We’re so happy that the selection of books by local authors and on local subjects is growing every day in our Gift Shop! Watch Continue reading
Florida-friendly plants at the Historical Society
How Our Garden Grows
A history and update of the gardens at the Sarasota Historical Society
By Marsha Fottler, HSOSC Board VP and Landscaping Chair
After the Bidwell-Wood House and the Crocker Memorial Church came to rest side-by-side at Pioneer Park in 2006, the land in front of and surrounding the buildings were sprinkled with car-friendly white gravel and some green ground cover. The property was already home to some trees – pines, palms and an imposing pig-nut hickory. Catering to the needs of the two historic structures was paramount; the ground they sat upon, not so much.
Then three years ago, Continue reading
Tell the world:
A Short History of Florida, in full color, online, and free.
Summing up an entire state and 500 years of history in 14 graphic-filled pages isn’t easy, but The Museum of Florida History has done it!
Tell the world:
Giving Challenge, Giving Partner, GuideStar… what’s going on?
The big hullabaloo (now, there’s an historic term!) in Sarasota/Manatee Counties this week is The Giving Challenge, an online promotion whose wonderful motto is
Unleash your inner generosity!
Several of our most fervent supporters have asked me to explain what’s going on, and I defer to this concise definition Continue reading
Tell the world:
Every day is a Giving Challenge!
We’re so proud to be a charter member of TheGivingPartner.com and we’re poised to participate this year in The Giving Challenge. It’s an honor to have our non-profit mission, accomplishments and plans vetted by them, and hope that you can join us in this year’s Giving Challenge. Read our profile on The Giving Partner.
The Giving Challenge provides community-wide recognition for over 300 local non-profits and is promoting the 36 Hour Giving Challenge taking place Tuesday, March 5th at 7 AM through Wednesday, March 6th at 7 PM.
So why would you choose the Historical Society of Sarasota County as the recipient of your generosity?
The HSOSC operates and maintains the Bidwell-Wood House which was built in 1882 and is the oldest remaining residence in Sarasota. We also maintain the Crocker Memorial Church which was built in 1901. These are located on our campus in Pioneer Park just 
north of downtown Sarasota and are open to the public. Simply keeping these Sarasota County treasures safe from the weather and time costs $40,000 a year. We maintain these buildings not as relics of the past, but as living examples of what they have always been: community gathering places. This is adaptive reuse for the 21st century.
We need to do three things to keep these places part of the Sarasota County community:
Preserve: The historic wooden roof on the House is in constant need of weatherproofing repair or replacement. Other historic upkeep tasks are a constant financial challenge in smaller ways.
and Protect: We want to develop further our accessibility issues. We are seeking legal permission and funds to provide hand rails on the Church’s front steps, and to upgrade the lighting for safety issues.
and Polish: We wish to continue and grow our ongoing programs such as the Oral History video archive, the native plantings for public edification, and educational programs ranging from Classes on the Back Porch to Conversations at The Crocker.
So far this season, over 400 people have enjoyed the Conversations at The Crocker (for the March topic, click here), many more attended last weekend’s Civil War in Song & Stories, and groups have toured the House and Church almost non-stop!
The Historical Society’s holiday wreath at Sarasota Square amused people with its vintage postcard reproductions while raising our visibility and the extravaganza Designer Tag Sale involved scores of donors, volunteers, and workers in November.
We’ve hosted a tea in the Crocker Memorial Church, reached out into the commu
nity (almost 70 people heard about the Historical Society when “Bertha Palmer” visited their community in February) and we’re preserving local history with the Oral History Project, which has produced videos on local legends Art Ferguson, Marty Hartman, Diane Esthus, Louann Palmer, Robert Parker, Pete Esthus, Harriet Burns Stieff and Sue Blue. The volunteers on this project are enthusiastic and looking to widen their search, but funds are needed to produce these.
We are a proud participant in the Viva Florida 500 celebration, a state-wide promotion of our cultural diversity and are participating in Great Nonprofits, where you can read reviews of nonprofit groups across the country.
Our Classes on the Back Porch program is a yearly offering of fun education on everything from writing your memoirs to watercolor to native plantings (see this season’s offerings) and functions not only as an educational opportunity, but a fun way to get to know your neighbors.
In addition, our Gift Shop, known for its focus on local artisans and authors, is becoming a destination shop for the community. The Gift Shop volunteers are renowned for “taking the Shop on the road” to places such as the Phillippi Farmhouse Market and the Sun Circle event, but again, funds are needed to widen the Shop’s appeal and presentation of memorable home items and books.
