Old Spanish Trail Centennial Celebration
By Deborah Desilets
The Tallahassee Old Spanish Trail Centennial Celebration (OST100) was kicked off on May 18th with a wonderful welcome reception hosted by Conexión Media Group (CMG)! David Triana, CMG’s President, was the Master of Ceremonies for the activity, which was held at the Sanders Reception Hall at St Paul’s United Methodist Church, on Meridian.
An early sunset warmed the hall in a wonderful glow of color as guests socialized through the night and enjoyed the festivities and entertainment while also enjoying delicious food from “Catering by Betsy.”
The festivities included presentations by Tallahassee based performers such as the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium’s (PAEC) children’s dance group “Un Poquito de México. Their first performance was Aztec traditional dances and then later on followed that with beautiful dances from the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Theater with a Mission (TWAM), led by Mr. Ben Gunter, provided more of the fine entertainment for the evening with a scene from the play “Nuevo Mundo”, which transported us all to the first between Spanish explorers and the indigenous people of La Florida. Such a superb performance from the “center of the room” so intimate and indeed very much like “the theater in the round” of the Renaissance they were projecting!
Charlotte Kahl, OST100 Association Chair, recapped the historical lineage presented in song and stage that spanned centuries; she noted the Old Spanish Trail in Florida has a very long history with millennia influences coming from our neighbor to the south, México.
I was honored to participate and spoke briefly of the shared history between sections of the Old Spanish Trail and the Dixie Highway in Tallahassee, of the importance of this national “crossroads”; north to south, east to west, in the making of the Capital City, Tallahassee.
To cap off the evening, Reid Soria of Autism Sings (autismsings.net) was a special guest of Conexión Media Group and travelled from Fort Walton Beach to sing at this event. His enthralling voice and charisma stole the hearts of the audience! The entire room was lifted to new heights of heart and soul.
Concluding the evening, Miss Bridget Chandler, Tallahassee native and nonagenarian, regaled us with stories of the Chandler Tourist Camp from 1925, and stories about the making of Lake Ella Motor Courts, across that lake from where the event was held.
The CMG Welcome Reception delivered on all fronts; history, fashion, dance, music, and good conversation. A huge thanks to Conexión Media Group, to all the entertainers, the attendees, and especially to St. Paul’s for hosting the event at their beautiful facilities.
The next two days were spent in informative bike rides along BIKE BOULEVARD (Gaines and Macomb), with a short visit to see the red bricks at The Plant’s ART ALLEY.
The Four Points Sheraton was the main site for the interesting lectures about the Old Spanish Trail, the Dixie Highway (DH), Florida’s Road Building History, (like “Oh Brother Where Art Thou!!”), and the Gas Stations on the DH and OST.
In the afternoon, the Plenary Reenactment with Tallahassee City Commissioner Nancy Miller and Leon County Commissioner Nick Maddox was conducted. Various exhibits from the State of Florida: Historic Resources, Greenway and Trails, and Department of Archaeology.
The Grand Finale was an antique car motorcade from Four Point Sheraton to Havana following the Old Dixie Highway, as it over-lapped The Old Spanish Trail with distinguished public officials there to toast the group and bid a fair send off. Gadsden County Commission Chair Sherrie Taylor, and Havana’s newly elected Town Commissioner Anthony Viegbesie took part in this activity. There was tasty lunch ala fresco catered in Havana by “English Rose Café,” and Johnnies Homemade Ice-Cream supplied the final touch of wonderful home-spun fun!
A huge thanks to Charlotte Kahl and her staff for leading the OST100 Association’s efforts and making the Tallahassee activities a great success. It was an honor for me to take part of the planning and execution of the activities.
Bon Voyage to the OST and DH friends; may our roads forever be the same.
