Vero Beach Magazine August 2024

Today’s female baseball players are breaking barriers and blazing trails—on and off the diamond BAT ‘HER’ UP!

Dreams into Realty.

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BAT ‘HER’ UP

Today’s female baseball players are breaking barriers and blazing trails—on and off the diamond

By Renáe Tesauro

LIVING LEGACIES

Jonnie Mae Perry is helping preserve the heart and soul of the Gifford community that she loves

By Ann Taylor

OAR STORIES

Vero Beach Rowing fosters confidence, commitment, and camaraderie

By Valerie Cruice

Life on John’s Island. A private, member-owned club located north of Vero Beach, this gem plays host to miles of unspoilt beaches, naturefilled river access, elegant residences, and watercolor sunsets. These serene offerings each combine luxury with traditional appeal. Replete with gorgeous architectural details, spacious living areas and lush grounds - all of our homes take advantage of prime location with access to an incredible array of amenities from sparkling ocean to iconic river. We invite you to indulge in a life of bliss in John’s Island.

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Awe-inducing events such as the recent eclipse can be curious sociological phenomena

Evelyn Wilde Mayerson

IRSC’s Beth Gaskin thrives on campus and wants the next generation to do the same

Ann Taylor

Many of us benefit from nonprofits more than we realize

Jeffrey R. Pickering

The 1909 Sears Motor Buggy

Patrick Merrell

Explora Travesía Atacama & Uyuni opens up frontiers

Paul Rubio

In addition to serving their esteemed purpose, desks can set the tone of a room

Valerie Cruice

Expert advice helps with

ALLEN-LOWE / ASOMA / BRAGUIN / DUNBAR / FERREN / GEN PAUL / GERRMAN / GRENVILLE

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THE DISH

Chef Dan Overstreet prepares cuisine suitable to his surroundings By Chris Fasolino

THE VINE

For four generations, the López de Heredia family has cultivated the grapes of Spain’s Rioja region By Chris Fasolino

Lily Elizabeth O’Dare & Evan Phillip Brown

THE SCENE

Local residents have been surrounded by celebrations

It’s an artsy August in Vero Beach and beyond

Knowing where to go for immediate

Renáe Tesauro

Look

August is entertaining if you know where to look

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Thank you for supporting our local businesses

Pioneering passengers go for a ride with a visiting seaplane pilot in 1923 By Ellen E. Stanley

Long throws a pitch at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex.

Welcome

Tom Mantione of the Shantz Mantione Group, Stamford, CT, now serves the Vero Beach market.

Having worked closely with his friend Andrew Shantz for almost three decades, Tom and their team are committed to helping simplify the lives of a select group of exceptional families. Serving the complex needs of ultra high net worth clients, Tom has fostered a unique perspective on wealth management that brings together the best in advanced planning and relationship management. With his experience, continued education and access to a network of experts, Tom develops solutions that are specific to the needs of each family.

Please joining us in welcoming Tom and feel free to reach out for an introduction.

Thomas Mantione, CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CEPA® has been recognized as an industry leader.

– Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors, 2014, 2015, 2017 – 2019, 2021 – 2024. The Barron’s rating is awarded annually in March based on information from the prior year Q3.

– Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors, 2018 – 2024. The Forbes rating is compiled by SHOOK Research and awarded annually in April based on information from a 12-month period ending June of the prior year.

– Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams, 2023, 2024. The Forbes rating is compiled by SHOOK Research and awarded annually in January, based on information from a 12-month period ending March of the prior year.

Eligibility is based on quantitative factors and is not necessarily related to the quality of the investment advice.

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The Shantz Mantione Group UBS Financial Services Inc. 1701 Highway A1A Vero Beach, FL 32963 203-705-4222 866-860-7266

For more information on third-party rating methodologies, please visit ubs.com/us/en/designation-disclosures. As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, UBS Financial Services Inc. offers investment advisory services in its capacity as an SEC-registered investment adviser and brokerage services in its capacity as an SEC-registered broker-dealer. Investment advisory services and brokerage services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate arrangements. It is important that you understand the ways in which we conduct business, that you carefully read the agreements and disclosures that we provide to you about the products or services we offer. For more information, please review the client relationship summary provided at ubs.com/relationshipsummary, or ask your UBS Financial Advisor for a copy. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the CFP® certification mark, the Certified finanCial PlannerTM certification mark, and the CFP® certification mark (with plaque design) logo in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. CIMA® is a registered certification mark of Investment Management Consultants Association Inc. doing business as Investments & Wealth Institute® in the United States of America and worldwide. © UBS 2024. All rights reserved. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a subsidiary of UBS Group AG. Member FINRA/SIPC. CJ-UBS-908718746 Exp.: 04/30/2025 advisors.ubs.com/shantzmantione

Learning Curve

August has always signaled to me that summer is coming to a close and fall is just around the corner. Now, that may not be true here in Vero Beach, but in Connecticut, where I grew up, I would arm myself with baby oil, a good magazine, and a friend and fit in just one more day at the beach before school started for the year. In the August issue of Vero Beach Magazine, we’re taking a look at education and how classrooms don’t necessarily need to have walls.

Our cover story introduces you to nearly 100 brave young ladies who spent a long weekend breaking down barriers at Jackie Robinson Training Complex in April. The girls, from all over the country, are participating in the Trailblazer Series, which is described as “a celebration of girls playing baseball.” They’re learning the sport from some of the best female role models out there. While there, they’re also embracing the values Jackie Robinson lived by and reinforcing the fact that their dreams don’t have to stop when they walk off the field.

We can all learn a lot from Jonnie Mae Perry. She sure is a force to be reckoned with, filled with historical knowledge and enthusiasm for everyone. As the executive director of the small Gifford Historical Museum and Cultural Center, she has big dreams for the center focused on Black history in Gifford and beyond. Perry and her friends are on a mission to expand the current 1,150-square-foot building in Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park to a facility as big as 20,000 square feet, complete with a library, café, art studios, exhibit halls, and much more. Perry promises, “This will be a legacy not just for the people of Gifford, but all of Indian River County.”

When the Toffey Rowing Center opened in 2020, the building and the Vero Beach Rowing team would quickly become a community hub for many reasons. Rowers of all ages and athletic abilities are welcome to take a seat in the boat while gaining confidence, learning style, and winning a few races along the way. The current head coach, Julio Sanchez, is enthusiastically shipping off five young athletes from the club with rowing scholarships to college this year. Congratulations Aidan, Liliana, Lorelei, Samara, and Zadie!

Hold my oar, I’m on my way over the Cattitude Cat Café for a quiet afternoon of feline fun!

Kelly Rogers editor@verobeachmagazine.com

Emphasis: Education

When I realize that August is here, I immediately think of summer break ending and school beginning. Well, August is here, and that means it’s time to focus on a little education.

As you see within this month’s issue, there’s lots of learning going on in Vero Beach and the surrounding area.

Why not begin with one of our favorite attractions? Most of us love the sights at McKee Botanical Garden, but in this issue you’ll have the chance to meet the Garden Café’s executive chef and learn all about some of his signature dishes.

In our Living Well section, we have some expert tips on deciding where to go in an unexpected medical situation: an urgent care facility or the emergency room.

Turn to the Calendar starting on page 136 and you’ll find education shining there as well. The City of Vero Beach Recreation Department is proud of the students who have been practicing at its Centerstage Acrobatic Complex, and they will be showing off all that they’ve learned at the annual Aerial Antics Youth Circus at the beginning of this month.

If you’d like to take a peek behind the scenes and learn what makes local theater lights shine brightly, ask the folks at Riverside Theatre about their Backstage Tours. They’ll show you the workshops, prop and costume departments, and everything that makes the magic happen.

Perhaps the environment is something you’d like to learn more about; if so, you will enjoy the educational tours offered by Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, just south of Vero Beach. Whether you choose the tram tour of the campus or the lagoon tour aboard the pontoon boat Discovery, you’ll become better acquainted with marine ecosystems and research.

As Leonardo da Vinci said, “Learning never exhausts the mind.”

To keep up with what’s going on here in Vero Beach, be sure to sign up for the Vero Beach Insider newsletter at verobeachmagazine.com. We will keep you up to date with all of our great features and local happenings.

So long, summer!

Teri Amey-Arnold, Publisher publisher@verobeachmagazine.com

VeroBeach

KELLY ROGERS Editor in Chief

OLGA M. GUSTINE Creative Director

TERESA LEE RUSHWORTH Senior Editor

RENÁE TESAURO Editor at Large

ANN TAYLOR Senior Writer

JENNY FERNANDEZ-PRIETO Art Director

JANINE FISHER

Senior Graphic Designer

LEONOR ALVAREZ-MAZA

Digital Imaging Specialist

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Valerie Cruice, Abigail Duffy, Chris Fasolino, Elizabeth Leonard, Evelyn Wilde Mayerson, Patrick Merrell, Nickie Munroe, Jeffrey R. Pickering, Amy Robinson, Ellen E. Stanley

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jared Blais, Kim Bottalico, Steven Martine, Patrick Merrell, Sarah Sykes Photography

Photography: Jessica Glynn

CEO

About Us

Vero Beach Magazine is the first magazine to be dedicated exclusively to Vero Beach and remains the only local magazine with verified circulation. A minimum of 10,000 magazines are distributed monthly, to at least 30,000 readers in almost every state, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Vero Beach Magazine’s staff is committed to using print media to make Indian River County a better place for all residents, mindful of environmental and historic preservation, while underscoring the best aspects of life in this charming oceanfront community.

Winner of numerous awards since its inception, starting with the Florida Magazine Association’s Best New Magazine Award in 1998, Vero Beach Magazine has made its greatest impact by providing meaningful information to readers about the needs of local nonprofit organizations in Indian River County, inspiring philanthropy and prompting nonprofit coverage by many other media companies.

Our office is located at 3375 20th Street, Suite 100, on the corner of 34th Avenue and State Road 60, in Vero Beach. Visitors are welcome by appointment from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, for subscription, article, and advertising questions.

3375 20th Street, Suite 100, Vero Beach, FL 32960

772-234-8871

hello@verobeachmagazine.com

MOULTON LAYNE ARCHIT EC TURE

OUR 2024 ADVISORY BOARD

LEAD ADVISER

SOPHIE BENTHAM-WOOD is a native of London. At Sheffield University, she studied the history of art, design, and film, earning a bachelor’s degree. She then embarked on an illustrious career in marketing and public relations that now spans 25 years. She has often been responsible for the implementation of global strategic communications and branding campaigns and has worked with prominent clients in a variety of fields. Sophie moved to the United States in 2008. In 2012, she became the director of marketing and communications at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, establishing the marketing and PR department, playing a major role in reenvisioning and shaping the VBMA’s strategic plan, and implementing a fully integrated marketing campaign for the museum. Recently, Sophie accepted a position as executive director of global marketing and sales strategies for Sebastian-based Triton Submarines.

KEVIN GIVEN hails from White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, home of the worldfamous Greenbrier resort and hotel, where he was a fourth-generation team member. He earned a degree in hospitality and tourism management, with a minor in business administration, from Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, and has now been in the resort/private club management field for over 40 years. He is a board member at the West Virginia University Foundation and a hospitality management advisory board member at WVU’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics. In 2001, Kevin was one of the founding partners at Quail Valley, and he was also on the executive team developing Windsor and Orchid Island. Kevin has served on the boards of the Indian River Community Foundation, the Environmental Learning Center, and Saint Edward’s School.

TRUDIE RAINONE has lived in Vero Beach for 23 years and has served the community in leadership roles with a variety of Indian River County nonprofits. Her passion for outreach has her currently serving on the executive boards of Senior Resource Association, ORCA, Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy, and Senior Collaborative. She is also a health care partner volunteer with Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital and vice chair of Quail Valley Charities, which funds 43 local children’s organizations. A native of New York City, Trudie reared her children with her husband of 50 years, Donald, in New York and New Jersey. She is the proud grandmother of two boys, Chase and Drew. Trudie has a merchandising background in the fashion industry and was a business owner specializing in fine antiques.

JON R. MOSES is the managing director and COO of Riverside Theatre, where he has worked for 25 seasons. A Treasure Coast native, he studied theater design technology at Florida State University’s School of Theatre, followed by graduate studies at Florida Atlantic University. He has been involved in every aspect of theater for over 32 years. He has even served as an adjunct faculty member at Indian River State College, where he taught and coordinated an associate of science technical theater program. Jon’s involvement in the community includes serving as treasurer on the board of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Exchange Club of Indian River. He was also a board member of the Oceanside Business Association and president of the Florida Professional Theatre Association.

JESSICA LINUS WATFORD moved to Vero Beach as a 10th grader and attended Saint Edward’s School. A graduate of Auburn University (War Eagle!), she lived in Atlanta and Raleigh before returning to Vero Beach in 2015 and joining her father and grandfather in the family business, Linus Cadillac Buick GMC. In 2019, she graduated from the National Automobile Dealers Association Academy and is now a proud third-generation dealer-operator at Linus. Jessica resides in Okeechobee with her husband and two young daughters. She enjoys the best of both worlds, between boating days on the water and country life, rodeos, and ranching.

Gregory Allan Ness Principal Designer

Crystal Lemley Senior Designer

Vero Vibes

WILDE SIDE | FACES | INDIAN RIVER INSIGHTS | CLASSIC CARS

36 FACES

IRSC’s Beth Gaskin thrives on campus and wants the next generation to do the same.

CELESTIAL SIGHTS

Look—Up in the Sky!

AWE-INDUCING EVENTS SUCH AS THE RECENT ECLIPSE CAN BE CURIOUS

BY EVELYN WILDE MAYERSON

SOCIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA

Last April, a few days after an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale struck New Jersey, a total solar eclipse cut a 30-mile-wide diagonal path across the United States. e last total eclipse seen in the United States had occurred in 2017, seven years before.

Armed with cardboardmounted glasses of black poly-

mer, a exible resin infused with carbon particles that blocks the sun 100,000 times more e ectively than ordinary sunglasses, I witnessed a partial eclipse in the midafternoon. Viewed through the American Astronomical Society–approved glasses, what I saw looked like a hunk taken out of a cheese wheel. Although Florida was nowhere near the

30-mile-wide span of totality, I even thought I noticed a slight change in the hue of daylight. e eclipse lasted about a minute until cloud cover obscured the view. Although I wasn’t sure about the change of color, I was aware of a sense of wonder, the eclipse tapping into a reminder that life can be magical.

Observed in ancient times

with no scientific assurance that this was going to turn out okay, the sudden darkness of a solar eclipse must have been a terrifying experience, signaling some kind of warning, at the very least displeasure of the divine. The

takeaway of the fable of Chicken Little, who is struck by an acorn and goes to tell the king that the sky is falling, while a cautionary folk tale of rushing to judgment, is that the sky could fall. Even the early 19th century contained traces of the possibility of celestial caprice. Lord Byron, following an eruption of Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), which cast the entire globe into a pall of darkness,

wrote a poem called Darkness It reads in part, “The bright sun was extinguished, and the stars / Did wander darkling in the eternal space, / Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth / Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air.” Written in 1816, the “Year Without a Summer,” the poem has the theme of an apocalyptic end of the world brought about by the loss of the sun.

WEST PALM NAPLES

JUPITER

MYERS

PALM BEACH WELLINGTON

While we might feel apart from the celestial, we are all whirling about in space on a small planet, traveling 2 million miles a day around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is also whirling in a universe of 100 galaxies, each home to 100 billion stars. We are also bathed for a part of each day in the light of the sun, a star that emerged from the debris of a supernova explosion.

While the 900,000-milewide fire that is the sun looks small in the sky, its diameter is about 400 times that of the moon, although the sun happens to be 400 times as far away. In addition, we are the only planet in the solar system with a sizeable moon—more a companion planet than a satellite. These odd circumstances allow an eclipse to slide the moon over the sun for an almost perfect fit, an astronomical arrangement that occurs every 18 months or so somewhere on planet Earth.

Although any year will yield two to five partial eclipses, it is the total eclipse that dazzles us, beginning when the moon, up until now invisible overhead, touches first the western edge of the sun then covers the entire disk.

Ancient Babylonians were able to predict lunar eclipses, although they didn’t realize that they were caused by Earth blocking the light of the sun. Eclipses of the sun were harder to predict, mainly because they were visible only on a 30-mile-wide corridor.

The Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, credited with the advice to “know thyself,” is also credited with the first prediction of a solar eclipse, in 585 B.C., although astrophysicist Stephen Hawking believed Thales’s prediction was just a lucky guess.

The first record of an eclipse is an account by Chinese philosopher Confucius, who wrote in restrained and ambiguous

We are all

whirling about in space on a small planet.

terms that on a certain date in autumn, “The sun and the moon did not meet harmoniously.” The Roman historian Plutarch documented with greater precision an eclipse that occurred during the death of Romulus in 716 B.C. As to its show-stopping qualities, the Greek historian and geographer Herodotus noted an eclipse that ended the battle between the Lydians and the Medes, while Greek historian and general Thucydides wrote about an eclipse that stopped a battle between Athens and Sparta.

In our own time, all newspaper accounts and television coverage suggest that, as

with the Greek combatants, the eclipse offered a moment of unity to a nation pulled apart by division. There were festivals and dancing in the streets, strangers hugging one another, and the performance of group marriages timed to the period of a particular region’s totality, such as the mass wedding ceremony in Tiffin, Ohio, billed as Seneca County’s “Elope at the Eclipse.” It seemed that the collective experience of being alive and witnessing an astonishing celestial story dwarfed earthly concerns. A Yale astronomy professor addressed the phenomenon by saying, “In these turbulent times, the sense of belonging, of shared experience of collective awe, helps us to transcend the day-to-day chaos of our lives.”

The path of the eclipse that was seen by tens of millions, many of whom traveled great distances, began in Mexico before entering the United

Above: A drawing by G.F. Sargent depicts a reaction to an eclipse in China. Right: Four diagrams of a solar eclipse were drawn in 1711 by Johannes Buno.

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States through Texas, traversing parts of the Midwest and the Northeast before exiting through eastern Canada. Spectators cheered, others were struck dumb, and still others cried as birds uttered in the sky and grew silent in an eerie dusk as the temperature dropped and darkness descended, the resultant chill o ering a celestial diversion, a respite from foreign wars and domestic squabbles, to viewers in Mazatlán, Mexico; Austin, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; and Montreal, Canada.

e eclipse was egalitarian, available to anyone and anything. Herd animals collected for the night, plants began to close, and humans were awestruck (the word “awe” coming from the Scandinavian meaning fear or dread, or simply wonder). Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote a book on the subject of awe titled Awe: e New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life Keltner proposes that awe can

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.”

