JOURNAL #11-FT. MYERS CEMETERY

FACT #10-Edgar Artemas Watson was the son of Elijah Daniel Watson, who was born Clouds Creek, SC in 1834 died in Columbia SC in 1895 and Ellen Catherine Addison, born Edgefield Courthouse, SC in 1832 and who died in Fort White, FL 1910.

His name was somehow changed to Edgar Jack Watson. Some believed it was after the so called murder of Belle Starr, the famous woman outlaw, which a "Jack Watson" was supposed to have shot. Edgar was supposed to be in that area and during his years back in Florida he never answered those charges. (Genealogy Trails Note: An individual by the name of Edgar A. Watson who had rented a house in Texas from Belle Starr, was arrested for her murder, but he was acquitted. At the time he came to Texas, he was wanted by Florida authorities for murder and Belle Starr had apparently threatened to turn in Edgar Watson to the authorities. She was later ambushed by an unknown individual(s) and shot more than 60 times. Circumstantial physical evidence against Edgar Watson included footprints, which were his size, leading from the murder scene to within 100 yards of his home.)

In the years that Edgar Watson lived in Columbia County, Monroe and Lee Counties of Florida, the rumors said he was responsible for lots of killings. As far as the records show he was supposed to have killed Belle Starr, Quinn Bass, Sam Tolen (his brother-in-law), Mike Tolen, a man named Tucker and his wife or nephew, Hannah Smith, several unknown Negroes, Old man Waller, Dutchy Melvin and a Leslie Cox. In 1910 Watson was shot by a crowd of angry neigbors in Chokoloskee, Florida after a hurricane when stories flared up on some of the killings in the Everglades area and Ten Thousand Islands of Monroe and Lee County, FL.

[source:http://genealogytrails.com/fla/lee/bios_watson.html]

Though we already discussed our service learning project through our poster, I wanted to take the opportunity to add more pictures and elaborate on our experience. A reoccurring trend in my experiences in colloquium seems to be that I am frequently surprised at my encounters in Ft. Myers. I have lived in Ft. Myers for nearly 8 years and I am always discovering something I never knew existed.

I never expected that I would end up plotting a cemetery for a service learning project, but I ended up learning a lot. At first I was apprehensive because spending 10 hours in a cemetery wasn't exactly my idea of a good time but then I realized that helping other's isn't always glorifying, but it is important. Once the project commenced, I quickly learned that I wasn't helping the cemetery as much as I was helping myself. The knowledge I gained of the place I live in, is priceless.

Ft. Myers has so much to offer and holds so much history for such a small place. I really enjoyed having an opportunity to not only learn about Ft. Myers, but also learn about the people and events that shaped the city many years ago.

Before the Ft. Myers Cemetery, I had never seen above ground graves, and since having discovered them, I also learned that above ground graves (or vaults) are very common in New Orleans and are much more cost efficient than underground graves. Burial plots are shallow in New Orleans because the water table is high. Dig a few feet down, and the grave becomes soggy, filling with water. The casket will literally float. The early settlers tried by placing stones in and on top of coffins to weigh them down and keep them underground. Unfortunately, after a rainstorm, the rising water table would literally pop the airtight coffins out of the ground. To this day, unpredictable flooding still lifts an occasional coffin out of the ground in those areas generally considered safe from flooding and above the water table. Another method tried was to bore holes in the coffins. This method also proved to be unsuitable. Eventually, New Orleans' graves were kept above ground following the Spanish custom of using vaults. The walls of these cemeteries are made up of economical vaults that are stacked on top of one another. The rich and wealthier families could afford the larger ornate tombs with crypts. Many family tombs look like miniature houses complete with iron fences. The rows of tombs resemble streets. New Orleans burial plots quickly became known as "Cites of the Dead."

[source: http://www.experienceneworleans.com/deadcity.html]

Here is a picture of the vaults at the Ft. Myers Cemetery.

All and all, I had a good time learning about the history of Ft. Myers, making the map and serving our community, and discovering yet another fascinating aspect of the neighborhood!

