History Fun

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Happy Thanksgiving from the Historical Society

Happy Thanksgiving from the Historical Society of Sarasota CountyIn 1863 Thanksgiving became our third national holiday alongside Washington’s birthday and Independence Day.

NPR’s audio report on recreating a Thanksgiving dinner in the style of 1863.

Boil a tender, nice piece of beef — any piece that is clear from sinews and gristle; boil it till it is perfectly tender. When it is cold, chop it very fine….

Be thankful that Thanksgiving dinner is easier to cook now than in the 19th century, when the Bidwell-Wood House was built.

Ham, cole slaw, peach pickles, oysters, chicken pie, tomato catsup, and stewed prunes were the norm.

The Food Timeline: Thanksgiving

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The TRUE story of Pirates!

You know that we’re having Pirates and Pioneers Day at the Historical Society on Saturday November 16, a family-oriented day filled with music, presentations, pirates in costume (you dress up too, if you dare!), arts and crafts for the kids, a Toddlers’ Treasure Dig, Games of Skill, a Thieves’ Market and local artists and authors and food and even a Trolley Tour and teen-angled computer games!

But all of us above Disney-age know that pirates were not the fun-loving Continue reading →

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Give me a tinkle…

Remember when people used to say “give me a tinkle” when they meant “call me on the phone”? Well, we’re asking you to

drop a dime

Give the Historical Society a call to join us for tours and more

Love this phone? Click to see where you can get it.

and call the Historical Society to reserve your spot on this fall’s exciting events. Call us at 941-364-9076 Tues.-Fri. between 10am and 2pm. Mastercard & VISA accepted!

  • There’s over a dozen Classes in the Park you can take, some of which are starting early October (click for the schedule)
  • and the traditional LeBarge Sarasota Bay History Cruise on Sunday November 3 (click to see past cruises)
  • and our special adults-only Pirates evening event on Friday November 15 (details forthcoming, but it involves rum punch, pirate nibbles, song and true pirate lore)
  • and the first Historic Downtown Trolley Tour on Saturday November 16 (click for info), the same day as Pirates & Pioneers Day
  • and the deadline is fast approaching for getting an historic brick dedicated for our Annual Unveiling which will be part of Pirates & Pioneers Day on Saturday November 16 (Buy a brick info and Pirates & Pioneer Day info)
  • High Tea with Art off the Easels will be Sunday January 12 (more info soon. It’s hard to think about watercress sandwiches when there are brigands and privateers wandering through our Pioneer Park campus.)
  • there’s just a few places left on the Ca’d’Zan Backstairs tour, Tuesday January 21, hosted by esteemed Keeper of the House Ron McCarty, who is also a Board Member here at the Historical Society. (See the details of this, and all our upcoming events, here.)

Call us at 941-364-9076 Tues.-Fri. between 10am and 2pm, and our Site Manager Linda Garcia will

get your dance card filled up.

It’s been a long time since phones tinkled instead of vibrated (and who in living memory had a dance card tied to her wrist?), but nonetheless, we’d love to hear from you before all the seats are taken!

(If you want that phone, it’s for sale here.)

Save

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Rah Rah Riverview High!

130327 riverview high

Click for photography credits.

The Historical Society extends its best wishes for Riverview High School’s two History Bowl Teams, heading for the National History Bowl in Washington DC in April.

Riverview Teams Headed for National History Bowl!

Click to learn more about History Bowl

The junior and senior History Bowl team members take rigorous history courses, including AP European History, AP U.S. History, IB history of the Americas and AP world history. Perhaps some day, we could hear them on Sarasota County history!

Here’s the Sarasota Herald-Trib article.

History Bowl logo from here; photo of Riverview High School from here.

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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.

Historic Sarasota postcard collection

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!

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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.sarasota heraldtribune 1925

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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Brother in the Shadow: Charles Ringling

The next Conversation at the Crocker event will be spectacularly interesting, coming as it does on the heels of the talk and booksigning by Michael Lancaster, author of The Last Laugh, on December 4.

Charles Ringling, a major influence in Sarasota County FLWhat influence did Charles Ringling, John’s less public brother, have on the economic and cultural development of Sarasota?

Two curators from the Ringling Museums, Ron McCarty (Ca’ d’Zan) and Deborah Walk (Circus Museum) will present an inter-active talk about the life, times and influence of Charles Ringling on Tuesday, December 11 at 7 p.m. at the Crocker Memorial Church in Pioneer Park at 1260 12th Street, Sarasota.