– ALBERT EINSTEIN

be a positive emotion, that the universal response that leaves us breathless, causes us to open our mouths and widen our eyes as goosebumps rise on our skin, has value.

Keltner and others, such as Paul Pi , professor of psychology and social behavior at the University of California, Irvine, have spent decades researching what triggers us to set aside personal needs and shift our focus to the greater good. Based on their ndings,

these researchers and others conclude that when people contemplate something vast and mysterious, it forces them to “reevaluate their understanding of the world,” a vague concept that may be di cult to get your head around. Years ago, Albert Einstein commented more simply, “ e most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.”

Apparently, being in the presence of something wondrous has bene ts. Whether an eclipse; a concert, indoors or out; skimming across the Everglades in an airboat; the ominous rumbling of thunder; watching turtle hatchlings scurry to the ocean’s edge; visiting an archaeological dig like the “Old Vero Man” site set up a few years back near a drainage canal on Aviation Boulevard, where bones of long-extinct mammoths and bison were uncovered, it leads to better critical thinking, improved overall health, and an increase in cooperation and kindness, which we never have enough of.

We are even told to seek awe out. My eye is on a rodent box in my backyard, where an exterminator told me a water moccasin hides, coiled and waiting. If he doesn’t poke his head out, I can always walk to the beach in the very early morning to watch the sun break over the water.

The 2024 solar eclipse brought people together to watch and motivated entrepreneurs to sell their wares.

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EDUCATION

IRSC’S BETH GASKIN THRIVES ON CAMPUS AND WANTS THE NEXT GENERATION TO DO THE SAME

BY ANN TAYLOR

V Passion & Promise

ero Beach resident Beth Gaskin is in the business of opening educational doors. As Indian River State College’s vice president for student success, she oversees the Promise Program, which gives graduates of local public, public charter, or home schools in Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie Counties the opportunity to pursue an associate degree tuition free. To say she’s excited about the program funded by the IRSC Foundation is an understatement.

Gaskin knows well the impact education can have on directing one’s future path. As a work-study premed student at the University of Kentucky, she ran into organic chemistry. Ouch. She quickly changed her major to English and set her sights on becoming a professor.

After graduation, she held high-level positions at colleges elsewhere and then arrived at IRSC 11 years ago as president of the Chastain Campus in Martin County. Three years ago she was promoted to her current position at the main (Massey) campus.

Concern about the steady decline in enrollment numbers prompted Gaskin and other members of the leadership team to discuss ways to turn things around. The Promise Program, which had shown positive results in other regions, became the plan of choice.

Gaskin offers a young man named Pedro as an exemplar of the type of student the program is geared toward. He came along before the inception of the Promise Program, which is now helping to ensure that many others, who may not have the opportunity without the program, will follow in his footsteps.

“Pedro lives on a farm in Okeechobee, where he enrolled at our small branch campus and found he liked science,” Gaskin explains. “After finishing his A.A. degree in biology, he came to our Fort Pierce campus

to pursue advanced medical classes. In the beginning, he was closed off, then he got involved in student activities and became class president.

“Now here’s a kid from rural America who aspires to be a doctor; he could have had a very different life. You open that door and it’s like they’re ready to walk through it. They just blossom. I’m like a proud mom when I see kids like Pedro go across the stage at commencement.”

IRSC formed a partnership with the St. Lucie County School District, and a presentation detailing the program was made at Fort Pierce Central High School.

“Students filled the auditorium,” Gaskin says. “We told them, ‘We promise you a free associate degree, but you have to promise to be in school full-time.’ By our pledge deadline in May, over 3,000 had pledged; by the time fall classes started, 2,200 came. Our outcomes in the entering class were outstanding: 80 percent were minorities, and most were first-generation [college] students.”

Gaskin notes that because of COVID there is still work to be done. “The last two years have been challenging. We’re finding that students’ coping skills are so low, their anxiety so high, that we’ve had to rethink our strategy.

“We’re telling our incoming students, ‘Generation P’ for pandemic, ‘We don’t want you to take classes online. Get yourself back to campus—we’re going to engage you.’ Research tells us that a student’s sense of belonging on campus is crucial for student success and mental health.”

It’s no secret that Gaskin thrives on what she does. “I’ve always loved the energy of college campuses. There’s so much promise and potential in the exchange of ideas and dreams,” she enthuses. “You could say I went to college at the age of 18 and never left!”

Vero Beach resident Beth Gaskin works at IRSC’s main campus.

STEVEN MARTINE

Paying It Forward & Back

MANY OF US BENEFIT FROM NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS MORE THAN WE MIGHT REALIZE

BY JEFFREY R. PICKERING

recent study by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy found that only 5 percent of Americans believed they received services from a nonprofit within the previous year. This statistic made me stop and think about how my neighbors or I might respond to this question. My answer is a resounding “yes.” Give the fol-

lowing examples some thought, and I’ll bet yours is too.

Have I received health services from a local nonprofit organization? Yes, from Treasure Coast Community Health.

Last year, I improved my overall health by finding a new physician at the nonprofit Treasure Coast Community Health. Like many, I had to find a new doctor when my

own physician opened a concierge practice and stopped accepting my employer-sponsored health insurance. While I do not blame her for making this business decision, finding a new doctor was not a simple task, even for a relatively healthy patient like me.

After several unsuccessful attempts to establish care with primary care doctors available

OPPORTUNITY STARTS

With programs like Dual Enrollment, Take Stock in Children, and The Promise Program, we give students a chance to turn their dreams into reality. Be a part of their journey — support their education today.

INDIAN RIVER INSIGHTS

through Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, a friend suggested I contact TCCH. He told me that his daughter was seeing a TCCH physician and her experience had been positive. Until then, I had not considered TCCH as an option because I assumed the organization only cared for patients who were uninsured or from low-income households. (In 2019, the Indian River Community Foundation awarded a grant of $50,000 to help establish a new TCCH medical clinic at United Against Poverty’s new UP Center, hence my assumption.)

I followed through with my friend’s recommendation and established care at TCCH with a new primary care provider,

a veteran medical doctor who has been easy to access and who is paid by my health insurance. I remain pleased with the care I am receiving from this nonprofit organization and am grateful it is here serving our community.

Have I received educational services from a local nonprofit organization? Yes, if by “local” I count online classes at Cornell University taken from Vero Beach.

In 2022, the Community Foundation received notice from the firm that had been providing outsourced accounting, finance, and investment management services to our organization since 2008 that it was discontinuing

Benefits from nonprofits can be found in many forms.

this practice. As a result, in addition to my regular duties as the Community Foundation’s CEO, by 2024 I needed to oversee a process to identify, review, hire, secure board approval, and implement relationships with one or more firms providing similar services. Or bring one or more of these essential operations in-house. Ugh. When it comes to many responsibilities that fall into my lap whether I am prepared to assume them or not, I am a big proponent of the philosophy “Fake it until you make it.” With a balance sheet quickly approaching $100 million, annual revenues of $20 million, and annual grants averaging $10 million, however, this was clearly not the approach I would be taking with this Community Foundation project. To succeed, I would need to rely heavily on the expertise of our treasurer and the other members of our finance committee, along with the experience, diligence, and attention to detail of our

vice president of operations. I would also need to brush up on my knowledge of accounting beyond the managerial level I had been practicing throughout my career.

Between January and June of 2023, I attended six online courses to earn a professional certificate in accounting from the nonprofit Cornell University. I was able to attend each class, complete the required coursework, and take exams from my Vero Beach office. In most cases, I did all of this in the early morning, in late evening, or on the occasional weekend. As a result, I improved my ability to analyze our organization’s balance sheet and income statement, to monitor financial transactions and cash flow, to examine financial trends, and to interpret financial data to inform strategy. Because of this help from another nonprofit, I am more confident and fluent in the new and improved accounting, finance, and investment management solutions we have implemented.

6:45 PM. Story time.

The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation received a grant from the IRCF to help move the poet’s home to IRSC’s Mueller Campus in 2019.

INDIAN RIVER INSIGHTS

Have I increased my economic opportunity with help from a nonprofit organization? Yes, with inspiration from the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation. This is also true for my daughter, Olivia.

Since 1992, LRJF has served as the “literary heart of Indian River County.” In addition to preserving the late author’s home, the organization’s primary mission is to nurture local writers through a series of literary offerings, including writers’ groups, summer camps, workshops, and poetry festivals.

I first became aware of LRJF when the Community Foundation awarded a grant of $50,000 to help relocate the poet’s historic Florida Cracker–style home and pole

barn to Indian River State College’s Mueller Campus in 2019. A visit to the historic home and surrounding garden is like taking a trip back in time.

Shortly thereafter, it was the organization’s teen writ-

this program helped her gain admission and a substantial scholarship package to attend a well-respected liberal arts college that we would not have been able to afford otherwise.

ing program that served as a creative outlet and welcome respite during the midst of the global pandemic for Olivia and several of her friends. The confidence and improved writing skills Olivia developed through

As for me, the inspiration to create my own publishing imprint, Riomar Press, came from the example set by LRJF’s own Seizen Press Vero. Through this imprint, the organization has published four books of poetry, starting with Decade: Ten Years of Poetry and Barbecue. The organization’s president, Jacque Jacobs, even took time to teach me how to do it, a process she also used to create her own imprint, Drellag Press, which has since published six books.

While not as prolific as Jacobs, I am proud of my first published book and of the vehicle I have created to publish future literary and professional works. Although it is unlikely I will publish a New York Times bestseller or retire on the proceeds from my book sales, every time I record a purchase I am encouraged that someone found my work valuable enough to pay for it. All because of inspiration and assistance I received from a nonprofit.

Have I improved my housing

In April, Indian River Habitat for Humanity received a grant from the Community Foundation for $30,000.

Vero Beach enjoys many literary events offered by the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation, such as writing workshops and a poetry barbecue.

situation with help from a nonpro t organization? Yes, with help from the nonpro t Indian River Habitat for Humanity.

Now before you start thinking that generous donations were made so that Habitat could build a home for the Community Foundation’s CEO, I would like to introduce you to the organization’s ReStore. is program collects donated household items including furniture, appliances, and even leftover construction materials, which are either sold or used directly to build and furnish homes for individuals and families in need in our community.

My housing situation

improved not because I received services from Habitat, but because they o ered free pickup of several gently used pieces of furniture left behind by my college-aged children. Because of their high quality and good shape, I estimate these items were sold in the ReStore to generate at least a couple thousand dollars for the charity. Together with the grants awarded by the Community Foundation and its clients, and the annual cash donation that my wife, Stephanie, and I make, Habitat is able to carry out its mission, and I have a bit more tranquility on the home front.

By now I imagine you might be making the connection that

some of the help, services, or other improvements to your own quality of life have come because of a local nonpro t charitable organization. With over 800 public charities with

IRS 501(c)(3) status in Indian River County—175 of which earn more than $50,000 in annual revenue—I might even bet on it. I’m certain my odds are better than 5 percent.

Vero Millwork, Inc. is Indian River County’s oldest locally owned and operated door, trim and accessories company. Come visit our showroom and sit down with one of our experts.

LaCrystal and Delia are all smiles outside their Habitat home.

CLASSIC CARS

Mail-Order Motorcar

FROM THE COLLECTION OF J.R. FREY IN LAKE WORTH BEACH: THE 1909 SEARS MOTOR BUGGY

t beats a horse bad, as it don’t eat when I ain’t working it, and it stands without hitching,” one satis ed customer wrote about his Sears Motor Buggy in 1910. “Best of all, it don’t get scared of automobiles.”

It may come as a surprise, but from 1909 to 1912, Sears, Roebuck and Co. manufactured and sold its own line of automobiles. e Motor Buggy shown here rst appeared in the 1909 catalog for $395 ($13,500 today). e Sears Motor Runabout, which was the same vehicle without fenders and a collapsible top, cost $25 less.

In 1892, Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck started a mail-order business selling watches and jewelry. e next year, Sears, Roebuck and Co. expanded its o erings as well as its catalog, which soon swelled to more than 500 pages. e company was the Amazon of its day, o ering an endless array of products: milk pails, ice skates, corsets, feathered hats, marble tombstones, and even complete two-story houses. e catalog was a godsend for rural families whose only previous option had been general stores with limited o erings and high prices.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. introduced its Motor Buggy in 1909.

This 1909 Sears Motor Buggy, owned by J.R. Frey, made an appearance at the Wheels & Keels car and boat show at The Moorings on April 13, 2024.

CLASSIC CARS

The two-cylinder engine, located underneath the seat, produced 10 horsepower and a top speed of 25 mph.

Sears was always looking to add new items, and when automobiles became a hot commodity after the turn of the century, the company enlisted Alvaro Krotz to create a car for Sears. Krotz was a proli c inventor who would eventually hold more than 100 automotive patents. Among them was one for the world’s rst treaded or, as he called it, “mutilated” tire.

Although Krotz originally dabbled in electric vehicles, including building Spring eld, Ohio’s rst electric street car line, he turned his attention to gasolinepowered automobiles in 1900. He perfected a design by 1906, road tested it in 1907, and built a dozen prototypes in 1908 as proof of concept. Sears was impressed

and signed a contract with him that same year; the automobile debuted in Sears’s 1909 “Special Motor Buggy Circular.”

e vehicles were initially built in Evansville, Indiana, where local customers could pick them up ready to go. For mail-order purchases, the cars were shipped by railroad. ere was no extra charge for the wooden crates they came in, but customers had to attach the wheels, drive chains, fenders, and top themselves. A 32-page instruction book came with every purchase, as well as a gallon of lubricating oil. All the new owner had to supply was gasoline before he could drive away.

e sturdy car was equipped with a two-cylinder, air-cooled, 10-horsepower

Push the top bar of the L-shaped steering post forward to turn le and pull it back to turn right. The black lever in front of the seat is used to regulate the speed and to put the car in reverse. The right pedal on the floor is for the brake and the le one is to engage the friction transmission.

engine, capable of a top speed of 25 mph. In 1910, the car, then sporting a 14-horsepower engine, was renamed the Sears Automobile in the catalog. Whatever it was called, the vehicle’s days were numbered; the reality was that it cost more to produce than sales generated. According to Krotz, Sears considered the car a prestige builder that brought in more than a million dollars of other business. Sears o ered the car for the last time in 1912, with the Lincoln Motor Car Works of Chicago, Illinois (no relation to the Ford brand) nishing o the run in 1913.

The 1909 version had no model designation. That changed in 1910, when Sears offered a line of six models with varying options: Models G, H, J, K, L, and M.

A large chain on each of the back wheels turns the axles.

To Infinity and Beyond

EXPLORA TRAVESÍA ATACAMA & UYUNI OPENS ONE OF EARTH’S FINAL FRONTIERS TO INTREPID TRAVELERS

BY PAUL RUBIO ESCAPE

Off-the-grid, experiential travel has become ever more difficult to achieve in a globalized world. One region where it still exists—even thrives—rises between the sparsely populated, untamed extremes connecting Chile’s Atacama Desert and Bolivia’s Uyuni Salt Flats. Here, amid forbidding climatic conditions, rust-hued mountains and snow-dusted volcanoes scrape the sky, greenery and birdlife explode around elevated wetlands, geysers bubble along Mars-like rocky outcrops, camelids frolic in the

sand, and pink flamingos flock to bone-white salt mounds. It’s a rugged land of unexpected and extraordinary natural contrasts that is now accessible in style thanks to Explora Travesía Atacama & Uyuni. This one-way, week-plus, all-inclusive nomadic journey by famed South American outfitter Explora is a testament to the endurance of transformative travel and a colorful showcase of two of planet Earth’s greatest natural wonders.

The Travesía, which quietly debuted in March 2022, can be accomplished in as few

as six nights and as many as 11 and in either direction, though beginning in Atacama is better for acclimatization and the adrenaline build for a salt flat climax. While each sojourn is bespoke (travelers get a private Explora guide, driver, and vehicle, and choose their own half- and full-day excursions from more than 100 options), there’s a commonality of Explora-branded accommodations along this nearly uncharted route.

The journey begins in the heart of San Pedro de Atacama in Chile at Explora Atacama.

This 42-acre desert campus includes a horse stable, four swimming pools, a private observatory, and an all-day restaurant with desert cuisine by Virgilio Martínez, whose Peruvian restaurant, Central, received top marks on the “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023” list. It then continues to three micro-lodges in uninhabited patches of the Andean highlands—Ramaditas, Chituca, and Jirira—each a similar exercise in mountain minimalism and occupying an enviable cliffside location for maximum vistas. Every day is

Explora’s Jirira lodge perches on the Uyuni Salt Flats.

EXPLORA TRAVESÍA ATACAMA & UYUNI

Explora’s snow-dusted splendor of the altiplano. Below left: the infinite polygons of the Uyuni Salt Flats. Below right: Árbol de Piedra, a weathered volcanic rock formation, awaits high in the altiplano.

DESTINATIONS

a new discovery by foot, horseback, bicycle, and/or vehicle, investigating the ethereal natural surroundings near a lodge or traversing the unpopulated terrain in between.

My seven-night Travesía in April entailed three nights in Atacama and four across the trio of Bolivian lodges, resulting in an epic adventure that ranks as a career highlight. As a previous visitor to Explora’s Atacama outpost, I was eager to kick off the trip with some newer offerings among the lodge’s 50 excursions,

which range from easy to difficult. I eased into things post-arrival with a low-key horseback ride across dry riverbeds and sand dunes, savoring the luxuries of space and silence throughout the altiplano.

On day two, I trekked the moderate 3.5-mile Domeyko trail, descending through imposing clay walls and the glistening red canyons of the Domeyko mountain range. By day three, under the direction of my Explora guide, I was all in on the advanced Rio Blanco expedition,

following a steep and winding 5.7mile path to the Blanco River, which is fringed by geysers and velvety llareta plants, and frequented by wild vicuñas and viscachas (imagine chinchillas but stockier). My return to Atacama and the first part of my Travesía reminded me of the ceaseless splendor of these painted deserts and reignited my fire for extreme exploration. Now it was time to go deeper. Next stop: Bolivia.

