MUSEUM HOURS

Monday – Friday

1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

1st Saturday

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

CURATOR

Richard “Ted” Waterfall

TRUSTEES

Jim Gillies, Chairman

Charlie Bagg

Louise Carter

Melanie Blankenship

Kim Nesbitt Winn

OFFICERS

Timothy Totten

President

Bob Marks

Vice-President

Cindy Satur

2nd Vice-President

Danyel Moulden

Recording Secretary

Anita Ezelle

Corresponding Secretary

John Blankenship

Treasurer

APPOINTED

Louise Carter - Historian

Regina Heffington - Website

Ethel Ryan - Refreshments

Eustis Reflections

A Monthly Publication of the

Eustis Historical Museum & Preservation Society, Inc.

Volume VII, Number 8 – August 2011 www.eustishistoricalmuseum.com

EVENTS CALENDAR

Aug 25 “Images of America: Eustis” Book Signing

Thursday at 7:00 pm at The Eustis Memorial Library

Monthly Membership Meeting to follow

Sept 2 First Friday Street Party

6:00 – 10:00 pm

Downtown Eustis

Authors will be in a booth selling/signing books

Sept 3 “Images of America: Eustis” Book Discussion Group

10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Discussion with the authors at the Clifford House

Friends,

After more than a year of work, the book, “Images of America: Eustis” is ready for publication!

Books will be available at the museum starting next week. Cover price ($21.99) plus tax equals $23.53, but members get a 15% discount, making the member price just $20.00!

Ruth Akright and Betty Ann McClellan have worked hard to make this a success, so we appreciate all their dedication. Check you the event calendar below for book signing times.

Timothy Totten, President

CURATOR’S CORNER by Ted Waterfall

The First Ladies of Eustis have opened a new display of vintage accessories in our museum. (Men – this

means handbags, hats, hankies, scarves, etc). It has replaced the teapots that graced the dining room

display case. They have done another wonderful job and I, for one, look forward with eager anticipation

to their future displays. Drop by and take a look. What will they come up with next?!

Some of our newsletters will be themed. Last month’s featured the Bay Street Theater. This month’s

features the new book on Eustis, and next month may feature the Ferrans. However, not all issues will

be themed, but some future one may still be. Do any of our readers have any suggestions for future

newsletter themes? If so, email them to me at eustismuseum@gmail.com, and, if you have supporting

material like original photographs, mail them to me at 536 N. Bay St., Eustis, FL. 32726. I won’t

guarantee that they will be used, but I will guarantee that it will be considered and I will check the

museum’s files for additional resources on the subject. If you have a theme idea and articles, original

photographs, (not photocopies of photographs) or other resources to accompany it, this will greatly

increase the chances of its acceptance. Just keep it Eustis/central Florida related.

Our guest speakers at the July Business Meeting were a half-dozen members of the Lake Eustis Sailing

Club, the first such club for our area. The stories of their origins and various anecdotes of their

experiences were quite entertaining.

We have recently received a donation from the estate of Eustis resident Ms. Bleeker Wilkerson a little

over a dozen high school year books. She was the Yearbook sponsor at Eustis High School in the 1950s

and 1960s. Two of the books are from the 1930s, but the others are from the 1960s. The 1962 year

book, The Panther, on page 111, even shows Eustis’ own astronaut, the late David Walker, in a photo

where he and another young lady were voted “Most Likely to Succeed.” He and a Miss Marsha Edwards

are shown sitting in worn clothing begging for donations. That book is open to this page in our N.A.S.A.

display. Come check it out.

In response to a suggestion from someone at the last business meeting, the museum will be

changing its hours of operation beginning in September. Beginning with Labor Day, we will be closed

on Sundays AND Mondays but will be open from Tuesdays through Saturdays. Beginning Saturday,

September 3, we will be open from 10:00 to 3:00 and EVERY Saturday thereafter.

Check out the latest issue of Pulse Magazine. It has a wonderful spread on the Edgar J. Banks room of

our museum. No, we don’t really have a bullwhip on display, that was photo-shopped in, but it is an

exciting spread and an entertaining article. We have several copies at the museum.

Well, that’s it for this month, so until next time…

Keep you powder dry.*

Ted

* Keep your power dry was an expression wishing good luck when black powder was the major propellant in hunting rifles. Wet or moist powder = no food.

MEMORIAL PLACQUES ORDER FORM

This is your opportunity to remember someone

important or show your support for the museum.

Placques will be affixed to the back of the sign

and will be visible to visitors.

Number of Plaques________ x $50.00 each

Name_____________________________Daytime Phone_____________Email___________________________

Address_________________________________________City___________________State______Zip________

SAMPLE (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY – ONE CHARACTER PER SPACE)

PLAQUE #1 PERSONALIZATION:

PLAQUE #2 PERSONALIZATION:

PLAQUE #3 PERSONALIZATION:

T H E E U S T I S

H I S T O R I C A L M U S E U M

&

P R E S E R V A T I O N S O C I E T Y

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Yeah, we weren’t supposed to be there. Let’s say the year was 1951, and the old gymnasium on the corner of Bay Street and Woodward Avenue was off limits to everybody except when being used for sporting events. That being said, it was very easy to circumvent the locked doors in that ancient structure and many a youngster had been inside clandestinely.

