[MUSIC] Coming up on Local Routes.

[MUSIC] Coming up on Local Routes.

any of you go somewhere, you go, we want to save this.

Or like what?

You know, and you're like, oh, it's a tree in a cottage.

They're like, yeah, okay.

You know, you're on the back and on your way.

What is the story behind this tree and cottage?

We explore Lichgate.

gave proof through the night [MUSIC] Take the local routes and journey down the roads we call our home Welcome to local routes.

I'm Suzanne Smith with WFSU Public Media.

Those of us who live in North Florida have a special love for old oak trees, like the one behind me.

This one is located on the grounds of Little Gate Cottage in Tallahassee.

Like most things in this community, there's a story behind this tree and its storybook cottage.

FSU's Justin Edwards tells the tale.

Lichgate on High Road has been in existen since 1956, when Doctor Laura Jepsen started building it She of course obviously built, you know, bough and she came back for the tree.

That's why she bought this piece But actually, Lichgate, as you s had been with her a lot longer.

She talks about how it had gone and forth between her mind her w She talks about how it had gone and forth between her mind her w And then after she bought her pr in 1956, she started to build And then after she bought her pr in 1956, she started to build what she considered her dream ca what she considered her dream ca Clifton Lewis, which was quite a woman.

I mean, she was just remarkable and such a mentor for me.

But I got a call from her one da hey, Nita, you know, what are yo And you know what that's like when you get those phone calls.

So anyway, I went, and I picked and we went on an adventure to H and that was to buy these books that Doctor Jepsen had written.

And it was Lichgate on High Road was the name of the bo and there were boxes of them that had been auctioned off, at the time of Doctor Jepson's d the Nature Conservancy auctioned her belongings off.

So, Clifton found out the books were there.

And on the way up there, she tol the story of Lichgate on High Ro So, we got the books, and we cam And then she brought me to Lichg at the time, the windows were br You couldn't drive down the driv I mean, it was completely overgr You could hardly see the tree.

That set the motion of what do w And we used to meet at the Black I don't know, it was.

It was a bookstore, but it was called the Black Cat.

And it was downtown on Monroe St and it was an old-fashioned book And we would, meet between the s and try to figure out what we were going to do, because none of us really had the experience or knew what So, we would just throw out idea And finally, we realize the only we were going to save it would be to buy it from the Nature Conservancy, because no one was going to come and buy it for us, and the city wasn't interested i They had, you know, been, approa and they weren't interested in it.

So, if we hadn█t gotten a bank l There█re so many things that you could do to promote Lic Lichgate has a way of promoting It's a hard place to speak for.

It really is.

I mean, you know, I used to say early on, you know we don't have a spotted owl we can drag out to save the Redw You know, it's like any if you g somewhere, you go, we want to sa Or like what?

You know, and you're like, oh, it's a tree in a cottage.

They're like, yeah, okay.

You know, pat you on the back and on your I think just, I feel like I just watch over it I mean, at my age, I can't really do what I could d I mean, I'm at that age now, and I always say, well, you I need to start backing off.

But it's hard.

It's hard because I'll never completely le I know I will, and that's time.

Let me tell you, for someone lik that's a big lesson.

How to, like, step back and let the next generations com and have faith that they're goin they're going to do it.

They understand that.

And I and it's been a gift that my daughters have done, you know, stepped up and they ha just stepped up because of me.

I can see it.

And I can see when they talk abo that they they've been bitten basically by, you know, Lichgate wrapped themselves around them.

If you want to help out at Lichgate, contact them at the email and phone number on the screen.

Laura Jepsen, who built this Tudor cottage, was also an FSU professor who loved Shakespeare.

Our next story is about another local educator for Star Swain.

A trip to the nation's capital and an impromptu song turned her into a viral sensation.

Alex Campbell and Freddie Hall bring us her story.

Jesus.

Come on.

Say with me.

Say oh.

Oh, Jesus.

Jesus.

Say.

That's a great name.

Everybody say Jesus is a star.

Say, oh, I am Star Swain.

I am a gospel artist.

That is from Tallahassee, Florida, by way of Macon, Georgia.

I don't remember the exact age, but third grade.

That was my first solo.

One of my teachers.

Well, I went to a private school, and the private school that I went to really focused a lot on the arts singing.

We had a chorus, and even though it was a children's chorus, we sounded like adults.

You know, our choral director, was amazing.

We also had huge stage productions for Christmas, for Easter and at the end of the school year.

And I mean huge from costumes to handmade backdrops, the whole nine yards.

Anything you can think of when you think of like an actual stage production.

That is what we had.

And so one of my teachers, the one that used to write all of the plays and stage productions some kind of way, heard my voice and was like, she could sing.

And she had me come and kind of do like a mock, audition.

And the rest is history.

Plays like Jesus Saves my Jesus plays like Jesus.

How did that things?

How was it that came from that moment that I had that first solo that was kind of, you know, everybody pretty much, I guess you could say, found out maybe.

And then so I did start singing in church, maybe about probably fifth grade, started singing in church, you know, my first church solo.

