Do you remember that history class that put you to sleep back in high school?
This lecture is definitely not that.
The Friends of the Bruton Memorial Library will be hosting Florida Folk Heritage award recipient Bob Stone, who will speak on Florida cattle ranching.
His storytelling goes back five centuries, to the days where Spanish conquistadors such as Ponce de Leon stepped foot on virgin Florida soil. But as a folklorist, he isn’t just interested in the historical aspects of cattle ranching. From feisty cattle dogs to cowboy poetry, he covers all quirky aspects of ranchers throughout the years and today.
“Folklorists make historical connections … but we’re interested in the present, too,” Stone said. “Historians might be more interested in traditional buckskin whips. Now, they use nylon whips … so the rodents don’t eat them. They’re a little bit cheaper. That’s what’s being used.”
From superstitions to sports and recreation, Stone has stored a lot of knowledge over his years studying Florida culture. He has been a practicing folklorist since 1990 and has worked with History Miami, the Augusta Heritage Workshops and the Florida Folklife Program.
With a semi-truck full of artifacts and materials, he traveled from Florida to Nevada as the curator for the exhibition “Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition.” The exhibition has been viewed by more than 520,000 visitors. He also edited the exhibition catalog.
In 1521, Ponce de Leon brought cattle and hogs with him to the Florida coast. After the Spanish were run out by the British, ranches were decimated, and cattle scattered. Around the Civil War, there were an estimated 400,000 wild cattle roaming the swampy wilderness of Florida.
People started to hunt the cattle to ship to Cuba and the Bahamas. They were being offered $10 to $15 a head in gold — an unbelievable offer in the midst of a war-torn country.
“This was great, because the economy was destroyed after the Civil War,” Stone said. “In my mind, this could have well been the start of the Florida economy. It allowed people to get into citrus.”
Today, cattle ranching is widespread in Florida.
“Most people don’t realize that it is such a big business,” Stone said. “For the most part, it’s off the main turnpikes. You have to go inland a little bit.
And Plant City has its own rich tradition in cattle ranching. George Hamilton and Jake Summerlin, both from Plant City, became notorious for their cattle businesses.
“Five centuries of cattle ranching fits right in with agriculture in our community,” said Gil Gott, executive director of the Plant City Photo Archives and History Center. “It’s a great fit. It’s one of the earliest parts of our history. Ag came first. The strawberries came later.”
If you go
Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition at Plant City Library When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11 Where: Bruton Memorial Library, 302 W. McLendon St. Cost: Free