Senator Bob Graham reflects on the environmental influence of the "Three Marjories of FLorida"

By Donna Green-Townsend 

A little more than a decade ago I set out to do a documentary on the influence three famous Marjories had on the environmental movement in Florida. Florida’s former Governor and long-time Senator, Bob Graham, had deep admiration for all three women who are now honored in the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame: American journalist, author and conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Environmental activist and scientist Marjorie Harris Carr, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. As a journalist I had written articles on all three women. Now in this video you will see excerpts of my interview with Bob Graham from October 2, 2013 about the three Marjories of Florida.

Senator Graham died on April 16th at the age of 87. He will be remembered for his many years as a public servant, not only in Florida state government, but in the U.S. Senate where he had key roles serving on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and on the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating the 9/11 attacks. He will long be recognized for his political efforts to restore the Florida Everglades and save Florida's freshwater springs. Graham will also be remembered for his many Florida workdays where as a state legislator and gubernatorial candidate in the late 70s he undertook a series of 100 "workdays" experiencing the lives of ordinary Floridians firsthand by working their jobs. Read the full written transcript of the interview segments about the three Marjories of Florida in the  Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm Spring 2024 newsletter.

Ora's Deep Lament- inspired by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' character Ora Baxter in The Yearling

The Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, The Yearling by the late Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, inspired this poem/song and media project by native Marion County Florida artist, Kathlyne Walkup Sheppard. In the video produced by Donna Green-Townsend, Jessie Townsend Armstrong is the vocalist accompanied by composer Sheppard on piano.

Ora's Deep Lament honors Kathlyne Walkup Sheppard's Great-Grandmother Nancy Lenora Sewell who buried five children who died from typhus in 1904. Sheppard wants to remember her Great-Grandmother's faith, love and compassion to care for others.

In The Yearling novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, the character, Ora Baxter, experienced the loss of several children during Florida's early history in the Florida Scrub.

Video locations included the Silver River, Juniper and Silver Glen Springs, the Ocklawaha River, The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park and the following cemeteries: Long, Gore and the Fred Tompkins Cemeteries in Marion and Alachua Counties.

ORA’S DEEP LAMENT Lyrics 

© Kathlyne Walkup Sheppard, 23 June, 2022

FROM NOVEL TO MOVIE: The Yearling in Florida

“From Novel to Movie: The Yearling in Florida,” provides a unique look back at the classic Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, The Yearling, by the late Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and the subsequent classic MGM Oscar-winning film by the same name 75 years later. The documentary, produced by board members of the Friends of the MKR Farm Donna Green-Townsend and Kathlyne Walkup Sheppard, includes memories in film and commentary by not only the Oscar-winning child actor Claude Jarman, Jr., but many of the Florida folks who worked on the film in the Ocala National Forest. The documentary also includes unique footage provided by the Gregory Peck Foundation of Gregory Peck and the cast and crew as filming took place in Marion County in 1945.

“From Novel to Movie: The Yearling in Florida” is currently being distributed by the National Educational Telecommunications Association on public television stations across the country.

Celebrating 75 Years of The Yearling Movie. With Claude Jarman, Jr.

On December 12, 2021, the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc. presented an in-person interview with Claude Jarman, Jr., who played Jody in The Yearling movie (MGM, 1946). The interview was part of the events making up its "The Yearling Movie Celebrates 75 Years with Claude Jarman, Jr.”  The interview was conducted by Donna Green-Townsend and took place at the historic Marion Theatre in Ocala, Florida.  Claude discussed his memories of the making of the movie, including his discovery by director Clarence Brown, working with Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman, and the vicissitudes (heat, rain, and bugs) of filming The Yearling in the Big Scrub in Marion County, Florida. Also introduced was Bobby Randall, who was Claude’s double/stand-in for the filming.  The videographer was Deborah Hendrix.

The Ilene Silverman Show - The Yearling Anniversary

In November 2021 Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm Board Members Barbara Wingo and Donna Green-Townsend appeared on the Ilene Silverman Show.  They discussed the Friends organization, its activities and its purpose of supporting the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park as well as the upcoming “The Yearling Movie Celebrates 75 Years with Claude Jarman, Jr.” event at the Marion Theatre in Ocala.

WUFT Greater Good video

In March 2021 our local public broadcasting station, WUFT, visited the Marjorie Rawlings Historic State Park as part of a series showcasing local non-profit groups in our area. 

