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Cattle Ranchers of
Florida: Keepers of the Last Frontier |
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“Keepers of the Last Frontier,” that’s one way to
describe Florida’s cowboys. Maintaining the five century old tradition
of cattle ranching in the Sunshine State is challenging as rapid growth
continues to encroach on what used to be sprawling cattle ranches.
Donna Green-Townsend talks with two people involved in the effort to
save this longtime industry for future generations. In “Cattle
Ranching: Keepers of the Last Frontier,” she talked with Bob Stone, the
Outreach Coordinator for the Florida Department of State’s Florida
Folklife Program which has a travelling exhibit dedicated to the
lifestyle of Florida’s cowboys. She also spoke with the Executive
Director of the Conservation Trust for Florida, Busy Shires-Byerly, who
is reaching out to cattle ranching families with information about how
to conserve their family land through various creative conservation
strategies. |
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Cow-dog
circling herd. Morriston, June 2006
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One of
Billy Bellamy's yellow curs circles a herd at his Cedar
Hill Ranch to keep the cows in a tight bunch. A few good
dogs can maintain a large herd tightly grouped for hours
if necessary. |
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Justin
Gopher with Cracker horse. Big Cypress Seminole Indian
Reservation, July 2007. |
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Justin
Gopher takes a break during the annual roundup. The
small, agile horses descended from stock introduced by
the Spanish in the 16th century make exceptional ranch
horses. Seminoles and non-Indians have used them for
centuries. In 2008, the Florida Legislature declared the
Florida Cracker Horse the state's official heritage
horse. |
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Produced by Donna
Green-Townsend & Bill Beckett for |
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WUFT-FM & WJUF-FM |
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Donna Green-Townsend Bill Beckett |
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Listen to the Full Program Here
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Robert Stone |
Busy Kislig-Shires
Byerly |
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| Bob has
traveled throughout the state to document and present
the rich and diverse folk culture of Florida since 1989.
He has served as the statewide Outreach Coordinator for
the Florida Folklife Program since 1997. His documentary
photographs have appeared in numerable publications
including Newsweek, the New York Times, Wooden Boat,
Guitar Player, and Living Blues as well as in solo and
group exhibitions. He worked for more than two years
documenting and researching Florida’s cattle ranching
culture and co-curating the 2,400 square-foot,
multi-media exhibit, Florida Cattle Ranching: Five
Centuries of Tradition. The exhibit opened at the Museum
of Florida History in Tallahassee March 11, 2009, and
will be shown at several of Florida’s finest museums
over the next three or four years. In January 2010, it
will travel to the 26th annual National Cowboy Poetry
Gathering at Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada. |
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Bob produced the
Voices of Florida radio series which presents eight of
Florida’s cultural communities. You may listen to the
entire series at
Voices Of Florida Radio |
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| Busy Shires Byerly:
Executive Director of the Conservation
Trust for Florida, received a B.A. in
Geography from the University of Florida in 1997. From
1991 to 1992, she attended Oglethorpe University in
Atlanta, Georgia. A graduate of the Florida Natural
Resources Leadership Institute in 2002, she has worked
on projects for The Wildlands Project and the National
Gap Analysis Program. She is a former newspaper reporter
for the Alachua Post (2001 - 2003) and she was the Land
Conservation Specialist for an environmental consulting
firm Conway Conservation (1998 - 2001). She worked as a
groom and rider for horse farms until her first
professional job in 1998. She is also a member of the
Town of Micanopy's Planning and Historic Preservation
Board (2004 - present). She is a native of Alachua
County and grew up on a horse farm and still rides
dressage. Her family owns and operates Gold Leaf Farm,
the 1970's host for the Canadian Event Team. She works
for CTF because she believes that she understands the
issues that farm owners face as they consider long-term
land conservation goals for their families and their
farms. ..
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Florida Cattle Ranching Exhibit |
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Conservation Trust for Florida |
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Florida Cattle Ranching Photos |
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Traveling Schedule -
Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition |
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2009
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September 10 - December
19, Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa |
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2010 |
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January 18, 2010-
July 24,
2010—Western Folklife Center, Elko, NV |
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September 3, 2010-January 23,
2011—Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami |
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2011 |
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February 12-May 8, 2011 - Florida Museum
of Natural History, UF Gainesville |
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Babcock Ranch
gates. Charlotte County, September 2006. |
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Lewis
Clayton. Gainesville, June 2006. |
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Lewis Clayton raised crops
and hogs before he began cattle ranching on
Kanapaha Prairie, Gainesville. |
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Baptism
at Cowboy Church. Williston Horseman's Park,
October 2008. |
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Pastor
Billy Keith (right) of Cross Brand Cowboy Church
baptizes Amber Thompson in a cattle trough |
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Kaley Dees with cow.
Okeechobee, September 2008. |
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Okeechobee High School
junior Kaley Dees at her family ranch with the
registered Angus heifer she shows in FFA and 4-H
events. She aspires to become a large animal
veterinarian. |
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©2763 BMMB |
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