Does anyone remember the Rev. Roosevelt Franklin who did a half-hour syndicated show in the early 70's (mostly in the Southeast)? There was never that first word about theology or doctrine or a sermon... it was 30 minutes of begging for money and testimonials from people who got new cars, houses etc. from sending their money to Rev Franklin. I kept a 7" reel of one of his programs but have long-since misplaced it.>This guys was incredible!
When I moved to Chicago in 1990, I spent my evenings dialscanning to see what I could DX at night. I heard Roosevelt Franklin on some station in the 1300s-1400s range--definitely "not from around here" but I never caught an ID.
I thought he was a hoot! At first, I honestly thought he was a spoof; anyone who, like myself, is in his or her mid-30s or older will remember a Sesame Street Muppet named Roosevelt Franklin. And the portion I heard kept urging listeners to send him $15--in three separate installments of five dollars each. When I heard that, the smartass within asked what would happen if one were to send him the fifteen bucks in one envelope, but he had considered that possibility. He admonished his audience to NOT be disobedient and send the fifteen dollars all at once, but "do as the prophet commands" and send him five bucks a month for three months.
Now, regardless of one's religious convictions, I personally feel that THAT is entertainment that no amount of Large Corporate Ownership could ever provide. :-)

> The Reverend Roosevelt Franklin from Macon Georgia
By the way, for the uninitiated
He pronounced his name very precisely and distinctly...as he did just about everything else. His first name was "Rosey-velt".

THE SWEETEST MAN IN ALL THE LAND.....THE WILD AND WOOLY SECTION 8 MAN!
By request I have returned to the FIELD to continue the important work of the Mighty Field Hands!
Lots uv stuff have happened since I retired back in October...Big Ben Adkins played the street party on The Strip before the Alabama-Auburn game[a major victory for the "Cuba,Alabama" network] and he kicked ass! Alex had a keg inside The Locker Room so I got hammered. A girl came up to me and said "That damn band got me arrested in Columbus, Mississippi!""Really?!", I replied."Are you Tiger Jack?," she asked. And before I had a chance to reply she said,"Naw, you're Robert Register, aren't you?"It wuz wild, really wild.
Couple of new souls have hooked up with the "Cuba,Alabama" loop. Al Kooper, Dean Daughtry and John Cassady. John is Neal's son and the first time I met him was in my bedroom over on 8th Street back in about '73. He picked up the Ann Charters' Kerouac biography, opened it up, pointed to a picture and said,"That's my Dad!" Neal named John after Kerouac and Ginsburg. He started to name him Jack Allen Cassady but he thought it sounded too much like JackAssady.
Got a lot of music knowledge cooking. Found out that Wilbur Walton Jr.'s records were marketed as a black act in Japan during the sixties. Lots of stuff came in on guitar distortion. It appears John Rainey Adkins from Dothan brought the first fuzz box to the U.S. Jimmy Page gave it to him. Duane got his from the Blues Magoos when they went up to play Trudy Heller's in Greenwich Village and inquiring minds want to know about DOOOOWANG's sex life.
Now that Rodney, Big Bob, Ole Ox and Kim are in the loop, most questions about the Classics IV, The Roemans, The K-Otics, the Candymen and early ARS can get answered.
Greg Haynes is tuning up http://heybabydays.comIt gets better and better by the day.
I may be interested in putting together a benefit concert for Chattahoochee State Park in Houston County. The state has let it go so now it's up to a committee under the authority of the Houston County Commission to come up with a solution.
Goldsboro played Dothan back in November and he is GIGANTIC in China. His son, Danny, lives next door to my brother in Dothan and he told me over the holidays that Bobby told him that being "Big In China" made sense seeing that China is about 30 years behind when it comes to popular culture. Maybe there's hope for Sailcat!
And I signed the Lynyrd Skynyrd petition (Artemis Pyle's wife was in the loop for a while but she said she was too busy to look at my stuff) Go to http://rockthehall.com/lynyrdskynyrd/petition/petition_step1.phpand sign up. 2549 already have because Skynyrd had been nominated 7 times and the Yankee bastards up in Cleveland won't let em in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Typical. Hide and watch all the garbage that hits the TV in March for the 40th anniversary of the Selma March. They'll shove that medicine show/circus down our throats every chance they get[the sanitized version of course, no fake nuns, feces tossing or the interracial copulation performed for the benefit of the Alabama National Guard every night] but you won't hear a peep about Cicero.
Let me hear from ya'll.Ain't love grand.
best,
robo
oh yeah, Captain Dean took my suggestions in Ecuador and it paid off. See, it pays to listen to someone who knows what he's talking about.

