All aboard again

Tuesday's fete will be special for Lutz. A brass band onhand, the town will unveil a replica of the depot that put it on the map.

By BILL COATS

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 2, 2000

LUTZ -- What Lutz needed was a free architect, not a brass band. But it got both.

Consequently, Tuesday's July 4th celebration will boast two new features. Civic leaders will dedicate the replica of Lutz's original train depot. And on the open platform of the depot, the 28-member Sunshine Brass Band will perform.

The depot is the design of Randy Stribling, a 47-year-old architect and train buff from Seminole Heights who became enchanted with Lutz's plans and offered his services gratis. Stribling also lined up the band, in which he plays tenor horn.

"We're trying to work out an arrangement of I've Been Working on the Railroad," the architect said.

He said he raised the prospect of a Fourth of July gig with band members as the depot plans took shape.

"They said "Great,"' Stribling recalled. "They said, "Are you sure that the thing will be done in time for this?' I said, "I guarantee it."'

The depot's dedication and the band's performances will be two new twists in a Lutz event that dates back to 1912 and has been staged annually since 1946.

Tuesday's celebration will also include these traditions:

The 10 a.m. parade, open to anyone.

The inauguration of Lutz's 10th guv'na, a comic event with a swearing-in on the Dr. Seuss book, Green Eggs and Ham. The guv'na, winner of a fundraising competition for community causes, becomes Lutz's mock chief of state for a year.

An annual barbecue chicken feast at the Lutz Volunteer Fire Department ($5 for adults; $3 for children).

The Sunshine Brass Band was founded 17 years ago and contains part-time musicians from all over Tampa Bay. This year, it placed first in its division in a national brass band competition in Columbus, Ohio.

Although the band frequently conducts paid concerts, Stribling said it also plays for nursing homes, churches and civic groups.

"We make house calls," he said. "We'll play just about anywhere."

Also thanks to the depot, a group of railroad enthusiasts are putting together a model train village that will be on display in the Lutz Community Center.

As of Friday, parade organizers had signed up 80 entries. But the actual parade promises to be bigger, thanks to participants who show up unannounced.

Among the newcomers:

Kids and Canines, a school program in which exceptional students train dogs to help the disabled.

the Cracker Shack, a float from the ramshackle restaurant, Hot Rod's BBQ & Grill.

a pair of race cars on trailers, representing Rebel Auto Storage.

the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Mounted Posse, a mostly volunteer group of horses and riders who assist the Sheriff's Department.

As is typical for an election year, this year's parade will feature a bumper crop of politicians, 16 at last count.

"I have judges," boasted Auralee Buckingham, who organizes the festivities annually for the sponsor, the Lutz-Land O'Lakes Woman's Club. "I have candidates for district attorney. I have School Board members. I have six people from District 60, (State Rep.) Victor Crist's office."

That has intensified the lobbying for early positions in the parade, Buckingham said.

The most ambitious politicians try to parade near in the front in Lutz so they then can hurry to Brandon and slide into the Brandon parade at the last minute, she said.

"They're asking to be at the back of theirs," Buckingham said. "They're going to race down the interstate."

But there are other claims on parade frontage in Lutz.

Earl Smith, a former guv'na who spent $15,000 restoring "Susie," his 60-year-old fire truck, is always honored for his efforts with a leading spot.

Early space also goes to the Fire Department's modern engines because the firefighters have barbecue duty.

Law enforcement officers want front space so they can return to their patrols as soon as possible.

And antique car drivers ask for early spots so their cars can finish before they overheat.

So sheriff's Deputy Gordon Brown got a skeptical response when he asked that the Mounted Posse be positioned near the front, Buckingham said.

"I said, "Are you going to have your own pooper scooper?' and he said, "No,' " she recalled.

Thus, the final decision was left to parade organizer Shirley Simmons.

"They're going to be in front of cars only," she said.

- Bill Coats can be reached at (813) 226-3469 or coats@sptimes.com.

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