The A NewsletterTraveller of the Bartram Trail Conference Fall 2018 2018 St. Johns River Bartram Frolic By Sam Carr illiam Bartram’s first Frolic took place near Palatka in 1774. In the pastW four years the St. Johns River Bar- tram Frolic has become an annual event that celebrates Bartram’s heritage and his beloved St. Johns River. The St. Johns Riverkeeper’s educational director, Emily Floore, and the Putnam County School System’s Helen Muir used the 2018 Frolic as an opportunity to introduce the county’s second graders to the St. Johns River. Throughout the week students from area schools visited the St. Johns River Center to learn about river heritage and natural history. Jim Sawgrass regales the audience as Long Warrior The highlight of this field trip was the opportunity for students to meet the • Longleaf Pine and Prescribed Fires, Welaka National Fish Hatchery released Long Warrior, Trader Job Wiggens, and Florida Parks Service large striped bass into the river. The Fort (of course) Billy Bartram. They learned • Estuary Explorers, Guana Tolomato Mose Historical Society thrilled all by fir- about plants and animals of the St. Johns Matanzas National Estuarine Research ing their muskets and sharing their heri- River, how to make fire without a match, Reserve (GTM) tage. and the importance of trade to the Na- Three themed cruises on the Pride of tive Americans. The Long Warrior taught At the VIP Frolic on Friday evening, Palatka riverboat completely sold out. them about Puc-Puggy and how the Putnam County dignitaries and living Later in the evening, Revitalize Historic Seminoles lived in 1774. Students visited history actors met to enjoy a rum-based Palatka hosted the Frolic in the Streets three camps that displayed alligator hides, grog in honor of the original 1774 Frol- with more frivolity and music. deerskins, a full-size mounted bear, an al- ic. A standing room only crowd enjoyed ligator, tomahawks, firearms, a chickee, hearing the Long Warrior recite his fa- The Bartram Frolic Symposium and more. All of the students were treat- mous speech recounted in Travels. The 2018 St. Johns River Bartram Frolic ed to a riverboat tour courtesy of the St. Saturday’s events included the Heart- concluded on Sunday with our Fourth Johns Riverkeeper. Healthy Bartram Frolic Family 5K Run, Symposium. Mike Adams, a.k.a. William The Frolic featured “Ecology Stations” a Bartram-themed Chalk Explosion, the Bartram, was awarded the Stetson Ken- hosted by experts from the following col- historic Bartram bicycle tour through nedy “Fellow Man and Mother Earth laborating groups: Palatka, and a kayak tour to Rollestown. Award,” presented by Stetson Kennedy’s On Sunday there was a paddle to Welaka. • River Exploration, St. Johns Riverkeep- wife Sandra Parks. Bartram troubadour The Passport to the Past was an adven- er (boat tour on the Pride of Palatka II) Linda Crider sang songs about the river ture trek for families. By visiting all ten and Billy Bartram. Speakers at the Sym- • Wetland Ecosystems, St. Johns River education stations, children received an Center posium included: award and had lots of fun. We estimated Bill Belleville, author of River Of Lakes • Enviroscape, St. Johns River Water 1,800 people heard William Bartram, the and Bartram advocate, spoke about the Management District Long Warrior, and Trader Job Wiggens importance of appreciating our natural • Fish Ecology, Florida Fish and Wild- talk. The Florida Wildlife commission life Conservation Commission provided a live pet-able alligator and the continued on page 3 1 In Remembrance “big boomin’ fun” of the outdoors in fel- lowship with friends and nature. Chuck always brought his smile, humor, and Charles D. Spornick, 1953–2018 kindness along on every adventure. His hard work and dedication to the promo- the South, spreading the word about rec- tion of the Bartram Trail made all our lives reational and educational activities along richer. He leaves behind his wife Cathi, ❀ Bartram’s trail. and two children, Nick and Anna. A native of Chicago, Chuck received his PhD in medieval history from the University of Notre Dame. He also held an MA in library science, and his first job “Polly” Leslie Boteler Williams at a medieval studies library set him on a 1930–2018 career path as an academic librarian. Af- ter a brief stint at the University of Iowa, eslie Boteler Williams of Baton he took a position at Emory University’s Rouge, Louisiana, known as “Polly” Woodruff Library. Chuck’s career there byL everyone, passed away peacefully at the spanned thirty-one years. He served as the age of 87 on August 27, 2018, surrounded first permanent head of the Louis H. Beck by her loving family. Born on November Center for Electronic Collections, devel- 3, 1930, in New York City, New York, oping Emory’s digital collections. Later, she later moved to Rhode Island