Trail event raises thousands for community building | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

Cycling enthusiasts smile with their medals and trays full of barbecue on Saturday after completing a Celebrate Trails ride in Florahome.
Florahome resident Richard Probeck Sr. cooks barbecue Saturday after the cycle ride.
The Sweet William Blues Band plays during Florahome’s Celebrate Trails event on Saturday.
Money raised during the Celebrate Trails event will be used to complete renovations on the Florahome historic clubhouse, pictured above.
Positively Putnam, FL

FLORAHOME – Cyclists mounted their bikes this week for Florahome’s historic clubhouse and raised $5,000 to pay for the building’s final touches.

This year’s Celebrate Trails event spanned two days, kicking off Friday night in Palatka with a cycling tour of the city’s murals. Riders finished the evening at Azalea City Brewing Co., where they grabbed a drink and learned about the historic clubhouse. Throughout April, brewery drink tabs can be rounded up to the nearest dollar and the change will be donated to the Florahome project.

“We are very pleased to have raised about $5,000 to help finish the clubhouse,” said Meri-lin Piantanida, president of the Florahome Park & Heritage Association.

As of April 4, the historic clubhouse still needed work finished on the porch and interior, but it has come a long way since the Daily News first wrote about it in the 2021 Explore magazine.

The white building sits across the street from the Florahome trailhead and next to the community’s pickleball courts. Built in the early 1920s by the local woman’s club, the building was used until the 1980s for community events, plays and even to distribute polio vaccines.

Members of the Park & Heritage Association hope they can revive the building and use it in similar ways once more.

Saturday brought cyclists to Florahome’s Palmetto Park as early as 7 a.m. to start their ride at the Michigan Street trailhead. Three riders ventured on the 100-mile ride, which took about seven hours, event organizer Kraig McLane said. Others chose a less extreme route, venturing through Etoniah and Belmore state forests, heading to Gold Head State Park and riding along the Palatka-to-Lake Butler Trail, Piantanida added.

McLane said that the event received 55 registrations, with one cyclist coming from Tennessee.

“I wanted a lot more but I’m happy,” McLane said, adding that he tends to think big. “You have to have that huge goal to strive for.”

The event also turned into a “neighborhood music festival,” McLane said. Riders ended their afternoon with barbecue cooked on the spot by Florahome resident Richard Probeck Sr. and music from the Sweet William Blues Band.

“It was a beautiful day in Florahome’s Palmetto Park,” Piantanida said. “The best part of the day was greeting the cyclists as they returned and hearing how much they enjoyed riding through our pretty community.”