A couple of Florida Legends

When I was a kid growing up in Gainesville, many of my weekends were spent at our family's place on the St. Johns River in tiny Welaka, Florida. On Fridays my dad would come home from work and we'd load up the car and stop for dinner somewhere in Putnam County. One of the places we stopped was Holiday House in East Palatka.

Fast forward to adult life – living in the College Park section of Orlando – one of my favorite Old Florida haunts became the Holiday House Restaurant next to the Ben White Raceway. Seemingly untouched by time, they served food that my grandmother would love, buffet-style, and they had the best desserts anywhere. When the city announced plans to tear down the Holiday House, I wrote letters to the mayor and the newspaper in protest, to no avail.

The sign for the former Ben White Raceway Holiday House

So last year when I heard they were closing the original location in DeLand, I was saddened that a Central Florida institution might go the way of the Dodo. But after six months in limbo, the Holiday House re-emerged on Hwy. 17, further from the Stetson Campus and closer to DeLeon Springs. Jonesing for a slice of monster cake, Mrs. Ephemera made a pilgrimage to DeLand last weekend to fill our bellies.

The new location is a modern building filled with gorgeous artwork created by the owner Willa McGuire Cook. Mrs. Cook is a legend in her own right - she was recruited by Dick Pope Sr. to move to Winter Haven to star in his water ski show at Cypress Gardens. And Mrs. Cook isn't just any skier- she is a three time World Champion, an eight time National Champion and she is credited with creating many of the water ski moves that competitors use today. She was the first person to ever successfully jump off a water ski ramp backwards and she was Esther Williams' ski double in the movie Easy to Love. And the award given to the most outstanding female water skier of the year is named in her honor.

Cypress Gardens publicity photo with Willa Cook, courtesy of Lu Vickers

So in addition to feasting on creamy, delicious mac and cheese and a gigantic slab of salmon, I feed my appetite for Floridiana when I had the opportunity to met Mrs. Cook at her restaurant. She explained to us how she had been lured from Oregon by Mr. Pope and how she was part of the Cypress Gardens ski shows for a decade. A prolific cook since her teen age years, it was her dream to open a restaurant and she opened the first Holiday House in an old house in DeLand in 1959. At one time the Holiday House chain had 17 venues, but Cook and her husband sold the chain. The last one still open is the DeLand location and it is owned and operated by her and her son.

Willa Cook's harness racing painting inspired from the Ben White Raceway - she told us she tried riding the horses once but got a face full of flying mud from the horse's hooves.

Former Florida Citrus Queen Florence Ember

Tommy Bartlett, the man that started world tours and the Wisconsin Dells ski shows

Her artwork decorated many of the Holiday House locations including the one at the Ben White Raceway in Orlando, a spot Mrs. Cook called "one of her favorites." In addition to adding ambiance to the restaurant, her portraits hang in the Water Ski Hall of Fame in Polk County. I was very impressed with her artistic talents and amazed at the fact that at 82 years old, Mrs. Cook seemed as vital and lively as someone half her age. In fact the waitress shared with us that many of the vegetables served in the restaurant were grown in Mrs. Cook's garden.

Ironically, after stuffing myself at the buffet, I didn't have room for dessert, the "goal" of this particular quest. But the opportunity to meet a Florida legend in person was more satisfying than any cake, pie or cobbler.

Although all the comfort style food is outstanding in the buffet,
I am huge fan of Holiday House's desserts

Photo collage from restaurant

For the love of old Florida

Last weekend I traveled to St. Pete with author Joy Dickinson to attend the Floridiana Festival. This year's show was held in the St. Pete Garden Club, a smaller venue from the previous Floridiana Festival I attended at the historic Gulfport Casino. It was a tight squeeze to fit everybody in the small building, but that added a sense of excitement and I was thrilled to see this many people into all things vintage Florida.

In addition to looking for ephemera for my Fountain of Youth project, I was there to meet author Lu Vickers, whose latest book Cypress Gardens, America's Tropical Wonderland was the basis for an article I laid out for the History Center's Reflections journal. I had friended Lu on Facebook and it is apparent we both share a love for Florida's vintage attractions.