http://www.as.ua.edu/biology/haynes.htm


http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/potspp.html

Lance:
To back up the claim of Houston County being THE GATEWAY TO THE WEST,please read the chapter entitled "The Spring Creek Trail" in Red Hills of Florida by Clifton Paisley. You will find that among the oldest American land claims {Deed Book #1 in Tallahassee} in Florida are deeds for property presently located in Houston County, Alabama.
best,
robert http://robertoreg.blogspot.com


Red Hills of Florida Collection

Date Range: 1820-1994
7, 416 items
29 linear feet
Biographical Note:
Clifton Paisley, the donor and author of the book, Red Hills of Florida is a retired Florida State University editor, researcher, and a local history author. Mr. Paisley served as Research Editor of the Graduate Research Office and over the course of his career wrote many pieces on the history of Leon County and the surrounding region. He is also responsible for two monographs dealing with local history entitled, From Cotton to Quail and Red Hills of Florida. Born in Texas in 1915 he now lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

Scope and Content:
This collection is comprised of the background files, notes, correspondence, permission, maps, manuscripts, and other materials that were collected or created by Clifton Paisley during the writing of his work, Red Hills of Florida. Included among these items are biographical sources, census data, maps and surveys of the Red Hills region, letters to and from local organizations and persons, newspapers, and interviews. The majority of the collection consists of those materials which actually played a part in the publication of the book. These items include notes, manuscripts, galley proofs, camera ready copies, and photographs mainly dating from the 1970s and 1980s when the book was being compiled and published.


Citation: Red Hills of Florida Collection, Special Collections, Robert Manning Strozier Library, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Donor Name: Clifton Paisley
Manuscript Number: MSS 94:2
Location: Box 1209-1259

Notes on Florida's Oldest Baptist Church
History of First Baptist Church of Campbellton, Florida

http://www.rootsweb.com/~fljackso/cemeteries/FirstBaptistCampbelltom.htm
By Dr. Jerry Lee--1990

Cemetery Survey

On March 12th, 1825 the following nineteen persons became charter members of Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church located in Campbellton, Florida:



John Beasley Clark Jackson

Sarah Beasley Susannah Jackson

Miller Brady Robert Louckston

Sextus Camp Martha Parker

James Chason Martha Peacock

Lucy Chason W. Peacock

Elizabeth Chambers Nancy Philips

Ephriam Chambers Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Daniel Sarah Williams

Benjamin Hawkins



Some “firsts” for First Baptist Campbellton



The first service after being constituted a church: March 13, 1825

First Pastor: Rev. E.W. Callaway

First Deacons: James Chason; Clark Jackson

First Church Clerk: Miller Brady

First Funds sent to Association: $6.67 for minutes and other expenses

First Mission: November 12, 1825 at Chattahoochee

First Female Missionary Society in Florida: October 15, 1848

First name change: October 8, 1859 to Campbellton First Church



First full-time services: 1953(question on date)



On March 12, 1825 twenty hardy souls met at Campbellton, Florida to establish the First Baptist Church of Campbellton. In January of that year John Quincy Adams had begun to serve as the sixth President of the United States. Four Years earlier Florida had become an American Territory. Andrew Jackson, hero of the battle of New Orleans in 1812, was active in helping to bring the Florida Territory under the control of the United States. he sought to nullify the threat of Indian uprisings. It would yet be 20 years before Florida would become the 27th state.

Those early members truly lived on the edge of the frontier in the Florida Territory. A year earlier a log house was built at Tallahassee to serve as a meeting house for Florida’s third legislative council. The entire territory was separated into two counties divided by the Suwannee River with county seats at Pensacola and St. Augustine. This was the setting for the establishment of Florida’s oldest Baptist Church.

Beginning with its inception and constitution as a fellowship of baptized believers in the Baptist faith, this church has taken seriously the Biblical mandate to preach the gospel. In its ministry of proclamation, it has been faithful to Christ’s commission to preach to every person. This is verified by the large numbers coming into the church on “experience” and baptism. Into its membership has come those moving from East to West. They were here for just a short period and then moved off.