where, he served as the head of Collection Man- at 17, she became the youngest female in agement and at the time of his retirement the state to earn a private pilot’s license. A was the Director of the Service Division. lover of adventure and the outdoors, she Chuck Spornick at the Bartram Trail Conference Chuck’s position at the library, overseeing was also an avid sailor, teaching sailing in Gainesville, Florida. Photograph by Kathryn during the summers. She was a graduate Braund the growth of the library’s research collec- tions and managing million-dollar bud- of the University of Kentucky. gets and myriad personnel, stood in stark In 1965, after living in Florida and By Kathryn Braund contrast to the way most of his Bartram Texas, she and her family moved to Baton n May, the Bartram Trail Conference friends saw him: dressed in cycling or pad- Rouge, Louisiana. Since that move more lost one of our most stalwart members, dling gear on the way to a grand outdoor than 50 years ago Polly has been a per- ChuckI Spornick. Chuck, the coauthor of adventure. manent fixture in the community pages An Outdoor Guide to Bartram’s Travels, was His stated objective for his retirement of The Advocate. She made a career of be- a long-time BTC board member and held was to continue his two passions: kayaking ing an activist and volunteer, and thrived virtually every BTC office, including that and cycling. An avid paddler, especially on on service to her community. She helped of president. He visited, photographed, white water, Chuck was happiest in his established many organizations in Baton and described every Bartram site across kayak and inspired many to embrace the Rouge, and serving in leadership roles, was instrumental in the success of numer- ous others. Her work did not go unno- ticed, and she was appointed to positions of service by two governors and a senator. One of her governor-appointed posi- tions was to the multi-state Bartram Trail Conference Board of Managers, where she served as the Western Vice- Chair- man. This board directed the research and compilation of the 1979 Bartram Heri- tage report, submitted to the National Park Service. A notable presentation of the recent Bartram Trail Conference biennial meet- ing held in Baton Rouge in March 2017 was a roundtable discussion, moderated by Chuck Spornick, featuring Polly Wil- liams, Sally Daigle and Charles Fryling. The trio discussed not only their early work, but also their hopes for the future ❀ Chuck engaged in his favorite passtime. Photograph courtesy of Nantahala Outdoor Center of the Bartram Trail Conference. 2 Frolic, continued from page 1 Fothergill Awards environment. Clay Henderson, Florida environmen- talist and Stetson University Research Reports from the Field Center advocate, spoke on Volusia Coun- By Heather Gladfelter, Ph.D. candidate, By Whitney Barlow Robles, Ph.D. candi- ty’s River of Lakes Heritage Corridor Horticulture, University of Georgia date, American Studies, Harvard Univer- Bartram Trail. sity Dr. Kent Vliet, spoke about “Bartram’s t was a very successful collecting trip Observations of Alligators” to Philadelphia in every way possible he Fothergill Research Award al- Local favorite Dick Franz, spoke on regardingI the trees I found and the awe- lowed me to spend a productive his book Travels On The St. Johns, co-au- some people I met. I could not believe how weekT in several Philadelphia archives thored with Dr. Thomas Hallock. wonderful the people were who helped tracing William Bartram’s thoughts about T. R. Henderson, President of the Bar- me find the trees on my list. I believe these rattlesnakes and other animals, which will tram Trail Conference, spoke about the new relationships will be long lasting as prove invaluable for my dissertation on Conference, its goals, and how to join. I continue working with Franklinia and the history of how animals both facili- Sam Carr, Vice President of the Bar- plant conservation as a whole. tated and confounded eighteenth-century tram Trail Conference, spoke about the In addition to the Fothergill Award, science. National Bartram Heritage Trail Corri- in August I received the Jeane Reeves At the American Philosophical So- dor and how the audience could help. Research Grant from the Georgia Na- ciety, I found a number of manuscript Our next St. John River Bartram Frolic tive Plant Society, which provided an sources related to Bartram’s interactions is scheduled for September 28th, 2019. additional $1000 to support my research with animals, including his insistence with Franklinia. So far, I have samples on many animals’ rationality and moral from 100 different trees. In addition to sense, as he called them “ingenious little samples collected in Philadelphia, I now Philosophers” in a letter to Philadelphia have samples from Kentucky, Ohio, North naturalist Benjamin Smith Barton.