Tag Archives: Valdosta

Gypsy the circus elephant, Lowndes County, GA 1902

My father told me about the circus elephant that escaped in Valdosta and ran as far north as Cat Creek, a few miles from where we live, going on 111 years ago. My great-aunt Evalyn told us more; she was 17 when it happened and about 97 when she told us where she was then living in Texas. It seems she got it mostly right, although it’s not clear exactly what the right story is.

Lowndes County Historical Society and Museum, undated, Gypsy the Elephant,

The story of Gypsy the elephant is one of Valdosta’s most bizarre and notable stories. In 1902 Gypsy, a large Asian elephant who belonged to the Harris-Nickle-Plate circus, killed her trainer, broke free, and went on a rampage in Valdosta before eventually being brought down north of town by the chief or police. At the time, the incident was so peculiar that people in surrounding towns accused the citizens of Valdosta of fabricating the entire story for publicity.

Our old family neighbor Albert Pendleton (from when we all lived on Varnedoe Street in Valdosta; way before my time), added: Continue reading →

Lowndes County next year: SoGa Growing Local & Sustainable Conference

Janisse Ray starting the conference This year’s SoGa Growing Local & Sustainable Conference was a satisfying success, and next year it moves to Lowndes County.

Not only did 260 people sign up, but all the sessions were well-attended, and everybody seemed to learn something new, from hoop houses to solar power, from hands-on workshops to all-hands plenary sessions. Of course the food was excellent. You can get a hint from this picture of Janisse Ray opening the conference; the food in the foreground is on the snack tables (ah, the honeycomb!). Then there were the meals, potluck by and for a conference-full of foodies.

In 2011 about 50 people came to the first one in Tifton. In 2012, about 150 people went to Reidsville. In 2013, about 260 people signed up, also for Reidsville, Tattnall County, to learn what it takes to grow local sustainable food here below the gnat line in this longleaf pine land of tea-colored rivers, acid soil, and rich gardening traditions.

As Janisse Ray wrote on the facebook event for this year’s conference:

Gretchen Quarterman on preserving foods

SoGa Growing Local 2014 will be held in Valdosta, GA. Gretchen Quarterman will be the lead organizer. We’ll be keeping you posted on the date so you can put it on your calendars now. (We may do a mini version in Tattnall in 2014.)

More later on what happened at this year’s conference, and more as it develops on next year’s conference. So far, many local farmers, civic and business organizations, and local governmental bodies have offered to help, and Gretchen is forming an organizational committee. Stay tuned!

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Dr. Elsie Quarterman is 102 years old today

Elsie Quarterman is 102 years old today. Tennessee coneflower, Echinacea tennesseensis She was born in Valdosta in 1910, played basketball for Hahira High School, graduated from Valdosta High School, got a B.A. from Valdosta State College, and taught English in Morven, Naylor, Columbus, Lake Park, and Lyons, Georgia.

Dr. Elsie Quarterman got a Masters and a Ph.D. from Duke University in in botany and plant ecology. Elsie, coneflower, Gretchen While studying for her Ph.D., she was a professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she was one of the first women full professors and was the first woman department chair (Biology). She specialized in the cedar glades of central Tennessee, including one now named after her by the state. Elsie, Gretchen, cat There is an annual wildflower festival named after her. She rediscovered the cedar glade Tennessee coneflower, Echinacea tennesseensis, which previously was thought to be extinct, but has since been taken off the endangered species list, partly due to her work. Her wikipedia page has more information about her work and her many honors.

Patrick and Elsie Aunt Elsie still lives in her own house in Nashville, connected to her nephew Patrick’s house, where Patrick and his wife Ann live and take care of her.

Here is world traveller Elsie in 2006 leading a family group on the Isle of Skye in Scotland:

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Pumpkins

Gretchen has something new at Valdosta Farm Days today: pumpkins! That’s 9AM to 1PM today at the historic Lowndes County Courthouse in downtown Valdosta.

Pumpkin flower closeup Pumpkin

Pumpkin and flower

Pumpkin and flower
John S. Quarterman, Gretchen Quarterman, Brown Dog, Yellow Dog,
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 18 August 2012.

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Groundwater at historically low levels

The only well in the Withlacoochee, Little, or Alapaha River watersheds that seems to be instrumented for near-realtime depth measurements is in Valdosta. That well is now at historic lows, compared to 55 years of back data.

On the graph to the right, the black triangle in the middle of the green is the median over those 55 years since 1957. The green is 25th to 75th percentile. The yellow is 10th to 24th percentile. The red is below 10th percentile. I’m guessing below the red means never been seen that low before in that month.

The current depth shown, 137.52 feet below the surface on 26 April 2012, is not the lowest ever seen, which was 152.31 feet on 19 September 1990. But apparently it is lower than seen before for April.

