First Flag

Glen Smith, a town worker for Bronson, places an American flag on a utility pole on the northwest corner of Thrasher Drive (State Road 24) and Hathaway Avenue (U.S. Alt. 27) on Monday (May 20). Smith and Russell Mitchem, under the direction of Public Works Director Jimmy Dunford, placed signs all along the main avenue of the town. The flags are up for Memorial Day and then Flag Day, and will come down after Independence Day (the Fourth of July).

Photos by Jeff M. Hardison

Breading Mullet

Everett Herbert Stevens breads mullet before they become deep-fried mullet behind the Cedar Key Community Center on Saturday (May 18). Stevens was among the many cooks who followed the instructions of Thelma McCain as everyone worked to make the Ninth Annual Cedar Key Seafood Feast a success. This event helps the Episcopal Diocese of Cuba to pay the 22 priests on that island. In addition to having fantastic, delicious, fresh from Florida seafood, patrons and diners also enjoyed an astounding assortment of homemade desserts that covered many tables. It was an excellent event again this year. To see more photos and read a story about this year's event, please visit the LIFE PAGE.
Photo by Jeff M. Hardison

Beyond The Pelicans

In the upper right corner of this picture, a DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter, or perhaps a Twin Otter, rests beyond some pelicans at Cedar Key on Saturday (April 18). The plane had some mechanical problem, landed out in the water some miles offshore and a towboat went to the rescue. When the plane-turned boat was towed, the pilot was billed. There was no fire. There were no reported injuries. The tail number for this plane has more than one listing with the Federal Aviation Administration. It looks like a 1956 Otter. In any event, the pelicans were part of another beautiful day on Cedar Key. And the pelicans are probably 21st Century pelicans.
Photo by Jeff M. Hardison

Tigers win state title, 11-1
Indians place second in 1A FHSAA Baseball

State Champions in 1A FHSAA Baseball - the Trenton Tigers, with coaches and trainer (Jessica Allen, a grad student at U.F).

Some Tigers get their medallions. (More Photos are Coming in the Near Future to the Facebook Page of HardisonInk.com.

Story and Photos
By Jeff M. Hardison © May 16, 2013
Updated May 17, 2013
      FORT MYERS – The Trenton High School Tigers beat the Chiefland High School Indians 11-1 on Thursday (May 16) in Fort Myers at Jet Blue Park.
     Tigers Head Coach Todd Bryant spoke about winning the state title after the game.
     “It’s awesome!” Coach Bryant said. “It’s awesome for our team. It’s awesome for the city of Trenton. It’s awesome for Gilchrist County. We are the first men’s high school state champions from Trenton, and it feels wonderful.
     “These are some great kids,” he continued. “You know we really worked hard. The community has been behind us. But in the end, you’ve gotta’ win some baseball. And we did it. We proved who’s the best team today.”
     The coach said the seniors are happy, and this is what they have worked for since they were four years old.

Chiefland Indians Head Coach Kyle Parnell (left) speaks with Trenton Tigers Head Coach Todd Bryant immediately after the game. 

