History Fun

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A Day at Sea

Well, yes, red tide did cause a few coughs, but the continental breakfast buffet on our March 2023 Historic Sarasota Bay Cruise provided some soothing refreshments. Volunteers Sue Padden and Norma Kwenski made a lovely buffet table, and the Gentleman With The Legs added a little cheesecake to the menu.

On land, before boarding, board member Deb Walk (right) and City Commissioner Debbie Trice compare notes about being named after Debbie Reynolds (Joke. Maybe they were named after beloved aunts. I wasn’t eavesdropping.) We’ll be hoping Ms. Trice will become an active member!

Meanwhile, waiting for the “all aboard” call, Katie employed her VIP gift, a brilliant umbrella, to protect her not only from the sun, but also from the flock of parrots who were noisily entertaining our guests.

Deborah Walk and Jon Stone, board members of the Historical Society, are all smiles seeing the anticipation of participants in our Historic Sarasota Bay Cruise… our 39th, I believe.

And finally, what would our Cruise posting be without our beloved site manager/ board member wrangler/ yard raker Linda Garcia. She is showing off our logo on this cruise’s VIP gift.

Linda’s who you need to contact to get on the November cruise invite list. Check our sidebar here on HSoSC.com for contact info!

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Did the future turn out as expected 100 years ago?

I don’t know about you, but I remember figuring out, in grade school, how OLD I’d be in the year 2000.

I think imagining the year 2022 was beyond my capacity (then and quite possibly now.)

I never dreamed flowers would be emancipated. Or that we’d all have to wear glasses because skyscapers ruin our sight. These predictions of life 100 years hence are fascinating and believe it or not, many points are quite accurate!

Please note: OCR (optical character recognition) even now in 2022, isn’t perfect and your Esteemed Editor got tired half-way through of correcting all but the most grievous errors. Lordy, now I’m even talking 1922 style!)

From the New York herald (New York, N.Y.), May 7, 1922

By W. L. George
THERE is a good old rule which bids us never prophesy unless we know, but, all the same, when one cannot prophesy one may guess, especially if one is sure of being out of the way when the reckoning comes. Therefore it is without anxiety, that I suggest a picture of this world a hundred years hence, and venture as my first guess that the world at that time would be remarkable to one of our ghosts, not so much because it was so different as because it was so similar.

In the main the changes which we may expect must be brought about by science. It is easier to bring about a revolutionary scientific discovery such as that of the X-ray than to alter in the least degree the quality of emotion that arises between a man and a maid. There will probably be many new

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Watching history being made, Christmas-style.

Don’t you love getting those photographic Christmas cards from family and friends? To cherish the ability to watch history being made as the kids grow? Remember, history isn’t in dusty old books. Sometimes it arrives in a red envelope with a Santa postage stamp. Today we share with you a Sarasota memory…

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What’s a penny, after all?

“Your penny at work.” That’s the slogan of the campaign asking voters to approve, on Election Day 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. 

And what’s a penny after all? Pennies in the US have been around since the 18th century… although, of course just like us, a penny isn’t what it used to be. Did you know Benjamin Franklin designed the first penny, seen here? (Wasn’t he the BUSIEST man you’ve ever imagined!)

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Gonna make me some per-loo

You can’t get more Florida Pioneer than making some pilau (pronounced “per-loo”) for dinner, supper, or a get-together potluck.

So what, you might well ask, is pilau? It’s really any meat and rice dish, and here’s what some historic figures have to say about it:

In the 18th century, naturalist William Bartram wrote of eating squab “made in pilloe with rice” while he was traveling through South Carolina. Of course he hadn’t gotten to Florida yet, but I daresay there were more cooks in South Carolina than in Florida at that time. And all that good Southrn cooking found a welcome home in Florida!

“Pilaus,” wrote Florida author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in 1942, “are almost a sacred Florida dish. No Florida church supper, no large rural gathering, is without it. It is blessed among dishes for such a purpose, or for a large family, for meat goes farther in a pilau than prepared in any other way.”

Pilau is truly an international dish just as Florida is the place where all nations meet: there are Ugandan, Kenyan, Indian recipes readily available online or in your favorite cookbook. What’s so wonderful about it, besides stretching the meat as Rawlings mentioned, is that you can make it your own. Some folks call it pilaf (well, I admit I did before I got to Florida), and some folks use poultry (see Bartram’s remark above), some use beef, sausage, pork.

