FTJ, Entry 52: Way Down Upon the Suwannee River

Before we get to the Suwannee...

Another strange Spring Hill dinosaur along the road. Apparently, someone is fond of these prehistoric creatures. This one houses an auto shop of some sort. Again, we must ask: Why?

Next, some photos of the world famous Weeki Wachee. I remember as a kid seeing ads for this park on TV, and thinking, “wow, I want to go there!” My dream has finally been realized. Weeki Wachee, which opened in 1947, I believe, was Florida’s biggest attraction, pre-Disney. Today, it is a throwback to the old days. Loved it. Check out the Dirty Old Man with the mermaid.

Note the turtle in the upper right. There were a number of them and they all seemed
transfixed by the show. Very entertaining watching them watch the performance!

Beau was riveted....

Besides the cheesy live mermaid underwater extravaganza, we saw an animal show, featuring snakes, toads, and a cute little gator. We also took a river cruise on a pontoon boat down the Weeki Wachee river, which is much lower than usual. We didn’t see much wildlife – just the typical egrets, herons, turtles, fish. There was a bald eagle, but it was too far away to see more than its profile against the sky.

Look! Beau has a statue of naked women growing out of his head. What a dog!

Oh yes, the Suwannee...

On to White Springs and the Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park. We spent Saturday and Sunday nights there. It is a gorgeous place, devoted to honoring the life and songs of Stephen Foster. Why, you ask, when Foster was actually born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA? Because this is the site of the “Swanee River” (actually the Suwannee River), made famous throughout the world by Foster’s song, “Old Folks at Home.” In 1932, one of Eli Lilly’s sons (yes, that Eli Lilly) decided this should be the place for a Stephen Foster memorial park.

Interesting point on Swanee River – Foster’s brother helped him with the song, providing “Swanee” as a two-syllable Southern river in the lyrics, thus replacing the “Pedee” river, as Foster had originally written. Can you imagine singing “way down upon the Pedee River”?

Also, the original lyrics are written to emulate how many southerners, particularly slaves, spoke back in the early 1800s – “ribber” for river, "ebber" for ever, “dere” for there, “brudder” for brother. Not sure you can make out Foster’s draft of the song below, but the language is fascinating. 

The Suwannee river itself is very black, apparently from the tar in the surrounding pines. I had to touch it!

Park gazebo by the river. Love Buddy's tongue in this shot.

We had a great oversized site during our stay. No cable, though,
so we missed the Superbowl.

The Suwannee has also flooded numerous times (up to 88 feet above mean sea level), as shown on this pole (below). Frightening!

The top band in yellow marks the highest flood level, from 1973.

The park here has a fabulous museum full of dioramas depicting many of Foster’s 200-plus songs, and a wonderful carillon (one of the largest in the world) that tolls every 15 minutes. Its electronic roller also directs the carillon to play three Foster songs on a schedule throughout the day. You can hear the music everywhere in the 888-acre park. A number of on-site craft shops provide additional entertainment, housing artisans who demonstrate beadmaking, pot throwing, blacksmithing, quilting, and other such endeavors.

A museum diorama, complete with a moving stern-wheeler river boat.

The town of White Springs, the site of the park, was also once famous for its curative sulphur springs. You can see photos of the springhouse in the old Telford Hotel, which was built in the early 1900s. We had a lovely buffet dinner at the Telford on Saturday -- $9.50 apiece. What a bargain!

The original Telford...

And how the hotel looks today.

Oh – almost forgot! We lucked out and were here for the park’s once monthly “Coffee House” evening of entertainment. It was SO great. They had a series of musical groups performing old-time mountain songs, some of which I remember my mother singing way back when. (My mom grew up in the mountains of New York State during the Depression.) 

Here is a not-great-quality video of a sample. This senior citizen musician was very funny and sang some old country tunes, such as "always marry an ugly girl."

This was a surprisingly enjoyable two-night stay. And we learned a lot -- especially about Stephen Foster and the incredible number of his songs, including some you may have forgotten:

Old Folks at Home (Swanee)

Camptown Races

(I Dream of ) Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair

My Old Kentucky Home

Old Black Joe

Oh! Susanna

This blog is too long...toodles.

Tanks, Panky