Central Florida Camellia Society 72nd Annual Show and Festival

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Pam Schwartz and I went to Mead Gardens (1300 S. Denning Drive Winter Park, Fl) for the The Camellia Society of Central Florida’s annual flower show featuring award-winning blooms from Central Florida and the southeastern United States. Of course all the beauty was to be found in the microscopic details in each individual bloom on display. Each vibrant bloom was in a tiny glass vase with a label to note what type of bloom it was. Larger place cards with capital A, B, and C grouped the blooms together.

I was more interested in capturing peoples’ gestures as they admired and photographed the blooms. Some men were stoic with crossed arms, while women might lean forward to get as close as possible. More flowers and plants could be found outside on this gorgeous day.

74th Annual Camellia Show and Plant Sale is coming up on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the Orlando Garden Club Clubhouse at Loch Haven Park (710 E. Rollins St., Orlando, FL (between Advent Health and US 17). The event is free and Open to the public.

Camellia Show from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Plant Sale  from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

2020 Camellia Show Activity Schedule

7am – 10 a.m. Enter camellia blooms (ANYONE)!  Volunteers available to assist with registration. (Location: Orlando Garden Club)

10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Camellias plants for sale.  (Location: Clubhouse Area)

10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Camellia 101 Class – Robert Bowden, director of the City of Orlando’s Harry P. Leu Gardens (Locations: in Clubhouse Library)

1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Camellia Show is officially OPEN to the public.  See thousands of competition blooms up close! (Location: Orlando Garden Club

4 p.m. Camellia Show closes

Orlando Scrabble Club

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Pam Schwartz is ultra competitive and loves games. She joined me on a trip to Wirz Park (8006 Mark David Blvd Casselberry Florida) to attend Orlando Scrabble Club. We got to meet other central Florida Scrabble players. Everyone is welcome, from new players to tournament players. Scrabble is a word game where you get tiles with letters on them and the player with the most points on the board wins. Different letter tiles have different numeric values. For instance Y is worth 4 points while vowels like A, E, I, O, U are worth one point. Scrabble has a game board, 100 letter tiles, a letter bag, and four racks.

I am not good at word games so I figured I would be safe sketching while I watched Pam play. I thought this would be a nice relaxed community of players but Scrabble players are hard core. Each table had a times to keep the action moving at a break neck speed. Players at each table had to agree on which dictionary to use in case there was a dispute about a word. The room was tense. There must have been quite a few serious tournament players in the room. Pam later let me know that players she was up against new the most obscure words. She was the beginner in the room but she was a good sport.

The Orlando Scrabble Club is the best place for meeting other players in the Orlando, or central Florida areas. They meet Mondays at 7:00 p.m. at the Wirz Park Recreation Building in Casselberry, FL. Visit their meetings page for a map and directions to the venue.

1920 Ocoee and Beyond

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An event was held at Valencia West building 8, Special Events Center (1800 South Kirkman Road, Orlando, Fl) in honor of the people who lost their lives in the Ocoee Massacre. On November 2, 1920 the day of the United States Presidential Election, a white mob attacked African-American residents in Ocoee, Florida. As many as 35 African Americans may have been killed during the
riot, and most African-American-owned buildings and residences in Ocoee were burned to the ground, while others were later killed or driven out on threat of more
violence. West Orange was incorporated in 1922, and Ocoee essentially became an all-white town. The riot has been
described as the “single bloodiest day in modern American political
history”.

Perhaps the most horrific thing about this event is that we concretely know so little. We do not actually know who started what, how many African-Americans were killed, who ran to where, and whose property was stolen versus later sold, and whether or not for a fair price. There are many many versions of the narrative surrounding the Ocoee Massacre/Riot and little verifiable source documentation to back it up. Generally, the story goes as follows.

