March 2012 Eustis Historical Museum Newsletter

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MUSEUM HOURS Tuesday Friday 1:00 pm 5:00 pm Saturdays 10:00 am 3:00 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 2 nd Vice-President Danyel Moulden Recording Secretary Anita Ezelle Corresponding Secretary John Blankenship Treasurer APPOINTED Louise Carter - Historian Regina Heffington - Website Marcia Arnold First Ladies Eustis Reflections A Monthly Publication of the Eustis Historical Museum & Preservation Society, Inc. Volume VIII, Number 23 March 2012 www.eustishistoricalmuseum.com EVENTS CALENDAR Mar 2 First Friday Streetfest Downtown Eustis Friday from 5:00 pm 9:00 pm Mar 11 Eustis Road ShowAppraisal Clinic 1pm 4pm at Eustis Community Center Just $5 per item for a professional appraisal Mar 17 2 nd Annual Clifford House Artisan Market 10am 4pm on the grounds of the Museum More than 40 artisans will be on hand selling their work Mar 22 Monthly Museum Meeting and Presentation 7:00 pm at the Clifford House Friends, There are several exciting things happening this month, including an Appraisal Clinic where you can get your antiques valued, the 2 nd Annual Artisan Market, which will bring us dozens of artisans to sell their handmade work on the grounds of the museum and an exciting meeting on the fourth Thursday of the month with a special historical presentation. Were also following through on plans discussed at the January meeting that received a unanimous vote from the membership. We will begin moving parts of the museum collection around, including two showcases going to the entrance area of City Hall to show off the history of Eustis and direct visitors to come see us at the Clifford House. We are also working to place exhibits in other high-traffic areas in Eustis and make room for a revitalization of the house as we work to return the house to a snapshot in timeof earlier Eustis history. Im excited about the changes that are coming our way and the opportunity to work with so many talented and dedicated volunteers to make this historical museum a treasure in the community. Sincerely, Timothy Totten, President

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Newsletter for March 2012 for Eustis Historical Museum in Eustis, Florida.

Transcript of March 2012 Eustis Historical Museum Newsletter

MUSEUM HOURS

Tuesday – Friday

1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Saturdays

10:00 am – 3:00 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

Marcia Arnold – First Ladies

Eustis Reflections

A Monthly Publication of the

Eustis Historical Museum & Preservation Society, Inc.

Volume VIII, Number 23 – March 2012 www.eustishistoricalmuseum.com

EVENTS CALENDAR

Mar 2 First Friday Streetfest – Downtown Eustis

Friday from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Mar 11 “Eustis Road Show” Appraisal Clinic

1pm – 4pm at Eustis Community Center

Just $5 per item for a professional appraisal

Mar 17 2nd Annual Clifford House Artisan Market

10am – 4pm on the grounds of the Museum

More than 40 artisans will be on hand selling their work

Mar 22 Monthly Museum Meeting and Presentation

7:00 pm at the Clifford House

Friends,

There are several exciting things happening this month, including an Appraisal Clinic where you can get your antiques valued, the 2nd Annual Artisan Market, which will bring us dozens of artisans to sell their handmade work on the grounds of the museum and an exciting meeting on the fourth Thursday of the month with a special historical presentation.

We’re also following through on plans discussed at the January meeting that received a unanimous vote from the membership. We will begin moving parts of the museum collection around, including two showcases going to the entrance area of City Hall to show off the history of Eustis and direct visitors to come see us at the Clifford House. We are also working to place exhibits in other high-traffic areas in Eustis and make room for a revitalization of the house as we work to return the house to a “snapshot in time” of earlier Eustis history.

I’m excited about the changes that are coming our way and the opportunity to work with so many talented and dedicated volunteers to make this historical museum a treasure in the community.