Our historic buildings have hosted weddings, book clubs, musical ensembles, prom-dress giveaways, christenings, craft shows and history fairs, historic gatherings and family reunions. They are very much a part of the fabric of our community, and play an important part in drawing all of us into the appreciation of all that our county has to offer both long-time residents and newly-arrived fellow citizens.
We’re thrilled to be part of the Giving Challenge, but we also understand that not all our supporters are keen on using online donation sites. If you would rather not use your credit card online for the Giving Challenge or if you will be unavailable during the window of time above, please call Linda Garcia, our Site Manager at 941-364-9076 on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday from 10 to 2 or email her anytime night or day at hsosc@yahoo.com and she will help you donate in a manner that you feel comfortable with. Rather simply drop a check in the mail? Lovely! Our address is 1260 12th St., Sarasota 34236.
Thank you for your support of the Historical Society of Sarasota County!
Tell the world:
Why We Look The Way We Do: The March Conversation at the Crocker
A panel of architecture experts discusses residential and commercial design movements over the years that have resulted in Sarasota’s look. Is it good or not?
A panel of architecture experts convenes on Tuesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at The Crocker Memorial Church, 1260 12th Street to talk about how Sarasota came to look the way it does, in our Conversations at The Crocker event.
Florida Cracker, vernacular Continue reading
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An Afternoon of Civil War Songs & Stories: A Viva Florida 500 Event!
Florida is celebrating 500 years since the arrival of Ponce de Leon and the history and cultural diversity in our state over 5 centuries!
We’re proud to be a participant in Viva Florida 500, and this event at the Crocker Church on Sunday afternoon, February 24, is part of the state-wide celebration!
How much do YOU know about the Civil War in Florida? You’ll know more after Continue reading
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Explore Sarasota’s History via Historic Postcards
Matthew Greenwood has made a great video of some of his historic Sarasota postcards, and he’s given us permission to share these with you.
Sit back, relax, and see what Sarasota looked like way back when. Clicking the graphic takes you to the Historical Society’s Pinterest page, then click it again to view the video on Youtube, where you can opt for a full-scene visual experience.
Don’t forget to explore the rest of our Pinterest page, and feel free to comment here if you have suggestions of internet resources to share!
Tell the world:
Haven’t you ALWAYS wanted to peek in their drawers?
Here’s what some members of the Historical Society got to do this month: peek in John Ringling’s dresser drawers!
Ron McCarty, Curator of Ca’d’Zan, shows Historical Society members John Ringling’s haberdashery. Click to see John Ringling’s ties close up, something you don’t get to see on a public tour. HSoSC’s private tour sold out almost the same day it was announced to our members. Join HSoSC and get first dibs on tours like these!
We are blessed to have Ron as an avid supporter of the Historical Society of Sarasota County. Join him and hundreds of your fellow citizens and seasonal residents in supporting our mission!
Here’s what we’re all about.
Here’s how to join.
Here’s what’s coming up in the near future!
Like to learn more? Sign up for our free e-newsletter. No nagging, no spam, just a glimpse into how HSoSC helps preserve and present the history of Sarasota County.
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More to Sarasota than beach, weather, mosquito control, crooks and visionaries.
PAY DIRT: How Sarasota became a Real Estate Destination
There’s more to the story than beach, weather, mosquito control, crooks and visionaries.
Bob Plunkett to moderate Pay Dirt, a panel discussion at the Historical Society of Sarasota County
Our next Conversation at the Crocker will be an illuminating panel discussion on how and why this area started attracting serious buyers in 1885 and hasn’t stopped yet.
In 1885 60 men, women and children from Scotland (known as the Ormiston Colony), who had purchased land in this area from the Edinburgh-based Florida Mortgage and Investment Company, debarked in Sarasota on a December day. They thought they were coming to sunny Florida to become gentlemen farmers. Then it snowed.
Want to know what happened next? Then be sure to be in the audience at the Crocker Memorial Church on Tuesday, February 12 at 7 p.m. for a panel discussion about those who were deceived by promises of paradise and about the developers and visionaries who promised paradise.
Bob Plunket, moderator, has been writing about Sarasota’s people and places for over 30 years. He is a magazine writer and as The Real Estate Junkie, a well-known TV personality. Joining him will be author/historian Jeff LaHurd who has lived in Sarasota since 1950 and is Sarasota County History Center’s History Specialist. “The common thread running throughout Sarasota’s history from its earliest days to the present time is real estate,” said LaHurd, “buying, selling and, occasionally, bilking.” Also on the panel are long-time experts Realtors Lynn Robbins and David Jennings.
This Conversation at the Crocker is the fifth in a series of panel discussions presented by the Historical Society of Sarasota County with support from SARASOTA Magazine. The events are free to members; $10 for non-members. New memberships are welcomed at the door.