Mose Norman, a prosperous African-American land owner, tried to vote but was turned away on Election Day for not having paid his poll tax. In anger and frustration, Norman returned to the to the polling place. allegedly with a gun and tyring to get the names of the people who were illegally trying to
keep him from voting. He was sent packing again. Norman took refuge in  the home of Julius “July” Perry, another prominent African American land owner.  

Colonel Sam Salisbury, a prominent white native New Yorker and a former chief of police of Orlando, led a group of white officers and other men to find and presumably punish Mose Norman. He later proudly lauded his part in the massacre that followed. Sam knocked on the door of July Perry and July came out. When July was grabbed, a shot rang out injuring one of the white officers.  Suddenly bullets were flying. It is unknown how many people were inside the house, how many were armed, and who actually was shooting, but in all, we do know that several white men were injured, 2 white men were killed, and only have any sort of proof that July Perry was seriously wounded along with his daughter Coretha. She escaped with her mother and children out the back door into a cane field.

The whites laid waste to
the African-American community in West Orange. Fires burned a reporeted 18 or more black homes, two churches, and a lodge.  July Perry was reportedly taken to the Orange General Hospital (now Orlando Health), then to be taken to the jail. It is unclear whether he was taken by a mob en route to the jail or whether he was pulled from his cell, the jailor overwhelmed by the mob. Accounts vary from his being drug behind a car, his body being riddled with bullets, and being hung from either a pole or a tree. The location of said hanging is also very unclear and ranges from Church Street to up near the Country Club.

Norman escaped and relocated to New York City, eventually selling all of his land in Ocoee. Hundreds of other African Americans
fled the town, leaving behind their homes and possessions.

Descendants of July Perry were in the audience of this Ocoee and Beyond event. Two of them are in my sketch seated at the table in front of me. They got up to talk a bit about their family’s experiences through the years. Being two or three generations removed, they didn’t have any direct commentary about July Perry. Their families fled Ocoee, moving to other states and the family continues to thrive. The evening was filled out with music and dance. Pam Schwartz of the Orange County Regional History Center was there because the museum plans to mount an exhibition about the Ocoee Massacre around the time of the 2020 elections. In front of the History Center, a historic marker was put up to remind modern residents about the Ocoee Election Day Massacre.

This event was not about placing blame or  anger at the past, but to find ways to heal and grow together as a community moving forward. It was a look at Central Florida’s past so that we do not repeat it.

The 1920 census listed the following African American land-owing families, though there were more than 250 African Americans living in Ocoee at the time.

Anderson, Garfield and Janey Bell; two children; eldest son Sidney

Battsey, Randolph and Annie; daughters Alice and Bessie; owned farm

Blackshear, Martin and Candyce; four children, oldest son Morgan

Blue, Sanborri and Lilly

Dennys, Thomas and Lavinia

Dighs, Edward and Willamina

Edwards, John and Genie; oldest son Usteen

Frank (or Franks), Daniel and Carrie; four children, oldest son Allen

Green, Sally; six children, oldest son, Jeremiah; owned farm

Hampton, Jackson and Anna; owned farm

Hightower, Valentine and Janie; three children; owned farm

Johnson, Stephen and Julia; three grandsons, oldest James

Langmede, James and Eva; son Starland

Lynch, Richard and Fanny

McRae, William and Doda

Penzer, Kerry and Elisa; three children, oldest son Edson

Moore, Rocky and Daisy; five children, oldest son William

Nelson, Stephen and Julia; two children, son Edward

Perry, Julius P. and Stella; five children, oldest son Charles; home listed as “contested”

Surrency, Jessie and Grace; four children, oldest son Damott

Slater, Victoria; son Mason

Warron, Wade and Rhina; five children, oldest son Porter

Pulse Temporary Memorial Dedication

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The interim memorial design was created by the team of by Kody Smith, Christina Hite, and Greg Bryla, of the landscape architecture firm of Dix.Hite + Partners, and David Stone of Phil Kean Design, all of who worked closely with onePULSE Foundation’s memorial task force. Pam Schwartz of the Orange County Regional History Center worked on supplying the hundreds of photos from the history museum’s collection used on a winding wall that surrounds the club. Many of local photographer J.D. Casto‘s photos cover the wall. He was at the GLBT Center on the morning following the shooting and his photos document the outpouring of love and support that followed this horrible tragedy.

