We’ve spent the last several years comparing the COVID-19 pandemic to the 1918 Spanish flu* and people have been complaining about tearing down buildings since, well forever. (What was there before they built the Colosseum? Kew Gardens? The Great Wall of China?) Have we never had a boom/bust cycle before in the History of Mankind** and what will we learn about soaring land prices this time around?
Now we’re in the midst of ever more expensive gas. Might they lead to shortages as in the early 70’s? Click to read more about how those shortages actually changed America.
Of course, nothing’s ever exactly the same… but every little insight we have by learning from history will help us cope, correct, and withstand future events. Keep on learning.
* Yes it wasn’t Spanish but that’s what it was called when it happened. ** Okay, Humankind.
“Your penny at work.” That’s the slogan of the campaign asking voters to approve, in November 2022, a continuation of the county 1% sales tax. Many wonderful things have been financed by this income since it was first authorized in 1989, but never before has the history of our county been addressed. Understandably, we history lovers would be thrilled if some of that tax income could give a state-of-the-art home to not just the actual history archives (which is part of the county library system), but public space for gatherings and perhaps even exhibits. While the vote is not on how the funds will be spent… we need to vote for the “penny tax” to be renewed so that funds are available. Continue reading for a message from the President of the Historical Society of Sarasota County:
A “Common Cents” initiative that all friends of history can endorse
Since 1989 when it was first adopted by voters of Sarasota County, the 1% sales tax has improved the quality of life for everyone. The tax has been used to invest in schools, libraries, parks, water, the environment and more.
The tax is up for a vote again in November of 2022 and all friends of history are excited about it because one of the priority investments is a new 30,000 square-foot History Center, which will be the repository for all our precious documents, maps, photographs and objects that are central to understanding and honoring the history of our county. This is the first time that our history has been directly addressed with the one-cent surtax.
At the Historical Society of Sarasota County, we say it’s about time. Anyone who has recently visited our center for archival material, realizes that it’s been too small for too long. It’s time we treated our history with the respect it has always deserved.
We support the extension of the one-cent surtax and are looking forward to a new History Center.
Marsha Fottler, President
For complete information from the county government on the penny surtax and how it could be spent, including FAQs and other projects being considered, see https://www.sarasotacountysurtax.net/
It’s still too hot to do anything. If you visited our earlier post on brushing up on, or learning new things about, local history, we know you had a cool time. Here’s some more things that’ll keep you entertained and not all sweaty.
The romance of ports. Tampa Bay History Center’s virtual event
It’s on Tuesday July 12 at 2pm, and you do have to register for it, so get out your captain’s hat and enjoy The History of Tampa’s Ports. Can’t make the event? Click the photo above to read some Tampa port history.
Next up, we offer you:
Not just citrus and cattle, they follow the times!
One of the more ambitious websites I’ve run across, SRQWhatItUsedToBe is absorbing. The references are from 2017, so some might be a bit outdated, but this is great fun! There’s lots here, so be sure to read the instructions on how to search. Interested only in what’s still here NOW that was here a while back? Here’s the list. And he’s even tackled businesses on 41 in Bradenton (AKA 14th Street).
We all know it’s too hot in July to do anything. But brushing up on, or learning new things about, local history, can be cooling. Here’s a few suggestions:
Visit Manatee Village Historic Park in Bradenton to see their exhibit, Wars in Manatee.
Explore how the pioneers and settlers of what became Manatee County experienced the various armed conflicts during their time. From the Seminole Wars to World War I, settlers couldn’t escape the fall out of the Wars of Manatee. This exhibit will be open until October 2022 so put it on your calendar.
Map Credit: Military Map of Florida, 1856. Courtesy of the Special Collections Department, University of South Florida.
Take a road trip… to the end of the road
Florida Back Roads Travel has gathered up 25 towns “at the end of the road.” Some you may have visited… but others await. Assuming your vehicle has A/C and you can pack a refreshing jug of lemonade, it’s a great way to wile away a hot weekend.
From stationwagonsforum.com
Take a gander at some gams
The history of bathing suits... a fun article with even better photos! Florida Memory serves up some hot ways to stay cool. Yes, that’s a palm frond swimsuit, next to the alligator skin one… and of course, no Florida July day would be complete without a sea shells outfit, there on the right.
