Winter Park Magazine Fall 2017

Wading Pink Flamingo

by Elizabeth St. Hilaire

ON SCORES, SCOTTIES AND ANGEL FOOD CAKE: BY JOHN V. SINCLAIR

AURORA AWARD WINNER FOR

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CONTENTS FALL 2017

FEATURES 30 | ON SCORES, SCOTTIES AND ANGEL FOOD CAKE What Central Florida’s conductor has learned about art, life, dogs, Mr. Rogers and the power of music. By John V. Sinclair 48 | HOW DOES OUR GARDEN GROW? Winter Park’s Mead Botanical Garden is more than pretty and peaceful. It’s also an important ecosystem. By Leslie K. Poole 64 | THE ART OF FASHION New looks for fall, curated in the Cornell Fine Arts Center on the campus of Rollins College.

Photographs by Rafael Tongol, styling by Marianne Ilunga, makeup and hair by Elsie Knab 70 | THE ESSENTIAL EDWIN A lively new book introduces the most important Winter Parker you’ve probably never heard of. By Randy Noles 82 | SURVIVORS Faced with a frightening breast cancer diagnosis, these women took charge and fought for their lives. By Barbara Liston

6 WIN T E R P A R K M A G A ZI N E | FALL 2017

DEPARTMENTS FILM 12 | TICKET TO RIDE On the right track: In Selling Sunshine, a Winter Park railroad historian explores how passenger trains conquered Florida with steam and steel.

By Randy Noles PROFILE 20 | SCHILLHAMMER: THE SEQUEL Once dispirited, the veteran arts administrator has been rejuvenated by his new gig at Enzian.

And for fans of film, that means plenty of popcorn. By Jay Boyar, photographs by Rafael Tongol DINING 92 | I’LL MAKE MINE MEDITERRANEAN It’s all about Naples in this cozy Park Avenue trattoria, where simple, authentic recipes and a welcoming ambiance await. By Rona Gindin, photographs by Rafael Tongol

IN EVERY ISSUE 8 | FIRST WORD 10 | COVER ARTIST 98 | EVENTS 112 | ARTSBEAT

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FIRST WORD

TURNING THE PAGE

M

SCRIBE OF THE SEASON

Lyric Florida The very earth is lyric With red hibiscus bloom; The flame-vine and azalea Are threads on beauty’s loom.

The orange trees shed incense Along the common road, Then bow them down in worship Beneath their golden load.

ost Winter Parkers don’t know Dan Denton. But in the city/regional magazine world, he’s a legend. He’s also my friend, my colleague and, until last month, my boss.

Winter Park Magazine, as you may have read, is under new ownership. But Dan is still just a phone call away if I have a thorny problem to discuss or an intriguing opportunity to analyze.

That’s important because Dan is the smartest publisher — and, in general, one of the smartest people — I’ve ever known. He’s also funny, in that wry sort of way that works for people who are brilliant enough to pull it off.

Dan, who graduated from Yale University in 1975, returned home with his English degree and joined the Bradenton Herald as a general assignment reporter. After a couple of years, he decided to start his own magazine and mail it to homes in the gated country club communities in and around Sarasota.

The rest, of course, is publishing history. Clubhouse Magazine, which Dan cobbled together from a makeshift office in his parents’ garage, morphed into Sarasota Magazine, which provided the template for other publishers in small but affluent and culturally sophisticated markets.

Dan later bought an existing magazine, Gulfshore Life in Naples, and replicated Sarasota Magazine’s success there. Both titles spun off countless other niche publications, mostly focused on business and the arts.

Sarasota Magazine and Gulfshore Life, the flagship titles, were as thick as phone books, packed with beautiful photography and lively, hyper-local stories. They were — and remain — the gold standard for city/regional magazines.

Dan liked his magazines to make money, of course. But he believed that the best way to ensure profitability was to produce outstanding editorial products. Advertisers, he believed, would support publications that readers genuinely valued.

Obvious as that may seem, achieving financial success through editorial excellence is not the prevailing philosophy among publishers — at least, not among the ones I’ve worked for.

When Dan and I discovered that we shared a favorite author — and that this author worked for Sarasota Magazine — I knew that we had to team up. Eventually we did, when I cajoled Dan into starting a Central Florida division of Gulfshore Media, the parent company of his publishing properties.

In recent years, Dan sold Sarasota Magazine and Gulfshore Life to national publishers. (Actually, he sold them once, bought them back, and sold them again — but that’s a different story.)

He held on to the Central Florida division. But the success of Winter Park Magazine was attracting attention, and potential buyers — none of them local — were making inquiries.

I told Dan that I wasn’t interested in working for out-of-town strangers at this stage in my life. He agreed that Winter Park Magazine’s city-specific editorial vibe lent itself to local ownership — and graciously gave me time to put an offer together.

Good friends, whose judgment and integrity I respect, helped to make it happen. You can read their names in the masthead. You’ll notice that they represent a variety of backgrounds, professions and persuasions. But they all love Winter Park.

Together, we wrote a unique magazine acquisition story. Thanks to our community partners for stepping up. Thanks to our readers and advertisers for embracing what we do. And thanks, Dan, for being the best boss I ever had.

We’re going to try and make all of you proud.

— Edwin Osgood Grover Read more about Grover, the monumentally important Rollins College professor of books, on page 70.

8 WIN T E R P A R K M A G A ZI N E | FALL 2017

Randy Noles CEO/Editor/Publisher randyn@winterparkpublishing.com

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KATHY BYRD | Associate Publisher/Account Executive LORNA OSBORN | Associate Publisher/Account Executive

PAULA CHASE | Account Executive CAROLYN EDMUNDS | Art Director

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MIGUEL DE LA ROSA, KAREN LESLIE, LAURENCE TAYLOR, RAFAEL TONGOL, WINTER PARK PICTURES | Photographers DANA SUMMERS, CHIP WESTON, JIM ZAHNISER | Illustrators RONA GINDIN | Dining Editor MARIANNE ILUNGA | Fashion Editor MARIANNE POPKINS, NED POPKINS, HARRY WESSEL | Contributing Editors JAY BOYAR, BARBARA LISTON, MICHAEL MCLEOD, LESLIE K. POOLE, JOHN V. SINCLAIR | Contributing Writers

WINTER PARK PUBLISHING COMPANY LLC RANDY NOLES | Chief Executive Officer ALLAN E. KEEN | Chairman, Board of Managers JIM DESIMONE | Vice Chairman, Board of Managers THERESA SWANSON | Vice Chairman, Board of Managers RICK WALSH | Member, Board of Managers MICHAEL OKATY, ESQ. | General Counsel, Foley & Lardner LLP

COMMUNITY PARTNERS Larry and Joanne Adams; The Albertson Company, Ltd.; Richard O. Baldwin Jr.; Jim and Diana Barnes; Brad Blum; Ken and Ruth Bradley; John and Dede Caron; Bruce Douglas; Steve Goldman; Hal George; Michael Gonick; Micky Grindstaff; Marc Hagle; Larry and Jane Hames; Eric and Diane Holm; Garry and Isis Jones; Allan E. and Linda S. Keen; Knob Hill Group (Rick and Trish Walsh, Jim and Beth DeSimone, Chris Schmidt); FAN Fund; Kevin and Jacqueline Maddron; Drew and Paula Madsen; Kenneth J. Meister; Jack Myers; Ann Hicks Murrah; Jack Myers; Michael P. O’Donnell; Nicole and Mike Okaty; Bill and Jody Orosz; Martin and Ellen Prague; Serge and Kerri Rivera; Theresa Swanson; Sam and Heather Stark; Randall B. Robertson; George Sprinkel; Philip Tiedtke; Roger K. Thompson; Ed Timberlake; Harold and Libby Ward; Warren “Chip” Weston; Tom and Penny Yochum; and Victor and Jackie A. Zollo.

Copyright 2017 by Winter Park Publishing Company LLC. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holder.

Winter Park Magazine is published four times yearly by Winter Park Publishing Company LLC, 2700 Westhall Lane, Suite 220, Maitland, FL 32751.

FOR GENERAL INFORMATION, CALL: 407-647-0225 For advertising information, call: Kathy Byrd, 407-399-7111; Lorna Osborn, 407-310-1002; Theresa Swanson, 407-448-8414; or Paula Chase, 407-484-1180

Like us on Facebook or visit us online at winterparkmag.com

407.770.2002 | www.OrlandoAI.com FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W IN T ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

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9

11/14/13 2:56 PM

COVER ARTIST

COOL COLLAGES WITH PAPER AND PAINT, ELIZABETH ST. HILAIRE MAKES MAGIC.

A Signature Member of the National Collage Society, St. Hilaire has won numerous awards, and is an acknowledged master of the medium. Her resplendent pink flamingo, shown on this month’s cover, is an ideal image for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

T

he official state bird may be the mockingbird, and the official city bird may be the peacock. But the long-necked flamingo is the bird that most people associate with Florida.

In peacock-centric Winter Park — and across the U.S. — pink flamingos have taken on a special significance as symbol of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Artist Elizabeth St. Hilaire’s vivid cover image of a wading pink flamingo is created from meticulously torn bits of hand-painted paper, delicately assembled to form a collage.

A Signature Member of the National Collage Society, St. Hilaire has won numerous awards, and is an acknowledged master of the medium. Last year she released a book, Painted Paper Art Workshop, describing her process.

10 W I N T E R P A R K M A G A ZI N E | FALL 2017

Published by North Light Books, it’s available in bookstores and online.

But if you order the book through St. Hilaire’s website, you’ll get one that’s “hand printed.” That is, St. Hilaire will paint her hand and imprint it on the inside front page along with her signature.

Born and raised in New England, St. Hilaire has lived in Central Florida for more than 20 years. She holds a BFA in advertising design from Syracuse University, and travels the country giving workshops on collage art.

To see her portfolio and read her blog, visit paperpaintings.com. St. Hilaire is also an Elite Blogger for Growing Bolder, the multimedia company that celebrates aging with passion and purpose. That blog is at paperpaintings.growingbolder.com.

— Randy Noles

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FILM

All aboard! The sleek and streamlined Orange Blossom Special was among the now-iconic passenger trains that sped snowbirds to the Sunshine State in grand style.

POSTCARD COURTESY OF PETER HANSEN

TICKET J TO RIDE On the right track: In Selling Sunshine, a Winter Park railroad historian explores how passenger trains conquered Florida with steam and steel.

BY RANDY NOLES

12 W I N T E R P A R K M A G A ZI N E | FALL 2017

Come along and ride this train, Come along and ride this train, Cross the mountains, prairies, reservations, Rivers, levees, plains.

Come along and ride this train.

— Johnny Cash

ohnny Cash was renowned for his train songs. In “Come Along and Ride this Train,” he rhapsodized about seeing the country via rail, which is how most long-distance travelers saw it in the 19th century.

But if the Man in Black had been thinking of Florida, he might have substituted “swampland, sandbars, cypress hammocks” for “rivers, levees, plains.” Railroads, after all, transformed Florida from an inhospitable and sparsely populated frontier outpost into a magnet for tourists and settlers.

The promise of Florida as a carefree subtropical paradise where fortunes could be amassed overnight proved hollow to many. Others — particularly railroad titans Henry M. Flagler (1830-1913) and Henry B. Plant (1819-1899) — expanded their already formidable fortunes.

Winter Park resident Peter Hansen traces the colorful history of passenger service to the Sunshine State in an hour-long documentary he scripted called Selling Sunshine: The Florida Trains.

The film — produced by Kalmbach Publishing, owner of Trains magazine — will debut on Friday, October 13, at Mead Botanical Garden, which served as a backdrop for several

FILM

It’ll look like narrator Michael Gross was strolling along Park Avenue and through Mead Botanical Garden when Selling Sunshine was filmed. So, why didn’t he stop by the office and say hello? Actually, the star of the classic TV sitcom Family Ties was in front of a green screen for his segments, which also showcase Flagler College in St. Augustine, the Henry B. Plant Museum in Tampa and the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center in Jacksonville. However, several live interviews were taped at the garden, where the hour-long documentary will premier on October 13 before airing nationwide on PBS.

interviews. Free tickets are available for the 6:30 p.m. showing through the film’s Facebook page.

After locals get a sneak peak, Selling Sunshine will air on WJCT-TV in Jacksonville, the city’s PBS affiliate. Expect it to roll out in most other markets later this fall or early next winter.

Peter Hansen and his wife, Bonnie, who was a production assistant on Selling Sunshine, live in a meticulously restored Mediterranean-style charmer tucked in an enclave of mostly older homes off a busy stretch of Fairbanks Avenue, near Lake Killarney.

He’s the editor of Railroad History, a handsome scholarly journal, and a consultant to museums with railroad-related exhibitions. She’s an avid horticulturalist and fashion historian who has consulted with major motion pictures about period clothing.

The Hansens met while attending Eastern University in Philadelphia — his degree is in history, hers is in Spanish. Figuring that their professions allowed them to live anywhere, they moved to Winter Park from Sacramento last year.

In Sacramento, Peter Hansen directed an expansion of the California State Railroad Museum, while Bonnie Hansen coordinated restoration of the once-neglected grounds of the circa-

14 WI N T E R P A R K M A G A ZI N E | FALL 2017

1870s Governor’s Mansion.

“We fell in love with Winter Park,” says Bonnie Hansen, 56, who is sharing her passion for lush landscapes as a volunteer at Mead Botanical Garden. “It’s walkable, has a real downtown and great cultural amenities, especially for a city its size.”

Selling Sunshine is hosted by actor Michael Gross — you’ll remember him as Steven Keaton on the 1980s NBC sitcom Family Ties —who ambles amiably through modern and historic settings while describing the ways in which railroads turned the nation’s isolated southernmost frontier into an accessible vacation playground.

“Modern Florida is unimaginable without the railroads,” says Peter Hansen, 60, who also writes and lectures about the social importance of transportation systems. “There wasn’t a reason for anyone to come here. It wasn’t on its way to anywhere. The railroads changed all that.”

Selling Sunshine begins with vintage newsreel footage of an early 20th-century New York snowstorm. That chilling visual certainly illustrates why Florida was such an enticing destination during the winter months.

Getting there, however, was the challenge — until a pair of self-made tycoons decided to conquer this vast untamed expanse using steam and steel.

Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway, as its name indicates, concentrated primarily on the state’s east coast, laying track between Jacksonville and Miami and building magnificent resort hotels — such as The Breakers in Palm Beach — to which wealthy Northerners fled when the mercury dropped back home.

The Plant Line (later the Atlantic Coast Line), which had its hub in Sanford, did the same throughout the central part of the state and along the west coast. In fact, Winter Park’s Seminole Hotel — which burned to the ground in 1902 — was developed by Plant.

Plant’s most enduring brick-and-mortar legacy is the former Tampa Bay Hotel, a Moorish revival masterpiece that now anchors the campus of the University of Tampa and houses the Henry B. Plant Museum.

By 1930, Florida boasted 6,000 miles of track.

While there were many railroads, eventually the Atlantic Coast Line, the Florida East Coast Railway and the Seaboard Air Line became the state’s big three. Now-iconic trains such as the Florida Special and the Orange Blossom Special earned places in railroading lore.

In addition to exploring the contributions of Flagler and Plant, Selling Sunshine reviews

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As lecturers and consultants, Peter and Bonnie Hansen could live anywhere they wished. They chose Winter Park, where their historic home boasts a beautiful backyard floral garden.

16 W I N T E R P A R K M A G A ZI N E | FALL 2017

Also featured in Selling Sunshine are interviews with academicians, curators and railroad historians. You’ll get a chuckle from the anecdotes of former “hostesses,” who enlivened the Florida Special with onboard fashion shows staged to promote Miami’s department stores.

The glamour and romance of railroad travel — which Selling Sunshine so effectively celebrates — may never return. But Hansen believes the future of railroading is bright. Flying, he notes, is more hassle-filled than ever. And roads are choked by the sheer volume of vehicles.

That’s why commuter trains and interstate trains connecting major cities will become increasingly important, Hansen says. “There are almost 500 communities in this country with no other form of public transportation,” he adds.

“So railroads still matter.”

Atlantic Coast Line advertisements from the early 20th century enticed Northeasterners with images of well-heeled passengers and tropical vistas.

advances in railroad technology, among them the advent of diesel streamliners such as the Orange Blossom Special. The film also rather wistfully recalls the luxury of traveling in Pullman cars, with their posh appointments and lavish service.

Selling Sunshine, much like the trains it highlights, barrels along at a lively clip, with more than 20 interviews and a trove of archival photographs and footage.

The genial Gross taped his engaging narration in front of a green screen at a Colorado studio. That’s how he appears to pop up in an array of picturesque locations, including Mead Botanical Garden and Central Park in downtown Winter Park.

Also used as settings for Gross’ segments are Flagler College in St. Augustine — the centerpiece of which was once Flagler’s Ponce de Leon Hotel — as well as the Henry B. Plant Museum and the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center in Jacksonville.

The convention center is apt since it incorporates what had been Jacksonville’s Union Station, built in 1919. The complex was, for a time, the largest railroad station in the South, handling as many as 142 trains and 20,000 passengers a day in the 1920s.

By then, train travel to Florida had become democratized. No longer a haven only for the wealthy, the state was attracting hordes of middleclass tourists. The ensuing land boom soon fizzled — but even a disastrous economic downturn didn’t tarnish Florida’s sheen for very long.

Selling Sunshine isn’t focused entirely on railroading’s glory days, however. Also analyzed is the industry’s precipitous decline, its complicity with Jim Crow laws, its ongoing battles with unions and regulators, and its near-collapse in the late 1960s. Passenger service was salvaged when the federal government formed Amtrak in 1971.

The film offers a hopeful glimpse of the future with a nod to commuter-rail services such as SunRail, which links Orlando and Deland, and Tri-Rail, which links Miami and Palm Beach.

Several locals have notched screen time in Selling Sunshine. Among them is Paul Butler, who taught mineral science at Imperial College and the University of Oxford before retiring to Winter Park in 2009.

Butler, in a segment entitled “Jurassic Florida,” talks about the effort required to get to the state — and to traverse its length — prior to the railroads. Intrepid visitors from the Northeast sailed to Jacksonville and boarded sternwheelers, which for weeks trudged south along the St. Johns River.

“Florida was a very wild place,” says Butler, who notes that passengers often passed the time by randomly shooting wildlife. “They’d shoot anything that moved. It was a slaughter of the innocents, as they say.”

Butler, who recently wrote a book about Theodore Luqueer Mead, the namesake of Mead Botanical Garden, later discusses the state’s nascent citrus industry, and the importance of trains in getting the fruit to far-flung markets before it spoiled.

SEE IT FOR YOURSELF Selling Sunshine: The Florida Trains is the second film that Trains magazine has produced with Colorado-based Richard W. Luckin and Luckin Productions. You can get free tickets to the world premiere at Mead Botanical Garden by visiting the film’s Facebook page. Just type the film’s title in your Facebook search bar. If you miss the event, watch for Selling Sunshine on PBS, or purchase a copy of the DVD for $29.99 from kalmbachhobbystore.com.

FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W IN T ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

17

TRAIN INSPIRED A FIDDLER’S CURSE From the Editor: Viewers of Selling Sunshine will briefly see me in the film, discussing the classic train song “Orange Blossom Special.” Host Michael Gross picks up the story, telling an anecdote about the song’s author, an ill-fated fiddler named Ervin T. Rouse. I was asked to appear in the film because I have the dubious distinction of being an expert on this song, and on the competing claims of its authorship. I told the twisted tale in a book, Fiddler’s Curse: The Untold Story of Ervin T. Rouse, Chubby Wise, Johnny Cash and the Orange Blossom Special (Centerstream Publishing, 2007). Below is a review of the book that ran in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

— Randy Noles

BY TIMOTHY LONG South Florida Sun Sentinel

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Fiddler’s Curse, Randy Noles’ fine update of his earlier book, is popular history at its best.

Extensively researched, wonderfully written, it’s a rollicking romp of a story that even comes complete with its own soundtrack, the classic bluegrass tune “Orange Blossom Special,” and two larger-than-life central characters whose hell-raising ways open a window onto the littleknown story of South Florida’s important role in the history of country and bluegrass music.

Ervin T. Rouse, a rural North Carolina-born child prodigy on the fiddle, performed on vaudeville stages in the 1920s as far away as Boston and New York City when he was only 8.

Despite his extraordinary talent and his reputation as the writer of “Orange Blossom Special,” Rouse never rose very far above his roots as a busker, playing for tips, often on street corners or in Miami beer joints.

Robert “Chubby” Wise was born in 1915 in St. Augustine. Given up by his parents as an infant, Wise was shunted around between family friends and relatives in north central Florida and Miami. He taught himself the fiddle in his teens and went on to become one of the best-known fiddlers in country music history. He traveled the globe with popular bands fronted by the likes of Bill Monroe and Hank Snow, often introduced as the writer of “Orange Blossom Special.”

Fiddler’s Curse is the story of these two men and the legendary song that unites them. Written in the late 1930s, “Orange Blossom Special” became a staple of both the country and bluegrass music songbooks and has been recorded by an amazingly wide array of artists, including Johnny Cash, the Charlie Daniels Band and Alison Krauss.

Noles quotes Charlie Daniels as saying the song is “as much a part of Americana as anything Aaron Copeland ever wrote.”

At the heart of Noles’ story is the question that has plagued musicians and fans for decades: Who actually wrote “Orange Blossom Special?” Both Rouse and Wise had their stories highlighting their own role in its authorship. But, of the two fiddlers, Wise had the bigger career, so his story got more widely told.

Noles does a great job of switching back and forth between tracks to tell the intertwined stories of Rouse and Wise, as he sorts through the various tales, trying to resolve the question.

Ultimately, like most good country songs, the ballad of Rouse and Wise is tinged with real sadness; it’s called Fiddler’s Curse, after all. The book was originally published in 2002 as Orange Blossom Boys, but so much new material surfaced after that book came out that Noles decided to take another crack at the story. We’re lucky he did.

