Then came dead fish day! I watched these pitiful fish be eaten alive by birds as their pond went totally dry within a couple weeks, it was at least 25 ft. deep. The poor mans pool deck had also sunk into the ground and there were 4 inch gaps between the concrete and the twisted aluminum frame of the screen room, it appears to be falling into a huge sinkhole. I pleaded with the water management to deny Perrier's & Thomas's increase but was told the letters I presented from old people pleading their dry and drying wells din’t make an impact. Well I turned to get the fish from under my friends chair and noticed everyone had moved as far as possible from him because the fish were quite pungent and I'm sure they thought poor Dino had a stinky butt. I can still see the disbelief as I pulled them from the bag. I showed them impact, chairs were scooting away as fast as possible to avoid the stinky dead fish that I was offering to each and every one of them after my famous "dead fish day"

I guess the old timers felt I was trainable. Betty was the first to check me out. You will find Betty Burger on the history page with her brother Donald holding a huge fish they caught at the spring with a safety pin.

I didn't know about the others until one day I was out running errands and channel 13 news dropped in, Betty lives across the street so they knocked on her door, she ended up being the star of the show and made them wait in their van until she fixed up and then ... She brought out the vintage photos of our town, our original colonist, school house, springs, Platt, old swimming hole, little brown church and more. Betty was awesome on Television when the others observed her on the 5 o' clock news saying, "Were just a bunch of little town folks trying to save our spring"! As she arches her eyebrows extra high, her courage shows and your heart goes out to her ... I begin to realize there are others; they have stuck together all these years, unbelievable! One then another and another … just like the little munchkins on the Wizard Of OZ.

I really appreciate the time and compassion you gave me with your response and kind words regarding my loss of my oldest and dearest old timer Victor Eikeland. Victor fought hard to reclaim his beloved Crystal Springs. The day I met Victor Betty had rounded up her old school mates and we were off to the Tampa River Board, the panel was pleasantly surprised to experience such a unusual group, I guess we were a strange audience, a middle aged angry blonde, her 2 year old blonde headed spoiled little girl & a bunch of old people. Gordon 65 yrs. Victor was 84 yrs. Ruth 82 yrs. Rosie 75 yrs. Louise 87 yrs. Kathy 50 yrs. (my vice pres. & pres. of Crystal Springs Community Center) Betty 75 yrs. Walter 75 yrs. As they told their stories one by one the board was indeed captivated enjoying the memories of days gone by, I will never forget the little old man I met that day with the snow white hair and the kind eyes and sweet smile, I instantly felt he was special, he shuffled to the podium and began by stating he was born in 1912 and came to Crystal Springs when he was 2 yrs. old. Victor Eikeland pleaded at first but as he was remembering the past his eyes flashed fire and then to everyone's surprise this sweet old man shook his cane in the air and shouted IT'S OUR SPRING AND THEY STOLE IT FROM US!

WOW! OH MY! AWESOME!

Put away the black robe and dead fish and check out your new Stars of SOS. The old timers were eager to help get their spring back and I agreed to be the Leader of the pack. What an army! , The same people that watched their parents tear the fence down when the springs were stolen in 1926, the very ones that kept on tearing it down, fighting for their spring eagerly waiting for the law to be enforced and justice be served are alive and well and if that wasn't lucky enough ...I discovered.... OH MY! They’re just as just as feisty today as they were 60 years ago … Save Our Springs was formed!

I am sorry it has taken me so long to respond to everyone that wrote me such kindness and compassionate thoughts. It seems like yesterday we all made that promise and joined together to reclaim our springs. I am having a real hard time accepting the reality that Victor will not be here to share the happiness and excitement when I throw the victory party for my old timers and the children of Crystal Springs. This will happen, we own the deed and we continue to expose the continuing plans and scams, oops... almost forgot ... here's one I find very interesting... The Thomas family's participation and huge profits $$$$$$ leasing pristine land to be drained, cut, logged, dug, blasted, poisoned and transformed into a moonscape was spearheaded by ole Wayne himself. Wayne Thomas Robert Thomas's very own grandpa was the proud filthy rich owner of Wayne Thomas Phosphate Lands Inc. and had the nerve to claim to be an environmentalist and nature lover.

