Growing Macadamia in Central Florida Lake Alfred macadamia farmer and owner of the Florida Macadamia Growers Cooperative, Glenn Reynolds’ first taste of farming was spicy. As a kid, he would grow hot peppers to eat. It wouldn’t be until years later, that a failing citrus grove and parrot food would lead Reynolds to set out on a nearly 15-year journey to crack the secret to growing macadamia nuts in Florida. Reynolds was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. His family moved when he was three, just south of Washington D.C. where he spent 43 years. He moved to Florida for a job opportunity in 2002. When he and his wife bought the Lake Alfred property, about six of its seven and a half acres were citrus. In 2005, when citrus greening hit, Reynolds, an avid researcher, read up on the disease and how it had ravaged other parts of the world from Asia to Brazil – and now it was in Florida. He began to look toward the future of his farm. Reynolds raised and bred parrots for a long time. A common diet staple for larger parrots are macadamia nuts. “I was standing out in the driveway one day and I had a macadamia nut in my hand that I’d bought to feed my parrots and I looked at my wife and said, ‘I wonder if these would grow here.’” Everyone told him no, they wouldn’t grow – especially not in Central Florida. Many farmers have tried and failed to grow the nut. He began looking into the commonality of their failures. He found cases dating back into the mid-50s where people had tried to grow them here with a few successful years and then they would die. “The common thread that I found was everybody was buying macadamia trees that were developed in other parts of the world and trying to grow them here. That was the one thing I said I was not going to do. I started developing my own varieties specifically for Central Florida,” said Reynolds. His research into growing the plant began with the survival of the fittest he said. He bought a thousand fresh nuts to germinate. “They don’t grow true to the parent tree. I basically ended up with somewhere around a thousand different varieties of macadamia nuts,” he said. Some of the trees were lost to freeze, others didn’t survive due to unfavorable soil or weather conditions. Reynolds slowly weeded out varieties unsuitable to grow in the sunshine state and narrowed in on varieties that could thrive. Finding those varieties from seed takes years. “I have some trees out there that are pushing 14 years old that still have never produced a nut,” he said. He found that though some trees grow well and survive freezes, it doesn’t mean they will produce viable nuts. Through his experimentation with the trees he found that though they all seem to start blooming in December, nuts become mature at different times. Most nuts drop to the ground once they have matured, but not all nuts do. Some in his field began dropping as early as the middle of August with others as late as February the following year. This staggered dropping creates an efficiency issue during harvesting. To solve this, Reynolds set out a plot of trees that were seed grown. He took notes and observed. From his driveway going east, he is applying everything he learned with the other plot. He does this by developing his own methods of cloning good trees. He set up the new plot based on when they will drop nuts. Reynolds noted that his macadamia trees had not been fertilized for two years. Once a good portion of his citrus was gone and he pulled up what was left of the grove, he stopped fertilizing to get a baseline. “All of this was getting the same treatment as the citrus, so how do I know what the macadamia’s need?” he said. Presently, Reynolds has about 300 trees in the ground with room for another 400. His best yield was pre-Hurricane Irma. He had about 60 trees producing nuts with only about ten or twelve of them mature. That year he came close to two tons of macadamia nuts. He projected in the future if all 700 trees are planted and when they are mature, he thinks his seven-and-a-half-acre farm could yield 15 tons a year. Not only did Irma obliterate his harvest that year, he said, “I lost what I really thought was ‘the tree.’ I hadn’t cloned it yet so I had no viable tissue.” He hustled to try and keep it alive, even trying to find help with micropropagation, but to no avail – ‘the tree’ was lost. Reynolds says that he learns from his failures. He even keeps a bowl of nuts from that tree in his bedroom as a reminder to never miss an opportunity like that again. Does he want to make money on his macadamias? Certainly, but that’s not the ultimate goal. “I also looked it as not just creating something here for me but trying to create a new agricultural industry in Florida,” said Reynolds. “To me, the important thing is to find trees that grow here. Making money from the beginning can’t be that motivation.” This is the first time Reynolds has opened up to any media about his operation. He felt that after almost 15 years into it, the timing was right, and he wouldn’t be projecting false hope into the agriculture community. “It can be done,” he said. “It will work, it can be sold, there is a market here.” Reynolds gave us a tour of the property. We discussed everything from the trouble with stink bugs to training tree trunks, phytophthora also known as “Root Rot” or “Foot Rot,” to a tree that had split down the middle which Reynolds cleverly ran bolts through. You can even see the scar where the split healed, saving the tree. Everything is a learning process he said. “This is all [information] that I can pass on to other growers.” We admired his perennial peanut ground cover with his sweet rescue pup, Jenny by our side as he explained, “We’re trying to also make our entire property either Florida-friendly plants or Florida native plants.” The environmentally conscious farmer said his property is about 75% solar powered. “We try to be as green as possible,” he continued, “I was one of the first citrus farmers to go to fertigation where you’re fertilizing through the water so you’re not spreading it all over the place and it’s not running off.” “We have to protect our environment,” said Reynolds. “Preserving this piece of property and preserving this lake behind us because it gives us so much peacefulness, it’s worth the extra time and expense.” A multitude of plants fascinate the Lake Alfred farmer. On his property, Reynolds grows olives, bananas, peaches, avocados, mangoes, sugar cane, turmeric, figs, lavender, ginger and an entire neat little jungle of other plants. “I love growing things. It’s all so very interesting to me,” he said. A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK … AND SORT “I’m driven by challenges,” said Reynolds. “To me, it was one of the biggest challenges, particularly when the agricultural community was saying you can’t do it, people have tried to do it here before.” He takes pride not only in his macadamia nuts but, based on industry standards says, “I think Florida can grow far superior macadamia nuts to anywhere in the country.” His trees produce some nuts that are bigger than a half-dollar. Size isn’t the only thing to do with quality, he says. He explained the industry term “crack out,” saying that if you were to take a pound of nuts that had already been dried and cracked out of their shell and then weighed the amount of kernel compared to the whole pound, that number is your “crack out.” The minimum industry standard is about 28% crack out and 35% is considered to be exceptional. “I’ve got some trees out here that are giving me about 50%,” he said. The farmer says he is trying to expedite processing his harvest as well as build a co-op to benefit small farmers who can’t or may not want to shell out (pun intended) the money to buy the equipment to process them. As soon as nuts are harvested, they must be husked, dried, cracked and sorted – each step requiring either time-consuming labor or expensive equipment. His husker/ cracker machine, which he imported from New Zealand, cost almost $5K, an investment many small farmers can’t make. Once the nut is cracked, he’s left with more shell than nut and this is where the labor and time are, in separating the kernels from the shell. Currently, Reynolds uses 5-gallon buckets with different-sized holes in the bottom that he shakes the nuts through. There are electronic sorters available, but he said they are an investment of about a half million dollars. “I’m designing and building a mechanical sorter that I’m hoping will get me 80% there,” he said. The farmer has already built a dryer complete with electronic controls to dry the nuts. With a background in mechanics and fabrication, Reynolds opted to build a sorter himself. If his sorter is a success, he has discussed eventually manufacturing them. Ideally, Reynolds says he would be the one to front the equipment cost to process nuts for smaller operations. He added, “I hope within a couple of years to be selling some of my good varieties of trees.” WHERE TO FIND THEM In addition to his work growing macadamias, Reynolds sells his products online at flmgc.com and the Grove Roots Moonlight Market each month. Because he is a cottage industry operation, anything that has been processed such as his roasted and salted nuts or macadamia nut cookies can be purchased online, but cannot be shipped – they must be hand to hand. Unprocessed nuts are able to be shipped, however. The Grove Roots Moonlight Market is the only local market at which you’ll find his Lake Alfred macadamia nuts. “I love the people at Grove Roots. They’re great people,” he said. A big hit at the market are his macadamia nut cookies, a recipe he’s perfected over ten years. “I can sell 400 cookies in a matter of minutes on the right night,” he said. A new addition to his market offerings will be large bags of shells. He uses them for compost around trees, for mixing with sand to grow seedlings, and even as an aggregate for his driveway. His favorite use for them is in the smoker. “It’s fantastic for smoking meats,” he said. “There is a purpose for every part of the tree.” Florida Macadamia Growers Cooperative Flmgc.com FB @FLMGC