Lu Vickers sees herself as primarily a fiction writer with a love of old Florida attractions

Lu gave two talks, one on Cypress Gardens, one on Weeki Wachee, subject of another of her great books published by the University Press of Florida. Lacking a lecture hall, we squeezed into the Garden Club's kitchen for the presentations. The Cypress Gardens talk focused on how Dick Pope grew from a swampy patch of land on a remote Winter Haven lake into one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. Taking advantage of WPA funds to drain the marsh-like land, Pope had to return funds to the government when it became apparent that Cypress Gardens would be a made-for-profit operation, and not a public park. The famous water ski shows started as aquaplane demonstrations for G.I.s and grew into a a world-wide phenomena. And Dick Pope was instrumental in making water skiing into a popular sport across the globe.

Elvis at Cypress Gardens?

Tiny Tim tip-toeing through Cypress Gardens

Aquaplane demonstration pre-dated water ski shows at Cypress Gardens

Slides © Lu Vickers

Dick Pope from the State Archives of Florida

Lu had two guests for the Weeki Wachee talk – former mermaids Dianne and Bonnie. Dianne was a high school age synchronized swimmer when she performed at the very first underwater show ever held for the public at the legendary spring. Bonnie was among the later generation of mermaids who swam with mermaid tails and used rubber hoses to replenish their air supply. The Weeki Wachee version of Dick Pope was underwater innovator Newt Perry who developed underwater performance first at Silver Springs, and then at Wakulla Springs before establishing Weeki Wachee as a legendary attraction. Lu showed amazing images of the underwater performers and the two mermaids provided first hand accounts about what it is like to dance forty feet under the water. It was a huge thrill for a Florida freak like me, and meeting Lu and hearing her presentations alone were worth the drive from Orlando.

Bonnie Georgiadis and Diane Wyatt McDonald, former Weeki Wachee performers

Newt Perry carrying a mermaid in Tampa

from the State Archives of Florida

In addition to Lu, authors Florida ephemera authors Larry Roberts and Ken Breslauer were on hand selling items from their collections. I connected with Larry who owns a great antique store in Micanopy and whose wife is a fantastic bird photographer. And I returned twice to Breslauer's table to buy vintage Florida travel brochures.

Around the perimeter of the space original Highwaymen artists like James Gibson and Maryanne Carroll displayed their artwork. While feel I have been over exposed to the proliferation of Highwaymen art, I greatly respect the fact that the show had real Highwaymen in attendance. It was fun to see people buying paintings and getting photographs made of their paintings and the artists together.

For me it was a successful show because I found some fine examples of vintage Florida ephemera while communing with those who share the same passion for old Florida that I do. And if you are interested in the roots of Florida tourism I highly recommend Lu's books on Cypress Gardens and Weeki Wachee.

All things flamingo and alligator were on hand throughout the show

Vintage scores from Ken Breslauer's collection

2009 in Review

I made 186 Visual Ephemera posts in 2009 and I thought I'd review some of the highlights and update their status.

On January 3rd I listed some spots in Florida I wanted to visit, and I'm happy to say I hit most of them. I just returned from South Florida, although I wont' have any new blogs about the trip until 2010. While I didn't see Monkey Jungle, Parrot Jungle (Jungle Island now), or the Everglades, I did see the Coral Castle, Viscaya, the Biltmore and South Beach. And I listed a goal to visit the attractions in my backyard like Big Tree Park, The Citrus Tower and Hall of Presidents (yes on all 3.) While I didn't get to Tarpon Springs or Warm Mineral Springs, I did make trips to Weeki Wachee, Homosassa Springs, Sunken Gardens, Sarasota Jungle Gardens and Cypress Gardens.


Cypress Gardens, the granddaddy of all Florida attractions, is still closed and at this point its future is uncertain. My wish for 2010 is that it re-opens in some capacity, so Floridians and visitors can enjoy the beauty of its famed gardens again.



On January 12th, I blogged about the discovery of more Fountains of Youth in Florida, including the sculpture at Tomoka State Park which I just visited on Christmas Eve. I'll continue to explore the theme of Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth in Florida's popular culture, and I have more discoveries on the the subject that I'll share in 2010. One of the highlights for me was visiting Punta Gorda, and finding several monuments to Ponce's adventures around Southwest Florida.


On February 19th, I introduced the late Florida artist Joy Postle. Since that initial post, a wikipedia page has been set up for Joy and an article came out in the Reflections journal of the Orange County Regional History Center. As a result there appears to be more awareness of Joy and her work, and we are hoping to put together an exhibition of work in the future. And the murals that were stored in an attic in Ormond Beach are now safely in the hands of the individual who is the caretaker of Joy's legacy.