Fiddler’s Curse: The Untold Story of Ervin T. Rouse, Chubby Wise, Johnny Cash and the Orange Blossom Special (Centerstream Publishing, 2007) is available through Amazon and other online booksellers as well as bookstores.

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PROFILE

Although he doesn’t have a background in cinema, David Schillhammer knows the arts. And, perhaps more important, he knows the business of the arts, making him an ideal fit for expansion-minded Enzian.

SCHILLHAMMER: THE SEQUEL Once dispirited, the veteran arts administrator has been rejuvenated by his new gig at Enzian. And for fans of film, that means plenty of popcorn.

BY JAY BOYAR PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAFAEL TONGOL

20 W I N T E R P A R K M A GAZI N E | FALL 2017

F

ood booths surround a small, grassy clearing at Enzian in Maitland. One booth dispenses doughnuts, another fancy marshmallows. Others offer fruits, vegetables, preserves, salads and marinades.

One booth, more down-home than the rest, peddles boiled “p-nuts.” Yet another serves coffee, the bittersweet fragrance of which wafts waywardly through the open-air market.

It’s a sunny Sunday, a spring afternoon, warm and getting warmer by the minute. Casually dressed filmgoers circulate, sampling treats and waiting to catch a flick at the 26th annual Florida Film Festival, held in April.

Mingling with the laid-back patrons is an incongruously dapper man wearing sharp gray slacks and an orchid-toned dress shirt, buttoned up to the top. The ensemble is set off by close-cropped, silver-blond hair and pulled together by a cross-hatched purple necktie. If the day weren’t so toasty, there’d probably be a suitcoat, too.

Unlike others attending the festival, David Schillhammer isn’t at leisure. He’s working — keeping a watchful eye on the event he now manages. You can tell that he’s a tad uneasy about never having done that before.

Since January, Schillhammer, 52, has been executive director of Enzian, the cherished cinema café complex (including Eden Bar) that mostly shows independent American, foreign and classic films. Considering the nonprofit theater’s moviecentric mission, it’s a little surprising to learn that the man who now runs it lacks a strong background in cinema.

But Schillhammer knows the arts. And, perhaps more important, he knows the business of the arts. In fact, before starting his current job, he had spent 16 years as executive director of the Orlando Philharmonic — an organization

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PROFILE

Sigrid Tiedtke (left), Enzian’s chairman and her daughter, had often wished that Enzian could find “its own David Schillhammer.” She didn’t expect they’d be able to hire the original. Tiedtke and Schillhammer are shown fundraising with Holly Barker, a grant writer.

noteworthy for both its creative programming and its savvy management.

All of which makes Schillhammer a seemingly ideal fit for Enzian, which is in the midst of an aggressive capital campaign to raise $6.5 million, which will fund expansion of the cozy complex from one screen to three. As of mid-August, the campaign had garnered around $4.9 million.

“Certainly, there’s a learning curve,” he admits.

“But a lot of the work is the same. You’re selling tickets. You’re raising money. You’re marketing.

You’re working with volunteers. You’re working with artistic leaders. You’re working with a board of directors. You’re out in the community.”

Sometimes, you’re surrounded by food booths.

If Schillhammer’s entry into the arts was through music, his entry into music was through the bassoon. “I played flute for a few years, then switched to the bassoon,” he recalls, thinking back to his childhood in his native Burlington, Vermont. “I found that was my calling.”

The bassoon is a long, double-reed instrument whose deep, resonant tones Prokofiev selected to evoke the grandfather in Peter and the Wolf. Sometimes, Schillhammer explains, a musician melds with his or her instrument in a profound way.

Playing the flute, he discovered, meant that he was in the spotlight more than he would have preferred. The bassoon, however, was a better fit for the man with the basset-hound eyes whose personality exudes both determination and vulnerability.

“I liked being in the background, the baseline

22 W I N T E R P A R K M A G A ZI N E | FALL 2017

and, ultimately, behind the scenes,” Schillhammer reflects. Indeed, as a student at the famed Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Schillhammer used his administrative skills at least as much as his musical ones.

“I was president of every student organization,” he says. “In my junior year, I was president of the student body, and I just had an epiphany.

I thought: This is great! Having meetings, planning budgets, meeting with the dean, sorting out safety issues, having a student council and running meetings!”

The less-than-glamorous role as a nitty-gritty organizer was a comfortable one for Schillhammer, who was hired as production manager at the Rochester Philharmonic while he was still a senior in college.

That was the beginning of a three-decade career in music management that took him to St. Paul and San Antonio — where he met his future husband, paralegal John Starks — before he landed at the Orlando Philharmonic.

When Schillhammer first joined the Phil, he faced some major challenges. In 1993, the respected but financially challenged Florida Symphony Orchestra had collapsed, leaving the local classical-music community adrift and ill-at-ease.

“Before David, the Phil basically was run by musicians,” explains Michael Elsberry, immediate past president of the organization and a friend of Schillhammer’s. “Its genesis was the former musicians of the old Florida Symphony.”

As Elsberry notes, those musicians had other jobs that kept them from focusing entirely on running the organization. Bringing aboard a seasoned manager such as Schillhammer made a powerful statement.

“David could devote his sole attention to establishing and stabilizing the orchestra,” says Elsberry.

“Until you have somebody who’s in charge all the time, the community doesn’t think you’re serious.”

Schillhammer had much to offer beyond his ability to balance the books. Adds Elsberry: “David’s strongest point was interpersonal skill, and the way he could personally relate to all the stakeholders involved. Patrons loved him. Donors loved him. Musicians loved him. His enthusiasm made everyone else want to do whatever they needed to do to help him.”

Starks, as one might expect, agrees: “You just look at David and you see his bright soul — and people do automatically flock to him.”

Tech consultant Tommy Schilling, who coaches the softball team on which Schillhammer plays, notes that his star second baseman has a knack for “bringing people together through something they truly enjoy.” Schillhammer’s nickname among his teammates is “Charlie Hustle.”

At the Phil, all that hustle paid off. “The orchestra had a $900,000 budget when I started, and now it’s a $3.5 million budget,” says Schillhammer. “We balanced our budget every single year, for every year of our existence, because we had to.

People were watching us.”

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PROFILE The all-out effort eventually took a toll. “David beat himself up with 60-, 70- and 80-hour weeks,” says Elsberry. “We all kept trying to slow him down. He just couldn’t. Finally, he decided he had to stop or, literally, he was going to have health issues.”

In February, Schillhammer stepped down. “I was kind of burnt out,” he admits. “I just felt I needed to step down and take a step back. I turned 50. I had my midlife crisis right on schedule.”

Schillhammer assumed that he would have to relocate when — and if — another orchestra job presented itself. Then, he had another epiphany: “I said to myself: ‘Is there a law that says I have to work for an orchestra every day of my adult professional life? Or are my skills transferable to another nonprofit?’”

That nonprofit, of course, turned out to be Enzian.

“I’ve known David, professionally, for many years,” says Sigrid Tiedtke, Enzian’s chairman.

“Without a doubt, he is one of the best — if not the best — arts administrators in our community.”

In fact, Tiedtke says with a chuckle, she and her daughter, Elizabeth Mukherjee, Enzian’s executive vice president, had often wished aloud that Enzian could find “its own David Schillhammer.”

“We didn’t think that David could ever work for us, but we thought we should find somebody like him,” adds Tiedtke, who had admired the Phil’s shrewdness in acquiring The Plaza Live as its permanent venue in 2013. “He’s fearless. You’ll never have to worry about what he’s thinking.

He’ll let you know.”

Schillhammer, obviously, was more concerned about his lack of a formal film background than Enzian was. “When I was interviewing, I said, ‘You know, I have a degree in music, not a degree

Enzian’s 220-seat theater, with comfortable chairs and table service, is a welcoming place to watch offbeat films. Plans are afoot to add two more screens to the Maitland complex.

in film,’” he recalls. “And they said, ‘You know what? We have enough people who think they can program here.’”

Adds Mukherjee: “We’re not lacking for film knowledge on staff. And you certainly don’t have to have a film education to love it, understand it and appreciate it.”

There were other candidates, but Enzian’s board was unanimous in choosing Schillhammer as its first executive director since 2008. He now manages the day-to-day operation, although his primary focus is on marketing and development — particularly that all-important capital campaign.

“When Enzian came along, there was just a sense of joy that came over me,” he says. “This was a beautiful place that does beautiful work that connects people to the world of film.”

Schillhammer may not have a degree in film,

PHOTO AND POSTER COURTESY OF ENZIAN

The 2017 Florida Film Festival, which just marked its 26th year, drew 22,275 attendees. Schillhammer credits Enzian’s seasoned staff with the event’s success.

26 W I N T E R P A R K M A G AZI N E | FALL 2017

but he’s a lifelong fan. His grandfather was acquainted with Maria von Trapp, who inspired the character played by Julie Andrews in the buoyant 1965 mega-musical, The Sound of Music.

“We became friends with the von Trapp family,” recalls Schillhammer. “I skied almost every weekend at the Trapp family lodge.” And at age 5, he went to a special screening of The Sound of Music.

“Every scene is fantastic!” he says. “That was the movie that got me started.”

Not all of Schillhammer’s film favs are quite so cheery. He’s also keen on The Shawshank Redemption, the 1994 prison drama based on a Stephen King story, as well as Fargo, the Coen Brothers’ dark and twisted 1996 classic, which he describes as “bizarrely clever and well acted.”

Despite his enthusiasm for Enzian and its mission — and despite his stellar arts administration track record — Schillhammer wondered how he’d do when it came to handling the Florida Film Festival.

“Everything else I was OK with,” he says. “But this was a pretty steep learning curve.” As the festival’s opening date drew nearer, he learned to trust Enzian’s experienced staff.

“We met every week, and I just kept learning and learning, and asking questions,” he recalls.

“I kept saying, ‘They’ve done this before! Don’t meddle, but help.’”

In retrospect, there was no need for concern.

In terms of attendance, for example, this year’s festival jumped more than 2,000 over 2016, to 22,275. “I’ve never had such a great thrill,” says Schillhammer. “I can’t wait till the next one.”

Friends believe the new position — and the success of the festival — re-energized Schillhammer. “The unknown does make him a little nervous,” says Starks. “But he worked hard, and it filled his tank back up with positive energy.”

FOREVER ENZIAN

With mega-multiplexes sprouting up everywhere, these seem to be fairly modest goals. That is, until you consider the dramatic effect the expansion would have on the theater’s programming.

To take one specific example, if a new film is a hit at Enzian, it may play there for many weeks. With just one screen, other new films can’t be booked. Three screens would offer a lot more flexibility — and a lot more films.

So, what’s the holdup? Parking is an issue that Enzian’s leadership has been hashing out with the City of Maitland. Now, the theater has a reciprocal lot-sharing arrangement with Park Maitland School, just across the street.

“Parking is a big thing,” says Elizabeth Mukherjee, Enzian’s executive vice president. “A lot of people worry about it. We’re trying to make sure everybody’s on the same page.”

Then there’s the cost of the project, which Enzian’s management estimates at $6.5 million. As of mid-August, around $4.9 million — roughly 75 percent — had

The goal of the Forever Enzian campaign is to raise enough money to add two more theaters and a second lobby, making Enzian a three-screen complex. The existing theater has about 220 seats. The additional theaters would have 80 and 50 seats, respectively.

been raised through the capital campaign. But over time, the cost of the project will increase — so it’s important to get it underway as soon as possible.

Mukherjee hopes that groundbreaking could happen as early as next year, with the expansion being completed by the following year. But that mostly depends upon funding.

“There’s been good support for it, but we need to get it across the finish line,” Schillhammer says. “You can’t ever stay the same. You either move forward or you move backward.”

For more information about how you can help with the capital campaign, visit enzian.org and click on “donate.”

— Jay Boyar FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W IN T ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

27

RENDERINGS COURTESY OF ENZIAN

Success has its own special challenges. Take the case of Enzian, for example. Since the Maitland moviehouse was founded in 1985, it has steadily grown in terms of the films and programs it offers the public.

But as each new element has been added to the mix, the facility has come closer to maxing out. Now, it needs to expand.

“We simply are at capacity, and we want to be able to do more things,” says David Schillhammer, Enzian’s executive director. “We have a thousand ideas of what we can do — we just don’t have the space to do it.”

That’s why, for the past few years, the focus has been on a capital campaign called Enzian Forever.

If the effort is successful, it could be almost as important to local film lovers as the nonprofit cultural organization’s establishment 30 years ago.

In simplest terms, the plan is to add two theaters, making Enzian a three-screen complex. The existing theater has about 220 seats. The additional theaters would have 80 and 50 seats, respectively. There would also be a second lobby.

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John V. Sinclair’s new book, Falling Off the Podium and Other Lessons, is brimming with anecdotes, recollections, commentaries and life lessons.

30 W I N T E R P A R K M A G AZI N E | FALL 2017

From the Editor: If the great James Brown hadn’t already claimed the title, then John V. Sinclair — a cultural icon in Central Florida — ought to be regarded as the hardest-working man in show business. The 62-year-old Sinclair has been chair of the department of music at Rollins College since 1985, and recently celebrated his 25th anniversary as artistic director of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park.

He also serves as music director of First Congregational Church of Winter Park; director of the local Messiah Choral Society; and conductor of the annual International Moravian Music Festival. And that’s not all. The inexhaustible Sinclair is one of the conductors of the star-studded Candlelight Processionals, held every holiday season at Epcot. All of this is in addition to his responsibilities as an educator and a clinician.

The bearded maestro, a graduate of William Jewell College and the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance, conducts at least 150 performances a year, most of them local but others around the country and the world. Yet, despite Sinclair’s highbrow pedigree, he remains at heart an unpretentious Midwesterner, proud of his modest upbringing and brimming with anecdotes — some wry, some poignant, but always insightful.

Many of those well-told tales have been compiled in a book, Falling Off the Podium and Other Lessons, which will be released later this year by DeLand-based Phenomenal Publishing. “Our select authors have a strong commitment to sharing their unique journeys of wisdom with the world,” says Paul Peterson, the company’s president. “John’s delightful stories and life lessons are welcome, uplifting and enjoyable. They strike a harmonic chord to enlighten readers of all ages and interests.”

Following is a selection from among the 70 or so “lessons” that will appear in the book. In total, they reveal much about the character of the man who was described by the Orlando Sentinel as “Central Florida’s conductor.”

— Randy Noles

ON SCORES, SCOTTIES ANGEL FOOD CAKE AND

What I’ve Learned About Art, Life, Dogs, Mr. Rogers and the Power of Music.

BY JOHN V. SINCLAIR FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W IN T ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

31

COMMON SENSE 101

ILLUSTRATION BY DANA SUMMERS

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."

— W.C. Fields

My grandfather was a bit of a Will Rogers type who always had something folksy yet profound to say — although usually minus the humor.

When I earned my undergraduate degree from William Jewell College, he gave me two presents. One was a silver dollar (minted the year he was born, 1902). The other was a little card that read, “No college ever gave a degree in common sense!”

It was a simple version of Victor Hugo’s, “Common sense is in spite of, not the result of, education.”

During a visit to my grandfather’s store after a long week of teaching, he asked if I had made anybody mad. I replied that I didn’t think so. “Are you sure you showed up at work?” he asked. “You can’t teach without challenging someone.”

As a child, to earn my candy allowance, my chores at the store were seasonal. In the winter months, I carried coal for the potbelly stove. In the summer, I was required to grow a vegetable garden because my grandfather believed that “everyone should know how to grow their own food.”

Often, I’d clean the century-old wooden plank floors by sprinkling sawdust on them and then sweeping it up. If I ever sought praise for my competence, my grandfather’s answer was always the same: “Don’t expect a compliment for just doing your job.”

Perhaps the paramount lesson I learned from my grandfather was of the

32 W I N T E R P A R K M A G A ZI N E | FALL 2017

value of a strong work ethic. I was surrounded by a whole family who never missed work and never stayed home — even when they probably should have.

I’m not sure if that’s a strength or a weakness, but I’m a subscriber to Shakespeare’s contention that “there is plenty of time to sleep in the grave.”

Over the past 20 years, I’ve conducted more than 800 Candlelight Processionals, 300 Bach Festival programs and hundreds of other concerts.

And while my grandfather would be indifferent to my being a conductor, he would respect me for having never canceled, called in sick or made an excuse.

I feel a bit like Ella Fitzgerald when she noted, “Even iron wears out. I think if I ever just had to sit down, I’d say to myself, ‘What am I going to do now?’”

Woody Allen once noted that “about 90 percent of success is showing up.” It’s trite, but does make an important point. The most difficult part of accomplishing any task is getting started — and showing up is the first step.

Now, don’t think I can’t procrastinate, because in 1973 I purchased a book entitled Do It Now: How to Stop Procrastinating. As you might have guessed, I haven’t read it yet.

"I was obliged to work hard. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed just as well."

— J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”

— Will Rogers (1879-1935)

It’s amazing to me why anyone would have an ugly dog when they could have a Scottie. Bias acknowledged. When I find something I like, I tend to stick with it. That’s precisely why I’ve owned six Scottish terriers — and all five of my male Scotties have been named Mac. I’ve shared my life with other breeds, including a great little Westie named Sam and, as a child, a bulldog named Suzie and a cocker spaniel named Whimpy.

But my current Scotties, Abby and Mac, are the “cat’s meow.” Pun intended.

Scottish terriers are not the most cooperative of dogs. The breed is selfassured, smart and independent — just the way I like my dogs, and my students, for that matter.

My Scotties have all had similar characteristics, yet each a very distinct personality. They’ve been “Mac Gruff,” “Mac Sweet,” “Mac Weird,” Mac Genius” and now “Mac Joyful.” An old Scottish proverb perfectly describes my philosophy of dog selection: “Be slow in choosing a friend, but slower in changing him.”

I associate my late-night musical score study with my Macs because all of them have sat near me as I’ve practiced and studied. And never once have they barked in disapproval, or offered judgment of me or the music.

All I know is that in my next life, if I’m reunited with my Scotties, it’ll be certain that I’ve made it to Heaven.

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.”

— Mark Twain (1835-1910)

ILLUSTRATION BY DANA SUMMERS

MAC

FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W IN T ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

33

MUSICAL PROTEIN “If music be the food of love, play on.”

— William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Gioachino Rossini

Edvard Grieg

We all have our favorite junk food — and sadly, I’m an overachiever in this area. I’m convinced that when I meet St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, he’ll have orange fingers and orange crumbs on his robe from the unlimited supply of Cheetos and Butterfingers in Heaven.

Just like us, many great composers were “foodies.” Beethoven loved trout and eggs (often raw), and was fastidious with his coffee, insisting on 60 grains per cup.

Brahms was also particular in brewing his own extremely strong coffee, with lots of cream. His favorite dining establishment was called the Hedgehog Inn. Liszt often ate bacon and eggs, and partook of libations when composing.

Rossini and Grieg were gourmands. Rossini was as prolific as a chef as he was as a composer. Grieg was known to love oysters, and would linger at delicatessens.

Handel was a big man and a heavy eater. And Mendelssohn, who also had a hearty appetite, celebrated food culture while traveling. He wrote about food in letters, and had an affinity for German sausages and English butter pudding.

Like any good German, Bach loved his wine, beer and coffee. There’s a coffee ring on an opening page of his Mass in B Minor. And his Coffee Cantata tells of the disputes in mid-18th century Leipzig surrounding the drinking of coffee. It’s great fun to humanize these composers by discussing their diets.

Does the food we eat correlate to our musical listening habits? I think it was one of my professors, Dr. Eph Ehly, whom I first heard use this analogy.

Here’s my take on the comparisons.

Many people go through life sustaining themselves on “twinkies” of music. Much of the music we listen to has no nutritional value. It’s void of intellectual or spiritual purpose. It goes down easily, is entertaining and fills a void — but it’s wasted carbs.

Functional, durable music is equivalent to good carbs. This class of music is equivalent to vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Solidly written music is important for good health.

When you need protein to sustain you, however, then you turn to the masters. Brilliant compositions by master composers feed your body, mind and soul. Timeless masterpieces are works that will speak to you, and encourage you to grow each time you hear them. The nutrition is life changing.

Enjoy desserts and good carbs, but don’t deprive yourself of cerebral and spiritual musical protein. How is your musical diet?

“Cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny.”

— Anon

34 W I N T E R P A R K M A G AZI N E | FALL 2017

Johann Sebastian Bach

Franz Liszt

Johannes Brahms

George Frideric Handel

Felix Mendelssohn

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FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W INT ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

35

EBONY AND IVORY

“There are two ways of spreading light — to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

— Edith Wharton (1862-1913)

During four years teaching at East Texas Baptist University, I saw much of the country through a tour bus window. Like choirs at many denominational schools, ours served an ambassadorial role and often went on the road to perform.

On a Houston-area jaunt, we scheduled a concert at a high school just north of the city. We followed our normal pre-concert routine, and the presentation was typical in every way — until I announced an encore.

I introduced the tune by reciting the lyrics of the song and commenting that they were “words to live by.” Some of my students looked tense as we sang Paul McCartney’s “Ebony and Ivory.” I hadn’t seen those looks before.

As soon as we completed the song and the concert, several of my students approached me and suggested that we not linger. A few of the men in the choir even walked with me, and encouraged me to go straight to the bus.

As we pulled away from the school, I asked why we needed to be in such a hurry. Little did I know that we had just performed “Ebony and Ivory” in a town known for its large KKK faction.

This same town made national news as late as 1998 for the brutal murder of an African-American man by three white supremacists.

During my second year at Rollins College, I went to a suburb of Orlando to work with a high school choir. As I drove by the town hall, three men were walking around in circles, holding signs. They were KKK members, complete with white robes.

