1
100
9
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Central Florida Historical Resources Collection
Description
The Central Florida Historical Resources Collection showcases some of the local museums, archives, and historical societies mentioned throughout the RICHES MI database. Each entry provides a summary of the institution's mission and goals, along with necessary contact information.
Alternative Title
Historical Resources Collection
Subject
Museums--Florida
Archives--Florida
Historical societies
Orlando (Fla.).
Winter Park (Fla.).
Mims (Fla.).
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Orange County Regional History Center, Downtown Orlando, Florida
Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex, Mims, Florida
Hannibal Square Heritage Center, Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
GLBT History Museum of Central Florida, Inc., Orlando, Florida
Curator
Marra, Katherine
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://thehistorycenter.org/" target="_blank">Orange County Regional History Center</a>." Orange County Regional History Center. http://thehistorycenter.org/.
"<a href="http://www.thehistorycenter.org/historicalsocietyofcentralfl" target="_blank">Historical Society of Central Florida, Inc.</a>" Historical Society of Central Florida, Inc. http://www.thehistorycenter.org/historicalsocietyofcentralfl.
"<a href="http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/" target="_blank">African American-Black History at Hannibal Square Heritage Center</a>." Hannibal Square Heritage Center. http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/.
"<a href="http://www.harryharriettemoore.org/" target="_blank">Who were Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore?</a>" The Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex, Inc. http://www.harryharriettemoore.org/.
"<a href="http://www.brevardcounty.us/ParksRecreation/North/MooreMemorial/Home" target="_blank">Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Memorial Park</a>." Brevard County. http://www.brevardcounty.us/ParksRecreation/North/MooreMemorial/Home.
"<a href="http://www.nbbd.com/godo/moore/" target="_blank">Harry T. Moore Homesite</a>." Titusville, Florida. http://www.nbbd.com/godo/moore/.
"<a href="http://glbthistorymuseum.com/joomla25/index.php?lang=en" target="_blank">GLBT History Museum of Central Florida, Inc.</a>" GLBT History Museum of Central Florida, Inc. http://glbthistorymuseum.com/joomla25/index.php?lang=en.
Website
A resource comprising of a web page or web pages and all related assets ( such as images, sound and video files, etc. ).
Local URL
<a title="Hannibal Square Heritage Center" href="http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/" target="_blank">http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/</a>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Hannibal Square Heritage Center
Alternative Title
Hannibal Square Heritage Center
Subject
Civil rights--Florida
Winter Park (Fla.)
African Americans--Florida
Museums--Florida
Description
According to its website, "The Hannibal Square Heritage Center represents a first-of-a-kind experience in Central Florida where the history of a community is told by members of the community itself through The Heritage Collection: Photographs and Oral Histories of West Winter Park, The Hannibal Square Timeline, which chronicles significant local and national events in civil rights and African-American history, and public art installations and educational programs that explore the African-American experience, southern folklore and cultural preservation. The center also features a Visiting Exhibition Series. The exhibitions and programs held at the center weave the stories of this unique and proud neighborhood together with African-American history and experience in general.
Visitors to the Heritage Center are moved by the immediate, personal stories of the people of west Winter Park and the Hannibal Square community by the beautiful and accessible presentation of the historical information and artwork. Adults as well as children can experience the first-person accounts and pictures collected from memories and shoe boxes stored for generations under the beds of the people who share their stories. The Hannibal Square Heritage Center inspires all visitors to become more aware of, respect, explore, and participate in their own community's history and heritage."
Creator
<a href="http://www.crealde.org/" target="_blank">Crealdé School of Art</a>
Source
Hannibal Sqaure Heritage Center
642 West New England Avenue
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Format
application/http
Medium
Website
Type
Website
Coverage
Winter Park, Florida
Spatial Coverage
28.595808, -81.357591
Temporal Coverage
2007-01-01/2014-12-31
Accrual Method
Deposit
Rights Holder
The Hannibal Square Heritage Center holds all rights to the items housed within the institution as well as those items represented digitally on <a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>. Contact the <a href="http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/" target="_blank">Hannibal Square Heritage Center</a> for the proper permissions for the use of its items.
Contributing Project
<a href="http://nextexithistory.com/" target="_blank">Next Exit History™</a>
Curator
Marra, Katherine
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/" target="_blank">Hannibal Square Heritage Center</a>
External Reference
"African American-Black History at Hannibal Square Heritage Center." Hannibal Square Heritage Center. http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/.
External Reference Title
"<a href="http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/" target="_blank">African American-Black History at Hannibal Square Heritage Center</a>"
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/" target="_blank">http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/</a>
Date Created
2007-01-01
Contributor
<a href="http://cityofwinterpark.org/" target="_blank">City of Winter Park</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/25" target="_blank">Central Florida Historical Resources Collection</a>, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
City of Winter Park
Crealdé
Crealdé School
Crealdé School of Art
Hannibal Square
Hannibal Square Heritage Center
Hannibal Square Timeline
Heritage Collection
Heritage Collection: Photographs and Oral Histories of West Winter Park,
New England Ave.
New England Avenue
Visiting Exhibition Series
West Winter Park
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https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/cd15b8f0e27822d2a979231c4e24645c.mp3
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection
Alternative Title
RICHES Podcast Collection
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Description
RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore Central Florida history and are locally produced. These podcasts can involve the participation or cooperation of local area partners.
Contributor
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Cassanello, Robert
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Altoona, Florida
Apopka, Florida
Astor, Florida
Barberville, Florida
Brevard County, Florida
Bushnell, Florida
Clermont, Florida
Cocoa, Florida
Cocoa Beach, Florida
College Park, Orlando, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
DeLand, Florida
Disston City, Florida
Eatonville, Florida
Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Florida
Fort King, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Geneva, Florida
Goldenrod, Florida
Groveland, Florida
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Holly Hill, Florida
Hontoon Island, DeLand, Florida
Indian River, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Key West, Florida
Kissimmee, Florida
Lake Apopka, Florida
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Lake County, Florida
Lake Mary, Florida
Marion County, Florida
Merritt Island, Florida
Mims, Florida
Mount Dora, Florida
Newnans Lake, Gainesville, Florida
New Smyrna, Florida
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocklawaha River, Florida
Ocoee, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Ormond Beach, Florida
Osceola County, Florida
Oviedo, Florida
Parramore, Orlando, Florida
Reedy Creek, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Silver Springs, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Cloud, Florida
St. Johns River, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Titusville, Florida
Vero Beach, Florida
Weirsdale, Florida
Winter Garden, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Ybor City, Tampa, Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
External Reference
<span>"</span><a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a><span>." RICHES of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php.</span>
Has Part
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/137" target="_blank">A History of Central Florida Collection</a>, RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES<br /></a>
Sound/Podcast
A resource whose content is primarily intended to be rendered as audio.
Original Format
1 audio podcast
Duration
26 minutes and 24seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
320kbps
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 53: Community-Based Research
Alternative Title
Community-Based Research Podcast
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Local history--United States
Rollins College (Winter Park, Fla.)
Winter Park (Fla.)
Description
Episode 53 of RICHES Podcast Documentaries: Community-Based Research. RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore Central Florida history and are locally produced. These podcasts can involve the participation or cooperation of local area partners. <br /><br />Episode 53 features an interview with Dr. Julian C. Chambliss about community-based research and how he incorporates this approach into his teaching. An associate professor of history at Rollins College, Dr. Chambliss is the coordinator of the Africa and African-American Studies Program.
Abstract
In this episode I spoke with Dr. Julian Chambliss, an associate professor of history at Rollins College. He is the coordinator of the Africa and African-American Studies Program at Rollins. I spoke with Dr. Chambliss about Community Based Research, specifically how he incorporates this approach to his teaching.
Type
Sound/Podcast
Source
Original 26-minute and 24-second podcast by Robert Cassanello, May 15, 2013: "RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 53: Community-Based Research." <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>, Orlando, Florida.
Is Part Of
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/70" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Coverage
Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park History Museum, Winter Park, Florida
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Creator
Cassanello, Robert
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Contributor
Chambliss, Julian C.
Date Created
ca. 2013-05-15
Format
audio/mp3
Extent
60.4 MB
Medium
26-minute and 24-second podcast
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Robert Cassanello and published by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Accrual Method
Item Creation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
External Reference
"<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/items/show/2507" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 53: Community-Based Research</a>." RICHES of Central Florida. https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/items/show/2507.
"<a href="http://myweb.rollins.edu/jchambliss/Julian_C._Chambliss/Bio.html" target="_blank">Bio</a>." Julian C. Chambliss, Rollins College. http://myweb.rollins.edu/jchambliss/Julian_C._Chambliss/Bio.html.
"<a href="http://www.winterparkhistory.org/" target="_blank">Winter Park Historical Association</a>." Winter Park Historical Association. http://www.winterparkhistory.org/.
Frazier, Amanda E. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47806651" target="_blank"><em>On the Other Side of the Tracks: Redevelopment in West Winter Park</em></a>. Thesis (A.B. Honoris)--Rollins College, 2001, 2001.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/files/original/cd15b8f0e27822d2a979231c4e24645c.mp3" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 53: Community-Based Research</a>
Date Copyrighted
2013-05-15
Date Issued
2013-05-15
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
Africa and African-American Studies Program
African American
African American community
African American neighborhood
Burlington, Vermont
Chambliss, Julian C.
City of Winter Park
co-working model
Colony Theatre
community-based research
Cummings, Denise K.
deindustrialization
Department of Critical Media and Cultural Studies
Department of English
Department of History
documentary
dot-com bubble
e-commerce
education
educator
equity
Florida Humanities Council
Florida Humanities Council grant
gentrification
Grant
Great Recession
Hannibal Square
Hannibal Square Community Land Trust
Hannibal Square Land Trust
historical society
Hopkins, Mary Ann
housing
India
Indian
Internet
local history
museum
oral history
podcast
Pottery Barn
professor
radio
radio documentary
real estate
real estate development
real estate industry
recession
RICHES Podcast Documentaries
Robert Cassanello
Rollins College
Rollins College Department of Critical Media and Cultural Studies
Rollins College Department of English
Rollins College Department of History
teacher
urban
urbanization
Winter Park
Winter Park Historical Association
Winter Park History Museum
WPHA
WPRK
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Winter Park Collection
Description
Collection of digital images, documents, and other records depicting the history of Winter Park, Florida. Series descriptions are based on special topics, the majority of which students focused their metadata entries around.
The first known residents of the Winter Park area were the Seminole Indians, who were a creolized culture resulting from the intermingling of the Muscogee (also known as the Creek) people and the Chotaw people.
In 1858, David Mizell, Hr. purchased a homestead between Lake Virginia, Lake Mizell, and Lake Berry. The settlement around his homestead was first called Lake View, until it was renamed Osceola in 1870. When a South Florida Railroad track was laid nearby, the area began to develop.
Loring Chase and Oliver E. Chapman began planning the town of Winter Park around the late 1870s and early 1880s. Rollins College, Florida's first four-year college, was founded in 1885 and the Seminole Hotel opened the following year.
Contributor
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>
Cepero, Laura Lynn
Alternative Title
Winter Park Collection
Subject
Winter Park (Fla.)
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/46" target="_blank">Orange County Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Winter Park, Florida
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
<span>"</span><a href="http://cityofwinterpark.org/" target="_blank">City of Winter Park</a><span>." City of Winter Park, Florida. http://cityofwinterpark.org/.</span>
"<a href="http://www.wphistory.org/explore-history/winter-park/" target="_blank">WINTER PARK HISTORY</a>." Winter Park History Museum, Winter Park Historical Society. http://www.wphistory.org/explore-history/winter-park/.
Has Part
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/152" target="_blank">Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens Collection</a>, Winter Park Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
10th Annual Unity Heritage Festival
Alternative Title
Unity Heritage Festival
Subject
Winter Park (Fla.)
Festivals--Florida
Parks--Florida
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
Holidays--United States
Music--Florida
Description
The 10th Annual Unity Heritage Festival, held at Shady Park, on the corner of South Pennsylvania Avenue and West New England Avenue, in Hannibal Square in Winter Park, Florida, in 2012. The festival is held annual on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, as well as the day before. The festival was hosted by the City of Winter Park in order to "promote family history and raise funds for the Educational Fulfillment Fund for local economically disadvantaged youth," according to the city website. These images show various performers dancing and singing to a variety of songs by Motown artists, such as the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, and the Four Tops.
Type
Still Image
Source
Original color photographs by Laura Lynn Cepero, January 16, 2012: Private Collection of Laura Lynn Cepero.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/34" target="_blank">Winter Park Collection</a>, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original color photographs by Laura Lynn Cepero, January 16, 2012.
Coverage
Shady Park, Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Creator
Cepero, Laura Lynn
Contributor
Cepero, Laura Lynn
Date Created
2012-01-16
Format
image/jpg
Extent
39.8 KB
33.1 KB
42.2 KB
25.5 KB
40.2 KB
31.3 KB
33.3 KB
43.1 KB
44.1 KB
34.4 KB
37.2 KB
44.1 KB
31.3 KB
38.2 KB
43.1 KB
34.4 KB
41.4 KB
35.9 KB
43.1 KB
Medium
19 color photographs
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Laura Lynn Cepero.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by Laura Lynn Cepero and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
McDonald, Lisa. "<a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/10th-annual-unity-heritage-festival" target="_blank">10th Annual Unity Heritage Festival!</a>." <em>Examiner</em>, January 13, 2012. http://www.examiner.com/article/10th-annual-unity-heritage-festival.
Transcript
NOW HERE!
SAMSUNG
GALAXY NEXUS
10th Annual Unity Heritage Festival
dancers
festivals
Hannibal Square
holidays
Laura Lynn Cepero
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Motown
music
New England Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue
Shady Park
singers
soul music
Unity Heritage Festival
vocalists
Winter Park
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https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/254867a60c37e3bc46fe285fbbefc1d7.mp3
e70959dd9ada35b99b1c24356dfbdc5a
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/2896dbb425123a3a5aa5e9375e239f3d.pdf
cf8be4c92aab6f192700c0aab496ff67
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection
Alternative Title
RICHES Podcast Collection
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Description
RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore Central Florida history and are locally produced. These podcasts can involve the participation or cooperation of local area partners.
Contributor
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Cassanello, Robert
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Altoona, Florida
Apopka, Florida
Astor, Florida
Barberville, Florida
Brevard County, Florida
Bushnell, Florida
Clermont, Florida
Cocoa, Florida
Cocoa Beach, Florida
College Park, Orlando, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
DeLand, Florida
Disston City, Florida
Eatonville, Florida
Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Florida
Fort King, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Geneva, Florida
Goldenrod, Florida
Groveland, Florida
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Holly Hill, Florida
Hontoon Island, DeLand, Florida
Indian River, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Key West, Florida
Kissimmee, Florida
Lake Apopka, Florida
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Lake County, Florida
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Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
External Reference
<span>"</span><a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a><span>." RICHES of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php.</span>
Has Part
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/137" target="_blank">A History of Central Florida Collection</a>, RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
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<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>.
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<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES<br /></a>
Sound/Podcast
A resource whose content is primarily intended to be rendered as audio.
Original Format
1 audio podcast
Duration
27 minutes and 59 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
128kbps
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 4: Gentrification and Urban Renewal: Revitalizing Central Florida’s African American Communities
Alternative Title
Gentrification and Urban Renewal Podcast
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Orlando (Fla.)
Winter Park (Fla.)
Gentrification--United States
Urban renewal--Florida--Orlando
Description
Episode 4 of RICHES Podcast Documentaries: Gentrification and Urban Renewal. RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore Central Florida history and are locally produced. These podcasts can involve the participation or cooperation of local area partners. <br /><br />Episode 4 examines some of the factors that led to the ultimate decline of what was once a relatively prosperous African-American community in Central Florida, the efforts that have gone into restoring them, and the effectiveness of those campaigns. Primarily looking at the history of the Parramore district and Hannibal Square, discussion topics range from the effects of urban development and gentrification to the ways in which these communities have fought to preserve their heritage and improve their neighborhoods.
Abstract
This podcast examines some of the factors that led to the ultimate decline of what was once a relatively prosperous African-American community in Central Florida, the efforts that have gone into restoring them, and the effectiveness of those campaigns. Primarily looking at the history of the Parramore district and Hannibal Square, discussion topics range from the effects of urban development and gentrification to the ways in which these communities have fought to preserve their heritage and improve their neighborhoods.
Type
Sound
Source
Original 27-minute and 59-second podcast by Geoffrey Cravero, April 1, 2011: "RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 4: Gentrification and Urban Renewal: Revitalizing Central Florida’s African American Communities." <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>, Orlando, Florida.
Is Part Of
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/70" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Coverage
Parramore, Orlando, Florida
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Creator
Cravero, Geoffrey
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Contributor
Thompson, Geraldine F.
Brotemarkle, Benjamin D.
Chambliss, Julian C.
Livingston, Fairolyn
Date Created
ca. 2011-04-01
Format
audio/mp3
Extent
25.8 MB
151 KB
Medium
27-minute and 59-second podcast
14-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher
Humanities Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Geoffrey Cravero and published by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Accrual Method
Item Creation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
External Reference
Cox, Dale. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/781177259" target="_blank"><em>Old Parramore: The History of a Florida Ghost Town</em></a>. S.l: Createspace], 2010.
Dickinson, Joy Wallace "<a href="http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2006-07-02/news/ORFLASH02_1_brotemarkle-oral-history-central-florida" target="_blank">Parramore Legacy: 'Black History is Part of Everybody's History'</a>." <em>The Orlando Sentinel</em>, July 2, 2006. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2006-07-02/news/ORFLASH02_1_brotemarkle-oral-history-central-florida.
"<a href="http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/ucf.edu.2577623765.02577623773.7292816977?i=1331393182" target="_blank"><span>RICHES Podcast Documentaries, </span>Episode 4: Gentrification and Urban Renewal</a>." RICHES of Central Florida. http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/ucf.edu.2577623765.02577623773.7292816977?i=1331393182.
Frazier, Amanda E. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47806651" target="_blank"><em>On the Other Side of the Tracks: Redevelopment in West Winter Park</em></a>. Thesis (A.B. Honoris)--Rollins College, 2001, 2001.
Florida. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/435532264" target="_blank"><em>Urban Revitalization in Florida</em></a>. [Tallahassee, Fla.]: Florida Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, 2005.
"<a href="http://www.cityoforlando.net/economic/pathways-for-parramore/" target="_blank">History of Pathways for Parramore</a>." City of Orlando. http://www.cityoforlando.net/economic/pathways-for-parramore/.
Livingston, Fairolyn. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/68757928" target="_blank"><em>A Window on Hannibal Square: A View of Life in Early Westside Winter Park and a Portrait of the Lives and Careers of Walter B. Simpson and Frank R. Israel, the Only Black Men to Every Hold Office in the City of Winter Park, Florida</em></a>. 1997.
Russin, Teresa. <a href="http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0021792" target="_blank"><em>The Community Land Trust Model and Smart Growth Principles As a Means to Provide Affordable Housing in the Face of Gentrification</em></a>. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida, 2007. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0021792.
"<a href="http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/aboutus.html" target="_blank">Welcome</a>." Hannibal Square Heritage Center. http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/aboutus.html.
