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The Past's Gentle Reminder

Photo by Barbara Routen

Duane ‘Spirit Wolf’ Bickmire of Lakeland, left, an Alafia River Rendezvous marshal, shows a newly purchased set of beads to his sister, Pat ‘Autumn Star’ Grimmer of Plant City, under the awning of Bickmire’s teepee. Both are members of the Peace River Band of Me’tis.”

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By BARBARA ROUTEN

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 25, 2009

HOMELAND - Cars were streaming out of the dusty grounds of the Florida Frontiersmen in Homeland when first-time visitor Bobbi Dugas of Brandon arrived Jan. 23 at the 2009 Alafia River Rendezvous, a pre-1840s re-enactment.

She thought perhaps she had arrived too late for public day, when visitors are invited to mingle among the re-enactors, and almost turned around to leave.

Instead, she found out she wasn't too late.

"It was very quiet and peaceful," she said. "It was a great reminder of how things used to be. I'm so glad I went."

The rendezvous is the Southeast's largest pre-1840 interpretive encampment. The nonprofit Florida Frontiersmen each year gather more than 1,200 participants at the group's Homeland encampment and live in camps portraying various cultures and regions of early America.

More than 100 craftsmen and "stores" demonstrate and sell a large variety of historical reproductions.

Dugas was impressed by how dedicated everyone was to the time period and lifestyle. "To see all the costuming was amazing," she said. "And there was no technology: no radios, no cell phones. The setting made you really feel like you went back in time."

She sipped a sarsaparilla from an old-fashioned bottle. "It was delish!"

She met the "Lady of Letters," Jillian Foster Knight of Savannah, Ga., who writes, illustrates, binds and sells books of poetry. "She said she's been doing rendezvous since she was a child and now is doing them with her own children," Dugas said.

Little girls ran around, carrying their umbrellas, or practiced trying to make whips snap. "Kids sat outside a teepee playing with simple toys," Dugas said. "Adults taught youth how to throw axes. Kids bounced up and down on a tree branch. There truly was a sense of community. And it was very peaceful."

Many Brandon and South Shore area families immersed themselves in that peaceful community by camping out for at least part of this year's rendezvous, which ran Jan. 14 to 25.

The Bergman family of Valrico, Carl, Nancy, Chris, Claire, Stephen, Amy, Laura and Jeffrey, participated as primitive campers for the second year in a row.

"The cold was an adventure," Nancy said.

They cooked over fires, wore hand-sewn clothes with no modern conveniences such as zippers or snaps, and pulled the younger children and gear around in a homemade wooden wagon.

Thirteen-year-old Stephen won third place in a black-powder rifle shooting contest.

Jeffrey joined other children who scampered like squirrels up and along the low, strong, broad branches of a tree called the Ma and Pa tree. This was where Ma and Pa could sit a spell and relax while watching their young'uns cavort and make friends with others from Florida and other states.

The Richards family of Lithia - dad, Patrick; mom, Sharon; Nate, 14; Gabe, 10; Landon, 5; and Leah, 2 - all members of the Brandon Homeschool Fellowship, camped out for eight nights, "some very chilly," Sharon Richards said. It was their ninth year at the rendezvous.

Nate, Gabe and Landon were drawn early on to the primitive shooting, archery and Hawk-and-Knife tossing - the "hawk" referring to the tomahawk-like tool used in the game.

Nate earned top score in youth archery, came in second overall in youth black-powder shooting and placed second in the Woods Walk, competing against men and women and other young campers.

Gabe came in first in the youth Hawk-and-Knife competition. Patrick, dressed in a traditional blue-plaid kilt, took second place overall in the Highland Games.

"Obviously, it has become our family's tradition and priority to attend," Sharon Richards said. "It's not about winning, but rather the fun of participating and meeting new people each year."

Donna "Jingles" and her husband George "Smarter than Horses" Kinnison of Coldwater, Ohio, camped at the Alafia River Rendezvous for the first time this year. George is of Blackfoot Indian lineage, and Donna has Shawnee blood.

"There are cultural differences between this and the historic timeline event in our area," Donna Kinnison said. "Here, they light small fires inside the teepees and eat and cook inside. At home, we cook and eat outside.

She complimented her fellow campers.

"People are so kind here, so helpful," she said.

The couple camped in a colorfully painted Blackfoot teepee and invited visitors to come inside to look around.

Some old friends meet yearly at rendezvous, including members of the Peace River Band of Me'tis: people of mixed American Indian and European descent.

Back again were Harley "White Horse" Haubenstricker of Dundee and his wife, Nancy, Duane "Spirit Wolf" Bickmire of Lakeland, and Bickmire's sister, Pat "Autumn Star" Grimmer of Plant City.

From the comfort of a canvas-shaded, wind-breaking awning in front of their teepee, the four watched Steve "White Elk" Foote, a senior elder of the National Council of Me'tis, perform a "magic bag" trick that entertained a gaggle of giggling Girl Scouts from Lakeland and their leaders.

When asked where he's from, Foote laughed and said, "Here in Teepee Village." Then, pointing to the sacred circle of red cedars where Native American rites and powwows take place, he said, "I may have a house and live in Spring City, Tennessee, but I live right there in that circle - that's where my heart is."

Barbara Routen may be reached at The Tampa Tribune, 505 W. Robertson St., Brandon FL 33511, neighbors@tampabay.rr.com or (813) 657-4531.

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