Sincerely, Timothy Totten, President

CURATOR’S CORNER by Ted Waterfall

Good news! It is my understanding that we have finally broken even on our expenses associated with the purchase of the Eustis books and now each additional purchase actually represents a profit to the museum. Do talk the book up and encourage people to buy them.

March brings with it the early rumblings of the start of this season’s historically favorite American past-time: baseball. Pitchers and catchers have reported, my Atlanta Braves will be at Disney World for Spring Training, and the regular season will begin sooner than you can shake a stick at it (or a bat, for that matter). So I have selected from Mr. Greenlee’s articles one of his submissions related to his love of baseball. I hope you will enjoy reading it.

We recently conducted a tour through the museum with Tours by Nona, one of the tour guides we recently contacted about our museum. This one was a bit different, however, in that the guests were, themselves, travel agents and tour guides. Maybe this can spread the word about us even more.

We recently received a thank-you note from the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando for our recent contribution to them of the Eustis book we have been selling.

Habitat-for-Humanity Stamps: Don’t forget to save all of the postage stamps from your mail and bring them with you to the monthly meetings or simply drop them by the museum. I collect them and give them to Habitat-for-Humanity which sells them to Mystic Stamp Company. Habitat then uses the income for worthy causes like helping to build houses for the needy, etc. Please do not damage the stamp as you tear it from the envelope or it must be thrown away.

That’s it for now, so until next month …

Keep your powder dry.*

Ted

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

The Eustis Historical Museum cordially invites you to their Second Annual Mother’s Day Tea & Luncheon at the Eustis Women’s Club.

Saturday, May 12th at 11:30 am

There will be several surprises, including a gift for each mother in attendance.

Lunch includes colorful finger sandwiches, gourmet greens with delicate fresh fruits and luscious dessert assortment.

Cost is $25 per person. Members of the First Ladies of the Eustis Historical Museum receive a special discount.

Space is limited, so please make sure to call Tim at 352-242-8111 to reserve your seat and arrange payment. You may also visit the museum to make payment and reserve.

Mother’s Day Tea

ABOVE: Eustis First Lady Barbara Coates (right) and her daughter at the 2011 Mother’s Day Tea.

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:

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As I said in an earlier episode, baseball was my life in the early 50s! I’m sure that the other sports had their good points, but none of them appealed to me like baseball! I am not a terribly gifted athlete and I probably worked a little harder than some of the others to produce acceptable results.

I was rather proud that my batting average was pretty good in high school. But every young struggling player needs something special to happen to him or her at least once. It happened for me during a high school game in Apopka. I was playing left field and no doubt playing too shallow.

One of those Apopka sluggers smacked a line drive that was obviously going to be over my head and would roll all the way to the fence! The guy would probably have an inside-the-park homerun!

Well, I tore out toward the fence, fully intending to retrieve the ball and accept the humiliation of not playing my field correctly. But I ran as fast I my legs would allow, and when I thought the ball might just be passing overhead somewhere at that moment, I leapt as high as I could with my glove turned around backward!

And SMACK! Somehow and the Lord only knows how, the baseball slammed itself right into the pocket of my glove! (I had no idea I was within 15 feet of it!) I had made a brilliant catch! Even the Apopka fans were applauding me! It was the third out and I then had the privilege of trotting in to this continuing round of appreciation of what I had done!

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Folks, the Lord has a way of keeping me from being too proud of myself! As I came in smiling and waving to fans, I bumped my head on the dugout roof! Near about knocked myself out! I’m not sure, but I hope that clumsy act on my part was not witnessed by too many of those fans.

But a couple of innings later, the hero became just another struggling outfielder he really was. There was a short fly ball to center field that that fielder would not be able to get to. I ran over, took a dive at it and as I rolled on the ground it looked to me like I had caught it! Two great catches in one day? No.

Alas, when I hit the ground the ball dislodged from my glove. In fact, I never really had it securely in my glove. The glory is now just a memory! Coach Bill Kelsey told me later that he was glad that I had dropped that one. He said that they would not have been able to live with me afterward if I had caught that one, too! Coach may have had a point!

