Joseph Hunt pounded out “Paint it Black” on a piano in the afternoon sunshine outside the Melbourne Beach municipal complex. The first question is how the 13-year-old from West Melbourne knew a Rolling Stones song from the 1960s. The second question is what pianos were doing on the sidewalk.
The answer to the piano question is the Founders Day celebration at Ryckman Park last Saturday.
The all-day affair drew young and old alike for a day of music and other entertainment, food from gourmet burgers to funnel cake, arts and craft booths, fishing, rides and the Space Coast Corvette & Car Show, among other festivities. Founders Day stretched beyond the riverfront park to surf and volleyball competition on the beach at the other end of Ocean Avenue.
In keeping with the purpose of the day, Town Historian Frank Thomas gave an abbreviated lecture on various facets of the history of Melbourne Beach, which was founded in 1883. “You stick around long enough you become town historian,” quipped Thomas, who moved to the area 55 years ago from North Carolina.
He spoke about Juan Ponce de Leon, who landed in the area in 1513. He spoke about the pineapple, the basic crop grown in Melbourne Beach in the early days. “There were thousands of acres of pineapples along the riverfront,” Thomas said.
He spoke about the rattlesnakes and mosquitoes that had to be dealt with when harvesting the fruit. He spoke about the ferry accident back in the day which left folks from the mainland stranded after an unexpected storm. And he recalled the freeze during the winter of 1894-95 when the temperature plummeted to 18 degrees.
Michael Edwards had a purpose for coming to Founders Day. A West Melbourne resident, Edwards was in search of a license plate holder that spelled out Melbourne Beach the Nation’s Oldest City, a nod to Ponce de Leon.
“That, and the fresh air and sunshine,” he said.
Indeed, the weather cooperated on Founders Day like it rarely does. Hot and humid is more typical, said Mayor Jim Simmons. “It hasn’t been this nice on Founders Day for five or six years,” he said about the low humidity and moderate temperatures.
Sporting a Phillies T-shirt to reflect his roots, Dave Burton of Melbourne Beach also praised the weather as he waited for his kids to finish jumping in the bounce ride.
“This was like a spring day in South Jersey,” he said.
On the other side of the park Julie and Jason McKnight, also of Indialantic, relaxed on a bench under a shady tree, taking a brief respite. Julie, who lived on Ocean Avenue before she got engaged in 1999, enjoyed the craft selections.
“I wanted to see the reopened Melbourne Beach pier which shut down after the hurricane” in October, Jason said. “Seems like a year ago since it was open.”
Our sidewalk pianist Joseph Hunt was at Founders Day with his cousin, Justin Stockstill, 8, of Satellite Beach, and his grandmother, Betsy Yanczewski, of Indialantic. “I’ve come here every year for 30 years. I like the arts and the food,” Yanczewski said.
Oh, the question about how young Mr. Hunt knew “Paint it Black”? Joseph, who plays clarinet in the school band and dabbles at piano, shrugged and answered, “I just do.”
