Jackson Trapnell, 7, decided to enter the Shoebox Float contest at the Florida Strawberry Festival for the first time this year. But his motivation was more than just the opportunity to win a trophy.
Trapnell’s grandfather, Theodore Knight, used to work at Parkesdale Farms. He was so valued as an unofficial member of the Parke family that when he received a cancer diagnosis, the Parkes threw him an appreciation party and fundraiser at the farm.
So when Trapnell found out that the four-year-old grandson of Parkesdale’s owners, Hayden Hitchcock, died after falling under a truck at a strawberry field in January, he wanted to show that he cared. Just as the Parkes had comforted Knight and his family before Trapnell was even born, Trapnell wanted to show his support for the Parkes in their time of need.
Trapnell’s shoebox float, displayed with other entries in a glass case just across the hall from Parksdale Farms’ booth at the festival, won first place in his age group. It had a superhero theme.
“I knew he liked superheroes, and it touched my heart,” Trapnell said.
The back of the float had Hayden’s name and a Captain America shield.
“He wore Captain America everything. He had the shield, he had it all,” Matt Parke, who oversees farm operations for Parkesdale Farms, said.
Parke was Hayden’s beloved uncle and role model.
At the festival, word of Trapnell’s float spread quickly, and members of the Parke family were sure to seek it out. It moved Parke and other relatives of Hayden to tears.
“It was great (for Hayden) to be remembered not by just his family, but by children from other families who have never met him,” Parke said.
After the festival, Jackson and his mother, Gwen Trapnell, met Parke at the farm office to give him the float. Parke immediately found a prominent place to display it.
“It still is a very hard thing to deal with … but I couldn’t be more proud of that boy right there and what he did,” Parke said about Trapnell.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.