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While life in pioneer Florida so perfectly depicted in A Land Remembered was harsh and cruel, there was also fun and celebration…and romance, of course. My father wrote of one of those special times, this one set at Christmas. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the book and one I like to share with my audience during my Patrick Smith’s Florida IS A Land Remembered show.
A Little History
But before we go further, here’s a little pioneer history lesson behind the subject of this scene.
According to the Florida Memory Blog, although Florida’s rural families lived a few miles apart from one another, back then that would mean a good half a day’s ride on a horse or in a wagon, they would come together when one of them had a major project that needed to be done or a holiday to celebrate. When that would happen, the families often enjoyed a community feast followed by a night of music and dancing.
These informal parties were known as “frolics.”
Even though frolics were simple affairs, the musicians mainly playing harmonica and fiddles were usually just folks in the neighborhood who learned to play from a relative or friend, they were undoubtedly a lot of fun for young folks living so far apart from one another.
You can find more books about Florida culture in the 17th century at Amazon.
At that time, much of the dancing was a form of square dancing, where the dancers followed as someone would call the steps as the musicians played, and the dancers would react accordingly. At that time, having young men and women pair off and dance however they pleased would have been frowned upon!
Fort Drum Christmas Frolic
This frolic takes place around Christmas of 1875 when Zech, Frog, and Bonzo, after rounding up 60 head of cattle, find themselves close to Fort Drum. Wanting something more substantial to eat, Frog comes up with the idea to head to the outpost for some provisions. That’s where they hear of a frolic that will be happening and decide to stay. And it’s at the frolic that Zech meets the beautiful Glenda Turner.
The way my dad described the frolic scene, you can feel the pulse of the dancer’s feet stomping on the wooden floor, the high-pitched strains of fiddle music, hear the caller bark out instructions, pick up the laughter and whoops of joy from the gathered crowd, feel the trickle of sweat down the nervous young man’s back. Zech had grown up with siblings or friends and had no idea how to dance. The experience was overwhelming to such a country boy.
A Mother’s Wise Words
But the scene I enjoy most comes later after the frolic has passed and Zech has returned home to his parents, Tobias and Emma.
Emma sat beside him, wanting to distract him from such thoughts. She said, “Did you have a good time at the frolic?”
“I guess. But I didn’t dance. I don’t know how.”
“Did you meet someone?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Was she pretty?”
“The prettiest thing I ever seen,” Zech responded, knowing he could talk to his mother more frankly about something like this than he could his father. “She had hair as red as a sunset, and she smelled like flowers.”
“I smelled like flowers once, but not anymore.”
“You smell just fine, Mamma,” he said, touching her hand, “and you always have.”
“Not flowers anymore. That’s for young girls. Did you like her?”
“She rode with me on Ishmael. Her name is Glenda. Glenda Turner. Her daddy owns the store at Fort Drum.”
“But did you like her?” she asked again.
“I never been that close to a girl before. I guess I did. She made me dizzy, like I was spinning around and around. She said if I come back she’ll teach me to dance.”
Emma put her hand on his. “Tech, if you like her, don’t stay away too long. Flowers has a way of being plucked by someone, and there’s not many nice ones out here in the wilderness. They don’t stay in bloom forever.”
“Maybe I can go back there after the drive. If I can find the time, I’ll go.”
“You best make the time. Cows won’t ever smell good like flowers. Someday you’ll know that.”
Zech remembered Frog saying to him, “Cows aint’ everything.” He said, “Thanks, Mamma. I won’t forget what you’ve told me. I’ll go back to Fort Drum first chance I get.”
Isn’t that a great scene? I love how dad weaved his humor into the book and that touching conversation is just one example.
A Land Remembered (hardbound) and Patrick Smith’s A Sense of Place DVD (Retail $41.90)
Combo Price – $32.00 – 
You can read more about the DVD here. It is so good that I use parts of it in my show, and people love it. We’ve sold tens of thousands of them to individuals, schools, libraries, museums and more. The last time I was at the Edison and Ford Museum they had it playing full time on a display of Dad’s books. It won several film awards.
It’s as close as you’ll get to meeting Patrick Smith in person, and it’ll teach you a lot that you didn’t know about Florida.
Final Words
If you have the book, head over to chapter 18 and relive the entire scene. You’ll see how Dad weaves in the harsh realities of pioneer Florida life with the joys the pioneers also savored.