"INTO THE WOODS AND OUT?"

Hello dear friends,

The lazy, hazy days of summer are fading fast away.  The trees here in upstate New York are putting on their brilliant fall colors as temperatures start to drop a degree or two almost every evening.

My sabbatical leave, so graciously granted to me by your Board of Directors, is also fast waning.  Soon, I’ll be heading back to Florida to reconnect with VAHS as we begin to look forward to a new season.

There have been many “behind the scenes” activities going on over the course of the summer in VAHS.  The Circus Train Car Project is in the very final stages as interior displays continue to be finished.  A new walkway connects the deck adjoining the caboose to the restored Ringling car.  The caboose looks forward to a little facelift.  Next door, at the Depot, the County has been dealing with some “leakage” issues.  As a result, the majority of displays in waiting room #2 are temporarily residing in waiting room #1.  Since we have not yet reopened to the public due to the Covid-19 situation, this has not affected us too drastically.

This brings us to the direction that VAHS will take regarding any type of “in-person” gathering in the coming months.  Our city and many organizations face the same dilemma. 

This year, the Betty Intagliata Lecture Series will begin in January 2022, and like last year, it will be available in a virtual format that will be free to the public.  Lorrie Muldowney and Dave Baber (both former managers of the Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources) will kick off the series, speaking in layman’s terms about Historic Preservation in Sarasota County.  This presentation will set the scene for several other interesting speakers covering the John Nolen Plan, not only in Venice, Florida, but also in another beautifully restored city, Mariemont, Ohio.  The lecture series will highlight how these communities have benefited from their historic beginnings.  An email blast will provide instructions for how to access the videotaped series.

With regrets, the holiday social luncheon for members has been canceled due to a “better safe than sorry” cautionary approach to dealing with the remains of the Pandemic.  We hope that a spring event can develop to replace it.

And so, we “go into the woods” one more time, looking forward to coming out soon.  We continue to send out our call . . . ”COME! CELEBRATE HISTORY WITH US!”

With best wishes to you all for the coming season.  Please stay safe and well!

Sue Chapman, President

Venice Area Historical Society

president@veniceareahistoricalsociety.org