I can never decide so I use chicken AND sausage. Over in St. Augustine they make a Minorcan version with shrimp and datil peppers. You can even start with a rotisserie chicken from the market (although I wouldn’t.)

You can even say it in your choice of pronunciation. Or call it paella, risotto, jambalaya.

Just don’t call me late for supper!

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Hot History Part THREE!

We keep finding local history-related things for you to do. (Here’s the first installment, and Part Two…) It’s too hot to go traipsing about graveyards and boardwalks right now, but it’s always cool to learn a bit more about our local area.

Up at the top there’s gotta be a breeze!

One of our favorite supporters, Liz Coursen, is giving a talk at Gulf Gate Library on Florida Lighthouses. Info here. You probably have visited this one. If not, do! We’re sure Liz will give you directions.

Not as picturesque as some, but easy driving distance! Courtesy of Lighthouse Friends.

Learn about some cool art

Take a peek into the art collection at the Van Wezel, our on-the-bay performance venue that folks are afraid will be history soon. The best way to show your love for local history is to participate. Here’s your chance, by joining the Art and Backstage Tour. The tour features features works from the Arts Advocates’ Sarasota Colony artist collection as well as noted Florida artists, including pieces by Robert Chase, William Hartman, Eugene White, Ben Stahl, Julio de Diego, Thornton Utz, Frank Colson, and Dean Mitchell, to name a few. The backstage tour provides a peek at the dressing rooms, green room, back hallway, and the Van Wezel stage.

Tours are offered to the public August 8 and September 12 from 1:30-3:00 pm. Tours begin in the Main Lobby and cost $15 per person. Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office or by calling (941) 263-6799. More info.

Prefer music and a cool beverage?

More the outdoors, drink and hum along type? Here’s another Van Wezel event you’ll love, and it’s free. The Friday Fest. Future dates for Friday Fest are August 12 and September 16.

Help create future art history

Or maybe you’d like to help fellow Sarasotans CREATE history? After all, history is not fixed in stone; it’s made every day by folks like you. Our tradition of art is strong here, and you can build on that to make art even stronger as time marches on. For example, by participating in and supporting local artists. Your grandchildren will thank you for becoming patrons of the arts in accessible venues like Creative Liberties, Ligon Arts, ArtUptown, and of course Art Center Sarasota.

Read more in The Observer about this capitalistic venue for the arts.

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Old ladies? Huh.

A post from Facebook called “Walk down Memory Lane.”

Mergatroyd ? Do you remember that word? Would you believe the spell-checker did not recognize the word, Mergatroyd Heavens to Mergatroyd!

The other day a not so elderly (I say 75) lady said something to her son about driving a Jalopy; and he looked at her quizzically and said, “What the heck is a Jalopy?” He had never heard of the word jalopy! She knew she was old …But not that old.

Well, I hope you are Hunky Dory when you read this and chuckle.

About a month ago, I illuminated some old expressions that have become obsolete because of the inexorable march of technology.

These phrases included: Don’t touch that dial; Carbon copy; You sound like a broken record; and Hung out to dry.

Back in the olden days we had a lot of moxie . We’d put on our best bib and tucker, to straighten up and fly right. Heavens to Betsy! Gee willikers! Jumping Jehoshaphat! Holy Moley!

We were in like Flynn and living the life of Riley; and even a regular guy couldn’t accuse us of being a knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill. Not for all the tea in China!

Back in the olden days, life used to be swell, but when’s the last time anything was swell? Swell has gone the way of beehives, pageboys and the D.A.; of spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, and pedal pushers.

Oh, my aching back! Kilroy was here, but he isn’t anymore.

We wake up from what surely has been just a short nap, and before we can say, “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!” Or, “This is a fine kettle of fish!” We discover that the words we grew up with, the words that seemed omnipresent, as oxygen, have vanished with scarcely a notice from our tongues and our pens and our keyboards.

Poof, go the words of our youth, the words we’ve left behind. We blink, and they’re gone. Where have all those great phrases gone?

