The Historical Society of Orange Park

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1 The Historical Society of Orange Park Newsletter Monthly Meeting Monday, March 9, 2015, 6:30 PM Clarke House 1039 Kingsley Avenue Orange Park, Florida Our guest speakers for the March meeting will be representatives from the Clay County History Fair who will share their projects. Carrie Clarke Day Saturday, March 21 from 10-4pm. This is our last meeting before Carrie Clarke Day. We really need good attendance and we will need lots of volunteers on Carrie Clarke Day! Carrie Clarke Day Bake Sale: Please consider volunteering to bake items that will be sold to raise funds for the Historical Society. Please package your items individually for easy sale and write the name of item on the package. Pricing will be handled at the booth. We would also appreciate more volunteers to help staff the bake sale booth. Current Membership Our sincere thanks to the following people that have renewed their membership for this year. We are grateful for your support and look forward to a productive Patrick Arnwine Larry Beaton Sarah Bedsole Lee Bentley Billy Brantley Donald Brammer Sheila Brammer Cindy Cheatwood Barney Clark Carolyn Clark Carolyn Day Mike Day Janice Delp Joe Demarco Mary Ellen Demarco Wanda Dillaberry Darleen Ehrenberg Jacqulin Golay Marilyn Haddock Evelyn Hall Barbara Hammond Juanita Hargrove Randy Harris Virginia Hash Neal Hawkinson Norma Hawkinson Carol Hogan Suzanne Hogan Van Hogan Diane Howard Steve Howard Marge Hutton Allyson Jarczyk Marie Marfia Carol McConnell Mary Jo McTammany Gary Meeks Patricia Meeks John Nelson Dot Patterson Patricia Renau James Renninger Melanie Tharpe If you have not yet renewed your membership for 2015 please do so at your earliest opportunity. You may download a membership renewal form from our website at.

Page 2 Membership We are currently still recruiting new members so if you know of anyone seriously considering joining us, please invite them to the March meeting. We Need You.

2 Page 2 Membership We are currently still recruiting new members so if you know of anyone seriously considering joining us, please invite them to the March meeting. We Need You. TO Be HSOP President Our Historic Society is in need of a president. Cindy Cheatwood has graciously served as our president and needs to pass the torch to someone new. We are asking all members to consider filling this position. Cumberland Island Trip There are still a few spaces available for those interested in the Cumberland Island trip on April 12 th. We will meet at Clarke Park at 7AM in order to catch the boat. The amount of the boat trip is $18 for seniors, $20 for those under 65. This will be an all day trip including a motorized tour of the historical areas of the island. Dot Patterson Quilt Raffle Our sincere thanks to member Dot Patterson for her kind donation of a handmade quilt "Tulips in the field." The quilt (77" X 84" double/queen) will be raffled off and all donations will support the many community programs of the Society. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. Tickets will be available at our general meetings. Theft at Veterans Memorial It is a sad occasion when we have to report that the American Flag and the POW/MIA flag from the Veterans Memorial in Magnolia Cemetery were recently stolen. It is tragic that there are those who do not respect our flag and what it means to those who have sacrificed so much in its honor. Our thanks to the Rolling Thunder FL 4 who immediately volunteered (along the American Legion #250 Riders) to replace the flags. Once new precautions are made at the site the flags will once again fly in memory of all our Veterans.