My four-day road trip through southwest Bolivia was one I hoped would never end. Following a Wild West–like border crossing from Chile at Hito Cajón, our 4x4 voyage commenced with a 100-mile spin around the region’s greatest lagoon spots. Each is aptly named for the water’s color, from White to Green to the most striking of the group, Red, which is tinted by beta carotene- and planktonrich streams, attracting three species of flamingos in cosmic numbers. Soon after, even the dirt roads disappeared and it was time to put complete trust in the driver and guide. We set off into the infinite horizon, past towering columns of ignimbrite, entering constricted canyons and reaching what seemed like the ends of the earth. Having not seen any signs of civilization all day, the Ramaditas lodge appeared at first as a mirage

Clockwise from top left: desert cuisine by Virgilio Martínez at Explora Atacama Lodge; geysers emerge near the Chile-Bolivia border; flocks of flamingos at Laguna Colorada.

PAUL RUBIO

PAUL

RUBIO

but then came into clear view as a lakeside beacon. As we sat cozy in this high-design isolated space, sipping Bolivian wines as our guide serenaded us with his quena (a traditional Andean ute), the moment felt like immersive modern travel at its best. e next day our lengthy driving route to Chituca lodge was tailored to my love for birds and landscape photography, interspersed by hikes in the high wetlands in search of Andean coots, puna teals, and bluebilled ducks. On day six, we rock climbed through cactus-speckled terrain and later ambled through elds of red and yellow quinoa grazed by curious llamas. By lunchtime, we’d arrived at the largest salt at on Earth, a sparkling white expanse of in nity measuring roughly 3,700 square miles, hewn by immeasurable

salt polygons and draped by endless sky. Optical illusions abound in both the dry and wet patches of the ats, lending to idyllic Instagram fodder in the form of tilt-shift and re ective photography. On the northern rim, Explora’s Jirira lodge delivers an unparalleled mountaintop view of the stark white glory, with easy access to nearby islands and mile after mile of salt-crusted grounds navigable by fat-tire bike, vehicle, or foot. e lodge

isn’t just a gateway to this bucket-list destination—it’s part of it. By day eight, it was hard to say goodbye to this vortex of natural extremes and isolation. e trailblazing Explora Travesía Atacama & Uyuni has enriched me with the magic and beauty of one of the planet’s nal frontiers and proved that o -the-grid, experiential travel perseveres, even in modern times. (explora.com)

ALL-DAY COMFORT

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Above le : The living room at Ramaditas lodge offers breathtaking views.

Above: Vicuñas and fl amingos commune at a salt-fringed lagoon.

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PAUL RUBIO

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SPACES

In addition to serving their esteemed purpose, desks can set the tone of a room.

Work It!

IN ADDITION TO SERVING THEIR ESTEEMED PURPOSE, DESKS CAN SET THE TONE OF A ROOM

BY VALERIE CRUICE

The kitchen island. A folding card table. A nightstand. Your lap.

When you need to work, you need a work surface. And when multiple family members were hiding out at home during COVID, needing to continue working remotely, everything in the house with a smooth, level surface was conscripted into the service of the written—or rather, typed, word. With the trend of working remotely continuing, a good desk and comfortable chair have become essential components of productivity— a reliable destination in the home to create, correspond, and click away the workdays. From a behemoth mahog-

Francis shows

any partners desk anchoring a study to a white lacquered modernist Parsons table tucked under the stairs, there is a desk out there to suit any decor, task, and sensibility.

Since the mid-14th century, the Italian word “desca” has referred to “a table to write on.” The actual word “desk” gained common usage by the 18th century; its other monikers have included bureau, console, davenport, escritoire, rolltop, writing, secretary, pocket, tambour, and kneehole.

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence on a portable desk that he designed. George Washington escaped the

mayhem at Mount Vernon in his study, where he worked at a secretary crafted by John Aitken of Philadelphia in 1797. Among the most famous desks in the world is the massive Resolute Desk, given to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria, made from the timbers of the HMS Resolute in 1880. All but three presidents since have used it in the Oval Office.

Desks have evolved to meet their owners’ needs, getting tricked out with pigeonholes, hidden drawers, locking compartments, and mechanical devices. Today’s desks integrate charging stations, electrical cord holes, printers, and hydraulic systems to raise

and lower them so the user can choose to work standing or sitting. Materials range from various woods, metals, and glass to acrylic resin.

Overall, says Susan Schuyler Smith, CEO of Spectrum Interior Design, “the trend is now towards lighter, more versatile writing desks.”

Says Beth Read Pusser of Oodles of Wallpaper, “Ninetyeight percent of every single bedroom we do, we provide a console, usually with a drawer. The newer ones can be painted, wallpaper-wrapped, decorative, in any color, any depth.” As a laptop requires only 10 inches of depth, most console desks are 12 to 14 inches deep but go up to 20

David

the Barcelona desk and Seville armchair in light mocha (top) and the same desk with a blue finish.

inches. Lengthwise, the range is 38 to 60 inches, with 48 to 52 inches the most popular. Pusser designs built-ins to accommodate files and printers for a clean look on and around the desk.

She always starts by asking her clients where in the room they want their desk. No one likes having their back to the door, but if that’s the only option, then Pusser will hang a mirror above seated head height.

Speaking of seating, the ideal height for a desk chair is 29 to 30 inches. A swivel chair in a faux leather or a feminine upholstered chair provide support and comfort. Sometimes, when space is tight in a bedroom, Pusser has a console desk do double duty as a night table, in between twin or full-size beds. And if a window offers a “killer” view, Pusser will put the console desk right in front of it, with a beautiful lamp for task lighting. Mostly, she will angle a desk at 45 degrees.

As for task illumination, Smith of Spectrum says, “Desk lighting needs to bend and twist to help focus on the job at hand. Decorative cordless lamps with bases in brass and fabric shades to match the room decor add a custom touch.”

So, at the end of the workday, when it’s time to step away from the desk, wouldn’t it be nice if you could make it all just go away? Believe it or not, there is a Murphy desk; it’s a Murphy bed with a slide-under desk. Whatever you’re working on, you can literally sleep on it.

chair.

Keeping a healthy and manicured yard ahead of hurricane season helps with cleanup a er a storm.

HORTICULTURE

After the Storm

EXPERT ADVICE CAN HELP WITH POST-HURRICANE YARD RESTORATION

BY NICKIE MUNROE

August has several redeeming qualities: fall vegetable gardening can begin, we are safe from seasonal tra c, and parents sigh with relief as the school year begins. It is also the other side of the peak for high temperatures and rainy days. August does not gently cede from summer to fall. e overlap into September is when we are likely to experience the most impressive storms of hurricane season. Here are a few things to consider for your personal safety and for managing your Florida-Friendly Landscape after a strong storm event:

PERSONAL SAFETY

• Have a “hurricane partner,” with whom you will cooperate to perform cleanup duties. Separate your landscape

into zones. Identify hazards, discuss potential for injuries, and communicate with one another throughout the process. Keep safety rst.

• Use your mobile device to keep track of time spent working, and set alarms with 30-minute intervals for hydration breaks. Consider limiting your strenuous activities to two hours. Overdoing it will cause compounding physical stress.

• Lift with correct posture and try to avoid lifting over 50 pounds. In situations like this, the weight and distribution can cause injury.

• Wear personal protective gear. Test t this gear to ensure utility. In my household, this gear is often stored with the corresponding tool.

• Engage a professional. Be practical

about your skills and abilities. Your rst experience with a new power tool should not be during an adverse environmental event.

MANAGING YOUR FLORIDA-FRIENDLY LANDSCAPE

• Expect shrubs and other plants to look burned from salt and wind. ese storms are usually accompanied by gentler rain events that assist with washing the salt away.

• Damaged palm trees might not show the extent of their injuries for six months or more. It can be di cult to determine the recovery potential of a tree that appears intact.

• Any palm with a broken trunk should be removed. Palm fronds that are still

green should remain attached to the tree to assist with recovery.

• Uprooted palms should be restored upright and replanted at the same depth. Staking is often necessary. e palm should be treated as if it is newly transplanted.

• Assess large trees for severe damage. Trees proximate to sensitive infrastructure like power lines or buildings should be a priority.

• is is not the time to perform or request major pruning. If more than 30 percent of the tree is beyond repair, consider replacing the tree. For replacement suggestions, access the Indian River County UF/IFAS Extension.

• Fallen trees with a trunk diameter of 4 inches or less are generally more successfully replanted. Remember to brace and irrigate as if newly transplanted.

Summer is ending and fall is on its way. Milder temperatures will usher in a short window before the entertainment season begins to make space for resident and migratory birds. Providing for wildlife is one of my favorite FloridaFriendly Landscaping principles. Every part of the landscape can provide safe travel, shelter, water, and food for birds.

Nickie Munroe is an environmental horticulture agent with the University of Florida’s IFAS Indian River County Extension

Raymond A. Della Porta, DMD

Raymond A. Della Porta II, DMD Scott Elliott, DMD

Pruning and preserving your landscape a er a storm will help migratory birds fi nd shelter in the fall.

PATIENT CARE

Emergency Department or Urgent Care?

KNOWING WHERE TO GO FOR IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION CAN SAVE TIME, MONEY, AND VALUABLE

RESOURCES

BY RENÁE TESAURO

You bump your toe on the coffee table and suspect it may be broken. You develop poison ivy after a morning of gardening. You sprain your ankle on the pickleball court. Where should you go for prompt medical attention—the emergency department (ED) or an urgent care center?

“While an ED and an urgent care center can both provide quality medical care,

the ED is designed to treat life-threatening or serious conditions that require immediate attention,” says Vilma Noriega, senior administrator for emergency medicine at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital. “Chest pain, stroke symptoms, difficulty breathing, or trauma, for example, all warrant a trip to the ED.”

An urgent care facility, on the other hand, is designed to treat minor illnesses or inju-

Some health challenges can be treated at home, but there are times when health care professionals are needed.

ries that are not life threatening, notes Noriega. “If you have an ear infection, sprain, a cut, or if you think you have the flu or COVID, you should go to an urgent care facility.”

For nonemergency conditions, more patients are starting to realize the convenient access of choosing an urgent care center. This also helps free up the emergency room for the most serious medical cases. Nevertheless, Noriega

says, you will never be turned away from receiving care at the ED. “The moment you check in, we must, by law, triage and treat you. However, it diverts resources from those who require lifesaving care, and you may be required to wait for others to be seen ahead of you.”

According to Dr. Karl Elser, medical director of Cleveland Clinic urgent care centers in Vero Beach and Sebas-

tian, “There are many things that we can take care of in an urgent care facility that do not require a visit to the ED. We can treat fractures with splinting and lacerations with stitching, as well as point-of-care testing and X-ray imaging.”

As the population of Indian River County swells during the winter months and continues to grow with year-round residents, the ED

“There is typically a significant difference in wait times.”

DR. KARL ELSER

at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital and Cleveland Clinic’s urgent care centers are busier than ever. Last year, visits to the ED topped 56,000—the highest volume among Cleveland Clinic’s five Florida hospitals—while visits to Cleveland Clinic’s two urgent care centers in Indian River County continue to see growth.

Accidents happen and illness strikes when you least expect it. Knowing where to go in those instances can save time, money, and precious community health care resources. Below, Noriega and Elser answer some common questions associated with emergency and urgent care.

If you can’t get an appointment with your primary care physician (PCP) or don’t have a PCP, is it okay to go to the emergency department or urgent care facility when you feel ill?

Elser: Recently, we’ve seen an increase in the number of patients coming to urgent care because they can’t get an immediate appointment with their PCP. We understand that oftentimes people need to be seen sooner to address certain concerns. We can help bridge that gap, but we are not a replacement for a patient’s PCP. We will treat the patient and refer him or her back to their PCP for follow-up.

Noriega: Having a PCP can help prevent, manage, and treat health issues and avoid unnecessary trips to an urgent care facility or ED. ED physicians are not primary care physicians. They are specially trained to stabilize patients with life-threatening emergencies, so coming to the ED with something that

The order of patient care and treatment once in an ED or urgent care center is dependent on the severity of injury or illness presented at the time of evaluation.

Dr. Karl Elser Vilma Noriega

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could be better managed by a primary care physician (or, in off-hours, an urgent care center), strains our resources. Last year, CCIRH launched a program called “Point of Service Scheduling.” Before you are discharged from the ED, a staff member schedules you for a follow-up appointment with a specialist or a PCP. Channeling people back to the appropriate provider helps reduce readmissions to the hospital.

What if I’m here only seasonally and I need to see a doctor? Can I still go to an urgent care center?

Elser: Yes. You can

always go to an urgent care center for an episodic health care need. Your PCP, however, would be the person to consult about managing chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.

Are urgent care facilities staffed by physicians?

Elser: Cleveland Clinic urgent care facilities in Indian River County are staffed by five physicians and several advanced practice providers, such as physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners.

Do urgent care facilities have limited capabilities?

Elser: Contrary to popular belief, urgent care

Patients are urged not to use ED doctors as their primary care physicians.

“Triage begins the moment you walk in the door.”

VILMA NORIEGA

centers offer X-rays and do point-of-care testing for things like flu, strep throat, pregnancy, or blood sugar. They can administer vaccinations and do stitching and splinting. If you need a higher level of evaluation, such as a CT scan, ultrasound, or complete blood work, you will be referred to an emergency department.

Are you treated in the order in which you arrive at the ED?

Noriega: Patients who need immediate life-saving intervention are treated first, regardless of the order in which they arrived. Triage (the process of determining the priority of patients’ treatment based on the severity of their conditions) begins the moment you walk in the door.

Elser: Patients arriving at an urgent care center are similarly triaged upon arrival

based on their symptoms. If you come to the ED via ambulance, are you seen faster?

Noriega: Whether you arrive by ambulance or walk into the ED, our immediate assessment of your condition determines who needs to

be seen first. We never want anyone to wait, but sometimes it is a necessity based on the critical needs of other patients.

Is it okay to drive yourself to the ED if it means getting there faster?

Noriega: You should never

Experts say we should rely on emergency medical transport for trips to the ED.

drive yourself to the ED if you are having chest pain, di culty breathing, or experiencing stroke symptoms. You’re not only endangering yourself, but you’re also endangering others. Calling 911 in those instances may save your life or prevent a complication or an escalation of the condition.

Do the ED and urgent care have similar wait times?

Elser: ere is typically a

signi cant di erence in wait times. Our goal in urgent care is to get people in and out within an hour and a half. In the ED, it may take three to six hours before you are thoroughly evaluated.

Since both the ED and urgent care accept insurance, is there a di erence between the cost of an ED visit and urgent care center visit?

Noriega: While the cost of a visit to the ED or urgent care

Which One Is Right for You?

VISIT AN URGENT CARE CENTER FOR:

Cough, cold, and flu symptoms

Sinus infection

Earache

Conjunctivitis (pink eye)

Skin rash

Headache

Urinary tract infection

Nausea, vomiting

Sprain/strain

Insect bite/sting

Minor burn

Minor skin laceration

VISIT THE ED FOR:

Accident (fall, car crash)

Chest pain

Fever

Head injury

Loss of consciousness

Poisoning

Severe, persistent abdominal pain

Severe burn

Severe headache

Shortness of breath

Stroke symptoms

Uncontrolled or excessive bleeding

center depends upon your insurance provider, your co-pay, and whether you’ve met your deductible, the cost of an ED visit is generally much higher than the cost of an urgent care visit because of its specialized services and higher overhead costs. It’s a good idea to review the details of your insurance coverage before a medical emergency happens.

If you answered “urgent care” to all three scenarios presented at the beginning of this article, you are already showing good judgment when it comes to responding to medical emergencies. Now, let’s hope you never have to put that to the test!

•#3 Sales Agent in Indian River County

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•Extensive network in the Northeast including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut

•BSBA in Marketing and Sales

•DSRE Social Media Superstar Award, 2018

•Winner “Best of Vero” in the Vero Beach

Easter Parade, 2018

•DSRE Most Innovative Marketing Award, 2017

•Lives on the Barrier Island in Riomar

•Actively involved at Holy Cross Church

•2 sons who attend Saint Edward’s School

•Founder of the Flamingo Fundraiser, raising money for the fight against breast cancer

BEAUTY

Scents of Adventure

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REVIEW

Under Pressure

THIS FICTIONAL STORY REVOLVES AROUND A LITTLEKNOWN REAL-LIFE JOB THAT IS TRULY TERRIFYING

BY ELIZABETH LEONARD OF THE VERO BEACH BOOK CENTER

After reading The Chamber by Will Dean, I have found myself delving into several websites, YouTube videos, and documentaries involving a particularly niche form of underwater work. Knowing very little about this subject prior to Dean’s novel, I feel that I am now more knowledgeable of the profession, acquainted with the terminology, and understanding of the risks, and I can say with confidence that I will never, ever partake in the deep-sea enterprise known as saturation diving.

Locked inside a pressurized chamber for weeks or months at a time, saturation divers are completely isolated. No one can get to them quickly in an emergency, and they cannot get outside help, as “opening the hatch” and being depressurized too quickly will result in sickness and/or a blood-boiling death.

When fictional sat diver Ellen Brooke returns from her first dive, she finds her crew performing CPR on a colleague who is dying. Traumatized after being unable to save the youngest member of the crew, the group is then asked to perform an autopsy on the man to determine if there is a danger present in the chamber. Watched by the many cameras mounted around the small room, they then send the results through the med-lock, their only door to the outside world, which enables goods such as reading materials and food to be sent in and trash and other disposables to be sent back to the surface.

The dive is called off and the chamber is lifted from the depths, but it will take four days for the crew to return to normal pressure. So, when a second diver drops dead unexpectedly, the situation for the remaining crew turns dire; fears mount into near hysteria as the realization settles in that they are trapped, vulnerable, and at the mercy of a killer.

STAFF PICKS

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

Tova Sullivan copes with the recent death of her husband and the mystery surrounding the loss of her only son by working at an aquarium and befriending Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus that is living out its days in captivity.

THE AVIATORS by Winston Groom

This well-researched book weaves together biographies of Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, and Charles Lindbergh, detailing their heroic accomplishments and their respective roles in the “epic age of flight.”