I pulled over, got out of my car and watched in disbelief. The image was

36 W I N T E R P A R K M A GAZI N E | FALL 2017

surreal. How could this public display of contemptible ignorance and hate exist?

My patriotism understands and defends every American’s right to assemble. But my idealism can’t rationalize allowing openly racist and discriminatory behavior.

This should be beyond the pale of public decency — and it’s a crime, not an entitlement. Certainly, it’s not what was envisioned by our Founding Fathers. The fact that Socrates said, “There is only one good — knowledge; and one evil — ignorance,” informs us that this is not a new topic.

Woefully, the lyrics to “Ebony and Ivory” are as relevant today as when they were when they were written, more than 30 years ago. Albert Einstein lamented that, “What a sad era when it is easier to smash an atom than a prejudice.”

Would it not be the most notable of accomplishments if, during our era, we confronted and defeated all types of bigotry? If we’re truly ever to become a United States of America, it’s incumbent upon every citizen to condemn intolerance.

Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord, why don’t we?

We all know that people are the same where ever you go There is good and bad in ev’ryone We learn to live, we learn to give Each other what we need to survive together alive.

— Paul McCartney (b. 1942)

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ANGELS AND ANGEL FOOD CAKE

“Music has been called the speech of angels; I will go further, and call it the speech of God himself.”

— Charles Kingsley (1819-1875)

ILLUSTRATION BY DANA SUMMERS

My grandmother, Agnes Stewart Jackson, had a profound influence on me.

She was the daughter of a coal miner, and both of her parents were poor Scottish immigrants She was an eternally kind person and a faithful believer, as confirmed by a letter I have congratulating her on 60 years of perfect attendance at her home Methodist church.

My grandmother had a joyful heart, always singing — although not especially well — and she lived to help others. The people in the small Missouri town in which she lived lovingly nicknamed her “Aunt Aggie.”

When she learned that I was going to make my living as a musician, she shook her finger at me and said, “God gave you that talent. So you’d better be somewhere on Sunday morning using that gift.”

Since I conduct a great deal of sacred music, and have served First Congregational Church of Winter Park for 30 years, I hope to have gotten a “pass” in her eyes.

The day my grandmother passed from this world, we received a small angel food cake in the mail. She had baked it a few days before to celebrate my daughter’s first birthday.

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That cake has been in our freezer for 28 years. I don’t have the heart to toss it.

I feel that my grandmother passed her servant heart to my daughter, Kaley, that day. I know she’s the one who taught me about sharing and being a gentleman. In my life, she epitomized unconditional love.

My grandmother was a wonderful person, although her life was lived without fanfare. It seems that many of us swing for the fences instead of being willing team players who realize that any good we do can make a big difference.

She had “being happy in your own skin” down to an art form. Her life reminds me of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s statement: “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

The 13th-century Persian Islamic scholar, Rumi, said, “There are many ways leading to God, and I have chosen the way of music…”

If the 14th chapter of Revelation is accurate and music is being played and sung in Heaven, and if — a big if — I’m fortunate enough to get there, I’m confident that my grandmother will greet me, and expect me to be ready to go to work.

“Music is a sublime art precisely because, unable to imitate reality, it rises above ordinary nature into an ideal world, and with celestial harmony moves the earthly passions.”

— Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)

FLASHING FOR JESUS

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

— Matthew 6:24

FRIED MACARONI

“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.”

—Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Most musicians have habits or rituals — I prefer to call them “traditions” — that we observe prior to a performance.

I don’t have the proverbial lucky cufflinks — though I do have a favorite pair — or a token in my pocket. But while I’m onstage, a couple of ibuprofen, a glucose tablet and a handkerchief are never far away.

My first concert during the annual Bach Festival will always be conducted while I’m wearing a new pair of socks. And prior to that performance, I’ll eat a very specific meal: fried macaroni and a grilled-cheese sandwich.

I’m often asked about the recipe for fried macaroni. It’s easy: boil it, drain it and, like any good unhealthy food, fry it in lots of butter. Over the years, however, dietary demands have changed my eating habits. The macaroni is now whole-wheat, and the bread is multigrain. But it still accomplishes the same thing.

The tradition goes back to when my wife, Gail, and I were dating. I would stop by her parents’ home after an evening of teaching trumpet lessons, and she would often cook this meal for me. So, it’s comfort food — and something we share.

This ritual helps to ground me, and to put my work in perspective. It reminds me that my work would simply not be possible without my wife, my willing muse.

Mark Twain said, “To get full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” And Hector Berlioz combined the power of music and love when he said, “Love can give no idea of music, but music can give an idea of love.”

In my case, they’re intimately entwined.

“There is no place for grief in a house which serves the Muse.”

— Sappho (c. 630-c. 570 B.C.)

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I believe I can keep numerous plates spinning at one time. But I’ve learned that trying to multitask can have unfortunate results, and that no one probably does it as well as they think.

When Taylor, my son, was a small child and just starting to walk, I was at home waiting on a repairman, watching my son and studying Mozart’s Requiem. My wife was gone, and I had just gotten out of the shower.

I heard the doorbell ring, so I threw on a robe, picked up Taylor out of his crib, grabbed my Mozart score and, along with Mac, my little Scottie, ran to the door.

Sadly, it wasn’t the repairman but two female Jehovah Witnesses. In order to open the door and receive their literature, I sat Taylor down and tucked my score under my elbow.

Just as I reached for the pamphlet, Taylor and Mac bolted for the door. As I lunged to keep them in the house, my music fell to the floor and my robe fell open. What do you say when you’ve just flashed two Jehovah Witnesses? All I could think of was, “Excuse me.”

The advice given in Proverbs 4:25, however, would have been prudent for these two women at my door: “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.”

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GIVE ’EM HELL

ILLUSTRATION BY DANA SUMMERS

“I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”

— Harry Truman (1884-1972)

Growing up in Independence, Missouri, you’re not only allowed to quote Harry Truman, it’s a requirement. For a history buff like me, having a former U.S. president living in town provided plenty of opportunities.

President Truman left the White House and truly became a private citizen.

Therefore, many residents of Independence have their own Truman sightings.

He and Bess lived a block away from the junior high school I attended. I have a fond memory of the president stopping to hear “Hail to the Chief ” during one of his morning walks by our band room.

Lieutenant Westwood of the Independence Police Department accompanied President Truman on his walks. This was before Secret Service agents protected past presidents.

You could sometimes even see the president’s silhouette through the window of his home as he sat in a chair, reading.

Often, dignitaries and other politicians came to visit Independence’s most famous resident. I saw, among others, Hubert Humphrey, President Johnson,

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Richard Nixon and Robert Kennedy make their way to President Truman’s house.

After author and historian David McCullough’s appearance at Rollins College through the Winter Park Institute, I drove him to his hotel and asked if he was hungry. He responded, “I’m hungry and I need something to drink.”

What was supposed to be a brief stop ended up being a long meal, during which Mr. McCullough shared his impressions of the time he spent in Independence while researching his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography on President Truman.

I told him that my mother wrote the president every year to ask for an autographed picture, which she would give to the highest-achieving student in her sixth-grade classroom. He would always respond, writing, “How nice it is to hear from you again, Mrs. Sinclair.”

My mother-in-law tells the story of a friend going grocery shopping with a young child. President Truman, who was waiting in his Chrysler for a staff member, volunteered to babysit while the family was in the store. He said he was pleased to do so because he missed his grandchildren.

President Truman was a wonderful gentleman. My final memory associated with him is of playing Taps at a local ceremony commemorating his life.

Harry Truman faithfully did his damnedest.

“He held to the old guidelines: work hard, do your best, speak the truth, assume no airs, trust in God, have no fear.”

— David McCullough (b. 1933), in Truman

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HEAVEN CAN WAIT

The connections we make in the course of a life — maybe that’s what heaven is.

— Fred Rogers

The fall of 1990 was a challenge, professionally and personally. It was my first semester as department of music chair at Rollins College and my first semester as artistic director and conductor of the Bach Festival Society.

My mother had retired the past spring after a long teaching career. It was mid-September, and she and my father had come for a short visit to see the grandchildren.

A few days after they arrived home, I got a call from my father, who told me that my mother had suffered a small stoke, and that she was having tests run to determine the cause.

Physicians discovered an aggressive, malignant brain tumor. The next few months were agonizing as we watched her diminish until her death in midNovember at age 61.

I saw my mother often during her last two months. During my final visit, a few days before her death, she wasn’t cognizant. But as I said my goodbyes, I kissed

her forehead and whispered in her ear, “I love you and I will see you in heaven.”

We live in a time where many mainstream Protestant churches are shrinking, and there seems to be an increase in secularism and nonbelievers.

I’ve listened to scientists, and have been told that my Christian faith is archaic. And it’s true that my answers to life’s mysteries are few, and I have tons of questions and even doubts.

I’ve studied the stages of faith by philosophers such as Fowler, Piaget and Kohlberg. They’re interesting and helpful, but none capture my belief. Isn’t that the very heart of faith — believing what can’t necessarily be proven?

I do know that I couldn’t be as effective or sincere in interpreting sacred music if I didn’t believe in what I was presenting. Many great musicians have been able to do so, but I couldn’t deal with being disingenuous.

For instance, how could one look at a creation like the St. Matthew Passion and be concerned only with the historic context — and not the powerful beliefs ­— of J.S. Bach?

What I’ve neglected to share with you thus far is what happened at the end of my mother’s life. It’s something that solidified my faith.

While I don’t sleep often, or long enough, when I do fall asleep I’m not easily wakened. But on the night my mother passed, I was startled and sat up suddenly in bed.

My wife asked what was wrong, and I replied that my mother had just spoken to me. She said, “I love you and you’ll be OK.” Not more than a moment later the phone rang, and my father reported to me that my mother was gone.

Draw your own conclusions. I have.

THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH

“The robe of flesh wears thin, and with the years God shines through all things.”

— John Buchan (1875-1940)

I’ve never quite trusted systems and technologies that reproduce or amplify sound. Early in my career, I learned that a performer is often no better than the equipment of the sound technician.

Suffice it to say, I prefer acoustical performances as a way to control sound and to make performances more present and less artificial.

In 1888, when Sir Arthur Sullivan first heard a phonograph of his music, he expressed his thoughts to the inventor, Thomas Edison. “For myself, I can only say that I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the result of this evening’s experiments,” said Sir Arthur. “Astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever.”

At First Congregational Church of Winter Park, we were trying out a new wireless audio system, and all the bugs hadn’t been worked out. It was the beginning of Advent season, and we had just sung the beautiful hymn, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.”

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Suddenly, the church’s sound system started to pick up signals in the area.

At first, all we could hear was static. Then, just before the anthem, a police radio message came across loud and clear.

We heard an arrest for alleged prostitution as the police officer blurted, clear as a bell, his concern about “sexually transmitted diseases.”

It’s true that fact is always stranger than fiction, because the anthem that day was based on John 1:14, which reads, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

“The human being is flesh and consciousness, body and soul; his heart is an abyss which can only be filled by that which is godly.”

— Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

WALKING THE WALK

“The child is in me still and sometimes not so still.”

— Fred Rogers (1928-2003), from The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember

The cufflinks aren’t special just because Fred Rogers had worn them. They’re special because he thought it was important to return them to me as his time was drawing near.

That sort of kindness and consideration of others was so Mr. Rogers.

“Most of us, I believe, admire strength. It’s something we tend to respect in others, desire for ourselves, and wish for our children. Sometimes, though, I wonder if we confuse strength and other words — like aggression and even violence. Real strength is neither male nor female; but is, quite simply, one of the finest characteristics that any human being can possess.”

— Fred Rogers (1928-2003), from The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember

READ MORE ABOUT IT

Falling Off the Podium and Other Lessons will be available through the publisher’s website, phenomenalpublishing.com, as well the usual online booksellers. You may also buy a copy at the Rollins College Bookstore, 200 West Fairbanks Avenue, or at programs sponsored by the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park.

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ILLUSTRATION BY JIM ZAHNISER

A few remembrances of Mister Rogers: On January 27, 2001 I found a package sitting in front of my office door. Inside was a note reading “Happy Birthday Mozart” in the distinctive handwriting of Fred Rogers.

In the package was a “dog-ugly” tie with faces of composers on it. We “regifted” that tie to one another many times, each of us claiming that it was simply too lovely to accept.

A year earlier, some Rollins College students and I took a trip to Italy, where we sang at the Vatican. In describing the trip to Fred, I told him that students were talking about all the Pope John Paul-related souvenirs offered by nearby vendors.

Some were rather tacky. In that spirit, the students came up with a few products they noticed were absent, such as No Nun Sense Pantyhose, Pope-sicles and Pope on a Rope soap. The next day, hanging on the doorknob to my office, was soap on a rope with a note from Fred, which read, “You will need to carve it yourself.”

Fred was a fine pianist and a wonderful musician. I invited him to a Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra rehearsal and handed him a score to follow along. I asked him to let me know what he heard. The next morning he returned the score — along with a detailed and precise list of items needing to be addressed. He was right on the money.

It must be a family trait. For many years, my colleague and friend Dr. Daniel Crozier — Fred and Joanne’s nephew — has, at my request, attended Bach Festival rehearsals and served as “my ears.” His musical insights and keen hearing, like those of his uncle, are remarkable.

Fred and Joanne, along with other friends and colleagues, were at our home for a holiday party. Shortly after they arrived, I noticed Fred wasn’t visiting with the other guests. “Joanne, where’s Fred?” I asked. She said, “Find your children and he’s probably there.”

Fred was, indeed, visiting with my children. I said, “Fred, you’re off duty.”

He responded, “I’ve always loved children more than adults.”

At the same gathering, I showed Fred my cufflink collection. He examined each pair carefully, but appeared to particularly admire one elegant pair with treble clefs on them.

Several years later, we were invited to attend a golden wedding anniversary party for Fred and Joanne in Pittsburgh. What do you give such a famous couple for a present?

I wanted the gifts to be personal, so I gave Joanne a blanket bearing the Rollins seal — they had met when both were students — and I gave Fred the pair of cufflinks that he seemed to have liked the best.

In 2003, I received a letter from Fred that he had mailed shortly before his passing. Inside was a pair of cufflinks with the image of an owl on them.

He had written, “To John, cufflink collector, from X the Owl.” (X the Owl was a mainstay on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.)

Shortly afterward, a second envelope from Fred arrived. Inside was the cufflinks I had given him and a note reading, “To John, my friend, thank you for sharing these with me.” You can only imagine how I cherish those cufflinks — and how special it is for me to wear them.

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HOW DOES OUR

Garden Grow?

W I N T E R PAR K ’ S N ATU R AL P L AC E I S MORE T H AN P R E TTY AN D P E AC E F U L .

I T ’ S A LSO A N I M P O RTAN T ECOSYS TE M .

BY LESLIE K. POOLE

PHOTO BY RAFAEL TONGOL

Catherine Bowman and her husband, Ron Blair, are with the Tarflower Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. In 2013, the society began helping to restore the sandhill pine uplands at Mead Botanical Garden by installing 160 varieties of native plants.

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The snowy egret and the gopher tortoise are among the creatures who share the garden with humans, many of whom enjoy the tranquility or attend events at The Grove, which is one of two amphitheaters on the property.

A

small white egret balances on a rock, eyeing glassy pond bordered by Pennsylvania Avenue to the east and South Denning Drive to water in search of silvery minnows. Two gopher tortoises the west. wrestle head-to-head in a slow-motion battle of wills. A But beyond its shady bricked entry, the garden offers calm amid chaos, and bicyclist takes a break, peering up into an enormous pine an opportunity to experience a different kind of park — one that combines tree from which comes a windborne tune. planted gardens with restored natural areas.

These are the creatures of Winter Park’s Mead Bo“Mead Botanical Garden is a little ecological island,” tanical Garden — humans, birds, reptiles and fish — says Forest Michael, a landscape architect and master that have found relief and sustenance in its 47 acres of planner who has long been involved in the garden’s resprecious green space. toration. “It’s one of Florida’s most interesting spots, full Only two blocks from the incessant cacophony of of history and ecological relevance.” four-lane U.S. 17-92, it’s a quiet, verdant haven from The garden is named for Theodore Luqueer Mead, an harassment that allows the human spirit to rise while accomplished naturalist, entomologist and horticulturist supporting habitats that have disappeared from much who moved to Oviedo in the late 1880s. There he grew of Central Florida. exotic plants — particularly orchids — and became reThe loveliness that visitors find here is real. But the nowned for his hybridization techniques. garden also serves practical purposes: It filters water A year after Mead’s death in 1936, his protégé, John destined for the St. Johns River, houses scarce species, “Jack” Connery — who had inherited Mead’s teeming and provides layover grounds for migratory birds in greenhouses — approached Edwin Osgood Grover, the search of food and rest. “professor of books” at Rollins College. (For more about It also offers a glimpse into Winter Park’s past, when Grover, see page 70.) the area was mostly pinelands with trees that extended This lively portrait of Mead was painted in Connery thought — and Grover agreed — that there to the horizon — a rare sight in present-day Central 1932 by Sam Stoltz, an artist and self-trained should be a vast garden to memorialize their mutual friend, architect whose quirky “Spanish Florida” homes and to display his collection of amaryllis, hemerocallis, fanFlorida.

“This is an ecological oasis in a very urbanized envi- can still be seen in Windermere, College Park, cy-leaf caladiums and more than 1,000 orchids.

Winter Park and on scattered sites throughout ronment,” says Peter Gottfried, an environmental con- Central Florida.

But how could such an audacious goal be achieved? sultant who visited the garden as a child. “There’s no Near the college was a low-lying area along Howell place like it in all of Central Florida.”

Creek that they thought would be perfect for the venture.

While it may not be truly wild land, Gottfried says the garden is highly At Grover’s behest, owners of several tracts donated their holdings to Theovaluable because it’s a last vestige of Central Florida’s natural landscape. dore L. Mead Botanical Garden Inc., a newly formed nonprofit.

Many Winter Park residents, he adds, “don’t even know it exists.”

Four years later — aided by Works Progress Administration labor — the Tucked behind a busy municipal tennis complex, railroad tracks, apartdream became a reality. Mead Botanical Garden officially opened on Janment buildings and homes, the garden is located on the south side of the city, uary 15, 1940, in a formal ceremony that included local dignitaries and

50 W I N T E R P A R K M A GAZI N E | FALL 2017

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One of the most popular features of the garden is Howell Creek (facing page), which brings water from the wetlands near Orlando’s Spring Lake through Winter Park and into a lake system that eventually connects to the St. Johns River. Volunteers such as Alice Mikkleson and Jean Scarbourgh (above) are crucial to maintaining the 47-acre garden, which is owned by the city, but operated by Mead Botanical Garden Inc., a nonprofit organization.

In 1988, Mayor David Johnson appointed a 15-member Mead Garden Task Force, which recruited the Orlando Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects to assist in formulating a master plan. Perhaps predictably, the plan gathered dust.

In 1992, a Rollins class analyzed the site, offering a vision for a boardwalk system that included signage to educate visitors about local ecology. Again, nothing of consequence resulted. Despite fits and starts of ideas and activity, comprehensive management — and adequate funding for restoration — never materialized.

By the early 21st century, the property had become not a botanical garden but an oversized and underused city park — breathtaking in places, but in a state of inexorable decline.

Enough maintenance was done to keep it looking respectable, and the amphitheater remained a popular venue among event planners. Some boardwalks were repaired, a few trails were built and the entry was rebricked.

However, the garden needed new energy to revive the vision of its early champions like Grover and Connelly. Enter the Friends of Mead Garden, a nonprofit formed in 2003 by concerned residents.

The group organized volunteers for cleanup duty, and advocated improvement FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W INT ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

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PHOTOS BY RAFAEL TONGOL

elected officials. Grover, who presided over the festivities, laid out a grand vision of a garden that would encompass unspoiled natural areas, ornamental plots, greenhouses for exotic plants and even aquariums — which were never built.

Perhaps the garden wasn’t everything that Grover and Connery had envisioned. For years, though, it was arguably the most beautiful spot in Central Florida — a fitting tribute to the genius of Mead and the persistence of the unlikely pair who had implemented this far-fetched notion.

Then, in 1953, the original nonprofit headed by Grover was acrimoniously dissolved — there was a dispute over the distribution of admission fees — and operation of the garden was turned over to the city.

Gradually, it became a mishmash of elements. There were multiple greenhouses, two of which were filled with Mead’s orchids. A garden path was lined with palms and hybridized plants, and the wetlands encompassed an egret rookery.

But there was also a county-owned clay pit next to a landfill, which contained everything from old tires to chemical waste. And in 1959, an amphitheater was built next to Howell Creek.

Decades after its creation, the vision articulated by Grover and Connery had been forgotten — or, more likely, ignored. Non-native invasive trees, plants and vines overwhelmed the wetlands. Wooden boardwalks were built and then abandoned to rot.

The city even used the property to store and repair vehicles. Maintenance consisted of mowing over native plants, leaving them unable to naturally grow and reseed.

An irreplaceable natural asset was being not only neglected, but abused.

PHOTOS BY RAFAEL TONGOL

Just beyond the garden’s entrance is its restored greenhouse (above left), which is surrounded by a colorful and meticulously maintained Legacy Garden. Among the unusual plants you’ll find are staghorn ferns (above right), which hang from the large oak trees just to the left of the greenhouse. The ferns are native to Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia.

plans to city officials. Those efforts were hampered, however, by the hurricanes of 2004. Charley, Frances and Jeanne — three storms in six weeks — left the wetlands a mess and blew in more invasive species.

Optimism was rekindled in 2007, when the city approved a master plan for the garden presented by Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, a large architecture and engineering firm.

But an economic storm — the Great Recession — caused funding for reclamation to be slashed. Still, volunteer “Weed Warriors” and “Butterfly Brigades” soldiered on, mostly on weekends, doing what they could with limited resources and motivated by their vision for the garden’s future.

