This Week Newsletter - September 1, 2010
 |
|
The Historic Crocker Church in Pioneer Park
This charming and historic wooden church has been moved three times and it finally has a permanent home in Pioneer Park adjacent to the Bidwell-Wood house; the home of the Historical Society of Sarasota County. The Crocker Church has a wonderful story that includes how a disabled Civil War veteran went to great lengths to make this place of worship a reality. Join Lee as he shares this story of endurance and fortitude. Click here view the video.
Tales of Sarasota
Where ya from? Gosh, anyone who knows Pete Esthus does't have to ask such a question, for sure. Well, a retiree to Englewood did just that after buying him and his wife matching Schwinn bikes - quite the status symbol back when Pete and Diane had their shop on State Street. Click here to find out what brought this all on. How long have you been in Sarasota?
The Sarasota Times(The Sarasota Times newspaper was our area's first. Rose Wilson was the publisher and editor for many years after her husband passed away. Sarasota History Alive! would like to share artices from this paper with you that reflect on our heritage. Today we have chosen one dated September 8, 1910 that tells of the goings on in Osprey and Laurel in South County. It's hard to imagine how simple life used to be a hundred years ago; relatively speaking.
Stray Straws From Osprey Bible reading at Mary’s Chapel (pictured) every Sunday morning at ten o’clock. Everybody invited. Subject for September 11th, “Bible Unity.” Mr. Conrad’s new house on Webb’s point is nearing completion and with the many large windows and wide verandas it will be a delightful, cool and airy place. Mr. Orville Shumard’s new home on the island begins to show up at a distance and when completed will be the nicest residence on Casey’s Key; but then, he needs a new house in which to keep that little wife and nice new baby. School began at Bayone Monday with a good attendance. Miss Florence Shumard teacher. Fish are scarce but fishermen and gill nets are on the increase. Laurel Items We see by the last Times, Venice wants to change the name of our little village from Laurel to Ideal, and then add Venice, too. If you please, we will change the name by our own votes. At present the name is Laurel. Mr. Arthur Daniels holds the position of Captain on the turpentine dredge. Miss Wheeler of Bradentown is spending the week with Mrs. B.F. Blackburn. Mr. Harn has his two-story house ready to move into and will paint it after the rainy season. Captain and Mrs. B.F. Blackburn visited their daughter, Mrs. Roberts at Englewood, the first of the week. Captain W.D. Blackburn and Professor G.M. Ragan are assisting in the survey of the channel for the Suwannee to dredge from Roberts to Casey’s Pass. Mr. Mixon has completed Mr. Frazees well and will now put one down for Mr. Phillips. Major Russell is slowly improving from his encounter with a sting-ray. Miss Minnie Daniels is attending school at Englewood. Messrs. Phillips and Frazee have their truck farm in good condition for a fall crop. (photo credit: Sarasota County History Center) Sarasota's Historic Wilson House
What used to be tucked away on the southeast corner of Ringling Boulevard and South Orange Avenue was a small unassuming house that rested in the shadow of the restored Federal Building. When the home was purchased in 1907, as a residence for Dr. Cullen Bryant “C.B.” Wilson and his wife Fannie, the Federal Building did not yet exist among the scattered residences of South Orange Avenue. Today, Regions Bank stands in the location of the Wilson house, after it was moved to Urfer Park at 4012 Honore Avenue near where Bee Ridge Road and Honore intersects. On November 13th of this year Sarasota County will host its grand opening to celebrate its place in our history. The house was constructed in 1906 and quite likely designed by architect Edgar Ferdonk who was practicing in Sarasota in the early part of the 20th century. The building was enlarged in 1913 with a roof top addition to create a full second story which according to family members was used to house seriously ill patients. When the second story was added to the building, the chimneys at each end of the structure were retained but mostly enclosed within the second story. Today, only one chimney is visible on the north side of the house. The house is notable for its long association with the Wilson family and use of pressed stone, a precursor to today’s concrete block. Pressed stone, sometimes called rusticated block, was frequently manufactured on-site with portable molds. Although this material is evident in a number of early Sarasota homes, the stone on the Wilson house is unique for its larger size. Dr. Wilson was a lifetime resident of Sarasota, born in 1878 in old Miakka, the son of state senator Augustus Wilson and Callie Crum Wilson. Augustus Wilson moved to Old Miakka in 1877 from Polk County. After his arrival he served as the first postmaster in what is now Sarasota County, as well as an Indian Agent for the State of Florida. Perhaps most significant, Augustus Wilson was the Florida Senator who introduced the bill to create Sarasota County in 1921. Read more... (photo credit: Paula Cullen Wilson collection)
Ain't Life Grand?Your editor spends a great deal of time at the Sarasota County History Center finding interesting information for you to ponder. While there, he also comes across many photos that depict life at an earlier time in history. With that in mind, check out this image.