Later this month at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, Miss Florida, Michaela McLean will join 49 women from around the country to vie for the 2020 Miss America 2.0 crown. McLean took some time to talk with us about her journey to Miss America, people who have inspired her along the way, and to share her message to young women. Hailing from Clermont, Florida, 22-year-old Michaela McLean is an 8th generation Floridian, part of a family spanning 6 generations of organic citrus growers. She attended the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Double Major in Dance and Public Relations with a Specialization in Sport and Entertainment Communication Management. McLean started competing in pageants at 16 years old through the Miss Florida’s Outstanding Teen program. “I saw that there was an incredible opportunity to further my education [...]” she said of the scholarships awarded to winners through the program. “I wanted to make it a priority to grow from Miss Florida so that I could graduate debt-free from college one day.” Even at 16 years old, the pageant circuit and all the young women who participated had a profound impact on the future Miss Florida. “I saw that it challenged the young woman competing to sharpen her interview skills, sharpen her interpersonal skills, her communication skills,” she said. McLean knew if she wanted to go after her dreams in the public relations field, as a performer, or any other facet of her life, pageants were a way to prepare her and propel her forward. McLean described her teenage foray into pageantry. “At first, it can be an uncomfortable experience because it is sharpening you and strengthening you in your weaknesses,” she said. “I knew that once I came out of it on the other side I would be more of a well-rounded individual and gain so many life experiences that I would take with me forever.” REPPING THE CITRUS INDUSTRY McLean’s family has been growing organic citrus across Central Florida for generations. This made participating in and going on to win the Miss Florida Citrus pageant held in Winter Haven, that much more special. She put the spotlight on her grandfather, Benny McLean, and father, Ben McLean as two important influences who encouraged her to go after every one of her goals and dreams. Her Miss Florida Citrus title was a way to acknowledge them. “I’m so thankful that I was able to represent such an important part of my history and my family heritage on the Miss Florida stage,” she said. “When I competed for Miss Florida Citrus, I wanted to acknowledge and recognize how special that part of my life was.” BRAVE AND BEAUTIFUL: BREAKING FREE FROM BEHIND THE SCREEN McLean’s most memorable pageant memory thus far came the second after she won Miss Florida. She turned around to her local competitors and they all gave her a huge hug. “They were so encouraging, supporting, and so motivating,” she said. “To have other people excited for me was extremely encouraging.” That encouragement is fueling McLean as she heads to the Miss America 2.0 stage later this month. The women competing in the pageant have undeniable outward beauty, but McLean explained that Miss America 2.0 goes beyond looks, delving into the core of each woman. She said, “Miss America is now called Miss America 2.0 which focuses on the intellect, the substance, the worth, and the ambition of each candidate.” “I made it a priority and a goal to showcase who I am at my core in every phase of competition whether I’m speaking interpersonally to the judges or performing a lyrical contemporary dance on stage,” said McLean. She expressed that she wants to convey herself honestly to the judges and to the audience – “My dreams, my desires, my fears, my struggles,” she said. “This organization has shown me there is so much power and so much influence in using your voice for the greater good,” said McLean, who is doing just that with her social impact initiative, Brave and Beautiful. “Brave and Beautiful empowers women to break free from behind the screen. The addictive misuse of social media by today’s young women is escalating a mental health crisis that breeds anxiety, depression, social isolation, and body dysphoria,” McLean said. “My hope is to come up with a female-centric curriculum that educates young women on how they can properly use social media, manage social media messages, and know that their worth and their identity is not found in their comments, likes, or followers on their social media profiles.” To develop this female-centric curriculum by the Spring of 2020, McLean has partnered with advocacy groups such as Media Literacy Now as well as the University of Florida Department of Educational Technology. In addition to lobbying for social media education, McLean says, “My hope is as Miss America, I can speak to over a hundred thousand young women all across the nation, showing them that their worth and identity is found in who they are at their core.” Brave and Beautiful was an issue close to McLean. With a pre-teen introduction to social media, and as the oldest of four sisters, a former sorority member, and friend to many women – Miss Florida has become all too acquainted with the pressures and struggles of social media. “We feel like we have to live up to these expectations and these standards that social media puts on our lives, whether it’s an area of beauty or success or accomplishments,” said McLean who admitted that she has personally struggled with these issues. “This has become a mental health crisis among a lot of young women today, unfortunately. Two hundred and ten million people are expected to be suffering with a social media anxiety disorder,” she said. “This is something that I’ve taken up as my personal initiative as Miss Florida and I know that this is going to go beyond the crowd as well and be something that I’ll be passionate about for years to come.” PREPARING FOR THE JOB McLean said she is working every day to be sure she is emotionally, mentally, and spiritually prepared for the job. One person who prepared her to step into her job as Miss Florida and potentially Miss America 2020, lives across the globe in Nairobi, Kenya. McLean met Pastor Dennis Tamba of Nairobi International Church while on a mission trip. “He has taught me so much about what it means to be a servant leader and to serve others with every fiber of your being,” she said. He imparted on her the ideals of leading with humility and integrity and became a role model to McLean. “He showed me that a job or a moment in the spotlight is not about you – it’s about the people that you’re serving,” she said. Miss Florida has a message for young women watching her on the Miss America stage. It is advice given to her by her grandma that has helped her through times of doubting her own abilities – a phrase she lives by – “Go for it.” “That’s what I would tell those girls is, any dream whether you want to be a doctor or a lawyer or performer, just go for it,” she said. On her way to the Miss America stage, the biggest lesson that McLean has learned is that “It takes a village.” Preparing for this massive moment in her life, McLean says many have come alongside her to support, encourage, and motivate. She named her mom, Ann Marie McLean, along with Jennifer McKenna of the Miss Florida Organization, and Allison Krieger Walsh. “It’s those people who have made me the young woman I am today,” she said. She hopes to take every chance she gets in the future to come alongside others to support their dreams in the same way. “Miss America has always been a dream and to know that it is just around the corner makes me feel so giddy and excited and anxious and nervous and so ecstatic all at the same time,” said McLean. “I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be among 50 of America’s brightest, most intelligent, driven young women.” Good luck, Michaela! We’ll be tuning in to cheer you on from the sunshine state. Miss America 2.0 Airing live on NBC Thursday, December 19, 2019, at 8 PM EST IG @missamericafl IG @bebraveandbeautiful www.missamerica.org

What started as a garden on family land to grow their own food, has turned into a labor of love and a small business for Lakeland couple Luke Smith and Olivia Mines. With a focus on holistic farming and regenerative agriculture, the couple is doing their part to produce good food and be good to the environment. Both Smith’s and Mines’ families are generational to Lakeland. Happy’s Place belonged to Olivia’s grandfather, Harold “Happy” Lehman. “My grandpa bought Happy’s Place in the 80s if I’m not mistaken,” she said. According to Olivia, he would plant ornamentals, the occasional garden and built a barn and large structure with the help of his friends, for entertaining on the property where friends and family would gather on holidays. The couple enjoyed spending time on the property. Luke, who has grown vegetables with his grandfather his whole life, saw untapped potential and suggested they try planting a garden and food forest. He explained the food forest concept as planting a variety of edible plants that all grow together and benefit each other. “You create a story with large trees, like mangoes, and that’s your cover – your overstory,” he said. “Then you have your smaller trees like guavas, papayas, pawpaws, or citrus and you put those underneath. Then you put your miracle berries and your blackberries underneath those and you grow it all together.” HAPPILY HOLISTIC The roughly 38-acre property is breath-taking old Florida beauty. A dirt driveway in north Lakeland opens into a large clearing of land – a natural sanctuary. The property is speckled with wild blackberries, deep purple beauty berries and brilliant bursts of the Zinnias that Olivia planted. This organic splendor is sustained through the couple’s farming practices. Of the property’s 38 acres, only a portion of it is currently being used for farming. They have chicken and turkey coops, a few gardens, a shade house and a plethora of flowers and plants. Eventually, they would like to spread out. Luke said, “We want to tie everything in, keep it natural and give it a nice flow, yet make it productive.” Smith explained their holistic farming approach. The young farmers, in their twenties, want to do everything with the intention of benefiting the land – for every action to have an equally positive outcome. For example, “With the chickens, we don’t want to use any chemicals with them that would make their manure any less beneficial to the bacteria in the soil. With the garden, we always want to think about ‘If we spray this on the plant, is that going to kill the bees too?’” he said. They are minimal with what they spray. When they do, they opt for OMRI, a certified organic spray. “We want to keep it safe for the environment. We don’t want there to be any negative effects at all,” said Smith. The aspect of regenerative agriculture revolves around the same mutually beneficial principal. Smith said, “All the farming practices you want to be beneficial to the land and not just sustaining what you have – you want to always be adding to. Out here it has always been beautiful, and the land looks great and healthy and there weren’t ever any chemicals, to begin with. In some circumstances, you don’t want to be just sustainable because then you’re sustaining poor land. You always want to be regenerating and adding to.” Luke said that not only is this type of farming better for the land but better for your pockets as well. “You’re spending less money, less inputs,” he said. Olivia smiled, “Less inputs, more outputs.” STEWARDS OF THE LAND “I’ve always had a really deep connection to the land – with trees, nature, all of it. I could go out to the middle of the woods and just sit there all day,” said Luke. “I would never want to do anything to negatively affect it. She’s the same way,” he added, nodding toward Olivia. Smith and Mines’ original vegetable garden expanded into flowers, then chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. They sell their flowers, herbs, and produce at the Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curb Market each Saturday. Olivia even arranges beautiful herb bouquets to sell. When they aren’t tending to the farm or at the market, Luke and Olivia tend to