Land owners, slaves, and the poor all were in fellowship of the church. Often the minutes of the church conference reflected members whose lives fell far short of the decorum set by the church. Some drank to excess, some were profane, some were thieves (hog steeling), some were guilty of adultery, some sold liquor, and some at times engaged in fist fights.

The church exercised strong discipline over its members. Wrong doers were reprimanded and excluded from church membership. Those faulty in attendance had to give account.

The decorum contained strict requirements that members be present for all services and church conferences. Errant members were required to come before the church and make acknowledgment of sins and absences from meetings, otherwise they would be excluded from the church.

Members were required to report to the church on those members known to be guilty of some sin. Numerous entries stated that a certain brother brought particular charges against another member. Committees were then appointed to investigate the charges and bring back a report to the church. Sometimes patience was exercised toward the offending member, in that his or her case was continued until the next meeting giving time for the person to make amends.

To be excluded from the church was enough to put fear in the heart of the wayward member. It was usually a redemptive act on the part of the church, because the member would come back to the church, acknowledge the wrong, and promise to do right in the future.

From the church’s earliest days the minutes indicate the church’s interest in cooperating with other churches and the Association. For a while this church participated with the S. E. Alabama Association. Delegates were even sent to represent the church at meetings in Daleville, Rehobeth, and Bethlehem Baptist Church, North of Louisville, Alabama, 75 miles to the North.

http://www.discoveringalabama.org/

HEY YA'LL:
Lance Griffin wrote a terrific article today in the Dothan Eagle about Ansley Whatley and his property located between Chattahoochee State Park and the river.
Lance only made one minor error. John Forbes was not a U.S. citizen but he did get land title from Indians who lived in the U.S. It is against the Constitution for a private citizen to extinguish Indian title to land in the United States. Only the U.S. Congress can do that. These Indians who lived in the U.S. extinguished title to 1.2 million acres of their land located in Spanish Florida. It's probably lucky for Forbes that Chief Justice Marshall didn't know that the deal was closed on U.S. soil.

Anywayzzzzz, I was thinking today that what Chattahoochee State Park and Ansley's property need is a little media attention so that's why I pasted Dr. Doug's DISCOVERING ALABAMA logo at the top of this post. Ya'll make it a point to check out his site and maybe he'll take the hint and produce a program that focuses on Alabama's Lime Sinks Region.

Best,
robert http://robertoreg.blogspot.com


Houston County home to a historic piece of property



By Lance Griffin
Eagle Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 11, 2005



There are no artificial lights for more than a mile around Ansley Whatley's land at the southeastern tip of Houston County.

He makes the 30-minute trip twice a day on most days, taking a camcorder to record the vast wildlife on his 700 acres.

There are turkeys, bobcats, coyotes, possum, coons and enough deer to feed Houston County.

But sometimes, especially after it gets dark in the woods, Whatley stops looking for animals and gazes up at the stars.

"It's surreal," said Whatley, owner of Ansley's Building Materials. "Without the light, it's amazing how many more stars you can see. They're just shimmering.

"One time I just got down on my knees and thanked God for his marvelous creation," he said.

He started buying the land in the mid 1980s when he caught hunting fever. It was years later before he realized he had bought a significant piece of American history.

Whatley's land contains the point where Georgia, Alabama and Florida meet on the banks of the Chattahoochee River. It also contains the eastern end of what is known as the Ellicott Line, which separated the newly-created United States from what was Spanish Florida.

The line is named after Maj. Andrew Ellicott, who first surveyed it near the end of the 18th century. The line extended about 400 miles to the Mississippi River. Everything north of the line belonged to the United States, and everything south belonged to Spain.

The land contains what is known as Ellicott Mound #381. Ellicott and his workers marked the line (what is known as the 31st Parallel) by constructing mounds about 5 feet high and 15 feet in diameter every mile along the line. The mound is believed to be the last of Ellicott's markers before he and about 75 other workers reached the Chattahoochee in 1799.

Two hundred years of erosion has shortened the mound, but it is still visible. Armadillos have burrowed holes all around. Leaves and vegetation have covered it, but pink ribbons on nearby trees announce its existence.

The agreement establishing the boundary is believed to be the second treaty in United States history.

