Hot, Hot, Hot!

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Hot, Hot, Hot was one of the History in a Glass events held at the Orange County Regional History Center. On display were items from Orlando’s fiery past. On the table was a melted telephone recovered from a fire. Sparky the fire dog stood proud in his red suspenders. Pam Schwartz, the History Center chief curator introduced some of the history before the drinks started getting mixed.

Mainly historic photos and documents showcased Orlando’s history with fires. Back before fire trucks, Orlando Residents had good reason to complain that the fire department always showed up late to a blaze. The firemen responded that they had a stubborn horse who refused to pull the wagon, so if citizens got them a new and more energetic horse, then they could get to a blaze on time.

In the History in a Glass series, local craft bartenders competed for
bragging rights by creating libations inspired by historical themes and
artifacts. In the summer Central Florida gets blazing hot, so we cooled
off at this event with some hot-hot-hot history with
artifacts and stories of fires blazing, fireworks poppin’, and even a
fire insurance company with some risqué sales tactics!

As depicted in a historic photo from the museum’s collection, the American Fire and Casualty Insurance company had a sales meeting in which they had women come out only in a cardboard box. The sales slogan was, “We cover it all.”  Lady Jaimz of Corsets and Cuties recreated the risque sales dance. The drinks were indeed hot. Several were too hot for my palette. Domu won the bragging rights for the evening.

History in a Glass Celery Edition

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The History in a Glass series, at the Orange County Regional History Center, (65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801) featured three local craft bartenders who competed for
bragging rights by creating libations linked to historical themes and
artifacts. The June edition was about the history of celery in Central Florida. Pam Schwartz, the chief curator made herself a crown of celery stalks for the evening. I set up to sketch backstage behind the bartenders looking out over the crowd enjoying the libations. Lite bites for the evening were supplied by Hawkers Asian Street Fare.

Now on to the history behind the drinks… 100 years ago Sanford, Florida was undergoing major economic shifts. Steamboats were being replaced by steam locomotives and the citrus industry experienced a a series of huge freezes, destroying all the crops. The population plummeted as crops were abandoned.  

I.H. Terwilliger stayed after the freezes and is reputed to have planted
the first celery crops grown in Sanford in 1896. More people came to plant
celery and by 1898 Sanford’s celery was known nationwide. Celery
was being grown across more than 6,000 acres in the Central Florida
area, producing 73% of the nation’s celery. Sanford became known as Celery City. There were roughly 553 celery farms in the area in the early 1900s. That
number dwindled down to just 22 by the end of World War II.

Three downtown bartenders mixed libations based on this history of celery. They were instructed to use celery in their concoctions. After tasting each of the drinks the attendees got to vote on their favorite history themed libation. Justin from, The Courtesy Bar, prepared a cocktail influenced by Central Florida’s resurgence after the death of the citrus industry called Phoenix Rising. The tasty drink included peach and orange blossom vodka, the Florida Key lime, and ITALICUS, an Italian liqueur made with rose petals, and it was this cocktail that earned him the title of  Celery King. 

Wild Hogs Roam the Streets of Winter Park

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Pam Schwartz, the head curator at the Orange County Regional History Center needed to do some research for History in a Glass which is a fun event where local craft bartenders compete for bragging rights by creating libations inspired by historical themes and artifacts.

The theme for History in a Glass was going to be about Winter Parks history of having to deal with wild hogs wandering the streets of downtown at the turn of the century. The city had to pass an ordinance banning these wild hogs from the streets.

In 1903, animals were doing a lot of damage, so five-day permits were
issued to
kill squirrels and destructive birds. Permission was also granted to kill
alligators in the town’s lakes. Another ordinance levied a $25 fine
and or 25 days at hard labor for persons found guilty of playing games
on Sunday. At the same time, the sale of intoxicating liquors was
prohibited, except by a physician’s prescription.

In 1905, the Travelers Insurance Company asked town officials to protect
their property from damage by hogs running wild inside the town. A
committee was appointed to look into the matter. The committee learned that state law authorized towns with more than 500 residents
to pass an ordinance that prohibits hogs running wild. As Winter Park
had only 461 residents, it was powerless to stop the problem. (Such and
ordinance successfully passed two years later after a petition drive.)