a few herb gardens they planted around town. Behind Good Thyme they have a bed with a variety of thyme, sage, rosemary, and basil. They also tend to their community garden at Honeycomb with peppers, ginger, and turmeric. “I love herb gardens,” said Olivia. “We like to take care of plants, so it works out.” We made our way to the chicken coops for the first stop of our tour of Happy’s Place Farm. They started with just four chickens last year, some of which will be turning a year old this month. They’ve surpassed that number, to now over one hundred chickens and counting. They built the chicken coops themselves using wood from trees on the property. Olivia says she gets at least two dozen eggs a day from their chickens. For now, she gives the eggs away to family and friends. Next year, when they are laying enough, the pair will offer eggs at the Farmers Market. To give the chickens new grass and plenty of bugs to eat, Luke and Olivia move the coops every day or so. “They get their non-GMO soy-free grain in the morning and water and snacks the rest of the day,” said Olivia. She gives them treats like pumpkin and beauty berries. Next, we moved to the garden. The pair said that they are finally getting their gardens back together following the wet summer this year which flooded out the farm. Now, they are growing everything from radishes and carrots to broccoli, mustard greens, tomatoes, peppers, and squash. Some of what they know about farming comes from Luke’s experience growing with his grandfather. Part of it comes by way of YouTube videos and reading. “My grandpa had books out here going back into the 40s,” said Mines. The simple, oldschool advice from those books have been some of the most useful. Another part of it comes from the farming community. Olivia said that their exchanges with other farmers are always helpful, exchanging tips and ideas. She mentioned Aqua Organics, whom they know from the market, as well as Eco Farm. “They are so giving! We barter – we give them flowers and they give us seeds,” she said. A lot of their knowledge sprouts from good old-fashioned trial and error. They have been growing food for themselves for five or six years now. “Every season is different. You try to compare it to last year, but it doesn’t always work that way,” said Olivia. Dragon fruit, orange and red turmeric, mint, and cranberry hibiscus – Happy’s Place was an herbaceous wonderland. We stepped into the shade house at the far end of the farm which Olivia’s grandfather built with his friends. “During the Spring all this –– tomatoes, eggplant, herbs –– we can grow out there in the garden. But right now, this is how we make due,” said Olivia. She pointed out a vanilla orchid in the shade house. She explained that they were a part of the Orchid Society for quite a while. She playfully teased Luke, calling him an “orchid nerd.” Making our way to the barn, Luke stopped and kneeled down to show us a plant. “These are legumes,” he said. “Having enough well-growing legumes is equivalent to adding nitrogen to the soil. You’re doing it naturally. It’s another way to get around chemicals.” Luke and Olivia care about the holistic wellbeing of their farm –– every plant, every chicken, every flower. They plan to be good stewards of the land, continuing to grow in a way that is environmentally and ecologically thoughtful. “The main goal is to turn this place into a huge food forest,” said Smith. “That’s what we want to do is produce really good, healthy food.” Happy’s Place Farm IG @happysplacefarm

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” —Audre Lorde Inspired by movements like that of Femme Fatale DC, a “By womyn, for womyn” collective supporting women-owned creative entrepreneurs through retail pop-ups in Washington D.C., and in search of connections and opportunities exclusive to women – Ileah Green teamed up with co-founding members Alison Foley-Rothrock, Jessica Rios, Sunny Balliette, and Stephanie Gregg to form the Lakeland Women’s Collective – a space for women to be free. Free from harassment, free from discrimination, free to create, free to start a business, free to be women. Ileah Green grew up in Lakeland and moved away for college, settling in Washington D.C. in the ten years before moving home. In D.C., Green took notice of womenonly spaces popping up around the city like that of Femme Fatale DC. “It was about empowering women to be themselves and to celebrate their uniqueness, and also to grow female relationships,” said Green. When she relocated to Lakeland, Green sought out opportunities to support women in freelancing, creative, artistic, and entrepreneurial endeavors. Her first thought was to check out the women’s business center. The only trouble was finding one. Six months of asking just about everyone she knew where she could find one, it became clear that it simply didn’t exist in Lakeland. Where was the place exclusively investing in women entrepreneurs? Where was the money for women-owned businesses? Where could women come together to connect and share in their badassery? “I started the Women’s Collective out of looking for connections – around business, around being a mom, around being a woman,” said Green. THE BEGINNING OF LWC Green met Sunny Balliette at a LKLD Creative Makers meeting. The two shared their frustrations with and vision for the state of women in Lakeland. The two began meeting to brainstorm ways to create opportunities for women locally. In efforts to bring together interesting, powerful women in the community, they began holding women’s meetings or “focus groups” as Green called them. She looked at these focus groups as a way to gauge whether other women felt similarly about the plights of women in Lakeland and lack of opportunity for them here. She wasn’t alone. Balliette, a creative entrepreneur herself, started the VOLUME Art Collective and began organizing classes at ART/ifact. These classes caught the attention of artist, Jessica Rios. The two connected and Balliette invited Rios to the women’s group meeting. Green met attorney and founder of the Red Tent Initiative, Alison Foley-Rothrock in the summer of 2018 after someone suggested she reach out to the anti-domestic violence organization if she was looking for an impactful way to support women. After meeting Foley-Rothrock, Green started working with her as an advisory board member for Red Tent and as an assistant at Foley-Rothrock’s law firm. Their first event as a collective, a joint effort with the Red Tent Initiative, was a presentation of data from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research called “The Status of Women.” The response to the event was exceedingly positive and the founding members began to think about, “how do we make Lakeland and Polk County a safer and more equitable, more even playing field for women and people of color,” said Green. The growth has continued, as have the events. The second was a Women’s March Meetup at the Poor Porker, and they’ve continued hosting events for activism, art, entrepreneurship, and femaleempowerment. THE MISSION The LWC wanted to get the message across loud and clear to women that they are important, deserve to be treated with respect, and have a job that pays well and doesn’t expose them to harassment. “You have options, but it’s easy to feel like there are no options if you’re in a community that is stifling,” said Green. “I think in a lot of ways, Lakeland can be stifling to women and people of color.” The collective wanted to seek out a co-working environment that was a safe space in which women, femme-identifying, and non-binary artists, makers, and entrepreneurs could exist and work free of harassment and discrimination. After a few potential locations fell through, the group found the Lemon Street space just outside of downtown that would become the Lakeland Women’s Collective. The co-working space is home to brilliant and creative women from lawyers, nail artists, writers, artists and more. Lakeland Women’s Collective is an inclusive, pro-equality, pro-equity, non-denominational, non-partisan, pro-woman, and pro-human rights space. “We want social, economic, and political equality for everybody,” said Jessica Rios. “Glass ceilings are a real thing – and we want to shatter those. […] Anything that is holding women back, we want to get rid of.” Rios said, “Somehow women end up here and we heal each other.” In addition to the healing she has received and given to her sisters at the LWC, Rios finds it inspirational to be surrounded by women doing what they want to do. “Women are coming here and making their dreams come true,” she said. “I love that we can come here and engage in a powerful way and become powerful in business without participating in the toxic masculinity and environments that we find in other workspaces,” said Foley-Rothrock. “We’ve created our own space for each other, for ourselves. This is a safe space where we can be ourselves, but also be doing powerful things and making decisions and making impacts around us – without compromise.” Without compromise is right. Everything they’ve done as a collective has been engineered to give women opportunities without compromising other areas of their life – like motherhood. The LWC’s position is that motherhood and business are not mutually exclusive. A woman can be both an attentive, caring mother and powerful, successful entrepreneur. They even provide a kid’s room at their coworking space. Members are welcome and encouraged to bring their children. Foley-Rothrock said, “That’s one of those systemic things that seems to still be ingrained here in Lakeland and in more conservative communities around the country – that you have to choose either being a mother or being a business owner and a powerful business person.” “How do you make the transition between being a stay at home mother and wanting to work on becoming an entrepreneur? The gap from one to the other where you’re making enough money to leave your child in childcare or make other arrangements is a pretty big leap,” said FoleyRothrock. “That not being recognized and not acknowledged is part of the whole patriarchal system where it’s clear that men, and people who have wealth, and people who have traditional family structures are still very much in charge of making those decisions.” Green said that her goal for the LWC is to ensure that women understand resources are available to them and that, “there are very smart women in this town, who want women to be successful.” “That’s my goal, is to remove as many barriers as possible to women supporting themselves, making names for themselves, having their own businesses, being artists, having their own creative business,” said Green. Some of the many resources the collective provides to women through education. Women like Sylvia Blackmon-Roberts, president and CEO of a management consulting firm out of Lakeland and Financial Professional, Tari Kezele, invest their time with LWC to help women become more informed in matters of business and finance. “I want women to be as armed in terms of information as possible,” said Green. She encourages women in the community to feel empowered to do anything, saying, “Come here, let’s talk about