Maybe we should think about water conservation more frequently than just when Valdosta’s water pumps have problems. Not just for watering lawns; also for agriculture and silviculture. Maybe we should try to plant crops that don’t require as much irrigation, or plant them in ways that don’t lead to so much evaporation. Maybe we should be more careful about clearcutting trees, which causes rapid runoff that doesn’t get back into the groundwater as much. Maybe we should think about how much growth do we want.

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Valdosta Farm Days returns Saturday 21 April 2012

Returning for its second year, Valdosta Farm Days starts this Saturday:

When: 9AM-1PM Saturday 21 April 2012
Where: Historic Lowndes County Courthouse,
100 East Central Avenue,
Valdosta, Georgia

There’s a list of vendors on VFD’s web page. See also their facebook page.

Support local agriculture and buy direct from area farmers while shopping at Downtown Valdosta Farm Days.

The market presents producers from the surrounding areas of Lowndes County offering fresh fruit, vegetables and so much more.

Come for the freshness and stay for the fun at Downtown Valdosta Farm Days!

At the market, you’ll find locally-grown, locally-raised, locally-produced fruits and vegetables, plants, herbs, meats, farm-fresh eggs and dairy products, baked and prepared foods, snacks, and coffee. You’ll also find a variety of artisan and natural value-added products including products made from recycled goods, birdhouses, handmade soaps and body products, candles, gift baskets, and honey products.

Oh, look! Potatoes from Okra Paradise Farms! OPF won’t actually have those there this weekend (they only just bloomed last week), but stay tuned for later Valdosta Farm Days!

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Drying Out South Georgia Wetlands in Dirty Dozen by Georgia Water Coalition

We’re on Georgia Water Coalition’s Dirty Dozen 2011: as 9. South Georgia Wetlands: Four Decades of Ditches Dry Out South Georgia Wetlands:

Since the 1970s, state and federal regulatory agencies have allowed the destruction of more than 200,000 acres of highly critical wetlands throughout South Georgia to increase timber production and agricultural yields and usher in residential and commercial development. These wetlands that captured water and slowly released it to streams no longer perform that important function. The result has been increased floods when it rains and record low flows when it doesn’t….

Flooding? Like the 700 year flood in Lowndes County 3 years ago today?

What’s a wetland, anyway?

the greatest concentration of wetlands is in the Coastal Plain of South Georgia. Though these forested foodplains and wetlands may not seem directly linked to our rivers and streams, they play an important role in holding water during rain events and dispensing it during dry periods. The sponges and kidneys of our state, they mitigate major floods, lessen the impacts of drought, and clean the water that passes through them, while regulating the amount of freshwater entering Georgia’s coastal estuaries where commercially important seafood find critical habitat. Additionally, these wetlands provide important habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife.

So what’s the problem?

In an effort to convert these wild lands into
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Happy frogs in the cypress swamp 2012-03-07

It rained six inches here when the tornado went through. That rain refilled the cypress swamp, and revived thousands of frogs that had been slumbering in the mud.

Panning around their habitat, you can’t see them, but you can hear them.

Here’s a playlist: Continue reading →

The now unendangered Tennessee Coneflower

Aunt Elsie gets mentioned again for her pioneering career in plant ecology.

According to the Nature Conservancy (undated), Tennessee Coneflower — No Longer Endangered

After years of hard work and the support of many dedicated individuals, an iconic flower is once again thriving in Tennessee. On August 4, 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the removal of the Tennessee coneflower from the Endangered Species List, marking an extraordinary recovery from the brink of extinction. The story of the coneflower exemplifies the power of conservation.

In 1968, Vanderbilt biology professor Elsie Quarterman and graduate student Barbara Turner accidentally discovered the fuschia-colored coneflowers at Mount View Cedar Glade. The plant had been thought extinct until the rediscovery. In time, three other coneflower sites were discovered in Davidson and Wilson counties. In 1979, the Tennessee coneflower became one of the first plants to be recorded on the Endangered Species List.

Quarterman subsequently became a trustee of the Tennesee Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and urged the protection of the cedar glade habitats where the Tennessee coneflower and other rare plants have adapted to live in harsh, stony conditions.

Her nephew Patrick found this.

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Elsie Quarterman’s Tennessee Coneflower taken off endangered species list

WSMV in Nashville reports that the Tennessee purple coneflower, which grows only in cedar glades, and only in three counties in the world, is being taken off the endangered species list:

Less than one percent of endangered species ever get taken off the list. The Tennessean reports:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to officially remove the wildflower by Sept. 2, from its list of plants that are near extinction.

“The Tennessee coneflower’s recovery is an example of what can be achieved through the combined efforts of dedicated partners,” said Cindy Dohner, the Service’s Southeast Regional Director, in an emailed announcement.

Echinacea tennesseensis was thought extinct until Dr. Elsie Quarterman rediscovered it in 1969 in the cedar glades which are her academic specialty. She was 59 then.

Now she is 100, and still being honored by her students and by her state.

Aunt Elsie was born in Valdosta and played basketball for Hahira High School, before she started her very long career in botany and plant ecology.

As aye, Elsie!

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PS: This post owed to Patrick Quarterman.