Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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A million-dollar second mortgage will fund the renovation of the original 1919 Lake Wales school building into new classroom space under action taken by the Lake Wales Charter School System. The building has been a white elephant and neighborhood eyesore for many years, and the plan brings relief to many. The path to the new loan was cleared Wednesday evening by the Community Redevelopment Agency board, which recorded no opposition to the mortgage being offered by Citizen's...
The Lake Wales History Museum will honor Gladys Howell as the 2021 Lake Wales Pioneer of the Year as part of the 45th Annual Pioneer Days Festival at Lake Wailes Park. The recognition celebration will be held during the festival on Saturday, October 23 at 10:00 am. The Lake Wales History Museum's Pioneer Days Festival is synonymous with Lake Wales history and culture, and celebrates the heritage of the greater Polk County community. The two-day event will feature 50 craft &...
Lake Wales 45th Annual Pioneer Days festival is expected to draw some 10,000 visitors to Lake Wailes Park over two days later this month, and staff at the Lake Wales History Museum is ready for the big days. "We are so excited for the return of this community event, and we promise to do everything we can to make it safe," D'hollander said. The ever-popular event will see many changes this year, but will include the traditional favorite Heritage education activities including...
After several years of operations as a purely city-run facility, the Lake Wales History Museum may soon be under the control of a not-for-profit group once again. The Wednesday City Commission workshop agenda cites a discussion of the transfer, which would include $150,000 in annual funding to aid in running the museum. The group would in turn pay the City $1 a year to lease the facility. "It's going to be a wonderful partnership," said Museum Director Jennifer D'hollander....
The Lake Wales History Museum will celebrate the community's history and heritage through the 45th Annual Pioneer Days Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 23 & 24. The free community festival held along the shores at Lake Wailes Park features a heritage village that includes dozens of historical demonstrations of pioneer camps and early American trades. Activities are planned from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The public is welcome to experience, learn, share and buy...
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month the Lake Wales History Museum will offer a special online presentation "Treasures from Aztlan: Hispanic Women's Voices." Dr. Rebecca Dominguez-Karimi will deliver the second presentation in the museum's fall speaker series starting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, Dominguez-Karimi's talk will help people discover a different point of view from Hispanic women. In 2005, Dr. Dominguez-Karimi created an oral history collection titled Treasures...
The Lake Wales History Museum has been awarded a Community Project Grant of $5,000 from Florida Humanities and $10,000 from the Duke Energy Foundation to create a new Lake Wales African American Archive and Exhibit. The project will include conducting new research, collecting oral histories, and securing new donations to establish the archive. Emmanuel George, a Florida historian, has been hired to conduct intensive research for six-weeks from March 2 to April 15, 2021. His...
Throughout the month of March the Lake Wales Public Library's Local Artist Gallery has an amazing display of handmade quilts by local textile artists. The Lake Wales Quilters Guild was founded November 2008. The first monthly meetings were held in the Lake Wales Public Library's Schoenoff Meeting Room. The group currently meets the second Monday of each month, 1 p.m. at the 1st Methodist Church of Lake Wales, 230 St. N. Everyone is welcome, the fee to attend is $1. The Lake...
Bright sunshine broke through the dreary morning Saturday, Jan. 23 as friends, family and history buffs gathered to celebrate the opening of the Mimi Hardman Collections and Research Center. Named for the city's most noted historic preservationist, the center is located on South Scenic Highway in the newly restored 1916 Seaboard Airline Freight Station. Known for developing the historic Depot museum, bringing millions of dollars in historic preservation grants to the city and...
The Lake Wales History Museum will dedicate the new Mimi Hardman Collections and Research Center at the restored 1916 Seaboard Airline Freight Station, one of its iconic buildings in the museum's historic corridor, at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. After adjusting the fundraising goals due to COVID-19, and approval of matching funds from the City of Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency, the project began in July, and is now complete. This newly restored building will now...
Greater love has no man than this, that a man would lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13. Memorial Day is a day to remember all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country. Those who serve are certainly cut from a different cloth and while I was at the Lake Wales History Museum today, I decided to go and actually read the plaque that has been there for, well, I don't actually know how long it has been there. What is says is, "BLUE STAR...
LakeWalesNews.net recently celebrated our one-year anniversary. During our first year we published more than 1,200 stories and about 1,500 photos. This online news site is still a volunteer venture. The editor, writers and photographers receive no compensation. Most of us consider it a public service and a labor of love. We hope you enjoy LakeWalesNews.net and will continue sharing it with others. For those of you with time on your hands (like, most of you) now is the time to...