it. We can brainstorm ways to get you moving and if you need connections to people to figure out how to get it going, we’ll find them. And if we don’t know them, we’ll ask somebody who may.” Green said she believes that some in positions of wealth and power in the city have an ingrained idea of scarcity. “They believe that there is not enough. There’s not enough to go around, you can only have one important place, you can only put your money in one place, you can only invest in one organization. Only one, only one, only one. That’s bullshit,” she said. “There is enough. There is enough money, there is enough investment, there is enough opportunity.” Foley-Rothrock agreed with Green, adding, “It creates the ‘us versus them’ and we’re refusing to buy into the idea that in order to lift myself up, in order to get ahead, I have to step on somebody else. No, we can work together, and we can make it happen for ourselves and each other.” The Christian community has a strong presence in Lakeland. The women expressed that they are not at all anti-church and respect the religious beliefs or lack thereof of other people but don’t think women should have to subscribe to a certain church or religion to receive resources like affordable housing and childcare. Foley-Rothrock expressed the importance of building connections and community beyond those traditional power structures, saying, “Resources like affordable childcare and housing – all of those are also concentrated in the Christian community. Ninety percent of the resources for lowincome individuals and homeless individuals and survivors are all attached to religious services – ninety percent,” she said. The community has reacted in a big way to the LWC. Rios expressed that from the overwhelming response of a 350 people turnout to “Pink Moon,” their all-female artist showcase at ART/ifact, to petition signings, and the grand opening of their space – many have shown support or at least taken notice of their movement. She smiled, held up her Rosie the Riveter mug and said, “We can do it!” GIRL POWER In addition to arming women with information, the collective believes it is important to level the playing field. “We are pro-equality and we are pro-equity,” said Green. She explained it through a graphic she’d recently seen. In the graphic, three people of differing heights stand at a fence, unable to see over it. Equality, she explained, is giving them all the same size box to stand on – though they still won’t all be able to see. “Equity is when you give them the appropriate-size box so they can all see over the fence,” said Green. A large part of making Lakeland a more equitable community is an increased minimum wage say the LWC founding members. “We think that minimum wage should be a living wage,” said Green. At the barebones minimum, they believe it should be $15 an hour, but Green says she would like to see it closer to $20. The collective urges people to call the person who represents them on the city commission about the importance of raising the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. Foley-Rothrock suggested constituents vet candidates running for office about their stance on minimum wage and vote accordingly. An act of empowerment is also, simply listening to one another. “There are a lot of women here who have experienced trauma in their lives and they need someone who will listen to them, who is not going to have a response,” said Green. “Just listen, tell them that they’re awesome and that you’re sad for them that they’re struggling, but that you want the best for them and that you want to help as much as you can, and then shut up and listen.” Women can empower themselves and each other by spending time together, being resources for each other, and brainstorming together said, Jessica Rios. “We’re all doing such different things, and everyone has something different to offer.” SUPPORT WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN All women, femme-identifying, and non-binary folks across the county and beyond are welcome to join the Lakeland Women’s Collective. The LWC board members said many of their events are open to everyone and that they are appreciative of their male allies. Check out their website for a full list of paid membership options. “One of the major perks, other than the space, of being a paid member of the Women’s Collective is that we have partnered with a bunch of women-owned businesses locally that offer our members discounts,” said Green. Find events like dance parties, art shows, workshops, candidate forums, and a monthly happy hour at Revival, as well as other classes and resources on their website where you can also donate to their registry. For its founders and members, the Lakeland Women’s Collective has become a space to feel safe, supported, and empowered. Do you hear that, Polk County? That’s the sound of glass shattering. Lakeland Women’s Collective 818 E Lemon St, Lakeland (By appointment only) www.lakelandwomenscollective.com FB @LakelandWomensCollective IG @lakelandwomenscollective Photos by Amy Sexson

The United States was coming out of the Second World War. The troops came home with many physical and psychological wounds. Many had suffered horrendous experiences beyond our present understanding. Yet, life had to go on. Families reunited, rebuilt lives and carried on. I had the honor of talking to Randall Stokes Edwards, a 102-year-old who was a Prisoner of War in Manchuria for over three years. He shared stories with me of his very challenging life. Randall began, “We were in the Philippines on a ship that supplied twenty submarines. We had the spare torpedoes. USS Canopus was a 1918 banana boat that had 600 sailors. There were no sleeping quarters for the enlisted men. I slept behind a big radio transmitter on a cot. I was a radioman first class. When the Japanese came, the ship was bombed and that supposedly put her out of commission. We weren’t really, of course, but we made it look that way. We made it look like it was only good to scuttle.” He continued, “The Japanese attacked the Philippines and so we were ordered to go to a port at the very bottom tip of the Bataan peninsula. We serviced our last submarines there but then the Japanese pinned us down. I went with the 220 Signal Corps with the army. We did anything we could with the material we had. We had no supplies at this time and we ate everything we could find while at Bataan. We ate the last Army mule in March and we were completely surrounded by the Japanese.” “In April, a Japanese general came back to kill all the Americans on Bataan,” Randall added, “We weren’t going anywhere, we were dying anyway. We were starving to death. We had beriberi, malaria and dysentery. We didn’t have much ammunition and the clip I put in my 1898 enfield rifle when I fired it, would travel about twenty feet and we’d see it drop. We would get a whole case of ammo and out of that very little was any good. It was all so corroded. So we didn’t have much to shoot with.” Randall remembers when the Japanese general brought his army back to Bataan, they folded. “The last order I got from the Army was you are on your own. I had a choice, try to go through the jungle and escape or I could join the Navy. Well hell, I didn’t like that jungle thing so I went back to join the Navy. My old ship was nose down and the Navy crew was gone. Me and my friend decided to get to Corregidor. We picked up junk, floated on it, and the tide helped us get there. We found the Marine battalion there. We were bombed daily. We watched and counted 900 guns landing on Corregidor. It was just a mile from us. They were the big guns, 240 millimeter! General Wainwright, commander of the Allied Forces in the Philippines, surrendered to the Japanese in May, 1942.” Randall tells how he was deathly ill and somehow survived and for a time ended up cooking for Japanese engineers while still on the island of Corregidor. “At that time we ate pretty darn good.” Then he was transferred to another prisoner camp where he was put on the burial detail. The grave was a huge trench. “We would take the dog tags off the bodies and slide them in. It was a horrible job.” Randall recalls 1500 Americans and 1500 Japanese were put on a troop ship. “We were in the hold of the ship but half of us would be on deck as there was no room. We got one cup of water and a tiny rations per day.” In transit Randall had many close calls. He was moved with other prisoners many times. “We dodged a submarine attack. We were on deck and saw a big splash about a quarter of a mile away. We screamed torpedo and even more came at us. Now we knew that those American torpedoes would bump into us, but we also knew they wouldn’t explode. What happened was the firing pin, which was supposed to go straight back in, would bend on contact instead and not explode. You could hear a thud when they hit a ship… but they wouldn’t explode! The Navy eventually fixed that!” After many months The prisoners ended up in China. “We were not POWS now, we were slave labor. The Japanese sold us to the MKK corporation to build factories in Manchuria. We got there in November. The camp, well, it was like the way Americans raise hogs in. One cast iron stove was at the end of each building. It was 40 below zero there. I froze my feet, I froze my hands and everybody else did too. I wasn’t unique. We did not have any clothes! And we were dying! That first winter we had a cup of cabbage soup each day. The doctors recommended soy beans in the soup! That’s what we ate until we finally were released, more protein.” When asked about how he could get up every day he said “We had no choice. We knew the Americans were coming. But we also knew we would all be executed if they came. So we did what we could to sabotage. You know how I survived? Every morning when I woke up I would say these little bastards aren’t going to kill me today! “ How Did you finally get released? “That’s pretty interesting. One morning we were all sent out to the parade field.There were no guards! An American said the war is over! You woulda thought you’d hear whoops and yelling. But not a sound. (He choked up here). You could hear a pin drop. After three years thinking we could die any day, we were speechless. After that we bailed out of that camp like you wouldn’t believe! Eventually we were shipped out to hospitals to recover.” Back home, Randall did a five year Electrical Engineering program in three years. He wasted no time in getting back to life. He spent 25 years working for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. He later moved to Lakeland to be near his only son, Dr. J. Randall Edwards. Edwards became a National Service Officer for American Ex Prisoners of War Organization and American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. He has served many over the years. He has given many speeches to the Service Academies . For now, he is taking it easy as he is legally blind but still can walk without a cane! When referring to the Greatest Generation, I think Randall Edwards stands out . He did what he had to do. He came back, worked hard, made no excuses (though he sure could have), preservered, and has lived a full and rich life.

