[MUSIC] Gulf winds blow through canopy roads all the way to Thomasville.

Native names written on the land.

Echo through the red clay hills.

Where the scent of longleaf pine reach up on past the Georgia Line.

Stroll through Tallahassee town or Southern Apalachee bound.

Take the local routes and journey down the route we call our home.

Take the local routes and journey down the roads we call our home Welcome to local roots.

I'm Suzanne Smith with Wfsu Public Media.

The Railroad Square Art district has been a place for local and creative businesses, nonprofits, organizations, and entertainment for many years.

It's also been a symbol for renewal and transformation.

When it began, it was a lumber company and then eventually became an industrial park and now an art district.

In May of 2024, the latest incarnation of the site was almost destroyed when a tornado hit Railroad Square.

Roofs ripped apart, metal twisted water poured through roofs.

The damage was so serious in some places that there were temporary and permanent closures.

Within a few weeks, though, the park was open again for business.

Five months later, we returned to see how things were going for the park.

On their first Friday event in October.

People were shopping, eating, wandering and enjoying the atmosphere.

while there are still some signs that a storm had been through the square, it was a testament to the underlying strength of those who chose to rebuild.

Local routes captured one of those journeys on camera.

FSU's Alex Campbell and Freddie Hall had interviewed one of the business owners from the district just a few weeks before the tornado.

We went back as he was cleaning up.

Well, I was actually sitting over at my friend D'Angelo's house, and we sat on this back porch and we was talking about like, like water ice.

Like ice cream.

I asked, and you know, where was the closest spot to get some water ice?

And this was back in 2000, 17, 2018.

I was asking, you know, where it was at a place to get some water.

I sat, he was asking, what is water ice?

You don't know what water ice is?

You know, I'm asking like, it's like it's like Italian ice.

And, you know, that's that's the best way that I can describe it.

You know, for Philly, we call that water ice.

You know, everybody knows water ice.

You get it from every corner store, you know, things like that.

So when he was just like, nobody knows what water ice is, I'm like, I think we got something here.

Let me figure this one out.

I'm originally from Chester, Pennsylvania, is a small city just outside of Philly.

It's like 15, 20 minutes from Philadelphia.

Grew up there until I was about 30.

The water moved to downtown, and that's where I graduated from.

Ryder.

Right.

There's the name of my daughter.

The name came from my mom.

You know, my mom was the one that came up with it.

Once I found out that, you know, I was having a kid.

She came up with the name.

That name stuck all the way, and I was like, I think I'm in the business after, right?

Right.

There's water, ice, all of that.

I think still to this day, I get nervous.

I, you know, what's what's going to happen next week?

What's going to happen next month?

You know, are people still going to be coming down here?

You know, what are new ways that I can grow, you know, and grow the business and attract new business, attract new customers or anything about about that nature.

You're leaving a legacy for something.

Somebody for them to follow, somebody for them to look up to.

No one.

That it wasn't easy to get to this point, wasn't easy to get the name out there for people to know what you're doing or what you're serving or anything like that.

It definitely takes a long journey and a strong world in order to do that.

And I think that seeing the name every day here in the name, every day in here, and other people, say it brings a drive and determination to keep on going for.

Some of the most extensive damage we've seen at Tallahassee's Railroad Square, a staple of the capital city, lived almost unrecognized.

Sizable.

Some businesses, as you can see from this drone video, literally ripped apart.

Just heartbreaking over there.

But tornado came through.

Took off the whole entire roof, soaked everything down here.

With the water coming through.

It messed up my freezers, you know, coolers, things like that.

So just got to rebuild from there.

Go forward.

I was I was heartbroken.

I was heartbroken for sure.

Because it's like a lot of the hard work that you put into it, a lot of the money that you put into it, you know, building equipment to build, you know, your customers and the, the fan base that come on back down here, the loyalty within your customers.

It takes a lot to build that.

So when it took it out, it definitely was like a heartbreaking thing because it not only stops the income coming in, but it stops people from coming down and experience and experiences together.

You know, cousins coming together, having a good time, walking through our railroad square, enjoying the art, enjoying the other small businesses that's out here.

So the tornado definitely took that away from a lot of other people, not just me.

Since we right here, we start by like this.

You know, we had like two fans over there, and then we had a TV up there from when people was down here chilling.

We had a movies and shows going for the kids.

Game days, football beyond, that took that down.

It took out like these two freezers back there.

Had to get those, replace that black one.

