The Miami Herald, 11/17/2016 Cropped page Page: 1C

Copyright 2016 Olive Software 11/17/2016 6:55:27 AM

Author Terry McMillanfeels "sympathetic tograndparents" raisingkids.

Navigating Miami Book Fair justgets harder and harder, especiallyon the big street fair weekend. Notsure how you should spend yourdays? We have a few customizedfair strategies to suggest, but re-member: It’s OK to mix andmatch (or ignore us completelyand forge your own path).

All events in Chapmanrequire free tickets, butthere will also be a standbyline for every event (andusually you will have noproblem getting in).

IF YOU LOVE FICTIONStories of all sorts drive

your curiosity.Saturday10 a.m., Room 8201: Get

tips for your next book club

meeting at “Book Clubs: What’sTrending,” with BookReporter-.com’s Carol Fitzgerald and novelistGayle Forman (“Leave Me”).

Noon-2 p.m., Auditorium: Parkyourself in the Auditorium andwallow. First up is the always-enter-

MIAMI BOOK FAIR

A 48-Hour Book BlitzBY CONNIE OGLEcogle@miamiherald.com

SEE GUIDE, 6C

Former Miami City Balletstars Jennifer Kronenbergand Carlos Guerra havespent their lives in balletstudios, where teachers,directors and choreogra-phers have always told themwhat to do. On this recentOctober afternoon, they arestill in a studio, rehearsingwith a phalanx of dancers at

the Miami Youth Ballet inSouth Miami-Dade.

This time, however, theyare the ones in charge. In-stead of learning steps fromErin Mahoney Du, who isteaching the Cuban-themedballet “Juanita y Alicia” to adozen dancers, Kronenbergis sitting at the front of thestudio, frowning with con-centration as she takesnotes. In the corner, Guerra

FormerMCBdancersleap intoa new life

BY JORDAN LEVINjlevin@miamiherald.com

DANCE

C.M. GUERRERO. cmguerrero@elnuevoherald.com

Dimension Dance Theater dancersrehearse at Miami Youth Ballet in SouthDade. The new troupe is headed byformer Miami City Ballet stars JenniferKronenberg and Carlos Guerra.

SEE TROUPE, 8C

JOSÉ A. IGLESIAS jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com

Dolly McIntyre, left, and Mary Burke are members of The Villagers, Miami-Dade’s oldest preservation group. McIntyre is a charter member; Burke is the current president.

Page: Features_f Pub. date: Thursday, November 17 Last user: eheisler@miamiherald.com Edition: 1st Section, zone: Tropical Life, State Last change at: 19:21:16 November 15

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 17 2016 1CFACEBOOK.COM/MIAMIHERALDTWITTER.COM/MIAMIHERALDMIAMIHERALD.COM H1

Tropical Life BOY GEORGE WILL PERFORM WITH HIS 11-PIECE BAND AT A VIP PARTY IN MIAMI, 4C

PEOPLE

fashioned elbow grease. After agroup of volunteer womensaved the historic Douglas En-trance in Coral Gables frombeing torn down, they movedon to help other landmarks,including Vizcaya.

“There I was on top of a lad-der scrubbing the kitchen ceil-ing [at Vizcaya],” McIntyreD

olly McIntyre’s me-mories of Miami’searliest preservationefforts are less aboutart and architectureand more about old-

recalled. “I could smell the Spicand Span, and it was just run-ning down my arms. At thattime we did what we had to do.We cleaned pigeon poop, wecleaned bathrooms, we cleanedwhatever needed cleaning —basically grunt work.”

McIntryre is a charter mem-ber of The Villagers, Miami-

Dade’s oldest preservationorganization and one of themost influential. Founded inOctober 1966, it is celebratingits 50th anniversary this year,and a quick rundown of its workunderscores how its influencehas extended past those firstclean-and-scrub moments.

The Villagers’ efforts have

touched pretty much almostevery local historical landmark,but beyond that the group hasbeen instrumental in providingmoney to help other like-mind-ed groups and, perhaps moreimportantly, to foster preserva-tion in the community. The

Adapting to an ever-changingMIAMIBY ANA VECIANA-SUAREZaveciana@MiamiHerald.com

SEE THE VILLAGERS, 2C

VALERIE BERTINELLI

GUY FIERI

BOBBY FLAY

DUFF GOLDMAN

ALEX GUARNASCHELLI

ROBERT IRVINE

EMERIL LAGASSE

RACHAEL RAY

MARCUS SAMUELSSON

MICHAEL SYMON

ANDREW ZIMMERN

& MANY MORE

FEATURING:

TICKETS ON SALE NOW | SOBEWFF.ORGFEB 22-26, 2017 | 877.762.3933 | PREFERRED CARD

HOST HOTELHOSTED BY & BENEFITINGTITLE OFFICIAL AIRLINE SPECIAL THANKSPREMIER

Courtesy of MatthewJordan Smith

The Miami Herald, 2016-11-17 Cropped page Page: 2C

Copyright 2016 Olive Software 2016-11-17 06:56:27

Dear Abby: I’m adivorced and remarriedmother of two adult chil-dren. Both live on theirown and have decent jobs.After the divorce, I man-aged to keep a roof overour heads, food on thetable and provide collegefor my children. My ex-husband, their father, spo-radically paid child support,which resulted in an arrear-age owed for the past nineyears.