The Historical Society of Sarasota County, indeed all who live or visit here, owe a great debt of gratitude to Harriet Burns Stieff, who passed away after 10 decades of gracious life. Her obituary:
Harriet Burns Stieff, 99, the youngest daughter of
No, the Historical Society of Sarasota County isn’t offering a tankful of gas (goodness knows we don’t have the wherewithal to gift you with that!) but we’re talking about
When I was a child, we all bought and wore crepe paper poppies to honor the fallen of all wars. I haven’t seen a single poppy seller this year, but I still think of poppies on Memorial Day. Do you, too?
The symbolism of the poppy started with a poem written by a World War I brigade surgeon who was struck by the sight of the red flowers growing on a ravaged battlefield.
Click for illustration credit.
The brutal clashes between Allied and Central Powers soldiers tore up fields and forests, wreaking havoc on
We’ve made available to all, two small publications on Sarasota history that can be difficult to find. They’re available, along with a full weekend’s worth of reading, on our Articles page. Our thanks to Board Member Deb Walk for the tech work on these two new additions, which have a lovely surprise: For those of you doing local history research,
Our Sunday Afternoon Socials at 2 pm are casual, cafe-style events complete with wine and refreshments, and feature some of the most interesting people around. This month we welcome two historical writers who have turned their research into fish ranchos and early development into a fascinating tale of the 1840s-1900 Manatee and Sarasota areas.
Peggy Donoho and Ron Prouty will be telling the true tale of everyday settlers who populated our area.
They are the authors of Miguel’s Bay, about the people who lived in the Terra Ceia Bay area (that area you are in when you cross the Sunshine Skyway Bridge), the Manatee River towns Bradenton and Palmetto, and the Sarasota Bay area.
Miguel was a fisherman from Menorca who fished the waters from the bay now named after him all the way to Sarasota. He courted a Bavarian immigant who worked on the Manatee River and married her, despite
We’re very excited to be joining forces with Historical Resources and Archives, commonly called The History Center, to offer our county an easy way to donate ephemera that you may have lying around, and never dreamed anyone would value it.
Ephemera! Stuff published once, meant for the moment… only now YOU
If you want to experience what this area looked like before you got here, try an EcoWalk.
Book yourself intosome nature walkswith knowledgable guides from UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County. They provide “practical education you can trust, to help people, businesses and communities solve problems, develop skills and build a better future. This service is a partnership between the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Sarasota County.”
Click the pic to see Eventbrite’s listings (tours are free but space-limited.)
Note that the tours pause in summer and begin again the fall. Yup. It’s too dang hot to be out in the sun in the summer. There’s a history lesson right there.
Every two years, our community comes together for 24 hours to donate what we can to charitable organizations serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties.
Last time, in 2020, with the pandemic raging and our future unknown, the Historical Society thought the need for human services was more pressing than the need to save the very fabric of our history. We could wait for the help: people couldn’t. So two years ago we asked our supporters to think People First Then Buildings.
Now, in 2022, we come to ask history-lovers, our members, and our supporters to join us in the effort to save the Crocker Memorial Church. Many of you have followed, and participated in, the saving of the west wall of the Church, and for that we are most thankful.
But a building, of course, has four walls (and in this case, a steeple, a portico with columns, a flight of stairs and handicap ramp) which are in ongoing need for preservation. We now face the daunting task of raising funds for the east wall. The window sills are rotting and need to be replaced so that the original windows can be saved.
[Editor’s Note: Dates for Giving Challenge 2024 have been inserted in place of the 2022 dates.] The Historical Society is proud to have been one of the original charities invited to join the Giving Challenge in 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, 2024 and noon Wednesday April 10. During this time, your gift of $25 to $100 will be doubled by The Patterson Foundation.
Since 2012, the Giving Challenge has acted as a catalyst for connection and provided more than $59 million in unrestricted funding in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties.
In 2020 at the beginning of the Pandemic, we published an appeal to the public to think “People First Then Buildings.” Here’s what Treasurer Deborah Bowers, head of our Finance Committee, said: “…HSoSC feels that in these perilous times, people must come before preserving historic buildings. Therefore we ask of you, think people first as you decide where your donations will go during the Giving Challenge … “Please, if you are able to participate in the 2020 Giving Challenge, look first for those charities that help people. Historic buildings are wonderful… we love them, and we love local history, but buildings are nothing without people to enjoy them in good health and prosperity. “If you are moved to also donate to the Historical Society we would be grateful … “In years to come …many of you will have important knowledge and personal stories that will illuminate how we live in the future. Right now we are all historians and we are in this together.”
