The Historical Society of Orange Park

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1 The Historical Society of Orange Park Newsletter Monthly Meeting Saturday, May 13 th, 2017 Clarke House Kingsley Avenue Orange Park, FL The speaker for our May meeting will be Mr. Robert Dews. He'll be speaking about Magnolia Lake State Park. Magnolia Lake State Park operated as a paired State Park with Gold Head Branch State Park and was built to provide segregated facilities to serve African Americans. Mr. Dews will tells us where the park was located, how it came to be and the events that led to its demise. Please join us for a discussion on a little-known aspect of Clay County s history. Recent News April Meeting Our April meeting featured category winners from the recent Clay County History Fair. As always, these students did an excellent job. First, we viewed a documentary created by Justin Cooler entitled, Operation Pedro Pan: Saving a Generation. This documentary told a littleknown story from the early days of Fidel Castro s regime in Cuba. With the change in political leadership, many parents saw a life of hardship and depredation coming along with political indoctrination of their children. They wanted their children to have a chance at a better life. Many Cuban parents sent their children alone to the United States where they were taken in, cared for and raised by people in this country. Next, Mary Catherine DeMarco presented her exhibit, The Stand That Changed America: The Conspiracy to Assassinate Lincoln. She provided good background information on John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators, described Lincoln s assassination and the attacks other high-ranking officials followed by the capture and sentencing of those involved. Finally, Lana Peyton and Carissa Taylor performed, Taking a Stand in History: The Grimke Sisters. These little-known sisters from South Carolina took an early stand against slavery before the Civil War. They moved north and became outspoken abolitionists. After the conclusion of the Civil War and the end of slavery, they turned their attentions toward the rights of women and became advocates for that cause. We wish these students the best of luck as they represent Clay County at Florida History Day, which will be held in Tallahassee on Monday, May 8 th.

2 Page 2 Mary Ellen DeMarco Carissa Taylor and Lana Peyton Carrie Clarke Day a Huge Success! Carrie Clarke Day was held on Saturday, April 22. We had good crowds and the weather was outstanding. This year s event featured tours of Clarke House, an exhibit of antique tools, a bake sale, live music, an old fashioned laundry exhibit, a petting zoo, Betsy Ross, numerous vendors and a new feature called Trail to Township that told the story of Orange Park s journey from wilderness to plantation to community. Of course the tea parties were a part of the festivities as well. The Green House was the site of our tea parties. The tables were set beautifully with linens and lovely china. Our guests not only enjoyed a lovely tea service but also learned of our efforts to save the Green House. The feedback was extremely positive about our proposed plans for the future use of the house.

3 Page 3 None of these activities would have been possible without the dedication of our volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you that made Carrie Clarke Day a special and successful event for the HSOP and the Town of Orange Park. A special thank you to all the volunteers from Orange Park Junior High that helped to serve tea to all our patrons and served as interpreters on the Trail to Township. We appreciate all your time, donation of baked goods and participation in the various activities of the day. Earl Harrington Community Service Award The Society presented the 2017 Earl Harrington Award for Community Service to Mrs. Faye Irvin. The award was presented during our annual Carrie Clarke Day event. Faye Kennedy Irvin grew up in Annapolis, Maryland. Her father was a career naval officer whose duties took him to interesting areas of our country and she developed a love of history. Faye earned a degree in American history and after retiring from the business world began to volunteer in Clay County and was appointed to the then Clay County Historical Commission.

4 Page 4 During her ten year term, Faye researched and wrote 13 historical booklets about Clay County which can be found in local libraries. Among them was one about Benjamin Lee II for whom Lee Field is named in Green Cove Springs, and the Clarke Family of Orange Park. She is presently working on a history of the Woman s Club. Pat Mueller and Faye helped to start the Clay County Archives in Green Cove Springs. Other volunteer jobs included lecturing for several years at the Shepherd s Center as well as in schools about Clay County history and participating in the annual the History Fair for Clay County schools. Faye s community involvement includes memberships in the Orange Park Woman s Club and Garden Club of Orange Park, where she is Historian, United Daughter of the Confederacy, Daughters of the American Revolution, First Families of Virginia, and several other historical societies. Faye and her husband, Bill, have made their home in Orange Park for more than forty years and hope for Green House Committee Report By Cindy Cheatwood Efforts to secure Mrs. Clarke's cottage (aka Green House) continue. The Small Matching Grant has been submitted though for far less than desired. $2750 was raised in cash and $4000 in confirmed in-kind donations. That is what could be collected given the tight parameters of the grant requirements. Local groups in a position to help need much more time than allowable for the match. We received 9 great letters of support from Travis Cummings, Rob Bradley, Art Guild of Orange Park (who also donated $100), Clay County Preservation Board (who donated $2500), Clay County's Archivist, Rev. William Randall, the DAR, and a Boy Scout leader. During Clarke Day we used the cottage to host our tea parties and everyone agreed that the charm of the place is worthy of the effort needed to repair it. The community contributed over $152 in loose donations in that one day!

5 Page 5 The work continues. It is now important to reach out to those groups requiring more time to process contributions. We still have until June 23rd before the town lifts the protections against demolition. As we continue we need the society's membership to reach out to whatever contacts they may feel could help with either cash or in-kind donations. An account is being established in the town's accounts just for this project. Please contact Cindy Cheatwood at ckcheatwood@hotmail.com or for information or questions. Upcoming Events Mother s Day We wish all our mothers a Happy Mother s Day! Thank you for all you do! The following link has a wonderful history of Mother s day: Mandarin Museum Upcoming Events May 7 Under the Oaks music jam 2-4 (Walter Jones Park) May 18 Third Thursday Lecture Mark Woods Lecture on his book Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America s National Parks including a book sale and signing. (Mandarin Community Club) May 20 Meet the Maple Leaf divers 12-4 (Walter jones Park) Veterans Memorial The Veterans Memorial Committee continues to receive orders for inscribed brick pavers that are installed at the site. Order forms are available at the memorial site, in the Orange Park Library or may be downloaded from the HSOP website If you are interested in purchasing an inscribed paver to honor a veteran you may download a form from our website or pick up a form in the box at the memorial site. We will be installing pavers in time for Veterans Day. For more information call Carolyn Day Pavers are $50 each.

6 Page 6 Another way to show your support is through the purchase of an ornament commemorating our Orange Park Veteran s Memorial. Cost of these ornaments is $10 each. Quilt Raffle This year s quilt, a 60 x 52 Hopscotch pattern, was generously donated by Janice McGilton. The quilt will be raffled off and all donations will support the many community programs of the Society. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. Tickets will be available at our general meetings.

7 Page 7 Sunshine Please keep these members in your thoughts and prayers: Dot Patterson Look For Us on Facebook Look for the the next time you visit Facebook. Check our page for updates on society activities and updates on the Veterans Memorial. Don t forget to click Like on our page. Membership in the We encourage you to support our mission to preserve the history of Orange Park and share that history with the community by becoming a member of the. We also ask your support and participation for the many community activities we undertake during the course of the year. You can visit our website,, to download a membership form.