Destiny Crum, Kennedy Davis, Carmen Eiland, Maya Farmer and Brett Redding are this year’s recipients of Shirley Ann Brown Livingstone Scholarships, which were presented to them by Carolyn Spooner.
Each scholarship is worth $1,000.
Spooner, the director of the Shirley Ann Brown Livingstone Scholarship Foundation, established the scholarship in honor of her deceased sister. Livingstone, a registered nurse, died as the result of breast cancer at the age of 55 in 2004. The cancer went into remission several times, but the final time it returned, it had metastasized.
Livingstone, who worked at Mountain Side Hospital in Montclair, New Jersey, worked until a week before her death.
“It means so much to be able to give something back to the community and to our students going into the medical fields,” said Spooner, who’s a breast-cancer survivor. “It’s my dream and hope that we will find a cure for breast
cancer. Maybe through some of (the scholarship recipients’) work, they will help that process along.”
Crum, who plans to become a registered nurse, said receiving the scholarship means a lot.
“It’s going to make sure I don’t have to worry about anything in college,” she said.
Davis currently attends Southern University and plans to enroll in the university’s nursing program.
“To further my education, I want to get my master’s and become a nurse practitioner. Receiving this scholarship means that I can further my nursing experience and become an RN and do more things to help take care of people and help the community.”
Eiland, who is already an RN, said, “I just recently got accepted into the bachelor’s program at Santa Fe,” Eiland said. “This opens up more doors for me to give back to my community. I enjoy being a nurse, so this just helps me to do more of what I love to do.”
Farmer is on track to graduate as an RN in the spring of 2025.
“I’m very grateful for this scholarship,” Farmer said. “It’s going to go toward my next semester and clinicals. I really appreciate it.”
Redding is currently finishing up a college degree in health sciences. He said the scholarship will help him reach his ultimate goal.
“I’m going to be transferring over to UF in the fall,” Redding said, adding, “I’m looking to become a doctor — specifically a doctor in emergency medicine.”
Spooner has awarded 27 Shirley Ann Brown Livingstone Scholarships total, including this year’s five recipients.
“Being able to give back to our students means a lot,” Spooner said. “It’s continuing their education and helping them become productive citizens.”
Books about ‘Peggy’ the train to help fund scholarship fund
Spooner wrote a children’s book called “Peggy the Slow Poke Train: Peggy Meets Jessica,” which was published in 2020. All monies from book sales go toward the Shirley Ann Brown Livingstone Scholarship Fund.
The book is the first of a planned series, which, as the title of the first book suggests, incorporates the old train that locals called “Peggy.” The train traveled between Starke and Alachua.
In a Nov. 19, 2020, Telegraph-Times-Monitor story, Spooner said she and other children made up sayings based upon the train’s speed, such as, “You’re as slow as Peggy,” or, “Peggy is slower than Christmas.”
“We looked forward to Peggy coming through every day,” Spooner was quoted as saying in the Nov. 19, 2020, Telegraph-Times-Monitor story. “We knew she was going to be slow, but we would wait for her. That was part of our entertainment during the day.”
Through Peggy’s interactions with Jessica, a child character modeled after Spooner’s niece, Spooner hopes to teach children some of their community’s history. For example, Peggy teaches Jessica about pulpwood and how it was a big part of this area back when the real Peggy existed. Jessica learns of how the wood was harvested and processed, making products like the paper that students use in school.
Spooner said the next book will include Arthur Hill (aka Mr. Big Boy), who rode Peggy to Sampson City so he could fish, and Spooner’s uncle Sampson Brown, who was called “Doc” because he made medicine. He also grew sugarcane and made syrup from it.
Joe Brown, Spooner’s grandfather, will make an appearance as well.
“My grandpa had a little shop (in Sampson City), so we’ll talk about some of the things they had back in the day,” Spooner was quoted as saying in the 1990 Telegraph-Times-Monitor story.
The 1990 Telegraph-Times-Monitor story also recounted how Spooner has other scenarios in mind for future books. She said in one, Peggy will travel through Hampton and Brooker, giving her the chance to write about the tobacco crops that were grown in those towns. Spooner said Peggy will travel to Lawtey in another book, which will feature Tatum Brothers Lumber Company as well as the families who were big-time strawberry producers.
“It’s telling some of the things about each of the townships that (Peggy) would go through,” Spooner was quoted as saying in the 1990 Telegraph-Times-Monitor story. “The kids will learn about their community.”
“Peggy the Slow Poke Train: Peggy Meets Jessica” can be purchased from such retailers as Walmart, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Booktopia, Waterstones, Secondsale and eBay as well as through its publisher, Covenant Books.