A recent ordinance prohibits the creation of art on the streets of Winter Park. Sec 70-10 Regulation of Street Performers. “The City Commission finds that street performers in certain  areas of the City defined herein and designated as prohibited public area have interfered with and have a substantial likelihood of interfering with pedestrian and vehicular traffic of the City, including residents, business owners and occupants, and visitors and tourists by, among other things, attracting audiences which congest the prohibited public area, increase the likelihood for conflict and disorderliness, and may impede the ability of emergency personnel to reach various locations. Moreover, such street performers may cause or contribute to pedestrian and vehicular safety risks through increased congestion, sight obstruction, and obfuscation, and obstruction to pedestrian right of ways and crosswalks. The city finds the existence of street performers in the prohibited public area adversely affects the City’s interests in maintaining the aesthetics of the prohibited public area and character of the same in the city with a unique historic downtown district.”

(1) “Perform and performance means to engage in any of the following activities: Acting; singing; playing musical instruments; puppetry; pantomiming; miming; performing or demonstrating magic or acts of illusion; dancing; juggling; or the public display of and composition or creation of crafts, sculpture, artistry,writings, or compositions, including the application of brush, pastel, crayon, pencil, or other similar objects applied to paper, cardboard, canvas, cloth or to other similar medium.”

To celebrate these historic ordinances the History Center shared this strange history while tasting some amazing craft cocktails. Patrons got to laugh at Winter Park’s long history of absurd ordinances which continues today. Winter Park is working hard to keep the streets clear of wild pigs and artists. Bottoms up.

History in a Glass: The Grand Finale.

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The Orange County Regional History Center (65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801) hosted three previous History in a Glass competitions.  At the final installment of the 2017 History in a Glass series, the winners from the previous competitions competed for bragging rights by creating one-of-a-kind libations. The drink recipes were inspired by the theme of “The City Beautiful.” Guests learned how Orlando chose our nickname as they enjoy great food and music, plus three hand-crafted cocktails.

Pom Poms Teahouse and Sandwicheria (67 N Bumby Ave, Orlando, FL 32803) catered the event and the food disappeared in an instant. The caterer returned to their restaurant and made a second batch of sandwiches to the sold out crowd. A hand crafted trophy was created by the History Center art department. The trophy consisted of a model of the lake Eola Fountain with a swan perched on top. Above the swan, was a pig and a bottle of whisky. The entire tower was painted gold. Each item referred to the stories told in past History in a glass competitions. The swan was based on Billy the swan who murdered his mate. The pig was from “Hog Wild” which told the story of how Winter Park had to pass an ordinance banning wild hogs from it’s streets. A similar ordinance was passed last year banning artists from the streets of Winter Park. The whisky bottle referenced the story of the murder in the San Juan Hotel in which a man a man was given a bottle of whisky which was then offered to the woman he was trying to impress that evening. She died after one sip.

The History Center Chief Curator, Pam Schwartz entertained the crowd by explaining how Orlando became “The City Beautiful. Once referred to as Mosquito County, the Central Florida region was considered a nightmarish place my many of the early explorers who couldn’t stand the bugs and insane heat. They denouncing the region as a “hideous,” “loathsome,” “diabolical,” “God-abandoned” mosquito refuge.

In 1908, an Orlando beautification drive inspired city leaders to find a
more suitable name than “The Phenomenal City.” Residents planted trees
and shrubs, and a contest was announced to find a new nickname. A number
of candidates were submitted, including “the Queen City,” “the Magic
City,” “the Picturesque City,” and “the Health City.” But Jessie Johnson Branch, formerly from South Dakota, won the prize
with “the City Beautiful.” The new name sparked a wave of interest in
beautification that soon made the Orlando an even more fitting setting
for its name.

With an event like this I always hope to sketch the winner. I sketched Dan Lynch in his baseball cap and bib overalls, and he did indeed win the coveted trophy for his delicious “City Beautiful” cocktail. 