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Painting and Planting: Winter Classes on the Back Porch*
Look through our roster of classes for this winter season, then fill in our Sign- Up Sheet (click here) and mail it with your check. Reservations are limited, so to assure your place, call the HSOSC office at 941-364-9076 M-F 10am to 2pm with your credit card or email us at HSOSC@yahoo.com Reservations must be made in advance.
WATERCOLOR JOURNALING
Create a one of a kind, illustrated, personal journal of your travels, or your own back yard. Beginners Welcome!
Each Tuesday in Feb. and March. First Class: Feb.5th 10:00 – Noon.
Fee: $35.00 per class or $100.00 for three.
Instructor: Nationally famous artist/author, Lucinda Hathaway
Supplies: Bring your own OR available at Art and Frame Shop, or Blue Line Office Sup.
Mention Lucinda’s Class for 10% disc. Contact Lucinda: 941-383-0216
Lucindahathaway@comcast.net http://www.LucindaHathaway.com
WATERCOLOR CLASSES
Maggie Nevens, back from her Cruise Ship Classes, has returned with her
“Let loose, have fun and paint like crazy!” Water Color Classes
Thursdays in Feb. and March 10:00 – Noon in the Crocker Church.
$35.00 per class or 4 for $100.00.
Blue Line Office Sup. offers a 10% Discount on supplies.
Call Maggie for list: 941-343-0430 mnevens@verizon.net http://www.maggienevens.com
GARDENING WITH NATIVE PLANTS
New this year, we welcome the team of Laurel Schiller, Annie Schiller and Fran Palmeri, all Florida Nature lovers and educators, very involved in the gardening industry, right here in Sarasota County.
With many degrees and years of teaching experience among them, this team will be offering classes for adults and a Butterfly Gardening class for children as well, happily during Spring Break! Sign up soon, we’re sure we’ll have a full house for these classes AND participants will take home a small plant of their choice at the end of each class.
All classes will be held on Mondays, from 10:00 am to Noon, in the Crocker Church. Minimum 10 students.
Monday, March 4th: Gardening with Hardy Edibles – Eat What You Grow!
Introduction to a handful of hardy edibles, both native and tropical, that will thrive in your yard….from grapes to pumpkins! Includes planting and harvesting instructions, health benefits, recipes and more. Take home an edible plant of your choice.
Fee: $10.00 per person
Monday, March 11th: Natural Butterfly Gardening for Kids
(For ALL ages, but especially ages 4 and up. What a great way to spend a Spring Break Day with your grandchild!) We will read the wonderful book, “On Meadowview Street” by Henry Cole and see a slide presentation on wildlife that you might see in YOUR yard, should you plant wildflowers. Take home a wildflower plant. Attendees will be invited to plant a plant in the Butterfly Garden at the Historical Society!
Fee: Adults – $5.00, kids free!
For an in depth introduction to our valuable gardening instructors, please find their bios on http://www.floridanativeplants.com . Their credentials are way too long to list here, but when they’re not instructing, you can find them at the Florida Native Plants Nursery, 730 Myakka Rd, Sarasota.
MORE NATURE STUFF!!!
Tuesday, Feb. 26th: Leaf Embossing on Card Stock
Nature Printing has been a fascination for Beverly Blair, a retired lawyer who fills our Gift Shop with her gorgeous artwork on cards and fabrics. She has studied with some of the best nature printers in the country and she will be sharing the methods of the art of Leaf Embossing. You’ll come away with your own creations of this fascinating craft and a deeper appreciation for the beauty of leaves! All supplies will be provided. Class size limited to 8 students!
Fee: $15.00 per person
* Actually, classes are held on the Back Porch, overlooking the beauty of Pioneer Park, when the weather is gorgeous. If the weather is less than spectacular or our instructors and students would be more comfortable, we move into the 1901 Crocker Church. So don’t let a few clouds stop you from attending… it’s always warm and sunny in our HSoSC classes!
Postcard image made available by the Boston Public Library.Tell the world:
Browsing Sarasota History
Did you know you can read the Sarasota Herald-Tribune all the way back to 1925 (Volume 1, Issue 2… apparently the first edition is lost to history, at least lost to Google!)? The gathering seems to stop in 2008.
Google’s put all editions they had up. And the H-T used to have 8 pages of color comics in the Sunday edition. I miss that.
See the Sarasota Herald-Tribune archives on Google now.
Wouldn’t it be fun to print out the paper for a friend’s birthday… and then give that friend a membership in the Historical Society as a gift? A lot more meaningful than another box of chocolates!
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Conversation at the Crocker January 15: How Sarasota Became an Art Colony
A discussion that explores how Sarasota evolved into a destination for visual artists and insights about whether or not Sarasota remains an art colony today. Who were the major players then and who are they now?