Cat-topia

AT THE NEW CAT CAFÉ IN VERO BEACH, FRIENDLY KITTIES WILL HELP YOU DE-STRESS

BY AMY ROBINSON

Iwait in the lobby, peering into the large room beyond, hoping to see some of my favorites from my last visit. Milo, a velvety bluegray cat with gold-and-green eyes, looks back through the glass door, silently willing me to open it so he can dash into the lobby and roll on the rug. This is his favorite naughty thing to do, I have learned.

As I enter the softly lit main room, two cats lounging on

a big sofa eye me while La Femme, a classic dark tabby, gives me a tiny meow, inviting me closer to her perch atop the cat condo. Far from being aloof, these cats are very interactive, seeming to say “welcome.” Their greeting styles vary. Steph Purry and Seth Purry, two brothers named after the NBA players, blink slowly at me from their high perches in the cat tree. Dodge, a handsome orange tabby with big, soulful

eyes, hops up onto a table to bump his head under my hand. This is the Cattitude Cat Café on Old Dixie Highway just north of 12th Street, a first for the Treasure Coast. Here, people can visit with social, well-cared-for cats while enjoying a beverage and, if so inspired, adopt one or two. A modest fee helps support the effort to get adoptable cats into this accessible, pleasant environment and show people just

CAT ADOPTION

The atmosphere at the Cattitude Cat Café is one that is calming but fun for both the cats and potential adopters.

how cool cats really are.

“ ere are a few resident cats here,” says owner Shari Tessier as the cats abandon me and vie for her attention. Milo, the clever escape artist, is one of the residents wearing a collar with a tag. “ e rest are up for adoption.”

Compared to the greeting I got, the cats nearly throw Tessier a party. She laughs as they swirl around her legs, looking up at her with adoration. e feeling is mutual. Tessier smiles and pets each one, calling them by name. “Milo, you look so handsome,” she says. “How are you today, Dodge?” is goes on until each cat is satis ed, but when we sit to have a chat, the oor show begins. ey play noisily, bat toys around, jump on cat trees, and roll on the oor in front of us, seeking approval for their e orts. Dodge jumps up next

to me and makes meaningful eye contact. I am immediately entranced. While Tessier tells me how Cattitude came to be, I pet Dodge continually.

“I was fostering cats at my house for rescues and returning them for adoption events, and then collecting them again if they didn’t get adopted,” she says. “One of my foster kitties just didn’t take to the stress of being transported. I wanted a calming, relaxing environment for cats to meet new people.”

My husband, Joe, and I are both animal people,” she laughs, noting their multiple pets at home. “We say ‘yes’ to everything.”

When I stop petting Dodge for a moment to make a note, I feel his paw gently touch my arm. We lock eyes again and I am back on the job, petting him as he sighs contentedly. I can feel my blood pressure dropping and I sti e a yawn. is is a very relaxing place for both people and

Shari Tessier enjoys a moment with Milo, le , while Seth Purry perches high in a cat tree on the wall, below. place for both people and

Ask Amy

amy@verobeachmagazine.com

I am sure you have heard this before, but my dog seems to like my trainer more than me. Chauncy is over the moon when he arrives and hangs on his every word and gesture until he leaves. How will this transfer to me? Can I have Chauncy’s respect and love?

You are right, I have seen this, but it is not that he prefers the trainer. It always helps to think of the situation from the dog’s point of view. A person comes, just for him, and brings a bag full of toys and treats. The person then spends the next hour or so paying close attention to the dog ahead of all other concerns. Despite this seemingly exclusive devotion to your trainer, you are definitely top dog with Chauncy. To nurture that love and respect, find time to put all else aside and work with Chauncy daily on easy commands that result in rewards and lavish praise. Do a couple of training exercises you have seen the trainer do with Chauncy and then break for a play session, whether it’s tug, retrieving a ball, or hide-and-seek. The next time the trainer comes, keep the leash in your hand and ask to do the work yourself with his input. Transfer complete.

I have a nice vegetable garden patch and wish to keep it that way. Enter: my new adopted dog, Nala, and her preference for well-turned soil. The interesting thing is that she will uproot a green onion bulb, for example, and gnaw on it. I stop her, of course, but why is she going after these in particular? I know many plants are toxic to dogs, so is there something safe she could have from my garden?

– Theo in Traverse City, Michigan

Nala sees you out there digging and weeding and just wants to help. The lure of cool, moist dirt is strong on a warm day, and she is attracted to the smells the root vegetables give off. To her, this represents a lot of benefit for minimal effort. Dogs eat lots of gross things, so raw onion is in good company. However, some of the veggies we like, and in your case, grow, are off the menu for Nala. These include onions, shallots, leeks, garlic, chives, and all other Allium vegetables, which can destroy large quantities of red blood cells in the dog. Nala would absolutely dig a nice green bean or a small bit of celery, and there is always corn off the cob for safe snacking. It’s best to cook these slightly al dente and without butter and salt. Bone appétit.

– Beatrice in Vero Beach

cats. Shelves, rope ladders, kitty condos, and toys galore populate the space. Attractive water bubblers dot the edges of the main room. Litter boxes are plentiful but out of sight in a back area accessed through tiny cat doors.

Tessier explains where she gets the adoptable cats on offer. “I try to work with the rescues and shelters that need this,” she says. Dogs and Cats Forever, Operation Catsnip, and Raining Cats are her current rescue partners. A few are owner surrenders, such as Dodge, who needed to spend nearly a month in the acclimation room before coming into the group room. Now he turns on the charm to anyone who glances his way.

“We can close the door on

this smaller acclimation room for the new ones or for cats who have not been with other cats and need time to figure that out,” Tessier explains. I find Bear in there, an elder statesman at 13 years of age who came in when his owner died. He resembles a classic Egyptian cat in sphinx position, gazing regally at me from his spot on the ottoman. On the floor is Junior, who bats lazily at the ball I inch toward him.

The shelters and rescues Tessier works with are happy to get the cats into a less stressful environment. Barbara du Pont is a longtime volunteer and supporter of Dogs and Cats Forever in Fort Pierce. “Our shelter has a separate cat building with rooms where they hang out,”

“Meeting people just never gets old for them.”

SHARI TESSIER

says du Pont. “Each has a nice porch and a catio, but it still is not a home. Shari’s place has that homey environment and plenty of space for everyone.”

“Those cats are mellow,” she laughs.

Sometimes, cats will be overlooked because of coat color, such as the common but lovely tabby color. This also happens with shelter dogs with brindle or black coats. Occasionally it is the cats’ shyness holding them back, but du Pont has seen these types blossom at Cattitude and find homes. “We had two tabby sisters, both 8 years of age, and they were getting passed over at our shelter,” she says. “That tabby color isn’t flashy, so they just blend in instead of standing out. After a month or so at Cattitude, one got adopted, and then the next day the sister found a home.”

Shelters such as Dogs and Cats Forever appreciate the support the café provides to the cats and to the shelter they came from. “Shari supplies all the cat food and litter without any assistance from us,” says du Pont, “and when she adopts out one of our cats, she even gives us the adoption fee.”

Tessier knows the cat café will not be a big moneymaker, but that is not her goal. It takes a special person to start this kind of unconventional business in which animals depend on her daily, but she loves every second of it. She breaks out a little bag of treats, the kind visitors can purchase and

be instantly popular. Seven cats materialize as they hear the crinkle of the baggie and beg for goodies.

What surprised Tessier the most about operating the café was just how much the cats wanted people around. “At first, we closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thinking they might need the break,” she recalls, “but when we would get there, the cats acted like they hadn’t seen anyone in weeks instead of hours. Meeting people just never gets old for them.”

That is a good thing, because more people are discovering this novel, calm environment full of curious cats looking for love.

Wide open spaces and nooks for naps and de-stressing are plentiful in the rooms of the café

BAT up ‘Her’

Angelina Long, 13, is a two-time participant in the Trailblazer Series. Kate Costello, le , is 12 and a fi rst-timer at the event.

Today’s female baseball players are breaking barriers and blazing trails—on and off the diamond

− − −

BY RENÁE TESAURO

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MLB PHOTOS/JARED BLAIS

“I don’t think there’s winning or losing.... It’s always a winning experience and you always get something from it.”

— Kate Costello

− − − − − −

Middle school is typically fraught with major-league drama. But for 96 middle school–age girls participating in Major League Baseball’s annual Trailblazer Series at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex, the drama is both major league and inspiring. Every spring, girls from across the United States and Canada come to Vero Beach to compete and hone their skills in the two-day girls’ baseball development experience.

Now in its seventh year, the event, held in conjunction with Jackie Robinson Day (April 15), includes competitive games, skills contests, and coaching and mentorship from a roster of notable pioneers in women’s baseball. Instructors this year included Veronica Alvarez, MLB’s rst Girls’ Baseball Ambassador and ve-time member and three-time manager of the No. 1–ranked Women’s National Team headed to this year’s World Cup finals; Kelsie Whitmore, who in 2022 was the rst woman to sign a professional contract with an MLB partner league team as a member of the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League; and Mo’ne Davis, who in 2014 was the rst girl to throw a shutout in the Little League World Series and grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.

For Davis, the Trailblazer Series represents an opportunity to serve as a mentor and pay it forward to the next generation of female baseball athletes. “I was given an opportunity and had many doors open

for me. I want to do the same for others,” she says.

A sports management graduate student at Columbia University with her sights set on owning a professional women’s team, Davis says, “Just by playing baseball as a kid and by being taught to be a good person to everyone allowed me to be in places I never expected and have people in my corner along the way.”

Playing baseball, in particular being a pitcher, she admits, instilled a healthy dose of self-condence. “Everyone looks to you as a leader because you’re the one in command of the entire game. You’re going to have rough days. You’re going to have great days, but it’s all about how you get through those rough days.”

“ ere weren’t events like this when I was growing up,” explains Davis. “ e girls see members of the national team here and they realize they can keep going with the sport if they want to. If they want to be serious about the sport, this is the right time to be serious. ey have high school coming up and they can learn from these professional women.”

O the eld during the Trailblazer Series, there were panel discussions with former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players, including Maybelle Blair and Jeneane Lesko, the inspirations behind the movie A League of eir Own. Other special guests included Sonya Pankey, Jackie Robinson’s eldest granddaughter, and representatives from the International Women’s Baseball Center.

“ e Trailblazer Series is, essentially, a celebration of girls playing baseball,” says Sarah Padove, manager of baseball and softball development for Major League Baseball. It is intentionally held in

Above: Kate Costello takes a swing during one of the competitions at Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach. Opposite page: Athletes are trained and mentored by several pioneers in women’s baseball during the weekend.

conjunction with Jackie Robinson Day because Jackie was the quintessential trailblazer.”

“ ese girls are blazing their own trail,” she adds. “A lot of them are the only girl on boys’ teams, and some have never played with other girls before. is gets them in an environment where they get to be celebrated for what they do, who they are. ey’re in front of all these phenomenal women and female coaches that have come before them.”

According to Padove, MLB’s youth development programs, such as the Trailblazer Series, play an important role in developing a pathway and pipeline for women who want to remain in the game, both on and off the field. “There are athletes from our development pipeline who are now playing college baseball or high-level college softball. Ten of the 20 USA Baseball Women’s National Team members have gone through our development programs.”

Women, she says, have made enormous strides in coaching, management, and executive positions within minor and major league baseball teams; umpiring; and the broadcast booth. “We’re excited to see tremendous growth and success among women in diamond sports in recent years. ere’s no ceiling.” e experience is as much about skill development as it is about character development, say event organizers, which is why the celebrated Vero Beach venue plays such a critical role.

“Jackie Robinson was known for his playing ability as well as his character on and o the eld,” observes Rachelle Madrigal, vice president of the Jackie Robinson Training Complex. “He lived by the nine values posted throughout our facility— courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence—and that’s what we’re trying to instill in all the campers, future stars, and current athletes, as well as inspire in our sta and other teams.” e venue, Madrigal says, provides a safe, uniquely equipped environment for campers like the Trailblazers to fully immerse themselves in the sport. “We’ve got housing on-site, a dining room feeding them three square meals a day, a fully equipped locker room, as well as the elds and training facilities.”

As more young women have

Clockwise from le : Sage Weiss winds up for a pitch; USA Baseball assistant coach Alex Oglesby gives ba ing tips; A League of Their Own inspirationJeneane Lesko throws out the fi rst pitch; Jackie Robinson’s eldest granddaughter, Sonya Pankey, addresses the participants.

− − −

“The ailblazer Series is, essentially, a celebration of girls playing baseball .”

— Sarah Padove

− −

embraced the sport of baseball, applications to participate in the Trailblazer Series have spiked since its inception in 2017 by USA Baseball and MLB. Girls aged 11 to 13 are eligible to apply through an open application process that is promoted via MLB’s marketing platforms and baseball organizations around the country. e young athletes are chosen by a selection committee and attend the event free of charge, with program costs underwritten by USA Baseball.

“I think over the years softball was once presented as the only ball sport that’s available to girls,” observes Madrigal. “We have seen that change over time, with more and more girls participating in Little League and more opportunities for girls to continue playing beyond Little League.”

is year’s group of Trailblazers hailed from 23 states; Washington, D.C.; and three Canadian provinces. For some, it was a new experience, while others were participating for the second or third time.

“I got into baseball and started getting better and better,” says 12-year-old Kate Costello, a sixth grader from Wellington, Florida who is a Trailblazer newbie. As the only girl playing all positions in an all-boys league, she says she chose baseball over softball because “there’s so much sexism in the world. I wanted to put a stop to it and make a place for us in the sport.”

“I love being here,” she says. “It’s like a home. It’s everyone your age, you meet them and have fun. You get to learn and be around people who enjoy the same things as you. I think it’s amazing to be here, walking in [Robinson’s] footsteps and carrying on his legacy.”

e opportunity to connect with modern-day legends Mo’ne Davis and Kelsie Whitmore was equally inspiring for Kate. “ ey’ve been my idols for as long as I can remember. When I rst talked to them, I was so happy. I got pictures with them and I was so thrilled.”

rough competition, skills training, and camaraderie, Kate hoped to learn as much as she could, whether it be base running, pitching, or catching, during the two-day event. “Personally, I don’t think there’s winning or losing,” she re ects. “ ere’s winning and winning. It’s always a learning experience

and you always get something from it.”

“I want to try out for the baseball team at my middle school,” she explains. “ ey don’t usually have women. If I don’t make it, I’ll play softball; but I want to try and go as far as I can, whether that’s high school, minors, or majors.”

Kate’s ambitions also include playing for and getting a scholarship to Cornell. “I like music, art, and history. I’m a very crafty kid. You can nd me reading a book while listening to music.”

Meanwhile, she hopes to stay in touch with the girls she’s met in Vero Beach and plans to return as a veteran Trailblazer next year.

Angelina Long, a 13-year-old pitcher and rst baseman from Viera, is a two-time Trailblazer Series participant. e lone girl on a boys’ Little League team, she says, “I like baseball better [than softball] because it’s harder. ere’s more action. You can do picko s, and the mound isn’t at. It’s like going down a hill.”

“I think it’s really cool. Everybody’s really nice, and they were once in my shoes,” says Angelina about the opportunity to interact with some of the most notable women in the sport. As she charts her path from seventh grade to high school, her goals, she says, include doing more things like the Trailblazer Series as well as volunteer work.

“I love musical theater, and my dream school is Columbia University in New York City. e culture there is really rich. ere’s so much opportunity in New York City. It’s an Ivy League school. It’s really hard to get into and I like a challenge.” An aspiring psychology major, she has already toured the campus and envisions a career in baseball—o the mound, in a supportive role, beyond college.

Surveying the scene inside Building 42, the new, state-of-the-art 38,600-square-foot indoor training facility, Angelina pauses between spoonfuls of ice cream and re ects, “Being in this legendary complex I feel like the spirits from the famous baseball players are inside me, just telling me that I can move forward and do whatever I want.”

ankfully, she can!

Right: Former Li le League World Series star Mo’ne Davis addresses the girls during training in Building 42. The nearly 100 girls who were invited to JRTC for a weekend of baseball learned the game from some great female role models.

Living LEGACIES

JONNIE MAE PERRY IS HELPING PRESERVE THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE GIFFORD COMMUNITY THAT SHE LOVES

BY ANN TAYLOR PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVEN MARTINE

If you haven’t already stepped inside the Gi ord Historical Museum and Cultural Center and met Jonnie Mae Perry, you need to put it at the top of your to-do list. As the center’s executive director, Perry will greet you with open arms and a sunny smile as she leads you into the building lled to the rafters with photographs, newspaper articles, proclamations, Highwaymen paintings, books, African artifacts, and memorabilia documenting Gi ord’s history. Along the way, she will tell you the story of the little museum that could and its future, so plan to stay awhile.

Built in 1908 by Black railroad laborers, the 1,150-square-foot building was home to the Macedonia Church, where people prayed and praised God with word and song. Over the decades, those individuals moved on and cobwebs crept in. Vacant and in disrepair, the church was slated for demolition.

Thanks to efforts by the Indian River County Historical Society, the wood frame building was relocated to Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park and Trail across from Gifford Middle School in 1994. ere it sat dormant, its double doors shut tight, waiting for just the right person to come along.

Enter Perry, who, after a successful 39-year corporate career,

Richard Bialosky, Freddie Woolfork, and Jonnie Mae Perry stand in front of the current Gifford Museum and Cultural Center. The trio has plans for a much bigger footprint for the center in the coming years.

“This will be a legacy, not just for the people of Gifford, but all of Indian River County.”

JONNIE MAE PERRY

had retired and returned to the community where she and her husband, Percy, had grown up. It didn’t take long before she found herself engaged with nonpro t organizations. Her days were busy; life was good. en one day she received a phone call from Godfrey Gipson, president of the Progressive Civic League of Gifford, with a request she couldn’t refuse.

“Mr. Gipson asked me to create a Black history museum and library in the historic church,” says Perry. “I didn’t have a clue how I was going to do that, but it seemed as though God had a plan for my life, so I said okay. I must have been crazy, but it became a labor of

love and passion for me.” With help from others, Perry got to work sweeping out the cobwebs, wielding paintbrushes, and arranging displays.

On February 24, 2018, the Gifford Historical Museum and Cultural Center, with its large cross and doors a bright red, opened to applause and cheers.

“Showcasing the accomplishments of those who came before us, who worked hard, opened businesses, and created a thriving community has been a privilege and joy,” says Perry. “My father had Brown’s Standard Oil Gas Station on 45th Street. I helped by pumping people’s gas.” Her smile widens at the memory.