History in a Glass.

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I went to the Orange County Regional History Center
(65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, Florida 32801) For the second installment of History in a Glass, called Hog Wild, three different bar tenders from the Mills/50 District, mixed custom cocktails based on the stories of wild hogs that were eventually outlawed in Orlando and Winter Park. It seems the hogs would rub their backs on the courthouse steps and generally make themselves a nuisance. I was quite pleased that I sketched the bartender who mixed the winning cocktail for the night.

Thursday, October 26th is the the third installment of the History in a Glass series, called “Murder at the San Juan” and will feature local craft bars competing for bragging rights by creating libations using Cooper’s Craft bourbon whiskey.

The drink recipes will be inspired by an infamous murder that shocked Orlando in 1938. The dark tale began in room 208 of downtown’s San Juan Hotel, then only a block from the Orange County Courthouse (now the History Center.) Hear the unexpected twists and turns of a mesmerizing mystery as you enjoy great food and music, plus three hand-crafted cocktails created by masters from Ravenous Pig, Luke’s Kitchen and Bar, and The Nest Bar. Food will be supplied by the Black Bean Deli. Halloween costumes are encouraged.

Plan to also join us for the series finale December 14, when the winning bartenders from the first three contests compete for the grand prize.

Members $20, general admission $25.

For details, call 407-836-7046.

History in a glass.

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The first History in a Glass took place on June 22 at the Orange County Regional History Center, 65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801. History in a Glass pairs fun and fascinating historical collection
artifacts with delicious hand-crafted cocktails. Three bar districts –
Downtown, Mills/50 District, and Winter Park – battle for the championship to see
who can win people’s choice in designing the
best custom cocktail based on a story from the history of Central
Florida. Three ace mixologists from each district will go head to head
with their colleagues, the winner advancing to the series finale in
December.

In the first competition mixologists from three popular downtown Orlando establishments – Hanson’s Shoe Repair, The Woods, and The Courtesy Bar – received a brief biography of Billy Bluebeard, Orlando’s first swan to create their drink from. Billy was brought to Orlando in 1910 by Charles Lord and placed at Lake Lucerne with his mate Sally. They were a rather romantic pair and Billy took quite an interest in their domestic affairs. Sally would sit on their eggs, but each day Billy would come by to relieve her so that she might swim about the Lake and stretch her legs.  One day, Billy was running a bit behind and Sally decided to take off before his arrival.  Their eggs grew cold, Lord knowing they would be dead, removed them from the nest. Upon finding an empty nest, Billy was furious. He swam out to Sally in the middle of the lake, grabbed her by the throat, and held her head under until she died.

Billy was given a new mate, Mary, who was quite a bit younger than he. Billy grew ill and was taken to a veterinarian. Once he was better, he returned home to find Mary with another swan! Unfortunately Billy wasn’t quite the fighting swan he once was, and the new, younger Charlie wasn’t having any of Billy’s attitude. Lord made the decision to remove Billy to another lake where he eventually passed away.  Some say it was old age, others say Billy died of a homesick broken heart.

In 1933, the proprietor of W.H. Swan Company had Billy stuffed and placed in the foyer of his department store where he stood until becoming one of the very first donations to the History Center.

Mark your calendar! The next History in a Glass, “Hog Wild” Edition is Thursday, August 24 at 6 PM – 9 PM. Not far from the present-day History Center’s
door, razorbacks once rubbed their backs on the steps of Orange County’s
wooden courthouse in the 1870s,
when Florida was a wild frontier. Florida still has an estimated one
million feral pigs on the loose. Just recently in the news, wild hogs
are still running amok in Brevard County! Come cheer on your favorite bartender from the Mills 50 District in a competition to create the best history-inspired beverage. The winner will advance to the series finale in December.

Admission tickets include great music with a DJ, three hand-crafted cocktails, and tasty cuisine
from a local restaurant. Member tickets are $20, general admission $25. This event is for guests 21 and older. For details, call 407-836-7035. Doors open at 6 p.m., cocktail competition and drink service start at 6:30.