It was a hymn and gosh, yeah, I say the rest is history.

Us?

Oh, yes.

I love the colors.

Everybody's places of to Jesus.

It's all Jesus.

Jesus.

To be honest, I don't know if I really recognized that I had, like, this special gift.

Like, I knew I could sing, you know, but I didn't realize the impact that it had on people because I was so young, you know?

So, essentially in that age and time frame, just singing really, you know, because I can sing and because I'm young and my mom is asking me, and I'm supposed to sing at school, I'm supposed to sing to play.

So, to be honest, I think the the viral video maybe.

And I know that's like later, later in life, but I think that's when I truly, truly realized the impact and, how my voice just really made a difference in people's actual life.

You know, that was kind of a turning point for me.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] Being a part of the marching 100, especially during that time, the class that we came in with was one of the largest classes to come to Famu.

So not just band wise, but just school wise.

And so the leadership skills, the tenacity that I learned, the perseverance, how to push past, you know, comfortability and really do things that are outside of your norm, outside of the box.

That really helped me in, you know, terms of my singing and singing career and my future, because it gave me a new mindset about things that I could do.

And really about being more I won't say proactive, but I used to be really shy, a little girl, right?

And I wouldn't talk unless I was spoken to, you know, and being in the band helped bring that out of me.

You know, it helped push me to the forefront.

Learn how to speak up, learn how to be assertive.

And learn how to just bring my gift forth, you know, into a large, larger arenas.

You can hide behind the Lord waiting on the just a slogan.

I know sometimes I feel like once I'm on the stage first is nerve wracking, right?

Because I'm like, oh God, I don't want to mess up number one.

Number two, I want to make sure that when I sing, it means something, right?

That is not just, a beautiful voice, you know, that's coming out of this emanating from the vessel.

But I want to make sure that it's touching.

Somebody is making a connection to someone is making a difference in their mind, heart, and spirit.

A positive difference.

And so I'm nervous about that because I never want it to be done.

In vain.

Right.

I want to make sure I'm effective with what I do, but once I start and kind of get into it, then, you know, the nerves kind of wane off.

And I become more comfortable.

And a lot of people, I can't even see if you're nervous, but I'm like, for me, it's a lot of weight because this is just more than being, you know, about being on stage and being in the spotlight, right?

And and getting notoriety.

For me, it is about am I being effective and why am I making a difference with the gift that I have, you know, to you?

So where was I'm now?

We're good.

I do get in and I'm like, hey, I have to get into zone.

Yep.

So we were on a a family trip.

We had planned this trip.

My my husband and kids, some other couples and their kids were there.

It was three families that we all just decided, hey, in the summertime, we're planning a trip to Washington, D.C., and, you know, we want to take our kids and visit the museums.

So that's what we were doing.

It was just a regular, you know, regular, regular, trip that we never would have thought.

All of that, all that came out of it would have come out of that.

So we were in the Lincoln Memorial, you know, just visiting like anybody else.

Some of the people in our group want it to go.

There's like a bookstore gift shop type thing that's inside of the Lincoln Memorial.

So they wanted to go in and look around, and, I stayed out and another, one of the people that was with us.

So we just standing there talking, I was like, man, like, do you hear the acoustics in this place?

And other guy was a musician, so he was like, yeah, man.

I was like, man, I should just bust out and start singing and Star-Spangled banner.

It is right here.

So I'm just joking.

Like, we just have a small talk and he's like, you should, man.

You should like, you should do it.

I was like, no.

And that's kind of where the video starts.

When you see the video is me saying, oh, like, I'm not good.

Because he was like, I'm recording right now.

I'm like, oh my God, why are you doing this?

So I said, I don't want to hear his mouth.

I don't want to hear my husband mouth.

I want to hear my other best friend's mouth.

When we get in the car about, you should have done it.

So in my mind, I'm just gonna do it just to shut down.

The bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night And so I did it.

And we stood on the sidewalk.

We left the Lincoln Memorial, stood on the sidewalk.

He posted it to the YouTube, like, right then and there.

He was like, I'm telling you, it's going to go viral.

I'm tell you.

And I was like, yeah, well, you know, we went on about the rest of our weekend and what we did.

By the time we got back to Tallahassee, which may have been, two days later, it was like going crazy and I was like, oh my gosh.

Like, every time you look back, it was like another 100,000 views, another 100.

That was like, what is happening?

So that was one of the most amazing moments in my life.

I must say.

We got so many calls for, for probably about two years straight up this, every.

To stay come and you know, we will.

And sometimes if it recirculate again because sometimes it'll surface again around 4th of July on a different platform and it'll start kind of getting a buzz again.

And we'll still get a call or two.

But you know, during those first two years we got calls from some of everybody.

I mean, the Democrat National Convention call like right after Good Morning America, Fox and Friends NASCAR.

Like it was just it blew my mind.

You know, we were going some of everywhere for quite a bit of time.

You know, a lot of traveling here and there just from that video.

Don't underestimate me, cause I know I'm home.

Whoa.

It gave me a different perspective on what I want to do with my voice.