Wayne Thomas bought thousands of acres of virgin pristine wetlands. He began scarfing it up in the 20's when land was marketed for about $1 to $5 an acre. During the depression land sold for next to nothing at tax sales. Phosphate, dirty politics and deals that is the Thomas way.

Robert is always carrying on about his grandpa "giving" Hillsborough River State Park to the state, imagine my surprise when I served on the State Park Management Team with Bill Howell Director of State Lands DEP Tallahassee Fl. I discovered included in our study packet a legal document consisting of ...mmmmm... a SETTLEMENT resulting in seizure of the park and surrounding land by the internal improvement trust fund against Wayne Thomas, Dorothy Thomas, & Coronet phosphate chemical company, famous for their deadly toxic emissions poisoning our environment 24 hours per day year after year.... I seem to recall it is Coronet that owned Ten O Rock mine which is currently Ten OF Rock State Preserve. The resident park ranger & family are dying of brain cancer. I was told a lawsuit is in progress. Oh my ... and what about this awesome map and data showing Hillsborough River State park is 2/3 toxic wasteland unfit for restoration, and it appears Lettuce Lake Park is a contaminated wasteland as well.

Fort Foster is a recreated replica as the authentic remains vanished during the Thomas land acquisitions; the new version sits on Thomas Land at the entrance to Two Rivers Ranch. Ft Alafia was also destroyed, history reported it was mined for phosphate by Coronet .I was told it was Wayne Thomas that leased Lithia Springs to Gardiner phosphate to be destroyed by pumping 25 million gallons of spring water from the main boil out of the heart of the spring to be used to blast radioactive phosphate rock into slurry. How much greed is the public willing to tolerate? Crystal Springs belongs to the landowners of the town. A quit claim is nothing compared to our original deed complete with seal and a simple quit claim is all Thomas has, Quit claim ... even sounds suspicious doesn't it?

I noticed in the Pasco courthouse the original deed book is reported as lost, what?? A huge Platt book missing in action out of a secure courthouse? Now how on earth did that happen, what's even stranger.... a copy always is available from Tallahassee. So why wasn't a copy requested? Reminds me of the night Thomas showed up at the meeting Pat Burke arranged, Pat told me Thomas wouldn't be there so I didn't promote it much but was surprised to see Thomas stroll in with this pretty lady, we thought she was his girlfriend, they arrived together in his vehicle & had their heads together the entire meeting, then left together in his vehicle it, WOW imagine my shock when there she was, Roberts mystery woman in the paper the next morning, oh my gosh it reads Karla Setter the Pasco county Attorney! Our own Pasco county Attorney was Thomas silent partner the night before, and we thought she was his honey pie, sure makes a little quit claiming a lot less paperwork now doesn't it?

I will take Crystal Springs back from lying, scamming, deceitful, greedy, good ole boy, dove hunting, water sucking, cypress tree cutting,"hunky dory" Robert Thomas.

We have the deed to this spring, the original descendents of the Crystal Springs Common Good Society came to me with their original deed complete with minutes of the meeting concerning ownership of the deed including with a state seal on both and a vow was made to reclaim our Historical Landmark, "The Crystal Springs Parks Reservation" consisting of our once beautiful Crystal Springs and the surrounding 10 acres as is printed in all our surviving newspapers and our original contract and Platt.

Kathy, Louise, Margie and now Victor die while waiting for justice, it has been 6 years and 8 months since our springs were locked. And 69 years since they were stolen from us. How many more will die and be robbed of the victory which is Liberty & Justice For All.

I noticed today every bit of living cypress, water plants, grass, and every bit of living vegetation surrounding the spring has been removed; a large sand pit wasteland is what appears from the gate.