Ask Lake Wales residents where to go for an extraordinary meal and they’ll likely point you to a quaint, done-up dining space off of Highway 60. L’incontro Italian Restaurant opened on January 14, 2011, bringing old-world, traditional Italian cuisine to The Ridge. We sat with the owner and general manager, Alex Barrera at lunch one afternoon to discuss the secret to their success. The lighting was dim and dreamy, tables were fully set with a carnation resting in a freshly filled vase of chilled water. The wait staff were dressed immaculately and tended to guests in the same fashion. Beyond the ambient main dining area is enclosed outdoor seating for a more private, scenic dining experience. Hungry patrons began filing into the upscale-casual eatery for a mid-afternoon meal. THE FAMILY L’incontro is family owned and operated by Barrera and his uncle, Chef Jose Uzhca. Barrera’s family, including his four uncles, are all culinaryminded. “Our family has been in the food industry for a very long time,” said Barrera. Immigrating from Ecuador in the mid 60s, his four uncles went on to lead accomplished careers within the food space, either working as Italian cuisine chefs or owning restaurants of their own. One of Chef Jose’s brothers established his restaurant in Lake Alfred, Luigi’s, and another retired from a restaurant of the same appellation, Trattoria L’incontro in Astoria, New York. Chef Jose, the youngest of four brothers, began cooking at just 17 years old. His resumé boasts some 25 years of perfecting the craft at restaurants Jardino, Novanta, Vivolo, IL Sogno, La Pergola di Taormina, Cafe Fiorello and the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Chef Jose has had the opportunity to present dishes to some of the most high-profile people in the world, including the President of France, Oprah Winfrey and more. Barrera himself is no rookie on the culinary scene – always working in one form or another in the restaurant industry. Around 14 years old, Alex began washing dishes in restaurants, eventually working his way up to busboy, runner, server, manager and expediter. His background specializes in Japanese restaurants. He started at the renown Nobu Japanese restaurant as a busser, eventually becoming an expediter. THE FOOD Made to order, using traditional recipes and cooking methods, the dishes on L’incontro’s menu span regions and generations of the old country. “Our menu is a very old menu,” he said. The restaurant pays homage to old-world tradition with dishes from puttanesca to piccata. There is no gimmick, no spin – just Italian cuisine as it was intended, according to Barrera. What is any good Italian eatery without its marinara? As an anchor to many menu items, having the perfect sauce is paramount, and L’incontro has perfected it. “Everybody says it’s in the sauce,” said Barrera. Other popular menu items include mussels and clams served with garlic oil, as well as mozzarella caprese, and their famous spaghetti bolognese. “It’s a little twist on spaghetti meat sauce, we just add a little cream. Some people aren’t aware, but that’s what ‘bolognese’ means – it’s from Bologna in Italy and you add cream. It makes a huge difference,” said Barrera. Even more special is what you won’t find on the menu. Every night, L’incontro presents Chef Recommendations. Lake Wales residents are addicted to the String Bean Salad – a simple dish made with string beans, red onions, homemade mozzarella cubes, tossed in a homemade Italian vinaigrette. Their Chef Recommendation Stuffed Pork Chop Barrera described as a Frenched, bone-in pork chop elevated in flavor by prosciutto, goat cheese, raisins, cranberries, candied apples, wrapped in bacon and finished with a truffle mushroom Marsala sauce. This dish is in such demand that it makes the special menu at least once a week. Fancy a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with your spaghetti bolognese? The restaurant offers a selection of wine and beer along with the addition of a full bar in January earlier this year. You can enjoy lunch or dinner service at L’incontro seven days a week. Dinner reservations are recommended. Stay tuned to their social media or join their newsletter to be in the loop for special events like wine pairings and live music. Maybe it’s the food or the service that has won over the community, or perhaps the secret sauce is in the name “L’incontro.” A date night, business meeting, or a family gathering are all done best at “The Meeting Place.” L’incontro Italian Restaurant 35 FL-60, Lake Wales (863) 676-7400 Lincontrofl.com FB @LincontroItalianRestaurant Photo by Amy Sexson

Florida native, JC Anderson lived the first few years of his life in Norway where his dad is from. His family made the move to Lakeland in the late 80s when he was five, where he lived until moving to Nashville in 2004. Growing up, his goal was to be a doctor. In fact, he had earned a full ride scholarship to college after graduating Bartow High School in 2003. The thing was, he had already been playing music on the side, for fun, and it was getting pretty serious. I met up with JC on a September day after he finished his set at the Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville to talk. JC’s been living in Tennessee for fifteen years, and remembers the day he told his parents he didn’t want to go to college. “I started getting to open for shows like Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Trace Atkins and a bunch of big artists in Florida. I was playing music on the side, for fun and one day I thought, I can’t go to college now,” he smiled. He told his parents he wasn’t going to school and he wanted to move to Nashville. “I worked that summer at Crispers to save up money for an apartment.” Photo by Annette McNamara After moving to Nashville, he got a production deal within six months, which is unheard of. JC had a fellow Norwegian friend who plays guitar, give JC’s music to a producer friend named Ted Hewitt. “Ted liked what I was doing, asked me to come meet with him and he produced a few songs,” he said. At the same time, he was working at a restaurant in Hermitage, TN, a block from his house. “I was a horrible server, I was awful. I was too clumsy and couldn’t memorize stuff well,” he laughed. He needed to make money and he also happened to meet his future wife, Kristi there. So it wasn’t all bad. When he wasn’t at the restaurant, he was keeping the dream alive. “My producer tells me the next step now, is putting a band together and getting some guys you can go out on the road and start touring with. I lucked into doing shows with really big artists before, but I needed road experience.” At age 19, he came back to Florida and teamed up with his mom, Mary Anne to start auditioning for band mates. Bill Boyce was the first person he heard play. JC told him, “You’re in, I don’t need to look any further!” When Bill asked where the rest of the band was? “I laughed and said, you’re it so far!” The drummer was Jimmy Smith, one of his best friends in Lakeland. “One of the best drummers I’ve ever known,” JC said. “He was out in Hollywood at the time. I called him and he said he’d been waiting for this call for a long time.” Everything was falling into place. They got a great group of guys together and started playing gigs in Lakeland. At that point, JC was ready to move back to Tennessee and he was bringing his band. They got a house in the country where they all hunkered down and started making and recording more music. That’s when his mom told him about a new show coming out called The Next GAC Star. (on the Great American Country Channel.) After a little convincing from her, he sent in his music video. “I had just finished a music video before I came back up here for the first song I’ve ever wrote. A week later I got a phone call from GAC and was told I was the Judges Choice for this week’s show.” After being on the live finale show, they won 2nd runner up. That brought opportunities with record labels which were great, however the country’s recession didn’t help. “They all told me the same thing. We love ya but we can’t do anything right now. If we sign you, we’re going to have to shelf you. I felt like the iron was still hot so I didn’t want that,” he explained. He wanted something now, but it just wasn’t happening. Needing to make a living and you know, pay bills and everything. He had to figure out his next move. That’s where the Wildhorse Saloon comes in. They were having a contest, and long story short, after 800 submissions from hopeful musicians, they narrowed it down to 36 to compete live. JC not only made it to the finale, but he eventually went on to win. That meant he won a year contract with them. After that, it was more recording and more touring. At that point, he had been married to Kristi for two years. They began talking about kids. “I felt like, I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know where my life is going. I’m working hard but we’re at this plateau of not knowing what’s next. I don’t have a manager and I don’t know how the business works in that aspect.” He did whatever it took to make things work and to have a family. “We had our first baby, little Sophia, and I did whatever I had to do to get by at that point. I played shows, I worked in warehouses and then I got a job working in the auto industry. It was supposed to be temporary, something to get by.” However, they wanted him full time, so he took it. “I went in at entry-level working at an auto auction place, then got a full time job but was trying to hustle the whole time, too,” he said. They gave him a promotion after promotion, “I worked my tail off. I was working and working at this job, moving up fast. “One day I came to this realization, what am I doing? I’ve been in this business for four years now, was still playing shows, still taking promotions at work but had even less time to play music. That’s when Clay Ryan, the owner of the dealership and still one of his best friends, told him to quit music because he was wasting all of his time at work. “Clay told me, why don’t you leave here and go out there and do what you came here to do. I called my wife and