I feel just like a silver screen star lately, Sarasota, with all these movies about me on the internet!

Patrick Nagle of the Sarasota Fringe Film Festival created this video entitled A Conversation with Bertha Palmer: The Queen of Sarasota. Please click below to have a watch!

Fondly,
Mrs. Palmer

At 5:3o p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 14, at the USF Selby Auditorium the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee and the Women's Advisory Council of the Bertha Palmer Centennial present the Bertha Palmer Centennial Woman of Achievement Award: A celebration of pioneering women.

Dr. Mary Elmendorf (pictured at right) will be honored for her more than seven decades of global leadership on behalf of women. Dr. Elmendorf worked as a volunteer in prisons and with displaced persons for the American and British Friends during and after World War II.  She and the other volunteers were awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for that work.  Thereafter, she served as the first director of the CARE office in Mexico, and she participated in all of the United Nations Conferences on Women beginning in 1975.  She has a distinguished career in anthropology and has lived in Sarasota, Fla., for more than forty years.

The ceremony will include a screening of "A Powerful Noise," a film developed by CARE, which tells the story of three women from Vietnam, Bosnia, and Mali who are changing the world. A reception honoring Dr. Elmendorf will be held following the film.

 

The event is free and open to the public, however reservations are required. Click here to register or call (941)359-4602.

Interested in how I helped Sarasota's early development into the cultural capital it is today? Watch my short video, below!

 

Sarasota, you continue to flatter me great honors such as this. At 7 p.m. on Thurs., Sept. 23, the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee presents local actress Amanda Schlacter (right) delivering my groundbreaking speech on the occasion of the opening of the Women's Pavilion at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. 

Miss Schlacter has directed with multiple companies in the Sarasota area and has performed with the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota Actor's Workshop, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and numerous others. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and holds a BFA from the University of Central Florida.

Following the speech, moderator Bonnie Beth Greenball, associate director of the Institute for Public Policy & Leadership at USF will lead discussion of my impact on women in my own era and assess the state of women today. How have we evolved in more than a century? Many of the issues I addressed continue to exist today...

What fun we had this weekend! I was so honored and thrilled by all the fantastic birthday celebrations Sarasota prepared for me last weekend. You all must really appreciate my contributions to the early development of Sarasota.

On Thurs., May 20 at Eagle Point in Venice some twelve residents of Eagle Point (originally built for me in 1916 as a hunting & fishing camp) honored my "historical interpreter," Betty Intagliata of the Venice Area Historical Society,  in the historic clubhouse with a birthday cake and punch.  WEDU's "Gulf Coast Journal" filmed the event and the segment will air on WEDU/PBS Thurs., August 26.

On my actual birth date, Sat., May 22, more than forty people heard Betty Intagliata again as my "historical interpreter" talk about her relationships with the descendants of pioneer families in Nokomis. The birthday honor was part of the Sarasota County's Historic Preservation Board's celebration of National Historic Preservation Month. Following awards to owners of restored historic properties in Nokomis, some historic homes were opened to the public.  Sarasota County videographer shot in the garden of one of the historic homes and you can watch your local Comcast or Verizon channel in July for this footage.

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation and the Sarasota County Arts Council have issued a call to artists for the Bertha Palmer Legacy Project:

Artists are invited to submit proposals of projects that express the achievements of Bertha Palmer, and how her work has enriched the lives of our community. Artists are also asked to imagine how Bertha Palmer’s vision will continue to improve the quality of life of Sarasota County’s residents in the future. The winning proposal will then be unveiled in December 2010, highlighting the final days of the Bertha Palmer 2010 Sarasota Centennial celebrations.

Click here for more details about the call to artists. I can't wait to see what lovely works of art the enterprising artists of Sarasota come up with!

Fondly,
Mrs. Palmer

I've just received this lovely short video from Sarasota County Access in which one of my modern-day "historical interpreters" tells a bit more about my arrival in Sarasota in 1910 as well as some of the technological advances I made.

Click below to watch!

Fondly,
Mrs. Palmer

I've had to take a little time to rest after all of my birthday celebrations in May — thank you Sarasota! — but I did want to share these lovely proclamations from the Sarasota County Commission with you:

The county was so very generous to formally recognize the hundredth anniversary of my birthday. What an honor! Here's a photo of Hans Johnsson accepting the proclamation from the Commissioner Shannon Staub.