JOURNAL #10-MINDLESS WASTE

FACT #10-The average college student produces 640 pounds of solid waste each year, including 500 disposable cups and 320 pounds of paper. At the current pace, we'll be generating 222 million tons of waste by the year 2000. Currently about 130 million tons of MSW ends up in landfills each year (NSWMA). In a recent survey of World Wastes subscribers, of those owning landfills, 53% expect their site to remain open 10+ years; 12% said 5 to 9 years; 7% reported 3 to 4 years and a whopping 26% said less than 3 years. It involves the use of composite liners and having an elaborate monitoring system. The costs of the regulations will result in a regionalized approach for volume-based business and a dramatic decrease of publicly owned facilities. Also specifies that landfill obtain an amount sufficient to close and cap the site and perform care and maintenance for 30 years after closure.
[source: www.green-networld.com]

The topic of my journal entry this week is mindless waste and I chose this topic because of two students in my Senior Seminar class. They live together and strive to live in harmony with the world and it's resources. In class last week, they were discussing their frustrations on trash days in their neighborhood because their neighbors throw away so much trash and they said that it would take them an entire MONTH to create one bag of trash, and even then, most of it could be recycled.

I was completely shocked by this fact because I live in a house with two other girls and we fill THREE large green trashcans with garbage WEEKLY! It's not that we don't care about the planet, but rather that we don't know how to change our lifestyles to better suit our future.

The best way to combat this issue would be to begin in the classroom! Though many items are marked with the recycle symbol, many are not and knowing what is recyclable and what is not is sometimes difficult. Being more mindful regarding recycling isn't the only problem though! Another problem is how wasteful many of us are with water.

Today my neighborhood thought it was a good idea

...to water the shrubs while it was raining.

It's problems like this that can be easily eradicated and aren't. Rain sensors are made for sprinklers and are affordable and easy to install. It's sad that an issue of this proportion can't be fixed. We see silly things like this so often but do nothing. For example, I could approach the homeowners association and request that they find said sensors, but instead, I'm blogging about my unhappiness.

Something I have learned in this class is that it is much easier to talk about a problem than find a solution. It always seems to be easier said than done-I think it's just a matter of figuring out what you can do and realizing that though it may not be possible to do it alone, there are plenty of other people to be recruited for the cause!

I found some helpful tips on how to be a bit smarter when it comes to water wasting!

INDOOR TRICKS

1. Dye Trick
Uncover a silent toilet leak by putting a few drops of food-coloring in the tank--if any color shows up in the bowl, you've got trouble. (See instructions here for fixing it.)

2. Drip Relief
A faucet dripping once per second does more than shred REM sleep: It wastes up to 3000 gal. a year. Most leaks can be fixed by replacing a washer. A cartridge faucet is slightly more complex--bring along the old cartridge when buying a new one.

3. Faucet Update
Check the flow rate of faucets with flow bags, which are available in "water audit" kits provided by many water utilities. It should be less than 2.2 gal. per minute (gpm) in the kitchen and 1.5 gpm in the bathroom. If it's time to upgrade, look for faucets with EPA's new WaterSense label.

4. Air Heads
To get a more forceful shower from a low-flow head, try this $55 Oxygenics model (top), which pressurizes the incoming water with air. Federal rules stipulate a flow of no more than 2.5 gpm; this achieves it without sacrificing comfort.

5. Portion Control
Run only full loads in washing machines and dishwashers--and don't pre-rinse dishes if you have a newer machine.

OUTDOOR TRICKS

1. Rain Barrel
Containers to collect rainwater date back 2000 years--and are just as useful today. Directing your downspout to a rain barrel will not only reduce runoff, but also provide water for your lawn and garden.

2.Beyond Shingles
Green roofs, incorporating vegetation, have begun to appear on single-family homes. Even those with sloped surfaces absorb about 45 percent of the rainfall in a 2-in. storm, and delay runoff of the rest for 45 minutes.

3. Acid Test
Determine the pH levels of your soil with a kit from your garden center. Once you figure out which nutrients your soil actually needs, you can stop applying unneeded chemicals that wash away.
[source:popularmechanics.com (you should check out the cool graphs!)]

I'm going to try my hardest to not only live by these examples, but also to not waste another day that could be spent encouraging others to follow the same path!