"<a href="http://www.hannibalsquare.com/" target="_blank">Welcome to the Hannibal Square Association</a>." Hannibal Square Association. http://www.hannibalsquare.com/.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/files/original/254867a60c37e3bc46fe285fbbefc1d7.mp3" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 4: Gentrification and Urban Renewal: Revitalizing Central Florida’s African American Communities</a>
Date Copyrighted
2011-04-01
Date Issued
2011-04-01
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction
0:03:40 Founding of Parramore
0:04:22 Effects of integration
0:07:17 William Monroe Wells and the South Street Casino
0:08:35 Interstate Highway 4 and the decline of Parramore
0:12:00 Hannibal Square and Winter Park
0:14:22 Real estate and infrastructure
0:17:33 Revitalization and gentrification
0:27:21 Conclusion
Transcript
<p><strong>Lester<br /></strong>I’m Dr. Connie [L.] Lester, the Director of the RICHES program, and you are listening to the RICHES documentary podcast.</p>
<p>[<em>radio static</em>]</p>
<p><strong>Lester<br /></strong>Welcome to the RICHES documentary podcast. RICHES—the Regional Initiative for Collecting the Histories, Experiences, and Stories of Central Florida—is an umbrella program housing interdisciplinary public history projects that bring together different departments at the University of Central Florida with profit and nonprofit sectors of the community in order to promote the collection and preservation of the region’s history. By facilitating research that records and presents the stories of communities, businesses, and institutions in Central Florida, RICHES seeks to provide the region with a deeper sense of its heritage. This series feature a podcast every two weeks, in the middle and at the end of each month that will explore various aspects of Central Florida history.</p>
<p>In today’s episode, “Gentrification and Urban Renewal: Revitalizing Central Florida’s African-American Communities,” Geoffrey Cravero examines some of the reasons that these once flourishing neighborhoods began to decline, and what city leaders are doing to save these communities.</p>
<p><strong>Cravero<br /></strong>Hi. I’m Geoffrey Cravero, and in today’s episode, “Gentrification and Urban Renewal: Revitalizing Central Florida’s African-American Communities,” we’re gonna be speaking with Representative Geraldine [F.] Thompson and Dr. Benjamin [D.] Brotemarkle about the Parramore district of Downtown Orlando, and Dr. Julian C. Chambliss and Fairolyn Livingston about Hannibal Square, the African-American side of Winter Park, Florida. Central Florida’s African-American community was once relatively prosperous, consisting of a thriving business district, populated by a mix of professionals and working-class families, and in many ways, quite self-sufficient.</p>
<p>This podcast will examine some of the factors that led to the ultimate decline of these regions, the efforts that have gone into restoring them, and the overall effectiveness of those campaigns. Geraldine Thompson has been a representative in the Florida State Legislature since 2006. A former educator and administrator at Valencia Community College, she is also a founder of the Wells’ Built Museum of African American History and Culture.</p>
<p>The Executive Director of the Florida Historical Society, Dr. Brotemarkle has written several books on Florida history and culture, including <em>Crossing Division Street: An Oral History of the African American Community in Orlando</em> and <em>Beyond the Theme Parks: Exploring Central Florida</em>. You might also recognize him as the producer and host of <em>Florida Frontiers</em>, the weekly radio magazine of the Florida Historical Society.</p>
<p>Dr. Julian Chambliss is an associate professor of history at Rollins College, specializing in 19<sup>th</sup> and 20<sup>th</sup> century urban America, African-American history in Florida, race and ethnicity, American planning history, as well, as other topics related to the urban experience.</p>
<p>Born in Hannibal Square, Fairolyn Livingston has spent most of her life in the community, and is now Manager of the Hannibal Square Heritage Center.</p>
<p>I’d like to thank each of our guests for taking the time to speak with us. I asked Representative Thompson and Dr. Brotemarkle to tell us about the rise and fall of Orlando’s Parramore community.</p>
<p><strong>Thompson<br /></strong>Parramore was founded in the 1800s, uh, when the city was just, uh, beginning to form, and it was the location where many African Americans lived initially. The city was separated, as was the case throughout the South, generally by the railroad tracks. You had the, uh, white community on one side and the African-American community on the other side. So, uh, Parramore is just west of the railroad tracks in Downtown Orlando, and the pioneers in the African-American community who made significant contributions to the City [of Orlando] and to Central Florida lived in Parramore.</p>
<p>When the community went through integration at the end of, uh, “legally sanctioned apartheid” —is what I call it—uh, the idea was that, in order to get true integration, you had to close some of the major institutions in Parramore. So you saw the schools, uh, close. Many of the churches also moved out. Uh, the Parramore area had become saturated, and people needed other places to live, and so, uh, places like Washington Shores, the Richmond Heights area, uh, Carver Shores, were established and many people moved to those areas which were, at that time, considered the suburbs, and many of the professionals who lived in Parramore also moved, and so you left behind, uh, people who were, for the most part, renters, who did not own the properties where they lived. Uh, there was very little that was owner-occupied in Parramore—a lot of absentee landlords.</p>
<p>So when you lost the major institutions like your schools, your churches, the professional individuals who had made it the economic and the social hub for African Americans in Central Florida, then an element, uh, of crime began to—to build, and, uh, there were a lot of problems, and quite frankly, a lot of the decision-makers, who were deciding what was going to happen and how Central Florida, uh, would grow, did not really consider Parramore worthy of much of an investment, and so that’s what led to a blighted area for a very long time.</p>
<p>There have been a lot of very effective efforts to bring business back into the community. Uh, there is one charter school now in the community—the Nap Ford [Community] School. Other than Nap Ford, however, there are still no schools in Parramore. The students are bussed out to nine different, uh—different schools in—in the area. Uh, the businesses that have come into the area include, uh, the Bank of America. You now have the Federal Courthouse that is also built in the Parramore area, as well, as the Florida A[gricultural] & M[echnical] University College of Law. Uh, the Wells’ Built Museum, which is in the former Wells’ Built Hotel, um, is celebrating now 10 years—our 10<sup>th</sup> anniversary, and so we have been able to document, and to preserve, and to share a lot of the history of Parramore, which makes people much more aware that it is a significant co—uh, community, and as we revitalize and as we grow, it’s something worth saving.</p>
<p>We are in the process of, uh, restoring the residence of the person who built the Wells’ Built. His name was William Monroe Wells, one of the early African-American physicians here. He came here in 1917, and in addition to a thriving medical practice, he had a social club, which was called the South Street Casino, and he brought, uh, big bands, [Edward] “Duke” [Kennedy] Ellington, [William] “Count” [James] Basie, Ella [Jane] Fitzgerald, to perform at the South Street Casino, which he owned, and after the entertainers, uh, finished performances, they didn’t have a place to stay. So that was his motivation for building a hotel, and, uh, so in addition to refurbishing the Wells’ Built and operating it as a museum of African-American history, we’re now in the process of refurbishing his home, which was located where the new Amway Center, uh, is, And that’s another business that has come into Parramore, which is Downtown Orlando, and so the home was moved rather than, uh, to have it demolished, and we will make it part of the museum complex, and we’ll operate a museum store in Dr. Wells’ residence. So his legacy is alive and well, on South Street.</p>
<p><strong>Brotemarkle<br /></strong>Well, there are many factors that—that led to the demise of the hotel and casino. Uh, first of all, eh, as—as great and wonderful and necessary as the civil rights laws of the 1960s were, once African Americans could move anywhere they wanted to, uh—and this is not unique to the Parramore neighborhood. This happened to communities throughout the South, in particular, uh, but many of the community leaders—that[sic] helped keep the infrastructure of the community together—moved out of the neighborhood. So consequently, in many cases, uh, all that were—were left were the people who couldn’t afford to move anywhere else, and actually, in the case of the Parramore neighborhood, this had actually started a little bit before that in the 1950s. People had started migrating over to the Washington Shores neighborhood in Orlando, but the—the—the civil rights laws definitely contributed to the continued exodus, uh, from the Parramore neighborhood of many of the people, uh—the community leaders. Uh, also, the building of I[nterstate Highway]-4, uh, right through—right by the—the Parramore neighborhood kind of—into that neighborhood, uh, helped to break that up a little bit, as well. Uh, that was, uh, another factor.</p>
<p>Uh, so as these—as the community leaders moved out of the neighborhood, the Parramore neighborhood itself entered, uh, a state of social and economic decline, and, uh, I—I think it is starting to, uh, pull out of it a little bit, and that was really part of the purpose of the Wells’ Built Museum of African American History and Culture—was to be an economic engine for the neighborhood, and hopefully, tap into this cultural and heritage tourism and bring people into the neighborhood for that reason. It is a fascinating era because, uh, again, between—with—with Division Street as the dividing line the—the Parramore neighborhood was really a thriving, self-sustained community, uh, parallel to the—to the white community in Orlando. Uh, here were institutions, Jones High School, uh, many of the churches, uh, that really created a strong fabric. Uh, uh, there was a, uh, uh, African-American chamber of commerce there in the Parramore neighborhood. There were black theatres. There were everything that the community needed right there. Uh, tailors, and—and businesses of all types were right there, and—and of course, the Wells’ Built Hotel and South Street Casino right in the middle of all this—this—this thriving African-American community.</p>
<p>So it’s really an interesting, uh, look at history, and—and also, the unintended negative impact of those civil rights laws in the 1960s, again, as—as wonderful and as necessary as they were, they really did have this—this unintended negative impact when, uh, some of the community leaders moved out, and, again, the building of I-4, kinda right through the heart of the community, and, uh, the East-West Expressway too, meeting right there, uh, caused further problems, uh, but I—I think that the community is—is pulling out of that era of social and economic decline that it suffered in the late 20<sup>th</sup> century, and hopefully the Wells’ Built Museum of African American History and Culture is contributing to that.</p>
<p><strong>Cravero<br /></strong>Dr. Chambliss and Mrs. Livingston describe some of the factors that enabled Hannibal Square and Winter Park to grow into thriving communities, and how this prosperity has affected the development and gentrification of the region.</p>
<p><strong>Chambliss<br /></strong>Well, in that early period, um, Hannibal Square, was, I think, able to grow and be successful because, of the model of, uh, attracting residents, promoting, uh, Winter Park as a sort of like leisure, uh, vacation destination, uh, and this has really become at the core of the identity of Winter Park. If you think about Winter Park over time, it really was founded by [Loring] Chase and [Oliver E.] Chapman as a sort of destination location for people who wanted to sort of live a certain kind of sort of leisurely lifestyle. Well, into, uh, 20<sup>th</sup> century that—that has been maintained.</p>
<p>If you look at the growth of Winter Park, uh, which grew rapidly after, uh—in the 1930s and 1940s and 1950s, like, and the people of Winter Park recognize. It’s part of the reason that it grew is because, like, they really sort of like saw the place as a kind of residential haven, and the fact—by the time you get to the 1950s, um, the city is known as the “City of Homes.” Um, and part of this is because they have like a large number of wealthy residents. Again, those wealthy residents have servants, and some of those servants are working in—in—are black people, uh, working in these white homes and then going back across the railroad tracks to Hannibal Square. So like, they have this steady work from all these rich people and that really does affect Hannibal Square.</p>
<p>At the same time, there’s a number of architectural—James Gamble Rogers is a very well-known architect—really sort of crystallized the architectural identity of Winter Park, with a fresh revival—a Medi—a Mediterranean revival style. So when you look at the homes, there’s a lot of like talk about Winter Park and Park Avenue—really sort of like crystallizes that sort of European style, uh, café culture look, right? And that really starts in 1960, and they really sort of keep trying to promote that. The chamber of commerce does a great job of trying to promote that and maintains it really today. it’s one of the reasons that these places really talk about Winter Park. They tend to talk about it as a place where you just want to kind of like stroll, in sharp contrast to the rest of the sort of retail and vacation experience in the rest of Central Florida, and as a consequence, the growth of the east side of Winter Park has been phenomenal, and the value of land there has grown tremendously, and so much so that by the time you get to the late 1990s, uh, arguably, the east side of Winter Park is built out, alright? So you can’t cheaply acquire land on the east side of Winter Park. You can buy a lot and—and really, we’re talking—we’re talking about the high-end of the real estate bubble, and Winter Park was one of the places where values were extremely high, and so the east side, really, by—by every stretch of the imagination is really sort of built up in value, um, over the period of the town.</p>
<p>The west side, which was the black side—which was sort of like off limits because it was—because of segregation—had lagged behind. It started out with the development of the town, as I—as I said, a sort of economic area where African-American property owners, and—and business owners, and African-American businesses were flourishing in Hannibal Square, but very quickly, with the end of—of official Jim Crow segregation, um, you see middle-class people moving out, and the median income and the median age on the west side of Winter Park really starts to—the income starts to go down. The age starts to go up, and services for the west side don’t keep. in fact, [inaudible] great stories about the fact that the roads, on the west side of Winter Park, weren’t really sort of kept up at the same level as the roads on the east side of Winter Park, And other kinds of infrastructure issues like that, and as a consequence, the value of homes and property on the west side lagged behind that was on the east side of Winter Park. So value of black property lagged behind value of white property, which is common.</p>
<p>As a result of that, there’s a lot of push, um, to do something about the—the view—the view-scape and the housing stock on the west side, and if you go back and look at some of the language that people use in the city council meetings or in some of the things that people are saying when they—they’re pointing to houses that are boarded up, they’re talking about a spike in crime, and indeed, there is a real concern that Hannibal Square, which by this time, is no longer home of like businesses more like light retail and bars and things like that—convenience stores—that are really the haven for—in the minds of white residents, at least—crime and violence. Indeed, there is[sic] the police reports show large number of drug arrests or suspicious crime in the west side in 1980s and early 1990s, and it really sort of spurs on dialogue about what needs to be done to improve the housing stock to clean up Hannibal Square and basically correct this problem, and there are a variety of reasons for this. I mean, some of it was the crime, but also, if you look at the way that the town is laid out, if you’re coming in through[?] the main drag, coming in—off of, like, Orlando Avenue, one of the main sort of like entry points into the city of Winter Park is through, um, Morris [Avenue], and you basically go through the heart of the black community to do that, and if you go back to the 1990s, that looked radically different than it does now.</p>
<p>If you look at it now it looks actually quite nice, ‘cause it’s been rezoned and it—there’s new buildings, uh—office buildings, mix-use stuff—but back then, it—there were homes there, and some of them were boarded up, and the City had routinely had issues or had programs in place where they were trying to address this question, of, like, the quality of housing stock on the west side. They had some housing rehabilitation programs that they created in the 1970s. They supported, of course, you know, the creation of the Winter Park Community Center in Hannibal Square, but really, you know, the economy changed, as I said, and the median age started to creep up.</p>
<p>So you get a large number of elderly people who, eh, own property—been in their family for generations—but they couldn’t keep it up in a way that the City might want, and so—so this created an opportunity for developers to come into, um, the west side and champion sort of a new push to sort of rehabilitate the region, and this made sense from the City’s standpoint, because, like, depressed property is low—low tax property. so if you want to increase your tax base, you want to improve the—the value of the property there—but it also created, like, a high gentri—gentrifying push, because, remember, you can’t cheaply build anything on the east side of town. So for most developers, they’re really looking to do a big project. they kind of have to do it on the west side of town. They had to do it west of the railroad tracks.</p>
<p>So in the late 1990s and the ear—early 2000s, the City of Winter Park creates a Community Redevelopment Agency—the CRA—and the sort of focal point of the CRA is the sort of box that is bordered by Park Avenue on the east, Webster Avenue on the north, and, like, [U.S. Route] 17-92, and then Fairbanks [Avenue]. So it’s a huge block, and basically it’s Park Avenue and Downtown Winter Park, and the black side of town. So that’s a huge swath of land, and it—it’s prime real estate that could be developed, but is also, primarily, the heart of the black community, and almost immediately, large numbers of residents in the black community recognized that the City’s efforts to improve the area of the CRA was going to push out the black community. Now, from the City’s standpoint, the City’s always maintained that its goal was to maintain the character of the black community or the character of Hannibal Square, but if you’re going to allow traditional market forces to be your primary vehicle to achieve this, then gentrifying effects are almost unavoidable.</p>
<p>You can’t, as the city’s done—like the city’s done a, uh, sort of three-tier sort of approach. It’s provided loans for businesses to move into Hannibal Square. It totally redesigned, um, Shady Park, which is in the center of Hannibal Square, in response to some of the crime and complaints of some of the businesses that were being enticed into the—into the area, because of the CRA. So the old part was—had a lot of benches and—and shading covers, and—and older people would hang out there and talk, and the new park sort of took all that away, and is much more aesthetically pleasing, but is also a place where you can’t really linger, which made a lot of sense, in terms of trying to address some of these questions about crime and—and—and disruption associated with that area—um, but they also worked very diligently to eliminate some of the bars, some of the focal points of crime, and that was successful. They moved in new businesses so that Dexter’s on Winter Park, uh—Dexter’s a fairly well-known restaurant chain in the area—where it became like really an anchor and they created a parking lot for it, and then a number of other businesses—light retail, service-oriented, and restaurant businesses—moved in, and of course there was a train—a change in the infrastructure or the sort of decorative infrastructure of the street. So like you had the decorative brick put in, and, like, new lightening-like fixtures—so basically, extending the feel and look of Park Avenue, down New England [Avenue] into, uh, the heart of the community, which was Hannibal Square.</p>
<p>Of course, African Americans felt and, I think, some of them continue to feel that that process is deliberately pushing them out, and they have a point, because once all that—all that was in place, one of the things that started happening is that the—the tax assessment for the area started to change. People had previously—been sort of locked at a tax assessment of like, you know, a very low number. Everything gets reassessed when a large number of businesses start moving in. So these are older people. Remember, the demographics of the area are that the older people are staying and younger people are moving out. So the old people tend to be on fixed incomes, and pensions, living off their retirement savings. So a big hit, in terms of—“I used to pay $500 in taxes. Now, I’m paying a thousand.” It’s a huge deal, and because the property on the west side, as I said, had not kept up with property on the east side, there was a new assessment on all the value of the property. So people were being offered you know, two, three, four times what they bought the property for originally—and to move out—and some of them were, and this is one of the things that really sort of like characterized the region.</p>
<p>So, um, at the height of the real estate bubble, there was tremendous gentrifying pressure on Hannibal Square, and lots of developers were active in the area, and probably the most famous ones was Dan Bellows, who’s usually associated with the transformation of Hannibal Square. he has a number of big projects, and, you know, sort of mixed-use with retail on the bottom and residential on the top, and that really sort of, like, changed the nature of the community, and Bellows is often painted as a boogeyman, and there are a number of stories associated with him, but he’s sort of emblematic of a kind of push to create new construction in the area, in part because that’s the place where you can with relatively minimal investment do something big, and that has been the sort of overriding problem for the west side for many years.</p>
<p>There has been, for well over a decade—I mean, since the late 1990s, I think, there’s been a sort of push to—“There’s going to be the in here. I want to improve the west side. I want to bring more businesses here,” and as a result, uh, longtime residents have, um, sort of been displaced. There are new businesses there, but they don’t really cater to the residents, or nor do they really employ the residents, which is also really problematic. I mean, you don’t really see west side residents going to eat at Dexter’s. So from a sort of symbolic standpoint, African Americans feel that they’re being pushed down, and from an economic standpoint, there are push and pull factors that are hastening the exit of African Americans in the area.</p>
<p><strong>Livingston<br /></strong>Leading up to, uh, the Civil Rights Movement and even probably as early as 19—late 1940s, after the, uh—World War II, the job market begin[sic] to change a bit. More opportunities will open up for, uh—for Afro-Americans. Many Afro –Americans, uh, went away—military, school, whatever the case may be—and didn’t come back, because they felt there was nothing here for them, outside of service to somebody else. They wanted to have real careers and—and—and do big things in the world, and as a result of that, the community began to age, if you will, and certainly after the Civil Rights Movement and—and moving forward, many more of our young people are moving away, because they feel that they don’t have access or they can’t make it in this area in—in—in Winter Park, you know?</p>
<p>It’s been a painful process for them. Generally, uh, when you’re talking gentrification, between the original people who were in a place, and the wealthier people who come into the place, there’s usually a group—a group in between, but for us, we went—we went—we went right from, um, families being displaced to a business area that really doesn’t have any services that local people find of service to themselves. So gentrification’s been a hurtful process, because when people come in to redevelop, they don’t come in to redevelop for the people who are there. They don’t get input from the people in the community, because that’s not what’s gonna drive the dollar, you know? Nobody’s gonna come in and put in affordable housing or affordable rental units outside of a group such as Habitat for Humanity, who’s doing a great job, and the Hannibal Square Community Land Trust. Uh, people felt that they were just pushed aside, and the most painful thing was the picture that was painted of the neighborhood. That’s what they did. They just [inaudible] and made it like a noose, and put it around the necks of the people in this neighborhood, and pulled the chair.</p>
<p>See, some people have been injured over and over and over again. They were injured during slavery. Then, after Reconstruction, they were injured again, and then, Jim Crow came along, and they were injured. So they’ve been injured over and over, and when you keep injuring people, and they[?] don’t get a chance to heal, it—it can really do something to—to them. You know, even though on the outside, they look cold, and they’re moving forward, and they’re doing things, there’s still a pain in their souls that is just almost undescribable[sic].</p>
<p><strong>Cravero<br /></strong>I’d like to thank our guests, Representative Thompson, Dr. Brotemarkle, Dr. Chambliss, and Mrs. Livingston for joining our discussion. I’m Geoffrey Cravero. Thank you for listening.</p>
<p><strong>Lester<br /></strong>Thank you for listening to the RICHES documentary podcast. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments on the program that you just heard. Please join us for the next episode, “[Episode 5:] A History of Gay Days.”</p>
<p>[<em>radio static</em>]</p>
African American
African-American community
African-American neighborhood
Amway Center
apartheid
Bank of America
Basie, William James "Count"
Bellows, Dan
Beyond the Theme Parks: Exploring Central Florida
Brotemarkle, Benjamin D.