     Assistant Tigers Coach Shannon Smith shared his thoughts when asked about the final result.
     “This is something these boys will cherish for the rest of their lives,” Assistant Coach Smith said. “And when they’re 45 years old like I am, they’ll have a ring on their finger that says they were the best in the state on this day. And that will never leave them.”
     Attorney Larry “Snuffy” Smith is a big fan of the Tigers.
     Snuffy Smith is also the father of Assistant Coach Smith.
     “As a grandfather,” the patriarch said, “I’ve been through this a few times with my son (Shannon). To be able to sit here and see three of your four grandsons {Tigers’ pitcher Stephen Smith (#1), Tigers’ left fielder Jonathan Smith (#7) and Tigers’ shortstop Michael Smith (#3)}on the field and win the state championship is an unbelievable feeling.”
      Indians Head Baseball Coach Kyle Parnell recognized the opponents’ power.
     “That’s a good ball team over there,” Parnell said. “We knew that going in. Obviously, we know each other real well. They outplayed us today. I’m just proud of our kids – the journey getting here. We won some tough ball games (including giving the Tigers their only loss during the regular season).”
     Coach Parnell said his hat is off to the state champions in baseball.
     He recognized the strong foundation of support in the Chiefland area.
     “I really appreciate the great turnout today,” he said, “with all the Chiefland people being here, cheering us on. We are blessed to live in a community to get the kind of kids we have, and the kind of support we do from the community.”
     The game ended in the sixth inning, because Trenton was ahead by 10 and FHSAA rules allow for the game to end when the lead is that much or more after the fifth inning.
     The first inning started relatively uneventfully with zero runs after each team had their first four batters up.
     Chiefland’s starting pitcher Tim Reidy (#10) came out strong at the top of the second inning as he pitched two strikeouts. On the offense in the second inning, the Indians’ first hit was by Clayton Smith (#4). Indians’ Kyle Weeks (#2) hit a base hit and Smith went to second.
     With two outs and men on first and second, James Miller (#9) is the batter who brought in Weeks for the single scoring run for that team. Miller was left on base as that inning ended soon after that.
     It was 0-1 at the bottom of the second inning and that lead by the Indians’ seemed to be a spark to awaken the Tigers. But the “away team” did not leap on a scoring drive the very first thing in the top of the third inning.
     Tigers’ Cedric Stokes (#42) was hit by an errant pitch. These things happen on occasion when a batter is close to the base and a pitcher wants to throw one on the inside. With Stokes’ walk to first and two subsequent outs, the Tigers were looking a bit below par.
     Throughout the game, though, both sets of fans made listeners know their was spirit in the stadium.
     Tiger Jonathan Smith (#7) started what turned out to be a series of three huge hits as he brought Stokes home for the first Tiger run. Clif Bryant (#14) smacked a triple and brought in Jonathan Smith.  After that, it was Tigers’ Hunter Parrish (#2) who clobbered the baseball for a double and he RBI’d Hamp Cheevers (#5), who was running on behalf of catcher Bryant.
     The Tigers’ offense had taken off at the top of the third, and Chiefland then fell to the Tigers’ defense, when the Indians went to bat. This included a very long and far pop-up by Indians’ Payton Parnell (#22) that the Tigers outfield was able to stop, but which probably would have been beyond the fence in Trenton or Chiefland.
     This stadium is “Fenway South,” spring training home of the Boston Red Sox -- big green wall and all.
     In the fourth inning, it was Indians’ Clayton Smith (#4) who stopped Tigers’ Kyle Wiggins (#13) at third base when Wiggins went for a steal. Within a short time after that, though, Tigers’ Michael Smith RBI’d Ozie Parrish. Two more runs when Jonathan Smith brought in Stokes and then Jonathan Smith himself was brought in for a run too.
     A strikeout and two pop-outs later, the fourth inning ended 6-1, Tigers. Both teams did not score in the fifth inning.
     Well, in the sixth inning, it was the continual successful drive to score by Tigers’ Ozie Parrish, Stokes, Michael Smith, Stephen Smith, Jonathan Smith, and Bryant that scored two more runs. Coach Parnell put in James Miller (#9) as the Indian pitcher then.
      Tigers’ Hunter Parrish (#2) Jonathan Ward  (#34) and Wiggins were among the people working to bring in three more runs to make it 11-1, Tigers. It took six batters before the Tigers could make the Indians have three outs at the bottom of the sixth inning. And that was the game, without a seventh inning due to the mercy rule.

Indians' seniors Blayne Brookins, Cole Parks, Tim Reidy and Clayton Smith hold the trophy as State Runners-Up in 1A FHSAA Baseball. 

     The Indians as First Runners-Up to the State Championship went home with a trophy, and every player, coach, assistant coach and two ball boys were given medals. Placing second in the state is no cakewalk. Both teams earned their stripes.
     The Indians won the opportunity to be the “home team” but neither team was familiar with the spring training facility for the Boston Red Sox. And while the Trenton team enjoyed the cool spring breeze from their qualifying game for the final, which they played Wednesday night, and which was in contrast with the hot South Florida sun of the previous afternoon that the Chiefland team endured, both teams contended with the same heat on Thursday when the game started promptly at 4:05 p.m.
     The fans from Levy County filled many of the seats. The CHS Cheerleaders were a force to be reckoned with. Likewise, though, the Trenton fans were impressive as well – and there may have been some cowbell ringing as that group yelled for Trenton.
     For the fashion-conscious spectators, the Indians wore colors of Columbia (blue) and gold. The very light blue and yellow and the font for the numbers made it somewhat difficult to identify players, unless a person was smart enough to bring binoculars.
     The Tigers’ orange and black uniforms, with a “tropical tigerish camouflage technique” also made identifying numbers a challenge.
     In the end, the winning team from Gilchrist County was not determined by the weather, the field or even the peculiar shirt style.
     The combination that let the Trenton Tigers to become the 2013 Florida High School Athletic Association 1A Baseball Champions was superior natural talent, lots of practice, excellent coaching, community support, teamwork, good sportsmanship and opportunities that were presented as they played the various other contenders of their same size of school.
     The Indians placed second, which is outstanding too.
     The FHSAA created the best environment for safe and enjoyable baseball. The host of the statewide tournament worked with the Boston Red Sox organization and with the tourism interests in Fort Myers to make the event succeed to the point that a good time was had by all.
     According to a consensus of sports writers for this District 1A State Championship Baseball Game the Runs-Hits Errors are listed below:
R-H-E
11-12-4 Tigers
1-4-3 Indians

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