St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, Fla. 

BARBARA L. FREDRCKSEN  May 11,1996

Tarpon Springs residents Lee Paulet and Betsy Bolger-Pautet perform compositions that they call "Florida songstories."  Her poetry and his poetic songs tell the tales of their native state, stories of lonely lighthouse keepers, long-forgotten battles, recent events and Florida wildlife.  "We play for schools, at festivals, at environmental events, in coffeehouses, at Franklin Street Mall (in downtown Tampa), in front of the big reef at the Florida Aquarium, in all kinds of places all over Florida," Betsy said. 

In May, they will present their songs in two concerts in Pasco County, the first at a seaside luncheon at Gulf Harbors Yacht Club on May 18. the second at the Jewish Center of West Pasco on May 27.  In between, the Paulets wilt be center stage at the 44th annual Florida Folk Festival in White Springs.

The songs the Paulets sing often reflect their own strong personalities, presenting the story from two different perspectives. Lee tells the tale from the male point of view, with Betsy telling it from a woman's perspective.  In Gettysburg, for example, Lee traces three wars - the Civil War, World War II and Vietnam - from the soldier's viewpoint, with Betsy coming to say how it feels to be left behind to take care of the home front and worry  about the men. "We found it so much easier to make a statement if we go for the male and female viewpoint," Lee said.

The two performers got together in 1989 when Lee was performing at the Iron Horse music hall In Tarpon Springs. They had known of each other in high school but lost contact as they pursued their separate lives.

Betsy married, had three daughters, was widowed, traveled the world, studied meditation techniques in India and eventually went into newspaper work and now is a staff writer for the Times in Clearwater. In high school, Lee played in a rock 'n' roll band, Rodney and the Mystics, but left it to join the Air Force. Later he worked In engineering and electronics. "All through this, I kept up my music and kept up my writing,'' he said. He played coffeehouses and dubs In St. Petersburg and other places. "I got back Into It full time in the early '90s."  

The two have a busy singing and literary life. They have released three tapes. Betsy has written three books, and Lee has written one. Lee conducts songwriting workshops at festivals and in schools. Betsy conducts workshops in poetry and, in April, was put in charge of the poetry division of the Will McLean Folk Festival in Dunnellon. Last year, they played at the Guiding Lights tour of Florida lighthouses with Scott Keeler, a Times photographer whose lighthouse photos are housed at the St. Augustine Lighthouse museum. "Lighthouses have become our signature pieces," Betsy said.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.