by Vera Garcia Many of the families who settled in West Tampa dur- ing the early 1900s through World War II, whether in pri- vately owned homes or rental properties, planted vegetable gardens to augment their ability to have fresh produce for meals in order to have ra- tioned foodstuffs stretch fur- ther. Due to the large number of major nations involved in World War I, imported food- stuffs were out of the realm of possibility. Because of rationing and the lack of fuel for trans- port, the National War Gar- den Commission launched a war garden campaign across America. The Liberty Gardens of World War I would later become Victory Gardens dur- ing World War II, touted as vitamin factories. It was es- timated that 18 million acres of grass lawns in the United States could be converted to garden space. In West Tampa, immigrants almost always also planted fruit-bearing trees such as orange, grapefruit, lemon and 18 million acres of grass lav U.S. could be converted space. lime, papaya, cumquat, lo- quat, mango, peach, guava, grape vines as well as avocado trees and mulberry trees with a couple of palm trees here and there used as ornamen- tals. The belief was that space should not be wasted on plants and trees that did not bear edible food for the family. Before vegetable seeds or seedlings were actually set out in the garden, dried cow manure was mixed with the soil to insure a rich loam for the plantings. During World War II, seed package sales rose by 300 percent. U g We need to P il remember that most of our im- migrant fore- fathers came from situations where all food was grown at home. Thus, a few chickens were thrown into the mix along with a cow or goat, if r they could be afforded. Once in a while, a turkey would be fattened for Thanksgiving. Victory Gar- dens often in- eluded greens, A GARDEN Wl carrots, rad- ishes, cauli- A 1943 WWI flower, lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, potatoes, yams, watermelon, yucca, squash, onions, celery, green beans, peas, corn, pumpkins, herbs, nasturtiums and can- taloupes. Sunflowers or hollyhocks were sometimes planted along the fence, providing a color- ful setting for the garden. Water- cress was often harvested from the streams that ran through what is now known as Lowry Park and Riverliills Park. Ii2 4 Fish and crabs wns in the could .be procured to garden from the waters along Courtney Campbell Cause- way. Fishing and crabbing were usually weekend activi- ties when fathers had a day off. Because some people had larger plots 'for growing veg- etables, extra crops harvested were distributed to friends and neighbors. Excess pro- duce was preserved by can- ning or drying to be stored for use should shortages worsen. Nine to ten million tons of food were harvested throughout the United States of America. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a garden on the White House grounds. A~tCt BY GARDEN SlHPif [ HEl Hgg i | g' [ [I poster for victory gardens. Recipes brought from the mother countries included many fresh vegetables, such as greens, potatoes and on- ions, so that customary diets did not need to change dras- tically, although some days were declared meatless or wheatless days. Plants had different growing seasons, so upkeep of the gardens went on all year long. One of the chores children had was to water the vegeta- ble garden and pull the weeds that threatened the plantings. Another important job was spreading dried tobacco leaf stems over the lawn and be- tween the rows of plantings in the garden for insect control. Whether or not this method worked remains unproven. Sometimes communities would set up centralized can- ning facilities to prepare fruits and vegetables to be sent to our troops overseas. Everyone was proud to help with the war effort dur- ing the bleak years of ration- ing. Young children wearing Junior Commandos sweat- shirts on Saturdays collected used grease and oil as well as steel in their wagons to take to a collection site for the war effort. As with every aspect of life in West Tampa, those who had more were happy to share with those who had less. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT INVITATION TO BID The SCHOOL BOARD OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Florida, seeks sealed bids from quali- fied bidders for Painting at 2 Sites (Tampa Palms, Young). The scope of the project includes interior and exterior repainting of several buildings at the above locations with an estimated construction cost between $240,000 and $560,000. Qualified firms can submit bids to the Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) Procurement Department on the 3rd Floor of the Raymond O. Shelton School Administrative Center, 901 East Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, Florida 33602, until bid opening at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 26, 2011. The bid documents include specific bid submittal requirements. HCPS maintains general requirements applicable to all construction-related bids on the HCPS web site at http://168.254.1.35/documents/standards/index.htm HCPS will host a non-mandatory pre-bid conference at 2:45 p.m. on Monday, May 16, 2011 at Tampa Palms Elementary School, 6100 Tampa Palms Blvd., Tampa, FL 33647 and 4:00 p.m. at Young Magnet Middle School, 1807 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Tampa, FL 33610. Attendees must sign in and present a photo ID to gain access to the conference. The bid documents identify specific requirements for bid and surety bonds, and insurance. The successful bidder must provide evidence of required insurance prior to proceeding with the work. Bidders are subject to the HCPS Small Business Encouragement Program, as described in the bid documents. Bidders may obtain a complete set of bid documents in PDF format on CD at no cost from Reynolds, Smith & Hills, Inc., 1715 N. Westshore Blvd., Suite 500, Tampa, FL 33607-3999, phone: 813-289-5550. HCPS reserves the right to award the bid to the lowest and/or best responsible bidder, to waive any informality or irregularity in any bid, or to reject any and all bids received. THE SCHOOL BOARD OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA MARYELLEN ELIA SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 5/6/11 1T Page 28/LA GACETA/Friday, May 6,2011 Community Gardens: Carrying the Spirit of Victory Gardens V is for Victory Like their victory garden an- cestors, community gardens have been sprouting in com- munities around Tampa Bay. Typically composed of veg- etables, flowers, trees or a mixture of all three, commu- nity gardens allow neighbor- hoods to produce some of their own food, allowing commu- nity members to save money and to have access to healthy, pesticide-free crops such as to- matoes, watermelon, and other vegetables. The land is typically rented or donated and is maintained by the community members themselves, usually with one person designated as the pri- mary coordinator. Neighbor- -hoods may also trade crops with other nearby communi- ties. The Seminole Heights Com- munity Garden, located at the Seminole Heights Community Garden on Violet Street, pro- duces extra fruits and veg- etables which are then often donated to charities such as Metropolitan Ministries. "Our purpose really is to show people how to grow food," Robin Milcowitz, one of the founders of the garden, told the Tampa Tribune. The American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) believes that community gar- dening will improve quality of life by "providing a catalyst for neighborhood and community development, stimulating so- cial -interaction, encouraging self-reliance, beautifying neigh- borhoods, producing nutritious food, reducing family food bud- gets, conserving resources and creating opportunities for rec- reation, exercise, therapy and education." To learn more about com- munity gardens, visit the ACGA website at www.com munitygarden.org by Linda Thistle (Solution appears on page 27) 3 7 9 4 8 6 1 3 5 6 3 8 8 4 3 9 2 7 -- - - - -'"" 5 7 9 2 1 4 4 6 3 Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine. Moderate ** Challenging *** HOO BOY!