Community Outreach and the Rollins History Departments

One of the things that concerns historians is their connection to the general reading public. Professional historians are required to publish their research. Indeed, there was a time when historians dominated the non-fiction bestsellers list.



Today, for all the hundreds of history books produced annually, few become bestsellers. Those history books widely read by the average American are often not the same books admired within the academy. The reasons for the gap between public history consumption and professional production are complex. One problem, if you wish to think of it as a problem, is that historians have, since the 1960s, been less likely to provide the "feel good" history Americans seem to prefer. Social history, and it emphasis on adding those voices "left out" has displace traditional political histories with new work focus on women, racial minorities, and class conflict. Conservative critics have warned that the shift away from classical history that celebrate national triumph invite balkanization. Nonetheless, history about everybody else has been the focus for most historians for decades. Indeed, the assumption we make within the department is that current history scholarship can find an audience outside the ivory tower. The Winter Park Public Library's Lifelong Learning Institute provides monthly speaker series and history is a popular subject for this program. Rollins History Department has worked to strengthen our relationship to the library in the hopes of promoting public interest in the diverse historical scholarship available. Dr. Jim Norris, the most recent speaker at the Jack Lane Colloquium was happy enough to take time out of his schedule to talk about his book North for the Harvest at the Winter Park Library. This kind of community outreach has been a cornerstone of Rollins' relationship with Central Florida since its founding and the Department of History has worked to live up to that tradition. By making the effort at community outreach we bolster an important institution like the Winter Park Public Library and spark further interest in innovative historical literature.

The Jack Lane Colloquium Presents: Dr. Jim Norris

The Jack Lane Colloquium began in 2006 as part of an effort by the Rollins History Department to engage with our majors, the college, and with the wider community. Our goal is to bring history and historical scholarship to a broader audience. This is both a great and horrible idea. As primary organizer, I try to bring scholars to the college who have interesting work and popular appeal. Now,if a historian thinks something is interesting, will a theater student and a biology professor agree? I try not to dwell on the answer to that question.



We have brought in outstanding speakers and highlighted our own faculty at the colloquium. Today we are proud to welcome Dr. Jim Norris from North Dakota State University to Rollins to discuss his new book North for Harvest: Mexican Workers, Growers, and the Sugar Beet Industry (2008).


NORTH FOR THE HARVEST IS ABOUT?



As a Latin American historian, Dr. Norris is engaged in an exploration of one key issue currently vexing American policy makers. How do you balance the worker rights and marketplace dynamics. For much of the twentieth century, the United States has welcomed Mexican workers as their labor allows U.S. agribusiness to flourish. The cheap price we pay for agricultural products is directly linked to growers attempts to control costs. The social justice and human rights questions raised by these activities have been the focal point for student and faculty research here at Rollins. The complexities of these issues cannot be understood by the sound-bites offered by media outlets on the left or right. We need scholars to provide context and information about these issues. With a better understanding of the history surrounding how we get our food, we can engage in a discussion about the treatment of agricultural workers, the demands of industry and role of regulation. Dr. Norris' work offers important insights on these issues and we are lucky to have the opportunity to share his work with our Central Florida community.


Dr. Norris will discuss his book March 24th at 6:00pm in the Faculty Club on campus. His talk is free and open to the public.

Focus on Central Florida History: Historic Winter Park & The Depugh Nursing Center

For several years I have been working with students to explore local history. The project, called Historic Winter Park, experimented with different formats to display the primary source research conducted in my classes. In the past, we worked closely with Winter Park Historical Association, but their recent website redesign removed the Historic Winter Park webpages. In the future, I hope to create a new permanent home for student created web-pages hosted on-campus. In the meantime, I want to keep those of you (if there are any of you) that might be interested in Central Florida's unique history in the loop. To accomplish that goal, I have decided to share some of the student research on the History Speaks blog. Winter Park has a unique African-American history and so, this has been a direction I have pushed the students to explore. The Depugh Nursing Center is the oldest African-American institution of its kind in Florida. The Olin Library archive has great archival materials that allowed students in my U.S. history survey to write the piece below.




The DePugh Nursing Center is a small building that sits on 550 West Morse Avenue in Winter Park, Florida. When you walk inside, everyone smiles at you and the atmosphere is light, not tension filled like many nursing centers often are. What many people do not know about the DePugh Nursing Center is that it is one of the oldest organizations in Winter Park, and was one of the first of its kind. The DePugh Nursing Center was Florida’s first state approved nursing home dedicated to the African American community and it helped to pioneer medical centers and nursing centers for African American communities, not only in Florida, but all across the country.

Mary Lee DePugh moved to the town of Winter Park, Florida in the winter of 1937. She moved with her husband, Baker, from Evanston, Illinois to escape the harsh northern winters. She moved at the request of her friend, Maud Kraft. Maud knew the DePughs when she lived in Evanston ten years prior. Maud’s late husband, George, was a wealthy Evanston businessman, and she needed help when he passed away. When the DePughs agreed to move to Winter Park, Maud bought a home for them in Westside Winter Park. This allowed the DePughs to live in a comfortable home in the black community instead of working as “live ins” in the white community. Mary Lee was happy in Winter Park, but she thought something was missing. Both Mary Lee and Maud were members of Woman’s Clubs in Evanston, Illinois, and they shared an appreciation for women’s clubs activism. Maud was a member of the Woman’s Club of Winter Park and she supported Mary Lee’s idea to establish a woman’s club on the Westside. Maud assisted DePugh in obtaining a building from the Congregational Church. On July 29, 1937, the Ideal Woman’s Club was chartered and May Lee DePugh was its first president.