Recently, I received asubstantial sum of the bal-ance I was owed for backchild support. My dilemmais that my children feelthat because their father ishaving financial problems(finances were always hisissue), I should give themoney back to him because Iam financially secure.

Abby, they are ignoringeverything I had to do to

support them while theywere still dependents andmy responsibility. Addinto that their health care,extracurricular activities,Christmases and birthdays,etc., when he said he didn’thave money.

I feel I have every right tokeep the money. I have toldthis to my kids, but they aremad at me because I can’tseem to get the messageacross. Your thoughts wouldbe greatly appreciated.— Flustered in Florida

Dear Flustered: You weredivorced from this man forgood reason. Your respon-sibility to him ended whenthe divorce was finalized.What you have receivedfor shouldering the entireresponsibility for raisingyour children is yours andyours alone. Do not apolo-gize to anyone for what youprefer to do with the money.And for your sake, pleasedon’t allow yourself betrapped or guilted into doinganything against your betterjudgment.

Kids wantmom to returnoverdue child support

Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440,Los Angeles, CA 90069.

JEANNE PHILLIPS

DEAR ABBY

Hax is on leave. This origi-nally ran on June 17, 2012.

Dear Carolyn: My fianceis European, I am from theUnited States, and after ourfall wedding we will be liv-ing in a different countryaltogether.

Our wedding guestswould like to know if weare registered anywhere forgifts. Since where we livenext depends on where bothof us get our next jobs, wecan only specify two con-

tinents with any certainty.That is why I would likepeople to make a donationto our relocation fund.

My fiance says he feels

uncomfortable asking formoney, but I feel like thatwould be the best use of ourfriends’ and family’s gen-erosity. Is it ever OK to justask for money? If so, howcan we do it without sound-ing tacky?

— International Affairs ofthe Heart

The Holy Grail, coldfusion, Bigfoot, Atlantis, thecure for the common cold, atasteful way to request cashgifts: What do these things

have in common?If the mythic quest for the

polite shakedown ever has ahappy conclusion, then I’llbe sure to publish an updatein this space. In the mean-time, those who have no usefor what others purchase forthem, for whatever reason,will have to make use of theoptions that good mannersalways permit.

The first and best optionis to remind yourself thatgetting started in your newhome is entirely your finan-

cial responsibility, and thatyour guests’ sole purpose isto provide emotional sup-port. If they provide more,then that’s just a pleas-ant bonus. Mantra-fy asneeded.

Since you need to providesome kind of answer togift inquiries, you have anadditional, more practicaloption: “Thanks so muchfor asking — we didn’tregister, because we’ve gotan international move (orseveral) coming soon.” In

this case, saying “4” may berude, but saying “2 + 2” isperfectly appropriate.

You can also ask yourclose relatives and friends— i.e., those whom gueststraditionally approach forgift ideas — to convey thatno-registry message.

And, finally if a bit obvi-ously: All of our most trea-sured gifts aren’t the oneswe want, but the ones weactually get. Please be opento what others have in theirhearts.

Couple preparing for big move would prefer monetary wedding gifts

BY CAROLYN HAXtellme@washpost.com

CAROLYN HAX

Page: Puzzles_1 Pub. date: Thursday, November 17 Last user: eheisler@miamiherald.com Edition: 1st Section, zone: Fun & Games, State Last change at: 18:41:6 November 15

2C THURSDAY NOVEMBER 17 2016Fun & Games MIAMIHERALD.COM

H1

Villagers were instrumentalin starting the Dade Heri-tage Trust in 1972 — McIn-tyre was its chair for thetrust’s first three years —and in helping launch theFlorida Heritage Trust fouryears later.

“We realized that theneed was greater than what100 women could handle,”McIntyre said. “We neededan advocacy group that wasmore political.”

Consider some of TheVillagers’ efforts:

A Fought to save An-derson’s Corner, doingsome of the research anddocumentation to get itlisted on the National Reg-ister of Historic Places.

A Participated in therenovation and restorationeffort of the Merrick Housein Coral Gables as well asthe center courtyard of ElJardin in Coconut Grove(now part of CarrolltonSchool of the SacredHeart).

A Helped restore the OldLarkin Schoolhouse on thegrounds of Sunset Ele-mentary School.