Artists attending a class on the beach in the early 1950s. Photo, Sarasota History Center.
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How did Sarasota evolve into a thriving art colony during the mid 20th century and who were the major influences and inspirations in painting and sculpture responsible for that phenomenon?
Is Sarasota a viable art community today?
Can visual artists make a living here today and sell their art locally as well as internationally? These are some of the questions that panel moderator Kay Kipling will put to panel members Kevin Dean, William Hartman and Heidi Connor at the January 15 Conversations at The Crocker.
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Kay Kipling
Kay Kipling is the Executive Editor at SARASOTA Magazine and has a 30 year history of writing about the visual and performing for many publications. Heidi Connor is a gallery professional, art consultant and freelance curator. Additionally, she worked for many years with the artist John Chamberlain. Kevin Dean is Director of Selby Gallery, Ringling College of Art and Design. He has 27 years experience teaching art history and has been gallery director for 18 years, during which time he has organized more than 200 shows. A working artist, Dean has his work exhibited in museums, college galleries, alternative spaces and currently at Allyn Gallup’s contemporary gallery in Sarasota. Kevin Dean is also the co-author (along with Marcia Corbino and Pat Rignling Buck) of the book A History of Visual Art in Sarasota. William Hartman, owner of the Hartman Gallery in downtown Sarasota, grew up surrounded by artists. “My folks, the artists William and Marty Hartman, met in 1946 while attending Ringling School of Art; my dad on the GI Bill and my mother working as a student for Mr. Kimbrough in the front office. In 1951 my parents opened their art school and gallery in the old Times building on 1st Street and became life long contributors to the Sarasota art scene.”
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Hartman said Sarasota owes its visual arts legacy to many outstanding artists such Jerry Farnsworth, Helen Sawyer, Wells Sawyer, Hilton Leech, Ben Stahl, Jon Corbino, Robert Larsen, Judy Axe, Thornton Utz, Robert Chase, Julio De Diego and Syd Solomon. His own parents certainly contributed tremendously as working artists, teachers and gallery owners.
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Kevin Dean
“Sarasota will always be a beautiful location for artists to live and work,” continued Hartman, “however, as a place to market their work Sarasota has always had shortcomings. But, Ringling School has been a player central to our story, if we were to remove John Ringling from the equation, we might never have acquired the distinction as an art colony.”
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The art history event at the Crocker Memorial Church is the fourth in a series of year-long panel discussions.
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Conversations at The Crocker events highlight specific aspects of Sarasota’s past and examine pivotal events and people who have influenced Sarasota today.
All Conversations take place at The Crocker Memorial Church and proceeds from this panel discussion series help to maintain the Historical Society’s two heritage properties at Pioneer Park – the Bidwell-Wood House (1882, Sarasota’s oldest private residence) and the Crocker Memorial Church (1901). Docent-led tours of both buildings are available an hour before each of the Conversations at The Crocker events. Chairs of Conversations at The Crocker are Lynn Harding and Marsha Fottler. President of the Historical Society of Sarasota County is Howard Rosenthal. Site Manager is Linda Garcia.
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Conversation at the Crocker January 15: How Sarasota Became an Art Colony starts at 7 p.m. at the Crocker Memorial Church in Pioneer Park at 1260 12th Street, Sarasota. The program is free to members of the Historical Society of Sarasota County and $10 for the public. Conversations at The Crocker is organized and presented by the Historical Society of Sarasota County with program support from SARASOTA Magazine.
And don’t miss future Conversations at the Crocker:
February 12: Pay Dirt – How We Became a Real Estate Destination with moderator Bob Plunket.
March 12, Why We Look The Way We Do: Architecture with moderator Harold Bubil.
April 9, A City of the Performing Arts with moderator Howard Millman.
Tell the world:
What was it like to be a woman doctor in Florida in 1909?
Myakka River State Park is having a special living history event on January 11 2013 at 7pm:
Carrie Sue Ayvar
Historical Portrayal Artist and Chautauqua Scholar
as
Doc Anner: Petticoat Doctor of the Everglades
“She treated outlaws with gunshot wounds, cowboys with tarantula bites or fractured femurs, Seminoles with malaria and babies with pneumonia. When she couldn’t reach her patients with her Model T Ford, she resorted to traveling on horseback, rowboat or on foot.”
Tickets are $10 and the usual admission fee to the park is waived for this event
For more information, visit the park’s web site.
Tell the world:
Happy Birthday, City of Sarasota!
January 1st is a new beginning for many things… and
on January 1 1914, Sarasota became, by statute, a City.
Oh goodness… that means we only have a year to plan a Centennial! Question One: What will we wear?
The Historical Society of Sarasota County 