In 2012, the Friends of Mead Garden — now Mead Botanical Garden Inc. (MBG) — signed a multiyear agreement with the city that essentially turned over operational responsibility to the privately funded organization and its 18-member board.

The city still owns the property, but the nonprofit — with a shoestring staff — runs its facilities. MBG board members envision a new master plan that’s more ecologically focused and program-driven than past plans have been.

Central to MBG’s effort is enhancing and restoring habitats and natural systems. There’ll always be human manipulation of the property, notes Michael, but improving its ecology will be a boon for flora and fauna.

“If the ecology is good,” he adds, “people will love it.”

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WATE RWAYS AND B IRDS One of the most popular features of the garden is Howell Creek, which brings water from the wetlands near Orlando’s Spring Lake through Winter Park and into a lake system that eventually connects to the St. Johns River.

The portion of the creek that runs through the garden is its longest uninterrupted stretch. It winds through cypress trees and Alice’s Pond — named in honor of volunteer Alice Mikkleson — providing an important habitat and travel avenue for wading birds, otters, turtles and fish.

During dry periods, the creek almost disappears; during rainy periods, it floods, demonstrating the fluctuations of natural systems and the importance of wetlands to the local ecology.

Joining the creek at the garden are two city stormwater pipes that collect water from the surrounding neighborhood and dump it onto the property.

The water — teeming with chemicals, fertilizers, leaves, grass clippings and trash — had for years been deposited into an increasingly mucky marsh.

But with Michael’s help — and through in-person lobbying of Tallahassee lawmakers by Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary — the city received $450,000 in state grants to remove 17 truckloads of muck and landfill debris from the half-acre site.

A clay pit and a plant-lined pond near The Grove — a newer amphitheater built in 2012 — assist in water treatment during storm and high-water times.

Now, when water enters the creek, it’s much cleaner than when it arrived.

“The garden is going to be a managed system to some extent, but we want it to be managed as close to natural as possible,” says Tim Egan, water quality manager for the City of Winter Park’s Public Works Department.

Egan’s department is supervising an ongoing wetlands restoration and reforestation effort using $100,000 from the city’s stormwater utility capital

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improvement fund.

The entire job may take decades to fully complete. For now, though, the garden provides priceless green space for the city — which is important for people and animals alike.

“The tremendous ecological value of the garden is, in part, its proximity to other natural resources,” Egan says. The city’s various parks support many species — particularly birds — that have adapted to living in an urban environment.

The garden has long been a popular birding site. Its checklist of almost 180 species, compiled by the Orange Audubon Society, includes native and migratory birds. “Mead Garden is a supermarket for migratory birds,” says MBG Executive Director Cynthia Hasenau.

Birders regularly roam the garden carrying binoculars or cameras with large lenses to “capture” their prey. During the spring and fall migration seasons, OAS conducts guided walks for birders, who come from across Florida in hopes of glimpsing, say, a colorful American redstart or hooded warbler.

Scot French, an amateur photographer, usually visits the garden twice a week. “Obviously, I love the place,” says French, who lives in Maitland and is a UCF history professor. “I go there all the time. I find it really peaceful.”

The wildlife is always changing, French says. On a recent visit, he realized that a barred owl was directly overhead, staring down at him — and offering an unexpected photo op. “It shot me a look like it was mad,” says French.

SA N D HI L L P I N E UP LAN DS The southern part of the garden, which offers the healthiest habitat, encompasses the sandhill pine uplands that once were the dominant landscape of Central Florida.

This tract, while not completely pristine, has the greatest potential to be

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The garden has long been a popular birding site. Its checklist of almost 180 species, compiled by the Orange Audubon Society, includes native and migratory birds. Birders regularly roam the site carrying binoculars or cameras with large lenses to “capture” their prey. Among the year-round residents are barred owls, who regularly produce broods of adorable owlets.

restored to its natural state. It rises to 89 feet — the highest elevation in the garden. Its central feature is longleaf pine — majestic trees that can reach 50 to 60 feet in height and live up to 500 years.

Plant growth in the uplands was once kept in check by forest fires. However, with no fires for at least 150 years, other trees have sprouted, including palms and laurel oaks. In the meantime, native plants have been mowed over by city crews, and non-native plant species have invaded.

In 2013, in partnership with MBG, the Tarflower Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society began restoring the sandhill area, creating two plots where a variety of plants have been located.

Signs to explain the habitat — and the gopher tortoises that thrive there — are displayed. Gopher tortoises are listed by the state as a threatened species, which means their numbers have dropped from historical levels.

Gopher tortoises also have an important function in the environment.

Their extensive underground tunnels — the entrances are cordoned off at the garden — may be home to some 350 other animal species.

Catherine Bowman, the society’s president, calls the garden “a treasure,” and notes that most other sandhill communities — including Wekiwa Springs State Park in Seminole County — are at least 25 miles away.

Bowman’s husband, Ron Blair, helped design and implement the restoration project. Volunteers have planted 160 sandhill plants such as saw palmetto, black cherry, persimmon and native grasses in the deep yellow sand,

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Educational programs at the garden cultivate — literally — young ecologists. One of the most popular such programs is the Young Naturalist Summer Camp, held every June and July for children ages 5 to 12. During the most recent camp, Shannon Charmley (facing page), program counselor, and a group of eager youngsters collect samples of aquatic life from Howell Creek.

while also removing invasive plants.

“It’s a remnant of Winter Park — it’s all we have left,” Bowman says. “It’s a part of the garden where you can say, ‘It kind of feels like I’m in the woods here.’”

Volunteers, says Hasenau, are vital to the garden’s improvement. Susan League, an MBG board member, says that planting and weeding in the garden “keeps me sane.”

“This is a semi-wild garden, where visitors can be free and just wander wherever they want to go,” she says, taking a break on a sweltering August morning.

Nearby, two wild honeybee hives prove her correct, as does a flowering vine that has attracted the attention of a flitting hummingbird.

PHOTOS BY RAFAEL TONGOL

NATU R E E DU C ATIO N AN D P SYCH IC R ELI E F Ecology comes to life during the garden’s educational programs and camps, which aim to be incubators for future environmentalists. One of the most popular such programs is the Young Naturalist Summer Camp, held every June and July for children ages 5 to 12.

When it debuted six years ago, the camp had 35 registered children and ran three weeks. By 2017, the camp had extended to six weeks and hosted 375 campers. More than a quarter of the attendees came for multiple weeks, according to Hasenau.

The Rotary Club of Winter Park supports the program with a dozen scholarships annually. “The secret of the camp’s success is the awesome camp staff, the amazing natural setting and the interesting activities and FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W IN T ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOBBY FOKIDIS

Bobby Fokidis (top), an assistant professor of biology at Rollins College, holds a 51-pound female Florida snapping turtle found in Howell Creek near the foot bridge. The turtle was given a unique mark on her upper shell (carapace) that allowed her to be tracked.

“It’s cool to know that even in a small parkland in suburban Winter Park, such large and old reptiles are still out there,” Fokidis says. Former Rollins student Sarah Wright (above) holds a breeding pair of northern cardinals. The birds, captured where the upland area meets Alice’s Pond, were leg-banded as part of a study comparing the role of food on stress experienced by urban-dwelling birds.

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adventures,” Hasenau says. “Children have fun, they explore, they learn, and they don’t have to worry about tracking in dirt.”

Centered in the Discovery Barn — originally built as a storage facility for city tractors — and a small environmental building, the camp lets kids get up close and personal with everything from snakes to minnows to butterflies in the butterfly garden.

All the while, they’re learning about Florida habitats from a 14-member staff. There’s not an electronic device in sight — and the kids, some of them soaked through their clothes from wading, are having a ball.

“I’m fond of saying that if we can get kids to fall in love with the Earth when they’re little, they’ll love it forever,” says Hasenau as a group of boisterous campers pass. She describes the camp experience as “going green and getting grimy,” a phrase that seems to perfectly fit the bill.

Graham Fetteroff, 13, has been coming to the camp for six years, eventually becoming a junior counselor. “It’s my backyard,” he says. “I like to look for the birds.”

He’s helped with water quality testing in the garden, and today has been dip-netting for minnows with campers. Notes Graham: “When the kids learn a new thing, they go, ‘Wow!’” In January, with a $2,500 grant from Healthy Central Florida, the garden began a new Wednesday morning “Tyke Hike” program. Children ages 3 to 5 explore the garden on 90-minute guided treks, during which they examine bugs, leaves and flowers. That program resumed in October.

The garden also works with area schools. Fifth-graders from the Geneva School, for example, have planted flowering native plants and harvested noxious air-potato plants.

PHOTO BY WINTER PARK PICTURES (WINTERPARKPICTURES.COM)

The garden offers some extraordinary ground-level sights. But sometimes, you can get the most breathtaking views by just looking up.

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  IDE AS AB OUT THE E NVIRONME NT

Three international scholars are in Central Florida for a four-month residency through IDEAS (Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions) for Us, a nonprofit founded

by Winter Park resident Clayton Louis Ferrara, who also serves as executive director. One of the three, Dipesh Gurung (center) from Nepal, is working with Mead Botanical Garden, while the other two, Alina Blaga of Romania (left) and Huong Dang of Vietnam (right), are working with Ferrara’s organization. Since 2014, IDEAS, which has affiliates across the world but is based in Orlando, has participated in the U.S. Department of State-funded Community Solutions Partnership (CSP) program, which annually sends “fellows” to local communities to work on sustainability issues. Gurung will be working with the garden on education, conservation and youth outreach programs. CSP fellows are usually students, recent graduates or others who have special expertise in sustainability issues or nonprofit management. This is the first year that the garden has partnered with IDEAS to have CSP fellow.

PHOTO BY MIGUEL DE LA ROSA

Meanwhile, fourth-graders from the school have wandered the garden’s waters acting as “wildlife detectives” while studying macro-invertebrates found there. Another summer activity, The Nature Camp, operates out of the nearby Azalea Lane Recreation Center, and regularly brings youths to hike and explore the garden.

Rollins classes often walk to the garden, where they’re able to conduct studies in nature’s own laboratory. Students taught by Bobby Fokidis, an assistant professor of biology, have trapped, tagged and collected blood samples from turtles; their biggest catch was a 51-pound female snapping turtle, which they released.

Rollins students have also documented fish from the creek and from the stormwater retention ponds, discovering in the process that a South American fish species has somehow entered the ponds.

Fokidis, an eco-physiologist who studies the effect of urban environments on animal species, points to scientific studies indicating that a walk in the woods can decrease stress and improve human emotional wellbeing. “Psychologically, it’s important that people have this,” he adds.

Researchers have indeed found that people living near green space have less mental distress as well as lower incidences of 15 ailments, including asthma, migraine headaches, depression and heart disease.

“It’s very valuable to human beings to step aside … and be with real nature,” adds Gottfried, who is also a member of the MBG board. “It’s important to a lot of people.”

THE FUTURE Improving Mead Botanical Garden means that future generations will benefit in many ways.

Bruce Stephenson, a Rollins professor who studies the history of city planning and parks, sees the garden as “an opportunity to create the type of open space that we need to have if sustainability is to become an organizing principle in our society.”

The garden, he says, provides three things: a recreational opportunity for

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people living in developed areas; a place for children to expand their experiences and imagination in nature; and natural ecological functions that support flora and fauna.

Nurturing the latter, he adds, requires a “full commitment to making it not just a botanical garden, but a fully functioning ecological habitat.”

That’s the challenge for the future. With a staff of two full-timers and two part-timers, the garden is reliant on a combination of taxpayer dollars, private fundraising and literal sweat equity — about 7,000 hours of labor per year — from volunteers.

The public-private partnership is proving beneficial to the city, which allocates approximately one sixth of one percent of its annual budget to the garden while earning back more than twice that amount, according to Hasenau.

Some of the challenges include reducing the impact of feral cats that hunt avian life — a problem made more difficult by people illegally feeding the felines — and working with local governments to reduce the use of insecticides and herbicides that can harm native biota.

Also high on the priority list is improving land-management practices; removing exotic species; and accelerating the wetlands restoration and reforestation program.

It’ll take time, money, energy, passion and vision. Michael says he’d also like to see markers erected that highlight the historical aspects of the garden, including Mead’s pioneering work.

Walking through the garden on a recent muggy afternoon, Hasenau energetically points to garden highlights, notes some problem areas and praises the passionate volunteer efforts.

“We’ve made a lot of progress since 2003,” she says. “And, there’s tremendous potential as well. We’re just scratching the surface of what we can do here.”

Leslie Kemp Poole, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of environmental studies at Rollins College. She’s also the author Saving Florida: Women’s Fight for the Environment in the Twentieth Century (University Press of Florida, 2015).

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THE ART OF

FASHION GET CREATIVE WITH NEW LOOKS FOR FALL

Art comes in many forms. And fashion, of course, is an art unto itself. That’s why we’re curating new looks for fall in the Cornell Fine Arts Center on the campus of Rollins College. The center, which is home to the college’s department of art and art history, encompasses studios in which adventurous visual artists draw, paint, build, shape, sculpt and experiment with new technologies. Someday, perhaps, their creations will hang in the adjacent Cornell Fine Arts Museum, which boasts one of the state’s most distinguished and eclectic collections.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAFAEL TONGOL | STYLING BY MARIANNE ILUNGA MAKEUP AND HAIR BY ELSIE KNAB | MODEL: DANI SLEET FROM REPREZZENT/MODELSCOUT

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Dani wears a blush-color tuxedo dress by Haute Hippie ($695), from Tuni Winter Park; and a pair of pink Tassel earrings by Oscar de La Renta ($450), a pair of rose fuchsia velvet sock boots by Balenciaga ($995), and a hot pink and burgundy top-handle buckle bag by Prada ($4,200), all from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. She also wears a gold crown diamond ring ($3,600), gold accent bands ($300 each), a rose gold “knight” ring with salmon pink zircon ($3,800), a yellow gold “knight” ring with mint green apatite ($3,800), and a yellow gold crown ring ($1,600), all by local artist Christian Nevin (cndesigns.com) S U MME R 2 0 1 7 | W IN T ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

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Dani wears a jacquard-pattern coat by Maje ($560), jacquard-pattern shorts by Maje ($210), a blue ruffle turtleneck by Sandro ($210), and a brown suede tassel belt by Maje ($135), all from Bloomingdales at The Mall at Millenia. She also wears a pair of navy blue sunglasses by Jimmy Choo ($605), from Jimmy Choo at The Mall at Millenia; and a pair of beige over-theknee suede boots by Stuart Weitzman ($798), from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia.


Dani wears a red lace blouse by Alice+Olivia ($440), from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia; and red velvet pants by Akris Punto ($495), a pair of statement gold and coral chandelier earrings by Devon Leigh ($475), a turquoise and coral marquis ring by Devon Leigh ($275), and an antiqued turquoise, lapis and coral statement necklace by Devon Leigh ($795), all from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. She also wears a pair of burgundy red leather buckle booties by Jimmy Choo ($995), from Jimmy Choo at The Mall at Millenia.

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Dani wears a black and gold metallic blouse by Alice+Trixie ($305), and a pair of flared black jeans by Citizens of Humanity ($258), both from Tuni Winter Park. She also wears a floral jacquard bomber jacket

by Alice+Olivia ($495), a copper onyx coin-and-tassel necklace by Devon Leigh ($850), a turquoise and onyx tassel earring by Devon Leigh ($475), and a pair of green velvet platform heels by Prada ($995), all from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. She carries a black velvet clutch bag ($1,750), also from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia.

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Dani wears a long-sleeve metallic jacquard cocktail dress by Dolce & Gabbana ($2,600), burgundy and purple crop plaid pants by Theory ($345), blush satin boots by Stuart Weitzman ($575), and retro round sunglasses by Chloe ($396), all from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. She carries a green velvet purse by Jimmy Choo ($1,550), from Jimmy Choo at The Mall at Millenia.
 S U MME R 2 0 1 7 | W INTER PARK MAGAZ IN E

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The

Essential Edwin

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ROLLINS COLLEGE ARCHIVES

E

A Lively New Book Introduces the Most Important Winter Parker You’ve Probably Never Heard of – By Randy Noles

College president emeritus Thaddeus Seymour encouraged Gfeller to make d Gfeller is a retired psychiatrist. So when you ask if “compulsive” a DVD on the hotel’s colorful history. is an accurate way to describe his determination to tell the story of When that project wrapped, Seymour suggested a documentary on Grover. the unjustly obscure Edwin Osgood Grover, you’re really asking a “Ed Gfeller is on his way to being one of our town’s characters,” says Seymour. medical question.

“His friendship has been a special joy for me personally, and I’ve been honored “My wife would probably agree with that,” Gfeller admits. to collaborate with him. I can hardly wait to see what he’ll undertake next.”

Grover was the whimsically titled “professor of books” at Rollins College Why should Gfeller care about a long-forgotten profrom 1926 until his retirement in 1947. Although few fessor? More to the point, why should the rest of us?

Winter Parkers have heard of him, his impact on the camIn fact, anyone who researches Winter Park’s history will pus and the community continues to reverberate decades quickly discover — as Seymour already knew, and Gfeller after his death in 1965. came to realize — that Grover was a towering figure whose Gfeller has just released a self-published book, Edwin many skills did not include self-promotion.

Osgood Grover: The Business of Making Good. He has also The New England-bred professor’s achievements include produced a DVD about Grover, Grover: America’s First launching the Rollins Animated Magazine with Hamilton Professor of Books, and maintains a website dedicated to Holt, the college’s legendary eighth president, and foundGrover’s life and career. ing the Hannibal Square Library, which served west side Compulsive? Perhaps, although “meticulous” is an equalresidents during an era of segregation. ly apt — and less fraught — descriptor. Whatever term you Most notably, Grover and a Rollins student, John select, it’s a fact that Gfeller and Winter Park Magazine have “Jack” Connery,” spearheaded the effort to turn a primal worked along parallel paths to remedy Grover’s anonymity. tract of undeveloped property into Mead Botanical GarIn 2015, the magazine inducted Grover into its inauden, which remains one of the city’s most important asgural Winter Park Hall of Fame class, calling him out for sets. (For more about the garden, see page 48.) special recognition as the city’s “Unsung Hero.” Concur“I had never heard of Grover,” recalls Gfeller. “When rently, Gfeller was producing his DVD and preparing a Thaddeus said I should make a movie about him, I reGrover wasn’t as serious as he appears to be manuscript for publication. plied, ‘Who?’ Then I started my research and realized that “Investigating history is similar to understanding a pa- in many photographs. The lanky professor he deserved a place in Winter Park history. And I knew tient in psychotherapy,” Gfeller says. “It is necessary to get portrayed Abraham Lincoln during a Rollins College historical pageant in 1928. that when the DVD was finished, I’d have to do a book a picture of the family, the life circumstances, the struggles to tell the full story.”

— all of which was difficult with Grover because so little of Gfeller, 80, is an interesting fellow in his own right. Born in Aarburg, Swithis correspondence survives.” zerland, he attended the University of Bern, where he researched brain strucGfeller’s Grover projects come on the heels of a DVD that he produced about tures in primates and earned a medical degree in 1963.

Winter Park’s Langford Resort Hotel, an iconic but kitschy getaway that was In the U.S., Gfeller joined the faculty as a psychiatry professor at Johns Hoptorn down in 2003. The DVD was titled The Langford Resort Hotel: 1956-2001. kins University in Baltimore. He then started a psychiatry residency at Sheppard Gfeller completed the documentary — which is packed with archival film Pratt Hospital in Towson, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. clips and new interviews with Langford family members — in 2014. Rollins

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DIGITAL IMAGE BY CHIP WESTON, BASED ON A PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ROLLINS COLLEGE ARCHIVES

Edwin Osgood Grover (1870-1965) ranks among Winter Park’s unsung heroes. Winter Park resident Ed Gfeller, a retired psychiatrist, has made it his mission to raise the little-remembered professor of books’ civic profile.

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PHOTO BY RAFAEL TONGOL

Gfeller visits the Edwin O. Grover Room, on the first floor of the Olin Library at Rollins College. The room, which was renovated in Grover’s honor by alumni Dave and Nancy Berto, features a ghostly, translucent image of Grover and his students on the window glass. The indefatigable professor of books conducted classes around a large oval table, and preferred discussions over lectures.

He later became a psychiatry professor at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and chief of psychiatry at the Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital. At the University of Florida, he became a psychiatry professor and chief of psychiatry at the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

In 1987, Gfeller and his wife, Joan Marie, moved to Winter Park, where he established a private psychiatric practice and was chief of psychiatry at Winter Park Memorial Hospital. He was later named medical director for behavioral health for Orlando Regional Healthcare, now Orlando Health, and chief of psychiatry at the Orlando VA Medical Center.

In 2006, Gfeller suffered a heart attack just as he was set to retire. Once he recovered, however, he joined a Maitland-based company that conducted clinical trials on psychiatric medications.

He retired again — this time for good — in 2013. With time to pursue more eclectic interests, he decided to revisit a childhood passion and reinvent himself as a documentarian.

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“Even as a kid, I took pictures,” Gfeller says.

“There’s a picture of me at the Basel Zoo with my 1937 Kodak 6-20 Popular Brownie, probably about 1943. Everyone in my family was a Leica enthusiast. I got a Leica as a confirmation present in 1953.”

As digital technology made filmmaking less expensive, Gfeller began taking courses at GeniusDV in South Orlando. He honed his skills by recording local functions, including the Langford’s nostalgic farewell soiree.

That event was emceed by the omnipresent Seymour, who encouraged Gfeller to make his first full-fledged documentary.

“Ed is relentless in his research,” notes Seymour.

“He has a keen eye for details, particularly details that reveal character. He spent his career helping patients search for and discover significant details in their lives. That’s just what he’s been doing in his films, and in his book.”

Grover, who appears stern in photographs, makes a somewhat enigmatic subject. Those who knew him described him as formal and reserved.

