Letter from Dorothy Gray, Ltd. Publicity Director Mayreen Logan to Weeki Wachee Mermaid Rebecca Stahlhut Thanking Her for Modeling Their Products

Letter from Dorothy Gray, Ltd. Publicity Director Mayreen Logan to Weeki Wachee Mermaid Rebecca Stahlhut Thanking Her for Modeling Their Products

Letter of Thanks from a Representative of Dorothy Gray, Ltd. To Weeki Wachee Mermaid Rebecca Stahlhut, 1975

Weeki Wachee Springs (Fla.)

Tourism--Florida

tourism & museum

Tourism--1960-1980

Ballet--1970-1980

Mermaids--Florida--Weeki Wachee--History

Theater--20th century

Letter written by Dorothy Gray, Ltd. Publicity Director Maureen Logan to Weeki Wachee Mermaid Rebecca Stahlhut (later Rebecca Young). The letter was written on April 24, 1975. In the letter Maureen thanks Rebecca for modeling Dorothy Gray products, and lets Rebecca know that Dorothy sent the mermaids a bunch of their products as a thank you. Dorothy Gray was a company that sold skin care products and makeup. In the years after ABC purchased Weeki Wachee Springs and grew the attraction, many makeup, swimsuit, and swimwear products partnered with Weeki Wachee Springs to advertise their brands.

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.

Letter

Logan, Maureen

Dorothy Gray, Ltd.

Original letter of thanks from Dorothy Gray, Ltd. to Rebecca Stahlhut, April 24, 1975: Private Collection of Rebecca Young.

1975-04-24

1975-04-24

Digital Reproduction of letter: Letter of Thanks from Dorothy Gray, Ltd. to Rebecca Stahlhut, April 24, 1975. Scanned by RICHES Team. RICHES, Orlando, Florida.

Weeki Wachee Collection, RICHES.

image/jpeg

96.3 MB

8.5 x 11 Letter

eng

Still Image

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Spring Hill, Florida

Donation

History Teacher

Humanitites Teacher

Visual Arts Teacher

Theater Teacher

Originally created by Dorothy Grey Ltd., owned by Rebecca Young, and published by RICHES.

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

Schwandt, Rebecca

Private Collection of Rebecca 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.