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SARAH CAVACINI/Palatka Daily News. Mischa Johns, archivist for the Putnam County Library Systems, shows One Book One Putnam attendees a letter written by someone living in Palatka during the 1860s. -
SARAH CAVACINI/Palatka Daily News. George DeLoach displays rodeo memorabilia and Florida cowboy history on Thursday during the One Book One Putnam kickoff event. -
SARAH CAVACINI/Palatka Daily News. Palmer Kinser, who represented the Garden Club of Palatka, explains to One Book One Putnam attendees about the types of edible or non-edible Florida plants on Thursday. -
Positively Putnam
The Palatka Golf Club turned into a showcase of Old Florida on Thursday during the kickoff of this year’s countywide book club program.
Organizers from One Book One Putnam began the two-month reading season with a night of displays about mosquitos, Florida cowboys, edible plants and snapshots of 19th-century Putnam County history.
The presentations tied into this year’s selected read, Patrick D. Smith’s “A Land Remembered,” which is set in Florida from 1863 to 1968. It’s the first book the organization read when it began 20 years ago, said Lulu Gail Parish, one of the founding members.
“We wanted to encourage people in Putnam County to read, and we wanted adults to have fun and enjoy reading,” she said.
On Thursday, entomologist Caroline Efstathion gave a presentation about the prevalence of mosquitoes, insects with which the book’s protagonists have a run-in.
There are 87 species of mosquitoes in Florida, she said, with Putnam having at least 40 species.
Although the threat of mosquito-borne illnesses today isn’t as high as they were in the 19th century, the book characters dealt with malaria, which is why the mosquito is considered the world’s deadliest animal, according to Efstathion.
“We had a Malaria Belt that went from Jacksonville through the Panhandle over to Tallahassee,” she said.
The final presentation showed people insight into life in Putnam County during the 1800s. Mischa Johns, the archivist for the Putnam County Library System, showed attendees letters people passing through or living in Putnam wrote to their loved ones.
“Letters are one of the most fantastic forms of primary resources you can get ahold of as a historian, as an archeologist,” Johns said.
With letters, she said, people can read historical accounts of an event through the eyes of someone who experienced it, rather than relying on someone else’s interpretation.
People at the kickoff learned about Florida cowboys from local cowboys and enthusiasts, saw displays of Putnam County relics and learned about Florida’s edible plants.
One Book organizers will be continuing its interactive history lessons at the March 7 One Book finale, where a reenactor displaying the life of a pioneer woman will be present. The closing event will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Woman’s Club of Palatka, 600 S. 13th St.
People can pick up a copy of “A Land Remembered” at any Putnam County library or at Needful Things, 908 St Johns Ave. Leading up to the finale, book discussions will take place at:
Interlachen Library, 133 County Road 315, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 8.
Crescent City Library, 610 Summit St., at noon Feb. 14.
Melrose Library, 312 Wynnwood Ave., at 1 p.m. Feb. 16.
Palatka Library Headquarters, 601 College Road, at 6 p.m. Feb. 19.
Bostwick Library, 125 Tillman St. in Palatka, at 4 p.m. Feb. 22.