The scene was already crowded when I arrived at the club. Families of victims and survivors were seated. Since I had my own artist stool, I set up in front of one of the new trees on site and started to sketch. I focused on Christina Hite while she spoke at the podium. Greg Bryla is a dedicated Urban Sketcher, so I was pleased to know he had a hand in helping design this temporary memorial. An unexpected aspect of the temporary memorial is that there is a window in the surrounding wall allowing visitors to see the spot where the club was breached by the swat team so that the hostages held in the bathrooms could escape. Bullet holes litter the brickwork around the blast hole. This is where the terrorist was finally killed.

The architect firm of Coldefy and Associés has recently won the deign competition to create a permanent memorial at this site. Their design surrounds the Pulse Nightclub building with a pool and fountain that has 49 colors in concentric circles radiating from the pool’s center. The typical rainbow, (ROYGBIV) only has 7 colors. If you multiply that by 7 you get 49 colors. Another aspect of their design that I like is a circular canopy that supplies shade for anyone visiting the site. They also had elegantly incorporated a wall separating the quiet space from the sound of traffic on Orange Avenue. The most striking feature is that the club is cleaved in half, creating a canyon like space that people can walk through. 49 trees will cover the site creating a garden to celebrate life.

The Pulse Museum design looks a bit like a futuristic reactor. It has a slatted white exterior that is squeezed in the middle with an undulating
roof profile. Glimpses inside show a twisting staircase and plants,
echoing features of the memorial, and a large circular opening that
floods natural light into the space. There are large public areas where the community can gather to learn and have events. It is an exciting design that would immediately become a defining landmark of the SODO area. Green spaces radiate from the club beautifying the district. Only time will tell how much of this amazing design will become reality. The Museum and Memorial are both intended to open in 2022.

Conservation after the Las Vegas Mass Shooting

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On the night of October 1, 2017, a shooter opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. He killed 58 people and wounded 413, with the ensuing panic bringing the injury total to 869. The incident is the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in the history of the United States. This horrible incident came just 16 months after the mass shooting in Orlando that killed 49 people.

Cynthia Sanford the curator at the Clark County Museum took on the responsibility of having to archive the memorial items left for those lost. Volunteers sifted through items collected, took photos and carefully documented and archived every item that entered the collection. Pam Schwartz of the Orange County Regional History Center flew to Las Vegas to offer any advice she might have after collecting and archiving in Orlando.

The two collection sites were vastly different. In Orlando humidity, heat and daily rains soaked and degraded items left at memorial sites in Orlando. Las Vegas literally has no rain. The concert site however was next to the Las Vegas airport and Cynthia said that anything left on the site was literally blown over by planes as they landed or took off.

The Clark County Museum (1830 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson, NV) includes the Anna Roberts Parks Exhibit Hall and
Heritage Street which contains eight historic buildings from the county.  In a building that was once a railroad station behind the museum, volunteers were hard at work even 6 months following the shooting. The woman taking photos of each item choked up as she described how proud she was to be taking part in the process.

The October 1st collection at the Clark
County museum is made up of tens of thousands of artifacts that help to
tell the story of how the community reacted to the mass shooting at the
Route 91 Harvest Festival. The artifacts will be cataloged to record
information such as physical descriptions, dimensions, and conditions.
Each artifact will also be photographed or scanned for identification
purposes. As museum staff and volunteers process these artifacts, you
will be able to follow our progress by viewing identification
photographs.

Museum curators across the country have formed an informal support group. Knowledge gained after one mass shooting is passed on the curators in the next city overwhelmed by tragedy and the super human effort needed should that community decide to collect memorial items. It is a small community that no one asks to be a part of. 

