crab quiz

In his 1993 book, “Totch: A Life in the Everglades,” Loren G. “Totch” Brown of Cho-koloskee describes his adventures in starting a commercialized stone crab business. He and his uncle Bill, with other partners, had a really grand scheme thinking they could tend a thousand traps a day taking in a thousand pounds. Of course, it didn’t turn out that way.

It was just after World War II when they built their sample traps. These first eight traps were cube-shaped boxes, roughly 12 by 14 by 12 inches made of wooden slats with

a cement base to “sink ‘em” to the bottom, using cork net-floats for buoys. After trying various locations they finally hit pay dirt in 15 feet of water with a gravel bottom. They borrowed money to build 200 more traps. With no electricity on Chokoloskee Island you can imagine how slow the job of build-ing traps with hand tools was. Then they gathered up old net rope and, not having money to buy cork net-floats, decided to use dried coconuts for buoys. After a week in the water, they pulled up traps filled to the brim, but it was hard work. It took all day and into the night to pull 225 traps. The dream of tending 1,000 traps a day was very unrealis-tic. But, the next day the live crabs were sold in Miami to Joe who specialized in serving stone crab claws in his restaurant, now the famous Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant.

Later Totch and his buddies learned that dried coconuts became waterlogged in rough seas and they switched to using “one-gallon clear-glass jugs with a little black paint in ‘em, so we could spot ‘em floating in the water even in bright sunlight.” They learned that crabs crawl better in winter months and in rough water and only at night and that a tough bait like jackfish or stingray worked better than a soft bait like mullet. Totch caught the stingrays with a harpoon while they were feeding on low, rising water.

The first full year of their stone-crabbing business did extremely well, but soon others were trapping stone crabs and the market became glutted. The public had not yet real-ized what a delicacy those claws were. Totch sold out, paid off his mortgage and “went into pompanoing.”


Continued from Page 8SWhen a claw is removed from the stone

crab, a new claw grows back in about 18 months. As Mr. Eberl says “whoever heard of a lobster that could reincarnate itself so obligingly as does the stone crab?”

It is a sad situation when foul weather or sickness keeps the crabber off the sea and “on the hill.”

According to Irwin Sawitz, size makes no difference in the flavor.

In a trip to Ireland in 1973, Irwin Sawitz’ search for crabs led him to crabs that looked and tasted like Florida stone crabs, “but the green pigmentation was so great the boiling didn’t affect it.” The color of the crabs did not turn reddish as Florida crabs do.

Jesse Weiss, owner of Joe’s Stone Crab restaurant in 1974, said that stone crabs were not generally consumed before being introduced as restaurant fare, making them a unique food.

Stone crab quiz

Artists to share their talents during Stone Crab FestivalRandy Brienen the painter

Randy Brienen was born in central Illi-nois and has lived in Tallahassee for more than 25 years. He is married to Debby (also an artist) and has raised three children. He is a mainly self-taught artist working in acrylic. He has drawn and painted on and off most of his life.

In 2007, Randy started painting seriously and immediately found collector interest in his impressionistic and abstract styles. His use of vibrant colors and bold textures are a creative interpretation of his subjects and surroundings.

Randy was selected to exhibit in Spring-time Tallahassee, 2008 and 2009 Lemoyne “Chain of Parks” art festival, the Winery, and is exhibiting in the Lily Pads art gallery located in Grayton Beach and 1020Art.

Randy’s work expresses a variety of styles and techniques appealing to clients

interested in contemporary and traditional art. He paints inspirationally and by com-mission.

Contact Randy at 850-386-6818 or [email protected]. His web site is www.brienenart.com.

Debby Brienen BiographyA Lifelong Passion for Art

Debby Brienen was born in central Illi-nois and has lived in Tallahassee for more than 25 years. She is married to Randy, who is also an artist, and they have raised three children. She is a self-taught artist working in acrylic. She has drawn and painted all her life either inspirationally or by com-mission. Her most recent venture, Painted Memories, offers paintings developed from her client’s travel photos or home landscape photos intended to preserve places or events on canvas to grace the walls of homes or

offices.Her work typically expresses the joy and

happiness she finds in living. Her works favors idyllic moments, real or remem-bered. Home landscape portraits such as your personal residence, childhood home or beach house are all within her special talents. Also, historical renditions, nature landscapes and cottage floras can be found on their web site.

