Hand-written Note Admitting Becky Young into Weeki Wachee Springs for Interview

Hand-written Note Admitting Becky Young into Weeki Wachee Springs for Interview

Hand-Written Note from Genie Young to Pat, Requesting Becky Young's Admittance into Weeki Wachee Springs for Interview

Weeki Wachee Springs (Fla.)

Tourism--Florida

tourism & museum

Tourism--1960-1980

Ballet--1970-1980

Mermaids--Florida--Weeki Wachee--History

Theater--20th century

Hand-written note from mermaid manager Genie Young to Pat, requesting Becky Young's addmitance into Weeki Wachee Springs. The note reads, " Pat, Please admit Becky- She is a try-out and hopefully trainee." Becky was interviewing to become a mermaid.

Along with a group of investors, Newton Perry opened Weeki Wachee Springs to the public in October of 1947. At the time, roadside attractions were becoming popular stops along Florida roadways. The attraction consisted of an amalgamation of vendors, an orchid garden, a river boat tour, as well as the star attraction: a mermaid show that took place in an underwater theater. Eventually, the May Museum of the Tropics, an "abandoned Seminole village", a show called “Birds of Prey”, and a petting zoo were added. After peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, attendance began to decline as theme parks and highways changed the dynamics of Florida's tourism. The State of Florida took over the attraction as a state park in 2008. Since then, the park has focused on appealing to a modern audience while preserving its history.

Hand-written note

Weeki Wachee Spring State Park

Young, Genie

Original note written by Genie Young, February 20, 1973: Private Collection of Becky Young.

1973-02-20

1973-02-20

.

Digital Reproduction of nd-written note: Becky Young, 1973. Scanned by RICHES Team. RICHES, Orlando, Florida

Weeki Wachee Collection, RICHES.

image/jpeg

26 MB

Hand-written note on paper

eng

Still Image

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Spring Hill, Florida

Donation

History Teacher

Humanitites Teacher

Visual Arts Teacher

Theater Teacher

Originally created by Genie Young, owned by Rebecca Young, and published by RICHES.

Copyright to this resource is held by Rebecca Young and is provided here by RICHES for educational purposes only.

Florida Humanities Council Community Grant Program and Friends of Weeki Wachee Springs State Park

Schwandt, Rebecca

Private Collection of Becky Young.

Allman, T.D. Finding Florida: The True History of the Sunshine State. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2013.

Ammidown, Margot. “Edens, Underworlds, and Shrines: Florida’s Small Tourist Attractions.” The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts 23, (1998): 238-259.

Georgiadis, Bonnie and Lu Vickers. Weeki Wachee Mermaids. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012.

Hollis, Tim. Glass Bottom Boats and Mermaid Tails: Florida’s Tourist Springs. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2006.

Pelland, Dan and Maryan Pelland. Images of America: Weeki Wachee. Mount Pleasant: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.

Revels, Tracy J. Sunshine Paradise: A History of Florida Tourism. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2011.

Vickers, Lu. Weeki Wachee City of Mermaids: A History of One of Florida’s Oldest Roadside Attractions. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2007.