Carver Shores
casino
Chambliss, Julian C.
Chapman, Oliver E.
Chase, Loring
civil rights
Civil Rights Movement
Community Redevelopment Agency
CRA
Cravero, Geoffrey
crime
Crossing Division Street: An Oral History of the African-American Community in Orlando
desegregation
Dexter's
displacement
doctor
documentary
Downtown Orlando
East Winter Park
elderly
Ellington, Edward Kennedy "Duke"
ethnicity
Faribanks Avenue
federal courthouse
FHS
Fitzgerald, Ella James
Florida A&M University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Florida Frontiers
Florida Historical Society
Florida House of Representatives
Florida Legislature
gentrification
Habitat for Humanity
Hannibal Square
Hannibal Square Community Land Trust
heritage
historic preservation
historic restoration
HOTEL
I-4
integration
Interstate Highway 4
Jones High School
legislature
Lester, Connie L.
Livingston, Fairolyn
Mediterranean revival architecture
Morris Avenue
museum
Nap Ford Community School
orlando
Orlando Avenue
park
Park Avenue
Parramore
physician
podcast
preservation
property value
race
race relations
real estate
real estate bubble
real estate development
real estate industry
real estate value
revitalization
RICHES Podcast Documentaries
Richmond Heights
Rogers, James Gamble
Rollins College
school
segregation
Shady Park
South Street Casino
taxes
Thompson, Gerladine F.
tourist
U.S. 17-92
U.S. Route 17-92
urban development
urban renewal
Valencia Community College
VCC
Washington Shores
Webster Avenue
Wells, William Monroe
Wells' Built Hotel
Wells' Built Museum of African American History and Culture
West Winter Park
Winter Park
Winter Park Community Center
World War II
WWII
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/516d23ab7e129b90ff9b851683d7470c.mp3
b6d04d93f68aa3e7bb03fd00f77601c0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection
Alternative Title
RICHES Podcast Collection
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Description
RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore Central Florida history and are locally produced. These podcasts can involve the participation or cooperation of local area partners.
Contributor
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Cassanello, Robert
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Altoona, Florida
Apopka, Florida
Astor, Florida
Barberville, Florida
Brevard County, Florida
Bushnell, Florida
Clermont, Florida
Cocoa, Florida
Cocoa Beach, Florida
College Park, Orlando, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
DeLand, Florida
Disston City, Florida
Eatonville, Florida
Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Florida
Fort King, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Geneva, Florida
Goldenrod, Florida
Groveland, Florida
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Holly Hill, Florida
Hontoon Island, DeLand, Florida
Indian River, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Key West, Florida
Kissimmee, Florida
Lake Apopka, Florida
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Lake County, Florida
Lake Mary, Florida
Marion County, Florida
Merritt Island, Florida
Mims, Florida
Mount Dora, Florida
Newnans Lake, Gainesville, Florida
New Smyrna, Florida
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocklawaha River, Florida
Ocoee, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Ormond Beach, Florida
Osceola County, Florida
Oviedo, Florida
Parramore, Orlando, Florida
Reedy Creek, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Silver Springs, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Cloud, Florida
St. Johns River, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Titusville, Florida
Vero Beach, Florida
Weirsdale, Florida
Winter Garden, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Ybor City, Tampa, Florida
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
External Reference
<span>"</span><a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a><span>." RICHES of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php.</span>
Has Part
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/137" target="_blank">A History of Central Florida Collection</a>, RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES<br /></a>
Sound/Podcast
A resource whose content is primarily intended to be rendered as audio.
Original Format
1 audio podcast
Duration
20 minutes and 48 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
128kbps
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 22: Hannibal Square
Alternative Title
Hannibal Square Podcast
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Winter Park (Fla.)
Labor--Florida
African Americans--Florida--Winter Park
Description
Episode 22 of RICHES Podcast Documentaries: Hannibal Square. RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore Central Florida history and are locally produced. These podcasts can involve the participation or cooperation of local area partners. <br /><br />Episode 22 explores Hannibal Square, or the westside of Winter Park, which was populated primarily by African Americans. Winter Park was established in the 1860s around the railroad tracks, which served commerce and travel in order to establish a vacation town for wealthy white visitors. Hannibal Square was officially founded in the 1801 to provide a source for African-American labor to build and serve the vacation destination. While deeply segregated for years, railroad jobs and domestic service positions led to higher levels of education, business and home ownership, and relative prosperity for black residents. This podcast includes interviews with Dr. Julian C. Chambliss and Fairolyn Livingston.
Abstract
Winter Park was strategically built in the 1860s around the railroad which served commerce and travel in order to establish a vacation town for wealthy white visitors. Hannibal Square, or the “west side,” was officially founded twenty years later, providing a source of African-American labor to build and serve the vacation destination. While deeply segregated for years, railroad jobs and domestic service positions led to higher levels of education, business and home ownership, and relative prosperity for black residents. Dr. Julian C. Chambliss and Fairolyn Livingston explore the ways in which members of the community have fought to preserve the heritage of this important piece of Central Florida history.
Source
Original 20-minute and 48-second podcast by Geoffrey Cravero, January 12, 2012: "RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 22: Hannibal Square." <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>, Orlando, Florida.
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
Is Part Of
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/70" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Coverage
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida
Creator
Cravero, Geoffrey
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Contributor
Chambliss, Julian C.
Livingston, Fairolyn
Date Created
ca. 2012-01-12
Format
audio/mp3
Extent
19.3 MB
Medium
20-minute and 48-second podcast
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Geoffrey Cravero and published by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
Accrual Method
Item Creation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
External Reference
"<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/items/show/2474" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 22: Hannibal Square</a>." RICHES of Central Florida. https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/items/show/2474.
Frazier, Amanda E. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47806651" target="_blank"><em>On the Other Side of the Tracks: Redevelopment in West Winter Park</em></a>. Thesis (A.B. Honoris)--Rollins College, 2001, 2001.
Livingston, Fairolyn. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/68757928" target="_blank"><em>A Window on Hannibal Square: A View of Life in Early Westside Winter Park and a Portrait of the Lives and Careers of Walter B. Simpson and Frank R. Israel, the Only Black Men to Every Hold Office in the City of Winter Park, Florida</em></a>. 1997.
"<a href="http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/aboutus.html" target="_blank">Welcome</a>." Hannibal Square Heritage Center. http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/aboutus.html.
"<a href="http://www.hannibalsquare.com/" target="_blank">Welcome to the Hannibal Square Association</a>." Hannibal Square Association. http://www.hannibalsquare.com/.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/files/original/516d23ab7e129b90ff9b851683d7470c.mp3" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Episode 22: Hannibal Square</a>
Date Copyrighted
2012-01-12
Date Issued
2012-01-12
African American
African American community
African American neighborhood
Chambliss, Julian C.
Chapman, Oliver
Chase, Loring A.
citrus
citrus grove
citrus industry
City of Winter Park
college
cracker
Cravero, Geoffrey
Democrat
Democratic Party
documentary
Eatonville
Fountain of Youth
gentrification
GOP
Grand Old Party
Hannibal Square
Hannibal Square Heritage Center
Henderson, Gus C.
Hungerford Vocational High School
Hurston, Zora Neale
incorporation
Jacksonville
labor
Lake Monroe
liberal arts college
Livingston, Fairolyn
Maitland
Miami
orange
orange grove
orange industry
Özoğlu, Hakan
podcast
race relations
railroad
Republican
Republican Party
RICHES Podcast Documentaries
Rollins College
Sanford
segregation
Seminole Hotel
snowbird
St. Johns River
Town Council
Town of Winter Park
upper class
voter
voting
Winter Garden
Winter Haven
Winter Park
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/378c547cb1fb19da8e25aae19aee243c.pdf
ad6257c6761caa408a17dd2d1b226d92
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Hannibal Square Collection
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Oral Memoirs of Fairolyn Livingston
Alternative Title
Oral History, Fairolyn Livingston
Subject
Winter Park (Fla.)
African Americans--Florida
Museums--Florida
Civil rights--Florida
Description
An oral history interview of Fairolyn H. Livingston, chief historian of the Hannibal Square Heritage Center in Winter Park, Florida. The interview was conducted by Geoffrey Cravero at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center on December 12, 2019. Some of the topics covered include growing up in a segregated community, finding the resources to attend college, becoming involved in the Hannibal Square Heritage Center and documenting the community’s history, why residents attended churches of multiple denominations, conducting difficult interviews and how those who have experienced oppression have refused to allow it to define them, how gentrification has affected sense of community, changes in the community since de-segregation and gentrification, the challenges of preserving a marginalized community’s history and coming to terms with the long-lasting effects of segregation, how government policies encourage gentrification and her final remarks.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Growing up in a segregated community <br />0:04:54 Finding the resources to attend college <br />0:12:34 Becoming involved in the Hannibal Square Heritage Center and documenting the community’s history <br />0:23:54 Why residents attended churches of multiple denominations <br />0:27:35 Conducting difficult interviews and how those who have experienced oppression have refused to allow it to define them <br />0:27:35 Conducting difficult interviews and how those who have experienced oppression have refused to allow it to define them <br />0:35:30 Changes in the community since de-segregation and gentrification, the challenges of preserving a marginalized community’s history and coming to terms with the long-lasting effects of segregation <br />1:02:05 How government policies encourage gentrification and her final remarks
Abstract
Oral history interview of Fairolyn Livingston. Interview conducted by Geoffrey Cravero in Winter Park, Florida, on December 12, 2019.
Type
Moving Image
Source
Livingston, Fairolyn. Interviewed by Geoffrey Cravero, December 12, 2019. Audio record available. <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>, Orlando, Florida.
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
<a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/reader.html" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/221" target="_blank">Hannibal Square Collection</a>, Winter Park Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES.
Has Format
Digital transcript of original 1-hour, 6-minute, and 43-seconds oral history: Livingston, Fairolyn. Interviewed by Geoffrey Cravero. Audio record available. <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>, Orlando, Florida.
Coverage
Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Florida
The Golden Point, Winter Park, Florida
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Hannibal Square Heritage Center, Winter Park, Florida
Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, Winter Park, Florida
Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School, Eatonville, Florida
Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida
Ward Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park High School, Winter Park, Florida
Creator
Livingston, Fairolyn
Cravero, Geoffrey
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Contributor
Lester, Connie
Date Created
2019-12-12
Date Copyrighted
2019-12-12
Format
video/mp4
application/pdf
Extent
1.61 GB
269 KB
Medium
1-hour, 6-minute, and 43-seconds video recording
21-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Humanities Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Geoffrey Cravero and Fairolyn Livingston and published by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Accrual Method
Item Creation
Curator
Cravero, Geoffrey
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
Schreyer, Peter. <em><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/961806111" target="_blank">The Hannibal Square Heritage Collection: Photographs and Oral Histories : Winter Park, Florida, USA.</a></em> 2016.
Norris, Jim, Claire Strom, Danielle Johnson, and Sydney Marshall. <em><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1148874669" target="_blank">Winter Park</a></em>. Mount Pleasant: Arcadia Publishing Inc, 2015. .
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="https://youtu.be/Jo08Owkgeps" target="_blank">Oral History of Fairolyn Livingston</a>
Transcript
Cravero
Alright. Today is Thursday, December 12th, 2019. My name is Geoffrey Cravero. And with me is Dr. Connie Lester. I’m speaking with Fairolyn Livingston at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center in Winter Park, Florida. Ms. Livingston, thank you for speaking with us today. Uh, if we can, let’s begin with a little of your biography. Could you tell us a bit about where you’re originally from and your upbringing?
Livingston
Well, I’m originally from Winter Park, Florida. I was born a block away from here at 800 West New England Avenue here in the city. In the area called Hannibal Square. I attended the local schools here. Of course, during my time, those school were segregated. And, uh, once we finished sixth grade here in the community, we were bussed to the segregated Hungerford High School over in Eatonville, Florida.
I attended the churches in the community. Participated in the activities at the community center that had been built for the African American community. Uh, I had a happy childhood. You know? Because—I would say because the community was segregated, and we lived among people who looked like us. So the preacher was—the preacher looked like me. The—the students in the churches looked like me. The teachers looked like me. So I can probably say that we might have been a little bit, uh, as children, unaware of segregation or racism. You know? Because that was the way it was. I’m sure our parents knew because ofttimes they would warn us about different things and different places. Uh, what we might face. Some harm or some harsh words. Or some ugly words. But, other than that, um, I would say I had a good childhood.
Cravero
Excellent. Um, would you tell us a little bit about your experiences at Hungerford High School, and then, eventually, at Rollins College? And how those experiences might have influenced your work.
Livingston
Well, at Hungerford High School, uh, we started at the seventh-grade level. And we went through, uh, twelfth grade. And I graduated in 1964. Teachers—they were good teachers. But they also made sure that we towed the line. You know? Because not only was it about academics, which was very strenuous, but also about your conduct and how you carried yourself. That was very important. So it didn’t matter what background you came from. Whether or not you was—you were middle class, uh, uh, any other class. You learned how to conduct yourself in any kind of situation.
You know? In our Home Economics classes, not only did we learn to sew and do homemaker-type things, but also how to serve and how to, uh, properly set tables. And—and use the, uh, eating utensils and all. So everything prepared us for the world that we would be entering. And that world would have been a world that was segregated. So w—we were treated, uh, and educated to survive in that type of world. In other words, we were somebody. We were knowledgeable. We could do anything we wanted to do. They always let us know that we could accomplish whatever we wanted to accomplish. So we never felt like we were hindered because of segregation or racism.
In fact, uh, Climmie Boyer, who was several years older than myself and a graduate from Hungerford, he once said in the seventies when we had a celebration to honor our former principal at the school, that we really didn’t know we were poor until they told us. You know? Until they started saying everything about poverty and—and low income. You know? We [laughs]—we didn’t know we were poor. So I guess that’s why some of us—well, many of us out of this community were able to overcome. Because we didn’t have that kind of a thing stuck into our heads by our educators.
After I graduated from high school, I didn’t think that I would be able to go to college because I was raised by my grandmother with three other siblings. And I was the oldest. And basically, I was like the matriarch of my siblings. Um, I got scholarship offers, but I knew that my family didn’t have the money to fill in the gap. So basically [clears throat], even though I desired to go, I had more or less, um, accepted the fact that it would not happen.
And then one Sunday, I was in church at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church on Capen Avenue. I was in the choir stand because I sang in the junior choir. And the usher came to the choir door and asked me to come out. That there was a gentleman there that wanted to talk to me. And so I left the choir stand and went around, uh, to the front of the church. And the gentleman was—was from a segregated community college in Leesburg, Florida. And, uh, he offered me a scholarship. You know? That I—that—that he had just, you know, studied my transcript and whatever.
Then I got an offer from a community college in Ocala, Florida. Hampton Junior College. That’s now Central Florida State College. And I accepted that one because they told me that they would, you know, find me some part-time work to fill in the gap between financial aid, et cetera.
Not knowing my—unknown to me, rather, my grandmother, Victoria Redfin, she went down to the First National Bank on Park Avenue and New England, where Luma’s on Park is now. And she went to the cashier at the—the teller. And she wanted to s—know if she could borrow some money to help send her granddaughter to college. And the teller told her to go over and talk to one of the ladies that handle loans. And so my grandmother went over there. And the lady told her, “Why don’t you go upstairs and talk to Mrs. Nancy Bradford?” Mrs. Nancy Bradford was a part of Winter Park’s Worthy Persons group, which now, I believe, is part of the Winter Park Foundation. So my grandmother went up to see Mrs. Bradford. And Mrs. Bradford, unbeknownst to me or my grandmother, started some paperwork with the people on the committee that included Mrs., uh, J. Lynn Pflug . Mrs. Pflug’s husband had once been the mayor of Winter Park. So Mrs. Pflug and others—they did the research. You know? Contacted my high school. Contacted the junior college where I was. And next thing I knew, I got a letter from them saying that they would be financing me for the school year. And, uh, for two years, I got that scholarship. Every two weeks without fail, I got a stipend, uh, from that group. So that’s how I ended up being able to go to—to college.
However, I got pregnant after I graduated and got my A.A. degree. And so my dreams of finishing a four-year college, you know, got backburnered. And, uh, it wasn’t until the late-seventies that I started going to evening classes at Rollins College. I had some financial aid, but mostly I paid for my own. And, um, I had worked for the State of Florida since about 1971, so I had a lot of savings bonds. It was toward the end of the journey. I started cashing in the savings bonds to pay for my tuition.
Well, it was my last session, and I was out of financial options, if you will. I had a friend of mine. She was from Dunedin, Florida. Her, uh, parents owned a, uh—their own business. And they were avid golfers. And they were supportive of, uh, what used to be the tournament at Rio Pinar, and then subsequently at Bay Hill. Her father always participated and contributed to, uh, a scholarship fund led by Lee Elder . Lee Elder was a black golfer. And so I guess she must have shared with him my story because she invited me and my children over to her parents. And we’d visit them off and on over the years. And her father said to me—she and her parents—both her parents were there. She said, “You know, every year, we donate money to Lee Elder’s scholarship fund. And we have no doubt that Lee does the right thing with that money. But we have decided that, since we know someone who can use that money, we’re gonna divert that money to you.” And that’s how I was able to graduate from Rollins Hamilton Holt in 1983.
So I come from a situation of “it takes a village.” You know? Whoever I am, whatever I am, it come from this community. And that was sewn into me. Basically, I’d say it’s in my DNA. And because of the way I conduct myself. I’ll never forget the bridge that brought me over. That draws people to me. And people willing to be there with—with and—and for me. And for that, I’m eternally grateful. So that’s how I got from not being able to go into college and thinking that to actually finishing up with an A.A. degree and subsequentl—subsequently with a B.A. degree. So I’ve had a lot of, uh, blessings from on high. You know? It wasn’t that—it wasn’t Fairolyn. Because there’s a saying that, uh, “sometimes you find yourself in a place and you only see one set of footprints. And that’s because God carried you.” And sometimes when I got to a certain place, I’d wonder, “How did I get here?” You know? I just— I j[laughs]—it just—it’s just amazing. Just amazing.
Cravero
Um, what—can you tell us about, uh—what is the Heritage Collection Team and how did you become involved in that project?