Yet, professorial as he may have seemed, he was an entrepreneur prior to becoming an academic.

He understood — to use a now-tarnished phrase — the art of the deal.

“Grover was an introvert and Holt was an extravert,” Gfeller says. “They worked well together.

Grover spoke quietly. He was quite tall, and tilted to one side in a way that made him seem to be floating as he walked.”

Born in Mantorville, Minnesota, in 1870, Grover was raised in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, where he wandered in the woods and developed a love for nature. While attending Dartmouth College, he worked as a reporter for the Boston Globe and edited the Dartmouth Literary Monthly.

After graduating in 1894 with a degree in literature, he enrolled in graduate school at Harvard.

However, instead of earning an advanced degree, he chose to visit Europe and the Middle East — an adventure he managed despite having only $300 to his name.

Upon his return to the U.S. in 1900, Grover worked as a textbook salesman in the Midwest,

prominent citizens were New Englanders.

In his acceptance letter to Holt, Grover wrote that he hoped “to be able to interest a group of selected students in a wider and keener appreciation of books, and even in the making of beautiful books, until they agree with me that the companionship of a good book is better than the company of a thousand men.”

At the time of his move south, Grover’s busy household included his wife, Mertie, and sister, Eulalie, the author of several series of bestselling children’s books, including The Sunbonnet Babies and The Overall Boys.

Other residents at the Osceola Avenue home, located within easy walking distance of Rollins, included Grover’s sickly youngest sister, Nan, and his mother, Fanny. Daughters Frances and Hester were away at school, while his ill-fated son, Graham, lived in the attic.

Once the Grovers arrived, the ambitious little college — and the relatively refined community in which it was nestled — would never be the same.

Shortly after settling in, Mertie Grover and Lucy Vincent, wife of Clarence Vincent, minister of First Congregational Church of Winter Park, founded the Welbourne Avenue Nursery for children of African-American working mothers. The facility remains in operation today.

Grover embarked on a whirlwind of activities in addition to teaching. He funded the startup of Winter Park’s first bookstore, The Bookery, and

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MOUNT HOLYOKE ARCHIVES; PAMPHLET COURTESY OF THE ROLLINS COLLEGE ARCHIVES

Grover’s wife, Mertie, who died after being struck by an automobile, had helped to found the Welbourne Avenue Nursery for the children of African-American working mothers. Upon her death, Grover asked that donations be made to establish a children’s library in Hannibal Square. A pamphlet describing Grover’s “Recipe for Education” (below right) was designed using fonts selected by Grover, and published by Angel Alley, the small press he established at the college.

and shortly thereafter became chief editor of Rand McNally in Chicago.

He formed his own publishing company in 1906, but sold his interest six years later and became president and majority owner of the Prang Company, a manufacturer of crayons, watercolors and school supplies. After relocating the company from Manhattan to Chicago, he and his family settled in Highland Park.

Grover retired in 1925, at age 55. But his retirement would be short lived.

In the late 1890s, Grover had written a poem, “Because of Thee,” which he had submitted to The Independent, a New York-based magazine aligned with the progressive movement. The editor, Hamilton Holt, promised to publish the work, but never did. Grover later followed up, meeting Holt for lunch at Coney Island and establishing a bond of friendship.

After Holt was appointed to the Rollins presi-

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dency, Grover visited him in Winter Park. One topic of conversation was an observation by Ralph Waldo Emerson: Colleges did a good job of building libraries, but inexplicably supplied no professors of books.

A week later, the often-impulsive Holt, a collector of “golden personalities” on his faculty, offered Grover such a post at Rollins. Holt claimed that Grover would be the first and only professor of books in the U.S. That contention would later be disputed. But, according to Gfeller, Grover’s “experience, his background, and his knowledge of printing and publishing books made him uniquely suited to fill that position.”

In 1926, Grover moved his family to Winter Park, which Gfeller describes as “hot, mosquito-infested and Jim Crow country.” Regardless, Grover was charmed by the city’s ambiance — and heartened by the fact that many of its founders and most

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were Henry Luce (1938), Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1939), Carl Sandburg (1940), Greer Garson (1946), Omar Bradley (1948) and Edward R. Murrow (1949).

Holt retired in 1949 and died shortly thereafter.

The Animated Magazine carried on, to diminished interest, until it was discontinued in 1970. Today, its spirit lives on in the Winter Park Institute at Rollins College Speaker Series, which brings luminaries to campus for presentations.

Gfeller’s book also discusses two tragedies in Grover’s life.

In 1936, Mertie — who had been the principal of the Beach Institute, an African-American school in Savannah — was run over and killed while crossing on Osceola Avenue.

PHOTO AND BOOK COVER COURTESY OF THE ROLLINS COLLEGE ARCHIVES

Grover’s busy household on Osceola Avenue included his sister, Eulalie, the author of several series of bestselling children’s books, including The Sunbonnet Babies and The Overall Boys. Her 27 books were said to have sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.

launched a campus literary magazine, The Flamingo. His small press, Angel Alley, published faculty works and a student songbook.

He was soon appointed by Holt as vice president of the college and director of what was then called the Carnegie Library. He added 14,000 volumes — some from his personal collection — over a three-year period.

Grover mentored Zora Neal Hurston, helping her to find a publisher for her first novel, Jonah’s Gourd Vine, and introducing her to Robert Wunsch, the college’s theater director, who staged her play, From Sun to Sun, on the Rollins campus.

Hurston was a frequent guest in the Grover home, “a practice that did not sit well with many in Winter Park’s white community,” writes Gfeller.

Most notably, Grover and Holt concocted The Animated Magazine, a program that would bring famous people from all walks of life to Rollins and invite the community to come and hear them speak. Grover would be “publisher” and Holt would be “editor.”

Gfeller devotes an entire chapter to The Animated Magazine, noting that while many of the speakers aren’t well known today, they were celebrities at the time, and drew thousands of spectators.

During presentations, Holt, ever the showman, sat onstage wielding an oversized blue pencil — which he genially threatened to use if a speaker exceeded his or her allotted 15 minutes.

Among the headliners whose fame has endured

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Her grieving husband asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her memory to found the Hannibal Square Library, which served black children on the city’s west side. He called it “the library that flowers built.”

The following year, Grover helped to form Hannibal Square Associates and was the civic-improvement organization’s president for 10 years.

He raised funds for the West Side Community Center and the Mary DePugh Nursing Home.

In 1940, Graham was struck and killed by an oncoming train at what is now the railroad crossing at South Denning Drive. The youth, who was then attending Rollins, had suffered from mental illness — Gfeller speculates schizophrenia — and apparently committed suicide.

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In 1958, Rollins College President Hugh McKean installed a stone honoring the 88-year-old Grover on the campus’ Walk of Fame. The stone is, surprisingly, one of only a few Groverrelated acknowledgments to be found in Winter Park. The others are Grover Avenue, near Mead Botanical Garden, and the Grover Trail, which runs through the garden along Howell Creek and is marked by a small sign.

“We have no record of Grover giving voice to his feelings about Mertie’s death or Graham’s,” writes Gfeller. “He was a very private man.”

However, Gfeller believes the twin losses may be one reason why Grover sold his Osceola Avenue home and moved to Camilla Avenue, just steps away from his beloved Mead Botanical Garden.

The founding of the garden, of course, also rates its own chapter in Gfeller’s book.

One of Grover’s students, John “Jack” Connery, had been a Boy Scout in a troop led by Theodore Luqueer Mead, the famous horticulturist who hybridized orchids and grew citrus at his Oviedo compound, colorfully dubbed “Wait-a-Bit.” While attending college, Connery had continued to assist Mead. Then, upon Mead’s death in 1936, Connery had inherited his grateful mentor’s collection of amaryllis, hemerocallis, fancy-

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leaf caladiums and more than 1,000 orchids.

Connery and Grover decided to establish a grand memorial garden that would pay homage to Mead.

Although the effort seems far afield for a professor of books, Grover was an amateur horticulturist whose brother, Frederick, was a professor of botany at Oberlin College and an admirer of Mead’s work.

The pair located an overgrown 48-acre tract teeming with native flora and fauna and populated by birds and alligators. Grover managed to get various owners to donate land, and secured a grant from the Works Progress Administration for drainage, the clearing of brush and the building of trails.

Mead Botanical Garden, which opened in 1940, is tucked away at the end of South Denning Drive, across the railroad tracks, bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue and Howell Creek. It has enchanted casual visitors and serious naturalists for decades.

The garden would be Grover’s most high-profile achievement. He retired from Rollins in 1951, at age 81. Six years later, he was asked by the college to justify why he should continue receiving a $400 per year pension.

Grover’s effort to demonstrate his worth — humiliating as it must have been — proved a boon to his biographer. In the college archives, Gfeller discovered a lengthy report that the 88-year-old professor of books had prepared for Alfred J. Hannah, the vice president who had requested it.

In a cover letter, Grover pays tribute to Holt for giving him the opportunity to teach, adding that “all I have tried to do is to render service, as it appeared from day to day, on the campus and in the community.”

Accompanying the letter is a book-length document in which Grover outlines his contributions

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— financial and otherwise — over a 30-year period. Perhaps the sheer heft of it surprised even its author.

In addition to founding Mead Botanical Garden and working tirelessly for the benefit of west side residents, he had barnstormed the country, giving speeches, flattering donors and raising money — sometimes securing bequests and endowments.

He had recruited promising students, sometimes arranging personally for scholarships; he had secured rare books for the library, donating 3,000 volumes from his own collection; and, not insignificantly, he had persuaded the Congregational

Board of Home Missions to forgive a $31,000 mortgage it had placed on the campus.

There was much, much more, demonstrating that, despite the national publicity Holt received, the far less flashy Grover had truly been the college’s indispensable man.

The modest stipend continued until Grover’s death in 1965, at age 90. He was survived only by daughters Hester, who died in 1981, and Frances, who died in 1989. Nan had died in 1961.

“The Grover story seems to support the notion that people who do their job well, even exceptionally well, but do not advertise their accomplish-

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ments become unsung heroes of their communities,” writes Gfeller.

Edwin Osgood Grover: The Business of Making Good is a relatively fast read, in part because there is little personal source material to be mined, and in part because many of those who knew Grover personally have died.

Gfeller, however, was undaunted. The book contains fascinating interviews with Barbara Buchanan Parsons, a one-time neighbor; Dave Berto, a student whom Grover mentored; and Dr. James Talbert, whose father worked for Grover at Mead Botanical Garden.

Gfeller’s writing style is conversational and entertaining, highlighted by wry asides and intriguing speculation. Clearly, he has affinity for his subject, and an appreciation for Rollins and its eternal quirkiness.

The college held a remembrance for Grover in Knowles Memorial Chapel. The elegy was written by daughter Frances, but read by Dr. Arthur L. Teikmanis, senior minister of First Congregational Church of Winter Park, where Grover attended.

It concluded with an excerpt from one of Grover’s poems, titled “Homeward Bound”: Shall I tell you the secret of all I’ve learned, In life’s doing and daring, Happiness comes and happiness stays, In sharing, and sharing, and sharing.

READ MORE ABOUT IT Edwin Osgood Grover: The Business of Making Good is available at the Rollins College Bookstore, 200 West Fairbanks Avenue, or the Winter Park History Museum, 200 West New England Avenue.

The DVD, Grover: America’s First Professor of Books, is also available at both locations.

Visit groverprofessorofbooks.com for everything Grover-related.

An event for the

history books WINTER PARK HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1977 SENDS A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS. SEE YOU IN 10 YEARS!

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SURVIVORS Faced With a Frightening Diagnosis, They Took Charge and Fought for Their Lives.

BY BARBARA LISTON

I

f your children recently attended public school in Winter Park, there’s a good chance that you know Stacey Rodrigues. Over the past decade, as her three sons grew up, Rodrigues served as PTA president.

Not once. Not twice. But 12 times, between terms at Aloma Elementary, Glenridge Middle and Winter Park High schools.

Rodrigues, now 49, was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2009 — a shock, she says, since the disease didn’t run in her family. Given her ubiquitous presence on various campuses, her battle was more public than most.

Rodrigues faced her diagnosis as one might expect of a busy working mom — she was at the time a refund recovery specialist for an insurance company — who deftly juggled countless fundraisers, dances and open houses.

“I was trying to figure out a plan in my head because I’m an organizer,” she says. “Everything is on my calendar. Now I’m going to have to add in all this stuff. I didn’t want to have to disappoint my kids or my family. I didn’t want them to have to worry about me or take care of me.”

Rodrigues began organizing family photos, and cleaning out the garage and closets — part distraction, part preparing for the worst — while trying to maintain a normal routine for the sake of her sons, Tanner, Dylan and Josh, who were then 10, 17 and 20.

By the time of her surgery in late April 2009 at the MD Anderson Cancer

Center — now Orlando Health UF Health Cancer Center — her aggressive Stage 1 cancer had advanced to Stage 3. She opted for a double mastectomy followed by chemotherapy.

The woman who took care of everyone else finally allowed others to take care of her for a while. Her mother, Sharon, and her husband, Scott, a quality assurance analyst, stayed by her side through every doctor visit and medical procedure. And her sons stepped up to help at home.

Rodrigues, cancer free ever since, found a positive takeaway from the experience. “Now the little things don’t bother me,” she says. “It’s OK if my kids forget to empty the dishwasher or leave clothes in the washing machine. But now I just look at things differently. Tomorrow’s a new day.”

Before her diagnosis, Rodrigues helped students organize the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life events. This year, she organized the Winter Park Relay for Life, which was held at Showalter Field in April.

The highly organized support network for women with breast cancer — epitomized by breast cancer fundraisers and flocks of plastic pink flamingos on local lawns — didn’t exist when Janne Lane was first diagnosed in 1999.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month had been founded by the American FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W IN T ER PARK MAGAZ IN E

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PHOTO BY RAFAEL TONGOL

Breast cancer survivors Janne Lane and Stacey Rodrigues discuss their respective battles with the disease at Lane’s home on Lake Virginia, with Rollins College as a backdrop. Both women hope that by sharing their stories, they’ll encourage others to get screened.

SCREENING SAVES LIVES: MAYBE EVEN YOUR OWN Chances are, someone you know has had breast cancer. In Winter Park alone, 88 women are expected to be diagnosed with the disease in 2017, according to figures from Florida Hospital, which owns Winter Park Memorial Hospital.

About 1,890 women in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties — and 300,000 women throughout the U.S. — will receive the same unnerving news from their physicians.

Other than some skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. Mammography is the only screening method that has proven to be effective, according to the World Health Organization.

Unfortunately, too many women over 40 who should be screened don’t take the time.

Stacey Rodrigues of Winter Park says she had a mammogram just before her 41st birthday, after a relentless friend kept pestering her about it. The friend may have saved Rodrigues’ life; the mammogram caught her fast-moving cancer when the disease was still at Stage 1.

Although guidelines for mammograms are hotly debated, the American Cancer Society says that women should consider getting annual screenings beginning at age 40. But they should definitely do so between ages 45 and 54 — and either annually or every other year after that.

Mammograms can detect cancer in its earliest stage, before symptoms appear, providing the best chance for effective treatment.

Don’t be dissuaded from getting a mammogram by common myths that it takes too long, that it’s painful, or that radiation itself can cause breast cancer.

In reality, mammograms typically are completed in about 30 minutes, and can be scheduled for evenings or weekends.

Although some women might find the process uncomfortable, very few feel pain — especially with modern screening equipment.

And mammograms are very safe. Today’s digital exams use the lowest possible dose of radiation while still providing an effective screening.

The most common sign of breast cancer is a new mass or lump. Any such change should be checked by a doctor. The good news, however, is that eight out of 10 lumps are benign.

Although much more rare, men can get breast cancer, too.

Besides lumps, the American Cancer Society lists the following warning signs of breast cancer: n Swelling of all or part of a breast (even if no distinct lump is felt). n Skin irritation or dimpling. n Breast or nipple pain. n Nipple retraction (turning inward). n Redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin. n Nipple discharge (other than breast milk).

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Cancer Society in 1985. And the Estée Lauder Companies had launched the Breast Cancer Research Foundation — using a pink ribbon as its symbol — in 1993. But breast cancer had not yet become the high-profile cause that it would become in the 2000s.

For Lane, now 80, the process of finding treatment and dealing with the aftermath was a lonelier journey than it is for women today. She got the news following a routine mammogram. Recalls Lane: “The radiologist asked me, ‘Do you know a surgeon?’ I said I didn’t. He said, ‘Well, you’d better find one.’”

Left to her own devices, it took Lane three weeks to find a surgeon who participated in her insurance plan. She underwent a lumpectomy and then a second surgery to extend the margins, followed by 36 days of radiation.

Six months later, during a routine mammogram, an observant technician noticed something in the muscle beneath the other breast. A sonogram indicated cancer.

This time, Lane had a mastectomy. That was her last bout with cancer.

Today, cancer survivors are usually celebrated at the end of their treatment and the beginning of their cancer-free existence with a ceremonial ringing of bells at cancer centers.

Lane — whose husband, Jack, was then a history professor at Rollins College — specialized in helping others through crises as the lead elementary school counselor for Orange County Public Schools. But women who had battled breast cancer were often unaware of the resources available to them.

Lane later came to know several other women who had faced the disease. One recommended a support hotline, which Lane tried but found not particularly helpful.

Since her two cancers were different types — and neither was related to genetics — Lane did her own research and sought out nutritional advice at the hospital. She changed her diet to include organic and antibiotic-free food.

Lane applauds the advances that have been made in emotional and informational support for women dealing with breast cancer. And she’s glad that the subject is now so widely discussed.

After her retirement in 2000, Lane began using her counseling skills to support others along their journey.

“I’ve tried to reach out on a personal level and talk with women who I know are going through it,” Lane says. “I feel like I can make a difference by sharing my story.”

Nanda Shanbhag, a 20-year cancer survivor, sees her experience with breast cancer as a cautionary tale about the importance of advocating for one’s own healthcare.

Shanbhag, now 74, who retired to Winter Park four years ago to be near her children, was a homemaker and interior designer in Houston when her breast cancer was discovered. Although she was successfully treated, the seriousness of her situation was almost missed.

In early 1997, a routine mammogram showed no sign of cancer. Four months later, Shanbhag began experiencing what she thought were digestive problems and wound up seeing a gastroenterologist.

A series of scans turned up nothing to explain her GI symptoms. But the last scan report noted an area of density in her right breast.

Recalls Shanbhag: “I had the reports when I went back to the doctor. He was going on a vacation the next day. He stepped into the room, maybe two inches, and said, ‘Everything’s fine with the scans. You’re free to go.’ I said, ‘Wait a minute. What does this mean, density in the right breast?’”

The doctor told Shanbhag that she should discuss the report with her primarycare physician. But she let family activities distract her and didn’t seek additional medical advice until months later, when her digestive problems returned.

A different doctor read the reports from the old scans. “He said, ‘If I were you, I’d run, not walk, to a radiologist,’” she recalls.

At that point, Shanbhag says, she could feel the mass herself. A radiologist immediately referred her for surgery for what turned out to be Stage 2 breast cancer.

“It really comes down to how much you’re on top of your own healthcare,” she says. “You have to ask the right questions, get the second opinion. Knowledge is power. Don’t let people pat you on the head like sheep.”

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IN OCTOBER, WINTER PARK THINKS PINK. Every October, flocks of pink plastic flamingos assemble in the lawns, parks and public spaces of Central Florida. Most locals associate the colorful clusters with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Although breast cancer awareness campaigns featuring flamingos can now be found throughout Central Florida and in cities throughout the U.S., the idea may well have originated in Winter Park.

In 2011, just as the country was beginning to emerge from the Great Recession, health advocates at Winter Park Memorial Hospital noticed that women weren’t getting mammograms as frequently as they once did.

“We did some investigating to find out why that was,” recalls Teresa Mairn, then an assistant director for marketing at the hospital. “We found that a lot of it had to do with economics. People didn’t necessarily have the funds or insurance to get a mammogram.”

The marketing team then began brainstorming ways to draw attention to the importance of mammograms. Team members also wanted to make certain that every woman could receive a screening — regardless of financial ability.

“Our inspiration was the peacock, which is the mascot of the city,” says Mairn, who’s still with the hospital as a director of marketing. “We said, ‘OK, the peacock is great, but what’s pink?’ The answer was, flamingos!”

The hospital bought a bunch of plastic flamingos from a home-improvement store and offered them for sale at $10 a pair. You could add one flamingo to the flock — which was established in Central Park — and take the other home to install on the lawn.

The birds could be tagged to honor loved ones who had been impacted by breast cancer. And proceeds from their sale would support a fund that covered the cost of mammograms for women who might not otherwise have been able to afford them.

The campaign was dubbed “Pink Out,” and a local tradition was, well, hatched.

Soon, florid flocks began to congregate at the hospital’s campus on Lakemont Avenue. Shortly thereafter, they could be seen in Hannibal Square, at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens and on the campus of Rollins College.

Now, every October, they’re just about everywhere. This year, in fact, Pink Out was launched early — on September 1 — with a kickoff event in Central Park, where it all began.

However, the hospital’s flock is now congregating in Winter Park Village, since the city no longer allows temporary displays on its property. This year, the flock consists of 88 flamingos, since 88 local women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

The location of the official Pink Out flock isn’t the only change for 2017. You can now start a virtual flock — or add a virtual flamingo to a friend’s virtual flock — through the Pink Out website.

In Central Florida, Pink Out now encompasses an array of events, including golf, tennis and volleyball tournaments and a parade. This year’s parade, slated for October 22, charts a three-mile route through Celebration.

Past Pink Out-related events have been more quirky. For example, at the 2012 kickoff event, 1,774 supporters — most of them clad in pink — showed up and broke the Guinness World Record for most number of people standing, flamingo-like, on one leg. (The record was broken again just weeks later in London, at a similar breast cancer awareness event.)

