Hardy and Black attended Hopper Elementary School through sixth grade, Lakeview Middle School for seventh grade, Sanford Junior High School for eighth grade, Crooms High School for ninth grade, and Seminole High School through twelfth grade. They talk about what life was like in Sanford during segregation and what happened to make integration possible. Black talks about what her education in New York was like when compared to that in Sanford. Hardy discusses how football helped ameliorate tensions among blacks and whites. He also shares his experiences in the Army. Black and Hardy also discuss their childhood romance and how circumstances changed their relationship. Hardy also speaks about his time in technical school and his passion for cars. Other topics include the differences between attending school in New York and Florida, the Trayvon Martin case, and the sexual abuse of Black as a child.]]>
Creative Sanford, Inc., Sanford, Florida.]]> Creative Sanford, Inc., Sanford, Florida.]]> Creative Sanford, Inc., Sanford Florida.]]> Creative Sanford, Inc. Collection, Sanford Collection, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> Creative Sanford, Inc. and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>

Creative Sanford, Inc. is a non-profit organization created to manage Celery Soup community theater productions. The original idea for the Celery Soup project came from Jeanine Taylor, the owner of a folk-art gallery on First Street in Sanford, Florida. Their first production was Touch and Go, which took several years of planning. The play focused on how the people of Sanford overcame obstacles throughout their history. Some of these stories include the fall of Sanford's celery industry, the Freeze of 1894-1895, and the closing of Naval Air Station (NAS) Sanford in the 1960s. Richard Geer and Jules Corriere, partners from Community Performance International, were in charge of assessing oral histories, converting them into scenes for the play, and writing original songs. Director Geer also used an all-volunteer cast from the local community, many of which were not experienced actors.

During the process of producing the show, Creative Sanford decided to rehabilitate an historic building, the Princess Theater, which was located on 115 West First Street and owned by Stephen Tibstra. The Creative Sanford offices are housed in the Historic Sanford Welcome Center, located at 203 East First Street. As of December 2013, the Executive Board for Creative Sanford included President Brian Casey, Vice President Trish Thompson, Treasurer Linda Hollerbach, Secretary Dr. Annye Refoe, and Founder Jeanine Taylor. The Board of Directors consisted of Cheryl Deming, Juanita Roland, Wendy Wheaton, and Dr. Connie Lester, a professor of history at the University of Central Florida. Honorary Board Members included: Glenda Hood, former Florida Secretary of State and Mayor of Orlando; Valada Flewellyn, a local poet, author, and historian; and Jackie Jones, a local entertainer and arts advocate.

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Creative Sanford, Inc. Offices in Sanford.]]> th, 2013, Trish Thompson, current vice president and former president of Creative Sanford, Inc., discusses the inspiration for, creation of, and the development and evolution of Creative Sanford. Thompson also discusses some of the financial and other challenges that Creative Sanford has faced. Creative Sanford is a community organization that collects group oral histories from Sanford residents and uses portions of these interviews to write, produce, and perform plays for the community.]]> 00:12 Thompson's biographical information
00:41 Celery Soup and Creative Sanford, Inc.
01:46 Mission of Creative Sanford and Celery Soup
02:28 How Celery Soup was founded
03:50 How Celery Soup adapted the Swamp Gravy model
06:29 How has Creative Sanford and Celery Soup evolved
11:36 Conducting oral history interviews
13:01 Gaining acceptance from the African-American community
16:26 Themes of oral history interviews
17:45 How to adapt oral histories into plays
20:07 Working with professional playwrights and directors
23:41 Using volunteers and employees from the community
24:45 Role of the Executive Board
26:43 Success in achieving goals
30:09 Importance of community involvement in plays
34:48 Biggest surprises
36:01 Fundraisers and the Celery Ball
37:36 Production costs and ticket sales
39:33 Preserving the legacy of Creative Sanford and Celery Soup
41:26 Maintaining community engagement
43:40 Advice for communities creating similar projects
45:29 Closing remarks]]>
Creative Sanford, Inc. Offices, Sanford Welcome Center. October 11, 2013. Audio/video record available. RICHES of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.]]> RICHES of Central Florida]]> Creative Sanford, Inc. Offices, Sanford Welcome Center. October 11, 2013. Audio/video record available. RICHES of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.]]> Celery Soup: Florida’s Folk Life Play Collection, Sanford Collection, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Adobe Flash Player.]]> Java.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> RICHES of Central Florida.]]> RICHES of Central Florida]]>