With all the excitement leading up to my many birthday celebrations this weekend, the ladies at the local DAR have created a little quiz about moi to whet your appetite for their event in my honor, a lovely tea party this Saturday afternoon at their chapter house in Pioneer Park.

Answer true or false to the following statements to test your knowledge about me, Bertha Honoré Palmer:

1. Bertha Palmer invested $8 million in twentieth century Florida.

I can't quite believe all the fuss Sarasota is making over my birthday — although I suppose your 161st doesn't come every year!

I've just received notice that Mattison's Forty-One that they will be offering a "Bertha Palmer Special" dinner starting on my birthday, this Sat., May 22. Chef Paul Mattison has put together a dish combining three of my loves: a filet mignon (cattle ranching) topped with king crab (love of the sea) and a citrus Hollandaise Sauce (love of citrus) with truffle mashed potatoes and asparagus for just $24.95.

They've also created a Bertha Palmer cocktail: raspberry vodka, triple sec, sour, and cranberry juice. Sounds divine!

What would be my 161st birthday is coming up on Sat., May 22 and I'm thrilled to enjoy all the celebrations that are planned in my honor. I'll be telling you about each of them over the next week. First is the Daughters of the American Revolution's Birthday Tea.

The Sara DeSoto chapter DAR will toast the centennial of my 1910 arrival in Sarasota and my impact on the area’s early development, turning out their chapter house in Pioneer Park for a tea party befitting the elegance of my area.

Judith Leipold will act as the Bertha Palmer "historical interpreter" at the party, robed in period attire. I hope you all will dress up as well! Easy additions to your favorite Sunday clothes are gloves, a hat and a matching handbag.

Dear Friends,

Below is Linda Mansperger's letter in the most recent copy of Historic Spanish Point's newsletter, The Webb Journal. I am honored that she and this most efficient organization are dedicated to preserving the history of the gardens and land that I called home from 1910 through 1918. Ms. Mansperger offers a most generous estimate of my father's work in Chicago and my family roots and I thank her for it. Please, if you have not visited Historic Spanish Point, I encourage you to do so. I understand they shall be celebrated my birthday on May 22 with cake, ice cream and free admission to the grounds and museum.

Fondly,
Mrs. Palmer


From the Webb Journal of Historic Spanish Point -

Readers of The Webb Journal, as well as almost everyone who lives in Sarasota County, know that this year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Mrs. Potter Palmer's arrival in southwest Florida and that part of her winter estate, called Osprey Point, is preserved at Historic Spanish Point. Perhaps no other month is as special as this, however, as we celebrate her birthday on Saturday, May 22.

Bertha was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1849, one of six children, two girls and four boys, of Henry and Eliza Honoré. Although her ancestors were English, Scotch, Irish, and Welch, the French Honoré name came from her great grandfather, Jean Antoine Honoré, a Parisian who settled in Maryland in 1781. In the early 1800s, he moved to Louisville, where he founded a hardware business and developed a country estate. Bertha's father, Henry, moved his family to Chicago in 1855, when Bertha was only six years old.

As Ishbel Ross writes in Silhouette in Diamonds, Henry Honoré was one of Chicago's early expansionists. "He bought and subdivided and built and improved property. He envisioned driveways, parks and developments for the boulevard system that girdles Chicago today" and "he invested heavily in real estate." Ross goes on to describe him as "a man of charm and persuasion, an imaginative planner with a highly developed community sense." Is it any wonder that 60 years later, his daughter Bertha, also charming and imaginative, would be doing similar activities in Florida?

Linda W. Mansperger
Executive Director
Historic Spanish Point

Thank you to all my friends with the Venice Area Historical Society! We've had such fun over the last several months celebrating my arrival here in Florida one hundred years ago. How time flies! Here are some of my favorite photographs:

Betty Intagliato, Chair Sarasota Historical Commission and past President of the Venice Area Historical Society with Claire Suter as Mrs. Potter Palmer at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Venice, April 18, 2010

MRS. PALMER'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATED AT HISTORIC SPANISH POINT

WITH FREE ADMISSION TO ALL RESIDENTS OF SARASOTA COUNTY

[3/10/2010-OSPREY, FL]       In celebration of the Palmer Centennial, Historic Spanish Point, the Florida Home of Mrs. Potter Palmer, will honor her birthday with FREE ADMISSION to all residents of Sarasota County on May 22-23, 2010. Meet the "Legendary Lady" as interpreted by a Living History Performer and enjoy the scenic gardens built by Mrs. Palmer and lovingly restored and maintained by the 30-acre National Register museum which is accredited by the American Association of Museums. A special 1:00pm ceremony will be held at the stunning Pergola and Sunken Garden to mark the occasion. Members of the Palmer Centennial Committee and your Sarasota County Commission may be on hand to cut the birthday cake.