A five-minute walk through trees, leaves and dense underbrush brings one to the banks of the Chattahoochee. It is believed thousands of settlers used barges to move covered wagons and other material across the river as they headed west. Some historians believe the area that is now Whatley's land may have been the first gateway to the West as pioneers headed for new land.

The land is also believed to be the site of what is known as the "greatest real estate deal in American history." In 1804 Indians deeded 1.2 million acres of land to U.S. citizen John Forbes for a nickel an acre.

Whatley said he became aware of the land's rich history after being contacted by historian Robert Register, a Dothan native now living in Northport, near Tuscaloosa.

"I had no idea," Whatley said. "That was like the icing on the cake."

Whatley said several people and entities have approached him to purchase the land, but he said it isn't for sale. He said he has considered allowing the land to be put under federal protection from commercialization, but is hesitant about giving up some control over what happens to the land.

Eventually, Whatley said he would like to put the land in a limited family trust.

For now, Whatley is content to sit in one of his tree stands, look at the deer, gaze at the stars and cherish the silence.

Maybe Ellicott did the same thing more than 200 years ago.

Lance Griffin can be reached at Lgriffin@dothaneagle.com or 712-7962.

Ansley:
Maybe some of ya'll should visit the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center at Ichauway located east of Colquitt in Baker County. This 29,000 acre outdoor laboratory in the Lime Sinks region of the Wiregrass may have some answers for those who want to reopen Chattahoochee Park.
Also check out the link to the Long Leaf Alliance headquartered in the Conecuh National Forest near Andalusia. Ellicott Mound # 299 is located near there.
Or ya'll could sell it to the Oklahoma Seminoles and open up a casino.
best,
robert http://robertoreg.blogspot.com

http://www.jonesctr.org/research/wildlife_research/index.html
http://www.longleafalliance.org/print.htm

http://www.gophertortoisecouncil.org/tortoise.htm

The Gopher Tortoise: A Species in Decline
"...Everything affecting the gopher tortoise's habitat affects the tortoise and ... eventually affects all other organisms in its ecosystem. Efforts to save the gopher tortoise are really a manifestation of our desire to preserve intact, significant pieces of the biosphere.
...We must preserve...the gopher tortoise and other species in similar predicaments, for if we do not, we lose a part of our humanity, a part of our habitat, and ultimately our world."
Dr. George W. Folkerts
Department of Biological Sciences
Auburn University, Alabama

Gopher tortoise burrows remain at a fairly constant temperature and humidity level year-round, thus providing shelter for the tortoise during periods of extreme temperatures, drought, and fire. Tortoise burrows also afford refuge to other animals including more than 360 animal species. The list includes the indigo snake, pine snake, gopher frog, Florida mouse, opossum, armadillo, burrowing owl, gopher cricket, scarab beetles, and many others. Some, such as the Florida mouse, cannot exist without the tortoise burrow.


Gopher Tracks, published by Florida State University, introduces gopher tortoise ecology, upland habitats, the role of fire, and environmental stewardship through the adventures of two girls. It is written at a fourth-grade reading level, but was out of print before the GTC solicited funds for the re-printing of an additional 6,700 copies in October 2001.

Gopher Tracks has now been distributed to every public elementary school within the range of the gopher tortoise, as well as to a number of schools located in adjoining counties. We have received numerous calls, e-mails, and letters from teachers and librarians who greatly appreciated the book and our using it in their classrooms. We have also learned about several schools who are involved with projects related to gopher tortoise and upland ecosystem conservation.

ATAMASCO LILY

Maybe ya'll could link Chattahoochee Park with Florida Caverns. Both were CCC Camps.

Florida Cavern is the only developed "tour cave" in the park. Florida Park Service permits are required to enter all other caves in the park. Some of the caves which require permits for entry are open for scientific research only. For the protection of the unique and sensitive resources which are found in these caves, visitors are asked to respect the off-limits status of these caves.

Although the caverns are the focal point of the park, the 1,300-acre grounds also boast a wide variety of plants, animals and other natural resources. American beech, Southern Magnolia, white oak and dogwood trees are prominent throughout the park, along with a number of plants that are also found in the southern Appalachian Mountains of north Georgia.

During your visit, be sure to look for such wildflowers as the Atamasco Lily that starts blooming in January, and the Lyre-leaf Sage which flowers in March. Culumbine and Mayapple also make their appearance in March. Yellow Leafcup dazzles the eye in June and the Cardinal Flower displays until frost.