The Lake Wales History Museum is inviting people to enjoy a virtual event as part of the Florida Humanities Spring Speaker Series. Indians at the Post Office: New Deal-Era Post Office Murals will be presented by Sandra Starr at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal had sponsored several art programs to help get people back to work and to restore confidence in a nation facing 25 percent unemployment. Fine art murals are on the walls of more than 700...
Pre-bidding began Nov. 14 for a furniture auction to benefit the historic Stuart House renovation. The auction includes vintage and outdated furniture pieces that local artists and creative people have transformed into works of art. Some items became available for pre-bidding online starting on Saturday, Nov. 14, with more to come on the day of the in-person event. Vintage Stuart House plant urns also are available for sale online. The bidding concludes at an in-person event...
The Lake Wales History Museum is hosting an online presentation as part of its Florida Speaker Series: Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition by Bob Stone. The session explores and celebrates the history of culture of the nation's oldest cattle ranching state. Few realize that cattle first came to the U.S. through Florida, introduced by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1521. The presentation at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 lets attendees see and hear all the aspects of Florida c...
COVID-19 did not deter volunteers from the American Association of University Women from delivering nearly 100 framed prints of famous fine art paintings to area schools for public display. This year the selections range from Middle-Ages masters Durer and Brueghel to more modern artists such as Matisse and Dali. Advancing through their K-12 school years, with displays changing annually, students see a wide variety of styles and periods of art through this program. More pieces...
Lake Wales Interim City Manger James Slaton says if your grocery store has an outbreak of COVID-19 among its employees you can always go to another store. But he says there's no alternative if the pandemic impacts a large number of city employees. That's how Slaton justifies keeping city buildings shut down to visitors, when so many other businesses and government offices are opening. "There's no replacement for what we do," Slaton said, noting the city is taking a...
With regard to the health environment in Polk County, the Lake Wales History Museum has cancelled the Pioneer Days Festival, originally scheduled to take place on October 24 & 25, 2020. The health and safety of our community is first and foremost, and due to the national and local concern regarding coronavirus, hosting a large scale event of this proportion is not possible this year. The Pioneer Days Festival encourages engagement with vendors, historical demonstrators, food...
The Lake Wales City Commission, in its role as the Community Redevelopment Agency, will consider at its July 14 meeting offering $150,000 in incentives for two proposed downtown restaurants. James Ellis of Ava Properties in Heathrow is asking for a $100,000 grant - double the amount specified in the city's restaurant incentives program – to help him fund the Corner Café at One Scenic Central, a combination coffee shop and fine dining restaurant. His company purchased the tw...
The Lake Wales History Museum is hosting a Virtual History Happy Hour starting at 5 p.m. Friday, April 17. "Join us from the comfort and safety of your own home You just need a computer or mobile device," according to Museum Director Jennifer D'Hollander. D'Hollander encourages participants to make a cocktail inspired by the 1940s – Manhattans, punches or frozen drinks. "Wear your favorite vintage, fun or sporty hat, and we'll play some fun games, history trivia, and catch u...
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Lake Wales continues to function as close to normal as possible, Emergency Operations Director Joe Jenkins said Tuesday night. Jenkins, also the city's fire chief, updated Lake Wales leaders on the latest measures and precautions being taken in light of the national health emergency, including where to go if someone suspects they might be infected. Most city facilities are closed to the public – like the library and history museum – but city...
Additional closings and program suspensions have been announced in the wake of growing concerns over the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus. Lake Wales Arts Council The arts council is suspending program and the Lake Wales Arts Center will be closed from March 16-29. Arts council staff will still be taking phone calls and receiving emails. Rentals are not currently affected by the closure. The center intends to resume classes on March 30 for an additional two weeks for...
Dr. Diana Reigelsperger speak Thursday, Feb. 20 about Tavern Life in Colonial Florida - a time when American consumption of alcohol was at an all-time high, and early Temperance movement organizations arose. The free presentation begins at 6 p.m. in the city commission chambers at 201 W. Central Ave. in Lake Wales. Reigelsperger is an associate professor of history at Seminole State College in Sanford, FL Her research focuses on trade in colonial Spanish Florida, particularly...
The Lake Wales History Museum opened the major traveling exhibit, Spirited: Prohibition in America on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Organized by the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA, in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City, MO, Spirited: Prohibition in America explores the era of Prohibition, when America went "dry." Visitors will learn about the complex issues that led America to adopt Prohibition through the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in 1919 unt...
Enslaved Africans brought their food ways and special skills such as rice cultivation with them during their forced journey through the Middle Passage. Dr. Martha Bireda will present the journey of African foods and food preparation to modern day at the Lake Wales Public Library in celebration of Black History Month. The Lake Wales Public Library annually presents a Black History Month program. This year's will not only be informative, but also tasty. Dr. Martha Bireda, Direct...
