If you drive on State Road 207 between St. Augustine and Palatka, you could miss Flagler Estates. It is off the beaten path and no markers designate its existence on the main thoroughfare. But it is there, a 10,000-acre subdivision just southeast of Hastings, and is home to more than 1,400 families.
The area originally known as Gopher Ridge and later The Six-T Ranch Corp., was purchased in 1969 by World Wide Development Company of Florida and cleared with the intention of farming. The farming thing didn't really work out and World Wide sold out to Florida General Equities and Flagler Estates was born.
Deep Creek, a solid stretch of water, used mainly for fishing, runs through the area and flows into the St. Johns River. Most of the property is in St. Johns County but nearly 2,000 lots are in Flagler County. You can get to Flagler Estates via the main entrance off State Road 13 or west from Yelvington, north from J. Flake or west and north from Cracker Swamp.
Acre plus lots, open rural zoning and buy, build or bring your own home have made the subdivision desirable to those looking to capture some old Florida charm by way of country living.
When I first came to Hastings, I spent some time riding the mostly dirt roads of the estates. This time of year, the ditches are aglow with tons of Florida tickseed, the tiny yellow daisy like flowers that are abundant in these parts. Horses, goats, geese, donkeys, chickens and other assorted domesticated animals look out from behind horse fences and I've been told wildlife is abundant with the occasional panther sighting. Butterflies and birds are plentiful and many a garden grows on the spacious home sites.
I e-mailed some folks in the know and asked them for some information on the area that folks ought to know.
Resident Candy Nelson sent me the following info:
* The Flagler Estates Road and Water Control District meets at 7 p.m. the first and third Thursday of every month. They are at 9850 Light Ave., primarily responsible for maintaining the roads and waterways. www.ferwcd.org
* The Flagler Estates Concerned Citizens, aka the "FECC," is a nonprofit organization that meets at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of every month in the Buzz Mart Game Room at the intersection of Flagler Estates Blvd and County Road 204. www.flaglerestatesconcernedcitzens.org
* Flagler Estates Community Improvement Association Inc is a nonprofit organization that has been established to work cohesively with the Community Redevelopment Steering Committee or CRA (CRA meets at 7 p.m. every fourth Thursday of the month at 9850 Light Ave.). www.feciafl.com
There are a couple of Web sites dedicated to community information: www.flaglerestates.com and www.flagler-estates.com.
The recent Spring Festival and Proxy Awareness Event raised $480, which according to Nelson will be appropriated as follows: $134 for shoes for needy children during the 2010-11 school giveaway; $78 for the CRC back to school supply fund; $268 for the FECC with a deduction of $31 to the band.
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Just in case you thought I forgot about the story of the chicken that crossed the road -- not a chance. A couple of weeks ago, two ladies visited me. They said they came to town to try the Hastings Cafe, have some pie and pick up some fresh produce. I had stepped away from the shop for a few minutes and I missed the whole thing. The lady said, "Did you see the chicken in the road?"
"Why, no." I replied, expecting there to be a punch line.
This is a true story. It seems someone came to the café for lunch, it was a Tuesday. As they were getting into their car to leave, they noticed a chicken on the dashboard. The diner quickly recognized the perching poultry as a family member's favorite pet bird. As they opened the car door, the harried hen made a death defying dash for the parking lot.
As the woman is talking, I am still waiting for the punch line, but she continued on breathlessly.
As the befuddled biddy took flight as best it could in a crowded parking lot on Main Street, folks began to chase the cackling capon and the woman said, "Suddenly, everything and everyone on Main Street stopped." People in the café stopped eating and stood at the windows watching the great chicken caper unfold.
Cars stopped, feathers flew and the fleeing fowl led a fortunate few on a merry chase. As my granddaughter Sophia says, "Wait for it."
The chicken did indeed cross the road and the prized pullet was at last safe and sound, back in the car and headed home.
Of course there were jokes about Wednesday being "you know what" day at the café and just where the backyard banty was headed, but in the end, everyone went back to lunch and the two ladies from St. Augustine left town with a great story about Hastings.
This is a true story embellished only by my flagrant use of chicken synonyms.