Woodpeckers, barred owls, beavers, alligators, rare Barbour's map turtles and alligator snapping turtles also inhabit the area. The pristine Chipola River flows underground in the park at the river sink and reappears several hundred feet downstream, thereby forming a natural bridge. In the early 1900s, loggers cut a ditch across this natural bridge to float logs downstream.

Subject :
TEDDY from Tampa Bay Needs "Cuban Crisis" Fo' His Ybor City Pahdnuhs Off Uv DOG DAZE!!!!

Teddy, My Man:
Will be forwarding this to a couple uv cats involved with that Dog Daze LP. Hope sumpin' good comes out uv all dis stuff and, DADDYMACK, I wanna tell ya how much the La Playa Alumni Association of Reddington Beach appreciates yo' efforts.
I doennnnnnnnnnnn cayuh whut nobody sayzzzzzzzz 'bout chu: you all right!
bbbbbbbbbbbbest,
roberto
http://robertoreg.blogspot.com




HI Robert,

I need a favor. Could you email me “Cuban Crisis” By The Atlanta Rhythm Section ‘s Dog Daze LP. I can not find it anywhere and a friend of mine’s band wants to do a cover of it on his CD. He needs to learn it. I told him about the reference to Ybor City, its his birth place.

God bless
Teddy
http://www.teddwebb.com

http://www.teddwebbstrivia.com

http://www.teddwebbdigitalphoto.com

Subject :
Coming Attractions at Houston County's Chattahoochee Park






Inbox
Ansley:
Sent the guy at the Eagle a ton of stuff but we'll have to wait and see whether any intelligent comment or questions come out of it.[Ft. Benning or Rort Fucker.. uh.. I mean Ft. Rucker need to investigate the composition of Eagle employees' craniums. A knowledge of the composition of their bone structure may be needed in order to design combat helmets for the troops in Iraq because I don't think any known explosive can penetrate an Eagle writer's skull]

As for attracting people to the park- here are some of my ideas:

1) As soon as it warms up, get a waterproof video camera and put in with inner tubes on Irwin's Mill Creek at the culvert on 95 on the west end of the park. Videotape everything between there and Neal's Landing and then edit the footage for promotion.

2)Propose historical exhibits dealing with The Old Spanish Trail, William Augustus Bowles, Panton, Leslie & Co.[later John Forbes & Co.], the first U.S. Southern Boundary,the Money Pond and Indian Removal [ with emphasis upon the 1814 Treaty of Ft. Jackson and Econchattamicco's Reservation south of Neal's Landing provided for him by the 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek]

3) Get the Geomatics Program at Troy State to contribute an early surveying exhibit which contrasts the rectangular system of public lands with the Georgia Land Lots system as well as distinguishing land controlled by the St. Stephens base line with land controlled by the Tallahassee base line. This could also include information concerning 16th sections of townships dedicated to promoting public schools and how the governors of Alabama and all of their cronies stole that land.

4) Get all the information you can about parks located in the Lime Sinks section of Georgia and Florida. Look at everything Marianna Caverns is doing with natural history (Atamasco Lily, gopher tortoise, aquatic plants, etc.)

5) Let the CCC Camp denim hats become the symbol for the park. Have a ground breaking ceremony with everyone wearing these old floppy brim hats and sell them at the park as souveniers.

6) Get a volunteer to stay there at night. Open the park with no supervision during the day. Have a caretaker show up about 4 P.M. and have him collect camping fees. Use remote cameras for security.

7) Build an Ellicott Mound and blaze the trees near the west end of the park on the Florida Line. Build a Whitner Witness Mound and blaze the trees near the east end of the park on the Florida Line.

8) Find a stump near a vista on the lake and set up a zenith sector and a tent just like Ellicott's Observatory on the Chattahoochee. Get William Holman to put together a planetarium show at Landmarks Park centering around how observations were made with zenith sector and sextant.

9) Use the gopher tortoise and the armadillo as symbols for the park. Set up blinds and photograph their activity in the park.

10) Work with the Solon-Dixon Center to promote long leaf pine forest restoration and the history of turpentine distillation.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone.
I am so glad that progress is finally occurring. It's about time!
best,
robert http://robertoreg.blogspot.com