MARJORIE KINNAN RAWLINGS' CROSS CREEK CHRISTMAS 2020

In 2020 a video presentation in lieu of an in-person holiday party at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park was created by park volunteer Marthalynne Allen Dilello (with editing by  Donna Green-Townsend).  A special shout out to musicians George Tortorelli and Lisa Lynne for the beautiful music that accompanies the photos and videos.

2020 ANNUAL MEEETING OF FRIENDS OF THE MARJORIE KINNAN RAWLINGS FARM, INC . 

Ron Haase is Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida where he taught design and historic preservation. He is a specialist in the area of Florida vernacular architecture. Ron is also the author of the book, Classic Cracker: Florida's Wood-Frame Vernacular Architecture.

In this video he pays a visit to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park and shares his personal inspiration from Rawlings' writings. He tours Rawlings' barn and home with Park Manager Scott Spaulding and shares his knowledge of "classic Cracker architecture."  Produced by Donna Green-Townsend.

LIFE AND TIMES IN CROSS CREEK:  MEMORIES AND REFLECTIONS

This virtual experience takes viewers  Cross Creek, where they can learn more about the people who knew Marjorie Rawlings during her years living and writing there.

Segments include historic photos, audio and video of such characters as the late author and artist from Evinston, J. T. Glisson, “Snow” and Ella Mae Slater, Berney Bass and the late actor Rip Torn to name a few.  In the video long-time Cross Creek residents share their personal memories of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.  There’s one segment devoted to the days when catfishing was one of the key livelihoods for many members of the Cross Creek community. Produced by Donna Green-Townsend.

MARJORIE'S ANTIOCHERS 

Many of the Cross Creek friends Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wrote about in her book Cross Creek are buried in the Antioch Cemetery near Island Grove, FL just east of Cross Creek. James M. Stephens has written what he thinks many of those friends would say if they were alive today.  The videos here are taken from Stephens' walking tours of the cemetery sponsored by the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, Inc.  Produced by Donna Green-Townsend.

Highlights of the 123rd birthday party for the late Pulitzer-Prize winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings on August 10th, 2019. The party which took place at the MKR Historic State Park in Cross Creek was sponsored by the park and the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm.   Produced by Donna Green-Townsend.

The Pound Party Play presented by James M. Stephens at the Marjorie kinnan rawlings Historic state park

On May 4, 2019, a play by James M. Stephens based on chapter 4 of Rawlings' Cross Creek was presented.   Audience members took videos of the play, and this video is taken from what those audience members captured.  Produced by Donna Green-Townsend. 

Carol Fiddia Laxton Tours Home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Pt. 1

On March 3, 2018 Carol Fiddia Laxton toured the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Home in Cross Creek, FL. She had last visited the home when she was 18 years old many decades before. Her father wanted her to talk to Marjorie about what she was going to do after high school. Marjorie encouraged Carol to go to college for at least two years. Carol's father and grandmother were close friends of the late Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Before writing "The Yearling" which won the Pulitzer Prize, Rawlings wrote "South Moon Under." The inspiration for the characters and setting for both books came from living with Carol's family back in the scrub of Marion County. There Marjorie learned the ins and outs of making moonshine, hunting, fishing and the "cracker ways" of early Florida. You can hear Carol's talk about Rawlings in Part 2 of her visit to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park.

Carol Fiddia Laxton Shares Memories of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Pt. 2

On March 3, 2018 Carol Fiddia Laxton shared her memories of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Her talk was sponsored by the Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm organization and the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park. Carol's father and grandmother were good friends of Rawlings. The late author lived with the family for a time to gather information for the books she was writing, including, "South Moon Under" and "The Yearling."

The Artistic Ties Between Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Robert E. Carson

Robert E. Carson was a Professor of Humanities at the University of Florida from 1946-1971.  Professor Carson, or "Doc" as many called him, was a self-taught artist who began in watercolors at the age of 35. In 1966 author Gordon E. Bigelow asked Carson to provide sketches for his book, Frontier Eden, The Literary Career of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Following the publication of Bigelow's book, the University of Florida asked Carson if he would be willing to provide tours of the Rawlings home in Cross Creek. From 1968 to 1970 Carson and his wife Estelle stayed at the historic  home on weekends and served as the first hosts. Carson’s legacy is being continued by his daughter, Elaine Carson Spencer.