Harvesting the Histories of Three Diverse Central Florida Communities

FAIN: PY-234476-16

University of Central Florida Board of Trustees (Orlando, FL 32816-8005)
Connie L. Lester (Project Director: June 2015 to October 2017)

“History Harvests” documenting three Central Florida communities: the town of Cocoa Beach in the 1960s and 1970s; Orlando’s LGBT community; and the African American community of Parramore. Cocoa Beach’s photos, maps, postcards, menus, and documents would illuminate Florida’s Space Coast and Cape Canaveral. All digitized materials would be made available with permission in the University of Central Florida’s RICHES (Regional Initiative for Collecting the History, Experiences, and Stories) Mosaic Interface and via local presentations at Cocoa Beach Public Library, Parliament House, and Jones High School. Documenting these three Florida communities would add texture to the public’s understanding of the diversity within the state.

The Regional Initiative for Collecting the History, Experiences, and Stories (RICHES™) of Central Florida proposes funding for History Harvests in three diverse communities in the Central Florida area: the space-age community of Cocoa Beach in the 1960s and 1970s, the Orlando LGBT community at the Gay destination site of Parliament House, and the African-American community of Parramore. The materials collected through the three History Harvests will be made available to larger communities in four ways: RICHES Mosaic Interface™, the project database https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu ; local presentations at Cocoa Beach Public Library, Parliament House, and Jones High School; a workshop on RICHES and History Harvests at a meeting of a national historical organization (NCPH, OAH, or SHA); and a journal article.