A Contributed to therestoration of the Light-house Keeper’s Cottage atBill Baggs Cape FloridaState Recreation Area,including installing mu-seum displays, transform-ing the kitchen into an arttheater, providing signagealong the historic gardensand creating an archae-ological dig display in thecistern.

A Spruced up David Fair-child’s study at The Kam-pong.

A Restored the fountainat the Coral Gables Wom-en’s Club.

A Raised tens of thou-sands of dollars for scholar-ships.

A Donated $25,000 tohelp restore the MarjoryStoneman Douglas home inCoconut Grove.

A Hosted, sponsored orfunded walking tours, his-toric hunts, lectures onlocal history and tours ofhistoric homes and gar-dens. It also has published

several books.Over the past decades,

the group also has evolved.Though it has maintainedsome of its signatureevents — the ever-popularannual home tour, forexample — it no longer isas involved in hands-on,elbow-grease restorationprojects. Instead it focuseson partnering with othergroups by handing outgrants and funds.

“It’s our way of spread-ing our preservation effortsand expanding our reach,”said current presidentMary Burke. “We’ve dis-covered we’re good atraising money and helpingothers by giving it away.”

To wit: This year, thegroup provided a grant of$20,000 each to five pro-jects, some of which havealready been completed.These include the installa-tion of a sprinkler systemfor Coconut Grove’s TheBarnacle; restoration ofantique metal light fixturesat Vizcaya; restoration ofthe floor of a historic logcabin for the Village ofBiscayne Park; repair ofseats at the Shepard andRuth K. Broad Center atBarry University; and fi-nancing a mobile teachingunit and portable interpre-tive unit for the SouthFlorida Pioneer Museumto be housed at the Re-dland Farm Life School.

The group has alsoadapted and redefinedwhat preservation meansin Miami-Dade. Memberslook not just for a preser-vation project but one thatwill maintain a communi-ty’s history and culturewithin the confines ofcurrent demands.

“The preservation aspectis still crucial,” Burke add-ed, “but how we transformthat into functional, livablecommunities is our chal-lenge. We’re not just aboutpreserving old history butalso about integratinghistory into the require-ments of a new Miami.”

The group now includesmen, and the various levels

of membership enablethose who are employedfull time to participate on asliding-scale system ofrequirements.

Brett Gillis is one of thenewer members of TheVillagers. The hospicepharmacist moved here in2012 and has spent thepast two years renovating aGeorge Fink home. Thateffort, and a long-abidinginterest in historic struc-tures, led him to The Vil-

lagers. Now he is co-chairof the Holiday House Tour,which this year focuses on,yes, Fink architecture.

“What I liked most[about The Villagers] wasthat it wasn’t a fly-by-nightgroup,” Gillis said. “Theyhave a serious commit-ment and a serious budget,and they’ve made somesignificant contributions tothe community.”

He also likes the fact thatit isn’t a large, unwieldy

group but “a smaller groupof like-minded people whoare passionate” about pre-serving history.

Gillis and other mem-bers insist that The Villag-ers, though half a centuryold, is just getting startedin its efforts to protect thearea’s history. The group’smost daunting challengemay be to create a preser-vation ethos like othercities — namely, Char-leston, Savannah and Bos-

ton — that treasure andprotect their worthy build-ings.

“Miami does have aculture, it does have ahistory,” Burke said. “Butinforming people and edu-cating them is somethingwe need to do again andagain. Not everythingshould be preserved, but alot should be protected andthere are ways of repurpos-ing a building to do this. Ifsomething is functionaland beautiful, let’s keepit.”

FROM PAGE 1C

THE VILLAGERS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Events and InfoTHE VILLAGERS 2016HOUSE TOUR

“Finding Fink,” featuringthe architecture of GeorgeFink, Coral Gables’ mostdecorated architect

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 3 inCoral Gables (ticket holdersare advised of startlocations prior to event).$35, advance purchase byNov. 22 (no will call/noon-site ticket sales). Forinformation and tickets,visit thevillagersinc.org. Orsend check payable to “TheVillagers, Inc.” with aself-addressed, stampedenvelope to: The Villagers,Inc, PO Box 141843 CoralGables, FL 33114-1843.Please include address andphone numbers on check.

“The Gardens ofMiami” The Villagers’ hardcover264-page “coffee table”style book showcasingMiami’s gardens is nowavailable for purchase andshipment. It containsalmost 400 photographsby master photographerSteven Brooke, anintroduction by JoannaLombard and text by ElaineMills and Julie PetrellaArch. There are alsosections that highlightMiami’s public gardens andgarden organizations. $60plus state sales tax (no taxon out-of-state orders) anda shipping and handling feeof $5 per book. To ordervisit thevillagersinc.org.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

KAREN BUCHSBAUM

The Villagers helped with the restoration of the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage at the BillBaggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area in Key Biscayne.

The Villagers donated money to help restore the Marjory Stoneman Douglas cottage inCoconut Grove.