Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 101 - 119 of 119
Pastors, church leaders and other concerned people plan to assemble near the gazebo at Lake Wailes Lake at 7 a.m. Tuesday, June 9 to pray for the city, state and nation. Lake Wales City Commissioner Curtis Gibson presented the idea to Pastor Walter Nelson of IMPACT Church, who immediately started spreading the word. Rather than choose specific people to offer prayers, Nelson sent out an email, providing a corporate prayer for all assembled to use. He suggested bringing the...
This is the fifth installment in the Lake Wales Renaissance series. Lake Wales City Commissioner Robin Gibson serves as Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. Dover, Kohl & Partners is an internationally known town planning firm working out of South Miami. Among their many achievements are nationally recognized revitalizations of traditional communities much like Lake Wales. Victor Dover is co-author of the definitive work on the subject...
The GFWC Woman's Club of Lake Wales will participate in the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) efforts in Conservation. The GFWC Conservation Community Service Program encourages awareness of our natural resources and caring for the world around us. It offers information and ideas to promote environmental appreciation and protection. The Florida Federation of Women's Club, and particularly the Preservation Committee chairwoman May Mann Jennings, took a deep interest...
The annual Crooked Lake Heritage Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 1 to celebrate the rich history of Babson Park. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. lakeside on the campus of Webber International University at 1201 N. Scenic Hwy. in Babson Park. The event will feature live music, family fun, food trucks, history displays and art activities. The performance schedule includes: Bok Academy steel drums, 10-10:30 a.m.; Babson Park Elementary Chorus, 10:45-11:15;...
Lake Wales' longtime historian, visionary, beloved wife, and mother, Mimi (Mary Leigh Reid) Hardman, died at age 85 on Dec. 13 following an extended illness. A driving force for historic preservation and celebrating the pioneers who built Lake Wales, Hardman left behind an extraordinary legacy. In her adopted hometown and beyond, Mimi will be remembered as the founder and director of the Depot Museum, host of the annual Pioneer Days festival, red outfits and patriotic...
Editor's Note: Memorial is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13 at 1st United Methodist Church in Lake Wales, with musical prelude starting at 1:30 p.m. The grand lady in red, white and blue, Lake Wales legend Mimi Hardman died Friday, Dec.13. A driving force for historic preservation and celebrating the pioneers who built Lake Wales, Hardman left behind an extraordinary legacy. Her service as chair of the Bicentennial Commission led to the opening of the Depot Museum on July...
The Lake Wales History Museum is planning a larger than ever 44th Annual Pioneer Days Festival Oct. 26-27 in Lake Wailes Park. Admission and parking are free for the heritage celebration that will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. At 10 a.m. on Saturday, retired Bok Tower carillonneur Milford Myhre will be recognized as Pioneer of the Year. See story at https://www.lakewalesnews.net/story/2019/10/02/news/retired-bok-carillonneur-milford-myhre-named-pione...
Retired U.S. Marine Kathryn "Kat" Gates-Skipper got used to being a female trailblazer throughout her 20-year military career. So it's not surprising she will become the first female Marine inducted into the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame. State Rep. Mike LaRosa nominated the Lake Wales veterans activist and Gates-Skipper was chosen one of 16 inductees in the Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Since it was created in 2013, the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame has inducted 70 veterans,...
The Lake Wales History Museum will honor retired Bok Tower carillonneur Milford Myhre as Pioneer of the Year during the 44th Annual Pioneer Days Festival. The celebration will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Lake Wailes Park. Myhre has been a resident of Lake Wales since 1968. He served as the carillonneur of Bok Tower Gardens for 36 years, until his retirement in 2004. During that time he played daily concerts at the tower, greeted thousands of visitors to the...
Lake Wales pioneer and historic preservationist Mimi Hardman may soon have a city building named in her honor. The Lake Wales History Museum will be seeking donors to help restore and rehabilitate the historic 1916 Seaboard Airline Freight Depot, and repurpose the interior of the building as the new permanent Mimi Hardman Collections & Research Center. Items in the city collection date back to 1852, when the original government survey of Lake Wales was completed. A project of...