On September 28, 2018 The Clark County Museum opened  “How We Mourned: Selected Artifacts from the 1 October Memorials“. Items put on display included flags, stuffed animals, rosaries,
artificial flowers, signs, letters, banners, candles, art works and a
portion of a Hawaiian lei that was used as a symbol to promote world
peace. The Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando has also mounted an exhibit each year to remember those who were lost.

Parkland Collection Effort Townhall Meeting

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On Valentines Day, February 14, 2018 a student entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida and began a shooting that killed 17 people and wounded 14 others. In March almost one month after the shooting Jeff Schwartz from the Parkland Historical Society invited Pam Schwartz from the Orange County Regional History Center went to Parkland to give advise on how items left at the Parkland Memorial might be collected and archived.  Several memorials had formed in Parkland following the shooting. One was at the high school along the fence that ran along the road in front of the school and another at the main stage at Pine Trails Park. An event was planned for the park so the memorials needed to be removed. A similar situation was faced in Orlando following the Pulse shooting in that makeshift memorials at Lake Eola had to be removed because of July 4th fireworks the following month.

The Parkland Historical Society is a small organization so they did not have the same resources that the Orange County Regional History Center had in Orlando. Instead of trained museum staff they needed rely on volunteers to collect and store memorial items. Pam offered practical advice on how to collect and preserve. A City hall employee took notes and a discussion began on the best practical approaches. Emotions ran high at the meeting since there is no one right answer about what is best for the community.

Volunteers dismantled the makeshift memorials on March 28, 2018. They took
away the 17 white crosses and Jewish stars bearing the names of the
students and faculty killed in the Valentine’s Day shooting. At this City Hall meeting it was decided that it made sense for students, parents, and friends and family of victims, to take part in the effort. Teddy bears, posters, and hand written letters and poems were stored in cardboard boxes. They went to climate controlled storage at Florida Atlantic University and will be saved so that 100 years from now the memories will always remain alive.

Zachary Knudson, a sculptor who has done several public works of art and memorials, teamed up with other volunteers to donate their time and resources in planning a permanent tribute. There was talk among Parkland Historical Society members of vacuum sealing some memorial tribute items inside a glass container. However humidity and the intense Florida Sun make even vacuum sealed items impractical to preserve. This sculpture proposed by Zackery is more like a 15 foot tall prism or stained glass sculpture. Kevin Roth, the CEO of the
Vistaglass Direct, a glass fabrication company is donating glass for
the project. There have been talks of possibly placing the sculpture at Stoneman Douglass High School.

On February 14, 2019, one year after the shooting the community gathered at Pine Trails Park (10559 Trails End, Parkland, FL 33076) to remember and honor the 17 victims with a moment of silence. The
City also hosted a brief Interfaith ceremony for the community. The park was be open both before and after the ceremony. Therapy dogs
and counselors were be onsite throughout the day. In lieu of
mementos, cards, flowers, pictures, or other such expressions of
condolences, people were asked to bring a canned food items to support efforts as a day of service.

The Legislature passed a package to address school safety in wake of the
mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the package
included $1 million for a permanent memorial to the 17 victims at the
high school in northwestern Broward County.

Black Bottom House of Prayer Historic Preservation Dinner

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Pastor Dana “Action” Jackson has a dream. The Black Bottom House of Prayer (921 Bentley St Orlando Fl) has been abandoned for years, falling into disrepair to the point that the the red-tiled roof leaks and needs to be replaced. Once the roof is replaced then renovation can begin inside.

In 1916 a few black families settled in an area of Orlando called Black Bottom. The name came from the fact that when it rained, water settled and remained for so long that residents had to use canoes for transportation. Before the church was built families worshiped in neighborhood homes.

