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March 18, 1999 - Seeing the sights of Florida's coastline6A • The Suffolk Times • March 18, 1999 Seeing the sights of Florida's coastline About 57 years ago a young country boy right out of high school found him- self aboard a ship headed for the South Pacific. The world was at war and he can remember cruising the waters off Florida in what seemed to him a tropi- cal sea. He can still see the distant coastline from aboard that ship as it lay low on the hori- zon to the west. FOCUS It was a time when ships and ON those ashore pro- tected them- selves with by Paul blackout condi- Stoutenburgh tions. Deadly submarines roamed the shipping lanes, in sharp contrast to the beautiful sparkling emerald waters of the Atlantic today. That same country boy, a bit older — yes, quite a bit older — is enjoying that same tropical shore but under entirely different circumstances. He's vacation- ing with his wife in a camper at the John Prince Park and Campground, where war and its horrors are but a dis- tant memory. When we first pulled into our site we were greeted by an unfamiliar resident: a limpkin, a wading bird that frequents the marsh and swamps of these low - lying flatlands so characteristic of Florida. We remembered reading an article in National Geographic maga- zine on how Dr. Arthur Allen had made a special trip years ago into the wilds of Florida to photograph and record the voices of this elusive swamp dweller. Today it has become a rela- tively common bird among the tents and campers of this big -city park just outside Fort Worth. Limpkin a good sign A limpkin has a large curved bill that it uses to probe the soft mud for snails, mussels and clams that inhabit the shallows. We couldn't believe our first encounter here would be with this spe- cial bird. Could it be a good omen for the days to come? As the days passed leisurely by we visited a "Sea Fest" at Bryant Park on the water, where we lunched on deli- cious conch fritters and conch salad, then wandered through their gigantic marine flea market. Another day found us exploring one of the finest nature centers we'd ever seen at one of Palm Beach County's many sprawling parks. There were rolling golf courses, lakes for boating and fishing, miles of bike paths, exer- cise and workout trails, picnic areas, places for special events. The list goes on and on. You name it, the parks have it. The one with the won- derful nature cen- ter is called Okee- heclee. Our luck didn't give out for we had heard of some Japanese gardens and were told we shouldn't miss them, so with a lit- tle of Barbara's research on direc- tions wemere soon on our way to the Morikami Mu- seum. In the early 1900s a small group of native Ja- panese came over to America and hacked a large tract of land out of what seemed to be an endless jungle outside Boca Raton. For 20 years they worked the land, but as time passed their inter- est waned and one by one they returned to Japan — that is, all but one, who stayed and prospered. His name was George Sukeji Morikami. he became an important part of the agri- cultural community and a respected citizen. As he grew older he had a dream that his land might become a tribute to the friendship between the two nations, Japan and America. When he died in 1977 he left over 200 acres to Palm Beach County, which created the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in his memory. The museum includes a theater, li- brary, art gallery and a restaurant with home -style Japanese food we thor- sail that are displayed in a special enclosure, some of which are over 40 years old. They are truly magnificent. On our way back to camp my eye caught the word "wetlands" on a sign. Now there's nothing more dear to my heart than the wetlands, so we turned around amid the busy traffic and pulled into a county water man- agement district. Inside it had a half - mile elevated boardwalk that wound through one of the most luxurious wet- lands you could imagine. Then, to top that, these wetlands had at- tracted a wide variety of ducks, herons, egrets and ibis — all feeding in the shallows. Turtles sunned themselves on the banks as big white royal terns swooped in to pick up the myri- ad of killifish that fed in the shal- lows below. It was called the Koda- hatchee Wet- lands. Our day was Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh full and we had to Glorified years ago in an article by National Geographic magazine, the limp- get back for a kin's secrets were revealed. Today In some areas of Florida this once elu- christening of a sive bird has become almost common. new camper our park neighbors had bought that day. To celebrate we took over one of Long Island's finest wines that we had carried with us. We toasted to their future "safe and happy travels." We left before it got _ dark, around 7 p.m., for we wanted to hook up our camper to be ready to leave the next day, when the park gates opened at 6:45 a.m. We'd be heading for the Everglades — the River of Grass — the next morning. i _ —NMM9w i wwr� is 'm wry low 1G 6 67 ti.r V V 1111 . 1..P h V iX 75 years ago March 1,4 1924 Local gleanings: Greenport —The first issue of the Tattle Tate, a paper published by the business English class of Greenport High School, under the direction of Miss Lawton, the class teacher, made its bow to the pub- lic this week. The paper was well edited and reflects much credit to the students. East Marion —The telephone company is installing four party lines in the village and removing the 58 line. Southold —Two weeks ago Ernest Ullerich bought the handsomest pair of dapple grey horses ever seen here. Now he's just purchased a second team handsomer, dap - pleder and greyer than that there pair. What next? Wilbur Petty likes his new Chevrolet fine. It beats the old, dirty, noisy motorcycle way out of sight. 50 years ago March 18, 1949 Schoolhouse moved: An event of future importance to the youth of Orient village took place recently. Quietly and unobtrusively, the historic Point School House was moved across the back lots from its former location at the bend of the old King's Highway near the residence of the late Rufus Tuthill at Orient Point to a site behind the World War II Memorial, on the grounds of the Village House at Orient. When fully restored, the schoolhouse will stand, pre- served for posterity, as one of the few single -room, old- oughly enjoyed. There is a typical Japanese home built around a gravel courtyard. You must remove your shoes before you go into the various rooms. There is also a tea house where you can observe the art of the tradi- tional tea ceremony. Besides all this there are beautiful gardens to wander through, a place to sit by a waterfall where huge koi fish swim slowly by and, of course, the bon- fashioned schoolhouses left in America. ... The trustees of the Oysterponds Historical Society, who have purchased the Point School, have tentative plans of using the building not merely as a relic or muse- um piece of bygone days, but as a greatly needed Youth Center in the village where some youth assemblies and activities may be conducted that had been confined to a limited use of a church basement. 25 years ago March 14, 1974 Streakers strike: An anonymous call was received at the Southold police station Friday night. "There are streakers at the school," gasped the caller. Sure enough, there were. A handful of students stand- ing on the steps of Southold School saw them while 300 dancers inside missed it. High School principal Richard Hilary ran out at the commotion. He missed it. District principal Walter Cain arrived at the tail end, so to speak, and saw kids hopping into parked cars and zooming off. The students who caught the act said there were about a dozen boys wearing nothing but pillowcases or masks on their heads who ran across the lawn, popped into wait- ing cars and buzzed off. What can police do about it, they were asked. "Laugh, is all," said one officer. "There's nothing in the penal code on streaking. It'll die down." He stopped. "Then again, with warm weather coming, who knows ?" he added in the tone of one who has now seen all. CCE nature course You think you know something about Long Island flora and fauna? You'll know a lot more after Cornell Cooperative Extension's 10- session Master Naturalist Training Program, which runs April 3 through June 12. Those who complete the course will be qualified to lead interpretive pro- grams within the Long Island Park System. Certified master naturalists are then expected to perform 45 hours of volunteer work within one year. Classes will run on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will consist of lectures, workshops and field trips to several Long Island parks. The cost is $150. An additional $50 fee will be reimbursed after volunteer work is completed. Call 852 -8660 for more information. Topic: organic farming Laughing Waters Farm, an organic farm in Southold, will hold an infor- mational meeting on community sup- ported agriculture Saturday, March 27, 10 a.m. to noon, at Southold Methodist Church. Call 323 -3826.