Mary Neil Hardman Whitmire Chandley, 88, passed peacefully in her sleep on June 9, 2019 at 4 a.m. She was a lifelong resident of Lake Wales, born on January 5, 1931 to Cleo and Neil Hardman, both pioneer residents of Lake Wales. Throughout her life, Mary Neil was always very active in school, church, community service, youth organizations, music and other local projects. She graduated with honors from Lake Wales High School in 1948 and attended Piedmont College in Demorest,...
SunTrust in Lake Wales is taking on a new name as it merged June 12 with BB&T to become Truist, the name for the combined company. Truist will be the sixth-largest U.S. bank holding company serving more than 10 million households in the U.S., with a leading presence in many of the most attractive, high-growth markets in the country. Building on 275 years of combined history and culture, Truist's additional size and scale will redefine the client experience through innovative...
To continue focusing on its mission and to promote brand awareness the Lake Wales Museum and Cultural Center has been renamed the Lake Wales History Museum. The Lake Wales City Commission Tuesday, May 21 approved the name change, recommended by Museum Director Jennifer D'Hollander. "As an established resource in the Lake Wales community, the museum has included many different activities over the years. Today, the museum looks to the future as a focused, vibrant center focused...
Congratulations to "Team Planktons," winners of the third annual Big Kahuna Paddle Challenge on Saturday April 6 at Webber International University. Team members Jennifer Nanek, Richard Moody, Dan Hurst and Webber students, along with Bill Redmon at the helm, were victorious, but gave the winning prize to their competitor, The Vanguard School of Lake Wales. It's the third year for Nanek, Lake Wales city clerk, to compete in the event. "The secret to success is teamwork,...
A 12-stop walking tour of Lake Wales is included in a free mobile application produced by the Florida Humanities Council. The Florida Stories application can be downloaded at the Apple Store or Google Play. The Lake Wales tour includes stops at the Atlantic Coast Line Depot, the Woman's Club, Lake Wales State Bank, J.T. Rhodes Building, Rhodesbilt Arcade, Post Office, Dixie Walesbilt Hotel, Lake Wales News, Bullard Building, Scenic Theater and Lake Wales City Hall. Each stop...
The 2019 Crooked Lake Heritage Festival will celebrate the rich history of Babson Park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 6 at Webber International University. The free event includes live music, history displays, art activities, food trucks and performance by the Babson Park Elementary chorus. At 9 a.m. teams will compete in the Big Kahuna Paddle Challenge. Teams of 10-14 paddlers will race a 29-foot Voyager canoe around a buoy and back to earn the title "Big Kahuna."...
It still surprises Jennifer D'Hollander when people drop by the Lake Wales Museum for the first time and say they didn't realize it was there. The restored railroad Depot has been offering visitors a glimpse into Central Florida's past for more than 40 years. Museum Director D'Hollander and her staff are working diligently to promote the facility, its exhibits and programs. Their hard work paid off in 2018, when they hosted 6,577 visitors, a 37 percent increase over 2017....
Love is in the air at the Lake Wales Public Library celebrating its annual membership drive during February. "This is a time for everyone, especially library support groups, to recognize the value of libraries," says Glenda Morgan, president of the Lake Wales Library Association - Friends of the Library. "All the work has been done without government funds because we raised $89,000 from people who give and give and give," Morgan states. "It's so exciting to see our local commu...
Traveling by car in Central Florida in 1929 wasn't easy. In the late 1920s, many Florida roads were clay. Yet, thousands of cars full of curious people headed to Lake Wales to see the President of the United States and to see Edward Bok's Bird Sanctuary. On Feb. 1, 1929, President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower, now known as Bok Tower Gardens. It was a very rare occasion to see the President in those days. To have the opportunity to...
