Walter and I recently drove the 40 some minutes to Pahokee, FL where he teaches 8th grade U.S. History. This was my first experience visiting this part of Florida, and I had heard from a number of people that Pahokee, and the nearby Belle Glade where the famous writer Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is set, are like entering a different country. Well, I must say, although I tried to believe these "people" who informed me of this, I had a very hard time believing this information since I had lived near a not-so-safe area of Flint, MI for about 10 years. However, as we approached the town of Pahokee which is located on the east side of Lake Okeechobee, I started to get a sense of entering a tropicalized "boonies" area of what we would call in Michigan as "Up North." Only, there were a few gators staring at us from the canals along the roadway as we zoomed by on the ONLY highway, which is also the only street, to take one to Pahokee from Wellington. Also, since the sugarcane was recently harvested and the fields had been burned, the fields were empty except for dirt and the dried up stubs of the left over crops. With the wind blowing there were a few dust devils swirling far off in the sugar cane fields and I took a few snapshots, although they are hard to see. Yes, I could definitely empathize with Dorothy here, "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!"
We soon came to some very interesting housing developments, which we, Michiganders, would call living in the "Projects," (seen below).
There were also some interesting views of the town. Businesses, open, many closed down, small businesses open selling all sorts of things from fruit and vegetables to used furniture which even offered used cabinet doors without the cabinets. It was plain to see that people are doing whatever they can to "make ends meet."
There was nothing to see that is "ALL NEW" as the sign reads, at least sort of, I guess, with the upside down "V" for an "A." This theater is closed, as in closed down for business.
These two tents are advertising used furniture for sale.
This "used to be" building of some sort even had its door boarded up and painted over.
Here is a shot of the middle/senior high school in Pahokee. The styrofoam cups in the wire chain link fence claim the school is "FCAT" ready, which is the Florida State assessment test. I wonder, who is FCAT ready? The State, the district, the administration, or the students??? The students who attend this school live in the town from which the above photos were taken. I feel many of them have more than education on their mind, such as daily survival. These streets are filled with gangs and gunfire. It is something to think about. I do apologize for the many crooked shots and pictures with the car window frame/mirror/ and arms in the them, but it was not wise to get out of the car and be noticed taking photos of these places.
Here are a few more shots:
This is the public library branch in Pahokee, FL (above). It is about as large as the main office at the middle school where I teach.
The nicest part of Pahokee was Lake Okeechobee. The boat docks looked relatively new, there was a new outbuilding constructed from wood and concrete which was aesthetically pleasing, and the palm trees, tropical plants, and flowers had recently been planted.
I did not include pictures of the people of Pahokee because I repect their right to privacy, however, I will include some student art work from Walter's class which I feel shows the wide cultural diversity of this town.
The flag on the right of the U.S. flag is an unfinished Mexican flag (above). The word "hello" is written around the U.S. flag in English, Spanish, Creole, Italian, French, and a few other other languages I did not recognize.
It is public information that over 80% of the students who attend public school in Pahokee, FL recieve free or reduced cost breakfast and lunch. The photos of the town where these children play, go to school, and live, along with the fact of the struggling financial homelife these children come from, are a warning signal. It is a fact that the high school population is half the size of the middle school population. Where are all of these kids going, or should we wonder, not going? As the cliche goes, "You do the math."
Interesting article and great snapshots. I especially loved your comment about the library... lol! I too have made comments about the size. When I first when in I said, "is this the lounge area where's the rest?" My hubby said," Babe stop!" I too am from Michigan, Farmington Hills and honestly the library is the size of Farmington Library's children section. But I soon discovered that the libraries in FL are not that large anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my mother-in-law lives there 40 years now, and we go visit often. But there's a history and something peculiar about the environment and people. I cannot put my finger on it yet but as a writer I will certainly do some digging!