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McManus Helped To Preserve The Past

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By TODD LESKANIC

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 26, 2008

Elizabeth MacManus was born into the history of the communities she loved and was destined to chronicle.

Her father, Mike Riegler, was the first permanent resident of Lutz, which included what is now Land O' Lakes, and the area's first nurseryman to grow citrus.

MacManus lived almost her entire life on the family property off 20 Mile Level Road and dedicated herself to the community and preserving its past.

She became a part of that history Saturday when she died of a heart attack in Pikeville, Tenn. She was 84.

"She regarded all of her history work as a community project," said daughter Susan MacManus, a professor at the University of South Florida. "She was just the one facilitating it. It was everyone's history and everyone's project."

Elizabeth MacManus was born July 18, 1923, in Lutz. In addition to local history and causes, the homemaker devoted her life to her family.

Susan MacManus said her mother had been in failing health for some time. The daughter moved her parents to Pikeville early last year so they could be near their other daughter and their son, both of whom are physicians. Elizabeth MacManus' husband of 60 years, Cameron, died last year.

MacManus had a weak heart and had lost her eyesight, but she still had her sharp mind and continued to think up ways to preserve local history.

Her last project will be out this fall. The book "Going, Going, Almost Gone: Lutz-Land O' Lakes Pioneers Share Their Precious Memories" was co-written with daughter Susan. It's the result of her painstaking work of taking down residents' memories.

"She did that way before taking oral histories became fashionable," her daughter said.

Elizabeth MacManus also wrote the 1976 book "Lutz Olden Days" and later co-wrote with her daughter "Citrus, Sawmills, Critters and Crackers: Life in Early Lutz and Central Pasco County," which is considered the definitive history of the area.

Through the years, she became a resource for the community, collecting and preserving artifacts people would give to her or that she would come across.

She dreamed of opening a museum to showcase the items and was a persistent advocate for anything related to the area's history.

"All I can say is if she was in search of a historical matter, she wouldn't turn it loose," said lifelong resident and friend Curtis Law. "She wouldn't give up."

Susan MacManus said her mother's treasured artifacts, which include farm implements, books and clothes, eventually will be displayed in four area museums.

Each will be marked with the donor's name.

Some of the artifacts will be displayed at a memorial service July 5 at the old location of Lutz First United Methodist Church (now the Hand in Hand Academy) at 207 W. Lutz-Lake Fern Road.

MacManus' other survivors include daughter Lou MacManus, son Cameron MacManus Jr., both of Pikeville, Tenn., and four grandchildren.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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