Protect Rural Florida

09/04/2026

My friend sent this home with me the other day and I’m curious, has anyone else read Shadows on the Sand by Zonira Hunter Tolles? From what I’ve seen so far, it covers a lot of local history around Melrose and the surrounding lake region, including early roads, Seminole War history, Civil War stories, local families, Black history and old communities.

09/04/2026

Florida’s cattle and working lands are part of our history. Our kids should know that story! UF/IFAS Extension has statewide registration open for A Land Remembered: Where Cattle, Conservation, and Beef Come Together. The program uses A Land Remembered to teach students about Florida’s cattle industry, agriculture, conservation, beef production, working lands, and the history behind them. That matters because these industries and landscapes are such a big part of Florida’s story, especially in rural communities, and I want kids growing up here to understand the value of what’s around them. It’s open statewide for 4th grade, 5th grade, middle school, high school, and homeschool students. I’m helping with outreach in Baker, Bradford, Columbia, and Union counties, but anyone in Florida can participate. Tag a teacher, homeschool family, 4-H family, or FFA family who needs to see this!
Registration:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=-KBNDTFKdk2s5gpiMx4bhLlLEGE0DK1LruOuG4GP70ZUMFhGRFhNUzc5UUFBS0pYRDUxMjRMTjFFWS4u

09/02/2026

I brought home a piece of old Florida with me today. This clay pot is a Herty cup. The amber-colored chunks beside it are hardened pine resin, the kind of material these cups were used to collect. Beginning in the early 1900s, Herty cups hung from pine trees all across Florida. Metal gutters directed the flowing gum into the cups, and it was later processed into turpentine and rosin. This system caused less damage than the older method of cutting deep collection boxes directly into the trees. Turpentine was huge in rural Florida. Camps, stills and entire communities once filled our pine country. The second photo shows Herty cups being used in North Florida in 1936. The last is an actual 1912 advertisement from the Herty Turpentine Cup Company, which had its general offices in Jacksonville.

Sources: Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress, 1936; UF Digital Collections, 1912.

09/02/2026

Today was one of those days that turned into so much more than I expected. I spent the day exploring Louise with Rebecca Fox and Shannon, a.k.a. the Native Menace of Louise, who runs SwampWitch Louise Teas and Things, and I had more fun than I’ve had in a long time. Rebecca and David Tuthill, own River and Root Farms along the Santa Fe River in the old Louise/Graham area. One of their big goals is learning the history of their land, and there is a lot of it. Louise was once a busy little rural community with schools, churches, stores, mills, farms and later a railroad. The old Gainesville & Gulf Railway, better known as “Grits and Gravy,” actually ran through River and Root Farms, and we followed the old railroad grade down toward the river. Rebecca and Shannon are neighbors and already spend a lot of time exploring together. Rebecca introduced me to Shannon today and they let me tag along. Shannon grew up here, and this is her area. A lot of what she knows comes from her family, from growing up here, and from years of exploring and paying attention to the little things most people would probably walk right past. She also says she was a crow in a past life, which honestly makes perfect sense. 😂 After River and Root Farms, we headed over to Shannon’s family land and a few other nearby spots. Her daughter drove us around on the side-by-side through mud and cow fields, we got caught in cow traffic. We checked out where Shannon said an old jook joint and commissary once stood, walked old home sites, and found turpentine cups, worked pines, hardened resin, old bottles, rocks, and all kinds of little treasures. We walked ALOT and sweated even more, got eaten alive by mosquitoes, moved trees, laughed a LOT, walked our tails off, and somehow ended the day with even more questions than we started with. I didn’t take a ton of pictures because I was honestly just having too much fun. Riding around, walking through the woods and cow fields, picking up rocks, following old roads, getting excited over every little thing we found… I felt like a kid out there. I’m really grateful Rebecca brought me along and introduced me to Shannon. I learned a lot, but more than anything, I just really enjoyed being there with them. And we’re already planning another exploring day because there is still a whole lot of Louise left to explore.

09/01/2026

1936 Calhoun County maps 👀
Zoom in and tell us what you recognize and what has changed 💚

08/31/2026

Sheriff Gordon Smith - Bradford County Sheriff just announced BCSO is stopping the use of license plate reader technology anywhere in Bradford County, effective immediately. These cameras can absolutely help solve cases, but the privacy and tracking concerns are real too. You can support law enforcement and still expect limits and accountability. I’m glad to see local concerns being heard. Thanks Sheriff Smith!