Livingston
Well, around 1999, 2000, Peter Schreyer with the Crealdé School of Art here in Winter Park—he had been working in the community with the seniors and the children for a number of years. You know? Providing, uh, opportunities for art. For, you know, underserved people in the community. He had won, uh, a grant from the Winter Park Public Library. And this was in the nineties. And I had won the same grant a couple years later. His project was photographic. He photographed and—the interior and the exterior of all the local churches. My project was to find some way to document the early history of the community and the role that African Americans played in the community. You know? Because when you would go to different archives, you would see different people of color in the pictures, but they weren’t named. So we didn’t know who they were. They were just faceless. And they were mostly in subservient-type situations. When I knew growing up that that wasn’t all that the black people did.
So it’s kind of odd how it happened because I didn’t set out to—to get—to apply for that grant. A group of people in the community were trying to save the Ideal Woman’s Club building . That building had once been on the property and used by the First Congregational Church here in Winter Park. And when the Ideal Woman’s Club started in the late-1920s, one of the members, Mrs. Mary Lee DePugh —she worked for Mrs. Maud Kraft. And Mrs. Kraft interceded on behalf of the women to get the building. And then there was fundraising involved, uh, to buy a lot here on Pennsylvania Avenue. And to have the building moved.
Well, in the late-nineties, DePugh Nursing Home needed more space. And so, the board offered to buy or trade the land where the original building was placed to a site across the street. But the people in the community wanted the building saved. But they didn’t have the resources, nor the backing to make that happen. You know? There wasn’t enough interest citywide and there wasn’t any money communitywide to do that. You know? ‘Cause years later, Casa Feliz got moved. And then, the Capen House got moved. But that was private money, even though they moved, uh, Casa—uh, sorry—Casa Feliz to the golf course property, which is city-owned. That effort, it failed. And there were some members of the First Congregational Church who tried to work with us. To try and direct us to find some funds to move the building. To save it. But there were people that said—on the board and connected in the community—um, that said that the—that the building was, uh, termite-ridden and it wasn’t worth saving.
But someone, uh, had someone come down from the department that takes care of s—you know, that takes care of, uh, uh, preservation. And they said that the only part of the—of the building that was termite-ridden was the section that they had put on years later to close the porch in. See ‘cause there had been an open porch for years. And then they closed that porch in. And that was the part that was—had some termite problems. The rest of the place—uh, building was all this pine. And this was—was no damage. But, of course, we didn’t get the support needed. So, uh, the building was razed and a new building put up.
Long story short, I had been reading about this in the newspaper. I wasn’t living in Winer Park at the time. And it seemed like every time I picked up the paper, there was all of this negative about Hannibal Square. “Oh, the crime. And the drinking. And the brawling. And the drugs and stuff.” And I said, “That’s not where I grew up. I—W—What is this?” Yes. There’s always been people that did some of those things, but it wasn’t the whole community. You know? And they were just painting this community with this broad s—stroke as being such a terrible place to be. And that somebody needed to do something about it. Finally—and I saw about—that article in the Sentinel about, uh, razing the building and the [inaudible] of the community. And I said, “I’m gonna go to one of the meetings.” So I went to a meeting. I sat on the front row. The people who were con—who were conducting the meeting, I knew ‘em all ‘cause we all grew up together. So—but I didn’t want to get quote involved. You know? I just wanted to see what’s going on. So I sat there and I tried not to make eye contact. And I guess at some point, I must have relaxed. And I made eye contact with Eileen Abraham Bryant, who was part of the group that was trying to save it. And she mouthed to me, “We need you.” And I was hooked.
That led to me applying for a grant at the library—Winter Park Public Library. And I was—and I got that grant. It was hard at first. Trying to get information. Because [clears throat]—excuse me. Because people in the community—many were reluctant to talk about the past because they were afraid that a—in other words, they—they never said this to me, but I got the feeling that they were afraid that I might be digging up dirt. But when they began to see that I wasn’t digging up dirt, that I was trying to document the rich history of this community, most people got on board with that.
I remember as a child, my stepfather had an uncle. Frederick Simpson . Frederick—Frederick would travel all around the country. And then he would come home and stay for a few weeks. And then he’d disappear. He was in and out. And Fred would always talk about his father worked for the city. Or some kind of way involved with the city government. But, you know, as children, you know, you hear these stories. We really didn’t give much thought to it. And so that’s where I started digging to only find out that he was the son of one of the first African American men to serve on the Town Council of Winer Park. Elected in 1887 and served to 1893. And then I was able to find out that a young woman that basically was raised by the Simpson Family, that grew up in the community, that her great-grandfather was Frank R. Israel . The second black man to serve at the same time period on the Winter Park Town—Town Council. And so through, uh, the archives at the Winter Park Public Library, Rollins Library, Ancestry.com, cemeteries, interviews with many, many people, I was able to flesh out that criti—the critical roles the African American plays in the community.
One of my great sources—well, two of my great sources were Mrs. Wilhelmina Allen , whose family came here as early as 1875, and had property out across the railroad track on Pennsylvania Avenue. Then I had, uh, Mr. Alonzo Gerard Roberts , whose family came here around 1881, when Chase and a couple of his investors and supporters went over to Volusia County to where black men were working on the railroad to try to hire some black men to come and help hew out the community—the 600 acres he bought in, uh, Hannibal Square. Acres that he—‘cause he planned Hannibal Square specifically for an African American community. And so his grandfather was one of those men. And his grandfather also worked for Mr. Dommerich over in Maitland. And he owned property on the opposite side of Lake, uh—Lake Maitland. So he had groves. And then he would go across the lake and take care of the Dommerich groves. In fact, before they built their house at 1001 New York Avenue, which is now home to the First Baptist Church, he and his wife lived on the Dommerich property. Yeah.
So those two were very critical. Along with, uh, Mrs. Rose Charlton Bynum , whose family had been here since the early eight—1800s. Uh, well, around 1881, ‘82. And then, uh, her brother, Richard Harold Charlton Jr. So a lot of people I’ve interviewed, uh—Walter Simpson’s granddaughters. All of them are deceased now. But he has, uh, great, uh—great-grands and great-great-grands still living in—in the area. You know? So, um.
I wasn’t shocked. Because as a kid growing up, you know—you know, in my time of growing up, a lot of the churches didn’t have church every Sunday because the minister might have been, uh, assigned to a church here for two Sundays a month, and then somewhere else, and maybe in a rural area, for two Sundays a month. And so growing up, we all went—it didn’t matter whether or not we were Baptist. It didn’t matter whether or not we were African Methodist Episcopal. Whether or not we were members of Church of God and Christ or any denomination. We all went to the different churches. In fact, the first church/school building in the community that was built after the community was platted—because Chase donated our lot for a combination church and school. So as a result, uh, two Sundays a month, the Methodists would use the church. And then two Sunday a month, the Baptists would use the church.
It wasn’t until the town was actually incorporated in 1887, and later, that they actually took over the school for coloreds, as they called it at that time. And then the council gave the trustees of each church, the Methodists and the Baptists, money to buy other land and build their respective churches on that land. And that resulted in Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, which is at the corner of Lyman and Pennsylvania Avenues, and Ward Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, at the corner of Welbourne and Pennsylvania Avenues. They were the first two churches established in the community. Mount Mariah being the oldest church.
And so as a kid, I would follow the Johnson children and the Berrys, my neighbors, down to Mount Moriah for Sunday school. Mrs. Ethel Cross, who was—lived on the same property as we did because the lot that my grandmother bought was 50 by about 100. And so she sold the back side of the lot to Mrs. Cross, who built a house. And so, uh, Mrs. Cross belonged to Ward Chapel AME Church. And so many Sundays, I went with her. And then Mr. Bobby Washington, whose sister-in-law lived across the street from us—he was the superintendent of the Sunday school at Ward Chapel. And many times, he would pick me up and take me to Sunday school at Ward Chapel.
So I was all over the place. And not—but not just me. That’s the way the community was. We all went to different churches other than our own churches. And I think that’s a part of, um, the success that we experienced. Uh, because we had so much exposure to different types of religions. Different types of services. Different types of people. They called, uh—I remember growing up, they called Mount Moriah “the big hat church” because the women wore big hats. You know? And, uh, it—it was—it was a—it was a good experience. You know? It was…
Cravero
Um [clears throat], could you tell us a little about, uh, some of the most memorable, or maybe even difficult, oral histories that you’ve conducted?
Livingston
I would say the most difficult would have been, um, the interviews I’ve done with the Sage Project. We’ve had, uh, three phrases—phases of the sage, where we interview people in the community ages 80 and up. And some of them—they really felt that the community had not been fairly represented and treated fairly in what was going on with gentrification. Some spoke on record. Some of them spoke off record. Some felt that, basically, members of the African American community were complicit in the gentrification. And by that, I mean that some of the later generations inherited property and opportunities. And did not stand up to the plate to do what they needed to do to hold onto it.
But for the most part, I would say all the stories were just funny. Uplifting. Sometimes we ended up just laughing. And, uh—and what made it so good was that I knew all these people because I grew up among them. I went to school with their children. And I had respect—not only respected them for—for—for decades. It’s—I would say I’ve never been disappointed in any interview I’ve done, no matter how it went. I just feel bad for those people who—especially any elderly person who ended up losing their property or not being, you know, um, fairly compensated I would say. But, um, for the most part, I understood and respected their stories. And, um, I don’t think that they were making ‘em up. They just was[sic] happy to share the happy parts of their lives rather than—you know, because it’s like Zora Neale Hurston said, “Believe it or not, these people, including myself, we didn’t—we didn’t live in the kitchen of despair.” You know? We had lives. You know? We valued our institutions. We valued our schools. You know? Just like people value on the east side of town. You know? You know? We have the same feelings about the people in our community in the—in our churches. In our schools. In our children. You know?
Um, my family never had a telephone. We never had a car. But that wasn’t a problem because somebody in my neighborhood would, um, let us use the phone if we needed to. And take us someplace if we needed to. And especially if we needed to go to something at the Hungerford School in Eatonville. You know, I had to catch a ride to my graduation, you know, uh, from high school. But most—for the most part, we used the city bus to get around. We would go up to the corner of Morse and Pennsylvania in front of the Hague’s grocery and catch the bus to Orlando. And the terminal at that time was on Pine Street. And then we could go and do our shopping and whatever we wanted to do downtown. But if you wanted to go outside of that, then we’d have to get a transfer to go someplace else in the city.
You know, sometimes people go and they look at you and they see that—that you’re different and you don’t look like them. They don’t realize that you have the same challenges. Ups. Downs. Highs. Lows. Maybe for different reasons and different ways, but it’s not like you’re walking around sulking. You know? Because, uh, this was a great place to grow up. This place was so great to grow up in that back in, um, the early-2000s, I sold a house I owned in Winter Park to my daughter and son-in-law so that they—so that like their mother—like my grandchildren’s mother and uncle grew up in Winter Park, I wanted them to experience growing up in Winter Park. So my son graduated from Winter Park High. My daughter. And my 18-year-old grandson just graduated last year. And he’s in college in Michigan. So it was good.
Cravero
Um…
Livingston
And one thing I want to add is…
Cravero
[clears throat].
Livingston
…those people that I interviewed for the Sage Project, they all owned their homes. They bought their homes in thirties and forties and fifties. And they were mortgage-free. And these people did daywork. They worked in the laundry. They worked at Rollins. They worked at the Alabama Hotel. They worked at the Morrison’s Cafeteria. And they had their own homes. And that’s something now will not be happening in—in Winter Park. If you left Winter Park for whatever reason, unless you have some big bucks, you cannot come back.
And the thing about it is, you know, this is my opinion, everybody wants a—they want a, uh, prestigious Winter Park address. And they want a sense of community. But the people I see who live here, I never see them outside their homes. I know who they are just by the homes. But I never see them out. I don’t see their children in the street playing stickball like we did coming up. Or playing hopscotch. Just out there playing. You know? And being. And doing. I know they’re there, because I can tell from the new houses that they put here. I guess they just come home and close up. And then come out. You know, and do whatever they do during the day. I’m sure some of them, they have a relationship with their neighbors. I mean, they’re neighbors. But I don’t see the sense of community that I grew up with. And for them, I feel sorry that they don’t have that experience. You know, they don’t know how to have that experience.
Cravero
That was actually touching on my, uh, next question. Was, um—would you tell us a little bit about some of the major changes that have taken place in Hannibal Square and what that means in being able to preserve the history of the community?
Livingston
Well, I would say the only saving—one of the only—well, I—I’ll put it like this. There are some things in the community. Okay? The Hannibal Square Heritage Center here. This is something that will help preserve the community. I—you have to realize that, uh, we have a 30-year lease with the City of Winter Park. We’ve already burned through 10 years. So we don’t know what the future might hold. We don’t know whether or not 20 years from now, when it’s time to request a renewal or whatever—not only that, in the interim. Because if either one of us could break the—the lease requirement, you know, with the proper notification. So we don’t know what might happen with this. We might get people on the council who don’t support this. They may say, “Well, we’ve got a history association downtown at the farmer’s market. Why do we need two?”
So as far as seeing differences, you know, I grew up—now, Hannibal Square’s always been kind of a conflicting community, as far as the business section was concerned. That’s because there was a bar. And they had little cafeterias that sold, uh, liquor and beer. And they had restaurants that sold, uh, alcoholic beverages. And you had, uh, barber shops, etc. Dry cleaners. You name it. So most families did not want their children in Hannibal Square in the business section. Because of the alcohol and booze. They—we were against that. You know? It wasn’t against the—the insti—the, uh, businesses. But they didn’t want they’re children exposed to that. But I remember as a teenager, we loved to walk past the square [laughs]. We didn’t dare go in the square, but we—that was one of our rights of passage. And then we got to driving age and had cars, we would drive through the square. It was like a right of passage.
[laughs] So, um—but, you know, there was a grocery store. And one of the grocery stores I grew up with was owned by a white family. And, um, they would give you credit on the food. Then there was another groc—there was[sic] two grocery stores owned by white families. The Davises. I can’t remember the other. Prevatt. The Prevatts and the Davises. The Davises had a store right there where Dexter’s used to be. At the corner of Pennsylvania and New England. And the Prevatts had one on the opposite side. Close to Hannibal Square East. And then the Davises moved north, near the corner of, uh, Pennsylvania and Canton in one of the, uh, Masonic lodge buildings downstairs. Which is now home to a new boutique-style, uh, store called—it was called The Grove or The Glove. Was it? Something. It’s brand new.
So, you know, I’ve seen a lot of changes. Uh, there’s only one barber shop, um, on the corner that had been there for a number of years. All the barbers that—well, two of the barbers that worked there f—one of the barbers that worked there, he’s deceased. And the other one is still living. But, they’re, you know—he’s older. This is a new group here. And, um, we had a dry cleaners. Mr. Hurley’s. Back during that time, when I was a teenager, coming up as a young person, uh, when we wore our jeans—we took our jeans to the dry cleaners. And they’d put starch in ‘em. And then they would press ‘em. And you’d have a crease in there that was so sharp, that if you did—if you weren’t careful, you might cut yourself [laughs]. Mr. Hurley was a professional, um, hat blocker. That was his specialty. And then we had, um, hairdressers in the community. We had Mrs. Christine Hardaway. We had Mrs. Alberta Kelly. We had Ms. Nellie Mae Lewis. We had, um, several more. We had many hairdressers. Because during that time, um, I was growing up, most African Americans, you know, they’d straighten their hair, you know, with a hot pressing comb and things like that. Now we’ve come to accept and appreciate our kinky hair.
So it’s, you know—we had the community center, where we’d have Saturday night dance—dances with teenagers. We had Saturday night dances. Uh, when I was in elementary school, during the, uh, World Series baseball games, um, if you wanted to go and watch the baseball on a little, small tv sitting up on the stage, they would bring the kids over who wanted to watch the baseball game. Um, that’s—community center had a jukebox in it. So if you’re doing, you know—if you went over there during the daytime, you know—went after school or whatever, you could play the jukebox and pool table. And, of course, like I said, the Saturday night dance [digital alarm rings]. And now at that time, there was a, uh, dj on AM radio, was named—they called him Little Daddy. And he visited all the rural African American communities in Central Florida. So wherever he was scheduled to go for the weekend or Saturday night, he would advertise it during his show. And most times, he would say something like, “Okay. We’re gonna be in Winter Park Saturday night. Practice, Winter Park. Practice, Winter Park.” And we would all be so excited to go to the community center for the dances.
And we didn’t go to summer camp. The churches were our summer camps. Because in the summertime, many of the women who worked outside their homes, they would take time off their jobs and provide vacation Bible school for us. So we had like nine or ten churches in the community. Or more. So each church would take a week. So you didn’t have to be conflicted about where you wanted to go. So by the time you made it through nine to ten churches, you’ve already had your summer camp. You know, we would study the Bible. And we would learn Bible verses. And then we would do, uh, little skits at the end of the week. Every day we had our Kool-Aid and our sandwiches. And a cookie. And the women were very nice and kind to us. Didn’t matter whether or not you went to the S—Seventh Day Adventist Church or the Church of God in Christ or a Baptist church, etc.
[clears throat] So you know, we—we had a—we used to fish the lakes of Winter Park. Because often, black people worked on those estates. And so we knew a lot of them. And so when we would go to fish, we could go into the yard. And usually the butler or the maid or some house, uh, worker or servant would come out wondering how you—how we’re fishing. You know? What—what are we doing? Are you catching anything? And a lot of times they would bring out cold water or tea, you know, for you. So we were allowed to go into these properties. But now, a lot of times I think about, “Well, I won’t really drive down that street again.” ‘Cause I remember walking down that street. And there was a st—a stand of, um, cane poles that my grandmother used to cut from and let it dry out. I said, “But I’m sure if I drive that there now, especially if I drive slowly, just reminiscing, I’ll probably get the cops called on me. You know? But those are the things.
Uh, we couldn’t go to the public library. Mm-mm. With help from Rollins College, um, professor of books—I can’t remember his name right now. And it’s a shame that I don’t. Um, he donated books and a bookshelf. In the—in memory of his wife. ‘Cause his wife was active with the black children at the Hannibal Square Elementary School. She would come and read to the children and provide books. And then he started a campaign. And said, “Rather than, um, sending flowers, donate a book or books to the school.” And eventually, that led to an effort and the success to build a library in Hannibal Square.
So it was in the sixties before we could go to the library. I’m right here in ’64 in Winter Park [clears throat]. By the time they had a library in, um—by the time we were allowed to go to the library across town, I had read every book probably in the Hannibal Square [laughs] library. Some of ‘em probably twice [laughs]. And so—but, you know, i—i—it didn’t—w—we didn’t resort to saying somebody saying, “Well…
Cravero
[clears throat].
Livingston
…I’m not gonna read because I want to go to the white library.” You know? I—i—w—we went to the library. And we, you know—and a lot of families at the time, they invested in buying, um—Oh, god. Here we go. Britannica. Uh.
Lester
Encyclopedias. Encyclopedias.
Livingston
Encyclopedias. And so you would go to your friend’s house. Some people didn’t even have the complete set yet. They might have had—they might have bought A through D. You know? And then the next year, they might buy F through whatever. And some people were able to buy the whole set. So you would go to your friend’s house and use their encyclopedias.
And so it was—there’s a lot of change. I remember one time this, uh—it was in the sixties. Early sixties. There was a restaurant. A little burger joint on, um…
Cravero
[clears throat].
Livingston
…Fairbanks Avenue called The Golden Point. Now every Sunday after church, me and a group of friends would—after dinner, usually at one of my friend’s house, mostly Doris Taylor’s house [laughs], we would take a little walk around the community. So this particular Sunday, we decided we’d go to The Golden Point. So we walked up to the window and the lady told us—the young lady told us that we had to go to the side to order. And we said no. We wanted to order there. And so what she did was she closed the window down. So we stood there for a while. And after it was obvious that they were not going to serve us, we began to walk away. But as soon as we walked away, she opened the window back up to serve a white customer.