I still got to get rid of.

Oh that's a two man job to move that because that's heavy.

Then it took out the whole entire roof, which got replaced thankfully.

Then I was like, we walked through here.

We had like, benches lined up for people to sit down, eat a food, water, ice, chill with the friends and family.

Took that all the way out.

And that's, you know, really about it.

Can, you know so much they replaced the roof, thankfully.

And, you know, now we were able to open back up and go forward.

Every almost every day I thought about is like, what could I be doing different?

You know, like, why has this happened to me?

Is this something that I've been doing?

So you you kind of take it a little personally, but it's like this was Mother Nature.

Dawn, this is a test of your resiliency.

How are you going to bounce back and get back up?

Because, you know, it's not just me working through it.

I have my kids watching me.

You know, it's other people in the community watching.

Like, how do you respond from something that happens from a natural disaster that happens, you know, and it's like a lot of people go through natural disasters every day and they still have to rebuild every day going forward.

So I was like, I got to do the same thing, so I'm not going to stop from there.

long before the storms came to Railroad Square, Alex and Freddy did a story about this business obsession gift shop.

But it's more than a shop that sells things.

It's also a place where you can learn and create.

I kind of saw myself here in a vision.

I saw myself where I owned a business and my daughter was.

I was sitting at a desk and my daughter was standing up and I was kind of moving out of the way, and she was taking my place.

So that was a vision that I, that I actually had.

You don't have to be a, a scholar to do, you know, to do art.

You don't have to have a master's degree in art to do art.

You just do what you feel.

You do what you create.

And that also what I've seen has made people feel happy and also built self-esteem.

Hi.

My name is Betty Proctor, and, my daughter and I own a shop called Obsessions gifts.

When I first started this business with my daughter, we were doing jewelry.

And, so we had people say, start where you are, where, when you're with the business.

And we really want it to help teenagers.

But we started where we were, and then it evolved into, oh, okay, well, we can do acrylic pours.

Somebody, someone had told us about acrylic pours.

And so we were we started doing acrylic pours.

And then also my daughter, she is on the autism spectrum.

And so, there were, there was a group, where this, doctoral student, she was doing a dissertation and she was doing a dissertation on the effects of autism and art, for females.

And so this was during a summer.

So we, went to my daughter, went to the art class, and she loved it.

And her communication skills increased.

And so was like, okay, we need to continue this.

Because the dissertation, you know, she completed her dissertation, she was about to graduate and then the class was no more.

No more.

So I asked her, I said, well, can I continue this art thing?

And she said, sure.

So we started doing art classes with, pers Really a lot of the things that I do here is because of my daughter or either the experience that I had with my daughter and I saw the effects of it.

So, I saw that it was really a good way of her being able to communicate.

My daughter, she doesn't, you know, when you talk to her, she doesn't say very much.

And before, she wasn't really looking at people, and she wasn't.

And sometimes she doesn't communicate a lot.

But when she's doing art, then even when she's sitting beside somebody, then there's still that that, even if it's, it's it's nonverbal communication.

Or they may even look over and look at the other person's art and comment on that.

So she feels she felt comfortable doing that.

And then we we just wanted to build a way of communicating.

And art really does help in that, that that's what I've found.

We have art classes and we have had people to build friendships in the art classes.

We've had people to say to us, this is our place.

This is, you know, where this is what we love.

Their their guardian or their parent may bring them in for the art class and they're like, okay, you need to leave to their parent or guardian because it's like, this is my time.

This is my space where I can freely be creative and be who I want to be without judgment.

And so, that's what we that that's what we want to create in here.

We want to create a vibe where people can feel comfortable and also can express themselves without judgment.

We sell products from local businesses as well as we have events in our space.

We also have spin art and splatter art and acrylic pour workshops.

We share the building, with impact, which is called Motivating People through Arts and Crafts.

It's a nonprofit.

And, with the nonprofit, we help persons on the autism spectrum and also with disabilities.

We provide art workshops.

We also provide, entrepreneurship opportunities as well as employment skills.

So with this being art, then they take their record and they put it right on here, the table.

And then they'll wipe off whichever side they're using, and then they dry it off.

And then that's when they start using the paints, whichever paints they want to put on it.

Some people just you just, make designs like hearts or circles, some people make light and some people, they just.

This one young lady, she did, alternate colors like red and black and red and black, and it turned out really, really nice.

Yeah.

So once you're finished, then you go take the record.

Oops.