asked her what she thought about me quitting the corporate job and going back at music full time and giving it everything I’ve got while I still can.” Kristi supported him. “ I told her it’s going to be hard. Money will be tight. I basically had to start over and I had to go bigger and better this time around. I worked hard, toured hard, booked more shows, played every hole in the wall in front of 5 people.” Wherever they could get there foot in the door, and started making a new fan base. He said sometimes it was fun, but mostly they were burned out, it was becoming difficult. They started booking less shows focusing on more quality shows. One night playing a show at Puckett’s in downtown Nashville, Len Besinger saw them play. “He’s from Glacier Entertainment Artist Management.” The company had been sitting dormant since the recession. JC explained that Besinger played his music for a friend at CMT, and was inspired to get back into the industry. They’ve been working together since. They’ve been playing bigger stages, making more money, and playing songs that he wrote. “It’s amazing to have other people like what you’re doing so much that they help you with the next step.” “This is the best year we’ve ever had, we’re on pace to have over 200 shows. I’m not starving to death like I was before,” he laughed. They will be coming out with a new single this fall. “Now with a bigger appreciation of what I’m doing and the gift that I was so lucky for God to give me, it is my responsibility to do it,” he said. “As long as I try hard enough, I will find a way. If I don’t give up, I will find a way.” I asked if he had any advice for budding musicians trying to make it big. “The music business is very deep and dark and heartbreaking. You go out every day and wear your heart on your sleeve. You don’t know where it’s going to go. I’ve had so many big things happen to me, with the show, record companies, I’ve gotten so far, so many times and at the last second everything just doesn’t work out. Over and over again. I’m doing everything I can to be the best and be better than the other guy, but nothing happens. You get bitter, jaded and angry. This is not for the faint of heart,” he said thoughtfully. “I don’t do this for me anymore. I love it and I can’t see myself doing anything else but I don’t do it to be a star. I know what I’m best at. So it’s my responsibility to do that and put my kids through college and to support my family, you know?” After sitting for a bit, he added, “Get out and perform in front of people, not your family and not your friends. Perform for people you don’t know and then see if you want to take it further. “ As for his family, “They’re my motivation to keep trying. I don’t want to let them down.” www.jcandersen.com FB@jcandersonband

Beauty pageants. Those two words may evoke images of scenes from movies like “Miss Congeniality” and “Dumplin’” or the perceived superficiality of the pageant circuit. Tall, thin, pretty girls lauded for being pretty – right? In reality, it’s so much more than that. It is scholarships, community service, confidence-building, opportunities, and life lessons according to Florida Citrus Queen 1981, now Executive Director of the Miss Florida Citrus pageant, Brenda Eubanks Burnette. Pageants have been so pivotal in her life in fact, they have led her to her current position as the Executive Director of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Born in Miami, Burnette came to Winter Haven when she was in the second grade. She went through school here, graduated from Winter Haven High School and then Polk Community College. She got her start in pageants winning Miss Winter Haven. Through the encouragement and help to find a sponsor of Bob Eastman and Jerry Imber, she went on to compete in the Florida Citrus Queen pageant. “The first year, I didn’t win or place or anything. In fact, I was so nervous because I wasn’t really a pageant girl, I was only in it for the scholarship money. I forgot my sponsor’s name and everything,” she remembered, smiling. Two years later, when Brenda was working for WSIR Radio, Eastman and Imber convinced her to come back and compete in the pageant again. Bill Raley of Dundee Citrus Growers Association agreed to be her sponsor. Brenda Burnette entered the pageant and claimed the crown as the 1981 Florida Citrus Queen. She received a car for a year and a $1,000 wardrobe along with other prizes. She was paid a whopping $25 for every appearance she made. It wasn’t the prizes or the money that left an impact on Brenda, it was the experience and the opportunities that blossomed from it. “It was the networking and the things that you could do that was so exciting – and the fact that you’d be traveling the world,” she said. “It was a huge growing experience.” The beauty queen had never traveled by herself before then. She remembered her first time traveling to New York and taking a taxi. The meter was blinking and the cab driver spoke no English. She paid him $21 for a ride that most certainly didn’t cost that much. She chuckled as she told that story and about the first time she saw snow, in Chicago – wearing high heel sandals. Her job as reigning Florida Citrus Queen took her all across the United States, Canada, and even Japan – twice. During her travels she met Bruce Springsteen by happenstance in a hotel lobby waiting for the rain to stop. It was his birthday, so she gave him a birthday kiss. “I met a lot of people over that year that really helped me in terms of growing as a public relations person and networking,” she said. After her year as Florida Citrus Queen, she took a job with the Winter Haven News Chief, then as a subcontractor for the Department of Citrus for three years, booking herself in media and tv interviews throughout the United States and Canada. She got into real estate for a time. Then, she was asked to interview for the position of Executive Director for the Florida Citrus Showcase. She was hired for the position and was asked to take over the Miss Florida Citrus Pageant. She did, even securing an $18K per year salary for the woman who won. Working a job was nearly impossible as the appearances and time commitment was a full-time job for the queen. She ran the program from 1989 to 1993 before moving full time to South Florida. According to Brunette, The Showcase stopped at some point after that, leaving the Florida Citrus Queen pageant, a program which began in 1924, defunct. BEAUTY – INSIDE AND OUT “Being a queen goes beyond the mascara and hairspray,” said Burnette. During her time as the Florida Citrus Queen, she learned everything from time management, to always be dependable and honest, and how to conduct herself thoughtfully, gracefully, and intelligently in interviews. “It’s a big confidence-builder. It makes you believe in what you can do because of the things that happen to you along the way,” she said. She can remember arriving late in Chicago one evening. She had a television appearance early the next morning and the universe seemed to be working against her. The pipes froze overnight leaving no running water and her scheduled 3 a.m. wake-up call never came. When the field agent knocked on her door to ask if she was up and ready – she panicked and jumped into action. She couldn’t get a shower, had to brush her teeth dry, and do her hair and makeup in the car – but she made it there, ready to fulfill her duties. “You have to learn to roll with the punches and get up and do it,” she said. She learned to catch cat naps whenever she could, like in the car between appearances. She also learned to be herself. Her mom always told her, “You can’t be anything more than you already are, so be the best at that, that you can be.” FLORIDA CITRUS QUEEN 2.0 In 2012, Burnette brought the pageant back to life. The title of Florida Citrus Queen was back with a new name, Miss Florida Citrus, and is now a preliminary pageant for the Miss Florida pageant. “I now run Miss Winter Haven and Miss Florida Citrus pageant because that’s how I got my start,” she said. It is made all the more special for Burnette to see the winner of last year’s pageant, Michaela McLean, go on to take the 2019 Miss Florida crown. McLean is slated to compete in the 2020 Miss America pageant this December. Burnette shared advice she gives the young ladies who compete now as Executive Director of the pageant. “One of the things I always tell the girls is that this is a job. You are competing for a job, so you need to picture yourself as that person and treat it accordingly. Act as if you already have the crown.” “The job description is not that we want somebody who is 5’10”, blonde and thin as a toothpick. We want somebody who puts her own stamp on that job and it doesn’t matter how tall or cute – if you can’t talk to people and be real with people, it doesn’t make any difference,” she said. “Those shoes are your shoes that year – so you make your own footprint.” Beauty pageants are glamorous, sure. But they are so much more than that according to the Miss Florida Citrus Executive Director. “The thing people don’t realize is that Miss America is one of the largest scholarship providers for young women in America,” she said. “These scholarships allow these women to have an education.” The Miss Florida Citrus pageant alone awards $3K in scholarships each year. Many pageants, including Miss America, not only give the ladies who compete, scholarship opportunities, they encourage them to serve others, and the community. Contestants in pageants like Miss America are required to fulfill so many service hours, champion a social initiative, and raise money for a charity. Tune in to NBC on December 19 from 8 pm - 10 pm ET/ PT, to watch Miss Florida, Michaela McLean vie for the 2020 Miss America crown. Burnette will be there to cheer her on! Burnette says she feels fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunities she’s had and to have met the people she’s met. Memories and friendships and glamour aside, Brenda Burnette says being a beauty queen taught her most about, “Making the most of any opportunity that comes your way.” Solid advice from a woman who has done just that.