In March I examined the plight of two Orlando institutions; one has stayed open, the other has remained closed. Kaley Elementary remained open when the local newspaper discovered the school board was not following the proper procedure in studying school closures, so they kept the schools slated for closures running this year. The Cheyenne Saloon, however, remains closed. My hope is that when the new arena opens next Fall, someone will re-open it because of its then desirable location.



In April I blogged about Casper's Ostrich and Alligator Farm, a long defunct St. Augustine attraction. I am happy to say that I recently received a Vintage Roadside shirt sporting the Caspers logo so I can do my part in keeping the memory of that unique Florida business alive.

May 21st's post on Sanlando Springs generated more comments than any other blog. Apparently there are many Central Floridians with fond memories of swimming there, who wish they could still visit it. The Springs development built around the popular spring was recently in the news when a resident was attacked by a Florida Black Bear. Later the man was charged with feeding the bears around his house after the bear that scratched him had to be put down.

July's post about the Sam Stoltz house in Mt. Plymouth produced many responses as well, and as luck would have it I met the man who would come to own the house. Florida artist Martin Cushman is now the loving steward of this unique architectural masterpiece and after many delays he has finally moved into his new home.


In August I utilized my contacts to help a friend find her ancestor's church. Since then she has made a commitment to speak at the church, and found her grandfather's gravesite at Greenwood Cemetery.


The city of Orlando is working to find ways to finance the repair of the Lake Eola fountain, the city's symbol for years, originally blogged about on September 3rd. However, the city of Winter Park continues to look for a way to expand its Central Park by moving the post office with no mention of the preservation of its unique mid-century murals.


November's post on the water skiing elephants of De Leon Springs led to an email interview with Liz Green Dane, who as a teenager appeared with her elephant Queenie at the spring. I have plans to meet with Liz in person next month to learn even more.


And this month I had the privilege of taking part in an interview with Ginger Stanley Rogers, who appeared in the iconic Creature from the Black Lagoon. She will be appearing at the History Center in March.



2009 has been a wonderful year for me, as my fascination with Florida's history and popular culture has grown as I've explored and learned more about the colorful state I'm in. I'm grateful for anyone who stumbles across my blog and my only hope is that if they are in Florida they take time to appreciate the uniqueness of this state, because it is changing rapidly, and the things that make Florida so wonderful are always at risk.

Lost Attractions: Xanadu Home of the Future

The list of roadside attractions that have lived and died in Florida is a long one; and in the current economic crisis it will be interesting to see if some of the small mom and pop attractions can survive. Cypress Gardens, whose Dick Pope, Jr. wrote the book on attraction promotion, closed last week. Also recently making the news is the story that the building formerly housing Dolly Parton's closed Orlando attraction, Dixie Stampede, is now being utilized as a flea market and home of the world's largest pizza parlor.

Yesterday I drove down 192 in Kissimmee, the road that leads right to Disney. It's not a pretty road, as it exemplifies the rapid, unplanned development that came to Central Florida as entrepreneurs tried to cash in on the boom that occurred when Disney came to town. Cheap motels, gift shops, strip malls and minor attractions like Old Town, Medieval Times, Water Mania and Arabian Nights, line both sides of the roadway. I noticed that the further one got from Disney, the more likely businesses were to be closed or to be transitioning to new ownership.

I was surprised to find remnants of one roadside attraction that was torn down 6 years ago; Xanadu Home of the Future. The strange, organic structure that used to be a roadside attraction on 192 was one of 3; the other 2 were in Gatlinburg, TN and the Wisconsin Dells. The house in Kissimmee was the work of Roy Mason, the founding member of something called the World Future Society. The 6,000 sq. ft house opened in 1983, a year after the opening of EPCOT. According to the wikipedia post, the intent of the house was to change the way people viewed houses their homes so that they saw them as more organic, intelligent spaces. The round polyurethane walls were about 6 inches thick. I remember seeing it and thinking it looked like a big blob of shaving cream next to the side of the road. There is a great account on Roadside America of what it was like to visit.

Images from the State Archives of Florida

Today the electronic sign is all that remains of the futuristic attraction. The footprint of the building is completely grown over and the Key Motel next door looks to be valiantly trying to avoid the same ending as its neighbor. Ironically enough, directly across the street from where the home of the future once stood is a brand new A&W Root Beer Drive-In, an iconic homage to the past.

Cypress Gardens closes... for good?

From yesterday's Orlando Sentinel. I fear this may be it for the granddaddy of all Florida attractions...