Change in the times...

My research looking into the Winter Park Country Club has lead to many interesting discoveries. One of which exemplifies a true change in the times. Through the sorting of dozens of papers, pictures and articles I came across a document from the early twentieth century which shows a major cultural difference in the Winter Park community. The document gave the hours of operation for the golf course and issued special note the fact that NO golf was allowed to be played on Sundays. This may seem like a small detail but shows the difference of culture and the city as a whole. Obviously this rule was based from a religious stand point, an affiliation to the standards of Christianity. Today it would seem politically incorrect for any city funded recreational facility to link itself with any religion. This gives an image of what Winter Park was like back in those time, a portal to past regulations and culture. This one rule can start to paint a picture of what life was like in those days, for better or worse.

Rollins Archive

I never knew that there was a Rollins archive in the basement of the library. The things they pulled out for us to look at were great. I never knew that the first person to graduate from Rollins was a woman, or that there used to be so many rules (no messy rooms and curfew) or that back then it only cost in the upper hundreds to attend Rollins. Looking at pictures of what Rollins used to look like through the years was very strange (Pine Hurst looks the same), and one picture showed railroad tracks going through campus by the lake. Our project is to do research on the Gentile Company in Winter Park. I’ve never heard about it, so it will be interesting to see what their business was.

American Colonies

I realize that the time for this particular blog has pasted but I just figured out how to post... Now that we have learned how the American colonies developed, it is interesting to know the significance of the events that occurred, to lead us to become an independent nation. If there hadn’t been such an upset in the colonies, would we still be under the control of Britain? If the parliament had catered more to the colonists’ requests, maybe we would be. It’s funny to think that the colonists that dressed up as Indians and threw the British tea overboard didn’t truly know what they were starting. I wonder if they had known what was going to happen as a result of their actions, if they still would have gone through with it.

Winter Park Golf Course

During last weeks research at the Olin Library archives I came across an interesting fact. Our topic is the Winter Park Golf course. Not only did I find out that there originally was a golf course directly on the Rollins campus (we saw some pretty good pictures of it stretching along the lake all over campus, we also discovered when it first moved to a different location it was a pretty small (9-hole) golf course. After that it was continuously expanded. We also found out that for the longest time and well into the 1950s or even longer, the golf course would be closed on Sundays due to so-called "blue laws" (laws designed to uphold moral standards, particularly those of Sunday as a day of rest and worship). That was one of the facts I found most interesting since it is something that nowadays seems almost impossible to imagine with stores being open almost 24/7.

Banking

i know that the first bank in America was set up in 1791. Did Robert Moris have a helping hand in the system of a centralized bank b/c that was at first his proposal. In the Constitution, was a provisional bank set up in order to maintain and house the newly formed governments money. I think that it is a pretty interesting idea of creating and establishing a monetary policy with government backed security and money instead of commodity money, which is backed by gold and silver.

Gentile Brothers

Last Friday we went to the Archives at the Olin Library where my group began to collect information on the Gentile Brother's. They only had two folders with one having two pictures and the other an obituary. This didn't really give us too much information so therefore we began looking through the citrus documents to see if there was anything that we can find on the Gentile Brothers Co.. Not too much success on that end either! We even checked online to gather more information which resulted in no help as well. Though, the lady there advised us to go to the Winter Park Library since they seem to have more information on Central Florida's Citrus industries specifically on the Gentile Brother's Company. I will be contacting my two partners by tomorrow and finding out when we will be able to meet in order to go to the library together. Also, I will be emailing a professor in FSU where they seem to have more information regarding Citrus industries. Hopefully I will get more information then!

Getting let into the house

Upon thinking of ways to approach our research, Marianna and I, well Mostly just me, decided to go to the Comstock House for some primary source-age. I knocked, like some some kind of distraught salesman, until Mrs. Twatchman came to the door. After five minutes of uneasy questioning through the screen window, we were allowed into the house where they warmed up a bit. We traded pictures, stories, and knowledge of the house and it's origins (well not much of a trade, more of a receiving sort of deal) inside the large living room. I didn't really want to touch or sit on anything since most of the original furniture was still intact. In a day where history is often torn down or pushed into the background, it was refreshing to see the current owners' respect and knowledge of the house and it's history. This was really the best way to research as we got to see many of the house originals like the light fixtures, window panes, and wood fireplaces. We also heard some interesting stories from Al Capone's visit to Comstock's (rumored) monkey. Good times.

Mary Lee DePugh

My partner and I are researching the Depugh Nursing Center. In our search, a lot of information has come up about Mary Lee DePugh. She not only founded the Nursing Center, but also the Ideal Woman's Club. What I found really interesting was that she did not even visit Winter Park until 1936. The Woman's Club was established in 1937, and the Nursing Center did not open until 1956. But Mary Lee passed away in 1949. In twelve years, this woman put into motion two of the largest, most influential organizations in the Winter Park community. It would be really interesting to know more about Mary Lee DePugh before she arrived in Winter Park. I would be curious to find out what other things she set into motion during her lifetime.

Making Sense of History

This digital project offers students the opportunity to create historical content for the public. While much of what we do in lower level history classes does not last, this project will have a profound effect on Winter Park years to come. I am pleased to see student comments about new information and unexpected revelations about Rollins and Winter Park.