FLOCK CAMERAS

From Sheriff Gordon Smith
Bradford County Sheriff’s Office

Folks,
As your Sheriff, I work for the people of Bradford County. That means I listen when you raise concerns, and it means I follow the law.

The Florida Department of Transportation has revoked the permits that allowed law enforcement to use license plate readers on state roads.

The Bradford County Sheriff’s Office will comply with that directive, no exceptions.
I am also directing our office to stop using LPR technology anywhere in Bradford County, effective immediately.

I want to be straight with you. These systems have helped us work cases and find people who needed to be found. They are a useful tool. But the state has made its decision, and I have heard from people in our community who are uneasy about this technology. Given both of those things, I believe the right call right now is to take them down.
That does not change our job. We will keep doing everything we lawfully can to stop crime, solve cases, and look after the people who live here. Bradford County is home. We will keep treating it that way.

Respectfully,
Sheriff Gordon Smith
Bradford County Sheriff’s Office

08/31/2026

Teachers, homeschool families, 4-H and FFA folks, y’all need to see this!
UF/IFAS has a 6-week program built around A Land Remembered that brings together Florida history, cattle, agriculture, conservation, maps, science and writing. It’s for 4th grade, 5th grade, middle school and high school, with a statewide livestream planned for February. My boys are homeschooled, so we are definitely doing this one. I also reached out to the program because I’d love to help get it in front of more rural Florida schools and families through Protect Rural Florida. Share this and tag the teachers, principals, homeschool parents, 4-H leaders, FFA advisors, librarians and Extension folks who need to see it. The more people we put it in front of, the more Florida kids get a chance to learn about the land, history and communities they actually call home.
Florida kids should know Florida. 🐄🌴📚

🚨 ONE FINAL PUSH — AND WE NEED YOUR HELP SPREADING THE WORD! 🚨

Last year, you all helped us take A Land Remembered far beyond what we ever imagined. Teachers, Extension agents, agricultural organizations, parents, producers, and friends shared the program across Florida — and it took off.

Can we do it again? 🌴🐄📚

Registration is wrapping up for A Land Remembered: Where Cattle, Conservation, and Beef Come Together! — a 6-week classroom program for 4th grade, 5th grade, middle AND high school students!

Using Patrick D. Smith’s A Land Remembered, students get to experience Florida’s history while connecting it to the agriculture and natural resources that still shape our state today.

📖 Daily reading from A Land Remembered
🌱 ELA, science, math & social studies connections
🗺️ Journals, maps, worksheets & vocabulary
🐄 Pioneer life + modern ranching
✏️ Real-world writing activities
🎥 PLUS a one-day statewide livestream on February 26, 2027!

And we need YOUR help getting this into the hands of teachers.

You may not be a teacher — but you probably know one. Share this post. Tag an educator. Send it to your local school. Drop it in a homeschool group. Share it with your 4-H families. Send it to that teacher who loves Florida history.

One share could put this program in front of an entire classroom of students. ❤️

🔗 REGISTER HERE:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=-KBNDTFKdk2s5gpiMx4bhLlLEGE0DK1LruOuG4GP70ZUMFhGRFhNUzc5UUFBS0pYRDUxMjRMTjFFWS4u&utm_source=chatgpt.com&route=shorturl

📧 Questions? [email protected]

Help us make Florida’s story go viral one more time. 🌴🐂📚

08/31/2026

A couple weeks ago, Mr. Greg Gainey walked me around Taylor Cemetery, and I left knowing one thing for sure: this place means a whole lot to him.
He will tell you he’s only recently gotten into ancestry and cemetery research and that he doesn’t know as much as people think he does. I disagree. Greg grew up here. His family is buried here. He knows the names, the stories, the relationships, and the little things you only know from being part of a place for a long time. Half the time, I don’t even think he realizes how much he knows.
Now he’s raising money, personally and separate from Taylor Cemetery Inc., to buy the proper products to clean and preserve the monuments there, starting with the veterans. He’s donating the labor himself. And if there’s enough left after Taylor, he wants to help another Baker County cemetery next.
So, I’m calling y’all out a little bit. Let’s help him make his dream a reality! 💚 Donate if you can. Share it either way. Let’s see how far we can push this.

My name is Greg Gainey, and I was born and raised in Baker County and have lived in Taylor… Gregory Gainey needs your support for Help Restore Taylor Cemetery