Well, in this photo, a little someone sure doesn't look too happy about having her picture taken. Come on honey, it can't be all that bad. Say cheese... (photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)
The Very Thing to Send (Electronically)
Oh, how perfectly convenient! Vintage e-Postcards of Sarasota to send to friends and family with a quick thought from you. Nobody has much free time to write and stamp a card these days, so check out our postcard service. It's fun and as 'easy as pie'. Click here to view the postcards, and try out this 'good time' feature. |
Chet Ihrig and His Field of Dreams(Editors note: This article appeared in the 1937 Sarasota High School’s yearbook – The Sailor’s Log)
Ihrig Field, athletic plant of Sarasota High School, is proclaimed one of Sarasota’s most important assets. The plant, modern in every detail, was constructed during the past summer, work beginning on it the latter part of May and ending the last week of September.
The crew which worked on the construction of the plant during the summer consisted principally of high school boys. The athletic plant includes football field, equipped with bleachers and a lighting system fr night games, a 440-yard cinder track, a basketball court, two tennis courts, two baseball diamonds, and a two-story club house. In the upper story of the club house is a recreation room where table tennis and other indoor sports may be enjoyed. Coach Ihrig stated that other improvements are planned for the near future. In honor of the man who was chiefly responsible for its construction, the athletic plant was officially dedicated as Ihrig Field between the halves of the Sarasota-Fort Myers football game on November 26, 1936. (photo credit: Sarasota High School 1937 yearbook - The Sailor's Log)
Yesterday's Sarasota CalendarEvery day of the year we highlight what took place in Sarasota's history, thanks to Whit Rylee and Tom Payne's extensive research and sense of humor. Frequently check our website's homepage to find out what occured today. Also, be sure and check out Whit's website at: www.ChickenHillNC.com.
(photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)
The Wilson House will be Open in November
History Locator
The Florida Mortgage and Investment Company deeded five acres in 1905 to Trustees John Mays, Willis G.P. Washington, Lewis Colson, Campbell Mitchell and J. P. Carter for a “colored” cemetery. The land was platted in 1910 as Oaklands Cemetery. For a few years in the late 1920s the cemetery was known as Pepperhill. By 1929 it was called Woodlawn. The earliest death date on a marked grave is 1905. Other gravestones and funeral home records indicate that at least eleven of the people buried in the cemetery were born before the end of the Civil War. One of these was cemetery trustee Willis G.P. Washington, who was born in 1851. Carrie Belle Warren’s headstone shows a birth date of 1808. Oaklands-Woodlawn Cemetery was the first cemetery formally established for the burial of Sarasota County’s black residents. Thus, funeral records show that people from Tallevast to Myakka to Venice were brought to Sarasota for burial. Residents of the Johnson Camp for farm workers in Fruitville, the Bee Ridge Turpentine Camp, Laurel and Wood-mere (a sawmill town south of Venice) joined those of Sarasota’s Overtown and Newtown communities in the cemetery. Read reverse side...
