Cindy Schwartz – Room for Florida’s History
BY VAL SCHOGER; PHOTOS BY SCOTT PITTMAN
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What’s In Your Closet?
Closets hold heirlooms, closets hold secrets, and closets
hold treasures, dreams, and hopes.
We were not after dirty laundry when we asked local residents the question: “What’s in your closet?” The question quickly became a wonderful way to learn more about a person’s life and bits and pieces about their past, the paths they have taken, the lessons they have learned and the plans they had. Have a peek into local personalities’ homes and lives as they open their closets and share anecdotes and stories with us while showing off the items that have emotions attached, items that they will never part with and items that will always be vivid reminders of what once was and still is special. [/box]
Cindy Schwartz is a retired banker and mortgage originator.As such, she has an eye for detail.
Along with antique jewelry, English porcelain, and unique furniture, her most valued collection does not just occupy closet space, an entire room is dedicated to her most treasured pieces, Indian tools, pottery shards, and other artifacts that date back centuries, to the time the first people of Florida inhibited our region. Many pieces of bone, shell, pottery, and stone can be seen neatly displayed at Cindy’s home.She found, documented, researched, and catalogued each piece.
“I would take long walks with my dog along a private piece of land on the bay. At first, I was not actively looking but was very aware of the possibility that I could find Indian artifacts.” She kept an eye out for arrowheads and, while most people would have simply overlooked the shard of pottery that stuck out from the sand along the shoreline, Cindy stepped closer and was rewarded. “I recognized it as Indian pottery.There is a distinct pattern to this particular piece.I researched it and it was described to look like snakeskin.”
The indigenous people of Florida used pottery as vessels, mostly for liquids, Cindy explains.Some of the pottery was used to hang over fires, some was used as vessels for liquids. “It is extremely rare to find an entire vessel intact.That would be the ultimate goal.”
Indian tribes would trade their items.Archeologists designate certain designs and styles of pottery to particular areas and tribes. Cindy provides us with the following link to see a photo of pottery that very closely resembles her first find: http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us.html
“I have always had an interest in history and it is a great hobby.One piece of pottery started a passion.My great-great-grandmother, Mary Jane Fields-Hawsey was a Creek Indian.Creek Indians originally lived in the Alabama and Georgia areas,” Cindy states.
At a later time she will look into donating her collection and hopes it will spark more interest in Florida’s history. “Entire generations of local residents have been finding Indian artifacts right in their back yards.I believe there are a lot of collectors who are almost literally keeping their collections in their basements.In that light my collection is not special.”
Her collection was found on private land.However, the removal of artifacts from Federal or State lands (in Florida, this includes almost all areas underwater) is illegal and could result in serious fines or penalties).
For more information on the topic, contact the Emerald Coast Archeology Society, (ECAS), a Florida nonprofit corporation.Their mission is to provide expertise, generally at no charge, to individuals, government agencies, and companies who have archaeological questions that would otherwise go unanswered. Their specialty is archaeological projects too small for universities and cultural resource management firms, or too immediate for them to respond. They offer field trips, digs, labs, pottery making, pottery firing, and a monthly newsletter to members.They also do demonstrations at events and schools.
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If interested in joining the Emerald Coast Archaeology Society, please contact:
Emerald Coast Archaeology Society c/o Indian Temple Mound Museum
139 Miracle Strip Parkway SE
Fort Walton Beach , FL 32548
ecarchaeology@gmail.com or Pat Balanzategui
Tel.: 850-862-8968 [/box]
[author image=”https://www.panamacityliving.com/media/2013/08/Val.jpg” ]Val studied communications and marketing in Germany and holds a marketing degree. She had a corporate career and has worked for nine years in media, PR and marketing internationally in Germany, England, the Caribbean and the United States. During an extended sailboat cruise n 2003, she traveled to the Gulf Coast and subsequently to Navarre, Florida and was immediately smitten with Northwest Florida. She started her first business in 2004 in Fort Walton Beach and as of July 2013, she became the sole owner and publisher of Panama City Living Magazine. She obtained her Merchant Mariner Credential (Captain’s License) right here in Panama City at SeaSchool and enjoys being on the water when she finds the time. [/author]