I’ll never forget one time, um, this was around ’57 or ’58, when they first put a 7-Eleven at the corner of Pennsylvania and Fairbanks. My mother had given me money to go and buy a loaf of bread. I went to the store and I got the bread. And I gave the young man, the cashier, a 20-dollar bill. When he gave me back my change, it was not correct. But he gave me a look to say, “Don’t you dare challenge me.” Now it wasn’t so much that I was afraid to challenge him. I was afraid that this would create a problem for my mother. Because my mother was one of those people that just didn’t take any hostages. And I knew my mother would go back down there and probably tear the place up and end up in jail. So I had to go home and lie to my mother. I—I lied to my mother. I said, “I must have dropped some of your change.” ‘Cause I knew she was not going to let it go.
I’ll never forget one day I was crossing Park Avenue at New England on my way to Hogue’s Five & Dime store. On Saturdays, sometimes we would get, uh, 25 cents or 10 cents. You know, like I said there was[sic] three of us. Four. Four of us. And we would go down to Hogue’s and buy the little, you know, rick racks and jackstones and different little things. It would always be crowded with children because the children would be—be—the white children would be down—would be down on Park Avenue for the Colony Theater. Because of the movies. This time, as I was crossing the street, there were three little white boys. And they were snickering. And I could tell from their body language that something bad was coming to me. And so as we passed each other, one of ‘em snickered and said—and called me Aunt—Aunt Jemima. Aunt Jemima. That’s the pancake mix. Well, during that time, that was not something to be called. You might has well have used the n-word.
So sometimes I wonder. These people that I had these encounters with, are they—are they now or before—were they on the City Council? You know? Are they in places of power? And have they changed? And have they taught their children these same things against people who don’t look like them? I—I wonder about those things. And now as I began to be among a lot of people who are not of color, I see the connection that they all have. They know everything about us and we know nothing about them. So that gives them leverage. That gives them the upper hand. Because many of the older people who have gone on, and many who are aged now, worked for a lot of those families. And those older people from our community share some of their pain about their life or their children. About their husband. About their wife. And so that’s been passed on to generations. And that feeds the negative feeling about people in—in my community.
You know? Just like, uh, historians. Historians in the community, they are only concerned about white history. I’m not only concerned about black history. I’m concerned about all history because I can see the thread. I could see the—I could see each—in other words, when you tell your story, there’s a component story from this community that is parallel to that. And people don’t always see that. I know many years ago in the paper, someone wrote that if you didn’t graduate from Winter Park High, you didn’t live in Winter Park. That’s to disenfranchise those of us who had to go to the segregated schools, which was not a call that we could make.
And then when you go to Winter Park High—if you go to one of their yearbooks around ’70-’71—now this was after the Civil Rights Movement. In the yearbook, there’s a redneck club, which is fine. But one of the kids has a noose around his neck. Then there’s a poem in that yearbook. “How much does your daddy make? Does he have enough—make enough to live on a lake? And buy his wife a long-length mink? Or does he live in a…” I can’t remember the whole poem. But does he live in, you know, like a low-income place? Or maybe he doesn’t work at all. That’s in the yearbook. In 1971-72. So I wonder. Those children in that picture. What are they doing? Are they still here?
And then in a picture, they showed, uh, the black student. And the pictures of the black student looking like the—tish[sic]—pictures of black students in the picture, they look like—they look like they’re stressed about learning. You know? Like they’re confused or something. They look like they’re challenged about whatever they’re trying to—to look at. You know? Then they took pictures on the back side of some of the old rooming houses in there to show, I guess, where these black children come from. And then they have a section called, “The Community”. And that’s where they show Downtown Park Avenue. The houses on the lake. Blah, blah, blah [laughs].
You know, the first African American didn’t attend Winter Park High School until the 1964-65 school year. This was a young lady. Barbara King Lloyd. She lived on Lyman Avenue. She had one brother. Scriven. But they always attended school and church with their family in Orlando. The came from p—a pioneer family here. And, um, they picked—she was picked to attend the school. I guess as a test. And I would say, um, in my opinion, she was picked because she was very fair-skinned. It wouldn’t be so obvious. They wouldn’t pick me. Y—you know? And she was not treated well at all. She was ostracized. And it was tough on her. This was a young woman who had come from Jones High School in Orlando. She’d been a majorette. She was a star student. You know? So she was popular. She’s in Girl Scouts here. You know? Very involved with everything. And she’d go there. And for hours on hours a day, had to—had to face that.
One year, when she—when they had a reunion, the [Orlando] Sentinels[sic] contacted her. She was living in Miami-Dade County around that area at the time. And asked her about wh—whether or not she would be attending the reunion. And she said no. That she would not be attending. And then they interviewed some of the classmates. And some of them expressed remorse for the way that they—they didn’t reach out. They didn’t try to welcome her in any way.
So—but this is not an anomaly. This happens all over the—the country. Most specially in the South. See, the people think of Florida, they think of beaches and palm trees. But the same dynamics that play out all over the country plays out here. Yeah.
Anyway, Mr. Rogers , you know, he attended Rollins. And he graduated in 1951. Well, Mr. Rogers spent time in this community at the Winter—at the Welbourne Avenue Nursery and Kindergarten through the Human Relations Council at his school. By the time Mr. Rogers got here, the enrollment at the Hungerford School had declined. Because before the early-fifties, the Hungerford School had been a private school. Boarding school for African Americans. And so when enrollment went down, and I guess they couldn’t afford the teachers, Mr. Rogers and many of the students in his department and members of the Humanity Council would go over to Hungerford and actually teach the classes. You know? And work with the children. And things like that. Yeah.
Hamilton Holt . He was a little different. You know, he was good friends with Zora Neale Hurston. Zora Neale wanted to put on a play. But she couldn’t do it at the main campus. They had another theater somewhere around present-day Virginia or Fern Creek Avenue area. So she could—she was allowed to use that. Many of the people in her play, especially the singing parts, came from this community. So, you know, Hamilton, the Ball Family. The Balls. They worked for Hamilton Holt. Every year when he would go to his estate, you know—the people are connected someplace. Uh, they would go with him. In fact, uh, Mrs.—Mrs. Ball, uh—her son, who’s still living, he’s in Atlanta now—whenever she would go with them to their estate, she would leave her son, young son, with her father. And one summer, the child cried and was so upset about his mother leaving that Hamilton Holt had the kid brought to the estate. And from that time on, every summer he went with his mother to the estate.
So there were some kind people. I’m—I’m not saying everybody—I’m not—I don’t—I don’t wanna do what they do. I don’t wanna be like them. I don’t wanna paint the whole city. There are pockets of people. There are people that you don’t even know that have empathy for what has happened to this community. I just don’t know who a lot of ‘em are. I know a lot of ‘em. But then there’s many more that I do not know.
It’s a great place to live. It is. And I can see why people would want to come in. I just hope that they enjoy it as much as I do. Did and still do. I drive from Mount Dora at least two or three days a week coming here. ‘Cause I love this place. Yeah.
Cravero
Well, appreciate you sharing your story with us today, Ms. Livingston. I think you’ve answered all of my questions. Is there anything else that you’d like to add? Do you have any final thoughts to share before we wrap up the interview?
Livingston
Well, sometimes I wonder. I know where some of the people who were just relocated, uh—had to leave because of gentrification or for whatever reasons. And I know some of ‘em are living in Altamonte [Springs] or Eatonville. And Pine Hills. And somewhere in another area. But when, uh, people who do development—and I’m not anti-development. I know things change. When they are the ones that—the thing about gentrification, there’s no, uh, requirement that they see that people get compensated in some ways to make that move. And cities, not just Winter Park, but cities around this country, they allow that to happen because they don’t have to pay the location money.
I think one of the biggest problems is that a lot of people have given up on local, state and national politicians. A lot of people don’t vote. They think once they’ve registered and get the card, that’s the end of it. But that’s just the first step. I know that African American communities, uh, their lifetime is just about over. Uh, many states, including Florida, have what they call the partition laws. And that helps bring about gentrification. The partition laws are where let’s say me and my three siblings own—or we’re heirs to property. And there is no—no will to say who actually gets it. Or how it should be divided. And let’s say it is divided. And out of the four, let’s say I’m living in the home. But let’s say one of my brothers might be paying the taxes and he’s in another state. The other two may have no interest. So when the developer contacts any of those three and says, “I’ll give you x number of dollars for your share,” well, the one that’s paying the tax deal may feel, “This frees me up. And then I get a few dollars.” And the other two, they may be doing very well, wherever they’re living. And, you know, don’t plan on coming back here. And so they sell their share. But then it only takes one person to buy—to—to sell their share. And then the developer can get a judgement against the remaining members to buy the property. In other words, what they’re gonna look—go for the judgement in, they’re gonna say, you know, “I’m ready to move forward with my investment. And this is costing me money because these other two people will not sell.” This is happening right now in North Carolina and Georgia. South Carolina. With farm property. Petition. And it’s legal. But you know, everything legal, it’s not always right.
Lester
Thank you.
Cravero
Thank you very much. This has been Geoffrey Cravero and Dr. Connie Lester with Fairolyn Livingston at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center in Winter Park, Florida, on Thursday, December 12th, 2019. Thank you.
7-Eleven
African American churches
African American community
African American schools
African Americans
Agnes Maude Houston Kraft
Alabama Hotel
Alberta Kelly
Alonzo Gerard “Trick” Roberts
Arnold Palmer Invitational
Baptist Church
Barbara King Lloyd
Bay Hill Club and Lounge
Capen House
Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum
Central Florida State College
Christine Hardaway
Church of God and Christ
churches
Climmie Boyer
Colony Theater
community activism
Connie Lester
Crealdé School of Art
Crummer Graduate School of Business
DePugh Nursing Home
desegregation
discrimination
Doris Taylor
Eatonville
education
Eileen Abraham Bryant
Ethel Cross
Fairolyn Livingston
First Congregational Church of Winter Park
Florida Citrus Open Invitational
Frank R. Israel
Fred McFeely Rogers
Frederick P. Simpson
gentrification
Geoffrey Cravero
golf
Hamilton Holt
Hampton Junior College
Hannibal Square
Hannibal Square Heritage Center
Heritage Collection Team
historical preservation
Hogue's Five & Dime
Hungerford High School
Ideal Woman’s Club of Winter Park, Inc.
integration
J. Lynn Pflug
Jones High School
Kelly Pflug
Lee Elder
Little Danny
Loring Augustus Chase
Louis Ferdinand Dommerich
Mary Lee DePugh
Morrison's Cafeteria
Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church
Mr. Rogers
Nancy Bradford
Nellie Mae Lewis
New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
Ocala
Oral histories
oral history
partitian laws
Peter Schreyer
PGA Tour
poverty
racism
recreational activities
Richard Harold Charlton Jr.
Rio Pinar Country Club
Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School
Rollins College
Rose Charlton Bynum
Sage Project
segregated schools
segregation
Seventh Day Adventist Church
The Golden Point
Victoria Redfin
Ward Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church
Welbourne Nursery & Kindergarten Inc
Wilhelmina Hernandez Allen
Winter Park
Winter Park Foundation
Winter Park High School
Winter Park Public Library
Winter Park’s Worthy Persons
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/61afbab29e1c782c5c275d00aa526a27.pdf
bc3a1254a045c2f94ca80ba04218df8b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A History of Central Florida Collection
Alternative Title
History of Central Florida Collection
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Description
A History of Central Florida Podcast series explores Central Florida's history through the artifacts found in local area museums and historical societies.
Contributor
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Cassanello, Robert
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/70" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Altoona, Florida
Astor, Florida
Brevard County, Florida
Bushnell, Florida
Clermont, Florida
Cocoa Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
DeLand, Florida
Disston City, Florida
Fort King, Florida
Geneva, Florida
Goldenrod, Florida
Groveland, Florida
Holly Hill, Florida
Hontoon Island, DeLand, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Kissimmee, Florida
Lake Apopka, Florida
Lake County, Florida
Lake Mary, Florida
Marion County, Florida
Merritt Island, Florida
Miami, Florida
Mims, Florida
Mount Dora, Florida
Newnans Lake, Gainesville, Florida
New Smyrna, Florida
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocklawaha River, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Ormond Beach, Florida
Osceola County, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Silver Springs, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Cloud, Florida
St. Johns River, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tavares, Florida
Weirsdale, Florida
Winter Garden, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Ybor City, Tampa, Florida
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>." RICHES of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php.
Moving Image
A series of visual representations that, when shown in succession, impart an impression of motion.
Original Format
1 podcast
Duration
14 minutes and 16 seconds
Compression
135kbps
Producer
Cassanello, Robert
Director
Stapleton, Kevin
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A History of Central Florida, Episode 42: Jim Crow Signs
Alternative Title
Jim Crow Signs Podcast
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Eatonville (Fla.)
African Americans--Florida--Sanford
Sanford (Fla.)
African Americans--Segregation--Florida
Desegregation
Description
Episode 42 of A History of Central Florida podcasts: Jim Crow Signs. RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore Central Florida history and are locally produced. These podcasts can involve the participation or cooperation of local area partners.<br /><br />Episode 42 features a discussion of racial segregation signs used in the Jim Crow South, which are housed at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando, Florida. This podcast also includes interviews with Dr. Stephen Caldwell Wright of Seminole State College and Dr. Julian C. Chambliss of Rollins College.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction<br />0:01:52 The Jim Crow South<br />0:02:35 Origins of racial segregation<br />0:04:24 Origins of “Jim Crow”<br />0:05:08 Segregation in practice<br />0:07:07 African-American communities and business districts<br />0:09:09 <em>Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka</em> and desegregation<br />0:11:12 Desegregating schools<br />0:11:59 African-American communities post-segregation<br />0:14:58 Conclusion<br />0:15:21 Credits
Type
Moving Image
Source
Original 15-minute and 48-second podcast by Kevin Stapleton, 2015: RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Orlando, Florida. <a href="http://youtu.be/wvzC9ergWHg" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/wvzC9ergWHg</a>.
Requires
<a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/" target="_blank"> Adobe Flash Player</a>
Application software, such as <a href="http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp" target="_blank"> Java</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/137" target="_blank">A History of Central Florida Collection</a>, RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection, RICHES.
Coverage
Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, Florida
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Goldsboro, Sanford, Florida
Eatonville, Orlando, Florida
Parramore, Orlando, Florida
Derns Elementary School, Orange County, Florida
Durrance Elementary School, Orlando, Florida
Creator
Stapleton, Kevin
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Contributor
Stapleton, Kevin
Wright, Stephen Caldwell
Chambliss, Julian
French, Scot
Cassanello, Robert
Ford, Chip
Clarke, Bob
Gibson, Ella
Hazen, Kendra
Kelley, Katie
Velásquez, Daniel
<a href="https://www.thehistorycenter.org/" target="_blank">Orange County Regional History Center</a>
<a href="http://www.floridamemory.com/" target="_blank">Florida Memory Project</a>
<a href="http://www.loc.gov/" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a>
Date Created
ca. 2015-03-30
Date Issued
2015-03-30
Date Copyrighted
2015-03-30
Format
application/website
Extent
75.1 MB
160 KB
Medium
15-minute and 48-second podcast
9-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Kevin Stapleton and published by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Accrual Method
Item Creation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Raffel, Sara
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
External Reference
Winsboro, Irvin D. S. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/797855859" target="_blank"><em>Old South, New South, or Down South?: Florida and the Modern Civil Rights Movement</em></a>. 2009.
Colburn, David R., and Jane Landers. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48138716" target="_blank"><em>The African American Heritage of Florida</em></a>. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1995.