Word is, Sarasota city employees are thinking of replacing David on the city logo. And spending, according to that article, $25,000 for “design services” to do so.
While it’s true, the original logo (still, apparently, the city seal) is rather, well, dated… is David dated? Them folks over in Italy don’t think so!
If you’re not quite sure how a replica statue (and one not even in the original size) might be a symbol of The City of Sarasota, here’s some historic background.
First off, David’s the only one in the Western Hemisphere. And we’re the only Sarasota. That’s worth mentioning. Second, David was created by a 26-year-old dude. That’s rad, right? Like our art and college students. Third, the marble Michelangelo carved into had been sitting around for decades as a “failed project”, rather like, um, the campaign to replace the logo? Here’s some more info on the original.
“Our” David was bought by John Ringling to adorn his never-completed, torn down Ritz-Carlton hotel, and later was repurposed to inspire the art school which didn’t end up being where Ringling thought it should be, so it’s a great example of how Sarasota flows with the times, in my opinion. Here’s the detes.
And finally, David, like the city of Sarasota, always needs to be polished up and conserved. Here’s what the Ringling had to say about that back in the 2020 Giving Challenge season.
BTW, the Historical Society’s hoping you’ll consider our restoration project when you’re choosing your favorite nonprofits during the 2022 Giving Challenge on April 26 and 27.
So, what do you think? Should the city logo change? Back in 2021, 2013, and even 2011, apparentlyfolks thought so. But you know, he’s still standing tall. Like we hope you’ll help uskeep the Crocker Memorial Church standing tall and proud as a symbol of our Sarasota community.
Oh, if you weren’t there, #youshouldhavebeen! For our 37th Historic Sarasota Bay Cruise, the weather was glorious, narrator John McCarthy was awesome, and Capt. Eric of LeBarge took us to places we’ve never been before!
How John knows all that stuff, how the valued volunteers Norma Kwenski and Sue Padden and board members Brenda Lee Hickman and Jon Stone and our Site Manager Linda Garcia manage to keep even our 37th Historic Sarasota Bay Cruise fresh and not-to-be-missed is a wonder! Join HSoSC to keep up with all the goings on at the Society! https://hsosc.com/be-a-part-of-history/membership/
Above: The VIP Boarders waiting to, well, board, LeBarge for our 37th Sarasota Bay Cruise… some for their first time (Hello Australia and Norway visitors!), some for repeat trips. They don’t know it yet but they’r’e in for a treat… Captain Eric took a fresh route, and we saw things you wouldn’t have expected! Ospreys diving, dolphins herding their Sunday brunch into the shallows, and… a SHIPWRECK! N.B: The trash can declined to participate so it was left dockside. Its loss!
Above: Jon Stone, incognito in his shades and straw hat, entertaining the waiting hordes. He also became an impromptu server as he passed around snacks several times during the cruise… we were all too busy seeking out what John McCarthy was pointing out to us (Shell Beach! Bay Island! Sailing prams and sandbars where they used to swim au naturel!) to actually visit the buffet table!
Above: Our long-time friend, past President, Guide to All That Works, John McCarthy, moments before he took the mic to send us on a 2-hour voyage to the past, regaling us with what went before (all the way back to the 1500s!) and how it relates to what’s happening today in Sarasota.
What went before and how it influences today… sounds like the topic for our upcoming Conversation at the Crocker on Tuesday March 8 at 7pm…. read about THAT here.
Find out what a viola da gamba is, see the incredible variety of recorders, from tiny to staggering, and learn about and listen to this music through the ages. The Earlye Musicke Consort uses our Crocker Memorial Church for rehearsals, and now, you can come to hear music from the Renaissance to modern times played on recorders and viola da gamba. Saturday March 19 at 7:30 pm at Crocker Memorial Church, 1260 12th St, Sarasota. A $5 donation at the door. [EDIT: If you’re reading this in the future, the 2024 concert will be on Tuesday April 2 2024, at 2pm.]
The Historical Society of Sarasota County 