“My generation was blessed to experience a village, a community,” says Perry. “We grew up during a time when there were no streetlights, no clean water in Gi ord. We fought to make things happen. Young people today need to know about the history of Gi ord; it will give them a sense of pride. ey get excited when they come in and take a look around. ey’ll say, that’s my

uncle, my father, my cousin— oh, there’s my grandfather. ey fought to make Gi ord a better place.”

Jay Lundy rediscovered that fact when he returned to Gi ord, where he grew up, and visited the museum and cultural center. His father, J. Ralph Lundy, was among those whose e orts helped make Gifford a better place. “My father, Victor Hart, Dr. [A. Ronald]

Freddie Woolfork (above), and Jonnie Mae and Percy Perry (above right) reminisce on the past and the people who’ve made Gifford the community it is today.

On display at the museum is the New York Times edition that announces the shooting death of Malcolm X.

Le and above: The museum honors Florida Highwaymen artists from the area. There were eight Highwaymen that called Gifford home. Below: A picture of Willie Adams, dean of students and last assistant principal of Gifford High School, is displayed among other school memories. The school closed in 1969.

closed Gi ord High School and students were bused across town to Vero Beach High School. While integration was good for society, it was not so good for Gi ord.

The museum is fi lled with Black history items, including folk art, a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, a portrait of Underground Railroad supporters Benjamin and Susannah Cook, and a nod to J. Ralph Lundy, a man who spent his adult life making Gifford a be er place to live.

Hudson, and others had a common desire to improve the community,” Jay Lundy says. “ ey made a di erence.”

Freddie Woolfork, who oversees public relations at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center, couldn’t agree more. He remembers what it was like growing up in the tightknit community where everyone worked together. He also remembers what happened in 1969 when desegregation

“Our high school was the social heart of the community,” says Woolfork. “Everyone gathered there, and when students were sent off to Vero Beach High School things changed. I know. I was there, one of the first to graduate the following year. I’m 72 and still here doing what I do because I love Gi ord.”

It’s that same love of Gi ord that has Perry and others on a mission to enlarge the existing museum and cultural center, which is bursting at the seams, to 15,000 or 20,000 square feet. Plans call for a new exhibit hall, meeting rooms, a library, café, banquet hall, arts studio, and exterior gathering and entertainment spaces.

“ e new center will allow us to increase the resources and cultural programs we’ll be able to o er to the community,” Perry says. “The county has given us the approval, there’s room to build out back, and there’s de nitely a need.” e need turned into a reality two years ago, thanks to a $493,000 award from the Florida Department of State’s African-American Cultural and Historical grant program, which in turn led to contracts with Rhodes & Brito Architects based in Orlando, and Lord Cultural Resources, a global

cultural consulting rm.

“The grant applicant was the Cultural Council of Indian River County, and the title of the project was the Gifford Community Cultural & Resource Center. I have to give most of the credit for making the award possible to Janet Begley, who worked at the Cultural Council and who also wrote for the local paper,” says Perry, acknowledging Begley, who passed away last year.

“It really became a team effort with Janet, Richard [Bialosky], and a few others,” she continues. “When we went to apply for the grant, there were a lot of other organizations doing the same, and I credit Richard, who told me when I made the presentation that I had to speak from the heart, put energy into it. And I did. e spirit of the project is in my soul.”

Bialosky has a cello to thank for his involvement with the cultural center expansion project. “My wife, Jane’s, father was a musician, and when he died we donated his cello to

the Gi ord Youth Orchestra.

Jonnie and Percy came by to pick it up and we started talking. She knew I was in real estate and that I was an architect; one thing led to another.

You can’t say no to Jonnie,” says Bialosky, explaining how he became part of the team.

And that’s a gift Perry has: to inspire others and to think big. “My dream is that we have something so insightful that people will want to come from all over the state, the world, to be here,” she says.

Perry made her dream known last August at a concept and business planning study workshop. Representatives from Lord Cultural Resources and architect Max Brito were there and made presentations dealing with strengths and weaknesses of the existing site

and building, space and facility needs, permanent and temporary exhibitions, collections, public educational programs, potential partnerships and collaborations, capital funding, and endowments.

Plans call for launching a capital campaign later this year; until then, news about the expansion has been spreading and support has followed. It’s an exciting time for the little museum that could.

“History represents our past and future. If we don’t preserve history, we have no idea what was, and that will be a tragedy. We’re trying to preserve that heart of Gi ord for generations to come, and 50 years from now when we’re no longer here, there will be people who have something they can be proud of. is will be a legacy not just for the people of Gifford, but all of Indian River County.”

The Macedonia Church, now the Gifford Museum, was moved from Sebastian to its current location in Gifford in the early 1990s. Le : Samuel A. Hunter was the last principal of Gifford High School.

Freddie Woolfork, Richard and Jane Bialosky, and Jonnie Mae and Percy Perry are passionate about the education and preservation of the Gifford community through the building of a new cultural center.

OAR Stories

VERO BEACH ROWING FOSTERS CONFIDENCE, COMMITMENT, AND CAMARADERIE

BY VALERIE CRUICE PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVEN MARTINE

For thousands of years, humans have been propelling themselves on the waters of the Indian River. From the cypress dugout canoes of the Ais indigenous people to the carbon fiber–reinforced shells of today’s crews, humans have used their strength with an oar to go as fast as possible, whether to outrun an enemy, capture dinner, or win a gold medal.

And, like the tight community of Vero’s ancient river-borne Ais, who hunted cooperatively in their boats and induced fear in would-be encroachers, the rowing powerhouse that Vero Beach Rowing has become stems from its members’ rock-solid sense of community and their love of and respect for the sport, the Indian River, and one another.

Rowers Lorelei Carter, Sofia Sturgell, Zadie Diniz, and Liliana Elliott train in a quad on the Indian River Lagoon. The team just competed in the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championship in Sarasota, placing 15th in the nation.

A large selection of rowing programs is available for youth and adult participants through Vero Beach Rowing.

As a rower, one always has “a seat in the boat” anywhere in the world. It’s a quiet recognition of a likeminded person who pushes through the sometimes vomit-inducing rigorous training, has “caught a crab,” capsized, collided, or exulted in a medal. Whether you scull, sweep, or cox, you belong. A single is not alone; an eight is one. If you row in an eight, a double, or a quad, each one of those shells is a community unto itself—a tight-knit, synchronized collection of individuals who cede their individuality to the greater organism that is the “crew.”

Within these boats, in every seat, is a story, a narrative that generates the power, that motivates the push through the predawn darkness on the river or on the ergometer at 5 a.m. and ultimately across a finish line. People’s reasons for rowing are myriad; what unites them are both the macro and micro communities to which they belong. This is what makes the boat fly.

Head coach Julio Sanchez’s first order of business with aspiring “masters” rowers (aged 21 years and up) in the Learn to Row program is to discover their motivation to row. “Why do

they challenge themselves like that?” asks Sanchez, who came to Vero Beach Rowing in 2021. “Most come from a crisis like a lost job or a divorce. They tell me the whole history of their lives. When you identify the cause, you can then build the confidence.”

Sometimes there are three generations in the same octuple (an eight in which each rower has two oars, plus a coxswain to steer). “We are not technically focused on rowing. We build the confidence,” says the 48-year old Argentinian, who rows and coaches the New Zealand style. Confidence, it seems, wins hearts, minds, and races.

Head coach Julio Sanchez keeps an eye on rowers, guiding and challenging them to be their best on and off the water.

“We are not technically focused on rowing. We build the confidence.”

JULIO SANCHEZ

a time (in the octuple). “When they come to us, they are very shy, very scared. We try to give them the confidence,” says Sanchez. A number of women who started in the program row regularly—a profound statement on how rowing has positively impacted their lives.

Madison Waddle, the club’s program manager and a coach, says of Learn to Row that the participants “find community before they find a spot on a team. All are welcome at practices, all help each other with carrying the equipment down from the boathouse to the dock and back.”

The club requires that adult rowers do 12 hours of volunteering

per season and all youth rowers’ parents do 10 hours per season. The masters help out with Learn to Row programs, the Row Beyond Diagnosis program, and the Samaritan Soup Bowl. They also help clean up the yard around the boathouse, wash rags, and take out the trash. Parents do a lot when their rowers participate in regattas: seeing to hospitality, cooking food for the kids, filling up the water jugs, fundraising, and pitching the team tent. At Christmastime, the juniors make a float for the Vero Beach Christmas Parade. “Everyone marches, kids and masters together. Julio drives the trailer,” Waddle explains.

The club offers Row Beyond Diagnosis, tailored specifically to women diagnosed with or recovering from cancer, in partnership with Friends After Diagnosis in Vero Beach. It is taught in groups of eight women at

Jimmy Michael, current president of VBR, started rowing in high school in Cleveland. When his architecture business brought him to Vero Beach, he and other enthusiasts started a club at the C-54 Canal in Fellsmere.

The group signed a lease for an area under the 17th Street Bridge near the water treatment facility in 2013. Then, in 2016, the club moved to its current site with a boatyard and dock, an ideal location north of the Merrill Barber Bridge where the water is protected by spoil islands. Fundraising followed, and the Toffey Rowing Center was built and outfitted with state-ofthe-art equipment in 2020.

Says Sanchez of those early days, “It was a new club with many new fancy boats and equipment. The rowers, the board, they didn’t know what to do with what they had.” With patience and enthusiasm, the new coach introduced positive change.

Sanchez brings his boundless energy and confidence building to all the rowers in the club’s programs.

Darrel Davidson, Sean O’Shea, Paul Walsh, and John Miller spend a morning on the water.

Above: Rowers make their way to the water basin at MacWilliam Park.

Left: Terry Leonard and Anna Romer confer before a row.

Below: Program manager and coach Madison Waddle talks with rowers.

“All are welcome at practices.”

MADISON WADDLE

Views on the Indian River Lagoon beneath the Barber Bridge can be breathtaking for early-morning rowers.

From the juniors (7th through 12th grades), masters, Learn to Row, Row Beyond Diagnosis, summer camps, and outreach programs, there are communities within communities for everyone at this boathouse. There are currently around 200 active rowers ranging from 7th graders to masters in their 80s. The split is approximately 50-50. When Sanchez first arrived, the split was 20 percent youth and 80 percent masters, total-

ing about 70 rowers.

Shotsi Lajoie has been rowing since 1974, her sophomore year in college. She was on Notre Dame’s first female varsity team, which won the first women’s trophy for the university. In 2012 she attended the 40th reunion of Title IX at Notre Dame to celebrate. “They asked us to form an eight to row in the Head of the Charles in 2013. I invited everyone here to Vero Beach—12 or 13 plus our

original Coach Clete. We are now in our 12th year of the NDames alumnae rowers coming down here to train,” she says. Lajoie, past president of the rowing club, is also responsible for bringing the current Notre Dame varsity women’s crew team to train in the spring.

The junior program has grown dramatically since the electrifying Argentinian took over. Students from all different schools in the county row together, form new bonds, and blossom. When teaching juniors how to row, safety is the priority. “It’s very safe, this place,” he says, referring to the club’s location.

Building trust, not only with the students but with their parents, is essential. Every new middle school rower receives a copy of Delaplaine’s Novice Rowing Guide for Parents. Sanchez writes a comment to each rower in his or her copy. Knowing every rower’s name and mannerisms, he equips them to problem-solve on the water. “When you are teaching, first you teach them what to do, second is you give them a problem they have to solve, like a boat coming with a big wake. Third, you need to tell them what they need to know to perform well. As a rowing coach you can get

Above: Hunter Coughlin, Alessio Mazzi, Aidan Powers, and Max Zych practice on the lagoon.

Below: Sofia Sturgell, Zadie Diniz, and Liliana Elliott spend afternoons on the water.

Left: Zadie Diniz prepares the boat for training.

Below: Head coach Julio Sanchez talks with rowers before getting onto the water.

and

“It’s been incredible to watch people come out of their shell and find their personality.”

ZADIE DINIZ

frustrated really quickly; most important is the empathy with the rowers,” he explains.

In knowing what motivates his rowers and their stories, Sanchez has a talent for assembling crews: “You do crews by the relationship with each other. If they are friends, they will row fast.”

Zadie Diniz, a 2024 graduate of Vero Beach High School, started rowing five years ago, in her seventhgrade year. “When I joined the team, I was one of four middle schoolers,” she explains at the boathouse before practice. “My best friend got me to row. We’ve been rowing ever since. We row lightweight together. Out of nine seniors, five have committed to college for rowing.” Diniz will be rowing for Stanford, her best

friend for Wisconsin—two collegiate rowing powerhouses.

“I think it’s been incredible to watch people come out of their shell and find their personality,” Diniz says of new junior rowers. “Julio, he’s really made sure there’s a sense of respect. He’s never tolerated a bad attitude. We appreciate each other. He’s always positive, with contagious energy, very welcoming right away. He makes everyone feel they can be very good at rowing. A lot of times, rowers are discouraged based on their height and build. Julio sees potential in everyone!”

Lajoie agrees: “Our cohort is ages 13 to 90. There’s a community for you! It’s friendships, we help each other out. It enriches your life. You can’t even imagine it.”

The Notre Dame women’s rowing team spent time in Vero Beach training for the spring season.

Kieko Coughlin powers through the water.

Left: Liliana, Zadie, Sofia,

Lorelei gather before practice.

JAMI MONTESANO

All About August

Here’s what’s hot with local businesses and organizations

IN WITH THE NEW

SEPTEMBER 3–21: ANNIVERSARY SALE AT VERNON SCOTT

Celebrating its 32nd year, Vernon Scott Resort Wear invites you to shop while enjoying discounts of 20 to 70 percent. Some exclusions apply. The store will be closed Sept. 22–30, so don’t miss out!

VERNON SCOTT RESORT WEAR

818 Beachland Blvd. | 772-231-3733 | vernonscott32963.com

OH, THE WEBS WE DESIGN JEWELRY STORE LAUNCHES NEW SITE

6th Avenue Jewelers is pleased to share its newly launched website. Learn about the store’s origin, fi nd contact information, and, of course, get a glimpse of gorgeous jewelry collections for a head start on what you’re shopping for.

6TH AVENUE JEWELERS

2040 Treasure Coast Plaza | 772-217-8985 | 6thavenuejewelers.com

VERO

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT

LOCAL DENTIST PURCHASES LONGTIME PRACTICE

Dr. Matthew Rolfes, who was born and raised right here on the Treasure Coast, recently purchased Dr. Denise Pieczynski’s dental practice. Together, they look forward to taking your smile to new heights at Altitude Dental.

ALTITUDE DENTAL

1625 20th St. | 772-567-7889 | altitudedentalfl.com

CAN’T RESIST

SHOWROOM OFFERS NEW COLLECTION

Visit the Designer’s Touch Flooring showroom to see the new Atelier Camelot carpet collection by Stanton. Not only is this collection stain safe with a 10-year pet-guard warranty, but it’s also durable and fade resistant, making it a carpet you can enjoy for years.

DESIGNER’S TOUCH FLOORING

1715 Old Dixie Hwy. | 772-978-9111 | designerstouchflooring.com

ART YOU GLAD

FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES DONATION UPDATE

The Windsor Charitable Foundation is pleased to announce that The Gallery at Windsor has raised $8,500 in donations made by visitors to this year’s exhibition by leading Costa Rican contemporary artist Federico Herrero. The exhibition presented a selection of the artist’s recent works.

THE GALLERY AT WINDSOR

3125 Windsor Blvd. 772-388-4071 windsorflorida.com/gallery

SUN FUN

DIGG GARDENS CARRYING BEACH ESSENTIALS

Beach time favorites are available at Digg Gardens, including this new zinc oxide sunscreen featuring colorless turmeric. Stop into the store to find what other fresh items you will want to toss into your beach bag.

DIGG GARDENS

7430 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-360-2131 | digggardens.com

TALKING TOLOSA

NEW INVENTORY AT SHOWROOM

Fresh at European Kitchen & Bath, this sink is handcrafted by NativeStone and offers an innovative, remarkably strong blend of cement and jute fiber. The Tolosa’s smooth surface, elegant design, and clean, oval shape show off the organic beauty of the concrete.

EUROPEAN KITCHEN & BATH

4003 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-494-2694 | europeansink.com

Anna Romer (docent), Jane Smalley (marketing director), Kevin Calica (gallery manager), Christine O’Dowd (docent), Frank Cassata (docent)

Among the many art pieces available at Fantastic Finds is this original seascape by accomplished and well-known English artist Joanne Last. Measuring 34 by 48 inches, this beautiful painting will surely enhance your coastal decor.

4300 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-794-7574 | fantastic-finds.com

UP THE NIGHT

4005 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-205-2529 | ledcapstone.com

PARISIAN PAINTER’S COLLECTION ON

28 3/4 x 36 1/4 inches

Visit Findlay Galleries to view a handsome collection of works by a master painter of Paris, Constantin Kluge. Each composition has balance and harmony supported by a beautifully crafted foundation of precise proportions, perspective, and form.

FINDLAY GALLERIES

165 Worth Ave., Palm Beach | 561-655-2090 | findlaygalleries.com

The new Flutter Tee by Erin

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL

INTRODUCING THE 2025 CADILLAC OPTIQ

The 2025 Cadillac Optiq offers an innovative, expressive interior and bold exterior design. It features an estimated 300 miles of range, standard dual-motor all-wheel drive, and superior cargo capacity and second-row spaciousness. For more information, contact Linus.

LINUS CADILLAC BUICK GMC 1401 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-562-1700 linusautomotive.com | linuscadillac.com

BOND

SHOP OFFERS PERMANENT JEWELRY

Gray

Yellow Awning by Constantin Kluge, oil on canvas,

STEP TO IT UPDATED FOOTWEAR OPTIONS

Palm Beach Sandals is excited to share a new feature for wedges and classic styles now available. In addition to the traditional leather sole, you can order a soft sole that provides cushion and comfort.

PALM BEACH SANDALS

3309 Ocean Drive | 772-226-5998 | pbsandals.com

SEEING A VIBE

NEW EYEWEAR AT SASSY

Sassy Boutique is excited to introduce a new sunglass line, Quay. This amazing, affordable collection was born in the vibrant festival scene and merges music and fashion to create trend-forward designer eyewear for any moment or mood.

SASSY BOUTIQUE

3365 Ocean Drive | 772-234-3998

WE’VE TRANSFORMED OUR SHOWROOM . Stop in to learn how we can help you transform your home.