Long gone: Pshaw, The milkman did it. Hey! It’s your nickel. Don’t forget to pull the chain. Knee high to a grasshopper. Well, Fiddlesticks! Going like sixty. I’ll see you in the funny papers. Don’t take any wooden nickels. Wake up and smell the roses.

It turns out there are more of these lost words and expressions than Carter has liver pills. This can be disturbing stuff! (Carter’s Little Liver Pills are gone too!)

Leaves us to wonder where Superman will find a phone booth. See ya later, alligator! Okidoki .

You’ll notice they left out “Monkey Business”!

PS If you don’t follow the Historical Society of Sarasota County on Facebook, you’re missing a lot.

Credit for this entry to the Facebook page called Granny’s off Her Meds Again

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Hot History, Part 2

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

Learn more about Tampa’s port history.

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!

If you’re from around here, you’ve for sure heard of the Albritton family. Read an article about their history in Floridiana magazine, learn about picking your own blueberries and sunflowers next spring (definitely put it on your calendar!), and follow Albritton Fruit Farms on Facebook.

Photo courtesy Edible Sarasota

Wax Nostalgic

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).

Funny how we’re nostalgic… for food.
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Hot History

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.

Learn more about Manatee Village.

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.

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Last Gathering this Season… a great one!

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

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If you couldn’t join us, you missed a treat!

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.

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Sparkle, sail….

Sparkly Saturday is our traditional Preloved Jewelry Sale combined with our favorite Porch Sale

It’s time for Sparkly Saturday! On Saturday February 12, from 8am to 2pm, we’ll fill the Crocker Memorial Church with preloved jewelry, from costume to sterling, funky to fabulous, necklacesbraceletsearringsbroochesandmore, in conjunction with our fabulous supporter JewelrytotheRescue. And as always, we fill the porches of the Bidwell-Wood House with our “household sparkles” too. Come early, stay late!

A good time on our Historic Bay Cruise is always had by all… especially Site Manager Linda Garcia and Narrator John McCarthy

Then there’s our even-more-traditional Historic Sarasota Bay Cruise on Sunday March 6, with

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Historical Musings at the Farmhouse Market

Plant City Strawberries

The best strawberries? Those from Plant City, just a little north of the Farmhouse Market at Phillippi Estate Park. So I start thinking, naturally, of history. (And strawberry shortcake but let’s stay on topic here…)

Question: Why do they call it Plant City?

A: Because Itchepackesassa was too hard to pronounce and Cork? Really?
B: Because it’s an agricultural powerhouse.
C: Because Henry Plant built his railroad through there.

Answer? All of the above. Seriously, though, it was named after the railroad magnate who made the town’s fortune: now farmers could pack the strawberries in ice and ship them North to those fools living in snow and slush.

Tootin’ their own horn. Photo credit Ephemera Collection, State Library of Florida.

So then I start pondering “strawberry schools.”

Since many families could not afford to hire extra people to harvest the strawberries, children would help. Instead of having a summer vacation, children went to school during the summer and took the winter months off to help their parents with the harvest. The plants would start bearing fruit towards the end of December and continue through the end of March, so the school year was set at April to December. The schools with such a schedule (scheduling was a local, not a state, matter) were known as “strawberry schools.” Read more.

A number of counties in Central and South Florida mandated this to accommodate the small family farm harvest schedules for various winter fruits and vegetables. Strawberries were the main Florida crop requiring this arrangement. Rearranging the school year was no new invention; the very idea of summer vacation was originally devised to allow farm children to help their families during the busy summer months.

Plenty of other states had similar systems to allow schoolchildren to help out at harvest time. There have at various times been “potato schools” in Connecticut, “apple schools” in New York, “tomato schools” in Ohio, and so on. Read more. And more.

Then I got this yen for reading a sweet historical novel.

It’s technically a children’s book, but we all should retain our childlike sense of wonder, right? Read Strawberry Girl online. It’s also available in hard copy in our Sarasota County libraries.

So has all of this got you yearning to go to the Strawberry Festival in March?

The Strawberry Festival’s 2022 dates are March 3-13. Here’s some history of the Festival, and here’s where you can buy tickets to the music acts, including Oak Ridge Boys, Boys II Men, Chicks with Hits, Beach Boys (are we seeing a gender theme here or is it just me?)