Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
JULIANNE WUEarly shoppers portended a fruitful day for the Pinellas County Historical Society's 26th annual fundraiser.
LARGO - By the time Saturday's 26th annual Country Jubilee started at 9:30 a.m., the 21 acres at Heritage Village were already sprinkled with early shoppers.
"People were here at 8 a.m.," said Ellen Babb, the village's historian and marketing coordinator. "Even though we didn't even have our programs out yet, people didn't seem to mind. It was a good sign for the day."
As in other years, Babb expected about 15,000 people for the event. The Country Jubilee is the Pinellas County Historical Society's major fundraiser, and proceeds go toward the upkeep of the village.
There were more than 125 booths at the park. Some featured Christmas ornaments and wreaths. Others were geared more for Halloween and Thanksgiving. One patriotic snowman held a sign that said, "I love the USA," while a garden sign said: "I fought the lawn and the lawn won."
Marguerite Rauschert of St. Petersburg waited in line to pay for an artificial floral bouquet.
"My husband, Carl, and I come here most every year. We really enjoy the booths and the food, and we have lots of friends who come here, too."
Jubilee attendees bought Italian sausages, hot dogs and hamburgers, along with water, soft drinks and lemonade. Or, for a more traditional treat, they could stop by the sugar-making exhibit and taste some real sugar cane for free.
All of the homes, the railroad depot, the barn, the doctor's office, the school, church and more were open to visitors. Some of the homes date back to the 1850s and have been moved to Heritage Village since its inception in 1976. Today, there are 28 structures on the county property.
Outside the Lowe House, a board-and-batten house built in 1888, a petting zoo was set up by the Seminole Vocational-Education Center. Agricultural instructors Vickie Nichols and Kim Chonko showed off some of the animals, including a steer named Ellie Mae and a year-old burro named Delilah. There were also two roosters, two goats, a lamb and a boar.
Zachary Sherman, 10, of Clearwater, enjoyed petting the lamb.
"It feels just like a wool blanket," said Zachary, a fourth-grader at Seminole Elementary School. "I've been to other petting zoos, but this one's a lot better. I really like the goats and the lamb."
Over at the Heritage Mercantile Store, which used to sit on the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue and Fifth Street S in St. Petersburg, the Pin-Mar Antique Car Club had lined the walkway with vintage automobiles.
Marvin Martin, 82, of Indian Rocks Beach admired a black Model-T Ford.
"I took my first driver's test in a car like this when I was 14 in Portsmouth, Ohio," Martin said. He was at the park with his wife, Edna.
"This place brings back a lot of memories," he said. "My dad was born in a log cabin something like the one they have here."