The Orlando Naval Training Center, which was in operation 1968-94, was where the Baldwin Park neighborhood now sits. The Navy League of the United States – Central Florida Council is raising money to create the patriotic memorial in the neighborhood’s Bluejacket Park.

The remembrance will include a Lone Sailor statue and a 20-foot heritage wall exhibiting the history of the Navy in Central Florida. The group is raising funds now and hopes to construct and dedicate the memorial by early next year.

Students of associate professor Rosalind Beiler, director of public history, and military history assistant professor Barbara Gannon earlier this year researched the project and presented the findings to the council, which had asked for help in creating the heritage wall.

Mark Barnes, a graduate student who also made a presentation about the research at an intern showcase this summer at UCF’s Public History Center in Sanford, said he was honored to be part of the project that will recognize those who trained at the base and went on to serve our country. This would be the ninth Lone Sailor Memorial Park in the nation, he said.

“This will be a physical exhibit that I can go to and say that I did something that was a big part of this,” Barnes said.

The UCF part of the project is still in progress. The oral histories are being contributed to the UCF Community Veterans History Project and, as appropriate, to the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. Permissions are being sought to use images, and the photos are being uploaded to the UCF online RICHES Mosaic Interface.

“My students learned a great deal in the process of working with community partners on a ‘real-world’ project,” said Beiler. “And the committee seemed quite pleased with the outcome.”

The memorial will serve as a reminder of the Navy’s legacy in Orlando, and an inspiration to those currently serving and who will serve in the Navy.

“We could not have been more impressed with UCF’s dedication on this,” said Andy Mohler, co-chair of the Lone Sailor Navy Memorial Committee. “So much talent and passion. That’s what really came out.

“This will forever embody the history of the Navy in Orlando. It’s not just an academic exercise that will gather dust on a shelf.”

In support of the Public History Center’s mission to provide hands-on educational experiences for students of all ages, UCF history majors also will have the opportunity to help younger students expand their research and critical-thinking skills. UCF students will facilitate hands-on learning and develop program activities that connect the past to present-day issues.

This is the nonprofit Freedom School’s 10th year and the first time to be held at the Public History Center.

“This program shares our goals of providing innovative educational programming that immerses students in the stories of their own communities,” said Rosalind Beiler, UCF’s director of Public History.

The program will run Monday through Friday, June 16 to July 25, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Spaces are first come, first serve, and registration forms are available at the Public History Center, 301 W. 7th St.  An open-house registration will be held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 11-13. For more information about the program, contact Gail Choice at 407-687-7185.

The Freedom Schools operate in nearly 90 cities around the nation and this summer hope to serve 12,500 children. The program’s goals are to boost student motivation to read, generate a more positive attitude toward learning, and connect the needs of children and families to the resources of their communities.

UCF’s Public History Center serves as a focal point of cultural heritage for the region. The former school building now contains many educational exhibits and is a partnership of the ����ֱ�� and Seminole County Public Schools.

The old-time school bell in the 1902 building was rung by associate professor Rosalind Beiler, director of the UCF center, and Walt Griffin, Seminole County’s school superintendent, to symbolize the beginning of the new school year and the collaboration of the two organizations.

To reinforce the Public History Center’s goal of involving the community, Beiler quoted Benjamin Franklin: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” The center provides hands-on educational experiences for students of all ages, serves as a research site connecting local history to global events, and promotes opportunities for learning through workshops and interactive programming.

The center was just awarded a grant to show four documentaries and hold discussion forums about civil rights in America. The first film, “Freedom Riders,” won an Emmy in 2012 and will be shown 1 p.m. Nov. 2.

Dates will be set later for “The Abolitionists,” “Slavery by Another Name” and “The Loving Story.” “The Loving Story” and “The Abolitionists” have been nominated for Emmys this year.

The films are part of Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle, a partnership initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Organizers are asking teachers, staffers and former students of area schools who would like to preserve photos, yearbooks, graduation programs, class projects and other items to bring them to the center for a free scanning event and workshop on how to preserve personal and family collections. Oral histories also can be recorded.

With the permission of the participants, the center will use copies of selected materials to create a new exhibit.

The event includes a preservation workshop at 2 p.m., free refreshments, children’s activities and exhibit tours at the facility, which is a hands-on museum and educational center.

 “You can harvest history anytime – as long as it’s ripe,” said Rosalind Beiler, UCF’s director of public history.

The Public History Center is at 301 W. 7th St.

For more about the center and the History Harvest, visit http://www.publichistorycenter.cah.ucf.edu/ or call 407-936-1679.

The family event also will feature the history of Halloween through storytelling, games, crafts and educational exhibits.

“PumpkinFest is a great way for families to learn about the Seminole pumpkin’s association to Florida history and to interact in ways that are both educational and fun,” said Rosalind Beiler, UCF’s director of public history. “We think this makes our event unique and serves as a great historical connection.”

