St. Petersburg Times

One county with two different sounds

By DR. MARC J. YACHT
Published October 28, 2007

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Florida Gov. E.A. Perry signed into law a bill 120 years ago that divided Pasco and Citrus counties from Hernando. The 742 square miles of Pasco would prove to have a colorful growth, including conflagrations, snowfall, lynchings, assassinations, nudist communities and political corruption.

Silent movie stars and golfer Gene Sarazen would build estates along the Pithlachascotee River. Baseball immortal Babe Ruth would go fishing in Aripeka.

As east and west Pasco evolved, the sponge industry and coastal topography would influence west Pasco’s development. Ranching, agriculture, timber, and citrus would define the character of the county’s east side.

Although through the 1950s the Mitchell boys could be seen ramrodding their cattle through New Port Richey - much to the displeasure of blocked motorists - the west-side ranches would become endangered. The increasing land value and development in west Pasco led to upscale Tampa bedroom communities that traded cattle for three-piece business suits and briefcases.

The Suncoast Expressway and Interstate 75 moved this development eastward, while U.S. 41 would provide a transition east and west with tract developments.

With the loss of the citrus industry during the freezes in the 1980s, ranching and farming now protect the current character of East Pasco. However, that quality is changing as more development intrudes in San Antonio, Dade City, and along State Roads 52 and 54 westward from Dade City and Zephyrhills. The Connerton community in Land O’Lakes, along with central communities like it, may ultimately homogenize the character of the whole county. As Bob Dylan sang, “The times, they are a-changin’.”

The differences between east and west were brought home to me recently when I traveled to Withlacoochee State Park for the Silverhawk Native American Flute Festival. Although I am not drawn to Native American events, as I have had my fill of tomahawks, bone handled knives and dream-catchers; the flute-making and the accompanying soulful music appealed to me. It also provided an opportunity to make my first visit to the park.

My drive across SR 52 showed clearly the transition from west Pasco to east. As I approached the Suncoast, open land gave way to the site of a large community of upscale homes under construction.

As I passed U.S. 41, I noted the not-so-successful community of Pasco Trails, yet I would suspect a current revitalization. The drive east showed the Pasco of old including a group of eight migrant-occupied trailers while approaching Interstate 75. Less than a mile east of those trailers I noted the Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club community that would feed its residents onto the interstate.

Dade City, San Antonio and environs are undergoing their own transition as citrus landowners see the advantages of converting the fallow groves into housing. The vegetable growers may hang on for a while, but the writing is on the wall. As the county grows, the need for urban-like communities will drive construction and make it more difficult for landowners to hold on.

I ultimately traveled on County Road 52A past U.S. 301 onto a dirt road and north to the park. Once there, the soothing flute music guided one to the festival. Although there were a handful of vendors with the typical Native American paraphernalia, most vendors were flutemakers happy to demonstrate their unique instruments. On stage flutemaker Utah Farris played his compositions. I sat among park picnic tables with about 60 other attendees enchanted by the instrument’s tone.

Native American flute music is not something that’s whistled on the way home, but of a timbre that reaches into the soul. Later on stage, a storyteller told his tale in a soft monotone voice. Another rhythmically beat a drum. I felt mellow as I’m sure was the case for anyone present. I did buy a lovely sounding flute, made of horn and beautifully inlaid with silver and semiprecious stones.

Traveling west again I could feel a nervousness return as I entered the world on the west side. Once past the Suncoast, the flavor of the county changed quickly. More cars, more people and negotiating the U.S. 19 gridlock.

Perhaps, east Pasco could be best described through those lovely melodies vibrating through the pines in the Withlacoochee Forest that day. A slower pace, a friendlier place, and one more connected to the earth.

As for west Pasco, a brass band comes to mind along with signs on U.S. 19 and traffic. It is an environment where one expends great energy to go a short distance.

I hope those flutes will continue to play for some time east of U.S. 41.

Dr. Marc J. Yacht, the retired director of the Pasco County Health Department, lives in Hudson.