Dear Friends,

It has been brought to my attention that friends are attempting to protect me from taking offense when some in the community refer to me as simply Bertha Palmer rather than the socially more appropriate Mrs. Palmer, Mrs. Potter Palmer or Bertha Honore Palmer.

Thank you all for your concern and consideration, but I must say that I have observed that social expectations have changed significantly since the early 20th century.  I don't wish to cause any awkwardness in society, so please feel free to address me in whatever fashion is comfortable.

Dear Friends,

Oh how I delight in the opera!  I've enjoyed it most while residing in Paris, but recently had the wonderful experience of Verdi's Gianna d'Arco performed by the Sarasota Opera.  The singers were simply exceptional and the orchestra superb!  I must say Maestro DeRenzi and Ms. Danis were most gracious and honored me with a video on my live showing upstairs during intermission.

If you like opera, do try this delightful Verdi work.  The hall is also quite elegant!

Dear Friends,

Most believe me to be a high society, classical arts lover and that I am.  However, I have grown quite fond over the years of a fine barbershop harmony chorus.  Here in Sarasota there is a group of gentlemen who sing so well they have been named champions for the state of Florida.

Sarasota Chorus of the Keys surprised me this past weekend by serenading me causing me to blush with the attention.  I must admit, they sing magnificently and are quite handsome as well!

Dear Friends,

I was most honored this past month to receive salutations, through my friends of the Centennial Celebrations, from the Governor of this great state of Florida, the most esteemed Governor Charlie Crist. How nice of him. 

It is difficult to read this fine print below, but I hoped we might be able to share in this honor.

Dear friends,

I find it astonishing to turn the calendar to February of 2010 already!  We had such a delightful month of January starting with an auspicious start with concerts of the Sarasota Orchestra and the Venice Symphony.  Of course I was greeted most charmingly by conductors Leif Bjaland and Kenneth Bowermeister and both orchestras played beautifully.

The City of Venice honored me by reading their proclamation noting the celebration year and I had the great pleasure of attending a lovely tea at Myakka Park - the location of my dear Meadowsweet Pastures. 

I beg you to join us in the festivities and search our calendar of events to add these to your own schedule of activities this season.  I will be sharing photos with you as well as we move forward through the year.

As ever, fondly,
Gayle

Greetings dear friends,

I have just received an invitation from the conductor of the Sarasota Orchestra, a handsome young Norwegian gentleman named Leif Bjaland.  He has invited me to attend his symphony concert in the evening on Saturday, January 9 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. I am most delighted to accept his kind invitation and hope that I will see many of you there in the audience as well. Another talented young man, the violinist Daniel Jordan, will be performing one of my favorite new works by that German Max Bruch. His Scottish Fantasy brings back delightful memories of my time in Scotland with King Edward and his friends.  Such memories seem so long ago now that I am here in Sarasota with you, dear friends.  I look forward to the warmth and cheer of your company at the orchestra concert and many other events in the year.

 

I’ve had an exceptionally gay time in Venice, Florida this holiday season.  The kind residents honored me in their annual Christmas parade and I have the pleasure waving to them from a handsome motorized vehicle made in 1910 by the Hamblet Company. 

 The following week a full complement of ladies and gentlemen gathered for a luncheon and fashion show at the Venice Yacht Club.  There were some lovely designs, but so many of them were rather shocking and not at all what I have seen from the Paris designers in recent years,. Certainly, nothing like the gowns I have purchased from Worth’s.   But they were lovely just the same and I should visit this clothier called Sunbug on Venice Avenue. Their ensembles looked casual but quite smart.

 I extend my humble gratitude to some of the hosts and organizers of this event. I believe they include Sue Chapman of the Venice Area Historical Society and Claire E. Suter, both delightful women.

 I wish all of you the warmest and merriest of holiday cheer.  May we meet in the new year of 2010 and enjoy many more events together…. Perhaps a symphony orchestra concert or two?

Hello dear friends! I have just learned that a most kind and gracious group of people in Sarasota County, Florida are throwing a celebration in my honor! You can imagine how touched I am and they needn't have gone to the trouble. However, I shall participate in all the festivities and keep you all apprised as to the plans and celebrations. It has been a short century since I moved to lovely Sarasota and I have enjoyed every minute of its beauty and culture.