Debby has exhibited in many juried shows and most recently was chosen to be the featured artist for Lamoyne’s 2008 Chain of Parks art festival in Tallahassee. Debby, a cancer survivor, donates a portion of each sale to the American Cancer Society.

To contact Debby for a special painting of your own you can visit the web site at www.brienenart.com or e-mail her at [email protected] or visit her at the St. Marks Stone Crab Festival.

Jeff ShortWhere the Wood Turns

Jeff Short is a Tallahassee wood turner who specializes in creating unique one of a kind items. He likes to experiment with a variety of materials in addition to wood. His work includes hand-crafted pens, kaleido-scopes, wine bottle stoppers, Christmas

ornaments and more. He has created pens from materials such as deer antlers, rifle cartridges, shredded money, denim, rattle-snake skin and more.

“I’d like to think that you can turn almost any material into something unique and personal,” he said. “It’s truly my passion to create items that are unique and special to whoever owns them.” Jeff will be at the St. Marks Stone Crab Festival, so bring your Christmas shopping list. His e-mail is [email protected].

Tamara BurnsEnergizing Elements

Energizing Elements Rain Barrels are truly a work of art. Tamara Byrnes, Certified Green Guide, has been a printmaker for many years, specializing in Gyotaku Prints (Fish Printing). Now Tamara is decorating her unique rain barrels with printing techniques. Harvesting rain water has been around for many years; the use of rain barrels can be seen all over the Caribbean and Hawaiian Islands as part of a sustainable and typical way of life. Each unique barrel is signed and dated. Rainwa-ter harvesting makes sense; it is one way to contribute to a truly Green Community. Contact Tamara at [email protected] for more information.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009 St. Marks Stone Crab Festival The Wakulla News – Page 3S

St. Marks officials work to improve their community

By KEITH [email protected]

Over the years, the City of St. Marks has seen many changes. Some of the changes have been very beneficial, but others haven’t been a boon to the coastal community.

But St. Marks has not been a community that has sat on its collective hands and let the rest of the world pass it by.

I have been pleased to witness the members of the city commission, City Manager Zoe Mans-field and her right hand gal, Ethel Jefferson, grab the bull by the horns and not sob about the past and what could have been.

By the very nature of the natural surround-ings, the community has much in which to be

grateful.The two rivers, a fort preserved through a state

park, an inviting bicycle trail, good food and most importantly, good people.

I have learned through my St. Marks com-munity columnist that the city is fiercely loyal, but also warm and inviting.

I have witnessed the efforts of the city com-mission to dodge the punches of the changing economy and the lost industries of decades gone by.

The board members have worked hard to create parks for members of the town while also giving visitors to the community a reason to visit.

When the blows came over the years, flood-ing, industrial development closures, hurricanes and a reduction of the population, the commu-nity has not been deterred.

When an industrial site was declared a state “brownfield” due to contamination, the city fa-thers decided to do something about it.

They have proposed the creation of a solar energy project at the site with the help of federal dollars rather than let the acreage become a blight on the town.

I applaud the city government for not sitting on their collective tails while time marched on.

One other thing, the mayor and the city com-missioners do not take home a salary. They are volunteers. Kudos to the community and keep up the good work.Keith Blackmar is Editor of The Wakulla News

Arts and Crafts• Arte Mexico• Mexican Arts & Crafts• B. D. Cook’s Riverwood Studio• Various Art Works• Barbara’s Baskets• Demonstrating Basket Weaving Hand Woven Baskets• Beach Trader• Wood Craved Items• Nautical Items and Jewelry • Brienen Art• Fine Art Originals• Charles Millender• Indian Reproductions• Chicken Lady Headwraps• Do rages, Hats & Headwraps• Collective Jewelry• Sterling Silver Jewelry• Destination Destin• Mosaic Birdhouses & Mirrors• Picture Frames• Energizing Elements• Rain Barrels & Fish Prints• Foolosophy Media• Gulf Coast Children’s Books• Forking Around• Fork Art & Tie Dye Items• Infinity Consulting• Wearable Art & Cultural Accessories

