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  • Close up of Wells'Built photo opp featuring woman driving convertible and couple toasting martini glasses in front of Wells'Built hotel

    Orlando 150 – Wells’Built Hotel

    Dr. William Monroe Wells, one of Orlando’s first African American physicians, operated with the mindset that care extended beyond his patient’s physical wellbeing to the wellbeing of the community as a whole – leading to long-term investments in the Parramore District’s infrastructure and economy. When he noticed African Americans visiting Orlando could not find lodging,…

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  • Land of 100+ Lakes mural close up featuring canoes in water at lake's edge

    Orlando 150 – Land of 100 Lakes

    Lakes and rivers are a defining characteristic of Orlando and The City Beautiful boasts more than 100 lakes within its limits. From the iconic Lake Eola, with its historic fountain and bevy of swans, to tiny Lake Dot, a freshwater lake covering just 5.42 acres, the beauty of our city’s lakes and adjacent greenspaces offers…

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  • Orlando 150: Orange Avenue

    Orange Avenue has been one of Orlando’s most significant thoroughfares since the town’s incorporation 150 years ago in 1875. According to a business district map from 1885, the street was populated with several businesses including hotels, saloons, grocery and dry goods stores, bakeries, drug stores and more. Orlando was developing rapidly and by the late…

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  • Book with "women" scratched out of title to read "Great Artists" next to a red, pink and black collage in the style of Lee Krasner

    Lee Krasner: Not a Peripheral Talent

    I love hosting art programs at Alafaya. I like profiling artists that aren’t often taught in schools. Kids have heard of Picasso and da Vinci, but do they know Lee Krasner? Krasner may be one of my favorite artists, and I wasn’t even aware of her until several years ago. Born Lena Krassner in Brooklyn…

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  • Green Girl Scout vest with embroidered patches

    Juliette Gordon Low’s Impact on Generations as founder of Girl Scouts of the USA

    Throughout my life, I have been inspired by many women, but two stand out above the rest—Juliette Gordon Low and my mother, Phyllis Hall. These two remarkable women have not only shaped my worldview but also motivated me to work with the next generation of young girls. Juliette Gordon Low, known as Daisy, was a…

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  • three Julia Child books fanned out on background of food item drawings

    Julia Child, Teaching America to Cook

    For Women’s History Month this year, I’m presenting a children’s cooking program on Julia Child. In preparing for the program, I learned so much about her fascinating life! She grew up in California in the early 1900s, attending boarding school and playing sports. When World War II broke out, she tried to enlist in the…

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  • Black Librarianship is Black History

    This year, as we focus on the theme of African Americans and Labor set by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the Founders of Black History Month, we reflect on how African Americans contributed to vocations across the workforce. Whether through agriculture or service-led industries, education or entrepreneurship, Black…

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  • Close up photo of a tennis racket and tennis balls sitting on a tennis court at sunset. Test reads Honoring Roger Pharr. Launch of the Lillian Louise Pharr Author Series

    Honoring Roger Pharr: Launch of the Lillian Louise Pharr Author Series 

    Libraries connect us to a wealth of stories — both on the shelves and in the lives of the people who support them. One of those stories is that of tennis great and Orlando native, Roger Pharr, an avid library user with deep roots in the community.   A lifelong Orlando resident, Pharr was born in…

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  • An view of the exterior of the Orange County Regional History Center.

    History Happens Here!

    Some people think of Central Florida as being very young. Perhaps they think things really got started here around 1971 when a certain beloved mouse took up residence, but our history stretches back more than 14,000 years. Luckily, there is a place where you can learn all about it, the Smithsonian-affiliated Orange County Regional History…

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  • Sign reading: Holocaust in History. Woman standing and looking at exhibit.

    Q&A with the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida

    Did you know that May is Jewish American Heritage Month? It is a time to honor and pay tribute to Jewish Americans who have contributed to the rich history of this country. A history that must be remembered. To learn more, we reached out to Talli Dippold, CEO of the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education…

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