UPHOLSTERY | FABRIC | DRAPERIES

Explore how Hunter Douglas window treatments transform the light in your home by defining the mood of your unique and beautiful space. We have an intelligent shade design for whatever you need or desire.

Additionally, let one of our master craftsmen create custom draperies, reupholster a treasured heirloom or recover the cushions of your watercraft and outdoor furniture.

1865 Wilbur Avenue | Vero Beach, FL 32960 772-567-1210 | rothinteriorswindowfashions.net

Open Monday – Friday from 9:00am to 4:30pm

Heritance® Hardwood Shutters

RESULTS ARE IN REALTOR ANNOUNCES TOP RANKING

Cathy Curley is very pleased to announce being ranked No. 3 in Vero Beach by Real Trends, the No. 1 verified real estate ranking company. Kudos to Curley for continuously striving for greatness and achieving it.

CATHY CURLEY

772-559-1359 | cathycurleyrealestate.com

NEW HEIGHTS

THE SOURCE PARTICIPATES IN AIR SHOW

The crew of The Source’s Dignity Food Truck was honored to be on hand at the Vero Beach Air Show in May, serving guests, staff, and performers, including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

THE SOURCE 1015 Commerce Ave. | 772-564-0202 | iamthesource.org

NO

MEAN

FLEET

YSF TAKES DELIVERY

YSF Community Sailing has acquired two brand-new Flying Scot sailboats, delivered personally by the boatbuilder’s co-owner Tyler Andrews. The boats were crafted in Deer Park, Maryland.

YSF COMMUNITY SAILING 17 17th St. | 772-492-3243 | ysfirc.org

Sous chef Dana, Lt. Cmdr. Griffin Stangel, kitchen manager Toni

JONATHAN OROZCO

CENTERED ON GROWTH

ASSOCIATION OPENS NEW SPACE

The Mental Health Association has opened the doors to its new Parent & Child Center. Services provided include child and teen psychiatry; therapeutic services; children’s, teen, and parent groups; and opportunities for skill building to promote academic and life skills.

MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION IN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY 840 37th Place | 772-569-9788 | mhairc.org

POSITIVELY MISSED

UNITED WAY COMMENDS JEFFREY PETERSEN

The United Way extends immense gratitude to Jeffery C. Petersen, senior vice president at Merrill Lynch, for his exemplary leadership during his time as board chair. With efficiency and an energetic spirit, Petersen helped lead the organization with the most positive attitude.

UNITED WAY FOUNDATION OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY 1836 14th Ave. | 772-569-8900 | unitedwayirc.org

VERY SPECIAL DELIVERIES

COMPANY TO HOST FOOD DRIVE

Coastal Van Lines will host a Move for Hunger food drive in September. The team will deliver boxes to participating local businesses and then collect nonperishable items to be donated to Treasure Coast Food Bank. Contact Brittany to become involved.

COASTAL VAN LINES

1622 91st Court 772-569-6683 coastalvanlines.com

Mario Santana, Jake Parks, Richie Sanchez, Suzanne Bolinger

AQUATIC ACCOLADES

MCKEE RECEIVES RECOGNITION PARTNER

The International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society has honored McKee Botanical Garden’s famed water lilies with the distinction of Certified Collection of Excellence, making it one of only seven in the world to be so designated.

MCKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN

350 U.S. Hwy. 1 | 772-794-0601 | mckeegarden.org

PORTABLE PRACTICE

TCCH MARKS FIRST PHASE OF MULTIYEAR EXPANSION PLAN

TCCH presents the Mobile Medical Unit and Mobile Dental Unit as part of its multiyear expansion plan, which aims

Both

and

| 772-257-8224 | tcchinc.org

Local Flavor

106

THE DISH

Chef Dan Overstreet prepares cuisine suitable to his surroundings.

THE DISH | OFF THE VINE

Gastronomy in the Garden

CHEF DAN OVERSTREET PREPARES CUISINE SUITABLE TO HIS SURROUNDINGS

BY CHRIS FASOLINO PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIM BOTTALICO

hen you think of McKee Botanical Garden, you probably think of water lilies, trees, and bamboo. However, you might also think of freshly prepared food and delicious pastries.

For Dan Overstreet, executive chef of McKee’s Garden Café, inspiration comes naturally. “Just to come here and breathe in the environment every day makes this a great opportunity,” he says.

As befits these surroundings, Overstreet favors seasonal menus, with an emphasis on spring and fall. “Being in the garden, I look for spring menu dishes that are like spring incarnate. The fall menu is a little heavier and more rustic.” For each season, freshness is key.

Some items are popular all year long, such as the honey-roasted pear salad. “People love it. It’s the sweetest salad you’ve had in your life, and the honey balsamic vinaigrette is made in-house.” And sweet as the honey and pears are, they are given counterpoint by the balsamic vinegar, making for a complex blend of flavors—and a signature Garden Café dish.

Artisan flatbreads, including one that features a pesto base along with grilled chicken, grape tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and applewood smoked bacon, get their own section of the menu.

Overstreet brings wide experience to the venue, stating dryly, “I’ve been in the restaurant business since age 1.” His grandparents owned a restaurant in a rural North Florida town and passed it on to his mother. “So, basically, I was born and raised in the restaurant.”

He adds that since his father was a commercial fisherman, the family restaurant always had fresh seafood. “It wasn’t necessarily farm to table, but it was sea to table.”

Overstreet eventually decided to embrace his heritage by pursuing culinary arts himself—though he did move on from the “little itty-bitty town in North Florida” where the family restaurant had been located.

Sea Oaks is part of his Vero Beach résumé, and it was at its clubhouse that he learned the art of pastry. “Our pastry chef had quit,” he recalls. Overstreet stepped into the breach—reluctantly at first, but he found he loved it. “I thought I was going to be a pastry chef for the rest of my life.” Even now, as executive chef, he keeps his hand in the pastry game, making croissants and other treats featured at the Garden Café.

When he first arrived at the café, Overstreet says, “I read the room and realized people just want good food done right.” Along with the beautiful environment just outside the café door, that philosophy is the essence of garden cuisine.

Chef Dan Overstreet embraces the atmosphere of the garden while pleasing visitors with his freshly prepared food.

Citrus Infused Pork Loin

This is used for the Garden Café’s popular Cubano sandwiches, but it’s also great sliced as an entrée.

SERVES

4

1/2 boneless pork loin (1–2 lbs.)

2 tbsp. granulated garlic

2 1/2 tbsp. kosher salt

2 tbsp. black pepper

2 tbsp. cumin

2 tbsp. oregano

2 tbsp. coriander

1 tbsp. chili powder

1/2 tbsp. smoked paprika

1 medium orange, sliced

1 medium lime, sliced

1 medium lemon, sliced

Place pork loin on a half sheet pan with a resting rack. Clean any excess fat with a sharp knife. In a bowl, combine garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, coriander, chili powder, and smoked paprika; mix until well combined.

Rub spice mixture all over the pork loin, making sure the entire loin is evenly coated (you may have excess pork rub left).

Using the sliced citrus, evenly place lemon, lime, and orange slices all over the pork loin, covering as much of the top and sides as possible. Carefully wrap pork loin with aluminum foil, while not allowing the citrus to fall off the loin.

Cook at 325 degrees Fahrenheit 40–50 minutes (depending on size of loin) until an internal temperature of 145 degrees is reached. Allow loin to rest at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Honey-Roasted Pear Salad

The distinctive and famously sweet salad is given counterpoint by the goat cheese and balsamic vinegar.

SERVES 4

4 d’Anjou pears (Bosc pears will do as a substitute)

1 cup local honey

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tbsp. canola oil

16 oz. spring mix

6 oz. crumbled goat cheese

1 lb. applewood smoked bacon (cooked and chopped)

6 oz. pralines (1/4 segments are best)

Dark balsamic dressing

In a 2-inch half-size hotel pan, add canola oil to coat bottom of pan. Peel and core the pears, cut each pear into 4 large segments, and then slice very thinly (1/4 –1/8 inch).

Add pears to pan, then add honey, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir together until well combined.

Cook in a preheated oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit (low fan for convection ovens) 20–25 minutes. Once finished cooking, use a colander to strain the excess juice, place back in hotel pan, and chill for about an hour.

Using a large salad bowl, drop in the spring mix, making sure to fluff the lettuce. Add chilled honey-roasted pears to the center of the spring mix. At the 12 o’clock position of the bowl, add the crumbled goat cheese. At the 6 o’clock position, add the chopped bacon pieces. Place pralines at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions.

Serve with your choice of dark balsamic dressing.

SIDE DISH

Banana Crunch Muffins

“There you have it!” says Overstreet of this recipe, confident he is sharing the secrets of a prized dessert.

YIELDS 10 MUFFINS

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/4 cup sour cream

4–5 bananas (depending on size), sliced

1 1/2 cups granola, chopped 1/2 cup baking sugar

10 muffin cups (tulip muffin cups preferred)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix well until fully combined.

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt until fully combined. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture. Using the stand mixer on medium speed, mix until smooth. Fold in sour cream and sliced bananas until fully combined.

Place muffin cups in a large muffin pan. Using an ice cream scoop, carefully dis-

tribute banana mixture into each muffin cup, making sure not to fill more than 3/4 of the way. Sprinkle with granola and baking sugar.

Bake at a preheated 325 degrees Fahrenheit (with low fan on for convection ovens) 15 minutes, turn, and bake another 15–17 minutes. Using a toothpick, stab the center of a centrally located muffin, and if it comes out clean the muffins are done. Let cool 10 minutes, then place on resting rack to fully cool.

OFF THE VINE

SPANISH WINE

Vine Arts

BY CHRIS FASOLINO

It was about two decades ago now that a restaurateur in New York, who had won a Wine Spectator award, told me that Spanish wines were underappreciated in the American market. Today, the appreciation has increased, but there is still room for growth; in my opinion, there is no reason why Spanish varieties like Tempranillo and Monastrell should not be just as widely known as familiar French/ international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. e antiquity of Spain’s wine traditions is impressive. e Carthaginians were planting vines there even before the Romans took over. When the Romans later declared that “Carthage must be destroyed,” they had no intention of destroying the Spanish vineyards, just taking them over. Spain became a prosperous and important province of the Roman Empire, and Spanish wine was enjoyed in Italy, France, and on the northern frontier of England. Indeed, one of the ancient world’s most important wine columnists—well, wine writers, that is—was Spanish.

FOR FOUR GENERATIONS, THE LÓPEZ DE HEREDIA FAMILY HAS CULTIVATED THE GRAPES OF SPAIN’S RIOJA REGION

During the Middle Ages, Spanish wine continued to be valued in England; in fact, a barrel of ne Spanish wine would fetch an equal or higher price in London than a barrel of ne wine from key French regions. Of course, this amicable trade was eventually disrupted by Henry VIII’s divorce from the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, and then, in the time of Elizabeth I, by the dramatic con ict with the Spanish Armada.

roughout history, a key region in Spanish winemaking has been Rioja. e name comes from the river Oja; “Rioja” is actually a contraction of Rio Oja. A ne way to sample the region’s richness is with the wines of Viña Tondonia, or, in full, R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia. is fourth-generation familyrun winery dates back to 1877, and its architecture is characterized by a famous observation tower with the Basque name of

Right: R. López de Heredia Vi ñ a Tondonia began making wine nearly 150 years ago. Below: The Rioja region looms large in the history of Spanish winemaking.

Txori Toki, “Birdhouse.” As one might expect, this winery maintains a traditional Rioja style, combining elegance with depth.

Its Reserva from 2011 (readily available at ABC or online) features Tempranillo complemented by Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo, thereby showcasing Spanish varieties; it all makes for a wine that has a texture like silk and rich flavor notes of balsamic vinegar, blackberry, and espresso. This wine would pair well with gamey dishes such as lamb or venison, or with roasted eggplant for a vegetarian option.

The vineyard also has “Gran Reservas” which are true collector’s wines from historic vintages.

The gold wire that wraps the bottles befits the heritage and elegance of these Spanish wines. To find treasure, look for the glint of gold—and the name “Rioja.”

Many wineries are concentrated in the medieval town of Haro, Spain.

Full Circle

Vero Beach natives Lily Elizabeth O’Dare and Evan Phillip Brown celebrated their marriage October 7, 2023 in an outdoor ceremony in Wolf Laurel, North Carolina. Having eloped locally to Quail Valley at The Pointe February 11, they were then joined by close family and friends and surrounded by beautiful fall foliage and their favorite mountains for their “forest

fairy tale” wedding.

It was a familiar setting, as Lily had grown up visiting Wolf Laurel, and Evan had proposed on Bald Mountain.

The bride is the daughter of Cindy O’Dare and Rory O’Dare of Vero Beach and a graduate of Vero Beach High School. She obtained a bachelor of arts in creative writing from the University of Miami and works as a Realtor with the O’Dare Boga Dobson

Group at One Sotheby’s Realty in Vero Beach.

The groom is the son of Sherry and Richard Brown of Vero Beach. After graduating from Sebastian River High School, he earned a bachelor of arts in finance and marketing from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of North Florida. He is employed in business intelligence at McKesson.

Oddly enough, despite being the same age in the same town, the pair did not meet until they returned to Vero Beach as adults after having lived away for several years.

For their honeymoon, the newlyweds toured France for two weeks by car, visiting the Alps and Provence.

The couple settled in their mutual hometown of Vero Beach.

LILY ELIZABETH O’DARE & EVAN PHILLIP BROWN

Mr. and Mrs. Evan Brown

SARAH SYKES PHOTOGRAPHY

Above: The bride enjoys a happy moment with her sister, Katie, at the lake they often visited as children.

Below center: The vintage A-frame cabin on the property, once owned by the bride’s mother, Cindy, is now owned by Lily and Evan.

Below, fall foliage makes a magical backdrop for the wedding party: Martin Arnold, Katie O’Dare, Rory O’Dare, Cindy O’Dare, the bride and groom, Sherry and Richard Brown, Tyler Brown, and Bethany and Xavier Pellicer

A work of art inspired by the delicate nature and beauty of florals.

FLORA WALL SCONCE | BY HINKLEY

Happy Occasions

LOCAL RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY CELEBRATIONS

Ribbon Cutting

GRAND HARBOR GOLF & BEACH CLUB

More than 300 people assembled March 26 to share in the excitement as Grand Harbor unveiled its Beach Club, which has been transformed by a $6 million renovation. Wine and champagne flowed as guests enjoyed sushi and hors d’oeuvres and gathered around the centerpiece of the project—an elevated poolside bar. The enhancements were undertaken to ensure that the Beach Club would be a social hub for Grand Harbor members.

Club president Tom Kruger addresses the guests.

General manager Michael Gibson speaks before the ribbon cutting. Grand Harbor’s chefs prepared a scrumptious sushi selection.

BOB JOY

Pool, sea, and sky set the stage.

Geam Ramos, Romel Blanza, Rico Hosena, Donna Rainbow, Joel Brown, Walter Ruiz, Shain Rodrigues

Linda Begley, Cindy Loe

David and Susan Cearley

Marco Osorio, Claudia Oropeza

2024 LYRIQ RWD TECH

2024 XT4 LUXURY

2024 XT5 LUXURY

Angels Dinner

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY

The three clubs of BGCIRC held their 22nd annual Angels Dinner March 12 at the Vero Beach club on 17th Avenue. The event is a major fundraiser, and it gives the clubs’ students a chance to meet their benefactors and give them a tour of the club. This year’s theme was “Painting a brighter future, together,” and club members acted as “docents,” showing their artistic creations to BGCIRC supporters.

Major sponsors:

Wendy and Chase Carey; John’s Island Real Estate; Block & Scarpa; Sara Campbell; Janet and Tom Caputo; Susan and Paul Hanson; Susie Hunter and Doug Watson

John Dudzik, Dakota

Daphne, Susie Hunter

Emerson; Ginger and Glenn DeSimone

Leslie Hodges, Michael Moriarty David Gorian, Jaquan Pledger

Youth of the Year Angela Paul and Susan Hanson

Wendy Carey

BGCIRC members sing “A Million Dreams.”

MARTINA'S PHOTOGRAPHY

Jazz Under the Stars

ST. FRANCIS MANOR

On a beautiful evening in the middle of March, guests and residents gathered on the campus of St. Francis Manor to enjoy a variety of jazz music performed by the Indian River Charter High School Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dave Mundy. This annual event is a “friend-raiser” to introduce people to the manor, which provides affordable housing to seniors aged 62 and older living on a limited income.

Karolyne Lucero, Linda Colontrelle, Judy Stephens

St. Francis Manor residents Winston and Mike

SFM resident Helen with Bonnie Matz

Arlene and Dave Katz

Dave Mundy with SFM resident Gerry

Alex and Jordanne Musil (with Ronan), Grace Lamothe, Gwen Zorc, Margi and Steve Henderson Vero Beach Charter High School Jazz Ensemble

VILLAGE SHOPS

“I cannot live without books.”

– THOMAS JEFFERSON

“You do crews by the relationship with each other. If they are friends, they will row fast.”

– JULIO SANCHEZ,

“Oar Stories,” p. 86

Approximately one in four Americans—50 million men and 30 million women—have androgenetic alopecia, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. More than 66 percent of men experience this hereditary form of pattern balding by age 60. Similarly, more than half of postmenopausal women exhibit some degree of female pattern hair loss. Treatments are so effective we guarantee results!

THE GOOD NEWS

This is highly treatable if caught early.

IN THE VILLAGE SHOPS | 6130 N. A1A | 772-234-1499

THE SCENE

Cause for Paws

HUMANE SOCIETY OF VERO BEACH & INDIAN RIVER COUNTY

For the 40th year, HSVB held its largest annual fundraising event, this time raising more than $350,000 to support its mission of making our community better for people and animals. Guests gathered at Oak Harbor to enjoy cocktails, gourmet cuisine, a live auction, and heartfelt stories of HSVB’s life-changing and life-saving accomplishments. “It’s wonderful that our community supports the work we are doing,” says Liz Smokowski, impressed by her first Cause for Paws as HSVB’s new CEO.

The Schwiering family: James, Jonathan, Jane, and Jordan

Liz Smokowski, Susan Smith

HSVB staff and adoptable dogs stand ready to greet the guests.

HSVB veterinary tech Faith Bohannon helps with the live auction.