As the club grew, the women found more services to provide to the Winter Park community. The first project the women undertook was to provide medical services to those in the community who could not otherwise afford it. After several fund raising efforts, their goal was achieved. The women were able to establish a dental and medical unit.

On February 14, 1954, Dr. Louis Schulz, president of the medical-dental clinic board, suggested the board turn its assets over to the Mary Lee DePugh Nursing Home Inc. A board for the nursing home was quickly established and they met for the first time on April 11, 1954. The Ideal Woman’s Club offered to contribute a plot of ground adjacent to the Club and the medical-dental clinic for the nursing home. The board began to plan what would be within the nursing home. They wanted to be able to accommodate an average of ten patients. They also wanted a maternity ward and an operating room for minor surgery. When the estimated costs were added up, it was said the cost of such a building would be approximately $30,000. The board was overwhelmed and unsure whether they could raise those funds.

Fortunately, a resident of Winter Park, who wished to remain anonymous, offered to give $15,000 toward the building fund, which meant the residents of Winter Park and the surrounding areas would just have to match that to have the funds they needed. The residents rallied, and they were able to raise the money needed. It was later found out that the anonymous donor was Mr. R. T. Miller, a winter resident of Winter Park. He lived in Winter Park for over twenty years and was a constant benefactor to its social and charitable organizations. He never, however, allowed his name to be mentioned in conjunction to his donations. This led him to be known as “Mr. Anonymous.”

The nursing home facility ended up having twenty-eight beds and was completed in a year and a half. The opening ceremonies took place in January 1956. The nursing home’s first patient was admitted on January 25, 1956. All resident rooms were furnished by memorials and all tasks around the home were performed by volunteers. The DePugh Nursing Home was Florida’s first state approved nursing home dedicated to the African American Community. Mrs. Chaney Laughlin was the home’s first supervisor. She was forced to retire due to health reasons, so she secured the services of Mrs. Hazel Venable to succeed her in early 1957.

Mrs. Hazel Venable worked hard to keep the home up and running. In the early years, this was very difficult because income was low and most of the patients were supported by welfare. In February 1957, a group known as Friends of the DePugh Nursing Home was organized by Harriet Peasley and Mrs. W. H. Bowles became the first president. The Friends of the nursing home were there to assist with any financial needs the DePugh Nursing Home found they had. The first project assisted by the Friends of the DePugh Nursing Home was a sun porch on the south side of the facility. It was built in 1959 and cost approximately $2,600 . The Friends of the nursing home paid a major portion of the cost.

With the help of the Friends of the DePugh Nursing Home, the facility was slowly able to grow and more services were offered. The facility also became more well-known in the community, and soon benefactors would offer donations without being solicited. An example of this occurred in August, 1961. A.G. Bush was passing the facility and felt concern for the patient’s comfort in the Florida heat. Bush made a contract to place air conditioning units in the building. Bush assumed the responsibility for maintenance and operating costs until his death in 1966. Even after his death, the Bush Foundation continued to cover maintenance costs until 1970. They gave approximately $5,000 per year.

In 1964, it was decided by the board of directors that the home needed to expand. Under the leadership of Gen. T. J. Du Bose and Robert Langford, Winter Park enabled a financial campaign to raise money for the expansion. In the end, the sun porch built in 1959 was eliminated, but it enabled the home to increase its beds from twenty-eight to thirty-five. It also allowed the home to acquire a refrigerator, stove, and a cleaning cart. They were also able to remodel the nurses’ station in the main corridor and create a new conference room and storage closets.

It was around this time the home began to operate on a more sound business basis. They were able to hire someone to keep track of bookkeeping and medical records. In 1966, Winter Park attorney Kenneth Murrah became president of the home. During his tenure, he was instrumental in securing the home for more expansion. In 1967, the home received a bequest from the estate of Mrs. Georgia Nelidsky of $153,000. The home purchased new lots for the addition to the home in 1968. Kenneth Murrah insisted the expansion was necessary. The facilities would not allow separation of patients who needed medical care from those who required constant custodial care. Because of the crowded conditions, the home did not qualify for benefits under medicare. If the home received medicare, they would be able to bring in a medical doctor to certify needs of a care home, and the DePugh Nursing Home could be qualified as a care home . Fortunately, the home was able to expand.

In October 1976, the Mary Lee DePugh Nursing Home cut the ribbon to officially open the nursing home’s new addition. The addition included a lounge, kitchen, dining room, multi-purpose room, and a patio .

Though Mary Lee DePugh passed away in 1949 at the age of 83 and was unable to see the DePugh Nursing Center flourish, she would have felt her vision had been fulfilled. The DePugh Nursing Home continues to give a loving home to those who need it most. The history of the DePugh Nursing Home has many stories of human kindness. Many members of the Winter Park community gave aid to those who society left homeless and without care. The DePugh Nursing Home has given hope to so many throughout the years, and will continue to do so. The nursing home still stands in Winter Park on its original site, 550 West Morse Boulevard. Their website proudly states their motto, “We’re family when you’re away from family...” . They have provided amazing care for the community of Winter Park, and will continue to do so.

Created in HIS 142: United States History to 1877, Written By: Madeline Obler and Nick Sweeney