Batter up!

Saturday, March 11, 2012 was our trip to the Orange County Regional History Center located in downtown Orlando. It was a cold morning with a brisk wind coming off Lake Eustis as we gathered in the parking lot at the Clifford House Museum. There were a total of 7 people coming on this trip. I would like to thank Joanne Hart-Rittenhouse and Maxine Green for being our designated drivers. Note to everyone going to downtown Orlando, park in the Library parking garage. Have the museum validate your ticket so you won’t have to pay for parking. Before we headed out I gave the group a little history of the Orange County Regional History Center.

The Orange County History Museum is housed in the historic 1927 Orange County Courthouse which was completely restored in 2000. The Architect was Murry S. King using the “Beaux Arts” design which, in the French language means fine arts. It is a classical style building with its arched second story façade windows and Greek columns on the third floor along with decorative medallions on the corners of the building.

The Orange County Regional History Center has vast rotating collections and three floors of permanent exhibits. First floor is the atrium and gift shop and the beginning of the grand staircase to the upper floors. All floors are also accessible by elevator.

On the fifth floor are the administrative offices, research center and archives which we were not allowed to tour.

Fourth floor had the history of Florida with its informational displays on cattle, citrus, early pioneers and Florida Indian tribes. I thought the Florida Citrus history area was fascinating with all the different kinds of labels displayed on the wall and ancient tools to extract juice.

In the exhibit, there was a replica of an old Florida cabin. Interesting that they used thin cotton curtains to keep the bugs out but at night they had mosquito netting hanging from the ceiling over the bed. There was a sinkhole display explaining how they happen and a map showing where most of them have occurred.

The third floor had the original courtroom with its beautiful wood paneled walls, huge bowl like light fixtures and tiled floor. I got the opportunity to sit at the judge’s bench! Our guide told us that back then they did not have air conditioning so the huge windows where opened at the top and across from them the transom windows above the doors accessing the courtroom were opened to let the air in for circulation.

Second floor had a large meeting room, African American Heritage display and finally their current rotating display, “Beyond Baseball, The Life of Roberto Clemente”. This will run from January 21-March 18, 2012. It is a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institute Latino Center. Roberto Clemente was one of the greatest baseball players of modern time. I remember seeing him play at the Met Stadium in Minneapolis back in the early 70’s. He died in a plane crash in 1972 while delivering food to his home country of Puerto Rico.

As you leave the front of the building you will see a beautiful drop down park with a dancing water fountain and large bronze sculptures of alligators and hunters. Just to the left of this park is the Library. It is new but uses a modern twist on the Frank Lloyd Wright design.

We all proceeded to have lunch a few blocks away at Waitiki Retro Lounge and listened to Bob Marley songs, Reggae music. Prices were reasonable around $10 each plus tip and we were about the only people in the place.

Due to scheduling conflicts, the March trip has been canceled. Our next trip will be in April to the Morse Museum in Winter Park. Hope to see you there!

UPCOMING FUNDRAISING EVENTS The museum’s single biggest focus, bringing the history of Eustis to life each and every day, is also our biggest expense. In our area, we are somewhat unique in that we staff our museum five days a week with a curator. This allows us to provide tours Tuesday through Saturday to all visitors to the Clifford House. To afford this expense, the museum relies upon the support of the City of Eustis (building maintenance and utilities), monetary and in-kind donations from members and the community, and proceeds from fundraisers. Please consider attending one of our fundraisers to support your local historical museum.

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

Party Servers & Catering by Joyce 407-808-0916

[email protected]

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

Classic Tents & Events (352) 357-7920

United Southern Bank (352) 589-2121

Party Source of Eustis

(352) 357-5700

Eustis Historical Museum

& Preservation Society

536 North Bay Street

Eustis, Florida 32726

Phone: 352-483-0046

[email protected]