Once you get all of your, your paint on, you're going to take your record.

When you're ready, you will take it and you will spin.

Spin as fast as the more, the more, you spin or the faster you spin, the more paint will fly.

Yeah.

So that's what you do and.

Yeah.

So, we had some FSU students, interns that, they were doing our on records, vinyl records.

And so we would do like, like, like painting and, and also, just different things on there that, that people, you know, whatever they felt like doing.

And then this one little boy came up and he was a teenager.

He came up and he put some, paint on there, and then he threw it like a Frisbee, and it was like.

Oh, and so what?

What I did was okay.

I was like, okay, let me come up with something where people can actually, instead of throwing it, they could spin it, like spinning records.

They're actually spinning a record.

So that's how we pretty much came up with it.

And that little boy or that teenager, he threw the record.

And then it was like, wait a minute, come back next week and then we can do, you know, something else.

And so then I figured it out and he started spinning.

He, you know, the record and kids you not he made three records like that.

He went over to the restaurant that, was there before, and he sold all three of his records.

So it's like, okay, now that you know, that, you know, people like it.

So that's how we came up with that.

My favorite thing about spin art is watching the faces of people doing it.

Because spin is the messiest that we are that we have.

And so their reaction to it is like, or either, oh my goodness, or either wow or, you know, something like that.

And so it's really cool seeing the paint actually fly off of the record.

And some people, even with the paint flying off of the record, they even, you know, they jump back or whatever, but it's actually seeing the record being spun and seeing the reaction that people get.

And also being able for, seeing people know that, you know what?

I could create a beautiful piece of artwork without, you know, going to school.

I am not knocking school.

I'm just saying that, you know, some people feel some people don't do art because they think that they have to have a certain technique.

But here we want it to be able to have art where everybody and anybody can do and still be able to create a beautiful piece of artwork that they could put either on their office, in their home, or wherever.

I'm originally I'm really a social worker.

I went to school for social work, but my sister, she is an art major and so, my family is very tight knit.

And so what she and she's just a couple of years older than me.

And so we would go almost everywhere together.

And when she would go to conferences, art conferences, I would follow her.

And she was always, of course, into art and so she really got me into art.

It is a huge transition because I went from a 9 to 5 job to here.

Never thought that I would be a single parent, but I am a single parents.

Beautiful.

Plus one of the most wonderful things I've ever encountered.

I would love to franchise this, that I really would like to see this throughout the state of Florida first and then throughout, and then throughout the United States.

I would like to show people how to do it.

I mean, I'm not like an expert or anything, but I've been through some things with this business and I can tell them some of the things to do and some of the things not to do from experience.

But, I would like to see this business grow, especially with the spin and splatter and, also incorporate it in the spin and splatter and the workshops and the venue.

I want to hire persons that are on the autism spectrum or either with disabilities, so that they can grow and also grow into the business and maybe even open up their own franchise.

This was a long way from where I, I, you know, I'm a social worker.

I always wanted to work with teens because teens have my heart.

I work with, all age groups, but teens are the ones that have my heart, and I always want it to have something where teens could come and they could just feel comfortable.

And just by.

I had the chance to talk with Betty Proctor during one of our recent First Fridays here at Railroad Square to find out how she fared during the tornado I came back like the day after the tornado, and it was surreal.

I mean, things were blown different places.

I still remember up to the ten was wrapped around the tree limbs.

It was just amazing.

And the wires and, you know, were everywhere.

there was awning and ten from other places that were, right in front of the door.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That tornado was it.

It was very surprising.

Yeah, to say the least.

And we had our roof come up a little bit that side of the roof, and we had, debris and also some rain come and it did damage some of our products, but we're we were okay.

But yeah, we were able to clean up when we were able to come back in.

it could have been worse.

That's where we always look at.

It could have been worse.

Yeah.

With the tornado there has been a group that, that collected donations.

They did a lot, for Railroad Square.

And, and they were able to collect donations.

And then we were able to get donations to help pay rent, and also other expenses.

So without them, it was it would have been really, really hard.

And Railroad Square was really great because they help they what they did was they told us what was going on.

And so that was really cool.

Every step of the way they were able to let us know, okay, we're you're going to have this or this is happening.

So that was really, really good of them.

There is still plenty of fallout from the storm.

It was a big financial hit for the owners of the square, and not all businesses reopened.

Many discussions are going on right now about Railroad Square.

Check out those stories on Wfsu news.

We've profiled many stories about Railroad Square over the years.