3 Page 3 Recent Events February meeting Many thanks to our February meeting speaker, Vishi Garig, Archives Specialist, Clay County Archives. Ms. Garig told the story of Augusta Savage, a sculptor, artist, educator and civil rights activist. Ms. Savage was born in Green Cove Springs and found fame as an artist in New York City. She sculpted the likenesses of a number of African-American leaders and created The Harp, a sculpture influenced by James Weldon Johnson s song, Lift Every Voice and Sing, for the 1939 New York World s Fair. This wonderful and informative presentation was enjoyed by all who attended. Thank you Vishi! Clay County History Fair Five schools participated at the county history fair, 59 students in all in grades After all the judging was completed the teachers sat down and worked out the numbers of superior ratings to determine the delegates for state competition at May's Florida History Fair. In all, 6 high school and 9 junior high school students were selected to represent Clay County at state. Fifteen delegates were chosen along with two alternates. This year we have a 6th grader for the first time in years. The first ever Lee Bentley Award to recognize a project that highlighted governmental leadership was awarded to Emma Kiely for her individual exhibit, "The Leadership and Legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt." We also presented the Art Hall Award for a project with a military history explored. That went to Benjamin Woods for his historical paper, "Eisenhower's Leadership and Legacy in the Military". Junior Division (Students in Bold Type Selected for State) Historical Papers First Place: Alyse Gomez, Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias Second Place: Ben Woods, Eisenhower's Leadership and Legacy in the Military (alternate for state) Third Place: Lana Peyton, Nikola Tesla Website (Individual): First Place: Juliana Deaton, The Leadership and Legacy of Walt Disney Second Place: Alaa Osman, Gorbachev: End of the Communist Era Third Place: Elisabeth Godwin, Stephen Foster Honorable Mention: Ashton Carmichael, Jacksonville Jaguars (Florida History Award)

4 Page 4 Website (Group): First Place: Ashley Gamble and Samantha Gamble, Samuel Morse Second Place: Thomas Powers, Bryce Quiett, Lance Lenox, Alex Guy, Nelson Mandela Third Place: Alondra Montalvo, Gabriella Nieves, Alanna Floyd, Walt Disney Exhibit: (Individual): First Place: Jonathan Marsh, The Leadership and Legacy of WWII's Greatest General: George S. Patton Second Place: Emma Kiely, The Leadership and Legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt (alternate) Third Place: Emma Howle, Juliet Gordon Low Honorable Mention: David Martino, Elvis Presley Exhibit: (Group): First Place: Mason Kent, Alex Wilkes, The Leadership and Legacy of Abraham Lincoln Second Place: Jordyn Lewis and Shannon Seader, The Leadership and Legacy of Juliette Gordaon Low Creative Expression Award: Jessica Hurlock and Kaylin Smith, The Bus Ride that Changed History Documentaries (Individual): First Place: Timmy Conroy, James Madison s Contribution to the World Second Place: Grace Castillo Mother Teresa: A Leader with a Legacy of Love Performance: (Individual) First Place: Allie Beaudrot, I Cannot be Silent Second Place: Faith Danielson, The Legacy of Mary Kay Ash- Changing the Workplace for Women (In Style) (Women s History Award) Senior Division (Students in Bold Type Selected for State) Historical Papers: First Place: Evan Collins, Gustavo Gutierrez, Father of Liberation Theology: A Profound Religiopolitical Movement with a Controversial Legacy Second Place: Marla Mackoul, Margaret Sanger and the Fight for Reproductive Rights Third Place: Abi Floyd, What is the Impact Girl Scouting Has on Girls and in the World? Website (Individual): First Place: Karleigh Kirilloff, Susan B. Anthony Website (Group): First Place: Rachel Crowe and Haley McGarity, Marie Curie s Legacy (Best Use of Primary Sources) Second Place: Roarke and John Carroll, Billy Sunday: The Third Great Awakening Performance: (Individual): First Place: Kara Parham: Olympe de Gouges: The Quill is Mightier than the Guillotine

Page 5 Exhibit: (Individual): First Place: Neissa Alabre, Alexander Gustave Eiffel: A Man of Many Talents Exhibit: (Group): First Place: Laure Deliscar and Gigi Louis, Toussaint L'Overture: The Negro

F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis Several Historical Society of Orange Park members participated as judges: Van Hogan, Virginia Hash, Mary Ellen DeMarco, Diane Howard, Billy Brantley, Faye