Borman, Kathryn M., and Sherman Dorn. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/137526262" target="_blank"><em>Education Reform in Florida Diversity and Equity in Public Policy</em></a>. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="http://youtu.be/RjOg09aeokc" target="_blank">A History of Central Florida, Episode 42: Jim Crow Signs</a>
Transcript
<p><em>A History of</em></p>
<p><em>Central Florida</em></p>
<p><em>Presented By</em></p>
<p><em>RICHES</em></p>
<p><em>OF CENTRAL FLORIDA</em></p>
<p><em>ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL</em></p>
<p><em>HISTORY CENTER</em></p>
<p><em>Smart. Surprising. Fun.</em></p>
<p><em>A History of</em></p>
<p><em>Central Florida</em></p>
<p><em>RICHES</em></p>
<p><em>OF CENTRAL FLORIDA</em></p>
<p><em>PODCAST</em></p>
<p><em>DOCUMENTARIES</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Thank you for downloading this episode of A History of Central Florida podcast. This is the podcast where we explore Central Florida’s history through the artifacts found in local museums and historical societies. This series is brought to you by RICHES, the Regional Initiative to Collect the History, Experiences, and Stories of Central Florida, and the Orange County Regional History Center.</p>
<p><em>ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL</em></p>
<p><em>HISTORY CENTER</em></p>
<p><em>Smart. Surprising. Fun.</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>I am Kevin Stapleton, and I will be your host for this episode titled, “Jim Crow Signs.”</p>
<p><em>Episode 42</em></p>
<p><em>Jim Crow Signs</em></p>
<p><em>WHITE</em></p>
<p><em>ONLY</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton</strong> <br />As Central Florida grew in the late 19<sup>th</sup> century, urban centers like Orlando and Sanford, as well as smaller communities in the region, became racially segregated. Segregation was initially and tacitly supported by most white residents, and soon became the official policy supported by the state government, cities, and local communities in Florida and the rest of the South. In this episode, we will examine the artifacts of racial segregation in Orlando.</p>
<p><em>WHITE ENTRANCE</em></p>
<p><em>CIVIL RIGHTS</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Signs denoting separate places for white and black residents had its origins in the late 19<sup>th</sup> century, as a way to remind African Americans of their second-class status.</p>
<p><em>COLORED ENTRANCE</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>The same governments and legislatures—that only decades later granted citizenship and equal rights to blacks after slavery and the [American] Civil War—now gave sanction to the strict separation of the races.</p>
<p><em>LINCOLN</em></p>
<p><em>WITH MALICE</em></p>
<p><em>TOWARD NONE</em></p>
<p><em>WITH CHARITY</em></p>
<p><em>FOR ALL.</em></p>
<p><em>“Equal Rights</em></p>
<p><em>Before the Law.</em></p>
<p><em>The “Jim Crow” Street Car</em></p>
<p><em>THE WAY IT WORKS IN </em>[illegible]</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>These signs were colloquially known as “Jim Crow Signs,” which transmitted their social and cultural meaning as spaces or places of inferior status and accommodation.</p>
<p>Dr. Stephen Caldwell Wright was born in Sanford, Florida, and came of age during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. He tells us what Jim Crow meant.</p>
<p><em>COLORED</em></p>
<p><strong>Wright<br /></strong>Uh, Jim Crow was a system of segregation, essentially. Um, separate, uh, economic, political, social systems within a community and throughout the nation, and, uh, it simply meant, um, supposedly, “separate but equal” after a while, but somehow the “equal” got lost [<em>laughs</em>].</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Racial segregation came from a series of laws passed at the state and local level at the end of the 19<sup>th</sup> century. This cumulated with the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision <em>Plessy v. Ferguson</em>—that established that separate but equal facilities—was constitutional. Dr. Scot French, from the University of Central Florida, tells us about the philosophy behind these segregation laws.</p>
<p><em>COLORED</em></p>
<p><em>MEN</em></p>
<p><em>Orange County Courthouse 1950s Restroom Sign</em></p>
<p><strong>French<br /></strong>These signs are really a product of a system of racial control that replaced slavery. In the aftermath of, uh, Reconstruction, there was a lot of conflict, obviously, in the streets and in public places…</p>
<p><em>COLORED ENTRANCE</em></p>
<p><strong>French<br /></strong>And, uh, the politics of space became very personalized, and of course, this—this problem gets multiplied in the age of railroads when, uh, strangers are confronting one another in passenger cars, and there’s a real effort to control this population of free people, and to remind them of their place in society, and that place in the eyes of the powers that be, the—the white redeemers of the southern, uh, government and politics—their place was, uh, underneath the white man, that this was a white man’s country. After the <em>Plessy</em> decision, the Supreme Court decision which—well, made the—the—the principle of “separate but equal,” uh, the law of the land, there was en effort to begin to codify all of these practices in law to…</p>
<p><em>COLORED ENTRANCE</em></p>
<p><strong>French<br /></strong>Designate certain spaces as for colored and certain spaces as for white…</p>
<p><em>WHITE ENTRANCE</em></p>
<p><em>CIVIL RIGHTS</em></p>
<p><strong>French<br /></strong>and the idea behind this was that it would keep black people and white people from brushing up against each other in ways that would lead to—to conflict.</p>
<p><em>“Equal Rights</em></p>
<p><em>Before the Law.</em></p>
<p><em>The “Jim Crow” Street Car</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>The word “Jim Crow” originally came from African-American activists in the middle of the 19<sup>th</sup> century. African Americans used the term to describe the ways in which they were treated differently from whites in public accommodations and services. From then on, the name stuck.</p>
<p><em>JIM CROW.</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Jim Crow was a blackface character, performed by white stage actors, during that time which portrayed blacks without human dignity or humanity through racist stereotypes. For African Americans, the system of racial segregation was part of that same dehumanizing legacy.</p>
<p><em>DIRECTORY</em></p>
<p><em>1<sup>ST</sup> FLOOR</em></p>
<p><em>COUNTY WELFARE DEPT</em></p>
<p><em>WHITE WAITING ROOM 8</em></p>
<p><em>COLORED 6</em></p>
<p><em>COUNTY CLINIC 8</em></p>
<p><em>DISTRICT WELFARE BOARD</em></p>
<p><em>INTAKE OFFICE</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Even though according to the law and court decisions, separate was to be equal, it never was. “Separate” was only a way to reinforce difference. Dr. Wright tells us how he experienced segregation growing up in Central Florida.</p>
<p><strong>Wright<br /></strong>Usually, there was a black section, um, if I remember correctly, uh, usually a smaller area, and usually more crowded than the larger so-called “white section,” and the black sections, uh—what were then called the “colored sections,” were not nearly as well-kept, and—and—and—and the like. That would be true in terms of the bathrooms, as well. For instance, I remember…</p>
<p><em>COLORED</em></p>
<p><strong>Wright<br /></strong>Um, in many instances, um, men and women shared the same bathroom, while in the other section, you’d have women and then men, uh, facilities.</p>
<p>Uh, taking the bus was, um, notable, because it was understood that when you got on the bus you went to the back, and that was understood. There were no signs. The signs were the faces. The driver would, you know—knew that you were going to go to the back, and would give you a funny look if you sat too close up front, and that kind of thing. Not all of them, but some of them would.</p>
<p>If you went downtown, and you were standing at the counter, then you knew that everybody else was going to be waited on, served before you. So you could be standing there, but if a person who was white walked up, then they would reach around you and just continually serve all of them, until they had gone. Then, they would serve you.</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Although racial segregation translated to second-class citizenship for African Americans, it did not mean that residents of Central Florida stood idly by.</p>
<p><em>7UP</em></p>
<p><em>BOO-BOO’S BAR</em></p>
<p><em>TOWN& COUNTRY</em></p>
<p><em>Stone’s[?]</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>African Americans founded their own businesses, churches, civic associations, and even towns. Local communities usually had a segregated downtown district, where African American businesses and residents lived. In Sanford, there was Georgetown; in Winter Park, there was Hannibal Square; and Parramore, on the west side of Downtown Orlando.</p>
<p>African Americans even established entire incorporated towns, which elected black officials, such as Goldsboro, west of Sanford, and Eatonville, north of Orlando. Goldsboro eventually was absorbed into the City of Sanford in 1911, but Eatonville is one of the few black municipalities founded during this period that still exists. Dr. Julian [C.] Chambliss, from Rollins College, tells us about these black business districts that emerged out of racially segregated cities.</p>
<p><em>THIS HOME IS FINANCED BY</em></p>
<p><em>Washington</em></p>
<p><em>Shores</em></p>
<p><em>Federal</em></p>
<p><em>Savings And Loan Association</em></p>
<p><em>715 GOLDWYN AVE.</em></p>
<p><em>293-7320 • ORLANDO</em></p>
<p><strong>Chambliss<br /></strong>Well, segregation’s sort of unplanned, perhaps on some level, uh, benefit for an African-American community is to coalesce, uh, the [inaudible] community within the boundaries established by white society. As a result, what you see is a whole infrastructure created around servicing the black community—servicing—so black professionals, doctors, lawyers, teachers, um, black businesses that are serving black residents. All those are situated around the core of the black community. So if you look at a place like, for instance, Hannibal Square in Winter Park, Florida…</p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><em>HOTEL</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><strong>Chambliss<br /></strong>You have everything that African Americans could possibly need within the confines of their segregated community, and this, of course, bolsters the economic standing of those, uh, business owners and those professionals. They are, in fact, servicing a captured audience, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not doing good service to the community.</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>By the 1950s, many public places did not admit blacks at all, and separate entrances and facilities were common in courthouses and other public buildings for access by African Americans.</p>
<p>Another Supreme Court decision in 1954, <em>Brown v. the Board of Education</em> [<em>of Topeka</em>], finally overturned the <em>Plessy</em> decision, and the Federal Government finally declared that “separate” was not only unequal, but also unconstitutional.</p>
<p><em>Tallahassee Democrat</em></p>
<p><em>Court Bans Segregation</em></p>
<p><em>In Public School Cases</em></p>
<p><em>Court Ruling</em></p>
<p><em>Is Unanimous</em></p>
<p><em>Cases Directly Involve</em></p>
<p><em>Only Five States But 17</em></p>
<p><em>Others May Be Affected</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><em>Paroled Man’s</em></p>
<p><em>Captures Ends</em></p>
<p><em>Reign of Terror</em></p>
<p>[illegible] <em>Retrieved</em></p>
<p><em>As Mayor</em> [illegible]</p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><em>Court Questions</em></p>
<p><em>Suit Challenging</em></p>
<p><em>Second Primary</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><em>Secrecy Clamp</em></p>
<p><em>Put On Talks</em></p>
<p><em>McCarthy Calls Order “Cover Up”</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><em>French Cancel</em></p>
<p><em>Air Evacuation</em></p>
<p><em>In Indochina</em></p>
<p><em>All Out Attack</em></p>
<p><em>Will Be Resumed</em></p>
<p><em>On Rebel Troops</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><em>Frank Costello</em></p>
<p><em>Gets Five Year</em></p>
<p><em>Prison Term</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><em>New US Bomber</em></p>
<p><em>Test Seen Near</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><em>Sober, Careful</em></p>
<p><em>Thought Urged</em></p>
<p><em>By Tom Bailey</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Although by the 1950s, many Americans were recognizing that racial segregation was wrong, it was a long process for state and local communities to dismantle Jim Crow’s segregation. Dr. French explains.</p>
<p><strong>French<br /></strong>It was really not any secret. Everybody knew this. In many ways…</p>
<p><em>COLORED ENTRANCE</em></p>
<p><strong>French<br /></strong>The—that the—these signs were a part of a fiction of “separate but equal,” but for African Americans, of course, it was never equal. And, in fact, this was the basis for the great challenges to, uh…</p>
<p><em>WHITE ENTRANCE</em></p>
<p><em>CIVIL RIGHTS</em></p>
<p><strong>French<br /></strong>Segregated society. the great legal challenges was the “equal” was not equal under this system, and, uh, you began to see in the 20<sup>th</sup> century a chipping away at this edifice of—of Jim Crow law…</p>
<p><em>Segregation</em></p>
<p><em>IS</em></p>
<p><em>UnAmerican</em>[sic]</p>
<p><strong>French<br /></strong>Based on the fact that the facilities provided to African Americans were profoundly unequal or absent altogether. After <em>Brown v. Board of Education</em>, many civil rights advocates—activists white and black—decided to test the law, to—to take the idea that public spaces should be open, uh, as there were increasingly being made open. The courts began to open up public spaces, particularly in places like interstate travel, and so the waiting rooms at bus stations or railroad stations became desegregated, technically. However, in practice, states and localities continued to enforce segregation. They left those signs on the walls, and they continued to insist that persons of color sit in different waiting rooms—in waiting rooms designated for them.</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>In Central Florida, racially segregated schools were the norm until the 1960s, when Durrance Elementary was integrated under pressure from the Federal Government. And soon, other Orange County schools agreed to desegregate.</p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Because of demonstrations by civil rights activists, community leaders, and students, local officials closed some public facilities, rather than allow them to be racially integrated. This public activism and protest against Jim Crow segregation…</p>
<p><em>FT. LAUDERDALE</em></p>
<p><em>NAACP</em></p>
<p><em>YOUTH COUNCIL</em></p>
<p><em>FT. LAUDERDALE</em></p>
<p><em>BRANCH</em></p>
<p><em>NAACP</em></p>
<p><em>NAACP</em></p>
<p><em>FORT LAUDERDALE</em></p>
<p><em>NAACP</em></p>
<p><em>KEY WEST</em></p>
<p><em>BRANCH</em></p>
<p><em>PASS THE</em></p>
<p><em>CIVIL RIGHTS</em></p>
<p><em>BILL!</em></p>
<p><em>NAACP</em></p>
<p><em>MIAMI</em></p>
<p><em>BRANCH</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Was similar to events throughout the state and the rest of the South. It was through this activism, and because of the passing…</p>
<p><em>THE</em></p>
<p><em>Civil Rights</em></p>
<p><em>Act of 1964</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by the U.S. Congress that outlawed these forms of racial segregation and relegated the Jim Crow signs to the dust bin of history.</p>
<p>Although the system of Jim Crow disappeared, its absence, while welcomed by all segments of society, left a vacuum in the once-thriving black downtowns, as Dr. Chambliss explains.</p>
<p><em>CAMPUS</em></p>
<p><em>THEATER</em></p>
<p><strong>Chambliss<br /></strong>In order to make sure African Americans had full sorta status as—as Americans, um, they had to break down the segregation system. As a consequence, the restrictions in terms of movement, and space, and regulations associated with zoning housing, uh, gave way, and with that, African Americans had the choice of where they wanted to live and how they wanted to live. This had a direct negative impact—impact on the strong cohesion that was created by that outward force constraining African Americans into their, uh, communities. So you see a spread—a spreading out, but you also, I think, see a kind of breaking down. The strong cohesion created by the outside force threatening the black community goes away. African Americans are able—‘cause, especially middle-class and upper-class African Americans, are able to move to places that are better, and this leaves the working-class African Americans…</p>
<p><em>7UP</em></p>
<p><em>BOO-BOO’S BAR</em></p>
<p><em>TOWN& COUNTRY</em></p>
<p><em>Stone’s[?]</em></p>
<p><strong>Chambliss<br /></strong>Um, in that former space, but without the sort of economic and social connections that they had during segregation.</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>As Dr. Chambliss mentioned, the legacy of Jim Crow is bittersweet. It is a legacy that residents of these communities confront today. Dr. Wright recalls for us his struggle with this legacy, and the conversation he had with his mentor and friend, the late Gwendolyn [Elizabeth] Brooks, the famous African-American poet.</p>
<p><strong>Wright<br /></strong>It’s interesting that, um, when I think of, um, integration, uh, and the whole business of…</p>
<p><em>CARVER</em></p>
<p><em>DOUBLE</em></p>
<p><em>FEATURE</em></p>
<p><em>ROBERT TAYLOR</em></p>
<p><em>THE BRIBE</em></p>
<p><em>LOUIS JORDAN BEWARE</em></p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><em>NEWS</em></p>
<p><em>WORZ • ARM CLUB• KIDDIE SHOW</em></p>
<p><em>Free STAGE SHOW Here</em></p>
<p><em>• AUCTION • PRIZES • FUN •</em></p>
<p><strong>Wright<br /></strong>Uh, segregation supposedly going away, one of the—one of the great losses is, in fact, the—the black community—the black business community. Um, members of the black community are—are now affiliated with, uh, non-black institutions, and—and that’s the way it is. Reminds me of what Gwendolyn Brooks said to me when I said to her one day, “All of the black principals have moved out of the community,” and she said, “Oh.” Looked at me and she said, “I’m glad you stayed. I’m glad you stayed. They need to see you.”</p>
<p>[illegible]</p>
<p><strong>Wright<br /></strong><strong>“</strong>The children need to see you,” and that’s I think the great loss with—with the, um—with that. But when, um, integration advanced, as far as I’m concerned, uh…</p>
<p><em>COLORED ENTRANCE</em></p>
<p><strong>Wright<br /></strong>The black community suffered irreparably. It will never recover. Uh…</p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>We hope that you have enjoyed this episode of A History of Central Florida podcast. For more information on the objects featured in this episode…</p>
<p><em>Orange County Regional</em></p>
<p><em>History Center</em></p>
<p><em>65 E Central Blvd.</em></p>
<p><em>Orlando, FL 32801</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Please visit the Orange County Regional History Center at 65 East Central Boulevard, Orlando, Florida, 32801.</p>
<p><em>Episode 43</em></p>
<p><em>Surf Boards</em></p>
<p><strong>Stapleton<br /></strong>Make sure to join us for our next episode entitled “Surf Boards.”</p>
<p><em>Executive Producer</em></p>
<p><em>Robert Cassanello</em></p>
<p><em>Episode Producer</em></p>
<p><em>Kevin Stapleton</em></p>
<p><em>Written by</em></p>
<p><em>Kevin Stapleton</em></p>
<p><em>Directed by</em></p>
<p><em>Kevin Stapleton</em></p>
<p><em>Edited by</em></p>
<p><em>Chip Ford</em></p>
<p><em>Photos</em></p>
<p><em>Bob Clarke</em></p>
<p><em>Photos & Images</em></p>
<p><em>Florida Memory Project</em></p>
<p><em>Photos & Images</em></p>
<p><em>Library of Congress</em></p>
<p><em>Voices</em></p>
<p><em>Kevin Stapleton</em></p>
<p><em>Voices</em></p>
<p><em>Dr. Julian Chambliss</em></p>
<p><em>Voices</em></p>
<p><em>Dr. Scot French</em></p>
<p><em>Voices</em></p>
<p><em>Dr. Stephen Caldwell Wright</em></p>
<p><em>Production Staff</em></p>
<p><em>Bob Clarke</em></p>
<p><em>Production Staff</em></p>
<p><em>Chip Ford</em></p>
<p><em>Production Staff</em></p>
<p><em>Ella Gibson</em></p>
<p><em>Production Staff</em></p>
<p><em>Kendra Hazen</em></p>
<p><em>Production Staff</em></p>
<p><em>Katie Kelley</em></p>
<p><em>Production Staff</em></p>
<p><em>Daniel Velásquez</em></p>
15th Amendment
7-Up
A History of Central Florida
activism
African American
Amendment XV
American Civil War
Bailey, Tom
bomber
Boo-Boo's Bar
Brooks, Gwendolyn
Brooks, Gwendolyn Elizabeth
Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka
bus
business
Campus Theater
Carver Theater
Castiglia, Francesco
Central Boulevard
Chambliss, Julian C.
City of Sanford
civil rights
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Movement
Civil War
Clarke, Bob
class
clinic
colored section
Constitution
constitutionality
Costello, Frank "The Prime Minister
county government
Crow, Jim
desegregation
Downtown Orlando
Durrance Elementary School
Eatonville
economic class
economics
education
equal rights
equality
Fifteenth Amendment
Ford, Chip
Fort Lauderdale
France
French
French Republic
French, Scot
gang
Georgetown
Gibson, Ella
Goldsboro
Goldwyn Avenue
government
Hannibal Square
Hazen, Kendra
imprisonment
incarceration
Indochina
integration
jail
Jim Crow
Jordan, Louis
Jordan, Lucius
Kelley, Katie
Key West
law
Lincoln, Abraham
local business
local government
Mainland Southeast Asia
mayor
McCarthy
Miami
middle class
minstrel
minstrelsy
mob
movie theater
NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
OCRHC
orange county
Orange County Courthouse
Orange County Public Schools
Orange County Regional History Center
organized crime
orlando
parole
Parramore
Plessy v. Ferguson
podcast
primary election
Prime Minister of the Underworld
prison
public education
public school
race relations
racism
racist
railroad
Reconstruction
RICHES
Robert Cassanello
Rollins College
Sanford
school
segregation
Seminole State College
separate but equal
sign
slavery
social class
SSC
Stapleton, Kevin
state government
State of Florida
stereotype
Stone's
street car
Supreme Court
Taylor, Robert
The Bribe
The Prime Minister
The Tallahassee Democrat
theater
Town & Country
U.S. Constitution
U.S. Supreme Court
UCF
unconstitutional
University of Central Florida
upper class
Velásquez, Daniel
war
Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Association
welfare
welfare board
welfare department
Winter Park
working class
Wright, Stephen Caldwell
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A History of Central Florida Collection
Alternative Title
History of Central Florida Collection
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Description
A History of Central Florida Podcast series explores Central Florida's history through the artifacts found in local area museums and historical societies.
Contributor
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Cassanello, Robert
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/70" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Altoona, Florida
Astor, Florida
Brevard County, Florida
Bushnell, Florida
Clermont, Florida
Cocoa Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
DeLand, Florida
Disston City, Florida
Fort King, Florida
Geneva, Florida
Goldenrod, Florida
Groveland, Florida
Holly Hill, Florida
Hontoon Island, DeLand, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Kissimmee, Florida
Lake Apopka, Florida
Lake County, Florida
Lake Mary, Florida
Marion County, Florida
Merritt Island, Florida
Miami, Florida
Mims, Florida
Mount Dora, Florida
Newnans Lake, Gainesville, Florida
New Smyrna, Florida
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocklawaha River, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Ormond Beach, Florida
Osceola County, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Silver Springs, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Cloud, Florida
St. Johns River, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tavares, Florida
Weirsdale, Florida
Winter Garden, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Ybor City, Tampa, Florida
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>." RICHES of Central Florida. http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php.
Moving Image
A series of visual representations that, when shown in succession, impart an impression of motion.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A History of Central Florida, Episode 42: Jim Crow Signs
Alternative Title
Jim Crow Signs Podcast
Subject
Podcasts
Documentaries
Eatonville (Fla.)
African Americans--Florida--Sanford
Sanford (Fla.)
African Americans--Segregation--Florida
Desegregation
Description
Episode 42 of A History of Central Florida podcasts: Jim Crow Signs. RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore Central Florida history and are locally produced. These podcasts can involve the participation or cooperation of local area partners.<br /><br />Episode 42 features a discussion of racial segregation signs used in the Jim Crow South, which are housed at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando, Florida. This podcast also includes interviews with Dr. Stephen Caldwell Wright of Seminole State College and Dr. Julian C. Chambliss of Rollins College.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction<br />0:01:52 The Jim Crow South<br />0:02:35 Origins of racial segregation<br />0:04:24 Origins of “Jim Crow”<br />0:05:08 Segregation in practice<br />0:07:07 African-American communities and business districts<br />0:09:09 <em>Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka</em> and desegregation<br />0:11:12 Desegregating schools<br />0:11:59 African-American communities post-segregation<br />0:14:58 Conclusion<br />0:15:21 Credits
Type
Moving Image
Source
Original 15-minute and 48-second podcast by Kevin Stapleton, 2015: RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Orlando, Florida. <a href="http://youtu.be/wvzC9ergWHg" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/wvzC9ergWHg</a>.