Who Am I?The winner from our last quiz was Greg Tucci. Congratulations, Greg! Click here to review the photo, question and the correct answer of last week's challenge.
Your challenge is to decide What Street I was located on, and Who Am I? (photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)
Your prize this week is a Sarasota High School tote bag, and is created and supplied by Sarasota History Alive!
If you would like to be a sponsor of our "Where Am I?" quiz, please call us at (941) 951-7727. It only cost $25 per week for us to set up your ad, and then you only have to provide a prize for the winner. What could be easier?
Letters-To-The-EditorWe are accepting letters-to-the-editor, so please Click here to submit your comments, experiences, ideas, and general informat ion. Thanks for continuing to keep Sarasota’s history alive!
Dear Editor: Regarding your article on Ben Stahl... When I was in the Holy Land, during Christmas of 1959, I THINK my mother was interested in purchasing there, a painting by Ben Stahl, but ended up just getting a print or a poster, which depicted that area of the world. But, could this have been a dream of mine, and if so perhaps she bought it here in Sarasota, when my parents were building their retirement home on Casey Key (still the smallest house on the Key today!). I was a teenager at the time, and can't quite remember HOW this poster ended up in our treasures, and I lost my parents soon after that trip, so I can't ask them! Thanks, if you can shed any light on Ben Stahl's travels! Jane Kirschner-Tuccillo
Friends of the History Center Receive Grant
This grant was made possible through the Frances T. Bourne and the Lillian Grant Burns Memorial Fund for Research and Preservation of Sarasota County History. Pictured here is approximately one-third of the collection at the History Center that first needs to be cataloged and inventoried before the next steps of preservation can occur.
Do You Have a Story?
New College anthropology students are looking for people to interview. They create brief narrated slide shows that tell the water stories from our community. Sign up to be interviewed by calling John Ryan at: 941-650-2159 or email to jryan@scgov.net. Enjoy the oral histories online at: www.sarasotaoralhistory.org This project is sponsored by Sarasota County, New College of Sarasota, and the Sarasota County Water Atlas.
|
Now that school is back in session, it won't be long before students will be coming home with the inevitable school pictures to purchase. 
The idea of building an athletic plant in connection with the
high school was that of Chet A. Ihrig, athletic coach of Sarasota High School.
His untiring efforts established a complete athletic field on the large track
of land located back of the high school building. The school board and city
officials co-operated and construction began. The county commissioners aided by
permitting convict labor to be used, and Mr. L. M. Johnson, agriculture
instructor of Sarasota High School, assisted greatly in developing the project.
Private donations from the citizens who so willingly gave their support were
too numerous to mention, but Coach Ihrig wishes to express his appreciation to
each and every donor. 
This coming Monday in 1926, the El Vernona Hotel described as the "Aristocrat of Beauty," unofficially opened its doors. Built by Owen Burns, and named after his wife Vernona Freeman. The architect for the building was Dwight James Baum of New York. Later, it became known as the John Ringling Hotel. Today, in its place, stands the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
In the left column of this newsletter is an article by Lorrie Muldowney that details the historic C.B. Wilson house. This home has been restored to its glory and will be open to public following a dedication ceremony on November 13, 2010. As more details become available, we will keep you informed of this delightful accomplishment by all involved.
This week we are honoring Oaklands-Woodlawn Cemetery historical marker. It reads: 
I was a pretty attractive place, wasn't I? Such a shame I got torn down - a controversial parking lot stands in my place now. Figures. So...let your mind wander back to a splendid time in the 1920s (before the Land Boom collapse) and imagine what I was there for to promote Sarasota. 
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County has awarded the Friends of The Sarasota County History Center a grant of $3,749 to be used toward a project to preserve the Swain and Crooks film collection.
Water has always been a big part of life in the Sarasota area. Do you
have memories and photos to share?"Sarasota History Alive!" is a part of the "Florida History Alive!" network
Return to Sarasota History Alive