A marketing success story? Sure. But more importantly, Pink Out saves lives.

Since the program began, more than 10,000 flamingos have been sold. The Florida Hospital Breast Cancer Care Fund has provided free mammograms and diagnostic tests for 6,333 patients, resulting in 76 cancer diagnoses.

In addition to free mammograms for women who qualify, the hospital offers $30 mammograms throughout the month of October at any of its 14 imaging centers.

Mairn didn’t expect the idea to catch on as quickly — or to spread as widely — as it did. “We couldn’t be happier,” she says. “It really connected with women of multiple generations, which is kind of a dream come true. To me, it meant that people were talking about breast health. Women who didn’t always take care of themselves but take care of others were actually pausing a minute to say, ‘My health matters, too.’”

For more information about all things Pink Out — including how to qualify for a free screening and where to get a $30 screening — go to pinkout.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WINTER PARK MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

At Pink Out’s 2012 kickoff event at Central Park, 1,774 people stood, flamingo-like, on one leg, breaking a Guinness World Record. The record was broken again a week later in London, at a similar breast cancer awareness event.

86 W I N T E R P A R K M A G AZI N E | FALL 2017

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aestro Cucina Napoletana looks like a theme park’s idea of a trendy trattoria. Its white Carrara marble-topped bar extends onto the Park Avenue sidewalk, inviting a sip of barbaresco in the open air. A logoed pizza oven — cute but contrived — is installed at the rear of the cozy dining room.

But don’t let the somewhat gimmicky ambiance fool you, miei amici. When it comes to cuisine, this place is the real deal. Chef Rosario Spagnolo has legions of loyal fans who are sure to turn up wherever he’s in the kitchen. And, believe me, he’s been in a lot of kitchens.

His most recent venture — which he co-owns with a silent Brazilian investor — serves such splendid fare that regulars include many native Italians.

“They’re looking for specialty Italian food, so they come here,” the affable Spagnolo says. “I have nice relationships with our customers. Some of them still recognize me from 1989.”

Spagnolo has indeed been simmering red sauces and tossing pastas in Central Florida for 28 years. This time, his eatery has a narrow focus: All the food is inspired by Naples, his home town.

From flour used in pizza dough to tomato sauce that tops eggplant parmigiana, every item is prepared as it would have been in Napoli homes and restaurants. “It’s like rustic

Rosario Spagnolo and his son, James, celebrate the cuisine of Naples at Maestro Cucina Napoletana, a cozy new eatery on Park Avenue.

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DINING

Fresh, Florida Cuisine in an Award-Winning Hotel Enjoy seasonal specialties surrounded by museum-quality art and a beautiful Mediterranean-style atmosphere.

Relax on our patio and enjoy the sights and sounds of Winter Park.

An imported red-tiled Marra pizza oven that bears Maestro’s name uses gas to keep the temperature at a feisty 800 degrees.

Accolades 2017 Travel + Leisure Top 100 Hotels in the World 2017 Travel + Leisure #2 Top City Hotel in the Continental United States 2016 Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards #1 in Florida For dining reservations, please call 407-998-8089 Visit us at www.TheAlfondInn.com or on Facebook

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food — not too expensive, with a lot of flavors,” Spagnolo says.

Let’s talk about those flavors. Little more than fish, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley comprise the spigola al forno — a whole roasted Mediterranean sea bass, also known as branzino.

But don’t confuse simplicity for blandness. Cut through the charred skin — which itself is a musteat treat — and you’ll find luscious, fork-tender white flesh.

A small lemony-garlicky dressing is all this entrée needs. At $24.50, it’s a mighty fine value, plated with fresh herb-topped vegetables and either roasted potato slices or a wedge of mashedpotato pie.

You needn’t spend even that much to finish your meal bursting to croon “O sole mio.” The pastas, priced from $12.50 to $16.50, will win your Italian-fare-loving-heart just as easily.

For the gnocchi alla Sorrentini, the kitchen makes its own potato-based dumplings before tossing the tender morsels with tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and basil.

For a heartier option, try the cannelloni gratinati. The house-made pasta is filled with ground beef, salami and mozzarella, and topped with sauce and cheese before baking.

Sure, you can get a similar dish at any neighborhood red-sauce joint. But this one is better by miles — guaranteed.

That fancy oven, an imported red-tiled Marra that bears Maestro’s name in white-tile letters, represents a $30,000 investment. It uses gas to keep the temperature at a feisty 800 degrees, and bakes a pizza in about 90 seconds.

And the pizza isn’t of the trendy variety. Don’t even think about toppings that you wouldn’t also find on the other side of the Atlantic. “These are all traditional Neapolitan pizzas,” Spagnolo says.

In fact, the dough is made from Caputo flour, and every pie is hand-tossed. Maestro’s pizza maker and its chef de cuisine are experts; both are natives of Naples and have worked for Spagnolo for at least 15 years.

You can’t go wrong with any Maestro pizzas.

But our crowd would readily re-order the one

ONE UNIQUE HOSPITALITY BRAND. THREE DISTINCT EXPERIENCES. ENDLESS FLAVORFUL FARE. At Prato, we feature handcrafted Italian cuisine, a vibrant bar scene and year-round alfresco dining. Luma on Park is an upscale, casual American kitchen serving original locally inspired cuisine. Luke’s Kitchen and Bar focuses on classic American cuisine, using seasonal ingredients and responsibly sourced proteins inspired by culinary traditions from coast to coast.

Photo: Emma Shourds

capenhouse.com | 407-636-9317

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DINING topped with buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula, cherry tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. It could feed two, and at $16.50 or $20.50, it’s a reasonably priced meal on Park Avenue.

Except you’ll almost certainly weaken your budget resolve and start with at least one appetizer. Who could resist?

The meatballs — tasty beef and veal orbs, baked then simmered in a rich simple tomato sauce — are a must. “They’re very old-fashioned,” Spagnolo says. “A little garlic, some breadcrumbs and eggs.”

That’s it.

The sauce itself is a revelation, consisting only of San Marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley and basil. “Some people think the more you put into a sauce the better it tastes, but that’s not true,” Spagnolo insists.

I’m convinced. He should bottle and sell the stuff — I’d stock my pantry.

Happily for diners, Spagnolo uses the same red sauce with the eggplant parmigiana appetizer. The dish consists of little more than fresh eggplant slices dipped in flour and egg wash, fried until golden, then layered like a lasagna with mozzarella and fresh basil before baking.

Spagnolo moved to Winter Park from Naples

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in 1988. He has owned Bravissimo, which went through several incarnations, and later Allegria, which he sold and is no longer in operation. In 2004, he opened Terramia, which is a popular Italian restaurant in Altamonte Springs.

Maestro and Terramia share a wine list of 100 labels, nearly all Italian, with 30 available by the glass. The menus, however, are different. Terramia’s choices span the Italian peninsula, while Maestro sticks to the one southern city fronting the Mediterranean Sea. Both restaurants have a warm feel. “I always do warm,” says Spagnolo, 56, whose son, James, is Maestro’s general manager. “I like cherry wood and marble and granite.”

The friendly surroundings match Spagnolo’s personality, so don’t be shy about introducing yourself when you stop by for, say, rice-stuffed peppers or a beef braciola rolled with Romano cheese and herbs.

You’ll surely be back — so you might as well get to know the family.

MAESTRO CUCINA NAPOLETANA 528 S. Park Avenue, Winter Park 407-335-4548 • maestrocucinanapoletana.com

Little more than fish, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley comprise the spigola al forno (above) — a whole roasted Mediterranean sea bass, also known as branzino.

But don’t confuse simplicity for blandness. Maestro’s unpretentious interior (below) is highlighted by warm wood tones with an open kitchen at the rear.

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THEGLASSKNIFE .COM

© Resilient Restaurants LLC

EVENTS ART, HISTORY, ENTERTAINMENT AND MORE

PHOTO BY RAFAEL TONGOL

Through a Spiritual Lens The GladdeningLight Symposium always assembles an eclectic roster of scholars, writers, clerics and creatives to explore the ways in which art and spirituality overlap and intersect.

Weighty? Of course. But the symposium, helmed

by GladdeningLight Founding Director Randall B. Robertson, offers some of the most inspiring speakers and innovative programs you’ll see anywhere.

This year’s symposium has a typically expansive theme, which is reflected in its title: The Spiritual Lens: Evocations on Poetry, Music and Film. For the first time, the whole shebang will be held on the campus of Rollins College.

The nondenominational gathering, set for January 25-28, 2018, relocated to the campus in part because it had simply outgrown its previous home base, All Saints Episcopal Church on Lyman Avenue.

The move will provide elbow room — and a vibrant setting — for an expanded slate of activities, including a series of lectures, performances and discussions that will feature four speakers: n Krista Tippett, host of the NPR program and podcast On Being and author of Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. n A.O. Scott, chief film critic of The New York Times, author of Better Living Through Criticism and host of a video podcast called Critics’ Picks. n Gustavo Santaolalla, an Argentinian-born musician, composer and producer who won back-to-back Oscars for his scores to Brokeback Mountain and Babel. n Billy Collins, former U.S. poet laureate and senior distinguished fellow at Rollins College’s Winter Park Institute, whose most recent volume of poetry is The Rain in Portugal.

Free Planet Radio, an Asheville, North Carolinabased world-music trio, will provide multi-instrumental musical interludes during the symposium.

“Gladdening light” is a reference to what scholars consider the first Christian hymn. Written in Greek during the third century, it’s an entreaty for spiritual illumination amid the darkness of day-to-day life.

Robertson, a former sports marketing entrepreneur, turned to soul-searching following his retirement. He even briefly studied to be a minister, but

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started GladdeningLight instead.

The organization’s mission, he says, is to bring together writers, thinkers, musicians and visual artists who “honor the divine spark” and inspire others in a collaborative setting.

Rollins — and filmmaking — first played a key role in the symposium two years ago, when programming was related to Joan of Arc. During the 2015 event, Knowles Memorial Chapel hosted the screening of a silent film, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc. The film was accompanied by an oratorio, Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light, which was performed by the Bach Festival Choir.

GladdeningLight Founding Director Randy Robertson.

Attendees at two sold-out performances sat momentarily in stunned silence as the last notes dissipated. Then they leapt to their feet, applauding and cheering. It was the first time many had ever heard of GladdeningLight.

The 2018 symposium, sponsored by the office of Rollins President Grant Cornwell, will include events in Bush Auditorium, SunTrust Auditorium, Warden Arena, Tiedtke Concert Hall and Dave’s Boathouse.

“We’ve sponsored museum exhibits and hosted photographers, painters and sculptors — but never thoroughly examined the evocative nature of film,” says Robertson. “It’ll be a joy to delve into the movies with such a distinguished group.”

He hopes participants will emerge better equipped

to experience the spiritual messages that some films seek to impart. There’s no reason, he says, to be surprised by — or to dismiss — an insight simply because it happened to accompany a box of popcorn and a trip to the multiplex.

“When you’re brought to tears or get goosebumps at the movies, that can represent a doorway to greater depths of feeling,” adds Robertson.

When it comes to faith backgrounds, he and Krista Tippett, the symposium’s keynoter, have plenty in common: Both are products of fundamentalist stock who came to question the dogma they’d been taught.

Mississippi-born Robertson was raised in the Church of Christ, where he was warned against dancing or swimming with the opposite sex. Oklahoma-born Tippett’s grandfather was a Southern Baptist preacher whose theology she once described as “all about avoiding death and damnation.”

Early in life, Tippett found herself wondering: “How could every Catholic and Jew, every atheist in China and every Northern Baptist in Chicago — for that matter, every non-Southern Baptist — be damned?

Could God be so petty, and heaven so small?”

Seeking the answer to that question, among others, Tippett enrolled at Yale Divinity School, from which she earned a degree. She later began writing about religion issues, eventually creating and hosting an NPR program and podcast called On Being.

The show is essentially a continuation of the spiritual quest that Tippett began in her youth. It examines what she calls the “animating questions at the center of human life: What does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live?”

On Being’s guest list has included the Dalai Lama, Maya Angelou, Roseanne Cash, Yo-Yo Ma and Elie Wiesel. Tippett has an inquisitive, earthy interviewing style: You can still sense the presence of that downhome Oklahoma girl, plainspoken yet penetrating.

In 2014, Tippett received the National Humanities Medal for “thoughtfully delving into the mysteries of human existence.”

The citation further noted: “On the air and in print, Ms. Tippett avoids easy answers, embracing complexity and inviting people of every background to join her conversation about faith, ethics and moral wisdom.”

A.O. Scott’s central observation in Better Living

Through Criticism is that critical thinking is a necessary life skill for anyone wishing to be fully human. Unfortunately, he laments, it’s a life skill that’s been degraded.

Ignorance, he contends, is cultivated by default: “Anti-intellectualism is virtually our civic religion.

‘Critical thinking’ may be a ubiquitous educational slogan — a vaguely defined skill we hope our children pick up on the way to adulthood — but the rewards for not using your intelligence are immediate and abundant.”

Scott, who shares film-reviewing duties at The New York Times with Manohla Dargis, is a distinguished professor of film criticism at Wesleyan University.

In 2006, Scott served as guest critic on Ebert & Roeper when the late Roger Ebert’s illness became debilitating. He’s a firm believer in the power of film to elevate its audience.

“I think art exists in the service of the dignity of human beings,” he has said. “I think the reason that cinema exists, and the thing that gives it its power and charisma, is the human face — and the ways that it can represent the human face on a scale, and with an emotional immediacy, that surpasses any other art.”

Gustavo Santaolalla’s trademark as a musician is innovation. He was front man of the Argentine rock band Arco Iris (Spanish for rainbow). It was perhaps the first rock group to promote the practice of yoga through its music.

Santaolalla also played a key role in melding rock

with Argentina’s regional folk music. In a country with a history of repression, he has said that “the power of music to transform people” was particularly profound.

He continued to explore that power after moving to California and writing music for films. Ordinarily, composers wait until movies are made, and then create melodies to suit the action.

But for Brokeback Mountain, Santaolalla worked the other way around. His score captures a sense of both the loneliness of the Wyoming landscape and the dark beauty of a doomed love.

He wrote it on instinct, without the benefit of seeing how director Ang Lee would bring Annie Proulx’s compelling short story to the big screen. Instead of being inspired by actors, he inspired them by playing his music on the set.

“That whole score was done before they shot one frame,” he said in an interview with New York Times music critic Jon Pareles. “We played it for the actors, then it was the genius of [Lee] to put it in the right places.”

Billy Collins, who has become a golfing buddy of Robertson’s — and an informal ambassador for GladdeningLight — will kick off the symposium by interviewing Tippett. Actually, it’ll be more of a conversation — and attendees get to eavesdrop.

Collins, who was inducted into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters last year, has been described by The New York Times as the

most popular poet in the country. But more often than not, there’s a deeper undercurrent to his breezy, engaging verses.

He has been interviewed about the spiritual component some find in his work, and was asked to write a preface to The Best Spiritual Writing of 2011.

Once, upon being told than his poems were being read at mealtimes to the Roman Catholic monks at a religious retreat on the mountainous Northern California Big Sur coastline, he visited the hermitage.

And, like the monks, he observed silence for the duration of his stay. If you’ve ever been around Collins, you know that was quite an accomplishment.

The Spiritual Lens is a four-day combination of free and ticketed events, including a keynote address

by Tippett. There’ll also be lectures, receptions and panel discussions featuring Tippett, Scott, Santaolalla and Collins. Free Planet Radio, with Santaolalla as a special guest, will stage a concert.

Also on the schedule are tours of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Morse Museum of American Art and the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park.

For a detailed schedule — and to register for the four-day symposium — visit gladdeninglight.org or call 407-647-3963. A $280 pass gets you into just about everything, while some events are free or cost as little as $25.

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PHOTOS BY SUZANNAH GILMAN (BILLY COLLINS) AND INTERNATIONAL BILLBOARD (GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA)

Krista Tippett, author and host of NPR’s On Being, will headline the 2018 GladdeningLight Symposium, which is dubbed The Spiritual Lens: Evocations on Poetry, Music and Film. Joining Tippett will be (right, top to bottom): A.O. Scott, film critic for The New York Times; Gustavo Santaolalla, Oscar-winning composer; and Billy Collins, former two-time U.S. poet laureate.

EVENTS

The Maitland Art Center’s new exhibition, Drawing the Unseen: Artists Explore the Subconscious, features the original surrealist watercolor paintings that were reproduced in Art and the Subconscious, a 1936 book by J. André Smith, the center’s founder. Shown is one of the exhibition’s paintings, And Yet You Cannot Hold Them Down, a particularly eerie work by Smith.

Adjoining galleries will highlight similarly themed works by local artists. Drawing the Unseen runs from October 6 through December 17.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MAITLAND ART CENTER

VISUAL ARTS

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens.

This 54-year-old lakeside museum is dedicated to preserving the works of the famed Czech sculptor for whom it was both home and studio for more than a decade. Running through December 3 is Captured in Paint — Central Florida in Art, featuring plein air works on loan from local collectors Hal Stringer and Kevin Miller. In addition, the Polasek offers tours of the restored Capen-Showalter House three times weekly: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:30 a.m., and Saturdays at 10:15 a.m. The house, built in 1885, was saved from demolition several years ago and floated across Lake Osceola to a new location on the Polasek’s grounds. Regular admission to the museum is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for students and free for children. 633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park.

407-647-6294. polasek.org.

Art & History Museums — Maitland. The Maitland Art Center, one of five museums anchoring

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the city’s Cultural Corridor, was founded as an art colony in 1937 by visionary American artist and architect J. André Smith. The center, located at 231 West Packwood Avenue, Maitland, is the Orlando area’s only National Historic Landmark and one of the few surviving examples of Mayan Revival architecture in the Southeast. Its next exhibition, Drawing the Unseen: Artists Explore the Subconscious, opens October 6 and runs through December 17.

The exhibition features the original surrealist watercolor paintings that were reproduced in Art and the Subconscious, a 1936 book written by Smith. Adjoining galleries will showcase works on paper by living artists who are investigating aspects of the unseen, including Matt Duke, Ian Jones and Anthony Deal, all from Orlando. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and children 4-18, and free for children 3 and under. The museum’s first “Culture Pop!” of the 2017-18 season, scheduled October 6, features a first look at Drawing the Unseen. The event, which runs from 6-9 p.m., also includes literary readings by lo-

cal writers, live music, demonstrations by art-school instructors and a chance to meet the 2017-18 “Artists in Action.” Admission is $5. The Cultural Corridor also includes the Maitland Historical Museum, at which the ongoing exhibition Maitland’s Legacies: Creativity & Innovation uses archival photographs, artifacts and documents to trace the history of the city and its residents. The other three venues are the Telephone Museum, included with the historical museum at 221 West Packwood Avenue, Maitland, and the Waterhouse Residence Museum, which with the Carpentry Shop Museum was built in the 1880s and is located at 820 Lake Lily Drive, Maitland. 407-539-2181. artandhistory.org.

Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. With more than 19,000 square feet of gallery and public space, the Morse houses the world’s most important collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany creations, including jewelry, pottery, paintings, art glass and an entire chapel interior originally designed and built for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in

Image: Richard Mosse, Idomeni Camp, Greece, 2016, Digital c-print on metallic paper, The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College © Richard Mosse. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

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EVENTS Chicago. In marking its diamond anniversary this year, the museum showcases the breadth of its eclectic collection in Celebrating 75 Years — Pathways of American Art at the Morse Museum. The exhibition, which continues through September 23, 2018, includes portraits, landscape paintings, pottery and works on paper assembled by founders Hugh and Jeannette McKean. On display through January 7, 2018: Focus Exhibition: Tiffany Studios’ Daffodil Reading Lamp, and Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Life and Art. Tickets are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $1 for students and free for children younger than 12. 445 North Park Avenue, Winter Park. 407-645-5311. morsemuseum.org.

Cornell Fine Arts Museum. Located on the campus of Rollins College, the museum houses one of the oldest and most eclectic collections of fine art in Florida. Free tours take place at 1 p.m. on Saturdays at the campus facility and at 1 p.m. on Sundays at the nearby Alfond Inn, which displays dozens of works from the museum’s Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art. Happy Hour tours of the Alfond Collection are also conducted on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. If you prefer historic works, Throwback Thursday tours are offered at the museum from 12:30-1:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of most months. Continuing through December 31 is Time as Landscape ­— Inquiries of Art and Science, an exhibition of art that questions, describes or seeks to understand the concept of time. Meanwhile, the museum’s ongoing Conversations exhibition features selected works from the permanent collection along with recent gifts and loans. Admission to the museum is free, courtesy of Dale Montgomery, Rollins Class of 1960. 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park. 407-646-2526. rollins.edu/cfam.

Crealdé School of Art. Established in 1975, this nonprofit arts organization offers year-round visual-arts classes for all ages, taught by more than 40 working artists. Admission to the school’s galleries is free, though there are fees for art classes. Through January 13, 2018, the school’s Jenkins Gallery features The Lake: A Documentary Exploring the Land and People of Lake Apopka, in which 25 photographers, studio artists and plein air painters explore the land and people surrounding Florida’s fifth-largest lake. The Crealdé Photography Guild assembles the project’s photographers to share their experiences on November 3 from 7-9 p.m. 600 Saint Andrews Boulevard, Winter Park. 407-671-1886. crealde.org.

Hannibal Square Heritage Center. Established in 2007 by the Crealdé School of Art in partnership with residents of Hannibal Square and the City of Winter Park, the center celebrates the city’s historically African-American west side with archival photographs, original artwork and oral histories from longtime residents that are together known as the Heritage Collection. Also ongoing is the Hannibal Square Timeline, which documents significant local and national events in African-American history

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since the Emancipation Proclamation. Admission is free. 642 West New England Avenue, Winter Park.

407-539-2680. hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org.