Lakeland’s hometown barbeque spot since 1964, Jimbo’s Pit Bar B-Q maintains a lasting legacy of good food and good service, run by good folks. The restaurant was originally started by Jim Neff, owner of the Foxfire Restaurant and Henry Landworth who owned the Holiday Inn just down the road. Peck’s Freez-ette was the eatery’s first moniker. It eventually became Jimbo’s Pit Bar B-Q and Neff hired Harold “Happy” Lehman to run it. “Dad managed it for him for a year and bought it from him in ’65,” remembered Harold’s daughter, Traci Lehman Hughes. Traci started working at Jimbo’s when she was 16 years old, leaving for a time to go to school in Orlando. In 2001, she bought the business and carries on the barbecue legacy that has endured for over half a century. Not much has changed in Jimbo’s since the doors first opened. The warm wood-paneled dining area is lined with antiques (which Harold Lehman collected) and some pig-themed decor brought in by guests. The comfy space is filled with picnic-style bench seating and the large windows allow light to flood in. About half of their business comes from take-out through their drive-thru and walk-up windows. Guests can order there or order online through their website and on bitesquad. com. A 1965 menu is framed, hanging on the wall, yellowed a bit with age. They’ve added a few things and taken a few off, but the bones of Jimbo’s menu remain the same. The current menu offers up barbecue standards like chopped pork, Bar B-Q beef and ham, chicken, Jimbo’s burger, or a fried fish sandwich with all the fixin’s. The star of the show is Jimbo’s Bar B-Q Ribs. By far, their biggest seller, the ribs, like the rest of their barbecue, are meat magic made with love. “We use an oiler pit, which comes out of Texas. We use no gas in cooking our barbeque – it’s all wood,” said Traci. “We put a dry rub on them, then we smoke them for 3 and a half, 4 hours. They come off and we baste them. It’s pretty simple – they’re just really good,” she smiled. Everything but the potato salad is made in-house at Jimbo’s. That includes Bar B-Q beans, coleslaw, mac and cheese and more. But I’d be remiss not to mention the made from scratch, to-die-for apple and cherry pies. In fact, that’s what Traci was about to do as we walked in for the interview – roll out the dough for the day’s pie. Though Harold Lehman passed away in 2018, Jimbo’s remains familyowned and operated. Traci’s daughters work with her at the restaurant. Daughter Olivia also runs Happy’s Place Farm and Chloe attends the University of Florida online. Daughter Molly is currently attending college at UF and picks up a shift or two when she comes home to Lakeland. Traci’s nephew, Tyson Hutto and cousin, Daryl Lehman also work at the restaurant. Jimbo’s offers catering and a holiday special in which you can buy whole pies and smoked turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They begin taking reservations for that on November 1 – whip your phone out now because they usually book up within the first week. “We haven’t changed much over the last 50 years – it’s kind of crazy, but it works,” said Traci. She learned this concept from her dad, though she’d nudge him to tweak things here or there in the past. “Now that I’m older, I get that. It works – why would I want to mess with it?” That’s only one of the many things Traci learned working with her dad. She also learned, “To value your customers, to be nice, to get out there and help your community and give back where you can.” Jimbo’s customer base is generational. The family says they are thankful for the community that has supported their small business over the years. “We can’t do it without them. We’re so lucky, we have generations who come in. People will come in with their grand-dad and their dad,” said Traci. Though not messing with what works is part of Jimbo’s business model, that doesn’t mean they won’t listen to their customers. They are toying with the idea of giving pulled and chopped chicken a permanent spot on the menu. In other exciting news – they’ll be adding a rib sandwich soon! “It’s going to be on a thicker, Texas toast white bread with ribs. It’s simple but people ask for it all the time,” said Traci. I stopped in for some take-out during a Wednesday lunch-hour rush. The Jimbo’s Bar B-Q Ribs plate was calling my name. The barbeque plates come with two hushpuppies and two sides. I chose mac and cheese and potato salad. For dessert – apple pie! I drove back to the office with full intentions of sharing… I did share, a little. A rib for you, and a rib for you, and the rest for me. “Fall-off-the-bone” is a phrase thrown around a lot when describing barbeque, but I can think of no four words more fitting for the smoky goodness that came in that Jimbo’s takeout box. It went from lunch to a full-on barbeque experience when I tried it with their homemade barbeque sauce (which they keep hot all day). It was equal parts tangy and sweet with just enough spice to make things interesting. The mac and cheese stood out as well. Strings of real cheese were ribboned in (seemingly strategically for max flavor) within the noodles and creamy sauce. And then, there was the apple pie. The warm, gooey, not-too-sweet apple filling was hugged by a flaky crust. The pie is served with a side of cider sauce which adds any sweetness your missing. A fork full of that pie with a dab of cider sauce is probably the most perfect bite of apple pie I’ve ever had (outside of yours, of course, Nanny). The whole lunch was ten out of ten – would recommend. As I finished my lunch, I thought back to what Traci had said earlier, “We haven’t changed much over the last 50 years – it’s kind of crazy, but it works.” Jimbo’s Pit Bar B-Q www.jimbospitbarbeque.com FB: Jimbo’s Pit Bar-B-Q IG @jimbospitbbqlkld Photo by Amy Sexson

Tucked away in a sleepy Bartow neighborhood not far from bustling Highway 17, rests a grand architectural art piece devised by an eccentric inventor in the 1920s. One of Florida’s earliest tourist attractions, the Wonder House is presently home to Krislin Kreis and Drew Davis. After falling in and out of disrepair between owners, Davis and Kreis have breathed new life into the house and in June, opened it for historic tours again. A BRIEF HISTORY Born to a poor family outside of Pittsburgh in 1877, Conrad Schuck grew up with dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. He found success starting a stone rock quarry and as a building contractor. According to Davis, a railroad company claimed eminent domain over Schuck’s land, leading to a legal battle that found its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. He lost the fight and in turn lost everything. The stressful ordeal claimed Schuck’s land and his health. “His doctor said he had a few months to live and if he moved down to the warm tropical Florida climate, which was popular back in the ’20s, he would live an entire year,” said Davis. Thinking the clock was ticking on his last year to live, Schuck moved his wife and nine children to Florida in 1926 and began building his dream house. The tropical weather must have been good to Schuck because he went on to work on the house for another 30 years. Determined to invest his money wisely, Schuck invested in the stock market and Florida land. By 1928, Florida land had busted followed by the onset of the Great Depression in 1929. “He has no money, wants to finish his house and that’s when he opens it up for tours,” said Davis. Tours of Florida’s Wonder House were “wildly successful” according to Davis. He’s read some interviews claiming the house attracted 2000 guests every week. It had garnered such a following that in the late 1930s, The Florida Department of Tourism called Wonder House the number one must-visit attraction in Florida. The Wonder House had made a name for itself as one of Florida’s very first (and few still standing today) attractions, predating the omnipresent mouse by some forty years. It remained popular into the 40s, continuing to gain traction. “That’s when Conrad starts branching out from doing mostly oddities and normal tours of the house into inventions,” said Davis. By the 1950s, his children who had helped with the house moved on, leaving Conrad by himself. By the 1960s, he had gotten too old to maintain the property. Land deeds show that around this time, Schuck gave the entire 14-acre property away to a church for just $1000. According to Kreis, all but the 2-acre main property was subdivided in 1963, creating the surrounding neighborhood. The Wonder House and main lot went to Lucy DuCharme next. DuCharme – a larger than life classy southern lady who often donned large hats, white gloves and drove around in a convertible Cadillac according to Davis – did plenty of entertaining in the house and was rumored to have had Elvis Presley there once. A photo of Elvis playing piano in the home is said to exist, though Davis and Kreis have yet to see it. DuCharme passed away in the house and it remained abandoned until Charles Heiden purchased it. He poured money into fixing up the Wonder House until an ongoing spat with the city forced him out. Davis said, “It got to a boiling point over the barn out back and he ended up packing up everything, tearing everything out of the house and just leaving.” It was again abandoned, during which time it was significantly damaged and left in disrepair. ABOUT THE HOUSE The Wonder House is made of concrete reinforced with steel (from local train tracks) tessellated with tile and glass mosaics. Because Schuck didn’t think he had long to live, he didn’t use blueprints to build the house. In fact, only one floor of blueprints exist. The fourstory home, including two stories underground, is somewhere between 5000 and 12,000 square feet of stunningly interesting invention and design. The house is shaped like a cross with porches on every corner – some of which have been enclosed by various owners. The structure’s shape was part of the air conditioning system. According to Davis, in the center of the cross on every floor sat a fireplace. When lit, the warm air would go upwards, and it would suck air from outside. The two and a half foot thick walls covered in creeping fig vine made for a purported four feet of insolation. The air sucked in from outside was cooled from water running through the walls from hollow concrete columns Schuck designed to gather rainwater. “Pretty much every room in the house, when the fireplace was lit, would have a cross breeze because every room has two porches on either side,” he said. Conrad Schuck was known for his collection of oddities within the house, but the Wonder House is a bit of an oddity in its own right. From beautiful tile mosaics and hand-painted ceiling panels to hidden rooms and clever inventions, the Wonder House is the amalgamation of an eccentric dreamer’s boundless imagination and vision. Some of the home’s notable features include a moat with two bridges spanning it and two pools on the third floor (one of which has since been concreted in by a previous owner) that were used as bathtubs, swimming pools, and then koi ponds. A gigantic concrete pergola looms over the third floor. In times past, it too was draped in fig vine to shade the porch from the punishing Florida sun. One of Conrad’s only original inventions remaining in the house is a 21-square foot rotating kitchen cabinet. Kreis said that there used to be many fascinating inventions sprinkled throughout the house. For various reasons, throughout its history, those have been manipulated. “There used to be a laundry chute system that connected all the bedrooms in the house,” said Kreis. “Because the house has two-foot thick concrete walls when they went to put in air conditioning, the only way to do it was to go through the old laundry chute system.” Interestingly enough, Conrad Schuck and his family never actually occupied the Wonder House. According to Davis, Schuck wanted every detail finished before he moved in – the details, however, were never close enough to completion for his liking. The Wonder House’s popularity and tourist magnetism in its heyday saw many newspapers and tabloids filled with salacious claims about features and things that allegedly happened in the house. Admitted history buffs, Davis and Kreis have poured over hundreds, perhaps thousands of