5 Page 5 Exhibit: (Individual): First Place: Neissa Alabre, Alexander Gustave Eiffel: A Man of Many Talents Exhibit: (Group): First Place: Laure Deliscar and Gigi Louis, Toussaint L'Overture: The Negro Patriot Second Place: Jasmine and Jessica Echevarria, Mary Redenius, and Abigail Sy, The Tyrant of the Philippines: Ferdinand Marcos Documentary (Individual): Will Kortright and Carlos Gonzales, John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis Several Historical Society of Orange Park members participated as judges: Van Hogan, Virginia Hash, Mary Ellen DeMarco, Diane Howard, Billy Brantley, Faye Irvin, and Allyson Jarczyk. It is clear that without these wonderful volunteers the fair would not have been possible! Upcoming Events Orange Park Woman s Club GFWC Orange Park Woman's Club will present "A Historical Tea" on Thursday, March 26 from 2-4pm at the Orange Park Woman's Club, 130 Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park. The public is invited to attend this community event to celebrate Clay County History Month. This is a free event!!! The Art Guild of Orange Park The Art Guild of Orange Park has been hard at work creating original "Garden Art" that will be offered for sale at Carrie Clarke Day on Saturday, March pm in Clarke Park. Make your selections from garden fairies, stepping stones, birdhouses, bird feeders and many other handmade items to dress up your garden. 10% of sales will be donated to the Historical Society of Orange Park.

Page 6 Clay County Public Library Genealogy For more information please visit the Genealogy page of the Clay County Library website, http://www.ccpl.lib.fl.

com Ancestry Library Edition provides access to a number of genealogical and historical resources, including images of the decennial U.S. census from 1790-1930.

Wednesday, March 4th 2015 from 2:00-4:00 A At the Clay County Archives & Old Jail. Get Together to meet & discuss events for Clay County s History Month and future events.

6 Page 6 Clay County Public Library Genealogy For more information please visit the Genealogy page of the Clay County Library website, There you will find information on upcoming meetings as well as previous meetings you might have missed. Ancestry.com Ancestry Library Edition provides access to a number of genealogical and historical resources, including images of the decennial U.S. census from (Available only in the library.) Clay County You are Cordially Invited to a Gathering for Clay County s History Month. Wednesday, March 4th 2015 from 2:00-4:00 A At the Clay County Archives & Old Jail. Get Together to meet & discuss events for Clay County s History Month and future events. Light appetizers and refreshments. To be held on the lawn between the 1890 Courthouse & the 1894 Jail. 21 Gratio Place & S.R. 16 Green Cove Springs, Fl Please RSVP to ClayArchives@ClayClerk.com For information please contact Vishi Garig or Scott Iannucci ,

7 Page 7 Keystone Heights THE KEYSTONE HEIGHTS HERITAGE COMMISSION Announces GUEST SPEAKER DR. PAUL ORTIZ DIRECTOR OF THE UF SAMUEL PROCTOR ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM Saturday, March 14 th, 2PM At the Keystone Pavilion Come hear Dr. Ortiz speak on preserving living memories and the importance it has to our community. Internationally Acclaimed Oral History Expert Coming to Keystone Heights The Keystone Heights Heritage Commission (KHHC) is kicking-off its new oral history program to preserve living memories of the community. In coordination with Clay History Month, KHHC is pleased to announce that Dr. Paul Ortiz, Director of the UF Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, will speak to the public at the Lake Geneva beach pavilion on Saturday, March 14 th at 2pm. Refreshments will be served. Dr. Ortiz, also an associate professor of History at the University of Florida, is the current president of the Oral History Association. He received his Ph.D. in History from Duke University in He writes frequently for the popular press and has been interviewed by ABC News, the Washington Post and the BBC to name a few. His latest work is entitled: Our Separate Struggles are Really One: African American and Latino History, to be published by Beacon Press as part of its ReVisioning American History Series. Dr. Ortiz currently directs the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program in Gainesville. The program is named for its founder, a prominent scholar of Florida history and a pioneer in the field of oral history in the United States. The program collects oral histories throughout the entire country with the purpose of preserving eyewitness accounts of economic, social, political, religious and intellectual life. So far the Samuel Proctor Oral History program has gathered more than 6500 interviews, one of the largest oral history archives in the United States, with active research projects in Latin America, Haiti, Europe and other locations.