PERFORMING ARTS

Annie Russell Theatre. “The Annie,” located on the campus of Rollins College, kicks off its 2017-18 season with The Cradle Will Rock, a musical allegory written in the 1930s about political corruption and corporate greed. The show runs September 29 through October 7. Next up: Sense and Sensibility, a new adaptation of the beloved Jane Austen novel. The play, like the book, follows the Dashwood sisters as they cope with the sudden death of their father, which leaves them financially destitute and socially vulnerable. It runs November 17 through December 2. Both productions are slated for eight performances, with most shows at 8 p.m. and several matinees at 2 or 4 p.m.

Tickets start at $20. 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park.

407-646-2145. rollins.edu/annie-russell-theatre.

Fred Stone Theatre. The Annie Russell Theatre offers a Second Stage Series of free, student-produced plays in the nearby Fred Stone Theatre, also on the Rollins College campus. The season’s first production, Eleemosynary, is a full-length drama that explores the complex relationships between three generations of extraordinary women. It runs October 25-28, with five performances at 8 p.m. and a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. First-come, first-served seating. 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park. 407-646-2145. rollins.edu/annie-russell-theatre.

Winter Park Playhouse. Winter Park’s only professional, nonprofit theater continues its 2017-18 mainstage season through October 8 with Life Could Be a Dream, the Florida premiere of a high-energy musical comedy about a group of doo-wop singers preparing to enter a major radio contest. The show’s score features such classic ’60s rock ’n’ roll hits as “Fools Fall in Love,” “Tears on My Pillow,” “Runaround Sue,” “Earth Angel” and “Unchained Melody.” The next production, Daddy Long Legs, is the regional premiere of an off-Broadway musical based on the 1912 novel and 1955 movie of the same name. The story of a witty and winsome young orphan runs November 17-18 — with a November 16 preview — and, after a Thanksgiving break, continues November 30 through December 17.

Both musicals run Thursdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m. Single tickets range from $15 for students to $42 for evening performances. The 2017-18 Spotlight Cabaret Series kicks off with Kelly Morris Rowan on October 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $23 to $28. 711 Orange Avenue, Winter Park.

407-645-0145. winterparkplayhouse.org.

FESTIVALS

Winter Park Autumn Art Festival. This two-day art show and sale, now in its 44th year, is the only juried fine-art festival in the state to feature Florida artists exclusively. The event, held in Central Park along Park Avenue, runs October 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition to art, there’s live entertainment. 251 South Park Avenue, Winter Park. winterpark.org.

Leadership Winter Park Oktoberfest. This October 25 event, held in the historic freight depot at the Winter Park Farmers’ Market, squeezes plenty of brats and beer into three hours starting at 5:30 p.m. Naturally, there’s an “oompah” band as well as savory German appetizers, beer and wine. Tickets are $20 for Leadership Winter Park members and alumni, and $25 for everyone else. Proceeds benefit the Legacy Fund of Leadership Winter Park, which funds scholarships for adults and youth seeking entry to Leadership Winter Park, a program sponsored by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. 407-644-8281. winterpark.org.

FILM

Enzian. This cozy, nonprofit alternative cinema kicks off the fall season with a pair of festivals. The 20th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival, which screens 10 films in two hours — with viewers voting on finalists — is set for October 2 at 6:30 p.m. It’s followed October 7 through 9 by the 23rd annual South Asian Film Festival, which screens independent films celebrating the culture of the Indian subcontinent. This year’s festival, dubbed Beyond Bollywood, is a partnership of Enzian and the local Asian Cultural Association. Many of the theater’s other special programs in October adopt appropriately spooky Halloween themes. Midnight Movies, shown each Saturday of the month at 11:59 p.m., include 28 Days Later (October 7), The Exorcist (October 14), Kill, Baby … Kill!

(October 21) and Halloween II (October 28). Also in the series is Porco Rosso (December 1), a Japanese film with English subtitles. Tickets are usually $11 for regular admission; $9 for matinees, students, seniors and military (with ID); and $8.50 for Enzian Film Society members. Cult Classics are shown on the second and last Tuesday of each month at 9:30 p.m., with extra October selections for Halloween.

Upcoming films include Poltergeist (October 3), Cabin Fever (October 10), High Tension (October 24), Nightmare on Elm Street (October 31), Krull (November 14), Real Genius (November 28), Pan’s Labyrinth (December 12) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch (December 26). Saturday Matinee Classics are shown on the second Saturday of each month at noon. Upcoming films include The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (October 14), Fanny and Alexander (November 11) and It’s a Wonderful Life (December 9).

Book to Big Screen showcases films adapted from books, including Bram Stoker’s Dracula (October 21, 11 a.m.). The next FilmSlam, which spotlights Florida-made short films, is slated for October 15. Music Mondays focus on films about or featuring music, including Phantom of the Paradise (October 16) and Sidemen: Long Road to Glory (November 20). Peanut Butter Matinee Family Films include kid-friendly flicks, such as Porco Rosso (November 26) and The Wizard of Oz (December 17). Showtimes are at noon, and tickets are free for children under 12;

otherwise they’re $8 each. Other special showings include Loving Vincent (October 6, 3:30 p.m.), Pearl Jam: Let’s Play Two (October 6, 9:30 p.m.), The Florida Project (October 12, 6:30 p.m.), National Theatre Live productions of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (October 29, 11 a.m.) and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (November 25, 11 a.m.).

For youngsters, there’s a Halloween Party featuring Hotel Transylvania 2 (October 22, 11:30 a.m.) and a Letters to Santa party featuring The Polar Express (December 10, 11 a.m.). For grownups, there’s the Eden Bar’s 10th Anniversary Halloween Party (October 28, 9 p.m., with a midnight showing of Halloween II), and a James Bond New Year’s Eve Party with live music and costume contests (December 31, 8 p.m.). 1300 South Orlando Avenue, Maitland. 407629-0054 (information line), 407-629-1088 (theater offices). enzian.org.

Popcorn Flicks in the Park. The City of Winter Park and Enzian collaborate to offer classic, family friendly films free in Central Park on Park Avenue. These outdoor screenings are usually on the second Thursday of each month and start whenever it gets dark — figure 7 or 8 p.m. Upcoming films include The Blob (October 12, 8 p.m.), Batman: The Movie (November 9, 7 p.m.) and The Nightmare Before Christmas (December 1, 7 p.m.). Bring a blanket or chairs and a snack.

407-629-1088. enzian.org.

Screen on the Green. The City of Maitland offers free outdoor movies each fall and spring on the field at Maitland Middle School. Bring a blanket or chairs. The program’s summer break ends October 1 with a showing of Sing at 7:30 p.m. Next is a November 4 showing of Ghostbusters (2016 version) at 7 p.m., followed by a December 16 showing of Beauty and the Beast (2017 live-action version) at 6 p.m. 1902 Choctaw Trail, Maitland. 407-539-0042. itsmymaitland.com.

University Club of Winter Park Film Nights. This organization, dedicated to the enjoyment of intellectual activities and socializing, will screen director Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet on October 19 at 6:30 p.m., followed by the feature-length documentary Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall on October 30 at 6:30 p.m. Non-members are welcome, and the shows are free — although donations are appreciated. University Club of Winter Park, 841 North Park Avenue, Winter Park. 407-644-6149. uclubwp.org.

HISTORY

Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum. This stunningly restored Spanish farmhouse-style home, designed by acclaimed architect James Gamble Rogers II, is now a community center and museum.

Free open houses are hosted by trained docents on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon.

Also, live music is featured in the large downstairs parlor on Sundays from noon to 3 p.m. (see Music).

New this year is the Casa Feliz Parlor Series: Culture

by Design, which features four lectures. The third,

“A Design History of Winter Park,” is presented

by Rollins College professor Bruce Stephenson on October 17. The fourth, “Underpinnings of Good Design,” is presented by architect Brooks Weiss and Orange County Budget Director David Hardison on November 14. Both programs start at 7 p.m. following 6:30 p.m. receptions. 656 North Park Avenue (adjacent to the Winter Park Golf Course), Winter Park. 407-628-8200. casafeliz.us.

Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida. The center is dedicated to combating anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice, with the goal of developing a moral and just community through educational and cultural programs. It houses permanent and temporary exhibitions, archives and a research library. A new exhibition, The Profound Effect, is the result of a promise made by St. Petersburg-based artist Judith Dazzio when she was 12 years old. A Holocaust survivor had spoken to her sixth-grade class, showing faded photographs of her children who had been killed. Over the course of a decade, Dazzio sought to honor the woman by producing a series of haunting paintings based upon her terrifying testimony. The Profound Effect runs through December 31. The museum’s ongoing exhibition, Tribute to the Holocaust, presents artifacts, videos, text, photographs and other artwork. Admission is free. 851 North Maitland Avenue, Maitland. 407-628-0555. holocaustedu.org.

Winter Park History Museum. Ongoing displays include artifacts dating from the city’s beginnings as a New England-style resort in the 1880s. Its current exhibition, Winter Park: The War Years, 1941-1945 — Home Front Life in an American Small Town, explores the ways in which World War II affected Winter Parkers. Admission is free. 200 West New England Avenue, Winter Park. 407-644-2330. wphistory.org.

Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts. Eatonville is strongly associated with Harlem Renaissance writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, who lived there as a girl and recorded her childhood memories in her classic autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road. The museum that bears her name provides information about the city, which was formed by African-Americans; it also sponsors exhibits featuring the works of African-American artists and is an integral part of the annual, weeklong Zora! Festival each January. Admission is free, though group tours require a reservation and must pay a fee. 227 East Kennedy Boulevard, Eatonville.

407-647-3188. zorafestival.org, hurstonmuseum.org.

HOLIDAYS

7th Annual Pumpkins & Munchkins. Kids of all ages are invited to a city-sponsored Halloween gathering at Shady Park, located in Winter Park’s Hannibal Square neighborhood. The free event, which runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on October 31, includes games, bounce houses, a costume contest and a Trick-or-Treat Trail.

Corner of New England and Pennsylvania avenues,

Winter Park. 407-599-3334. cityofwinterpark.org.

Handel’s Messiah. The Messiah Choral Society is a Winter Park-based nonprofit organization that performs George Frideric Handel’s most famous composition every Thanksgiving-to-Christmas season using volunteer singers. The main event this year — the 45th annual performance — is November 26 at 3 p.m. at the Bob Carr Theater, 401 West Livingston Street in downtown Orlando. Admission is free. messiahchoralsociety.org.

Winter on the Avenue. The annual holiday street party, slated this year for December 1, encompasses a flurry of activities from 5 to 10 p.m. along Park Avenue and in Central Park. Beginning at 3 p.m., the shopping district is closed to vehicular traffic, transforming it into a giant pedestrian plaza. You won’t want to miss the annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, visits with Santa Claus, an outdoor movie and other live entertainment. Also enjoy a Merchant Open House and Window Contest before testing your skills at the Winter in the Park Holiday Ice-Skating Rink. The Morse Museum of American Art offers free admission from 4 to 8 p.m. 407-644-8281. winterpark.org.

65th Annual “Ye Olde Hometown” Christmas Parade. This venerable holiday tradition, slated this year for December 2 beginning at 9 a.m., has delighted locals since the early 1950s. More than 100 parade units are expected to make their way south along Park Avenue beginning at Cole Avenue and ending at Lyman Avenue. Groups participating in the two-hour event include marching bands, local dance troupes, police and fire departments, scout units, local dignitaries and, of course, Santa Claus.

407-599-3203. winterpark.org.

Leadership Winter Park Pancake Breakfast. Just before the “Ye Olde Hometown” Christmas Parade on December 2, you can help turn pancake batter into dough — the spending kind — for civic-leadership scholarships at the 18th Annual Leadership Winter Park Pancake Breakfast. Prior to the parade, at 7 p.m., a traditional pancake breakfast is served in Central Park near the outdoor stage. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for children. Proceeds benefit the Winter Park Improvement Foundation, which funds scholarships for adults and youth seeking entry to Leadership Winter Park, a program sponsored by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. 407-644-8281. winterpark.org.

39th Annual Christmas in the Park. It’s a hallowed Winter Park tradition: On the first Thursday of each December, in Central Park’s West Meadow, the Morse Museum of American Art rings in the season by lighting up some of its priceless Tiffany windows and presenting the Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra in an outdoor concert of holiday music. This year — its 39th — the free evening event is on December 7 starting at 6:15 p.m. 407-645-5311. morsemuseum.org.

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WELCOME TO

THE PARK AVENUE MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION • EXPERIENCEPARKAVENUE.COM

Health & Beauty 23 9 12 6

Advanced Park Dental 407-628-0200 Clean Beauty Bar 407-960-3783 Eyes & Optics 407-644-5156 Kendall & Kendall, Hair Color Studio 407-629-2299 17 One Aesthetics 407-720-4242 15 See Eyewear 407-599-5455

Hotels 8 9

The Alfond Inn Park Plaza Hotel

3 11 10 9

California Closets Ethan Allen Monark Premium Appliance The Shade Store

800-633-0213 407-622-1987 407-636-9725 321-422-1010

Jewelry Alex and Ani Be On Park International Diamond Center Jewelers on the Park Orlando Watch Company Reynolds & Co. Jewelers

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FREE 4-hour Public Parking

FREE Public Parking

FREE 3-HOUR Street Public Parking

Beyond Commercial 407-641-2221 Brandywine Square 407-657-5555 Fannie Hillman + Associates 407-644-1234 Great American Land Management, Inc. 407-645-4131 Keewin Real Property Company 407-645-4400 Kelly Price & Company 407-645-4321 Leading Edge Title 407-636-9866 Olde Town Brokers 407-622-7878 Premier Sotheby’s International Realty 407-644-3295 Re/Max Town Centre 407-367-2000 Winter Park Land Company 407-644-2900 Winter Park Magazine 407-647-0225

Bicycle Parking

Shoes 25 Rieker Shoes 17 Shoooz On Park Avenue

407-539-0425 407-647-0110

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321-422-0841 407-644-1106 407-629-5531 407-622-0222 407-975-9137 407-645-2278

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Sweets

The Collection Bridal Winter Park Wedding Co

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1 Ben and Jerry’s 407-325-5163 1 Kilwins Chocolates & Ice Cream 407-622-6292 407-644-3200 14 Peterbrooke Chocolatier

1 3

3 5

BRANDYWINE SQUARE

Fig and Julep 321-972-1899 The Ancient Olive 321-972-1899 Brandywine Books 407-644-1711 Christian Science Reading Room 407-647-1559 Frank 407-629-8818 Maureen H. Hall Stationery & Invitations 407-629-6999 New General 321-972-2819 Partridge Tree Gift Shop 407-645-4788 Rifle Paper Co. 407-622-7679 The Spice and Tea Exchange 407-647-7423 Ten Thousand Villages 407-644-8464 Writer’s Block Bookstore 407-592-1498

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407-998-8090 407-647-1072

Interior Design

Winter Park, Florida

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens 407-647-6294 2 Bach Festival Society of Winter Park 407-646-2182 407-628-8200 2 Casa Feliz 3 Cornell Fine Arts Museum 407-646-2526 1 Morse Museum of American Art 407-645-5311 407-644-4056 3 Scenic Boat Tour • The Winter Park Playhouse 407-645-0145 10 Winter Park History Museum 407-647-2330 5

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KNOWLES AVENUE

Bank of America 407-646-3600 F4 Wealth Advisors 407-960-4769 Florida Community Bank 407-622-5000 The Kozlowski CPA Firm LLC 407-381-4432 Moss, Krusick and Associates 407-644-5811

Law Firms

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407-647-7277 407-629-0042 407-636-7366 407-960-3778 407-644-8609 407-790-7997 585-766-9886 407-671-4424 407-599-4111 407-335-4548 407-647-7520 321-972-2819 407-645-3939 407-629-7270 407-335-4914 407-381-4432 407-645-3616 407-262-0050 407-951-8039 407-960-3993 407-696-9463

Small Business Counsel

CASA FELIZ

310 Park South Barnie’s CoffeeKitchen BoiBrazil Churrascaria blu on the avenue Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine Cocina 214 Garp and Fuss Laurel Latin Cuisine Luma on Park Maestro Cucina Napoletana mon petit cheri cafe New General Panera Bread Pannullo’s Italian Restaurant Park Avenue Smoothie Cafe The Parkview Power House Cafe Prato Rome’s Flavours UMI Japanese Restaurant The Wine Room on Park Ave

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Simmons Jewelers Through the Looking Glass

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Apparel 14 Arabella 407-636-8343 12 Bebe’s/Liz’s Fashion Experience 407-628-1680 2 Charyli 407-455-1983 321-203-4733 9 Cottonways 6 Current 407-628-1087 1 Evelyn and Arthur 407-740-0030 407-790-4987 13 Forema Boutique 15 The Impeccable Pig 407-636-4043 2 J. McLaughlin 407-960-3965 407-629-7944 7 John Craig Clothier 407-539-2324 6 Lilly Pulitzer 407-628-1222 19 Lucky Brand Jeans 5 Maestro Cucina Napoletana 407-335-4548 4 Max and Marley 407-636-6204 16 Siegel’s Winter Park 407-645-3100 407-647-7241 4 Synergy 321-209-1096 • TADofstyle 12 The Grove 407-740-0022 20 tugboat and the bird 407-647-5437 407-628-1609 17 Tuni

City Hall

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EVENTS musical. The program, part of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park’s Choral Masterpiece Series, features beloved Christmas works performed by the society’s choir, youth choir and orchestra. Knowles Memorial Chapel on the campus of Rollins College is the venue for the performances, which are slated for December 16 and 17 at 2 and 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $75. 407-646-2182. bachfestivalflorida.org.

Winter in the Park Holiday Ice-Skating Rink. What?

There’s still another not-to-be-missed local holiday tradition? Indeed there is. The big tented ice rink — erected downtown in Central Park’s West Meadow — stays busy from before Thanksgiving well into the new year. A $13 admission fee includes skates, available in both children’s and adult sizes. This season, the rink is open daily from November 18 through January 7, 2018. 407-599-3203. cityofwinterpark.org.

LECTURES

Winter Park Institute at Rollins College. Each year the institute presents lectures, readings and seminars by thought leaders in an array of disciplines. The second lecture of its 2017-18 season, on October 10, features Lauren Bush Lauren, founder and chief executive of FEED Projects, a socially conscious business that donates money to food-oriented charities with every carry bag and fashion accessory it sells.

Her topic: “How to FEED the World, One Bag at a Time,” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in Tiedtke Concert Hall on the Rollins College campus. The third lecture, on November 8, features local resident Billy Collins, a former two-time U.S. poet laureate who last year was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Collins is scheduled to read a collection of poetry titled Beyond the Birdbath: Poems from Several Time Zones, at 7:30 p.m. in Bush Auditorium, also on the campus. Tickets for both lectures range from $10 to $25. 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park. 407646-2145. rollins.edu/wpitickets.

MARKETS

Maitland Farmers’ Market. This year-round, openair market — held each Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

— features fresh produce, seafood, breads and cheeses as well as plants, all-natural skin-care products and live music by Performing Arts of Maitland. The setting on Lake Lily boasts a boardwalk, jogging trails, a playground and picnic areas. 701 Lake Lily Drive, Maitland. itsmymaitland.com.

Winter Park Farmers’ Market. The region’s busiest and arguably most popular farmers’ market is held every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the old railroad depot that also houses the Winter Park History Museum. The open-air market offers baked goods, produce, plants, honey, cheese, meat, flowers, crafts and other specialty items for sale. After shopping, make a morning of it with a stroll along nearby Park Avenue. Dogs are welcome to bring their people. 200 West New England Avenue, Winter Park. cityofwinterpark.org.

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MUSIC

The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park. The society has the distinction of staging the third-oldest continuously operating Bach Festival in the U.S. It’s also Central Florida’s oldest performing-arts organization. In addition to its annual festival, held in February, the society organizes several music series and participates in larger community events. This season’s Visiting Artists Series begins with the Russian String Orchestra (known until last year as Chamber Orchestra Kremlin), which returns to Winter Park on October 15 for a 3 p.m. program in Tiedtke Concert Hall on the Rollins College campus. The series continues November 12 with pianist Alon Goldstein, who’ll also perform in Tiedtke Concert Hall, from 3 to 5 p.m. Tickets for both programs range from $40 to $65. The society’s Choral Masterworks Series runs October 21-22 with Verdi’s Requiem. Performances are Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the campus’ Knowles Memorial Chapel. Tickets range from $25 to $65. This year, the society introduces a new series, “Insights & Sounds,” staging concerts that focus on individual composers or a single genre.

First up, on November 2, is Mozart, Young and Old. It features works spanning the composer’s lifetime, including Symphony No. 1, Grabmusik (K. 42) and Sanctus Spiritus (K. 47). Tickets for the 7 p.m. program, held in Tiedtke Concert Hall, range from $20 to $45. 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park. 407-6462182. bachfestivalflorida.org.

Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts. This eclectic venue on the far-west side of Winter Park is part performance hall, part recording studio and part art gallery. It offers live performances most evenings, with an emphasis on jazz, classical and world music — although theater, dance and spoken-word presentations are also on the schedule. Upcoming musical events include the Shady Street Show Band (October 3, 8 p.m., $15); the Bobby Koelble Trio (October 4, 8 p.m., $15); Strange Angels (October 6, 8 p.m., $15); the Kelly-Scott Sextet, with trombone legend Dave Steinmeyer (October 7, 7:30 p.m., $20); the Central Florida Jazz Society (October 8, 3 p.m., free); Marbin (October 14, 8 p.m., $15); Carol Stein and Friends (October 18, 8 p.m., $15); the Jeff Rupert Quartet (October 25, 8 p.m., $15); jazz guitar duo Cortez and Koelble (October 26, 8 p.m., $10); the Bobby Koelble Trio (November 1, 8 p.m., $15); Strange Angels (November 3, 8 p.m., $15); Smokin’ Torpedoes (November 11, 8 p.m., $15); the Central Florida Jazz Society, (November 12, 3 p.m., free); the Orlando Jazz Orchestra (November 14, 7:30 p.m., $20); Carol Stein and Friends, with Michelle Amato (November 15, 8 p.m., $15); Grant Stewart with the Jeff Rupert Quartet (November 16, 8 p.m., $20); the Jeff Rupert Quartet (November 22, 8 p.m., $15); jazz guitar duo Cortez and Koelble (November 29, 8 p.m., $10); the Fred Hughes Trio (December 2, 8 p.m., $20); the Bobby Koelble Trio (December 6, 8 p.m., $15); the Maitland Symphony Orchestra presents national hammered dulci-

mer champion Joshua Messick (December 9, 8 p.m., $20); the Central Florida Jazz Society (December 10, 3 p.m., free); Smokin’ Torpedoes (December 16, 8 p.m., $15); Carol Stein and Friends, with Billy Flanigan (December 20, 8 p.m., $15); Southern Winds Theatre presents a one-actor version of A Christmas Carol (December 22-24, 7:30 p.m., $20); the Jeff Rupert Quartet (December 27, 8 p.m.,$15); and jazz guitar duo Cortez and Koelble (December 28, 8 p.m., $10).

1905 Kentucky Avenue, Winter Park. 407-636-9951. bluebambooartcenter.com.

Music at the Casa. The Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum regularly presents free acoustic-instrument performances on Sunday afternoons from noon to 3 p.m. in the home’s cozy main parlor. Upcoming performers include USA Dance with John Davis (October 1), flamenco guitarist Jorge Mendoza (October 8), flamenco guitarist Luis Garcia (October 15), Alexandra Vargas and Eladio (October 22), the Classern Quartet (October 29), saxophonist Matt Festa (November 5), Beautiful Music featuring Shannon Caine (November 12), George Weremchuk and the Hippocrene Saxophone Quartet (November 19), harpist Catherine Way (November 26), vocalist Holly Sahmel and Friends (December 3), the Classern Quartet (December 10) and Alborea Dances Flamenco (December 17). 656 North Park Avenue (adjacent to the Winter Park Golf Course), Winter Park. 407-628-8200. casafeliz.us.

Central Florida Folk. This Winter Park-based nonprofit is dedicated to promoting and preserving live folk music, primarily through concerts on the last Sunday of each month (except May, when the Florida Folk Festival takes center stage). The group’s primary venue is the Winter Park Public Library, 460 East New England Avenue, Winter Park. The next three library concerts include Chasing Lovely (October 29), Larry Mangum (November 12) and Nikki Talley (December 10). All start at 2 p.m. A donation of $12 for nonmembers is suggested. 407-679-6426. cffolk.org.

Dexter’s of Winter Park. This well-known restaurant in Winter Park’s Hannibal Square neighborhood occasionally has live musical acts, with no cover charge. Upcoming events include Dave Schweizer (October 4), Franchise Players (October 5 and 13), The Cast (October 6), Nasty Habits (October 7), Eden Lane (October 13), Marcus Gullen (October 18) and Running with Scissors (October 21). 558 West New England Avenue, Winter Park. 407-6291150. dextersorlando.com.

Woodstock Winter Park. An evening of peace, love and groovy ’60s sounds on October 7 from 6 to 11 p.m.

Music is by Central Florida Community Arts. Tickets are $125, with proceeds benefiting Mead Botanical Garden, site of the concert. 1300 South Denning Drive, Winter Park. 407-599-3397. meadgarden.org.

Winter Park Playhouse. This local home for musical theater presents a special, one-night fundraising

concert on October 21 at 7:30 p.m. Solitary Man: A Neil Diamond Tribute stars David Jericko and The Crew, and includes many of Diamond’s greatest hits, such as “Sweet Caroline,” “Solitary Man,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Love on The Rocks,” “Brooklyn Roads” and more. Net proceeds benefit the nonprofit theater.

Tickets are $65. 711 Orange Avenue, Winter Park.

407-645-0145. winterparkplayhouse.org.

Masterpiece Moments at Mead. The Maitland Symphony Orchestra and the Winter Park Chamber Music Academy share the outdoor stage at Mead Botanical Garden on October 28 for a program of music celebrating myths, legends and heroes.

The 6:30 p.m. concert is free. 1500 South Denning Drive, Winter Park. 321-303-1404. pamaitland.org.

Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Holiday Pops Concert. Celebrate the season with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in Central Park’s West Meadow. The Philharmonic’s 4 p.m. program, slated for November 26, will include holiday favorites.

Bring a blanket and a picnic to this free event, made possible by the Charlotte Julia Hollander Trust. 407599-3399. cityofwinterpark.org.

EVENTS

Fun with Flowers Workshop. This Winter Park Garden Club program, slated for October 5 at 10 a.m., demonstrates how to create interesting autumnal flower arrangements using succulents — drought-resistant plants with water-storing tissue, such as Burro’s Tail or Crown of Thorns. Tickets are $25, with reservations due by October 1. Bring garden clippers. Winter Park Garden Club, Mead Botanical Garden, 1300 South Denning Drive, Winter Park. 407-644-5770. winterparkgardenclub.com.

Guided Tour of Mead Botanical Garden. The tour, which focuses on native plants and animals as well as the garden’s future, follows the Winter Park Garden Club’s 10 a.m. general meeting on October 11. Non-members are welcome, however. Winter Park Garden Club, Mead Botanical Garden, 1300 South Denning Drive, Winter Park. 407-644-5770. winterparkgardenclub.com.

Wednesday Open Words. One of the area’s longest-running open-mic poetry nights takes place every Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Austin’s Coffee, 929 West Fairbanks Avenue, Winter Park. The free poetry readings are hosted by Curtis Meyer. 407-9753364. austinscoffee.com.

Florida Writers Association. The Orlando/Winter Park-Area Chapter meets on the first Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for guest speakers and discussions organized by author and “book coach” Rik Feeney. Upcoming dates are October 4, November 1 and December 6. University Club of Winter Park, 841 North Park Avenue, Winter Park.

The chapter known as the Maitland Writers Group meets the second Thursday of each month from

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for speakers and discussions organized by Nylda Dieppa-Aldarondo. Upcoming dates are October 12, November 9 and December 14. Maitland Public Library, 501 Maitland Avenue South, Maitland. floridawriters.net.

Nerd Nite Orlando. This monthly gathering is based on a simple premise: Learning is more fun when you’re drinking with friends and colleagues.

Introduced to the Orlando area in 2013, Nerd Nite is an evening of entertaining yet thought-provoking presentations in a casual setting. The local version takes place on the second Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. Upcoming dates include October 12, November 9 and December 14. The Geek Easy, 114 South Semoran Boulevard, No. 6, Winter Park. 407332-9636. orlando.nerdnite.com.

Playwrights Round Table. This play-reading workshop, held on the second Sunday of each month on the Rollins College campus, invites area writers to bring any piece they’re working on for review and discussion. Upcoming dates include October 8, November 12 and December 10 at 1 p.m. If you plan on reading something aloud, you must email info@ theprt.com to schedule a time slot. It’s free, though memberships with added benefits are available. Fred Stone Theater, 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park. 407761-2683. theprt.com.

Work in Progress: A Group for Writers. This monthly discussion group is for writers in any genre who offer and receive feedback from other writers. Guest speakers are often invited. Upcoming dates include October 14, November 4 and December 2, from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Those planning to read their work should register with organizer and host Gerald Schiffhorst, a University of Central Florida professor emeritus of English, by emailing schiffhorst@yahoo.com. Conference Room, Winter Park Library, 460 East New England Avenue, Winter Park. wppl.org.

Writers of Central Florida or Thereabouts. This writers’ group has various free open-mic programs that appeal to different writers specializing in different kinds of writing. “Short Attention Span Storytelling Hour ... or Thereabouts” meets on the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Stardust Video & Coffee, 1842 Winter Park Road, Winter Park. It’s for authors, poets, filmmakers, comedians, musicians, bloggers and others. Upcoming meetings include October 11, November 8 and December 13. “Storytelling as Bungee Jumping,” held the third Monday of each month, gives writers of any genre the chance to risk trying out new material.

It’s held at the Copper Rocket Pub, 106 Lake Avenue, Maitland. Upcoming meetings include October 16, November 20 and December 18. “So You Think You Can Funny?” is for comics, writers, poets, bloggers or storytellers who think they have written something hilarious — or at least amusing. It’s held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m.,

back at Stardust Video. Upcoming meetings include October 25, November 22 and December 27. meetup.com/writers-of-central-florida-or-thereabouts, stardustvideoandcoffee.wordpress.com.

Parcels: MFAs in Progress. Masters of Fine Arts students and faculty from the University of Central Florida read their newest works in this monthly series, held on the first or second Sunday of each month at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, but a $10 donation is suggested. Upcoming events include October 8, November 12 and December 10.

Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts, 1905 Kentucky Avenue, Winter Park. bluebambooartcenter.com, ucfcreativewritingmfa.wordpress.com GrowVember Fall Plant Sale. With cooler weather and fewer bugs, autumn is a fabulous time for planting. That’s why, on November 3 from noon to 5 p.m. and November 4 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mead Botanical Garden hosts a variety of plant and nursery vendors offering a large selection of plants, homeand-garden accessories and specialty items. 407599-3397. meadgarden.org.

Sip, Shop & Stroll. The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce and the Park Avenue Merchants Association invite you to experience the charm of Park Avenue while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres offered at participating locations throughout the region’s premier shopping district. It’s slated for November 16 from 5 to 8 p.m. Check out the latest fashions, gift ideas and seasonal menus during this lead-up to Small Business Saturday, which this year is November 25. Tickets are $25; check in at the corner of Park Avenue and Morse Boulevard between 5 and 7 p.m. to receive your wine glass and “passport.” 407-6448281. winterpark.org, experienceparkavenue.com.

BUSINESS

Good Morning Winter Park. Hosted by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, these monthly gatherings attract business- and civic-minded locals who enjoy coffee and conversation about community issues. Typically scheduled for the second Friday of each month, upcoming dates include October 13, November 10 and December 8. Networking begins at 8 a.m., followed by a 45-minute program at 8:30 a.m. Admission, which includes a complimentary continental breakfast, is free. Winter Park Welcome Center, 151 West Lyman Avenue, Winter Park. 407644-8281. winterpark.org.

The Hot Seat. Hosted by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, this quarterly business-oriented series puts local executives in the spotlight as they offer advice and discuss entrepreneurism, leadership and salesand-marketing techniques. The next event is October 19 from noon to 1:15 p.m. Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Reservations are required. Winter Park Welcome Center, 151 West Lyman Avenue, Winter Park. 407-644-8281. winterpark.org.

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EVENTS Winter Park Executive Women. Hosted by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, these gatherings — held the first Monday of most months — feature guest speakers and provide networking opportunities for women business owners. Topics revolve around leadership development, business growth and local initiatives of special interest to women. The final two meetings of 2017 are October 2 (mental-health awareness with Rosemary Steinbach, president of the National Alliance for Mental Illness’ Greater Orlando chapter) and November 6 (mind-body balance with Dr. Crystal Nix, chiropractor-owner of Clear Route Health Partners). Both run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tickets, which include lunch, are $25 for members, $50 for non-members. Reservations are required.

Winter Park Welcome Center, 151 West Lyman Avenue, Winter Park. 407-644-8281. winterpark.org.

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litter from around Lake Rose (better known as the Winter Park sinkhole) and nearby Lake Midget (an older sinkhole-lake at Denning Drive and Kentucky Avenue) receive breakfast, a T-shirt, a snack and a water bottle. Kayakers and paddle boarders are welcome to participate. The 8 a.m. gathering spot for the October 7 cleanup crusade is the south end of Martin Luther King Jr. Park; parking is available on Denning or just west of Lake Rose on Comstock Avenue by the softball stadium. Supplies will be provided. 407-599-3364. cityofwinterpark.org.

with some of the area’s best chefs and restaurants at the helm — and 100 percent of the proceeds go to Elevate Orlando and After-School All-Stars, two local nonprofit programs that help underserved middle and high school students. The November 11 event, which includes live music, begins at 7 p.m. in Central Park’s West Meadow. Tickets range from $110 to $500 a person. cowsncabs.com.

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DogFest Walk ’n’ Roll. This November 18 fundraising walk, which is open to friendly, social dogs as well as able-bodied people and those using wheelchairs, benefits Canine Companions for Independence.

The walk starts at 10 a.m. at Lake Lily Park, 701 Lake Lily Drive, Maitland. 407-522-3300. cci.org.

Curtains Up! 2017. Winter Park Playhouse’s annual fundraising gala, slated for November 4 from 6-10 p.m., includes more than 15 musical performers in a one-of-a-kind show plus food, drinks, and both silent and live auctions. Proceeds benefit Winter Park’s only ISSUES ASHION professional,F nonprofit theater. TicketsC areONSULTING $150 each; CoffeeTalk. These free gatherings, sponsored by seating is limited to 123 persons. 711 Orange Avenue, CAUSES the City of Winter Park and held on the second Winter Park. 407-645-0145. winterparkplayhouse.org.

Au-Some Awards Ceremony. This October 4 event Thursday of each month, offer residents an oppor11th Annual Peacock Ball. The Winter Park History — which features refreshments, music, a silent auctunity to discuss issues with top city officials. Coffee Museum’s annual fundraiser takes place thisprovides year on tion, a raffle and tylissima an art exhibitis—aisfull set inside the fashion service consulting company that individual is supplied by Barnie’s Coffee Kitchen. Upcoming November 10 at the Alfond Inn. This year’s event Mercedes-Benz of Orlando dealership in Maitland, guestsor include City Commissioner Carolyn Cooper personal shopping, wardrobe assessment, packing aspresident well asofGlam special will honor travel Rita Bornstein, retired Rollins Squad and benefits the Autism Society of Greater Orlando.

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Center, 151 West Lyman Avenue, Winter Park. 407Lakes Rose and Midget Watershed Cleanup.

Cows ’n’ Cabs. It’s a celebration of food and wine Volunteers who help the City of Winter Park collect 644-8281. cityofwinterpark.org.

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10:49:04 AM

Soldiers march along Park Avenue as Winter Park prepares itself for war.

This evocative photograph was originally made available courtesy of the Rollins College Archives, and was restored and colorized by Will Setzer of Design 7 Studio. A mural-sized version is currently on display at the museum.

ONE NATION, INDIVISIBLE

If you’re despairing over the state of the country and wondering if there was ever a time when just about everyone rallied around a common cause, then the ongoing exhibit at the Winter Park History Museum may provide a patriotic pickme-up.

Winter Park: The War Years, 1941-1945 — Home Front Life in an American Small Town is a bracing look back at a time when entire communities banded together to help defeat a common enemy and protect a cherished way of life.

Of course, the military did the actual fighting in World War II. But those who stayed behind also sacrificed and tried to contribute in whatever way they could.

The exhibition, which makes ingenious use of the museum’s small space, entwines the lives of the men and women fighting overseas with the lives of their friends and family members.

You’ll see an interactive 1940s’ living room, kitchen and child’s bedroom surrounded by the artifacts of war, including pristine uniforms, as well as films, letters, photographs and newspapers of the era. The ceiling is hung with aircraft replicas.

“World War II is such an interesting time in our country’s history,” says Susan Skolfield, the museum’s executive director. “The climate was very different then.

Everyone, in every American town, pulled together for a common goal. It was

the saddest of times, and yet embedded in the music and movies of the time is a joyful optimism — the sort of patriotism we haven’t seen since.”

But it was a frightening time as well. The exhibit includes rules issued by Winter Park Mayor John Moody that instruct locals on what to do in case of enemy attack. German U-boats could be seen off the nation’s eastern seaboard — several German soldiers famously stumbled ashore in Jacksonville — so the idea of an invasion in Florida was plausible.

Winter Park: The War Years runs through the spring of 2018. Admission to the museum is free, although donations are accepted. It’s located in the Farmers’ Market building at 200 W. New England Ave. And don’t forget about the 11th Annual Peacock Ball, the museum’s annual fundraiser, slated for November 10. This year, it’s a salute to retired president of Rollins College, Rita Bornstein, and takes place at the Alfond Inn. Tickets are $200 per person, or $1,500 for a non-sponsor table of eight.

Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information about the museum and the Peacock Ball, visit wphistory.org.

— Randy Noles FA L L 2 0 1 7 | W INTE R PARK MAGAZ IN E

109

When is Pelvic Pain a Sign of Something Serious?

By Steven McCarus, M.D., FACOG

E

very woman will experience pelvic pain differently. For this reason, many patients don’t fully communicate their pain with their doctors, because they believe it’s a normal occurrence. While occasional discomfort and pain is nothing to be worried about, debilitating or chronic pain are far from normal.

I’ve successfully diagnosed and treated women of every age who are experiencing pelvic pain. The pain may be sharp or crampy (similar to menstrual cramps) and may come and go, or it can be sudden and excruciating, dull and constant, or some combination.

However, if you’ve been experiencing consistent, frequent pain for longer than three months, then it may be a sign of something more serious.

Chronic pelvic pain may have no clear cause, or it may be due to an underlying medical condition such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), interstitial cystitis, endometriosis, fibroids or pelvic inflammatory disease.

Pelvic pain can be successfully diagnosed through a variety of tests. Once a diagnosis is reached, your doctor will create a plan of care to reduce your pain and prevent further complications from occurring.

Some common treatments include overthe-counter pain relievers, hormone therapy, physical therapy, injection therapy, psychological counseling and surgery.

There are many safe and effective surgical procedures available to you, should you and your doctor decide that surgery is the best treatment. A few common procedures include traditional surgery, robotic-assisted laparoscopy and other minimally invasive options.

Steven D. McCarus, M.D., FACOG, is boardcertified in obstetrics and gynecology and is nationally known as a leader in the practice of minimally invasive surgery. Dr. McCarus is the Chief of Gynecological Surgery for Florida Hospital Celebration Health and Medical Director for Gynecologic Surgery at Winter Park Memorial Hospital.

110 W I N T E R P A R K M A G AZI N E | FALL 2017

TIFFANY at the MORSE The Morse Museum is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

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ARTSBEAT | BY MICHAEL MCLEOD

A LIBRARY, AND SO MUCH MORE

Sir David Adjaye, in collaboration with Orlando-based HuntonBrady Architects, will design the most significant public building in Winter Park’s recent history. Among Adjaye’s most notable recent projects was the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

M

iss Evaline Lamson’s front porch is long gone. So is Miss Lamson.

So are the eight other “well-educated, capable, energetic, and affluent” women who decided, in 1885, that Winter Park needed a library.

The front porch of Miss Lamson’s cottage on Interlachen Avenue served as the library’s first home. A year later, progress and good fortune provided another.

Owners of a fledgling company that operated a new, mule-drawn streetcar line offered a vacant room in their Park Avenue offices for the “Winter Park Circulation Library Association.”

Members only. Dues: $1 a year.

It’s not much of a journey from where Miss Lamson’s porch once stood to the future home of the community resource she helped pioneer.

Just a mile west down Morse Boulevard, on the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Park, a $30 million library and events center is scheduled to open in 2020.

Though its impact will be considerably more dramatic than keeping the association’s treasured copies of Silas Marner and The Scarlet Letter out of the weather, it all began with a “shhhhh!”

Members of the Winter Park Library Facility Task Force had that familiar finger-to-lips imperative in the back of their minds three years ago,

112 W I N T E R P A R K M A GAZI N E | FALL 2017

when they were charged with investigating whether or not Winter Park needed a new library.

“When we started, most of us had the idea in our heads of a library as a place where people go, ‘Shhhhh!’” says Sam Stark, the committee’s chair and the associate vice president of strategic partnerships at Rollins College.

Maybe in the 19th and the better part of the 20th centuries it was. It’s not that simple these days. In an age of insularity and information overload, a public library is a lively throwback, a stubbornly democratic town square where people of all ages, ethnicities and tax brackets still gather on an equal footing for a curated window on the world. It’s free in more than one sense of that word — with no agendas or pop-ups ads.

The current library on New England Avenue, built in 1979, was crowded and outdated. For every new book in the children’s section, another had to go. Expanding digital needs would have required taking the building down to the bones.

But this was about heart and soul as much as bricks and mortar.

Choosing to build a new library and events center — and choosing to build it on the west side — was a test of character for a place that calls itself the city of arts and culture.

In its visioning document, Winter Park vows to “build and embrace our local institutions for

lifelong learning and future generations.” This project gives weight to those lofty words.

So does the project’s designer. That’s Sir David Adjaye, working in tandem with HuntonBrady Architects, a local firm.

Named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, the U.K.based Adjaye was born in Tanzania and recently knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He’s best known in this country for designing one of the most significant monuments in its history: The Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened last year on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The museum’s architecture begins to tell a story even before you walk inside.

From the Metro station exit on the far side of the mall, it’s a long, long walk past white marble neoclassical buildings before the museum looms into view: an angular, metallic silhouette, both magnificent and vaguely foreboding.

Shadows and light play over a decorative grillwork pattern on the building; Adjaye formulated it based on ornamental metal castings once forged by slaves.

Much of Winter Park’s mystique comes from the influence of great visual artists such as art nouveau master Louis Comfort Tiffany, sculptor Albin Polasek and architect James Gamble Rogers II. Adjaye will soon take his place on that roster.

He’s a knighted man of color who designed a place of communal enlightenment for our country. Now he’s doing the same for our city.

This world-class facility will be located in a part of town that was once segregated housing for poor black people, many of whom worked for employers across the tracks.

Perhaps Evaline Lamson was among them.

Perhaps she would appreciate seeing progress and good fortune overtake her enterprise once again.

Michael McLeod is a contributing writer for Winter Park Magazine and an adjunct instructor in the English department at Rollins College.

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