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For three days, the Withlacoochee River Park event shows 19th century life.
By MICHELLE JONES
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 15, 2001
DADE CITY -- The Fort Dade Mountain Man Rendezvous reminded Ranier Melucci of the days of his youth.
"The beards, the old clothing, the beads and the desire for more of the natural way of living," said the Spring Hill father of three, who grew up in the late 1960s. "We really enjoyed it; it was good."
He and his wife, Sara, and three children had been to the Withlacoochee River Park previously, but had never attended a rendezvous.
The three-day event, now in its sixth year, revives the pioneer spirit and shows how people lived in the early 19th century. To Melucci, it recalled a time when hippies wore beads and old clothing and grew beards. Traders and primitive campers set up white tents. Wood-burning stoves and open fires at campsites kept people warm and provided a place for cooking.
Nothing modern is allowed within the area, keeping the culture of pioneer days intact.
Bob and Margyl DeWit of Zephyrhills brought their dog Sparky to the event.
"It's bigger than last year," said Bob DeWit. "There are a lot of games and activities for the children, and that's great."
Jenny Setagata, 10, of Apopka was one of the children who gleaned knowledge from last year's festival and used it to win some blue ribbons.
"I showed her how to make ink from black walnuts," said Deb Carbone, who with her husband, Frank, runs the No Sweat Soap Factory and Emporium, one of the many traders set up in the camp.
Jenny won first place in a science fair and for her 4-H project at both the local and district level. "I wrote a paragraph, with the ink, on how to make the ink," she said.
Carbone was so pleased with the report, she gave Jenny a handmade pen to use with the ink.
"You tell a lot of children how to do things, but seldom do you hear anything back from them," said Carbone.
Carbone said she has been coming to the Mountain Man Rendezvous since its inception. She makes Scottish lye soap in a pot her grandmother brought to the United States in 1905.
"This pot has been used for making soap since 1772," Carbone said.
That remark was the cue for her husband's sales talk. "This special soap will make you walk, talk, giggle and squawk, and crawl on your belly like a reptile," he said in a sing-song voice. "You will jump higher, dive deeper and come up cleaner every single time."
Deb Carbone added that the soap can be used for anything that makes you itch, scratch or break out.
At the edge of the camp is a common area where people gather for a campfire and storytelling each night. Nearby, Mittie Wood, one of the organizers of the rendezvous, helped children and adults with games such as tug of war, spitting contests, fry pan tosses and foot races.
Mathew Mitchell, 6, of Brooksville won the first foot race. After running about 100 yards,he crossed a finish line drawn on the ground with an ax by Ricky Allen of Land O'Lakes. Breathing hard, Mathew accepted a purple ribbon from Wood.
In the second race, Josh Brown, 9, of Groveland crossed the line second after leading the race until the final few feet. Mariah Motes, 8, of Brandon was first. However, Wood gave them each a ribbon.
"I think Josh slowed down to be a gentleman," said Wood.
Josh just shrugged his shoulders when asked if that were true.
Throughout the camp, jewelry, furs, cotton clothing, marbles, toys carved from wood, knives, peacock feathers, leather goods and natural dyes were available, as well as a variety of food.
Linda Cohee was cooking fry bread, coffee and fried pies.
"I travel all the time; I have no home," she said of her Rawhide Trading Co. "I do have a mailbox in Wyoming though."
Russ Ruppert of Gainesville, provided a magic show along with his boiled peanuts, root beer and Kettle Korn.
Josh Jusseaume, 16, of Hudson and Sam Scarborough, 15 of Dade City thought Ruppert's magic was awesome after seeing him levitate a folded dollar bill using static electricity.
"That was pretty weird," said Sam.
Vicki Weebeck was demonstrating the art of dyeing material with natural ingredients.
Two of her favorites were Brazil wood, for pink or red colors, and onion skin for yellow.
She dyed cloth in a large kettle over an open fire.
"When I come here, I am mentally transported to a different time zone," she said. "Here I saw my first live armadillo. Not one dead on the ground."
Elizabeth Johnson could not resist bartering with the merchants. But the Hudson woman could not bring Al Lee Gator down on his price for a blanket.
After a lot of haggling, she left with the $15 blanket wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the morning chill.
Gator wore dreadlocks on his beard with bells attached to the ends.
"They prove I'm a ding-a-ling," he said.
- Michelle Jones covers central Pasco community news. She can be reached at (913) 226-3459. Her e-mail address is jones@sptimes.com.