03/13/2026
This is my "Tale of Two Glens"
I grew up along the Cuyahoga River in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, along Glen's Trail near the Cuyahoga Falls Dam. That river and that trail shaped me long before I had the words to explain why. As a boy, I was surrounded by the beauty of the Gorge the steep walls, rugged stone, cool air, and the constant sound of moving water. I remember the springs flowing right out of the Gorge walls along Glen's Trail, as if the earth itself were breathing. I spent many hours in the tributary that runs through Wetmore Park, turning over rocks, putting my G.I. Joe's thru basic training and just following the current. I learned that "Water is Life".
At the same time, I grew up with the other story of the Cuyahoga River — the story of pollution, neglect, and a river so abused it became a national warning. The Cuyahoga River caught on fire over 13 times. In 1971, the "Crying Indian" national TV commercial "Keep America Beautiful" rang through the nation's ears.
When I moved to Florida in 1981 at age fifteen, I discovered the springs of North Florida. Silver Springs, Silver Glen Springs, Juniper Springs, Rainbow Springs, Ichetucknee, Homosassa, Crystal River, the Weeki Wachee River and so many others brought to life the clear-water world I had only imagined as a child watching old black and white reruns of Tarzan movies.
Thus my "Tale of Two Glens". Silver Glen Springs touched me deeply. 40 feet or so. As a boy in Ohio, I watched water emerge from the Gorge walls along "Glen's Trail" on the Cuyahoga River. Then years later, at "The Glen" in Ocala, I saw the spring boils rising from below the earth — clear, Life-Giving, living water surging up through the sand, as if the earth itself were breathing.
Though very different in form, the "Tale of Two Glens" spoke the same language to me.
Both revealed the hidden Life of the Earth through Water. "Water is Life".
The Rodman Dam is another such structure. A community, embracing the change the Rodman Dam created, adapted to the new offering of Life from Water. A community evolved, adjusted to the change. The Realities of Life are Fluid and ever-changing, much like the "Life of a River". Built for a purpose never truly fulfilled, the Rodman Dam has interrupted a living river system, flooded springs, habitat, and history. Imagine had the Canal had been completed. Oil spills, fueling depots, canal fires.
Please stare Deeply into "Our Great Florida State Seal" and tell me what you see?
"Water is Life"!
This is why I strongly support the current effort to restore the Ocklawaha River. The current removal of the Cuyahoga Falls Dam shows that some structures outlive their useful purpose and that restoration can bring a river and community back to life. When I first heard of Falls Dam removal, I was saddened. The memories of sliding on the slimy surface of the spillway to climbing underneath the Falls itself. The Realities of Life are Fluid and ever-changing, much like the "Life of a River".
I wish I was here before the Rodman Dam, as I could have experienced the beauty of Marion Blue. The people who knew the river before the dam remember Marion Blue Spring and the remainder of the lost springs that once flowed freely. Their memories and tales remind us that what has been lost was real, is worth fighting for. With your Vote and the Grace of God, I hope to be around to create a "Marion Blue Memory".
Today, Florida has the opportunity to do what is right: restore the Ocklawaha’s natural flow and reconnect the Ocklawaha River to the St. Johns River.
Protecting our rivers and springs is not optional; it is essential. I respectfully urge you to support the current Ocklawaha restoration bill and help restore "Florida’s Great Riverway" for future generations.
Respectively yours,
FLA24_Ken
Ken Rumberger, CPA
New Port Richey, Fla
Pasco County, Fla - "Green Swamp Headwaters"
