It was the time of the year when I normally start working on sending out Christmas cards, and I realized I hadn't bought any cards yet. This year I'm trying to keep my gift buying local as much as possible and I really wanted to do something to promote my mission of creating more awareness of the unique culture and history of Florida. A brief scan around my studio revealed a couple of one-color postcards purchased at the Museum of Seminole County History showing Calvin Coolidge and his wife at "The Senator", Florida's big tree. A quick phone call later and the Museum had 60 postcards in the mail to me. I morphed the Coolidges into Mr. and Mrs. Claus and found this link to Christmas: at the time of Christ's birth in Bethelhem, the giant Cypress tree was already 1,500 years old. That has to make it the oldest living thing in the state. And when Ponce de Leon was first stumbling across the state, the tree was an astounding 3,000 years old. I'm glad the folks back in Calvin Coolidge's day had the foresight to preserve such an icon.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Florida Christmas
It was the time of the year when I normally start working on sending out Christmas cards, and I realized I hadn't bought any cards yet. This year I'm trying to keep my gift buying local as much as possible and I really wanted to do something to promote my mission of creating more awareness of the unique culture and history of Florida. A brief scan around my studio revealed a couple of one-color postcards purchased at the Museum of Seminole County History showing Calvin Coolidge and his wife at "The Senator", Florida's big tree. A quick phone call later and the Museum had 60 postcards in the mail to me. I morphed the Coolidges into Mr. and Mrs. Claus and found this link to Christmas: at the time of Christ's birth in Bethelhem, the giant Cypress tree was already 1,500 years old. That has to make it the oldest living thing in the state. And when Ponce de Leon was first stumbling across the state, the tree was an astounding 3,000 years old. I'm glad the folks back in Calvin Coolidge's day had the foresight to preserve such an icon.