Construction of the church began in 1925 and was financed through a stock purchase
from the Orange County Building and Loan Association. Thirty shares were
purchased at $100 per share, for a total of $3,000. It was designed in the popular
Spanish Mission Style with exterior stucco finish, arched doorways,
and casement windows. The thick brick and stucco walls
were thought to have a cooling effect in the Florida sun in the days
before air conditioning. The building, now 92 years old, is possibly the
oldest church building in Orlando’s black community.

Action Jackson fought hard and won to approve the building for historic preservation. Once that designation is established, guidelines prohibit the property from being destroyed. She is now praying for the community’s
support in restoring the church. Normal wear and tear over the past 92
years have taken their toll, but Jackson’s most immediate focus is on
securing help in replacing the roof over the sanctuary. “Estimates to complete the renovation
come in at around $250,000,” Jackson said. “It’s a large, but not
impossible amount to raise. We welcome angelic underwriting and favor.”

Pam Schwartz was invited to speak at a fundraiser for the renovations and I joined her to sketch the occasion. Evangelist Patricia A. Akshabazz presided. There was an invocation and then commissioner Regina Hill of District 5 welcomed everyone. In the midst of one dignitary’s praise for the project Dana and the crowd burst into dance and song. Joy and exuberance rushed through the crowd as they celebrated to raise the roof!

Takeriya and Queen, who are action Jackson’s grand daughters, bravely gave a dance routine involving twirling batons called Miracle Worker, by Youthful Praise and JJ Harston. They faltered a bit but members of the congregation got up to dance with them and coach them to the finale. Pam spoke about the importance of preserving history and how the Orange Regional County History Center is working to preserve everyone’s story. After a blessing of the food, each table got up in turn to load their plates with a chicken, macaroni, collared greens, and corn bread dinner. 

A basket appeared on the stage and everyone was encouraged to donate towards the $250,000 goal for the roof repair. Checks can be made at Chase Bank to the following account, ASPAP Law PLLC IOLTA Account – 3883990897. The memo section of the check should mention Black Bottom House of Prayer. Donations may be sent to The Black Bottom House of Prayer, PO Box 547882, Orlando, FL 32854. If any information is needed call 407-285-0415. Considering a billion dollars was raised to help rebuild Notre Dame after its fire, it seems reasonable to hope that enough can be raised to help put a new roof on this Orlando historic gem. Action Jackson hopes to restore the the building as a place of healing, help, and hope for Orlando’s Parramore community.

A Book of Baby Names

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The dining room table is the heart of the Schwartz family home in Iowa. Jenni Schwartz is expecting a baby boy this October and her sister-in-law, Kim, revived a silly book Pam and Jenni had given her when she was pregnant with her first child. They painstakingly went through every page of the book and wrote in new names, made jokes in the margins, and illustrated some names.

She, Pam and Kim poured through the book looking for possible names for baby wood. They all laughed hysterically at the ridiculous jokes and suggestions. Jenni laughed to the point of tears and complained it isn’t so easy to keep from peeing a little when you’re pregnant. I can confirm that the baby boy’s is not likely to be names Aapo, Aaro, or Abasi. I don’t think they got past the A section of the book.

Before this sketch was complete the table was cleared or another family meal and then a round of games. I did not try my hand at Canasta this time around, instead relaxed, finishing this sketch with color.

Family History in a Cardboard Box

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Pam Schwartz has been assembling her family history for years. Her grandmother, Martha, on her father’s side died in June 2018. Her dad’s sister, Carol had been taking care of Grandma Martha in her final years. I got to experience one Christmas at her grandmother’s home. It was full of tradition, for instance, the men got to sit in the kitchen and eat dinner before the women and children.

Aunt Carol had a large box full of old family photos, documents, and newspaper articles. This was the first time Pam had seen many of the photos. She had never really seen an image of her grandmother as a young beautiful woman. One newspaper article was about couples who had been married for a combined 187 years. Her great-grandparents were the youngsters of the group having just been married for 58 years. Pam took cell phone photos of every photo and document, believing this was her one chance to document this history.