We feature the skate park, the murals, and more.

We've gathered many of them together online.

Head to Wfsu Dawgs local routes to check them out for yourself.

If the gates to heaven weren't so tall.

Maybe we could all come in.

If we break them down, it won't matter at all.

Then maybe we could all come in.

Oh, come in.

Maybe I'll come in.

And maybe we could all come in.

Oh, come last week, Local Roots brought you the story of a tribute and scholarship named in the memory of a local musician and educator who also wrote The Local Roots.

Theme song Kathryn Belle Long.

Well, the first recipient of that scholarship started college this fall.

Meet Ella Whitman.

It's always one step closer and three steps back.

And the love of your life until I am Hi, I'm Ella Layman, and I'm the Catherine Belle Long scholarship winner for 2024. went to South Creek Middle School where Miss Long taught, and then I went here to Lincoln High School My dad is, of course, teacher here.

He's been teacher for a while.

And then my mom was.

Of course, she was also a piano teacher.

And then also two of my sisters.

A music teachers, one in Orlando, one in North Carolina.

So we've done musicals all our life.

Singing at church all our life.

Just music all the time.

I was zoned for Cobb, but I'm going to Lincoln, so my parents wanted me to be able to go to school, where not only do they know the teachers really well for the for a course in theater and dance, but then also where I would make friends that would follow me into high school, because if I went to Cobb and under here, I would just like lose a bunch.

And so, Miss Currie, the course tracks of Creek reached out to my dad and found a way for Miss Long because she lived near me to pick me up.

And then Miss Gray would drive me home.

I was nervous because it was my first day as, like, sixth grade.

And I didn't really know her that well, but she was very welcoming and made it like so.

I wasn't, like, overwhelmed being this new person's car, new person, person's everything.

She always had folk music on and it was very just welcoming and calming.

And then I just remember, like, the smell of coffee every day because she would drink coffee but she was very calm and trusting and supportive.

Like, anytime anyone was having a bad day, they would go to my song.

She was like a lot of people's comfort teachers.

lots of Greek, she would still see every show as an which meant a lot.

And after she passed away and Mickey still saw a bunch of shows I was in because he wanted to do what this song would do for me, which is really meaningful.

I want to do something with a performance major with musical theater.

Whether that's having a job out of that and then still doing community theater, or whatever.

But I'd like to do something with a performance major.

I'm going to TSC for musical theater, and then hopefully after two years, I'll transfer into FSU.

they were announcing all the scholarships and everything.

And then they said the Catherine Belle Lung Scholarship.

And my whole family knew I wanted.

But I didn't.

And so then I really burst into tears because I was like, I knew what that meant.

And it was really cool because then I saw her family that I passed by earlier and didn't recognize because I didn't think like they would be here because they didn't live in Tallahassee and all this stuff.

And so, they announced my name and it was such a surprise, but it was so meaningful.

Was it at graduation or was it at come?

And then, at the convocation, they told us that the scholarship was going to be for a full year.

So you've got a full Because in that household with two parents and four sisters, like, college was a big worry about mine.

Then just like with money wise.

And so it was a big relief to figure out that a year was covered.

Did they still do giving the money to the, taught me a lot of things and made me a better performer.

And there's one quote that she told me that I always hold with me.

She told me that.

That if I do 99% of everything right, I'll always focus on the 1%.

And I need to let that go, because I could have a nearly perfect thing.

And I'll just focus on the one thing I did wrong.

And she was big about not being hard on yourself, even if you did something wrong.

But like, it's okay.

It's who you are.

You still did good.

All the stuff that sounds like something you can take in the rest of to learn more about the Catherine Bell Long Scholarship.

Go to the foundation for Leon County School's website That's it for this episode of Local Routes.

You can see these stories and more on our website.

Wfsu Dawgs local routes.

And while you're online, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Plus, don't forget to sign up for our Community Calendar newsletter delivered weekly to your email.

It is a great way to stay on top of events happening in person and in the virtual world.

I'm Suzanne Smith and for everyone at Wfsu Public Media.

Thanks for watching.

Have a great week everyone.

Magnolia trees greet the southern breeze.

In the land Magnolia trees meet the Magnolia trees meet the southern skies in the land where rivers wind.

Seeds that spring up from the past leave us treasures yet to find.

Where our children play along the land our fathers built with honest hands.

Take a moment now and look around at the Paradise we have found.

Take the Local Routes and journey down the roads we call our home.