On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, Orlando Remembered, Inc., met in the Melrose Center at the Orlando Public Library, 101 E. Central Blvd., Orlando FL. Meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. Attending were:

Jane Tracy, President

Grace Chewning, Secy./Treas.

Claude Wolfe, Past President

Joe Baker

Mac Barnes

Don Batchelor

Heather Bonds

Charlie Gray

L. Hunter Handley, Jr.

Jim/Ronnie Hardman

Rick Kilby

Rodney Kincaid

Bill Leach

Mark Line

Tana Porter

Vic Ratliff

Bill Trippler

Bob Woodbery

Tiffany Rivera

1. GUEST SPEAKER: Rick Kilby, author of The Magical Springs of Old Florida, provided an outstanding presentation dealing with his latest book. For more information, click on: [http://orlandomemory.info/events/rick-kilby-presents-the-magical-springs-of-old-florida/].

2. MINUTES: The June 19 minutes were approved as written on motion of C. Wolfe, seconded by V. Ratliff and vote carried.

3. TREASURER’S REPORT: $28,623.02

[including $10,000 in Andrew N. Serros Legacy Endowment Fund]

as of 6-30-19.

4. ON-GOING ACTIVITIES: (˜) To make room for scheduled major expansion of the History Center, an auction is scheduled in-house on Saturday, August 10, of “non-historical” but unusual/decorative type items! (˜) For UCF RICHES, Tiffany Rivera reported that: (1) the Florida Humanities Council awarded a Community Project Grant to Friends of Weeki Wachee Springs, a Florida citizens support organization whose focus is the preservation of the park. The grant supports an oral history project to further preserve and present the stories of the “mermaids” integral in the spring’s iconic history. The project will also involve a history harvest, which encourages the public and former mermaids to bring any items of significance in order to be preserved through digitization. RICHES will host the history harvest and provide the scanning and recording equipment, the collection will be hosted online so wider audiences can participate in Weeki Wachee’s history. (2) RICHES is planning fall programs and will provide information on educational workshops. (3) If any Orlando Remembered Warrior would like to do an oral history interview, please contact her at [email protected]. (˜) M. Line reported 75+ attended the recent oral intervention event by the Pine Castle Historical Society, where consensus focused on the desire to regain community atmosphere. (˜) T. Porter advised that Orange Preservation Trust is actively pursuing research on structures within the Parramore area.

5. ANNOUNCEMENTS/GOOD OF THE ORDER: V Continued prayers for Texann Buck [weekly chemo] and Leon Handley [recovering from a broken hip]. J “Amazing Charlie Gray” is here today after triple bypass heart surgery just last month! ! Following Lisa Camichos’ June trip to Paros, Greece, where she addressed the First Annual Greek Symposium on “The Orlando Plan,” she been asked to set up an exhibit at The Museum of Natural History in New York City scheduled for January 2020, plus there is a possibility that Nia Vardalos may turn The Orlando Plan” into a movie! M. Line reminded members about our social media postings at the Orlando Remembered website and on Facebook.

6. ORLANDOANS REMEMBERED [See https://orlandoremembered.org/members/epoch-obituaries/]: People whose lives were so important to so many, who helped make Orlando a great City and whose passing represents a significant loss to our community: Dr. Carl Louis Croft.

7. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.

Next meeting is Wednesday, July 17, 9:30, a.m., in the Melrose Center at the Orlando Public Library, 101 E. Central Blvd. –Guest Speaker, Robert Banks.

Grace Ann Chewning, Secretary-Treasurer