On the plane ride back home she read a long transcript of a court case. It involved an auto accident which killed several of her relatives. Back in 1958, the family was driving home from a party in an Oldsmobile. As they approached a curve in the road a truck was approaching from the opposite way. The truck driver looked down for just a moment. The family car drove off the road onto the shoulder to try and avoid the truck but the the truck slammed into the car on the driver’s side. The car had its roof peeled back by the bed of the truck which was carrying dozens of cartons of eggs. The driver (Pam’s great uncle) and his wife behind him were instantly killed. Pam’s grandmother on the passenger side survived along with her children (Pam’s father and Aunt Carol). Eggs broke all over the roadway. The story is that the family was rushed to the hospital but when they got there, Pam’s father was nowhere to be found. Police returned to the crash site to find the 2 year old boy wedged under a car seat, cold but very much alive. It is hard to imagine a family bouncing back from such a horrific accident.

Aunt Carol decided to give the box of family history documents to Pam, and she is now tasked with sorting through the thousands of new facts and images. That one box of documents is a genealogist’s dream come true.

Iowa Baby Shower

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Pam’s sister, Jenni Schwartz and Roger Wood, are having a baby and we traveled to Iowa for several baby showers. Jenni lives in Des Moines, Iowa and that shower was held at the Raccoon River Nature Lodge. I was on task to help set up. Pam ordered several dozen tiny wicker baskets which were intended to hold thank you presents for this hot air balloon themed party. She ordered them online and had the boxes shipped to Jenni’s home. The baskets turned out to be VERY tiny only able to hold one candy. In desperation, she made a run to a party store which was going out of business. A few items were on the shelves but many items were scattered on the floor. It was a post apocalyptic scene.She did find some silk gift bags which fit three pieces of ganache and truffles, as opposed to the one that could be held by a basket. She wanted to leave the baskets behind to be returned, but I insisted they were a much needed decoration item.

The lodge had a gorgeous view overlooking a lake to the south. Floor to ceiling windows made the view amazing. We were responsible for all the set up and break down for the event. We rolled out 5 round tables and covered them with white plastic table cloths. Center pieces were rectangular blue place mats with a bowl of caramel/cheese popcorn and the candy bags scattered about. I discovered that the baskets were just big enough to hold 1 Starburst candy, so I raided all the candy to just find the Starbursts.

My main job was to build the balloon arch. I blew up most of the balloons. Jenni blew up the golden balloons since they were easiest to blow up. When they were inflated, golden confetti inside would blow around like they were in a tornado. All the other balloons were blue or white. That is a clue that baby Wood would be a boy. There was one very big blue balloon in the bag, so I tied a basket under it to make it onto a hot air balloon.

Pam designed cute cards with a fox and rabbit riding in a hot air balloon. She brought a stuffed red fox which sat on the serving tables and a metal basket containing baby diapers had balloons attached to it to make it resemble a hot air balloon. We also had paper hot air balloon decorations with a cloud and star hanging below each. I taped them to the blinds on each floor to ceiling window and they were raised or lowered based on how high or low the blinds were raised. The balloons didn’t have baskets, so I placed a basket on the window sill ledge below each making it seem like the balloons had launched without their baskets.

The cake was beautifully decorated reproducing Pam’s fox  hot air balloon cartoon. However the cake imploded when we were transporting it. It had a creamy salted caramel filling which caused the layers to slip like tectonic plates. By the end of the evening the cake had slipped and twisted making it look like a California earthquake had hit. It was still incredible delicious….when eaten with a spoon.

About 35 people RSVP’d to the party, but only 15 or so arrived on this Friday night. When they arrived they were invited to put a fingerprint on a hot air balloon image with the fox and rabbit, and sign it, for it to later hang on the nursery walls. The diapers were to be inscribed with messages so the mother could have a giggle when she had to change them in the middle of the night. I drew a poop emoji and signed it. Some of Jenni’s co-workers were giggling and writing on diapers for most of the party.