Next door to Fellsmere’s Marsh Landing restaurant is a charming white stucco structure with triangular pale peach front columns and trim, home to a friendly little shop that exemplifies the personality of the town, from its welcoming entrance to the eclectic collection of books, art works and other items that fill walls, shelves and tables.
The front porch is colorful and welcoming, thanks in large part to the Official Greeter, 35-year-old Buoy, a social Blue Front Amazon Parrot who says “good morning” to arriving visitors, “goodbye” as they leave, and lots of clever comments in between.
There is a comfy black rocker for the guys who’d “rather rock than shop,” colorful pots of flowers, flags, signs, all providing a cheery entry into the small shop, where every surface offers something interesting.
This is Ditch 13 Gallery and Gifts, operated by Nik Ruege, which comfortably fits the character of Fellsmere’s historic downtown, harkening back to the days a century and more ago, when Fellsmere was THE happening place in the area.
Nik and Bert Ruege have called Fellsmere home for 24 years. For much of that time, she worked for Wabasso Disney and he was an inspector for the Florida Department of Agriculture. The couple actually designed the renovation of the building that now houses Marsh Landing, owned by Fran Adams, who had always planned to renovate the 1913 structure next door and make it into a gift shop.
Originally the Rueges had planned to run the restaurant, but by the time it was ready, they had gotten other jobs. Then in 2010, after they had both retired, Bert happened to be talking with Adams when she got a call about leasing the little building next door. Knowing Nik had been thinking about wanting to have a little gift shop, Bert quickly gave her a call. If she wanted that building, she’d “better grab it!” They met with Adams and the deal was done. “It was a happy day!” she says.
Originally, Nik Ruege says, the building was a survey office for a land acquisition during the early 20th Century Florida land boom. Then it became a distribution center for the Fellsmere Tribune newspaper. After that it was a doctor’s office, then a private residence. In recent years it had sat vacant, until Adams completed its renovation when, with perfect serendipity.
A chance conversation brought Nik and the little property together, and a new chapter had begun for both.
Ruege knew she wanted to feature works by local artisans so, she said, “I put a note on the building while I was painting – ‘Artisans Wanted’ – with my phone number, and got a lot of response. “
As a result, the shop is filled with wonderful items created by local artists, artisans and authors. “I have about 40 represented now,” she says. A table in the center of the shop displays an intriguing array of books by local authors, many of them 6th and 7th generation Florida Crackers: “The Life and Times of Bone Mizelle” by Jim Bob Tinsley, whose grandson still lives in Fellsmere; “Water Under the Bridge” and “Gator Creek” by Carol Overstreet; Sandra Wallus Sammons’ “Marjorie Stoneman Douglas;” “Gladesmen: Gator Hunters, Moonshiners and Skiffers” by Glenn Simmons and Laura Ogden.
There are Highwayman mugs and framed tile paintings; pottery by former Sebastian potter Peggy Clark; delicate postcard-size pen and ink renderings of several historic Fellsmere buildings, including the Ditch 13 shop, by artist Ellen Rantz; and greeting cards by Micco artist Sandy Ciurla. There is a display of intricate Intarsia wood carvings by local artist Ross MacDonald who, one Christmas, crafted lots of wooden ornaments for Ruege to give to all her faithful customers.
Sitting in a delicious array on cabinet shelves are rows of jams and jellies, created by Bert, who is president of the Frogleg Festival. The most popular of his sweet spreads is his Famous Frog Jam which, she hastens to add, is not made of actual frogs but figs, raspberries, oranges and a touch of ginger. There are also pots of honey from local beekeepers.
And the shop’s unusual name? “The number 13 has special meaning for me. The shop was built in 1913, my birthday is on the 13th, and we live on Ditch 13.” (Back in the early 1900s, she explained, the streets were named after the nearby ditches.)
As she was sharing some local history – “in 1915, Fellsmere was the first town south of the Mason Dixon line to allow women to vote” – John Lehnhardt, Executive Director of the National Elephant Center, stopped by to pick up several Elephant Center T-shirts which Ditch 13 Gallery and Gifts carries exclusively.
Ditch 13 Gallery and Gifts has a healthy following, Ruege says, and, as Fellsmere continues to grow, it’s likely more and more visitors will discover its unique Old Florida appeal.