The crowd laughs as Rob Kusch bids.

Oak Harbor’s clubhouse, adorned amusingly for the event

Athena Society Dinner

VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART

Four artworks were under consideration as VBMA’s Athena Society met April 19 for its annual dinner and selection of the next addition to the museum’s permanent collection. After lively conversation, the group voted to acquire Modiste (Spanish Girl, Madrid), 1906 by American painter Robert Henri. Born Robert Henry Cozad in 1865 in Ohio, Henri became one of the founders of the loosely organized “Ashcan School,” an artistic point of view that focused on realistic, even “gritty,” aspects of urban life.

Buff Penrose, Rhonda Sherwood, Pat Thompson, Brady Roberts, Susan Bouma

Rohit and Katharine Desai, George Higgs

Modiste (Spanish Girl, Madrid), 1906 by Robert Henri Cindy and Mark Galant

Gordon Brunner, Mary Ellen Brophy

Nancy Brewster, Don and Mary Blair

Randy and Sandy Rolf

DENISE RITCHIE

THE SCENE

Entrepreneur of the Year

IRSC FOUNDATION

Vero Beach businessman William “Bill” Marine was recognized in April with the Indian River State College Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Richardson Center on IRSC’s Mueller Campus in Vero Beach. Over his long and distinguished business career, Marine has exhibited something of a Midas touch, launching and growing numerous companies in a variety of fields. He has also placed a high priority on philanthropy. In bestowing the award, IRSC president Timothy Moore referred to Marine’s status as a role model in the community.

Chris and Debby Marine, Elena and Doug Marine

Friends, family members, and dignitaries honor Bill Marine.

IRSC president Tim Moore presents the award to Bill Marine.

Marilyn McConnell, Todd Fennell

Gina Marine Kondziola addresses the guests.

The extended Marine family surrounds Entrepreneur of the Year Bill Marine, who sits with his wife, Pat, and mother, Lucy.

Citrus Golf Tournament UNITED WAY

Sandridge Golf Club provided a picturesque setting for the United Way of Indian River County’s 38th annual Citrus Golf Tournament held at the end of April. As always, this long-standing fundraiser brought out lots of spirited but friendly competition. Rusty Banack and Martin Bireley served as the event’s co-chairs.

Major sponsors:

Gould Cooksey Fennell; Bernard A. Egan Foundation; The Hill Group

Martin Bireley, Rusty Banack, Scott Turner, Tom Mackie

Team Northern Trust: Shane Rasnick, David Johnson, Evan English, Robert Ball

Marine Bank’s foursome: Glenn Kupsch, Kevin Lambert, Richard Giessert, Matt Barth

SouthState Bank’s team: Mike Marshall, Chris Bieber, Brett Barnhardt, Rob Pregnolato

The team from Riverfront Packing: Kevin Koppelman, Justin Tedder, Tom Mitchell, Kevin Streetman

The team representing Florida Floor Fashions: Vinny Keeler, Rob Segroves, Ray Hengerer, Roger Walker

Bernard A. Egan Foundation representatives Teddy Combs Jr., Ted Combs, Matt Combs, Jimmy Pennington

THE SCENE

And they’re off!

Chase Your Tail 5K

HALO NO-KILL SHELTER

Walk for Life

CARE NET PREGNANCY CENTER

More than 300 walkers turned out in April to take part in Care Net’s 40th annual Walk for Life at Riverside Park. Walkers raised over $70,000 to fund Care Net’s outreach, which includes both emotional and material pregnancy support and parenting resources. Christ Fellowship’s food truck fueled the walkers with breakfast sandwiches, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice kept everyone cool, Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice provided juice, and Ryanwood Fellowship ran a water station to keep walkers hydrated.

Major sponsors:

The Amico family; Audrey’s Feed and Tack Store; Availit—Sam Schultz; Busy Been Lawn & Garden Center—Tina Nelson; Lambert Commercial Realty; Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice; Oceans Unite Christian Centre; the Featherston family; Marine Connection; Mattress Market—Janice and Steve Milesic; Trinity Episcopal Church; Kim and Paul Westcott

A gorgeous morning in April set the scene for 425 supporters of HALO as they set out on the seventh annual Chase Your Tail 5K. Many runners and walkers were accompanied by their four-legged friends for this event, which became HALO’s most successful 5K yet.

Local Sponsors:

Busy Bee Lawn & Garden Center; Coco’s Consignment; Dale Sorensen Real Estate; Einstein Bros. Bagels, Vero Beach; My Florida Roofing Contractor; Page 2 Design; Glendale Properties; Indian River Seafood Market; Jong’s Produce; The Ice Shanty; the Keenan Family; Kneady by Nature; Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice; Roseland McDonald’s; Sebastian Daily; Smith Services; Jennifer Sartori; Carol and Dean Tapp; Vision Plus

Bonnie Martinelli announces the raffle winners.

Melissa Hunt and Christi Wade lead the walk routes.

Walkers of all ages celebrate life on a spring day.

Allyson King, Colin McAdams, Jacque Petrone

5K on four legs

Jacque Petrone, Jan Howington

Love of Literacy Luncheon

LITERACY SERVICES OF IRC

Members and supporters of Literacy Services gathered at Bent Pine Golf Club in March to honor its Students of the Year, Glenn and Silvia. The event also serves as the nonprofit’s major annual fundraiser. Author Will Schwalbe was on hand to deliver the keynote address. Interviewed by LSIRC vice president Lauren Michaels, he entertained and inspired the assembled guests with his engaging storytelling and his love of literature. Schwalbe is the author of four nonfiction books, including The End of Your Life Book Club and Books for Living

Sponsors:

Lulich & Attorneys; Bruce Estate Law; Art Ryan (Ryan Family Foundation); Barbara and Dick Detwiler; Dingwall Architecture; Dom & Julie Restuccia; Florida Power & Light; Marlen and George Higgs (in honor of Don Mann); Mary Arnold and Kent Jones; Minuteman Press; the family of Don Mann; Vero Beach Mitsubishi; Wanda Lincoln

Letters of Intent

VERO BEACH ROWING

Five talented young rowers gathered at Vero Beach Rowing’s Toffey Boathouse in April to sign letters of intent committing to some impressive institutions of higher learning. Samara Coakley plans to study biology on a premed track at the University of Virginia. Liliana Elliott has her sights set on becoming a Badger prelaw student, studying art history at the University of Wisconsin. Both Aidan Powers and Lorelei Carter are headed to Embry-Riddle, where Aidan will tackle computational mathematics and Lorelei aerospace physiology. Zadie Diniz is set to major in symbolic systems with an emphasis in cognitive science at Stanford University. Best wishes to all five in their studies and their rowing!

JoAnn Hitt, Lorna Stengel, Lauren Michaels

Lauren Michaels interviews Will Schwalbe

Dr. Ana Taveras, Luisa and Lazaro Lopez

Jane Bentley, Glenn Brown, Elida Gomez

Lorelei Carter, Zadie Diniz, Aidan Powers, Liliana Elliott, Samara Coakley

Liliana Elliott with family and friends Matt, Aidan, and Shyla Powers

Zadie Diniz with her family

Artsy August

IT’S A COLORFUL SUMMER IN VERO BEACH AND BEYOND

‘MAKING A SPLASH’

AUGUST 1–31

Chicago native Joseph Sundwall studied in New York City and London and became an accomplished portrait painter. Later, he added equestrian and other animal subjects to his repertoire as well as landscapes and still lifes. Sundwall is a traditional realist who completes each section of a painting in a single sitting—a style called “alla prima” or “direct painting.” Though he resides primarily in New York, he has painted numerous Vero Beach landscapes, birds, and beach scenes.

J.M. Stringer Gallery of Fine Art

3465 Ocean Drive

772-231-3900

jmstringergallery.com

ONGOING EVENTS

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL BILLBOARDS

Through September 1

From the late 1960s to the early ’80s, hand-painted 14-by-48-foot wood-panel rock ‘n’ roll billboards adorned L.A.’s Sunset Strip. Many were captured by young photographer Robert Landau and can be seen in the exhibition “Rock ‘n’ Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip: Photographs by Robert Landau” on display this summer at VBMA.

Vero Beach Museum of Art

3001 Riverside Park Drive

772-231-0707

vbmuseum.org

Peliconvention by Joseph Sundwall, oil on linen, 16 x 40 inches

Sunset Strip, 1979, photographed by Robert Landau

‘SUMMER

SELECTIONS’

AUGUST 1–SEPTEMBER 10

Findlay Galleries presents “Summer Selections,” an exhibition of works from its stable of contemporary artists as well as its vast collections of Impressionism, Modernism, l’École de Rouen, l’École de Paris, and 20th-century American art. This month’s focus is on Simeon Braguin, whose life, like his paintings, was quite colorful. Born in Ukraine in 1907, he was brought to New York by his parents after the outbreak of the Russian Revolution. He became an illustrator for Vogue and rose to the position of art director. During World War II, he served as a reconnaissance photographer for the Allies. He died in 1997.

Findlay Galleries

165 Worth Ave., Palm Beach 561-655-2090 findlaygalleries.com

‘GOING ON SEVENTEEN’

Through September 27

In anticipation of its 17th season, Gallery 14 presents “Going on Seventeen: Summertime at Gallery 14,” an exhibition of the latest works by its eight artist-owners. Art by the gallery’s 11 represented artists is also on view. Receptions will take place during the First Friday Gallery Strolls Aug. 2 and Sept. 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. During August and September, the gallery will be open only during the strolls and by appointment.

Gallery 14

1911 14th Ave. 772-562-5525

gallery14verobeach.com

Sb. 1998.225 Part #9 by Simeon Braguin, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 42 inches

Down by the Sea by Dorothy Napp Schindel, mixed media collage, 30 x 30 inches

GALLERY GUIDE

ART AT THE EMERSON

The Emerson Center’s gallery shows works by local artists in six themed exhibitions per year.

1590 27th Ave.

772-778-5880 artattheemerson.com

ARTISTS GUILD GALLERY

This cooperative-owned fine art gallery offers works in diverse styles and media by its ownerartists as well as associate and consignor artists.

1974 14th Ave.

772-299-1234 artistsguildgalleryofvero beach.com

ART WORKS

Various U.S. artists are featured, representing a range of styles. Classes, art parties, and other events are available.

2036 14th Ave., Suite 106 772-559-5230 artworksofvero.com

ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER

The Lagoon and Tidal Rooms are dedicated to nature-related art.

255 Live Oak Drive

772-589-5050 discoverelc.org

FINDLAY GALLERIES

Renowned globally for its distinguished roster of contemporary and abstract artists,

GALLERY VERITAS

This gallery has periodic exhibitions and adjoins a working studio housing seven artists and an art library.

1422 20th St. 323-547-1188 thegalleryveritas.com

J.M. STRINGER

GALLERY OF FINE ART

The gallery offers worldwide collections of original paintings, objets d’art, sculptures, and select antique furnishings.

3465 Ocean Drive 772-231-3900 jmstringergallery.com

THE LAUGHING DOG GALLERY

The vast showroom offers works from more than 350 contemporary American craftsmen who create art glass, ceramics, sculpture, furniture, and fine art jewelry.

and outdoor scenes and seascapes by two additional artists.

3349 Ocean Drive, Suite 8 772-579-7667 eliseartist.com oceandrivegalleryverobeach.com

PALM HOUSE STUDIO & GALLERY

The work of several awardwinning artists is featured, and commissions are welcome.

3227 Ocean Drive, 2nd floor 772-231-6816 palmhousegallery.com

RAW SPACE

This innovative alternative cultural venue promotes a spectrum of artistic disciplines.

1795 Old Dixie Hwy. 305-213-9411 artconceptalternative.org

the gallery specializes in 19th- and 20th-century Impressionism, European Modernism, l’Ecole de Rouen, l’Ecole de Paris, and 20thcentury American art.

165 Worth Ave., Palm Beach 561-655-2090 findlaygalleries.com

THE GALLERIES AT FIRST PRES

This venue displays the works of local artists in quarterly threeartist installments.

520 Royal Palm Blvd. 772-562-9088 firstpresvero.org

GALLERY 14

The gallery features a diverse array of works in a variety of media by its eight owner-artists, along with represented artists and rotating monthly guests.

1911 14th Ave. 772-562-5525 gallery14verobeach.com

THE GALLERY AT WINDSOR

This independent art space annually invites curators of museum-quality shows of contemporary art.

3125 Windsor Blvd. 772-388-4071 windsorflorida.com/the-gallery

2910 Cardinal Drive 772-234-6711 thelaughingdoggallery.com

LOPRESTI ART GALLERY

This gallery and studio features the work of versatile husbandand-wife artists David LoPresti and Leah Blythe.

927 7th Ave. 772-538-1454 loprestiartgallery.com

MAIN STREET VERO BEACH

STUDIOS AND GALLERY

The handcrafted jewelry of Clair Brunetti, who creates custom works and repairs and updates older pieces, is showcased.

2036 14th Ave. 772-643-6782 mainstreetverobeach.org

MEGHAN CANDLER GALLERY

This friendly, uplifting gallery has a beautifully curated collection of paintings by more than 40 contemporary artists of the abstract, Impressionist, and realistic styles.

6160 Hwy. A1A Village Shops 772-234-8811 meghancandlergallery.com

OCEAN DRIVE GALLERY

The oil abstracts of Elise Geary and representational narrative paintings by Jill Kerwick are featured, along with acrylic rural

SEBASTIAN RIVER ART CLUB

The club offers classes, demonstrations, workshops, and art shows.

1245 Main St., Sebastian 772-321-9333 sebastianriverartclub.com

SEVENTH AVENUE STUDIO

The gallery features the abstract art paintings of Rita Barone and the varied works of Janet Kipp Tribus.

2304 7th Ave. Barone: 772-359-6283 Tribus: 772-766-0636

VERO BEACH ART CLUB

This independent nonprofit serves more than 500 members and the community through education, exhibitions, social events, and monthly meetings with special programs and guest artists.

1903 14th Ave. 772-217-3345 verobeachartclub.org

VERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART

The largest accredited art facility on the Treasure Coast, VBMA presents international exhibitions from lenders and from its permanent collection, also offering classes, lectures, film studies, concerts, children’s programs and interactive Art Zone, sculpture parks, and museum store.

3001 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-0707 vbmuseum.org

Tusk vessels by David Russell, blown glass, 19 inches tall, at The Laughing Dog Gallery

GOING ON SEVENTEEN Summertime at Gallery 14

GALLERY RECEPTION

August 2 and September 6 from 5-8pm “Seagrapes” by

Judy Mercer

1911 14th Avenue, Vero Beach • 772.562.5525 • gallery14verobeach.com GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday–Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm g a l l e r y 14

“We’re trying to preserve that heart of Gifford for generations to come.” – JONNIE MAE PERRY, “Living Legacies,” p. 80

GREAT BLUE by Barbara du Pont

GIANT BLUE HERONS by Barbara Landry

Swing into Action

AUGUST IS ENTERTAINING IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK

TAerial Antics

The talented youngsters of the City of Vero Beach Recreation Department’s Centerstage Acrobatic program will show off their skills at the annual Aerial Antics Youth Circus August 1, 2, and 3 at 7 p.m. This year marks the 50th that this program has been enriching the lives of young people in the community; some of the acrobats performing are secondgeneration Centerstage members! In celebration of this milestone, the show will recreate some of the favorite routines from prior years. The event will be held at the facilities of Saint Edward’s School (1895 Saint Edward’s Drive), and tickets are just $7–$8. For more information, contact the city’s Recreation Department: 772-770-3775/covb.org.

Clear the Shelters Event

TAs part of the nationwide Clear the Shelters campaign, initiated in 2015 and sponsored by NBCUniversal Local and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the Humane Society of Vero Beach & Indian River County will participate in this major one-day event. If you have been thinking about adopting a pet, August 25 is the day to do it: all adoption fees will be waived at HSVB on that day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (or until the shelter is cleared). All are welcome to visit HSVB at 6230 77th St., meet the potential adoptees, and enjoy prizes, giveaways, and shaved ice from the Kona Ice truck. For more information, contact HSVB at 772-388-3331 or hsvb.org.

Above: Pontoon boat Discovery Le : Johnson Sea Link submersible

Harbor Branch Tours

Land or lagoon—take your pick! FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (5600 N. U.S. Hwy. 1, Fort Pierce) offers fascinating 1 1/2-hour tours of both its 144-acre campus and the nearby Indian River Lagoon. Campus tram tours, available every Tuesday–Saturday at 1 p.m., cover HBOI’s history and research and offer a photo op with the legendary Johnson Sea Link submersible. The cost is $25. For an up-close look at some of HBOI’s marine research, guests can board the pontoon boat Discovery Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m. for a cost of $40. To register for a tour or to learn more, call 772-242-2293 or see fau.edu/hboi.

AUGUST

COMEDY ZONE & LIVE IN THE LOOP

In addition to the comics (Friday and Saturday, 6 and 8 p.m., $25) and rock/oldies bands (Friday and Saturday, 5:30–9 p.m., free), Riverside Theatre has added some Thursday Live in the Loop dates for fans of jazz and blues music. Also Aug. 8, 15, and 22; 5:30–8 p.m.; free Riverside Theatre 3250 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-6990 riversidetheatre.com

AUGUST

PIGEONWING DANCE

Master choreographer Gabrielle Lamb and her company, Pigeonwing Dance, will present two performances of Lamb’s Rising, a work that combines dance, live music, and the spoken word in a meditation on the environment and man’s relationship with our planet’s oceans. Also Aug. 3, 7 p.m., $40–$50

Ballet Vero Beach at Riverside Theatre 3250 Riverside Park Drive 772-269-1065 balletverobeach.org

RECURRING EVENTS

EVERY SATURDAY

FARMERS MARKET

Browse the wares of more than two dozen vendors at the Vero Beach Farmers Market, at the corner of Ocean Drive and Dahlia Lane. 8 a.m.–noon

Business Inspiring Kindness 2901 Ocean Drive verobeachfarmersmarket.com

EVERY FIRST FRIDAY

FIRST FRIDAY GALLERY STROLL

Enjoy a summer evening stroll with plenty of art galleries, restaurants, and cafés to visit. Aug. 2 and Sept. 6, 5–8 p.m.