Deborah Walk of the Ringling Museum will appear at the Historical Society of Sarasota County's Conversation at the CrockerIn 1912, with the Ringling Bros. Circus in its heyday, Charles Ringling came to Sarasota to visit his more famous and flamboyant brother John in Sarasota. Subsequently, Charles and his wife Edith Ringling fell in love with the town, moved into a house and later in 1925 built a Georgia pink marble mansion on 40 acres on bayfront just north of John’s home. Eventually, the Charles Ringling mansion became the centerpiece of the New College bayfront campus as the school’s first library. Today it is called College Hall.
While in Sarasota, Charles Ringling purchased land and donated significant parcels to the newly created county. He owned 52 commercial lots and a 33,000-acre ranch. Charles Ringling developed the 10-story Sarasota Terrace Hotel and 150 Spanish-style homes. He founded the Ringling Bank and he donated land for a courthouse for the newly created Sarasota County.

Ringling Boulevard, the street between the courthouse and his hotel, was named for Charles Ringling.

When Charles Ringling died in 1926 in Sarasota at the age of 63 he was a working president of the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.
Ron McCarty is a director of the Historical Society of Sarasota County“We will be focusing on Charles Ringling, of course,” said the Ca’ d’Zan curator Ron McCarty. “But we will also be including lots of information about John and their sister Ida Ringling North to provide insight into their family holdings in Sarasota and their investments in Sarasota’s future. Truly,

the Ringling family members developed so much of what we enjoy today in Sarasota.”

The Charles Ringling event at the Crocker Memorial Church is the third in a series of year-long panel discussions organized by the Historical Society of Sarasota County and sponsored by SARASOTA Magazine. Conversations at The Crocker events highlight specific aspects of Sarasota’s past and examines 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.
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Save the date, and reserve a seat

The Historical Society of Sarasota County presents

A Day of FUN Saturday Nov. 17

Take an open-air TROLLEY TOUR

of Historic Downtown Sarasota
Who murdered the Postmaster? How did snow at Christmas change the very destiny of Sarasota?

Join our traditional red trolley, departing from
the Historical Society Saturday Nov. 17 10am to Noon
Reservations a must: 941-364-9076 or hsosc@yahoo.com $25 per person For the November 17 tour only, reserve your seat on the Trolley before Nov. 12, and get
$5 off your purchase at the Designer Tag Sale all day!
Can’t make November 17? Reserve your seat for Saturday January 19 (limited availability, call now), Feb. 16, Mar. 16, Apr. 20

Shop the DESIGNER TAG SALE

from Renowned Sarasota Design Studios
Furniture, furnishings, lamps, bibelots and more
PLUS Ye Olde Book Sale AND Back Porch Bargain Bonanza
Sat. November 17   8am to 2pm

And save!

You won’t believe the wonderful things at our 2nd annual Sale Event in the historic Crocker Church at the Historical Society. These designers have donated samples, model home items, and more from their professional studios:

Sally Trout of Sally Trout Interior Design
Jonathan Slentz of Jonathan, The Interiors
Kurt Lucas of JKL Design
Barbara Gardner of Collins Interiors
Nancy Dunn, Nancy Dunn Estates Sales

In addition, the Woman’s Exchange and What a Find! in Bradenton have kindly donated to our sale as well.

Late Breaking News!

The renowned Gumbo Mojo Food Truck will be at this event for breakfast AND lunch… maybe even preparing some special breakfast burritos… and beignets! Join us for one or both meals! Read all the yummy stuff they make from fresh, local ingredients.

All 3 Sales 8am to 2pm Saturday November 17, and the Trolley Tour 10am to Noon (Reservations needed for Trolley: 941-364-9076)

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Cruise, nibble, and hear some stories!

Le Barge hosting the Historical Society of Sarasota County's History Cruise November 4 2012UPDATE: Almost 100 Historical Society supporters enjoyed a perfect November Sunday cruise. 

The Historical Society of Sarasota County (HSOSC) is hosting its 21st Cruise and Tour of Sarasota Bay on the LeBarge tour boat on Sunday, November 4, 2012 from 11 am to 1 p.m.  The cruise will be narrated with fascinating facts about Sarasota by popular local historian John McCarthy while guests enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast and a cash bar at noon.

You haven’t seen Sarasota Continue reading →