Likewise, a group of us had gone in to play a little basketball. I reckon that in itself would have been harmless enough. However, one of us had brought a football in there with him this time. Soon our attention turned to trying a new game with the football. We would try to place-kick the football the length of the basketball court in the slightest of chances that it might go through the basketball goal net.

Important in this episode is a rather attractive scoreboard hanging high on the wall at the far end of the gym. I remember during basketball games that as the hands counted down the minutes, the face of the clock would change colors. That scoreboard was probably the nicest thing in the old place.

It’s that time again! Bring your antiques, old coins, vintage dolls and classic paintings to be appraised by our experts for just $5.00 per item!

For more information, please contact us by email at eustismuseum@gmail.com or call 352-483-0046.

Well, there we were with one of us holding the football at one end of the floor and each taking a turn place-kicking it toward the other end. Most of the kicks were going pretty much in the direction of the goal down there, although no one had put it through the net. Well, folks, it was my turn.

Football was not my sport and I was rather proud as my kick sent the ball soaring quite long and high! And … it was going straight at it … it looked like it would be a direct hit! And it was! Only it wasn’t the basketball net at the other end. It was that scoreboard clock, folks. My kick was at a 45 degree angle to the goal! I could have kicked footballs the remainder of that afternoon and all the next day and not come near that clock!

We all watched in transfixed horror as that football slammed into the face of the clock with a sickening KABLAMPF! And the beautiful plastic face was now broken. Badly broken! I had made the bad kick and it had been witnessed by probably 4 or 5 other boys.

Well, it didn’t take long to clear out of that place! This confession of my guilt is the first time it’s been made known in these 55 years. But I was terrified all the next basketball season that one of my friends, if put under pressure, might divulge my secret. All the games I do not recall much ever being said about the broken clock face, and shortly thereafter they tore the old gymnasium down.

If this confession on my part causes me trouble after all these years, I will fight extradition to Florida.

www.UnitedSouthernBank.com

Community-minded.

Customer-focused.

EUSTIS HISTORICAL MUSEUM & PRESERVATION SOCIETY 536 N. Bay Street, Eustis, FL 32726 (352) 483-0046

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION / RENEWAL

Date: [ ] New Membership [ ] Renewal [ ] Other Donation

Student $10 Individual $20 Family $25

Business $55 Life Member $500 Other Donation

Name / Business Name:

Address: City, State, Zip:

Email Address:

Newsletters are delivered by email unless you check this box [ ] for postal delivery

PHONE: ALTERNATE PHONE:

Areas of Volunteer Interest:

The Eustis Historical Museum & Preservation Society is a non-profit 501c3 organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

Two of our members, Marcia Arnold and Joyce Evans-

Norcross, have joined forces with me (Tim) to create a

new group at the museum.

It’s called the “First Ladies of the Eustis Historical

Museum” and it is designed to be a way for women in

our community to experience history, support the

museum and have a great time together.

The only rule of the “First Ladies” is that we will never

require a member to cook, clean, polish silver, sweep a

floor or wash a window!

The logo for the group, shown above, features a framed

silhouette of Mrs. Unity Bell Clifford, the “first lady” of

the Clifford House, who moved to Eustis in the 1870’s

with her husband, G.D. Clifford.

The group will enjoy special events at the museum,

including teas and luncheons, along with trips to historic

sites around the state. Trips for the remainder of this

year include a guided tour of Clermont’s historic village

and a day trip to St. Augustine.

The only requirement to join is that you are already a

female member of the museum. There are no additional

membership fees.

In addition to trips and other events, the First Ladies will

also serve as social hostesses as official museum

functions. This includes the Appraisal Fairs, the

Christmas House, the Artisan Market and at monthly

meetings.

To join, please call Marcia Arnold at 352-408-6820.

BUSINESS MEMBERS Please consider supporting those businesses which support the work of your Preservation Society.

Bay Pharmacy (352) 357-4341

Forever Ballroom (352)742-9461

Merry Jewelers (352) 589-4321

Bronson Ace Hardware

(352) 357-2366

Harden – Pauli Funeral Home (352) 357-4126

Rick Howe’s Auto Repair (352)357-9991

Coldwell Banker

Tyre & Taylor Realty, Inc. (352) 357-4100

Premier Pet Solutions by Dana Ellerby (352) 460-7409

Paulhamus Produce, Inc. (And catering service)

(352)357-6284

Inspired Designs by Sue Hooper (352) 589-0867

Classic Tents & Events (352) 357-7920

Steve’s Heating & A/C (352) 636-2064

www.stevetheacguy.com

Wall Street in the Dirt (352)357-5433

Jack & Andy’s Electric (352) 357-4459

Tom’s Color Bar (352)483-4247

Bills Prestige Printing

(352) 589-5833 Party Source of Eustis

(352) 357-5700 United Southern Bank

(352) 589-2121

Eustis Historical Museum

& Preservation Society

536 North Bay Street

Eustis, Florida 32726

Phone: 352-483-0046

eustismuseum@gmail.com