Historic Hernando Preservation Society

Don’t miss our 2018-2019 Florida Humanities Speaker Series, featuring fascinating programs about Florida’s history, culture, and people.

Presented by the Florida Humanities Council in partnership with the Historic Hernando Preservation Society, this series will showcase four engaging talks and performances, starting in November 2018 and ending in May 2019 . Admission to each is FREE.  All programs will be hosted at the Brooksville Woman’s Club, 131 South Main St. Brooksville, FL 34604.

Our series will touch on a wide range of topics, including a living history presentation in character & costume of 3 famous Florida authors, a splash with the mermaids of Weeki Wachee, and an exploration of Florida’s long history of cattle ranching.  Here are the details:

• November 1, 2018  6:30 p.m. “Florida History:  from Palmetto-Leaves to The Yearling to River of Grass.”  Experience Florida through the milieu of three woman authors, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas.  Each wrote a book that put Florida on the map- in 1873, 1938, and 1947 respectively. Performed in character & costume by Betty Jean Steinshouer.
• February 7, 2019  6:30 p.m. “The Civilian Conservation Corps in Florida: State Parks and More.”  David Schmidt, curator of the Florida Civilian Conservation Corps museum presents an overview of the CCC in Florida from 1933 until 1942, which had over 70 camps and about 50,000 workers on projects across the state.
• April 4, 2019  6:30 p.m. “Weeki Wachee: City of Mermaids.”  Dr. Lu Vickers will cover the history of Weeki Wachee from its very beginnings in 1947.  This talk will feature vintage photographs of the mermaids from their earliest days performing silent ballets to the heyday when ABC built them a million dollar theater.
• May 2, 2019  6:30 p.m. “Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition.” Folklorist Bob Stone’s multi-media presentation explores and celebrates the history and culture of the nation’s oldest cattle ranching state from the colonial period to the 21st century.  

The Florida Humanities Council partners with community organizations around the state. Support for the Speaker Series is provided by the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs.