Ice-cream shop supports park storm recovery

For decades, Florida Caverns State Park’s natural beauty and underground cave tours have been a popular draw for locals and tourists. In October 2018, Hurricane Michael severely damaged the park’s tree canopy and many of its buildings.

Five minutes down the road from Florida Caverns State Park is Southern Craft Creamery. Staff at the popular Marianna ice-cream shop have made a commitment to helping the park recover. They agreed to pool and donate their tips to the Friends of Florida Caverns to plant native trees and help reforest the park.

Cindy Eade owns and operates Southern Craft Creamery with her husband, Dale, and their family. After the storm, customers in her shop began asking when the park would reopen. 

“The park provides our community with a sense of pride,” Ead said. “It is a natural wonder, a cavern system, a land bridge, a river rise and a native habitat for wildlife. It also had beautiful woodlands that we all enjoyed and wanted to be sure were restored.”

Although Florida Caverns hasn’t reopened to the public yet, staff have made major progress toward reopening picnic areas and removing debris. Geological and structural assessments of the caverns are underway. The surface-based lighting and electrical system that illuminates the caves must be repaired, and the caves must be cleared of mud deposited there during a flood.

The community has rallied around Florida Caverns. Volunteers continue to help clean up debris, and efforts like Southern Craft Creamery’s will help ensure the park can recover and regrow.

“While for most of us in the community the park will never be the same, it will be beautiful again,” Eade said. “We wanted to help redefine its beauty for future generations.”

Storm recovery at Florida’s state parks