articles about the house. Comfortably familiar with its history, preparing for the tours meant putting on detective hats and sifting through bogus accounts. Many of the stories they thought were surely false, have turned out otherwise. Like that of a sunken tub that tourists could lay in and see the front door through Schuck’s mirror system. It took three layers of flooring to get to the sunken tub, but alas, it was there! Extra escape tunnels, hidden passageways, and secret rooms have been posited and some confirmed. You’ll have to take the tour to find out more about that! ABOUT THE PROPRIETORS Davis and Kreis acquired the house at auction in September of 2015, closing in October. Krislin Kreis moved to the United States from Estonia with her parents in 1993. Growing up on Fort Myers Beach, she always knew she wanted to be an artist. She went to Ringling College of Art and Design for Photography and Digital Imaging. Kreis spent five years in fashion marketing before acquiring the Wonder House in 2015. Following two years as a TV production teacher for Polk County Schools, she now teaches photography at Union Academy in Bartow. Drew Davis, from Virginia originally, attended the University of Virginia studying economics before coming to Florida for law school at Florida State University. He now works as a prosecutor and takes an interest in discovering and restoring the Wonder House with Kreis. The couple share the Wonder House with their sweet pup, Joan of Bark. Despite the condition of the home when they first acquired it, without running water or electricity, Davis moved in and immediately began restoration efforts. Kreis moved in two years later, though she would commute to work on the house in the meantime. The first of the repairs to be done was to dig up the overgrown plants in the moat that were so pervasive you couldn’t see the steps. They also took down the front door and refinished it. The first room to be completed was the dining room. This is Krislin’s favorite room in the house. “It was the first room we finished and the light in there is dreamy,” she said. The way the vibrant stain glass reflects on the table she described as, “just magical.” According to Kreis, anything they do to renovate the house, they approach asking themselves what Conrad Schuck would do. They stay close to his vision but take into account modern conveniences. Keeping to the home’s history and Schuck’s vision, the couple has tried to furnish the fortress in the fashion of a Germanic castle. In honor of Conrad’s pickled snake and oddity collection, they too have an oddity display. “My original plan for it was a ten-year plan,” said Davis of the Wonder House restorations. “We’re four years in, so I guess we’re on track, at about 40% completion.” HOLIDAY TOURS The Wonder House will be open for special family-friendly Holiday tours. Krislin loves to decorate for the holidays, especially Christmas. This year, she’s excited to open the Wonder House in all its winter magic to tour-goers. Davis and Kreis would like to break the tours into a nighttime tour and a regular Saturday Christmas tour. Admission to the special nighttime tour may include complimentary snacks and beverages to add to the merriment. Bathed in sparkling Christmas lights and filled with holiday cheer, “You’ll get to see a different side of the Wonder House,” said Kreis. The Wonder House www.wonderhousebartow.com FB @wonderhousebartow Historic Tours of the Wonder House are available only by booking a reservation online in advance. Photos by Amy Sexson

The first year of any job is a time to show off your skillset, form relationships with co-workers, and earn your place within the company. Certainly, this is true too of the fire service – a career in which daily tasks can range from station cleaning duties or taking life-saving measures on the scene of a car wreck, to purposely walking into a burning building. Giving a rookie’s perspective to what life is like in the fire service is Lakeland firefighters Peterson Theophile. Theophile grew up in Haiti, moving to the United States in 2010 with his father. He lived in West Palm Beach before moving to Port Charlotte where he went to high school and first became interested in Emergency Medical Services as a potential career. He has pursued these interests since the 10th grade, taking an EMR course in high school. It was in this class he found that the excitement, adrenalin-rush, and ability to help people within the fire service appealed to him. He attended EMT school in college, for which he said his high school EMR class had well prepared him. After completing his fire standards, Theophile was hired on with the Ocala Fire Department (OFD) where he worked for three months before being offered a job with Lakeland Fire Department (LFD) where he has been for six months. Coming up on a year in the fire service, Theophile reflected, “The first year has been really exciting.” When he started at OFD he admittedly wasn’t very handy. His fellow firefighters taught him everything he needed to know from the names and use for the tools they use to how to change a tire. “I learned a lot with them [in Ocala] and when I came down here, they taught me even more,” he said. “Not just about the fire service, but about life itself in general.” Along with soaking up every bit of information he can, Theophile has been working to earn his spot at the station. “[In] station life, you have to be really respectful. As a rookie, you have to be the first one to do everything. Everybody had to go through it – you’ve got to earn your spot,” he said. “Everybody who was here before you – they’ve earned their respect, they’ve earned their spot.” Between saving lives and community outreach, the firefighters even have time for a few good-natured pranks. When asked if he had any funny rookie moments on the job, Theophile laughed and said, “Every day.” The most recent involved a lizard (which Peterson isn’t a fan of) being put on his back. Jokes aside, Peterson feels like he is truly a part of the fire service’s brotherhood/ sisterhood. He still has friends from his time serving in Ocala and described LFD as “a family.” Life in the fire service isn’t as it’s depicted on tv says Theophile. It isn’t nonstop saving babies from burning buildings and getting cats down from treetops. Though they do go on many dangerous and exciting calls, not everything is as dramatic as on television. “The station is our second home. When we come here in the morning, we have morning detail that we always clean, we cook all ourselves. We each chip in $10 and we have one person that cooks – it’s not all exciting. There are certain things you have to do every shift,” he said. Whether it is a big call or minuscule station duties, he said, “Everything I do here, I enjoy very much.” Surprisingly it isn’t the dangerous or adrenaline-inducing calls that this firefighter enjoys the most – it’s helping senior citizens in their time of need. The fire department often receives calls to assist seniors who have fallen. “We all have grandparents that could be in that situation, we’re all going to get old one day. When I go to those calls, I make sure I treat them with respect because that might be me one day and they deserve the utmost respect,” he said. Theophile’s nearest career aspirations are to become a driver and eventually one day work his way up the ranks to a lieutenant. Thankfully, he has many mentors to help him along the way. “At my shift, in this station – everybody’s a mentor. Everyone teaches me and every day I learn something new from everyone at the station,” he said. Perhaps one day he’ll be a mentor to a rookie firefighter. His first-year advice to someone thinking of joining the service was to, above all else, work hard. “And even when you make it, you continue to work hard and learn something new every day and train every day,” he said, “The work doesn’t stop.”

Lieutenant Damian Motsinger has been with the Lakeland Fire Department for the entirety of his fire career – over 11 years. His grandfather was a volunteer fire chief and his great uncle was a Lakeland firefighter years ago. The idea to follow in their footsteps crossed his mind as a kid. Both he and his sister did eventually pursue their fire standards and carry on the family tradition. Now a Lieutenant, how Motsinger leads his crew was influenced by a few mentors throughout his career. He complimented Troy Deines for his knowledgeability as a firefighter, and said, “When I was going through paramedic school, he was stationed with me at that time and guided and encouraged me through that process.” Of another influential firefighter, retired Lieutenant Mark Bowers, Motsinger said, “His crew was very important to him and the family atmosphere and comradery were important to him […] Seeing that early on in my career was important in developing me into an officer because that’s the same way I run my crew here.” Motsinger and his wife Chelsea, a nurse practitioner, have two dogs. When he isn’t at the fire station, Motsinger likes to stay active, taking their dogs to the dog park, exercising, and practicing martial arts. Keeping fit is a personal must for Motsinger. He discussed the major changes within the department in the areas of occupational cancer prevention, mental health, safety, and physical health. “There are a lot of aspects to health and wellness in the fire service. Some of the big ones we’re facing right now are cancer and mental health. When a lot of people think of health and wellness they think of the physical aspect, they think about exercising or eating right and those are very important,” he said. To encourage physical fitness for its firefighters, the Lakeland Fire Department puts out reading material that offers different workout ideas and nutritional advice, and each station has a gym. The department is currently in the process of re-outfitting gyms at each station with new exercise equipment for more functional, low-impact use according to the lieutenant. Making large meals together is an important part of the culture of the fire service. Balancing healthy eating with the stress of the job can be hard for new firefighters which can lead to weight gain and in turn back, knee, and shoulder problems. “The truth of it is, in the fire service, you may go from watching tv or sitting at the dinner table to inside a fire within five minutes,” he said. “You have to take care of and maintain your body throughout your career because you’re going to be here for 25 to 30 years.” Motsinger said, “Hopefully through the information that we put out and through the education we do in our orientation process, we are encouraging our firefighters to eat healthier and live overall healthier lifestyles.” A problem for many firefighters and an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle is getting adequate sleep. The anticipation and excitement of when the next tone will drop can be jolting, creating an unhealthy sleep schedule that can carry over into a firefighter’s home life, said Motsinger. “It creates this sleep debt where you’re always behind,” he said. On par with physical fitness, mental health is an area that leadership within the department has given much attention and taken steps to provide resources for. Motsinger explained that firefighters are exposed to all of life’s regular stress, in addition to sleep deprivation and the emergency scenes they are called to. “It can be challenging,” he said. “The mental part of it is constant. The physical part comes and goes, you have harder days than others, but the mental part is every day for your entire career.” People are affected by things differently and have differing needs when it comes to working through a tough time. Motsinger urged that being bothered by a call doesn’t make a firefighter less than. He said, “Something at some time will bother every firefighter because we’re human beings.” Motsinger added, “Fortunately, we are doing a much better job of recognizing circumstances that would warrant us taking care of each other. And that’s what the peer support system is all about.” Lieutenant Motsinger said, “We’re here to help the public. That’s our mission, that’s what we do. But we have to take care of each other first because if we’re not mentally and physically healthy, we can’t help anyone else.”