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Putting Lutz On The Map

PHOTO PROVIDED BY SUSAN MACMANUS

Portrait of Elizabeth Riegler MacManus in her middle years.

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By B.C. MANION

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 12, 2008

LUTZ - Elizabeth Riegler MacManus, the unofficial historian of the Lutz community, relentlessly pursued information and memorabilia to help tell Lutz's story.

If she heard about an artifact that would help the cause, she wanted to see it or, even better, get her hands on it to add to the collection she hoped would become part of a permanent museum.

MacManus didn't live to see that ambition realized. She died of a heart attack June 21 in Pikeville, Tenn. She was 84.

Her life was celebrated at a memorial service July 5 at the former Lutz First United Methodist Church, now Hand in Hand Academy. Her nephew, Rick Avriett, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Land O'Lakes, officiated.

MacManus may have come by her love of history naturally. Her father, Mike Riegler was the first permanent resident of Lutz, which then included what is now Land O' Lakes. Riegler also was the area's first nurseryman to grow citrus.

MacManus didn't leave a museum behind, but she did amass a collection of artifacts - farm implements, books, clothes, documents, photographs and other items that eventually will be displayed in four area museums, with the donor's named attached.

She also wrote books that chronicle the community's history for future generations.

She transcribed oral histories into a thin volume called "Lutz Olden Days" to mark the bicentennial.

She and her daughter Susan MacManus also co-authored three books.

Their biggest project - "Sawmills, Critters, Crackers: Life in Early Lutz and Central Pasco County" - is a comprehensive collection of tales, photographs and snippets of life in early Lutz and several Central Pasco communities.

They also wrote "The Lutz Depot: Tales of the 'TN,' the 'Pea Vine,' Rail Line Mergers & Spunky Pioneers," published in 2000.

They recently completed "Going, Going Almost Gone: Lutz-Land O' Lakes Pioneers Share Their Precious Memories," which is due out this fall.

Over the years, MacManus and her daughter listened to oral histories, tracked down photographs, combed through pages of family Bibles and reviewed old land company documents, diaries, yearbooks, newspapers, deeds, receipts, school records, books, abstracts and maps to pull together a portrait of Lutz.

They recounted everything from baptisms, to dances at the old Deer Lake pavilion, to children prancing around a maypole.

MacManus never tired of finding out things and sharing what she learned, friends and family members said.

When she set her mind to getting information or photographs, she generally got them, said Mickey Newberger, a longtime family friend.

"She stayed on it, so she could get what she needed. She was just trying to document the history of the area. She worked long and hard at it.

"She was determined it would be a tribute to the community and old-timers that are gone and the people who are still here," he said.

Undaunted by her failing eyesight, she used a magnifying glass to help her read and jotted notes in large letters on a giant notepad.

She was known for helping others.

When Audrey Major and her husband were launching their Party Line newspaper, they couldn't afford the rent. So, MacManus and her husband didn't make them pay for the first few months.

"Elizabeth was extremely smart. She was really into community. When she was interested in something, she was committed to it," Major said.

She was a woman of many interests.

She loved music, gardening and creating yard sculptures. She enjoyed taking her children to Florida attractions and traveling to distant lands on her own.

She had a zeal for life. She ran barefoot in the Gasparilla Distance Classic road race. She rode a camel near the pyramids in Egypt. She went white-water rafting in Alaska. And, even after she was blind, she swam with dolphins at Discovery Cove.

She was devoted to family.

She and her late husband, Cameron, were married for 60 years. They are survived by three children and four grandchildren.

Her daughter Susan of Land O'Lakes, is a professor at the University of South Florida and known for her knowledge of Florida politics.

The two other children are doctors and live in Pikeville, Tenn. Lou MacManus is married to Warren Harrison, and Cameron MacManus Jr., is married to Julia.

Dot Hewlett, a friend of Elizabeth and Cameron since the mid-1980s, marveled at the bond the couple had with their children.

"There was such an affection between the three kids and the parents," she said. "It was just infectious."

"It was always a fun-filled home," Susan MacManus recalled.

MacManus enjoyed her sisters and would spend "Sisters Day" with them, which usually consisted of shopping at antique shops or plant nurseries and going out for a bite to eat. She often ordered things such as fried gator tail, ostrich and buffalo.

Her grandchildren adored her, too, each sharing memories at the memorial service.

Her church was an important part of her life. "She was a woman of old-fashioned faith," Avriett said.

She taught Sunday school for more than 40 years and was known for doling out Ritz crackers to the nursery kids. During her waning days, she held her own Sunday services at home.

She was a woman who never ran out of projects, liked to save nearly everything, was a good cook, and wasn't especially observant of the local speed limits.

She also was a big believer in education, but didn't think it should be confined to a classroom, said daughter Lou MacManus.

She liked to do things big, her friends and family said.

When the gardening club had its annual show, most members would be content to bring a flower arrangement, or a potted plant, recalled Helen Mitchell, her gardening buddy.

Not MacManus. She would get a friend to cart in a pickup full of entries.

Reporter B.C. Manion can be reached at (813) 865-1507 or bmanion@tampatrib.com.

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