Requires
<a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/" target="_blank"> Adobe Flash Player</a>
Application software, such as <a href="http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp" target="_blank"> Java</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/137" target="_blank">A History of Central Florida Collection</a>, RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Coverage
Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, Florida
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Goldsboro, Sanford, Florida
Eatonville, Orlando, Florida
Parramore, Orlando, Florida
Derns Elementary School, Orange County, Florida
Durrance Elementary School, Orlando, Florida
Creator
Stapleton, Kevin
Publisher
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Contributor
Stapleton, Kevin
Wright, Stephen Caldwell
Chambliss, Julian
French, Scot
Cassanello, Robert
Ford, Chip
Clarke, Bob
Gibson, Ella
Hazen, Kendra
Kelley, Katie
Velásquez, Daniel
<a href="https://www.thehistorycenter.org/" target="_blank">Orange County Regional History Center</a>
<a href="http://www.floridamemory.com/" target="_blank">Florida Memory Project</a>
<a href="http://www.loc.gov/" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a>
Date Created
ca. 2015-03-30
Date Issued
2015-03-30
Date Copyrighted
2015-03-30
Format
application/website
Extent
75.1 MB
Medium
15-minute and 48-second podcast
9-page digital transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Kevin Stapleton and published by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>.
Rights Holder
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
Accrual Method
Item Creation
Contributing Project
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
Curator
Raffel, Sara
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/podcastsblog.php" target="_blank">RICHES Podcast Documentaries</a>
External Reference
Winsboro, Irvin D. S. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/797855859" target="_blank"><em>Old South, New South, or Down South?: Florida and the Modern Civil Rights Movement</em></a>. 2009.
Colburn, David R., and Jane Landers. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48138716" target="_blank"><em>The African American Heritage of Florida</em></a>. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1995.
Borman, Kathryn M., and Sherman Dorn. <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/137526262" target="_blank"><em>Education Reform in Florida Diversity and Equity in Public Policy</em></a>. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007.
Click to View (Movie, Podcast, or Website)
<a href="http://youtu.be/RjOg09aeokc" target="_blank">A History of Central Florida, Episode 42: Jim Crow Signs</a>
15th Amendment
7-Up
A History of Central Florida
activism
African American
Amendment XV
American Civil War
Bailey, Tom
bomber
Boo-Boo's Bar
Brooks, Gwendolyn
Brooks, Gwendolyn Elizabeth
Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka
bus
business
Campus Theater
Carver Theater
Castiglia, Francesco
Central Boulevard
Chambliss, Julian C.
City of Sanford
civil rights
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Movement
Civil War
Clarke, Bob
class
clinic
colored section
Constitution
constitutionality
Costello, Frank "The Prime Minister
county government
Crow, Jim
desegregation
Downtown Orlando
Durrance Elementary School
Eatonville
economic class
economics
education
equal rights
equality
Fifteenth Amendment
Ford, Chip
Fort Lauderdale
France
French
French Republic
French, Scot
gang
Georgetown
Gibson, Ella
Goldsboro
Goldwyn Avenue
government
Hannibal Square
Hazen, Kendra
imprisonment
incarceration
Indochina
integration
jail
Jim Crow
Jordan, Louis
Jordan, Lucius
Kelley, Katie
Key West
law
Lincoln, Abraham
local business
local government
Mainland Southeast Asia
mayor
McCarthy
Miami
middle class
minstrel
minstrelsy
mob
movie theater
NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
OCRHC
orange county
Orange County Courthouse
Orange County Public Schools
Orange County Regional History Center
organized crime
orlando
parole
Parramore
Plessy v. Ferguson
podcast
primary election
Prime Minister of the Underworld
prison
public education
public school
race relations
racism
racist
railroad
Reconstruction
RICHES
Robert Cassanello
Rollins College
Sanford
school
segregation
Seminole State College
separate but equal
sign
slavery
social class
SSC
Stapleton, Kevin
state government
State of Florida
stereotype
Stone's
street car
Supreme Court
Taylor, Robert
The Bribe
The Prime Minister
The Tallahassee Democrat
theater
Town & Country
U.S. Constitution
U.S. Supreme Court
UCF
unconstitutional
University of Central Florida
upper class
Velásquez, Daniel
war
Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Association
welfare
welfare board
welfare department
Winter Park
working class
Wright, Stephen Caldwell
-
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/e0925df2f817076cfa68167fdaae4154.mp3
8e1cbd93d7fd002c1f25b20904601bd6
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/files/original/40fe75a4bd3f3d22520d0d3201d0b7e7.pdf
a04627bc46fd2c35f2e4d4afb75215fd
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Winter Park Collection
Description
Collection of digital images, documents, and other records depicting the history of Winter Park, Florida. Series descriptions are based on special topics, the majority of which students focused their metadata entries around.
The first known residents of the Winter Park area were the Seminole Indians, who were a creolized culture resulting from the intermingling of the Muscogee (also known as the Creek) people and the Chotaw people.
In 1858, David Mizell, Hr. purchased a homestead between Lake Virginia, Lake Mizell, and Lake Berry. The settlement around his homestead was first called Lake View, until it was renamed Osceola in 1870. When a South Florida Railroad track was laid nearby, the area began to develop.
Loring Chase and Oliver E. Chapman began planning the town of Winter Park around the late 1870s and early 1880s. Rollins College, Florida's first four-year college, was founded in 1885 and the Seminole Hotel opened the following year.
Contributor
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>
Cepero, Laura Lynn
Alternative Title
Winter Park Collection
Subject
Winter Park (Fla.)
Is Part Of
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/46" target="_blank">Orange County Collection</a>, RICHES of Central Florida.
Language
eng
Type
Collection
Coverage
Winter Park, Florida
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
External Reference
<span>"</span><a href="http://cityofwinterpark.org/" target="_blank">City of Winter Park</a><span>." City of Winter Park, Florida. http://cityofwinterpark.org/.</span>
"<a href="http://www.wphistory.org/explore-history/winter-park/" target="_blank">WINTER PARK HISTORY</a>." Winter Park History Museum, Winter Park Historical Society. http://www.wphistory.org/explore-history/winter-park/.
Has Part
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/152" target="_blank">Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens Collection</a>, Winter Park Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
Youngers, Stephanie
Interviewee
L'Heureux, Ed
Location
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a><span>, Sanford, Florida.</span>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
Oral History of Ed L'Heureux
Alternative Title
Oral History, L'Heureux
Subject
Winter Park (Fla.)
Rollins College (Winter Park, Fla.)
DeLand (Fla.)
Insurance--Florida
Authors--United States
Historians--Florida
Race relations--United States
Segregation--Florida
Hurricanes--Florida
Orlando (Fla.)
Tourism--Florida
Description
An oral history intervied of Ed L'Heureux, conducted by Stephanie Youngers on November 12, 2010. L'Heureux was born in Gloversville, New York, in May of 1939, but migrated to Winter Park, Florida, at the age of five. In the interview, L'Heureux discusses growing up in Winter Park, fish fry events, his wife and family, his careers as an insurance agent and as an author, Rollins College, <em>The Yearling</em>, race relations in Winter Park, hurricanes, his father's trucking business, his service in the military, and the effects of the development of Walt Disney World on Central Florida.
Table Of Contents
0:00:00 Introduction<br /> 0:00:11 Migrating to Florida<br /> 0:01:16 Memories of Winter Park<br /> 0:02:15 Fish fry events<br /> 0:03:06 Educational history<br /> 0:04:49 Careers as an insurance agent and as an author<br /> 0:07:39 Wife and children<br /> 0:10:49 Rollins College<br /> 0:12:35 <em>The Yearling</em><br /> 0:14:05 Race relations in Winter Park<br /> 0:18:36 Hurricanes in Central Florida<br /> 0:21:13 Father’s trucking business<br /> 0:27:24 Military service and college education<br /> 0:30:43 Walt Disney World<br /> 0:38:54 Closing remarks
Abstract
Oral history interview of Ed L'Heureux. Interview conducted by Stephanie Youngers at the <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>, Sanford, Florida.
Type
Text
Source
Original 39-minute and 25-second oral history: L'Heureux, Ed. Interviewed by Stephanie Youngers. November 12, 2010. <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>, Sanford, Florida.
Requires
Multimedia software, such as <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" target="_blank"> QuickTime</a>.
<a href="http://www.adobe.com/reader.html" target="_blank">Adobe Acrobat Reader</a>
Is Part Of
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>, Sanford, Florida.
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/collections/show/34" target="_blank">Winter Park Collection</a>, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Creator
Youngers, Stephanie
Contributor
L'Heureux, Ed
Dombrowski, Diana
Date Created
2010-11-12
Date Modified
2014-09-16
Date Copyrighted
2010-11-12
Format
audio/mp3
application/pdf
Extent
397 KB
1601 KB
Medium
39-minute and 25-second audio recording
19-page typed transcript
Language
eng
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Stephanie Youngers and Ed L'Heureux, and transcribed by Diana Dombrowski.
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by the <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a> and is provided here by <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a> for educational purposes only.
Accrual Method
Donation
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
<a href="https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/" target="_blank">RICHES MI</a>
Source Repository
<a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/leisure-services/parks-recreation/museum-of-seminole-county-history/" target="_blank">Museum of Seminole County History</a>
External Reference
"<a href="http://cityofwinterpark.org/" target="_blank">City of Winter Park</a>." City of Winter Park, Florida. http://cityofwinterpark.org/.
Transcript
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Hello, my name is Stephanie Youngers. Today is November 12, 2010. And I am interviewing Mr. Ed L’Heureux here at the Museum of Seminole County History. How are you today?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>I’m fine today.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Good. We would like to begin by asking where and when you were born.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>I was born in Gloversville, New York. Upstate New York. In May of 1939.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And how did you make your way into the Florida area?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>My dad and mother moved from New York to New Jersey during World War II. He was in the Coast Guard and my mother inherited some property in Central Florida at the end of the war when her uncle died. And we came down to seek it out. We sold a little farm in New Jersey, and loaded things on a truck like the Okies going to California, and came to Florida with no turning back. And we didn’t like the property. My mother didn’t like it. It was rattlesnake-infested. But we decided to stay, because we liked Florida.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, well good. And about how old were you when you…</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>I was five. Five years old.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>You’ve been here a long time, then.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Since I was five.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>You might as well be a native.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>I wish I could claim the other five years.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Whereabouts did you live when you moved here?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>We moved to Winter Park. Winter Park.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So, wow. When, I mean, do you have memories of Winter Park, as far as the way it looked, and…?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Oh, absolutely. There were wooden sidewalks on two blocks in Winter Park, just like <em>Little House on the Prairie</em>. You know, out west in that TV show. Wooden sidewalks. You’d clop along, and then they were torn down about two years later to make way for a bank, but it was a frontier town.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Really.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>All the old cars were still around. People came in the winters and went back up north in the summers. A couple of garages close to Park Avenue in Winter Park, you would see the old Pierce Arrows and Cadillacs and Packards that were there. They’d take the train back up north and leave the car here for next winter. So it was a sleepy, beautiful little town in those days.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, wow. Well …it’s still a pretty little town.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>It still is. It still is.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>It definitely has gotten much larger.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>Yes. Regrettably.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Did they have any kind of local gathering or events or anything in Winter Park that you attended?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>One of the first things I remember were fish fries. They had mullet fish fries. The Lion’s Club put them on and brought concrete blocks to the grammar school playground. Put wooden planks on top for tables, and concrete blocks and wooden planks for benches, and they’d cook this mullet and they’d deep-fry this mullet, you could smell it a block away. And it was delicious.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And it was a whole town event that everybody attended?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Well, it could have been a town event. Anybody could come and pay maybe for a dollar for the dinner. And the Lion’s Club put it on about three or four times a year, and everybody came and they strung lights on the playground. Those naked yellow lights—the little bulbs—and a little music in the background. And it was tremendous.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>Oh, very neat.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>The whole fish fry. Yeah. I remember it.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>So, the schools you attended?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Winter Park Elementary, which is part of Rollins College today. It has been torn down now. But old Winter Park Elementary and Winter Park High School was built in 1923. Went to all three public schools there and loved it dearly. It was a great town. Great town. Nobody locked their houses or their cars. Literally.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow. You can’t do that now.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>No. You can’t do that now.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So, did you go to college from here?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>I went into the Army right after high school, and got out fairly soon, had a little period of time. Went to Stetson University up in DeLand about 40 miles away. I went to DeLand and graduated with a history degree there, went on to law school, and moved back to Orlando and Winter Park and have been in that area ever since.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And you still live there now?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>I live in Winter Springs, which is close. It’s north. But that whole area has been my home for the longest time. When I give speeches, they say I’m a native when I’m introduced, but I can’t claim that first five years.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>Sure you can.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>Wish I could, but…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>Did you work as an attorney when you came back?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>No, no, no. I never practiced law at all. I dropped out before I was through. There was a lady there—I fell in love with her and we both didn’t like the law that much, for some strange reason. We both dropped out and we were married just under 40 years.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, wow. That’s good.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>She passed away in ‘03 of cancer, but we had a long life together.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Good. What did you do, as far as a career and things?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>I was in the insurance business. I had an insurance agency. I had a Nationwide Insurance agency. I never liked business particularly, because I was trained a[sic] historian and I always wished that I’d been closer to that. And now, late in life, in my sixties and seventies, I’m a public lecturer on a myriad of Florida topics. And I write books. I’ve written 15 books, and I’m doing what I should have done as a younger man. And late in life, I’m able to do what I wish I had done earlier. So it’s kind of nice.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So, you’re writing books. Is that just a passion you always had?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Yes. I had a joint major in Stetson—History and English. And I always wanted to write books. And I always wanted to write books about Florida—novels. And in my insurance career, which was somewhat boring—I hate to say that, but it wasn’t really a stimulating thing for me. I had a family to raise, kids to raise, and I went through it and did it and was able to accomplish it, but the fire was not in the furnace. And my dad saw that melancholic hue when I was in my early forties, and he said, why don’t you dust off your pencil and pen and write again like you did in college? Because in college, I wrote for the paper. Wrote feature articles for <em>The DeLand Sun News</em>, up in Stetson at DeLand. And one day, I was out walking in a field and I saw a story. It just came to me. And I wrote it, and I wrote a second and third and fourth, and took it down to Rollins College, to a friend of my dad’s who was in the English department, and he thought they were very good. And my career was launched.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So you’ve been doing this now since you were in your forties?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Yes, yes, over 20 years.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, very nice. And when you do public lectures and things, what do you talk about?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>I have a slate of, oh, about 35 topics. All aspects of Florida history. Current, old history. Civil War. Seminole Indian Wars. Many of the industries—citrus, cattle, timber. The early founders. The early explorers. The treasure coast. Over 30 lectures I’ve crafted and researched and I deliver all around to all manner of places.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>And you do them at the local colleges?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Yes, I do college level. Civic clubs, retirement centers, private organizations—business enrichment for companies that want to enrich their employees with a lecture. All kinds of ways and things. And I’m doing that now, currently in retirement, and I love it.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Well, you said you were married, and you mentioned you had children. Do you have a special courtship story?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Yes, I do, as a matter of fact. Funny you’d ask that. It’s not staged. I’ll never forget it. We were in law school together. And I had noticed her, because there were three women in the law school, and the rest were men. And she cut a pretty nice figure and I noticed her early on. And we had never spoken. We had seen each other and she had noticed me and I had noticed her. We were both freshmen. She had come in a semester before me. I had come in on the off-semester. And oh, maybe two or three weeks had gone by, and I had heard that everyone was dating her, and I found out that nobody was. It was just a rumor. We sat next to each other on a bench before class. The first words she said to me were, “I wonder what colors eyes our children will have.”</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh my.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Just like that. Just like that. And for once in my life, I was speechless. She said it just like that. And the answer was blue and brown, but not on the same child. So we had a son and a daughter, and they were brown-eyed and blue-eyed. The first thing she ever said to me. So I guess that’s a courtship story.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>That was very forward. And that’s right.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>That’s exactly what she said.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>That’s awesome.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>It just—I wonder what color eyes our children will have.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>That’s very good.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Isn’t that amazing?</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Yes, that’s awesome. And do you have any special family heirlooms or keepsakes that your kids share? Do your kids share your passion for history?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Not particularly. That’s strange. They don’t. My wife was trained as a journalist. And I had the English major, and History, and I had been writing. We both were writers. She wrote in industry.</p>
<p>My son is a[sic] entrepreneur of sorts. He’s a very successful businessmen. He went to Georgia State [University] on a tennis scholarship and was an excellent student all the way along. And he operates and owns a company. And he’s a businessman and a coach. He coaches his daughters—my granddaughters—in lacrosse. And he’s steeped in the business world, but also with his church and philanthropic things. He likes history, but not with the same passion I have.</p>
<p>My daughter is in the insurance business. Similar to what I did for a long, long time. I think mine was 27 years—something like that. And she’s got two children. My son has two children. She’s too busy to read much about history. So I don’t think—even though they’re smart children, they were exceptional in school, and I don’t think they have that historic bent. That happens a lot. But they’re both successful in their own right, and I’m happy about that.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>You all lived in Winter Park for a long time. Do you remember any historical events that happened?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Yes. I do. A couple I could mention. Rollins College had a very close union with Winter Park. They were joined at the hip, and they loved each other, and they just cooperated all the way through. It was wonderful to see. Rollins had something called <em>The Animated Magazine</em>” where people would come and speak and tell their life story, or a portion thereof. Some of the greatest notables of the age came. And I was selling newspapers there as a young boy, in my teens and even younger—10, 11, 12, 13. And I saw some great people. James Cagney, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings—the writer—Mary [McLeod] Bethune—the educator—all kinds of people from all walks of endeavor. And that made a great impression on me, because I knew some of these people. I knew their plaudits, I knew their successes, and yet I could see them speak from a stage. And here I was scurrying around trying to sell newspapers there. They held it every winter, in one of the months without a lot of rain. They held it outdoors in February. It’s usually cool. And I remember in the early days, when I was just a little boy, the women and men would come all decked out. Women would wear hats, you know, all women wore hats until somewhere in the ‘40s—‘50s, I guess it was. And they’d wear their fox stoles with little beaded eyes, you know—and foxes, all heavy coats in the winter time. And men would dress up with hats. I remember that. And I think I got a lot of history from that.</p>
<p>One thing from my youth that I recall, when Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wrote <em>The Yearling</em>, the famous book which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939. The movie came out in the late ‘40s. With Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman. And the theaters thought so much about it that they decked the theaters—the lobbies—in a Florida motif. Hanging moss, they had a possum in a cage, they had a raccoon in a cage, they had palmetto bushes in there, just like the big scrub that she wrote about. And it was—everybody was decked out in old frontier days, and you walk in the lobby, you thought you were at Cross Creek, where she lived. And you can’t get that today.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh my. And that’s the theater in Winter Park?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Well, the theater in Winter Park, the Colony [Theatre], and the theater in Orlando, the Beacham [Theatre]. Today, you’ve got a multiplex. You know, you’ve got 20 little theaters. Nobody talks to anybody, you just go in, and there you go. And you can never get that today. But they thought so much of her movie, after she won the Pulitzer Prize. They decked the lobby of the theaters in Winter Park and Orlando in a Florida backcountry theme. Literally. You know, you could see a possum in a cage, and a raccoon, and moss dripping down, you know. Palmetto bushes, which were cut up and put in there as props. So I remember those things.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow. Were there—when you were attending school and things, during the times of segregation and things, do you recall anything as far as when those differences came in? Were there any notable things in the Winter Park area or even Seminole County area that you remember as far as that?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Well, I remember never playing ball against any black boys or African-Americans. Never. You know. They had their own schools. And it was a shame, because they were great athletes. I never interacted with them in high school in any manner. We knew where they were, they knew where we were, and we were friendly to them, you know. But I look back and remember the colored restrooms, where they were marked “colored,” where the African-Americans had to go to separate restrooms.</p>