Events such as PumpkinFest help support the ����ֱ��’s goal of engaging the community to learn from and contribute to its own history.

The Public History Center, at 301 W. 7th St., was formerly known as Seminole County Public School’s Student Museum, an interpretive center and hands-on history museum. The former 1902 school building features an original classroom, pioneer room with a log cabin and tools; Grandma’s Attic with vintage household items and clothes; and other displays.

PumpkinFest will be 1-5 p.m. and a donation of $5 per person is suggested.

Some gardeners say the Seminole pumpkin is one of the easiest edible plants to grow. The variety is making a great comeback as a summer-season plant. The fruit is sweeter than other gourds, yellow or orange in color, and not stringy. It can be baked, steamed, boiled, fried or sun-dried as the native Floridians did.

For more information about PumpkinFest or other programs at the Public History Center, call 407-936-1679 or e-mail publichistorycenter@ucf.edu.

Representatives from the university, Seminole County Public Schools, Sanford, various history groups and the community were on hand as the tower bell was clanged by Rosalind Beiler, UCF’s director of Public History, and Walt Griffin, Seminole school superintendent, to ring in the new school year.

Sanford “is providing the perfect place for students to learn public history,” said Beiler as she welcomed about 125 people to the school building that still has a picture of President Teddy Roosevelt in the center’s original 1902 classroom. The center soon will offer community workshops, promote involvement in historic preservation and expand programs for K-12 students.

Tina Calderone, chairwoman of the Seminole County School Board, added that the new collaboration will help students “walk the walk of history” by experiencing new exhibits and programs at the center.    

The center began as Sanford’s first high school, and later became a grammar school in 1911. In 1984 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and became the school district’s Student Museum and Center for the Social Studies, an interpretive center and a hands-on teaching museum.

UCF signed a lease on the building in the heart of Sanford’s residential historic district, and hopes the facility becomes a model for other Central Florida public history centers.

The center has several themed rooms in addition to the classroom. There’s also a pioneer room with a log cabin and tools; Grandma’s Attic with vintage household items and clothes; a Timucua room that represents a 1,200-year-old village; Georgetown and Crooms High School exhibits that feature the city’s African-American community, and other displays.

Behind the museum is a demonstration garden that contains Florida native plants, vegetables and flowers grown at the turn of the last century, antique roses, field crops and other horticultural displays.

A new partnership between UCF and Seminole County Public Schools is transforming a 110-year-old Sanford school building into a learning laboratory for education, research and community engagement.

The center at 301 W. 7th St. has been preparing this summer to reopen its doors to the public Monday, Aug. 6. The first scheduled activity is 9 a.m. Aug. 13 with Seminole’s traditional ringing of the tower bell to open the first day of the new school year.

This inaugural event and many additional activities will be planned to fulfill public history’s goal of engaging the community.

“We would love to see this become a model for other centers around Central Florida,” said Rosalind Beiler, UCF’s director of Public History. “The building is a gem. The place has a heart and soul, and anyone who spends time here becomes devoted to it.”

Looking back: The building is one of the few surviving Florida examples of school architecture from the turn of the 20th century. It opened in 1902 as Sanford’s first high school and became a grammar school in 1911. In 1984 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and became the school district’s Student Museum and Center for the Social Studies, an interpretive center and a hands-on teaching museum.

Looking ahead: The new Public History Center will schedule classes for UCF students, offer community workshops, and promote involvement in historic preservation, while continuing popular programs such as hosting public tours and school field trips. Fourth-grade classes, specifically, schedule visits to the site because of Florida requirements to study state history at that grade level.

UCF signed a two-year lease for the center in the heart of Sanford’s residential historic district, whose residents are encouraged to join in the programs and research.

“The center will enhance the quality of life in our community by bringing to light the history of its most valuable resource: its people,” said José Fernández, dean of the College of Arts & Humanities, which will oversee the center.

Beiler said UCF chose Sanford for the Public History Center because the city has a “rich documented history” and is committed to historic preservation through the Community Redevelopment Association, Historic Preservation Board, Sanford Historic Trust, and other history-related groups, museums and projects.

“There are a lot of willing partners in Seminole County,” she said. “Sanford is among the strongest of any Central Florida city for historical preservation.”

To capitalize on that, Ashley Wilt, program coordinator, is focusing a big part of the first semester’s activities on community outreach, hosting gatherings and enlisting volunteers to assist the center in carrying out projects.

Beginning Aug. 6, the center will open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday through Saturday. In addition to the Aug. 13 bell-ringing ceremony, the staff is planning an evening open house, neighborhood block party, fall pumpkin festival around Halloween, and an old-fashioned Christmas event. They also are reaching out to scouting and other civic groups to hold activities at the center.

Next spring, the staff and university students will start to offer workshops on historical preservation and topics such as how to interview people for oral histories.

