Taking a trip back 170 years
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
Butch Snyder sings a song at the Jan. 18 Bartow Kiwanis luncheon. Snyder is participating in the 42nd Alafia River Rendezvous.
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
From left, Mary Betts, Barbara Davis, plus Kathy and Butch Snyder, serenaded members of the Bartow Kiwanis Club at its Jan. 18 luncheon. The four are particpating in the 42nd Alafia River Rendezvous.
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
Casey Fletcher presents background information about the 42nd Alafia River Rendezvous at the Jan. 18 Bartow Kiwanis Club luncheon.
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
Aylin Hackell, 14-months-old, looks up at her grandmother (not pictured). According to her grandmother, Terri Davies, Hackell is a third generation re-enactor at this year's 42nd Annual Alaria River Rendezvous.
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
Children race to find various colored pieces of beads and glass in a scavenger hunt. It is one of several activities for children that was played in a period of the early 19th century that is being recreated at this year's Alafia River Rendezvous.
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
It's not hard to imagine the barkeep being told "Gimme a shot o' your best sasparilly!" at this beverage stand set up at the Alafia River Rendezvous.
PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER
One of the many campers attending the 42nd Annual Alafia River Rendezvous is hard at work weaving a garment.
It was a trip to the past at the Bartow Kiwanis weekly luncheon this past Friday, Jan. 18. It was also a break from the (recent) past, program-wise. Lately, and often, programs center around children and youth and education. If not that topic, the subject matter is often of a civic nature; in other words, what people and organizations do and are doing to improve the lives of Polk County residents. Regardless, whatever is presented at the Bartow Kiwanis Club luncheon is always an opportunity to learn something in a manner informative and fun.
On behalf of the Florida Frontiersmen Inc., Casey Fletcher, vice president of finance for PallettOne, as well as a member of the Kiwanis Club, spoke on the 42nd Alafia River Rendezvous, beginning with its storied tradition. As the United States moved westward in the early part of the 19th century, especially following the Louisiana Purchase, fur and pelts were a valued commodity in high demand particularly in Europe.