<p>I remember my dad’s business. He was in the trucking business. And he would hire casual labor every day down in Winter Park in Hannibal Square. And we’d go down there and they’d come up to the door of his car and ask whatever he was paying, and they’d negotiate the pay, and then they’d get in the back seat and go for a day’s labor. When I was out on the trucks with him—because I worked on my dad’s truck from the time I was 12 years old—hauling freight, hauling furniture. We’d go to a diner, and get something to eat sometimes at lunch, and if we didn’t bring our lunch. And the black laborers would have to sit out back. Sit down on the ground out back. And my dad would order a sandwich for them. They would go through the kitchen, go out the back door, and they’d sit and eat it out back. They weren’t allowed in to sit.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>And they didn’t even really have a dining area?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>No. There was no dining area, even. And we took the bus a lot in those days, from Winter Park to Orlando. I used to go down to Orlando to a bookstore—McVicker’s—go down to the theaters there when I was a small boy—10, 11, 12. On the bus, by myself. If I use “colored,” “blacks,” “African-Americans” —it’s interchangeable, because they called themselves those things at various times. But they would come on the bus, and they’d march right to the back of the bus. And sit, and there’d be no question about it. And if one was sitting and a white woman came on and there was no place for her to sit, they were expected to give up their seat.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>So I was in the terrible segregation days. Grew up in it. It was terrible. I loathe the fact that it took place. I would like to have interacted with them. I played baseball—sports—in high school. We never played against blacks ever, that I can ever remember.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Once they made that change, how did the community react?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Well, some fought it for a long time, because they always wanted something to lord over people. You know how people are. A lot of people embraced it, were happy about it, and glad it came along. But it was a very begrudging thing. It didn’t happen overnight. We had <em>Brown v. the Board of Education</em>—the lawsuit and the legal argument at the Supreme Court—but it wasn’t like turning a light on or off, you know, all of a sudden. There was a transition period of several years. Several years.</p>
<p>I remember when I was at Stetson—my senior year, I was in charge of homecoming. And we had a black entertainer come from New York for a homecoming dance and a concert. His name was Roy Hamilton, and he was excellent. He wasn’t quite as famous as Johnny Mathis in those days, but this is in the late ‘50s—‘59 or ‘60—and I was in charge of getting him lodging, for he and his wife, and his bass player, and his piano player. And no motel would take him. No motel would take him. And I had to put him up in a couple of houses in the black section of DeLand. And this—this guy was a New York entertainer, he was an RCA Victor recording artist. He was big. Roy Hamilton, back in the ‘50s and ‘60s. And I couldn’t find lodging for him. He drove—drove down from New York and I was so embarrassed. No hotel would take them. So, to answer your question, it was a long process. It didn’t happen overnight.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>It is. It is. Is there any other things, like those type of events, that you can recall? I mean, I know the history of just this area—they had the freeze, and they had hailstorms, and the fires, and hurricanes, and things.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Well, hurricanes, yes. I can tell you stories about the hurricanes. The Weather Bureau [National Weather Service] was so embryonic in its stage, and so much in its infancy. We didn’t have good rapport with the Weather Bureau, because they didn’t have good rapport with the storms. And we had our radios in the early days before TV. We had our little Philco radios. And they’d scratch and you could barely hear them sometimes.</p>
<p>And the indicator of hurricanes was not somebody coming on the TV or the radio to tell you, it was the Australian pines. Australian pines were brought to Florida as a windbreak. And also, a windbreak against hurricanes. And also, because they looked kind of pretty in margins of road and along canals and this kind of thing. My dad had Australian pines on our property. Our warehouses were next to our home, because we lived in a rural part of town. And the Australian pines would whoosh and you’d hear them make a sound that was different than just a little storm. The hurricane sound was unmistakable. It was a wail—an actual wail. And we’d hear it, and then we’d say, “There must be a storm coming.” And a lot of times, it’d be a hurricane. It would be a hurricane, and this was the late ‘40s, the early ‘50s. And I can remember some terrible storms that came through Orlando. Rowboats on the street, you know, and the water off, the lights off, for days. But the early warning for hurricanes was so backward, because we didn’t have the technology for it. And we missed school all the time. And it would rain for days when the storms were around. I remember distinctly, storms in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s that were rough that came through here. Trees down, and power out, but we had no notice. It wasn’t like the hurricanes in ‘26 in Miami and ‘28 that came across Lake Okeechobee. When they were there, you knew they were there. But not any notice. And even in the ‘40s and ‘50s, we had almost no notice of hurricanes.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>Wow. Wow. That’s—kind of makes you wonder what we would do without these things.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Exactly, today.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>You were saying earlier too that your father ran a trucking business?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>My dad had a trucking business, and there’s a great story there. He bought an old truck—a 1934 Ford—in New Jersey, where we had our farm. He was in the Coast Guard and almost farmed by night. He farmed with the lights on on[sic] the tractor. He’d farm at night, because we was trying to make a living. And my mother would take the produce and sell it downtown. In an old Pontiac car with a running board, and my sister and I were three, four years old, and we’d go with her.</p>
<p>He bought this truck to transport our belongings from the farmhouse to Florida. My mother inherited this property out near Rock Springs, out near Apopka. And he had money from the sale of the farm. And he built our house that summer. The war was over that summer. And the goods coming in, like [inaudible] nails to build a house were slow. My dad had never built a house. My dad was afraid of nothing. He built a house and not knowing how to do it. He built it. The footers, the concrete block foundation, the rafters—he just built it with the help of two men from town, and had a little money from the sale of the farm.</p>
<p>The summer—and by fall, the money was low, and he had no job. The house was up, we were in the house. So he took the truck down to the railroad station, when the Rollins co-eds were coming in for the year. And in those days, almost nobody drove a car to college. You took the train. Literally. And Rollins was a fancy, expensive school, even in those days. He met somebody down in Winter Park. “I’ve been here all summer. I need a job.” “We built our house. We’re in our house. I need a job now.” He had that truck. The man said, “Why don’t you go down to the train station and walk down through the cars when they stop and tell them you’ll haul trunks to the college—to the dormitories?” He said, “Taxicabs have been doing this for years.”</p>
<p>So my father took his truck down there, and in competition with the taxicab drivers, he walked up and down the train saying, “We’ve got a truck outside to haul your trunk.” So he started hauling trunks to the college for about 10 days, till everybody was down and school was in session, and he was out of work ,because he had worked for 10 days. So he ran an ad in the paper in Winter Park. He had a caption that read, “We will move anything”. And he put it in the paper with a phone number—four digits. You could talk to the operator. And this was right after World War II. And he set up a moving business. And he was in the moving business 28 years.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Trucks and warehouses, and that’s how he had his start.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow, that’s really cool.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>I think so. He had a truck and no job, and he put the truck to work.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow. And your mom—did she stay home?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>She stayed home and ran the office. And he was in the early years out there in the truck, hauling with everybody else. And then he graduated to giving advice and direction behind the scenes as he got older and his business grew—flourished.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow, that’s a really cool story.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>I think so.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Well, is there anything that you would like to discuss that I haven’t really brought up?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Well, yes. I guess. Let’s see. I was very fortunate in living as a young boy and young man through probably as wonderful a time in Florida history as there could be. That was from the end of World War II until the early 60s, when all the riots started and all the national trouble with the Vietnam War. There were about 15, 18 years in there that were just marvelous. And I—it was all my grammar school years, my high school years, my college years. It was just a remarkable place to grow up. It was remarkable.</p>
<p>I would ride my bicycle—you are not going to believe this. Nine and 10 years old, I’d ride my bicycle two and a half miles to Downtown Winter Park, go to the police station, and say, “I was going to lock it in one of their little racks. Would they look after it?” I’m telling you the truth. I was taking the bus to Orlando for the day. And I’d get on the bus at age nine or 10, by myself. You know, you never thought about bad people. You never heard of them. And I would go to Orlando on the old bus, go to McVicker’s bookstore and buy a Hardy Boys book. They were popular then. Go to a Saturday matinee and see Roy Rogers and Gene Autry and eat popcorn and Coke. Spend all day in Orlando. Go by the Cub Scout den, the Yowell Drew Ivey’s—a great department store. Look for the next badge I was going to get, or a new hat, or whatever. And come back in the afternoons, after being in Orlando for six or seven hours, claim my bicycle from the police rack, unlock the thing that locked it, and ride home at night, and be gone all day. Nine, 10 years old. I’m telling you the truth. Nobody thought a thing about it.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Today, you couldn’t even—I was in grammar school! I remember going once when I was 10 years old to Orlando with a $10 bill for Christmas presents. And I bought my dad a fishing lure at Denmark’s Sporting Goods store, which was a landmark—Denmark’s. I went to the Yowell Drew Ivey’s, and bought my sister a little gift, a Nancy Drew book. Because Nancy Drew was like Hardy Boys. Nancy Drew was for girls, and Hardy Boys was for boys. And I went over to Dickson [&] Ives, went up the floor in an elevator, and bought my mother a nice handkerchief. And I had lunch down there. I had bought a gift for my sister, my father, my mother. And went to the movies and came home and still had change from the $10 bill.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers <br /></strong>Oh, my goodness.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>I remember it, I was about 10 or 11 years old.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>And it wasn’t that I was particularly brave or anything. It was just that you didn’t have any worries. Nobody accosted you or anything. There was never any trouble. I’d go to Orlando alone for the day.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow. I don’t even go to Orlando alone right now.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Exactly. Exactly.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>So, you’d mentioned too that you had served some time in the army?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>Yes.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Did you serve in the war?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>No, no. I’m not particularly proud of that, but it wasn’t my fault. I had the wrong age. I was too young for [the] Korea[n War] and too old for [the] Vietnam [War]. Now, I would have been old enough for Vietnam, but I was married by then, had a child by then, and I didn’t go.</p>
<p>But I signed in the Army Reserves when I was in high school. I went to Reserve meetings when I was a junior in high school. And senior. That’s pretty young to be out there—a soldier with men. I was only 16. And then I went in the active duty after high school. And got out—and we only went six months to active duty, and we were in Reserves seven and a half years.</p>
<p>And I was going to go to Davidson College in North Carolina, because some friends went and I was accepted there. I came back in January, after six months in the service, from June to January, and some friends talked me into going to Stetson for just a semester. Because if I didn’t go to school, I was going to be on my dad’s trucks hauling furniture. I promise you—I hated to go home on the weekends form college, because I’m going to be on his truck working. So I said, “Going to college is better than working on Dad’s trucks.” So I went to Stetson and liked it and never went to Davidson. I went on through Stetson the whole time. But that’s how that worked out.</p>
<p>We used to—when I finally got a car at Stetson, I could get a tank of gas a week if I’d come home and see Mom and Dad. It was only 34 miles from DeLand to Winter Park. And I would run the gas down to near the E-mark, because I knew how far it was. There was a Pure station in our neighborhood—an old Pure station—and I could get a tank of gas. And of course, I always bought my dirty linens home in a big duffel bag for Mother, you know. I would, time and time and time again. One time, I got down to Casselberry, and I thought that I was going to run out of gas. And I pumped nine cents. Nine cents of gas. And the gasoline was about 32 cents a gallon. I got enough to get me home. Nine cents!</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, my goodness.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>There are more, you know, people that are older—a hundred years old—remember the early 1900s, which is even more archaic than what I’m talking about. But you asked me what I remember. That, from end of World War II until the Vietnam War, America was at its zenith, its power, its influence, its peacetime.</p>
<p>And it was a marvelous time to grow up in Florida. Florida was booming. The tourism was starting. The [Lockheed] Martin Company came to Orlando. The Cape [Canaveral] was starting to make some rumbles, and Orlando was really growing. I know in my graduating class—and my sister’s—we were about the same size, the year before me. We were 56, 57, 58. We’re all about the same. Two or three years later, the class size had doubled, because of the Martin Company and all the Allied Aerospace Company [Allied Aerospace, Inc.]. People were flooding into Florida in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. But it was a great place to grow up. I miss it. It’s gone. It’s gone.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>I can understand that. Do you remember when they first built [Walt] Disney [World?</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux <br /></strong>Oh, yes. I remember “B.D.”—“Before Disney”. Oh, I do. I do. I went into the brokerage business and met a man who made a lot of money by being on the inside looking out, and bought land as a speculator. He ran a service station in Beverly Hills. And he owned it. He was blue collar, but he owned it, and all the stars would gas up there. And he flew an aircraft, along with a couple of his buddies. Had a little piper cup group. And the word is, that Disney was coming east. They had Disneyland, and they were coming east, and they thought it was going to be St. Louis[, Missouri]. Proved not to be St. Louis, because Mr. [Adolphus] Busch from Busch—Anheuser-Busch [Companies, Inc.], heard something that they weren’t going to serve beer, and he said something at a big gala unveiling, “you can’t come to St. Louis and not sell beer.” And Walt Disney didn’t like that. So St. Louis was crossed off.</p>
<p>The next option was either Ocala or Orlando. So this man from California that owned an old Standard Oil gas station—he was a thousand-aire, he wasn’t a millionaire. He knew some of the stars. And they leaked that this area might be it. So he and three of his buddies flew—took a month off—flew piper cubs[?] to Orlando Executive Airport—the old airport—checked into a motel, hired Kelly [Service, Inc.] girls to post themselves in the various county seats—Kissimmee, Tavares, Sanford, Orlando—to see if anything unusual was being recorded— anything deeds or anything. They ate four meals a day, trying to eavesdrop scuttlebutt. They got their hair cut every week whether they needed it or not. They got their shoes shined. They wanted to be where scuttlebutt was, where gossip was, because they were trying to bankroll the buying of land if Disney was going to buy in Orlando. They’d meet every night and confer. “How’d your day go?” “Where’d you go?” “Oh, I ate four meals in restaurants,” and this and this and this. And they’d move the Kelly girls around every day. The girl that was in Orlando would be in Sanford and then the next day she’d be in Tavares so she wouldn’t be suspicious. And they had a map they put across their bed in the motels there. “Where were you?” It was like a war. They were trying to find out if Disney was coming here. So then money was going.</p>
<p>This is a true story. He gave this story in my living room. In fact, I did business with him. He’s dead now. I shouldn’t use his name. The money was up, and darn it, we didn’t find it. Nothing. Because it was really—only three people in town knew it. The man in charge of <em>The Orlando Sentinel</em>, the man in charge of First [inaudible] Bank of Orlando. I mean, it was like keeping the A-bomb secret. Because Disney knew the prices would escalate.</p>
<p>So here’s the story. And it’s true. They checked out of their motel rooms. They got their planes at Orlando Executive Airport. And they had flown during the month around to see what they could see from the air too. They flew out to present Lake Buena Vista that had a wind sock little airstrip there owned by a family-kind of a mom-and-pop business. Little wind sock, you know. And piper cubs[?] would land. A place to gas up. So they landed there to gas up. It was a two day flight to California. They were flying to Texas and then on to California. Little piper cubs[?], they go about 120 miles an hour, tops.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Right.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>There was an old boy there at the little airstrip with an old cracker hat on, piece of straw in his mouth. You know, and he was making conversation with them. And they were glum, because they were there and spent a month’s salary and nothing. And this guy—and this is a true story. He told it in my living room. You could hear a pin drop. This guy said, “What’s going on around here? Mr. Brown down here, he’s got his farm for sale. Mr. Smith down here, he’s under option with some other people, and Mr. Miller down here, he’s selling out too.” “And Mr. C.”—I’ll call him “Mr. C.,” because he’s gone. I want to protect him. He said, “Oh, really? Oh really, really? People around here auctioning their farms? Yeah, we don’t know what’s going on. It’s crazy over here right now.” Well, it was at Bay Lake, right by where it was. And they came in and made some deals with farmers under the rug, and so Mr. C. and his buddies got back in the airplanes, went back to the motel, which was on Colonial Drive—across from a place called Ronnie’s Restaurant, which was famous—checked back into the motel, and redoubled their efforts, and found it.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Oh, my goodness.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>And they begged, borrowed, and stole every buck they could from California—their friends, their relatives. And in two short years, they were all multi-millionaires. The guy at the gas-up station at the little family-owned airstrip spilled the beans.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Now, that’s a true story, and isn’t that a great story? Yeah, it’s funny, but…</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>It’s great that that’s how you find out stuff, though. It might not be in the middle of the city. It might just be…</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>That’s right. They had Kelly girls they hired. They were everywhere. Listening—listening in the corridors of courthouses. All of them got fat, he said, because they were going in every restaurant, every diner, trying to sit and hear something, you know. They got their shoes shined when they glistened, you know. Got their haircut too often. They just wanted to be places to get gossip. Because they’re trying to bankroll big money. Thirty days—nothing. They leave town, they gas up, and the guy at the place spills the beans. And he said, “It was the greatest thing he had ever heard.” He said, “Oh, really? This, Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown?” That probably was not the names, but those were the names he used. It was somebody that was selling out to Disney. And this was all prior to the announcement. So they went back, and said, “We found it.” And it was Bay Lake. And they found it. And they searched for 30 days and couldn’t find it.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Well, now, did it really help the area? Initially it brought in a lot of income, and…</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Well, I’m an environmentalist. You know, my books have that theme. I love nature. I love the outdoors. And yes, it’s done a lot of good, but I like the old Florida. I write about the old Florida. The backcountry roads, the way it was, you know. The animals. Not that we had them running loose, because we had cattle fencing and all, but I guess it’s helped. If you’re on I[nterstate Highway]-4 in gridlock, and a tractor-trailer’s across the way and you’re two hours late for an appointment, you’re not liking it. There was no turning back once Disney came. It was just—it was just frantic. It was the most frantic thing I’d ever seen. The people coming in here with jobs, and the growth, it was just unbelievable. I like the old Florida. I like the old days.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Wow.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>But that story about Mr. C. is a true story. I did business with him and we had him out to the house one night for beer and popcorn, and had some of my friends over, about 10 of us. Maybe a little more. And we all sat around listening to him tell that story. And that’s just a fantastic story.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>It’s hard to imagine what Florida would be like without that aspect of it, especially Central Florida.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Well, it would have grown despite Disney. It was growing early. The Cape—the aerospace industry really took off after the war and in the early ‘50s, it would have grown without Disney. People had pensions. They had retirements for the first time. And they wanted to get out of the cold. So it had started to grow long before Disney. But not at the rate that Disney brought after that. When they came, it was much different than it would have been. It would have been a gradual increase. It wouldn’t be like it is today. But it still would have been a very big state. So we can’t blame Disney totally.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>No. Well, if you don’t have anything else.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Stephanie, I think this has been fun. And enjoyable. And to learn that you came from the Okeechobee area, which I know also. And I went to college with many people from the towns around Lake Okeechobee—La Belle—also and I so enjoyed being interviewed by you today.</p>
<p><strong>Youngers<br /></strong>Well, good. I’m glad.</p>
<p><strong>L’Heureux<br /></strong>Thank you.</p>
Coverage
Orlando, Florida
Hannibal Square, Winter Park, Florida
Beacham Theatre, Orlando, Florida
Colony Theatre, Winter Park, Florida
Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida
Stetson University, DeLand, Florida
Winter Park Elementary, Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
active duty
Allied Aerospace, Inc.
Australian pines
authors
Beacham Theatre
Brown v. the Board of Education
Busch, Adolphus
Cape Canaveral
Colony Theatre
Davidson College
DeLand
Diana Dombrowski
Downtown Winter Park
Ed L'Heureux
fish
fish fries
fish fry
Gloversville, New York
Hannibal Square
historians
hurricanes
insurance agents
insurance industry
Kelly Services, Inc.
lecturer
lecturers
Lion's Club
Lockheed Martin
McVicker's
mullets
Museum of Seminole County History
National Weather Service
Nationwide Insurance
orlando
Park Avenue
race relations
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan
Rollins College
Roy Hamilton
segregation
Stephanie Youngers
Stetson University
The Animated Magazine
The DeLand Sun News
The Yearling
tourism
trucking industry
U.S. Army
U.S. Army Reserve
Walt Disney
Walt Disney World
Walter Elias Disney
Weather Bureau
Winter Park
Winter Park Elementary School
Winter Park High School