Below is the news release just distributed to the press. Do read it and share this news with your friends.

Fondly,
Mrs. Palmer

Announcing the Bertha Palmer 2010 Sarasota Centennial
– A Record-Breaking Chain of Events
Sarasota County Celebrates Centennial of Bertha Palmer´s Arrival to Sarasota, Florida in 1910

[Sarasota, FL – November 29, 2009] In February of 1910, Mrs. Bertha Honoré Palmer, internationally regarded socialite, and one of the richest women in the United States, moved from Chicago to what was then a largely wild and unsettled town of Sarasota. In a very short time she had purchased the first of what would become a total of 90,000 acres of land encompassing much of the present Sarasota county south of Bee Ridge and out to Myakka.

Initiated and coordinated by Hans Johnsson, a board member of the Historical Society of Sarasota County, and led by an executive committee with county and city officials, and with representatives of historical and women’s organizations, the plans for a county wide celebration have taken the form of a series of events and activities throughout the year sponsored by an amazing variety of organizations. (Please see attached calendar of events to date).

The Bertha Palmer Celebrations planned for 2010 will be the biggest celebration of Sarasota´s history ever. It is the biggest celebration ever of a Sarasota woman pioneer. It would also be hard to find any event in Sarasota County history with more wide-reaching community support, from North to South, from East to West, from Sarasotans of widely different backgrounds.
The link to one of Sarasota´s greatest pioneers makes small events more visible and puts big events in a context. It combines specially crafted events with events that would have taken place anyway and gives them added attraction. The fact that Bertha Palmer´s interests were so diverse makes it possible to connect a broad range of events to her personality.

Background:

The reasons to celebrate Bertha Palmer are obvious to most Sarasotans interested in the region´s background and development, how the Sarasota of the early 20th century became the Sarasota of today.

Bertha Palmer (1849 – 1918) came to Sarasota in 1910. She was one of the most significant pioneers in the early build-up period of the Sarasota that we know today, on a par with the Ringlings, the Selbys, the Owens and others. She had a background in big events management, not least from her involvement as President of the Board of Lady Managers for the Woman´s Pavilion at the Chicago Columbian Exhibition of 1893. She was a courageous and astute businesswoman, who went far beyond what was considered “a woman´s place” in that period. When she moved to Sarasota as a widow, she showed that a single woman could manage her life and her business interests without relying on the support of a man. She was wealthy and showed that she could use her money and intellectual resources to accomplish unusual things in agriculture, land development and other fields. Her wide range of interests also included arts, music, gardening and other pursuits. It is hard to imagine what Sarasota would be like today, if she had not chosen to move here at the time she did. The only thing we can be sure of is that it would not have been the same.

The Bertha Palmer Project Development:
The “2010 – Sarasota County Bertha Palmer Celebrations” project was initiated in the fall of 2007 by Hans V A Johnsson, and immediately gained strong support from a wide range of organizations and civic and business leaders. The Historical Society of Sarasota County was the first organization to adopt the ideas. Historic Spanish Point, which has cultivated much of the Bertha Palmer heritage over the years, joined in very early. Other organizations followed. The County Commission of Sarasota, with Shannon Staub as Chair, and the City Commission of Sarasota, with then Mayor Lou Ann Palmer, opened doors, gave valuable advice and support, and took positions of responsibility from the start and onwards. A Sarasota County and City Proclamation declaring 2010 as the “Bertha Palmer Year” was issued in January 2008.

Guidelines for the project were developed at an early stage. Important guideline items include the conditions that each part project would be self-financed, and that each project was to have a sponsoring organization and a fully responsible project manager. A set of complete guidelines is available from the project coordinator.
A logotype was developed as a pro bono project by Sara Mantle, senior student at the Ringling School of Art and Design in 2008. The logotype (see top of p. 1) will serve as a common link between all projects.

A Women´s Advisory Committee with representatives of Sarasota women´s organization has been established, with Andrea Rogers of the Sarasota County League of Women Voters as Chair.

The number of projects submitted has grown and is still growing at this time. For a complete and updated calendar of events and further information, please visit www.BerthaPalmerAlive.com. Those who are interested can also follow Bertha Palmer on Facebook (Bertha Honore Palmer) and Twitter (#MrsPalmer2010.)

  Come back for more news.