Author: saradesota

Giving Challenge 2024: FAQs
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Giving Challenge 2024: FAQs

The Historical Society is proud to have been one of the original 107 charities invited to join the Giving Challenge in 2012, its first year, and happy to join the over 700 area nonprofits participating in this year’s Giving Challenge, a 24-hour online event between noon Tuesday April 9 and noon Wednesday April 10. During this time, your gift of $25 to $100 will be doubled by The Patterson Foundation.

Click here at noon Tuesday April 9 until noon Weds. April 10 to donate to HSoSC and have your donation DOUBLED.

Since 2012, eight Giving Challenges hosted by the Community Foundation and strengthened by The Patterson Foundation have collectively provided more than $75 million in unrestricted funding for area nonprofits to respond to community needs with flexibility and innovation. A hallmark of the Giving Challenge is its “Be The One” philosophy, which reflects the Community Foundation’s belief that everyone can be a philanthropist and have the potential to impact a person, cause, and community. With their help, we’ve collected these FAQs.

Frequently-Asked Questions:

Q. What is the Giving Challenge?
The Giving Challenge is an online giving event that allows people who care about our region to come together to raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits.

Q. When is the Giving Challenge?
Giving Challenge will take place on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at 12:00 PM through Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 11:59:59 AM. During those hours, our link will be operational, but you can bookmark it now!

Q. Where can I donate online?
The link to go directly the HSoSC’s page in the Giving Challenge is here. It will only be operational between noon Tuesday April 9 and noon Weds April 10, but you can bookmark it now!

Q. How can I maximize the doubling of my donation?
Your donation will be automatically doubled by the Patterson Foundation if it is between $25 (the required minimum online) and $100. You can choose any amount between those 2 numbers (your lucky number of 91, maybe?) at any time during those 24 hours and the amount will be doubled. But if you can donate more, and want to maximize the benefit, grab your spouse, your fishing buddy, your Gen Z family member, and ask them to use their credit card in their name, to receive the doubling factor. And to introduce them to the Giving Challenge as well!

Q. What payments are accepted by the Giving Challenge?
Anyone with a credit card or debit card and access to the internet may donate. Donations through the Giving Challenge online portal to charitable nonprofit organizations are 100% tax-deductible. The description on your statement will be “GIVINGCHALLENGE2024.”

Q. Can I use my phone or tablet to donate to the Historical Society of Sarasota County during the Giving Challenge?
Of course! Simply visit our page on your mobile device during the 24 hours of the Giving Challenge.

Q. Will I get a receipt?
Yes. You will automatically receive an emailed receipt acknowledging your gift after you make an online donation. The email will come from “Notifications@GiveGab.com.”

Rather send a check? That’s lovely too, and will free you up from the time restrictions. Perfect solution if you care to donate less that the $25 minimum, if you’ll be traveling or otherwise occupied on those dates, or have decided to never to use your credit card online no matter how safe this event is. The Society’s mailing address is PO Box 1632, Sarasota FL 34230.

As usual, our charming Site Manager, Linda, can help you participate in the Giving Challenge! Just call our office at 941-364-9076 on Tuesday April 9 and Wednesday April 10, or email Linda directly 24/7 at HSoSC1@gmail.com and she can help you help us!

The complete FAQs for Giving Challenge 2024 are here.

Read more about the Patterson Foundation here and here.

No, we’re not fuming… we’re tenting!
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No, we’re not fuming… we’re tenting!

After 140 or so years, it’s patch, patch, patch. Isn’t that the saying?

Crocker Memorial Church and Bidwell-Wood House under wraps.

The saying is perennial, as is the duty of the Historical Society. Ongoing maintenance of our two historic buildings is, well, ongoing. The Florida climate may be sublime for beach-goers, but it’s a bear on wooden structures. This multi-building fumigation was last done in 2016, and it was time, again, to wage the never-ending and costly battle against the bugs.

We love our task of stewardship of these pieces of Bygone Sarasota, but it takes all of us, you included, to keep our material past in good shape. That’s what the upcoming Giving Challenge is all about. All of us pulling together, to preserve and protect our past.

Musicke to My Ears
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Musicke to My Ears

The Historical Society of Sarasota County will host a concert performed by members of the Sarasota Earlye Musicke Consort, a group that performs music from Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras in the Crocker Memorial Church, located in Pioneer Park, at 1260 12th Street, on Tuesday, April 2 at 2:00 PM.

 This musical group has been filling the church with their delightful music, every Tuesday during their rehearsals.  The concert is free and open to the public.  Donations are always greatly appreciated, of course.

The historical complex is on 12th Street, between N. Trail and Cocoanut Ave.

Don’t be a Sarasota Scofflaw
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Don’t be a Sarasota Scofflaw

Back in 1903, there were things you just couldn’t do in Sarasota, lest you end up spending some time in the pokey. Pokey pictured here:

(And remember. No A/C. No mosquito abatement program. And, I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing no cheerful jailer’s wife to bring you homemade meals either.)

Here’s the article, from our history peer Larry Kelleher, creator of Sarasotahistoryalive.com. We reproduce it here for your delight.

Government ordinances are usually not spirited bedtime reading, but the 1903 ordinances for the newly incorporated Town of Sarasota can offer

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Architect Ralph Twitchell’s Early Career in Sarasota
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Architect Ralph Twitchell’s Early Career in Sarasota

 Presented by actor/real estate expert Tom Aposporos and organized
by the Historical Society of Sarasota County

Mark your calendars for March 10 at 2 p.m.

A Conversation about architecture and historic homes in Sarasota that link to one of our most influential architects, Ralph Twitchell (1890-1978). Presenter Tom Aposporos charts the early career of Twitchell, who came to Sarasota in 1925 to manage the final stages of Ca d’Zan for Dwight Baum. Twitchell stayed to become architect and contractor of a collection of Mediterranean Revival homes, many of which remain preserved today as icons of a specific style.

Ralph Twitchell in the 1920s

Later in his career Twitchell became the bridge from Mediterranean Revival to the modern. When he hired the young Paul Rudolph, the collaboration embraced new materials, a new look and a new way of building with glass and reinforced concrete. Some say the culmination of Twitchell’s move to modernism reached its zenith with

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Leapin’ Lizards! It’s Leap Day!
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Leapin’ Lizards! It’s Leap Day!

February 29 is a leap day, an intercalary* date added periodically to create leap years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the 60th day of a leap year in both calendars, and 306 days remain until the end of the leap year. It is also the last day of February in leap years with the exception of 1712 in Sweden.

 Wikipedia
Courtesy Superstock.com

Yada yada, Leap Day’s when women get to propose marriage, red petticoats, a dozen pairs of gloves and so on. A French newspaper that only publishes on Leap Day. Eating pigs’ feet if you’re old. Pretty boring traditions, you ask me.

Leaplings, those folks born on February 29. There’s even a League of Leaplings. Well, they don’t call it that, but they COULD.

Hey! Sadie Hawkins! Now there’s a tradition to enjoy. My high school had a Sadie Hawkins Dance. Maybe yours did too. Girls asked boys. Problem is, Sadie Hawkins Day isn’t February 29. It’s November 26, a date set by Al Capp himself.

And there’s the Anthony Texas Leap Year Festival coming up, too. Don’t ask me why it’s on March 1 and 2, 2024.

Oh, that thing in Sweden in 1712? Yeh.

Note from your Olde Correspondent: I started this post thinking it’d be interesting and maybe even amazing. I learned otherwise. So spend your extra day doing something extra, something you normally wouldn’t. I think I’ll sleep in.

* _ Such a cool word.

Remembering the Ladies of Sarasota
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Remembering the Ladies of Sarasota

Our February 18, 2024 Conversation at the Crocker will be all about the ladies. (Note: Emma Booker has graciously declined; Bertha Palmer has graciously agreed to take her place.) Hope to see you there!