Main Street Vero Beach Downtown along 14th Avenue

772-643-6782 mainstreetverobeach.org

EVERY LAST FRIDAY

DOWNTOWN FRIDAY

Enjoy a community street party with live music, street vendors, and food trucks. Aug. 30, 6–9 p.m., free

Main Street Vero Beach Downtown along 14th Avenue 772-643-6782 mainstreetverobeach.org

EVERY LAST SATURDAY

VBMA FREE ADMISSION

Admission is free for everyone on the last Saturday of each month. Aug. 31, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Vero Beach Museum of Art

3001 Riverside Park Drive

772-231-0707 vbmuseum.org

CALENDAR

AUGUST 3

DANCE FESTIVAL

A performance on the Stark Main Stage will be the culmination of an intensive summer study program pairing local theater students aged 10 and up with instructors from New York’s Pigeonwing Dance, who will be in residence at Riverside Theatre for two weeks. Ballet Vero Beach joins the theater in presenting this opportunity. All are welcome to view the showcase. 2 p.m., free

Riverside Theatre

3250 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-6990 riversidetheatre.com

AUGUST 10

PLAYTIME IN THE PARK

Little ones will enjoy a theater presentation on the outdoor Loop Stage. On August 17, the dance segment of this educational program will be showcased. No preregistration is required. 11 a.m., free Riverside Theatre

3250 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-6990 riversidetheatre.com

AUGUST 17

‘ART OF THE MUSIC VIDEO’

In conjunction with the “Rock ’N’ Roll Billboards” exhibition, VBMA presents Xaque Gruber with a program called “The Evolutionary Art of the Music Video: Rock and Roll and Beyond.” From ’60s videos

that were groundbreaking in their day, through a variety of innovations, Gruber will discuss the role of the music video as a dynamic form of artistic expression. 1:30 p.m., $12 members/$15 nonmembers

Vero Beach Museum of Art 3001 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-0707, ext. 116 vbmuseum.org

AUGUST 18

DRUM WORKSHOP

Students in grades 3 through 12 are invited to learn about traditional Japanese taiko drumming—its history, techniques, and interpretation. Preregistration is required. 11 a.m.–1 p.m. or 2–4 p.m., $60

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach 561-495-0233 morikami.org

PIRATES OF PENZANCE

The Space Coast Symphony Orchestra will be joined by Central Florida Vocal Arts in presenting a

TBackstage Tours

On September 6 and other select Fridays throughout the year, Riverside Theatre offers the public a peek behind the red curtain. These entertaining and informative tours last about an hour and vary depending on which production is in the works. The cost is just $5, and participants can choose morning (10–11 a.m.) or afternoon (2–3 p.m.) sessions. Call the box office (772-2316990) or visit riversidetheatre. com to obtain more information or sign up for a tour.

fully staged production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. 3 p.m., flexible pricing

Space Coast Symphony Orchestra at VBHS Performing Arts Center 1707 16th St. 855-252-7276

spacecoastsymphony.org

AUGUST 31

‘GOOD DAY SUNSHINE STATE’

Orlando-based broadcast journalist and author Bob Kealing draws on a wealth of primary sources for this lecture on the Beatles’ 1964 visit to Florida. The talk will lend a local element to VBMA’s current exhibition, “Rock ’N’ Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip.” 3 p.m., free Vero Beach Museum of Art 3001 Riverside Park Drive 772-231-0707, ext. 116 vbmuseum.org

SEPTEMBER 1

‘BIG BAND FAVORITES’

Retired U.S. Air Force saxophonist Andrew Cleaver will direct the Space Coast Symphony Jazz Orchestra in a program of hits from artists of the Big Band era, including Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie. 3 p.m., flexible pricing

Space Coast Symphony Orchestra at The Emerson Center 1590 27th Ave. 855-252-7276 spacecoastsymphony.org

ONGOING EVENTS

THROUGH AUGUST 4

SOMETHING ROTTEN

This comedy, with book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell and music by Karey Kirkpatrick and his brother Wayne, tells the farcical story of two 16th-century playwright brothers working in the shadow of William Shakespeare. Friday 7:30 p.m., Saturday 2 and 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m.; $17.50–$40

Vero Beach Theatre Guild 2020 San Juan Ave. 772-562-8300 verobeachtheatreguild.com

STEVEN MARTINE

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

The Directory

ARCHITECTS

MOULTON LAYNE PL 772-234-0445 moultonlayne.com 21

AR T GALLERIES & FINE ART

ARTISTS GUILD GALLERY

772-299-1234

artistsguildgalleryofverobeach.com 13 5

FINDLAY GALLERIES

561-655-2090

findlaygalleries.com 9

GA LLERY 14

772-562-5525

gallery14verobeach.com ................ 135

J .M. STRINGER GALLERY OF FINE ART

772-231-3900 jmstringergallery.com 18

TH E LAUGHING DOG GALLERY

772-234-6711

thelaughingdoggallery.com ............... 16

MEGHAN CANDLER GALLERY

772-234-8811

meghancandlergallery.com 123

O CEAN DRIVE GALLERY

772-579-7667

oceandrivegalleryverobeach.com ....... 130

ATTORNEYS

GOULD COOKSEY FENNELL 772-231-1100 gouldcooksey.com 95

LU LICH & ATTORNEYS

772-589-5500 lulich.com .............................. 2, 3

R OSSWAY SWAN

772-231-4440

rosswayswan.com 26

AU TOMOTIVE SALES & SERVICES

LINUS CADILLAC BUICK GMC

772-562-1700

linuscadillac.com ........................ 119

MOTOR CITY CLASSIC CARS SERVICE

772-252-3590

motorcityclassiccars.com 40

BAN KING, INVESTMENTS & FINANCIAL PLANNING

DECAMBRA WEALTH MANAGEMENT OF RAYMOND JAMES

772-231-7000

raymondjames.com/decambra ........... 40

UB S FINANCIAL SERVICES INC

203-705-4222 advisors.ubs.com/shantzmantione 11

BE AUTY, HAIR & SPA SERVICES

SALON DEL MAR 772-234-1499 123

B OATING & MARINE SERVICES

DECKMASTERS LLC

772-559-8629 deckmastersmarine.com 112

C ATERING, GOURMET MARKETS, WINE & SPIRITS

ALIMENTARI GOURMET MARKET 772-999-5483 alimentarigm.com 123

E LIZABETH D. KENNEDY & COMPANY INC. 772-563-0646 elizabethkennedycatering.com 104

CO MPUTERS & AUDIOVISUAL CONSULTING

AUTOBAHN COMMUNICATIONS INC. 772-234-1555 autobahnco.com ........................ 137

CO NSTRUCTION & BUILDING SERVICES

AR HOMES/BEACHLAND HOMES CORP. 772-492-4018 arhomes.com 24

CA L BUILDERS 772-562-3715 calbuildersinc.com ....................... 29

CROOM CONSTRUCTION COMPANY 772-562-7474 croomconstruction.com .

DECKMASTERS LLC 772-559-8629 deckmastersmarine.com 112

H BS GLASS 772-567-7461 hbsglass.com

V ERO GLASS 772-567-3123 veroglass.com

VE RO MILLWORK INC. 772-569-7155 veromillwork.com

COU NTY SERVICES

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL DISTRICT 772-226-3212 indianriver.gov ..........................

E DUCATION & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

INDIAN RIVER STATE COLLEGE 772-462-4772 irsc.edu

FA SHION & ACCESSORIES

COOPER & CO. 772-231-9889

DE EP SIX DIVE & WATERSPORTS 772-562-2883, 772-288-3999 deepsix.com

G. M ATHEOS EYEWEAR 772-492-6400

ILINEN

772-321-3262

ilinenlifestyle.com 69

K EMP’S SHOE SALON AND BOUTIQUE

772-231-2771 kempsshoesalon.com 131

M . MAISON

772-231-4300

mmaisonvero.com ....................... 26

PAL M BEACH SANDALS

772-226-5998

palmbeachsandals.com 130

S ASSY BOUTIQUE

772-234-3998 101

V ERNON SCOTT RESORT WEAR MEN & WOMEN

772-231-3733 vernonscott32963.com 130

V ILLAGE SHOPS

772-231-1066

villageshopsverobeach.com 52

FLOORING, TILE & STONE

DESIGNER’S TOUCH FLOORING

772-978-9111

designerstouchflooring.com 20

FLORIDA FLOOR FASHIONS

772-589-4994

floridafloorfashions.com ................. 65

MACATA STONE

772-778-3210

macatastone.com 116

T ILE MARKET & DESIGN CENTER OF VERO BEACH

772-978-1212

tilemarketverobeach.com 117

F URNITURE & ACCESSORIES

COASTAL COMFORTS

772-226-7808

coastal-comforts.com ................... 123

CONSIGNMENT GALLERY

772-778-8919

consignmentgalleryverobeach.com 104

E UROPEAN KITCHEN & BATH

772-770-9970

europeansink.com 117

FALASIRI ORIENTAL RUGS 772-562-0150 falasiriorientalrugs.com 116

FANTASTIC FINDS

772-794-7574 fantastic-finds.com 117

T HE LAUGHING DOG GALLERY

772-234-6711 thelaughingdoggallery.com 16

LE D CAPSTONE LIGHTING & FAN SHOWROOM

772-205-2529 ledcapstone.com 117

L.K. DEFRANCES & ASSOCIATES INTERIOR DESIGN 772-234-0078 lkdefrancesandassociates.com 116

M . MAISON 772-231-4300 mmaisonvero.com 26 PAGE 2 DESIGN 772-492-9220 page2design.net 15

SUNS HINE FURNITURE 772-569-0460 sunshinefurniturecasual.com 19

VB HOME 772-492-9348 vbhome.us 101

G IFTS, STATIONERY & KEEPSAKES

COASTAL COMFORTS 772-226-7808 coastal-comforts.com 123

D IGG GARDENS PLANT SHOP 772-360-2131 digggardens.com 137

T HE LAUGHING DOG GALLERY 772-234-6711 thelaughingdoggallery.com 16

M. MAISON 772-231-4300 mmaisonvero.com 26

KELLY ROGERS

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

NOTEWORTHY BY DESIGN

772-231-0085 12 2

VERANDA

772-234-3404

verandajewelry com 1

VI LLAGE SHOPS

772-231-1066

villageshopsverobeach com 52

H OME PRODUCTS & SERVICES

BARKER AIR CONDITIONING & HEATING

772-562-2103

barkerac com 113

BATES AIR AND HEAT

772-946-1590

batesairandheat co m 139

DAN’S FAN CITY

772-569-8917

dansfancity co m 112

D ECKMASTERS LLC

772-559-8629

deckmastersmarine co m 112

E UROPEAN KITCHEN & BATH

772-770-9970

europeansink com 117

F LORIDA SHUTTERS

772-569-2200

floridashuttersinc com 112

H BS GLASS

772-567-7461

hbsglass com 113

LED CAPSTONE LIGHTING & FAN SHOWROOM

772-205-2529

ledcapstone com 117

M EEKS PLUMBING

772-569-2285

meeksplumbing com 103

R OTH INTERIORS

772-567-1210

rothinteriorswindowfashions net 99

VE RO BEACH ROOFING INC.

772-770-3782

verobeachroofing com . . . . . 112

V ERO GLASS

772-567-3123

veroglass com 4

V ERO MILLWORK INC.

772-569-7155

veromillwork com . . . . . . 43

INTE RIOR DESIGN SERVICES

COASTAL COMFORTS

772-226-7808 coastal-comforts com 12 3

COASTAL INTERIORS

772-492-6881

coastal . net . . . . . . . 23

I SLAND INTERIORS AT OCEAN REEF

772-770-600

islandinteriors net 103

L.K. DEFRANCES & ASSOCIATES INTERIOR DESIGN

772-234-0078

lkdefrancesandassociates co m 116

PAGE 2 DESIGN

772-492-9220

page2design

VB HOME 772-492-9348

vbhome us 1 01

JEWELRY

6TH AVENUE JEWELERS 772-217-8985

6thavenuejewelers com 1 04

THE LAUGHING DOG GALLERY 772-234-6711 thelaughingdoggallery com 16

LEIG H JEWELERS

772-234-8522

leighjewelers com . . . . . 13, 131

M. MAISON 772-231-4300 mmaisonvero com 26

P ROVIDENT JEWELRY 561-833-7755 providentjewelry com . . . . . . 31

ROYAL PALM JEWEL 772-766-3165 royalpalmjewel com 103

VE RANDA 772-234-3404 verandajewelry com . . . .

LA NDSCAPING & NURSERIES

DIGG GARDENS LANDSCAPE LIGHTING 772-360-2131 digggardens co m 137

ROCK CITY GARDENS 772-589-5835 rockcitygardens .co m . . . . . . 24

MEDICAL SERVICES: DENTISTRY

ALTITUDE DENTAL 772-567-7889 altitudedentalfl com 25

DE LLA PORTA COSMETIC & RECONSTRUCTIVE DENTISTRY 772-567-1025 drdellaporta co m 57

VERO ELITE DENTISTRY 772-569-9700

veroelitedentistry com 62

GRIDLEY + GRAVES

MEDICAL SERVICES: DERMATOLOGY

ADVANCED DERMATOLOGY & COSMETIC SURGERY OF VERO BEACH

772-569-5056

advancedderm.com 35

SE LECT SKIN MD

772-567-1164

selectskinmd.com 61

ME DICAL SERVICES: HOSPITALS

CLEVELAND CLINIC INDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL

772-567-4311

ccirh.org 33

ME DICAL SERVICES: WHOLE HEALTH CARE

TREASURE COAST COMMUNITY HEALTH

772-257-8224

tcchinc.org 63

MOVING, STORAGE & SHIPPING

COASTAL VAN LINES

772-569-6683

coastalvanlines.com 113

N OT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

UNITED WAY FOUNDATION OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY

772-567-8900

unitedwayirc.org 41

THE AD AGENCY

E. Fred Augenstein

VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION

772-202-8570

vnatc.com 97

REAL ESTATE

AMAC | ALEX MACWILLIAM REAL ESTATE

-CHARLOTTE TERRY GROUP

772-234-8500

charlotteterry.com 30, back cover

AR HOMES/BEACHLAND HOMES CORP.

772-492-4018 arhomes.com 24

BE RKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES FLORIDA REALTY

772-231-1270

bhhsfloridarealty.com ...... inside front cover

CHRISTINE R. MCLAUGHLIN AT SHAMROCK REAL ESTATE

772-538-0683

propertyinvero.com 130

DALE SORENSEN REAL ESTATE

-CATHY CURLEY

772-559-1359

cathycurleyrealestate.com 65

JO HN’S ISLAND REAL ESTATE COMPANY

772-231-0900

-SHERRIE COLEMAN 772-633-0021 -SHERRY BROWN 772-633-1472

verobeachislandrealtor.com .............. 52

R ETIREMENT COMMUNITIES

johnsislandrealestate.com ................ 7 THE MOORINGS REALTY SALES CO. 772-231-5131 themoorings.com .......... inside back cover ONE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

HERON POINT INDEPENDENT LIVING AND HERON COVE ASSISTED LIVING & MEMORY 772-732-7215

heronpointindependentliving.com 59

Contributing Advertising

SKY ADVERTISING

321-777-0140, skyadinc.com

772-538-3923, augy@comcast.net

Ad design and production, all media, full service

NICOLACE MARKETING

Maureen Nicolace

772-299-4889, maureen@nicolacemarketing.com

Public relations, marketing plans, media placement, graphic design, marketing, and staff development

SQUARED STUDIOS

Amanda Robinson

772-713-6884, squared-studios.com

Marketing, advertising, and graphic design from concept through production

Full-service marketing, including brand creation; photography and videography; digital, print, and broadcast advertising; and website creation

VERO MARKETING

Lindsay Candler

772-473-0654, veromarketing.com

Creative graphic design, print marketing, and website design

B. DIGITAL CONSULTING

Bridgette A. Daley

561-628-7079, bdigital.social

Full-service boutique marketing agency, crafting bespoke digital marketing strategies that amplify your brand’s presence

Vero Beach Magazine (ISSN 1097-2013) is published monthly by Palm Beach Media Group, 3375 20th St., Suite 100, Vero Beach, Florida 32960; 772-234-8871.

and additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTIONS: One year $28; two years $45; three years $54. Subscribe online at verobeachmagazine.com or call 772-234-8871 weekdays from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa are accepted. Our subscription information is not shared, rented, or sold. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Vero Beach Magazine, 3375 20th St., Suite 100, Vero Beach, FL 32960. SUBMISSIONS: Publisher assumes no liability for the care and return of unsolicited materials, including manuscripts and photographs. Postal authorization #018722. Copyright © 2024 Palm Beach Media Group. Vol. XXVII, No. 8, August 2024

EARLY AVIATION

Pioneering Passengers

AN ITINERANT SEAPLANE PILOT GAVE A LOCAL FAMILY AN EXCITING NEW EXPERIENCE

BY ELLEN E. STANLEY

orld War I had some unexpected consequences for the United States. It produced huge war surpluses as well as a cadre of young, exuberant, talented flyers, and these pilots were not ready to stop flying. With the war surplus biplanes, these men found new occupations. They flew around the country, picking up jobs where they could— sometimes crop dusting, sometimes giving people the whole new experience of riding in an airplane.

Pictured is the Pathfinder Hydroplane created by Aeromarine Ltd. of New Jersey and based at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. It stopped in Sebastian in 1923, and the pilot gave the Kroegel family, pictured, a ride.

In the early days of flying, suitable places to take off and land were rare, other than at military bases. Water provided a smooth, inexpensive surface. This particular model of airplane was called a flying boat, as it took off and landed on its belly on water. It did not have pontoons; instead it relied on a buoyant fuselage.

In those days, commercial flying was a future dream. However, it didn’t take long for individuals and organizations to develop whole new, and very profitable, industries based on airplanes.

The “tin can tourist” was another unexpected offshoot of the Great War. Those venturesome souls used inexpensive war surplus tents and supplies to take to the highways in automobiles. They stayed in tents, not hotels, as they traveled. They formed makeshift camps together as they explored the USA. They, too, formed a new kind of experience.

Ellen E. Stanley is an author, historian, and member of the Sebastian Area Historical Society.

Nearly a century before “Sully,” the Pathfinder Hydroplane used rivers as landing strips. Below, a visiting pilot takes the Kroegel family—Ila and Paul and their children, Rodney and Frieda—on an adventure.

OF

COURTESY

SEBASTIAN AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY KROEGEL COLLECTION