COVER STORY
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“As they crossed the state, the Cracker cowmen faced
dangers and hardships: rustlers and robbers, snakes, swarms
of mosquitoes, swamps and disease, storms and stampedes,”
she said.
The cowboys relied on bullwhips to herd the cattle and
even to communicate with each other as they traveled across
the state, like a makeshift form of Morse code. The term
Florida Cracker, which now denotes any native of Florida,
derives from those early cow-drivers.
“The old-time cowboys were able to identify each other
by their whip cracks,” Fredrick said. “The whip was a very
important tool.”
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PIONEER FEST CELEBRATION
After the 23rd annual Florida Cracker Trail Ride ends with
a parade in downtown Fort Pierce on Feb. 27, two communitywide
festivals will showcase the region’s special mix of
“cowboys and sea cows,” in the words of history buff Anne
Sinnott, one of the organizers.
The parade is to begin at 10:30 a.m., when an estimated
125 riders strut through downtown on horseback, on mules
and in wagons. Their route will be from North Second Street
at A.E. Backus Avenue to Orange Avenue and then west to
Indian River Drive and north to the roundabout at the P.P.
Cobb building.
Then, at 11 a.m., Pioneer Fest will gear up in and around
the Backus Museum on Indian River Drive. Events there will
celebrate the region’s history and the legacies of its pioneer
settlers. The Fourth annual NatureFest will get under way
at the same time at the nearby Manatee Observation and
Education Center.
St. Lucie County put on old-Florida-style festivals after the
trail rides in 2007 and 2008, but last year it opted to discontinue
them because of budget constraints. Kathleen Fredrick,
executive director of the Backus Museum, discussed Pioneer
Fest with Sinnott, “and she did not want to see it die.” So Sinnott
and her husband, Paul, are helping to sponsor this year’s
festival. The museum is the official host and the Cracker Trail
Association is the presenter.
“This is a great way to bring local history to life,” said
Fredrick, a Fort Pierce native. “So many people who live here
now have no idea of the community’s history. People will
never think of Fort Pierce the same way again after visiting
Pioneer Fest.”
The activities will include live music by the Heritage Blue
Grass Band, storytellers, a Seminole encampment, historical
re-enactors, blacksmith demonstrations and activities for
youngsters, such as face painting and pony riding. Cowboys
will demonstrate whip-cracking, the art that gave Florida
Crackers their nickname. Barbecue, authentic swamp cabbage
and modern-day meals of hamburgers, hot dogs and
drinks will be available. A variety of marine and land conservation
activities will be on tap at NatureFest.
“A Sense of Place,” the documentary about Florida’s environment
by celebrated author Patrick Smith, will play continuously
inside the Backus Museum throughout the day.
Sinnott says festivalgoers will learn about the region’s rich
tradition of cattle ranching. It’s a tradition that continues, as
the cattle industry continues to be one of Florida’s largest.
“What people don’t understand is how vital cattle ranching
is today,” she said. “It has a colorful history, and let’s face it:
Everybody loves a cowboy!”