Presenting will be three Board members: author-educator Dr. Frank Cassell, actor-playwright Kathryn Chesley and archivist-historian Deborah Walk. 

Sunday, February 18 at the Crocker Memorial Church (1260 12th Street in Pioneer Park) at 2 p.m. As always, this Conversation is free to members of HSOSC and $10 at the door for guests. 

Honey, not tonight. A History of Groundhog Day
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Honey, not tonight. A History of Groundhog Day

Well, first you have to understand that it started out, in the US at least, when European immigrants wanted to take note of Hedgehog Day.

But the science of “6-more-weeks-of-winter” is: While animals obviously can’t predict the weather, hibernating males traditionally emerge sometime in February to gauge if they can start waking up their female counterparts to mate.

Okay, now to the history:

As the story goes,

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Midweek Get-Togethers at HSoSC
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Midweek Get-Togethers at HSoSC

We’re thrilled to partner with our historic peers, the Friends of the History Center, to present two special programs this season.

Wednesday January 24, 2024 at 2pm in the Crocker Memorial Church

How Florida Got Its Shape – Of the fifty states, Florida has one of the most distinctive and widely recognized shapes. But how did that familiar shape come to exist? Obviously the state’s 1,350-mile coastline defines the majority of it, but what about its borders to the north and west? It might surprise you to learn that “Florida” has at various times stretched as far north as present-day Virginia and as far west as the Mississippi River. The current shape of Florida was settled during a fascinating era before the region was a U.S. state. In those days, Florida was actually an international borderland. Join the staff of the Sarasota County History Center for a brief journey into that era–illustrated with maps and records explaining exactly how and why Florida acquired its well-known shape.

Wednesday February 21 at 2pm in the Crocker Memorial Church

The Tamiami Trail and the Development of Florida’s Gulf Coast in the 1920s – The 275-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 41 between Tampa and Miami is called the Tamiami Trail. To the casual observer it looks like every other major highway in the area, but this strip of pavement played a big role in the development of Florida’s Gulf coast. Because of its route through the Everglades, it was in many ways an engineering marvel of its time, and it even resulted in the creation of a new county! Join the staff of the Sarasota County History Center for a closer look at the fascinating history of this iconic scenic Florida byway and its impact on the Gulf coast.

The public is invited to these one-hour educational events at the Historic Society of Sarasota County.

Pinecraft: How It Came to Be
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Pinecraft: How It Came to Be

Curious abut the history and development of Pinecraft? It’s an unusual neighborhood in Sarasota, first settled by Mennonites in the 1920s. Many Mennonites still live there. As a religious group Mennonites are members of a small denomination, with some 300,000 members in the United States. Sarasota’s Mennonite community is composed of about 2,000 regular worshippers in the summer and twice that during the Pinecraft season.

Pinecraft has about 500 tiny homes in a planned grid at the intersection of Beneva Road and Bahia Vista Street. The bustling neighborhood is home to many authentic restaurants and is a popular destination for snow-bird Amish as well as Mennonites escaping the harsh winters of the midwest. Find out why the commuity exists, and how it came to be.

J.B. Miller is an authority on the history of the Mennonite community in Sarasota and on the history and development of Pinecraft. We are pleased to host this expert on Sunday, January 14 at 2 p.m. at the Historical Society’s Crocker Memorial Church at 1260 12th Street, between Tamiami Trail and Cocoanut Avenue in Pioneer Park, Sarasota.

This program is free to members; $10 at the door for not-yet-members.  Come early… last time J. B. Miller filled the Crocker Church!

Christmas Trees… and AI?
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Christmas Trees… and AI?

A confluence, today, of an historic happening and how artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing our potential modes of learning.

I read an article (in between all the ads) about The Christmas Tree Boat Wreck of Chicago in 1912. Then I thought, well maybe our HSoSC fans don’t want to work their way through this piece, so I decided to try and see if AI could help.

First, here’s the article on the history, the shipwreck, and the new tradition of the Christmas Tree Boat.