It made me not be complacent because, you know, before that happened, I was just kind of at a place of contentment.

You know, I sing at church, and that's where I think, you know, or if the 100 call and say, hey, can you come and sing, we got this event or whatever, can you sing with us and do all of my steps?

You know, things like that.

But once that happened, it really pushed me kind of to another level in terms of me creating an album, writing music, moving forward with it actually being a professional career, that wouldn't have happened if that viral video didn't happen, then I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now, you know, because I wasn't thinking in that mindset.

So it caused me to shift shift my mindset shift, what I want to do and run hard after it, even though there there are challenges, is not easy.

I'm still not where I want to be.

But, much further away than where I was because I wasn't working on anything, you know?

And now I'm actually working towards it.

And someone tell me why or why.

Why do the hopes die?

Deception.

I think the comments for me are what really, has had the hugest impact and has resonated the most because most of the comments are like, oh my gosh, like I'm crying.

I'm in tears right now watching this or you know, especially at the beginning, we've had people say, you know, I was about to commit suicide and I saw this video and, you know, thank you so much.

I feel hope, you know, I feel joy.

And like I said earlier, that for me is what made me be like, oh my gosh, you know, that for me makes all the difference in the world.

Because people talk about stuff and see stuff all the time and get millions of views, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to impact somebody's life in a positive way.

And so to see that from just me singing the national anthem, you know, is like, wow, like that means so much to me.

You can come.

With matter who you are or where you come from, whether from the left or right, where the woman mentioned from black, white love is the only See more spotlight stories on wfsu.org.

Slash local roots.

It's been more than a year since the singer songwriter, who wrote our Local Routes theme song, passed away.

Kathyrn Belle Long died in 2023.

She was a big part of our local music community, but she was also a big part of our education community as well.

Just like Laura Jepsen and Star Swing.

She was a teacher at Swift Creek Middle School and was loved by her students and coworkers.

WFSU's Tabitha Weinstein brings us the story of one night last winter when everyone came together her students, coworkers, friends, family, and community to honor her memory.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] If we were having this interview eight months ago or even two months ago, I definitely wouldn't be able to stand here without crying.

We've had a lot of these memorials to help us get it out of our system, but it's it's been very, very difficult.

And so it's it's a good thing that that we're all here.

I, I know it's so cliche, but she is it is really, really, really difficult.

Lost wrote music community to Tallahassee community.

I mean, you know, for young people and friends, it's just like really it kind of makes you realize that life is fragile and it's to live every moment to the fullest because.

She was diagnosed and three months later on, so she's got to love and love what you can do for her.

[MUSIC] I was like, when you have a loss like that in your community, it means a lot.

And we have a very tight knit community here in the in the music community here in Tallahassee.

So we just want to play our best for a great cause in honor of an awesome person.

And we look forward to performing for.

I've known Catherine for quite a while as being a fellow member of the Tallahassee music scene.

I was honored to know her because she just was such a genuine kind of person that just had a great aura about her.

Takes a of happiness to others.

[MUSIC] yeah.

I know why we're here for the Memorial Scholarship fund.

And it's in Kathryn Belle Long's name.

And, But more than that, I feel a part of this energy that we're all, like, doing it, you know?

It's.

We're here in remembrance of her, but also to support something that she would totally be behind.

And, I feel honored for her.

And I know she would feel honored, with, with the scholarship, her being a.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Really is all about.

It's it's it's Kim, Thomas and Kelley Goddard and Elizabeth Frabel.

And it's a group of people that created this band.

And it was their brainchild.

And my goal wi th what we did right passing was, hey, how can we remember her for a long period of time?

Well, for the area, we created the scholarship fund to affect students, to affect teachers in Leon County schools and organizations.

She love and being a music and drama teacher she loves.

So this gives us it gives us the ability to keep her talent, her name and her legacy in music.

Going to help students to help teachers are really just to help the overall arts program and a talented community, which she would have been very proud.

A big music and art person.

That's what brings a lot across the school and makes them like to come to school.

And, you know, it's such an important thing to love the arts.

I think, because it's all about humanities.

And, you know, Kathryn was such a beautiful human being.

And so it's so fitting coming out tonight and honoring her, with music, because she was such a talented musician and she was a theater teacher and she just wanted to be that, very few people have.

And I'm just so happy to be here to speak for her and honor her tonight.

It's wonderful that her friends have put this together, and they've already raised $2,000 for this scholarship.

And so this is going to be how she's going to just live on in everybody's hearts and minds.

For some young person who's going to get a scholarship to the arts.

So it's perfect.

All come in, baby.

All come coming.

Maybe we could all come in.

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 in with your loving.

Maybe we could all come and.

just a few months after that tribute to Catherine, her family name, the first recipient of that scholarship in her honor.

Well, Catherine never knew about the scholarship.

She did know the young woman who received it.

We'll have more on that story next week on local routes.

that's it for this episode of Local Routes.

You can see these stories and more on our website.

Wfsu.org/local roots.

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

Plus, 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 for everyone at Wfsu Public Media.

Thanks for watching.

Have a great week everyone.

[MUSIC]