“We are thrilled with this collaborative effort,” said Tina Calderone, chairman of the Seminole County School Board. “This will enhance the educational experiences of our students, allow the center to be open more hours, and benefit the community as a whole.”

The center has several themed rooms: a furnished, original 1902 classroom complete with a portrait of then-President Theodore Roosevelt; a Timucua room that represents a 1,200-year-old village; a pioneer room with a log cabin and tools; Grandma’s Attic with old household items and vintage clothes; Georgetown and Crooms High School exhibits that feature the city’s African-American community, and other displays.

Behind the museum is a demonstration garden that contains vegetables and flowers grown at the turn of the last century, Florida native plants, antique roses, wildflower meadow, field crops and other horticultural displays.

The city’s Touhy Park across the street from the museum contains a historic tree grove, which contains about 70 trees that are associated with people, places and events around the country. There are sycamores, magnolias, maples, walnuts and others from Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Mount Vernon, Ellis Island, the Alamo and elsewhere.

City officials also are pleased that the schoolhouse, which was put on the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of the state’s most endangered historic sites in 2009, has been given new life.

“This building and project are being looked at statewide as a preservation success,” said Christine Dalton, the city’s historic preservation officer. “They’re utilizing the building, site, its collections and the gardens – resulting in a hands-on learning environment for the students. UCF’s partnership with the museum is a great benefit to the community, and will have a positive impact on this National Register site and surrounding residential neighborhood.”

City Commissioner Patty Mahany, who is scheduled to speak at the opening-day ceremony, said: “This is so significant because it is a great use for the historic building. It is a wonderful marriage and will benefit students with a much higher purpose.”

The building is about 20 miles northwest of UCF’s main campus, which is part of the plan to reach into the community.

“Our name – Public History Center – means just that,” Beiler said. “It is a community resource and we invite Central Florida residents to take an active role and join us as this unique collaboration develops.”

A two-year lease was signed last week with the Seminole County School Board to start classes and programs at its Student Museum in July. The 1902 building in the middle of the city’s historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

“The Student Museum building is an ideal site because of its own rich heritage as well as the City of Sanford’s significant architectural history and grassroots historic-preservation movement,” said Rosalind Beiler, UCF’s director of Public History.

The new center at 301 W. 7th St. is intended to foster a close connection between the community and UCF’s research projects. “By definition, public history engages community partners,” Beiler said.

The university will blend the old and the new with its plans for the museum. While maintaining the museum’s current offerings – such as leading 4th graders on field trips through the museum to learn about Florida’s past – the university will teach its history students how to use new-media techniques of audio, video and digital technologies to create virtual exhibits, artifact databases, podcasts and other projects.

“Through this partnership, we will preserve an important link between today’s tech-savvy students and how our ancestors lived and worked more than a century ago,” said UCF Provost and Executive Vice President Tony G. Waldrop. “The museum also is an outstanding laboratory that will prepare our students for careers in a field that helps all of us connect with and learn from our past.”

Beiler said the university chose Sanford because the city is already committed to historic preservation through the Community Redevelopment Association, Historic Preservation Board and Sanford Historic Trust. The university is planning to hold public workshops and seminars at the Student Museum, along with gathering oral histories.

“This partnership preserves an important part of history for Sanford, Seminole County, students and the whole community,” said Bill Vogel, Seminole’s schools superintendent. “This is so important to the whole preservation efforts of Sanford. Because of UCF, this could be a centerpiece.”

The Student Museum is one of the few surviving examples in Florida of school architecture at the turn of the 20th century. The 20,000-square-foot Romanesque Revival brick building opened as Sanford’s first high school and became a grammar school in 1911. In 1984, it was given the title of Student Museum and Center for the Social Studies, and it has since served as an interpretive center and a hands-on teaching museum.

UCF students will be able to experience the museum’s 1902 classroom with original woodwork and slate boards, a portrait of then-President Theodore Roosevelt and other period artifacts; a Native American room that represents a 1,200-year-old Timucua village; and a pioneer room with a log cabin and tools. The museum also features Grandma’s Attic, where visitors can handle old household items, try on vintage clothes, learn how to churn butter and make candles; the Georgetown and Crooms High School exhibits, which feature information about the city’s African-American community; and other displays.

Behind the museum is a teaching garden that provides students the opportunity to plant and identify vegetables grown at the turn of the last century. There also are Florida native plants, antique roses, a wildflower meadow, field crops and other horticultural displays. Across the street from the museum is the city’s historic tree grove in Touhy Park, which contains about 70 trees that are associated somehow with people, places and events around the country. There are sycamores, magnolias, maples, walnuts and others from Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Mount Vernon, Ellis Island, the Alamo and elsewhere.

“Kids thrive on these historical projects, and teachers are going to flock to the center,” said Anna-Marie Cote, deputy superintendent for Seminole schools.