Here’s AI recapping the article for you. There’s a weird little glitch in the middle where the female “narrator” reads the all caps message LOST HOPE FOR SHIP. SANTA CLAUS BOAT LOST letter by letter, but see what you think.

The U.S Coast Guard and youth volunteers unload 1,200 Christmas trees from the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw at Chicago’s Navy Pier in Dec 2017, an annual event commemorating Herman Schuenemann’s Christmas Tree Ship. D GUEST SMITH/ ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Christmas Past… and Christmas Future? Tell us in the comments your thoughts.

What’s in the toe of YOUR Christmas stocking?
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What’s in the toe of YOUR Christmas stocking?

If you, like so many of us, grew up Up North, your Christmas stocking might have had a lump in the toe… which you just knew was an orange.

That tradition started when oranges were very much a seasonal delicacy, and rather pricey Up North.

Vintage photo colorized by Bill Price.

But did you know….

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Where did the mince pie disappear to?
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Where did the mince pie disappear to?

If you follow HSoSC on Facebook, you may have seen my lament for mince pie at Thanksgiving.

I used to be able to find the Nonesuch filling in jars at Publix, but alas, the past few years, nothing.

A 1905 recipe. No, “modern” mincemeat doesn’t have meat or suet in it.

So when I came across a treasury of turn-of-the-last century (that’s 1898-1899 to us history-minded folks) Thanksgiving menus, I was pleased to see mince pie on nearly every one. I was beginning to think that such a pie was a figment of my imagination.

This menu was from the 1899 version of a fast-food place: the restaurant in the train station. So it’s much less elaborate than the hotel menus but it has prices to marvel at. Please note that the prices are in cents! not dollars as they would be now.

I hope your holiday feast was to your liking!

A treasure of history awaits us!
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A treasure of history awaits us!

Davis Islands in the ‘Twenties

Leave the driving to us (and the parking!) Take our Day Trip to Tampa History Center on Tuesday, February 6, 2024 and prepare to enjoy yourself hassle-free.

DAY TRIPPING WITH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SARASOTA COUNTY to
Tampa Bay History Center with host Brenda Lee Hickman
Tuesday, February 6, 2024 Our private charter bus boards at 8 AM and returns about 4 PM. Free parking at the Historical Society (1260 12th St., between Tamiami Trail and Cocoanut Avenue in Pioneer Park)
Cost: $99 (lunch on your own) Registration deadline is January 5, 2024.

12,000 years of Florida history

The History Center has 3 floors of permanent and temporary exhibition galleries focusing on 12,000 years of Florida’s history. Beginning with a look at the Florida’s earliest peoples, who inhabited the peninsula some 10,000 years ago, to the Seminole Wars and the arrival of European explorers in the 1500s, to Tampa Bay’s modern role as a port city, the industrial capital of west central Florida and a draw for tourists and visitors the world over, the History Center tells the story of Tampa Bay’s and Florida’s history, heritage, and culture.

Founded in 1989 by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, the History Center opened its new 60,000 square-foot facility on Tampa’s Riverwalk in 2009. The History Center was accredited in 2015 by the American Alliance of Museums and has been a Smithsonian Affiliate museum since 2012.

Look familiar? John Nolan’s plan for a Jacksonville neighborhood!

The History Center is also home to the Touchton Map Library / Florida Center for Cartographic Education. The only cartographic research center of its kind in the state, the TML/FCCE houses one of the most comprehensive collections of Florida cartography in the world, with holdings spanning five centuries.

Sangria for me, sangria for you…

We will enjoy a delicious lunch at the Columbia Café located inside the History Center, a branch of the world-famous Columbia Restaurant, featuring signature Spanish-Cuban cuisine. Lunch is on your own; choose from their amazing menu.

To make your reservations, call the HSOSC office Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at 941-364-9076 or email hsosc1@gmail.com The deadline to register is January 5, 2024.

Longing to visit a castle filled with art and oddities? Got Wednesday, January 17, 2024 free? Learn more>