Food Vendors• Lighthouse Seafood• Fried Fish Dinners• Pam’s Funnel Cakes• Funnel Cakes, Corn Dogs & Chili Fries• Scratch Cakes• Baked Cakes & Cookies• Shorty’s Fry Bread• Native American Breads• St. Marks Volunteer Fire Department• Hamburgers, Hot Dogs & Sausages• Suzanne’s Sugar Shack• Shaved Ice, Cotton Candy &• Kettle Corn• Local Eateries• Riverside Café• Stone Crab and Seafood• St. Marks River Cantina• Stone Crab & Hamburgers• St. Marks Smoke House & Oyster Bar• Barbeque & Oyster• Light House Seafood• Fried Fish, Shrimp & Oysters• Life is Fun Photos• Fun Photos• Marge Winzler’s Shell Crafts• Shell Crafts

• M & M Enterprises• Semi Precious Stone Jewelry• Bamboo Wind Chimes• Moon Dog Mosaics• Glass Art & Hand Sculpted Beads• Peggy Harris• Wooden Roses & Floral Arrangements• Playing Hooky • Scallop & Clam Bags• Custom Made Mesh Bags • Demonstration about Clam Farming• Possum Forge• Iron Works &• Black Smith Demonstrations• Rose’s Botanicals• Hand Made Herbal Soaps• Sea Images• Sea Crafts, Gift Baskets & Mirrors• Sky Creations• Hand Made Jewelry & Bandanas• Sunlight Photos• Photography• Where the Wood Turns• Wood Turned Items: Pens, Kaleidoscopes & Wine Stoppers

Children’s Activities• COAST Charter School• Children’s Carnival Games• Moon Walk & Face Painting• Klown Kapers• Balloon Art, Temporary Tattoos & Face Painting• The Party Train• Children’s Train Ride• Public Outreach Organizations• Abate of Florida• Big Bend Chapter• Motorcycle Safety Awareness• Florida Fish & Wildlife• Conservation Commission • Bear Conservation• Gulf Specimen Marine Lab.• Touch Tank with Marine Animals• O. A. R. (Organization of Artificial Reefs)• Information on Saving the Reefs

Additional Vendors• Blue Water Realty Group Real Estate • T N T Hideaway Kayak & Canoe Sales & Rentals• Green Tour Information • Coastal Gems Real Estate • Real Estate & Signs• St. Marks Marine• Boating Information• Villages of St. Marks• St. Marks Out Fitters • Real Estate• Fishing Charters & Kayak Rentals

St. Marks Stone Crab Festival Vendors


More Scenes of St. Marks

Above, the canna plant looks like an iris as it blooms in the damp soils that line Fort San Marcos de Apalache. Right, a turtle joins other tourists on the grounds of the fort as he slowly makes his way to the less open areas of the state park property. Below, Wakulla County has been fortunate to share nature with the manatees that visit the rivers and Wakulla Springs. The sea cows are playful, but also carry the scars of boaters who refuse to slow down for them. Recently, an injured manatee was rescued from the St. Marks River and taken to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa for treatment of injuries. Sadly, the manatee died. Manatee photo by Sue Damon. Canna and turtle photographs by Keith Blackmar.

to all our friends in the St Marks and Wakulla area.

We enjoyed many years aboard the Happy Cricket and friends like you

who made that possible. Thanks once again, from Jake Cotdd

Atlanta, Ga.

Jake and Faith extend best wishes…


Canna plant is growing at Fort San Marcos de Apalache near the confluence of the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers.

Canna reflects softer side

Located On Scenic Hwy. 98/Coastal Hwy.30 Miles South of Tallahassee

Approx. 10 Miles From Beautiful Wakulla Springs, Beach, Rivers & Short Drive to Wildlife Refuge

• High Speed Internet Access •• Outdoor Pool • Complimentary Hot Breakfast •

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AAA/AARP/Corporate Rates

850-926-37373292 Coastal Hwy., Crawfordville FL

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Special Ratesfor

St. Marks River Stone Crab

Festival

Head To Riverside Cafe in St. Marks for

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The RiveR, inc.

Head To Riverside Cafe in St. Marks for

Starting October 15

Saturday October 24

Lots of Fun & MusicAny further south and your all wet!

St. Marks Smoke House & Oyster BarSmoked Mullet,Oysters, Roasted Corn… Kids meals too!Best Bar “B” Q Around56 Riverside Dr., St. Marks

850925-7727

Follow the Music -

Live Bands All Day… for the festival at Riverside 10am - 10pm Featuring “Public Address” and “Anything but Stressed”

st. marks stone crab festival 2010

Documents

marks river

marks volunteer

marks seafoodst

marks outfittersst

succulent stone crab

wonderful stone crab

s canoe

stone crabby elinor