Page 8 Major projects have focused on Florida county-specific history, military and women s history, business and economic development, water and environmental policy, WWII, SEC Sports and University

8 Page 8 Major projects have focused on Florida county-specific history, military and women s history, business and economic development, water and environmental policy, WWII, SEC Sports and University of Florida history. On March 14 th, Dr. Ortiz will speak to residents of Keystone Heights about the importance of oral histories for the sake of current and future generations. Keystone Heights is a relatively new town, developed in the mid-1920s to attract winter residents to North Central Florida s Lake District. The planned community was platted and created by civil engineers from Pennsylvania and still boasts dozens of its original homes. Many of its older residents can recall its earliest settlers. The site for the lecture is the Keystone Heights beach pavilion, one of the town s first structures built in The Keystone Heights Heritage Commission plans to restore the pavilion in time for the city s 100 th anniversary in nd Annual Railroad and History Day Mark you planner and save the date for the 22 nd Annual Railroad and History Day, Saturday March 7, 10:00am-4:00pm at the Clay County Historical Triangle; includes open house at the historic Clay County 1890 Courthouse, 1894 Jailhouse, Archives, History and Railroad Museums; Strolling Southern Belles, History exhibits, book signings, kids fun zone with petting zoo, face painting and bouncy houses, tasty food; and all day entertainment with Jim Craft Enterprises, Wanda Dillaberry, Clay Community Band, Charles E. Bennett Bees, Neil Diamond favorites by Joe Doty, Blind Intuition Rock N Roll and more. The festival is located at Hwy 16 (Ferris Street) 21 Gratio Place and 915 Walnut Street in Green Cove Springs; and is sponsored by the Clay County Historical Society in cooperation and appreciation of our Community Partners. For more information contact Marilyn Haddock at historicsociety@aol.com. March is Clay County History Month The 2015 Railroad festival is part of a much larger festivity, Clay County History Month in March; a month long tribute and celebration to heighten awareness of our county s rich and unique history. Month long events including history and community organizations, museums, libraries, historical sites, lectures, presentations, woman s clubs and others. March Clay History Month is in conjunction and commemorates with Florida Heritage, Women s History and Irish-American Heritage Month celebrations. Look for publication of calendar of events and see the website at for ongoing updates. For more information contact Cindy Stewart at scoop2105@att.net.

9 Page 9 Other News Veterans Memorial The Veterans Memorial Committee continues to receive orders for inscribed brick pavers that are installed at the site. Order forms are available at the memorial site, in the Orange Park Library or may be downloaded from the HSOP website If you are interested in purchasing an inscribed paver to honor a veteran you may download a form from our website or pick up a form in the box at the memorial site. We will be installing pavers in time for Veterans Day. For more information call Carolyn Day Pavers are $50 each. Help Save Our Sound The Town of Orange Park has offered the Historical Society the opportunity to save the audio recordings of the town's council meetings going back to the 1960 s. They have written minutes of these meetings but are running out of storage space for the tapes. Contained within those tapes, which would otherwise be thrown away, are the exchanges from past council meetings during the 9-11 alarms, the creation of the OP Mall, the opening of the Buckman Bridge, and more close to our own hearts, all the banter regarding the preservation of the Clarke House. As the Historical Society of Orange Park we are the logical choice to keep the tapes that matter to the history of the town. We need your help! If several people can adopt a year (or perhaps two?) to scrutinize we can decided which tapes to save and which we can part with. Those worth saving can be digitized for the future. Please contact Cindy Cheatwood (ckcheatwood@hotmail.com or ) if you can help. There are two ways to determine which tapes contain must-save material, by using the actual tapes and listen for which to save, or by reading written minutes and noting the tapes that contain significant topics. While there is not a definite end date as to when this must be done, the Town is ready to have the tapes moved out. Sooner is much better than later. If you have a few minutes to listen to a tape or scan through printed meeting minutes to summarize the points of discussion, please contact Cindy. Sunshine Please keep these members in your thoughts and prayers: Dot Patterson Trudy Sigman

10 Page 10 Look For Us on Facebook Look for the Historical Society of Orange Park the next time you visit Facebook. Check our page for updates on society activities and updates on the Veterans Memorial. Don t forget to click Like on our page. Membership in the Historical Society of Orange Park We encourage you to support our mission to preserve the history of Orange Park and share that history with the community by becoming a member of the Historical Society of Orange Park. We also ask your support and participation for the many community activities we undertake during the course of the year. You can visit our website,, to download a membership form.

The Historical Society of Orange Park

The Historical Society of Orange Park Newsletter Monthly Meeting Monday, April 13, 2015, 6:30 PM Clarke House 1039 Kingsley Avenue Orange Park, Florida 32073 April Meeting Mr. Hank Racer, a longtime resident