Women Who Made Our City Beautiful: The Legacies of Glenda Hood and Mary I. Johnson
By Adaeze Nwigwe, from the Spring 2024 Edition of Reflections Magazine Magical, picturesque, and for a period phenomenal: all were descriptions that could be applied to the city of Orlando in 1908. Early migrants to the area such as Jessie Johnson Branch from South Dakota were enraptured by the verdant
Hitching a Ride: The Incredible Journey of Martha Esch
By Jeremy Hileman, from the Fall 2023 issue of Reflections Magazine For some people, it can take a lifetime to discover what they are truly passionate about. There are those among us, however, who seem to have known what moves them right from the very beginning. For Martha Esch, who
Rosa Lee Jones: The Mother of Cocoa
By Marissa Bellenger, HERstory: Women in History Intern at the History Center for fall 2022 The Space Coast certainly has its share of significant history, including notable women, but you may not have heard of one of the most remarkable: Rosa Lee Jones. Her life was dedicated to activism and
Annual Women’s History Month Breakfast honors trailblazing architects
History Center highlights Ryan & Roberts, who defied obstacles in 1920s On March 9, the Orange County Regional History Center presents its fourth annual Women’s History Month Celebration with a breakfast honoring architects Ida Annah Ryan and Isabel Roberts, who overcame obstacles to create notable Central Florida buildings in the
My Experience as the First HERstory: Women’s History Intern
Serving as the Orange County Regional History Center’s inaugural HERstory: Women’s History Intern has been an enriching experience for me. I have worked with an amazingly collaborative and enthusiastic group of colleagues, who work to fulfill the museum’s mission.
A Rare Bird: The Art and Life of Joy Postle
By re-interpreting nature with her own artistic flair, Joy Postle – artist, champion of wildlife, poet, traveler, and free spirit – turned a spotlight on the natural Florida that would be carelessly threatened during her lifetime by unchecked development.
The Sky’s the Limit: Remembering Grace the Ace
This is the extraordinary story of an Orange County native who became an aviation pioneer and world-class airshow performer. Grace Ellen Butt graduated from Winter Park High and Rollins College and was a debutante of the Rosalind Club, but to her generation, she was the legendary “Grace the Ace.”
Little Sure Shot’s Snowbird Days: Annie Oakley in Central Florida
Like so many Midwesterners, Annie Oakley wintered in Florida, and despite her fascinating, globe-trotting personal history, two of the most “pivotal events of her life” happened in the Sunshine State. She was a part of our history, as Florida was of her’s.
An icon of plastic finds a home in Florida
In 1953 Tupperware headquarters moved to Osceola County next to Gatorland. Central Florida drew Tupperware salespeople for training and was home to the company’s Jubilee, an annual sales convention and celebration.