December 1999/January 2000

Hawthorne's Legacy has only begun but what a wonderful beginning. The current members of Hawthorne'sHistorical Society are grateful for the opportunity to participate in recording the exciting events of the pastthree years ... the Fifteenth Anniversary ofHRCA in December of '97, and the Twenty Fifth Anniversary ofHawthorneat Leesburg in March of '99. And there's more to come.

Founders' Day, on March 15th in the year 2000, the beginning of a new millennium, will be a perfectday for the dedication of our new addition. What an exciting time for everyone at Hawthorne!

More Y-2K news: Thanks to the timely action of Doris Noland, the Hawthorne community hasparticipated in a Time Capsule Program sponsored by the Daily Commercial. With the contribution of$100.00 to the Education Fund of Leesburg, made possible by Club Hawthorne, your Historical Society gavenumerous Hawthorne documents for inclusion in this effort. On December 31, 1999, the Time Capsule wasplaced on the property of the Daily Commercial, to be unearthed on January 1, 2050. At that time theHawthornedocuments will be presented or returned to the Owners of Hawthorne.

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\~

Have you ever wondered howvarious activities get started atHawthorne? Nancy Apseywondered about the Free Spiritsgroup and since the names LeeSchick and Hawthorne's FreeSpirits are synonymous, shedecided to go right to the sourcefor her answers.. The followingis a first-hand account of the FreeSpirits' history and theircontributions to the HawthorneCommunity.

The Free Spirits' long-standing leader Lee Schick spentmost of his life in Lancaster, PA,where he retired from BrameIndustries in November 1981.Having served as Brame's CEO

ee • •plfltsfor a numberof years,retirement lifewas quite achange of pacefor Lee, but hemet the challengehead on.

Lee andwife Marilyn moved toHawthorne in 1982 to join theMeyers, their friends fromLancaster, Pennsylvania. It didn'ttake long for Lee to becomeinvolved with "The SingingCocktail Hour," the group thatwould later be known asHawthorne's "Free Spirits." Byword of mouth, a group of willing

singers would go to LittleJoe's restaurant for a

~tI! ....~1i!iI burger and a pitcher ofbeer where their

I'''''~- impromptu choruswould joyfully sing arepertoire of the"Golden Oldies."

Jack Malach, the group'sfirst leader, soon found a willingassistant ... Lee Schick.

At Jack's suggestion, itwas decided that they shouldbecome a social activity atHawthorne and selected the nameFree Spirits because the peoplefelt free to sing the old songs,have fun together, and enjoy the

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day. In the Spring of 1984, thefirst session was held in theLemon/Lime Room andHawthorne's Free Sprits was born.Lee recalls, "We had set up abouttwenty-five chairs, but soonlearned twenty-five was hardlyenough. By the time we wereready to start singing, we weresetting up more and more as thegroup became quite large."

Committee members Jackand Tabby Malach; George andLillian Braun; Iris and JohnUnderwood; and Lee Schick; ranthe Free Spirits, but they were nota part of Club Hawthorne. Some-where along the line the FreeSpirits group was pressured intobecoming a recognized activity byClub Hawthorne so now they arefinally official, but it took quite alongtime.

Lee tells us, "At first, weagreed we would meet once amonth and sing from 4:30 to 6:00P.M. When we ended our sing-ing, small groups would go todinner at various restaurants.Later we changed our closingtime to 5:30 in order to takeadvantage of the Early BirdSpecials."

Eating dinner as a groupsounded like a good idea, so Jackand Lee started searching andnegotiating for $5.00 dinners atvarious restaurants (includingtax and tip). Unfortunately,because of the large numbers,many restaurants simply couldnot handle them. According toLee, "The largest number of peo-ple we had at a Free Spirits get .together, was for a luncheonat the Waterfront (nowAmigo's) Restaurant in

Tavares. Vic, our well-knownrestaurateur, was the manager.The price was $4.00 including taxand tip, and 120 people attended."

In the early days, Lee'sfavorite eating spot for the groupwas the Taste Tempters becauseyou didn't need an early headcount, no sign-up sheet, no ticketsto make up and sell, and they hadgood food. Today, he feels Vic'srestaurants are the best, but a littletoo expensive. His most uniquedinner with the group was atOsaka's. It wasn't his favoritebecause, even though they cookedand served the food right at thetable, only a few people could sitat each counter isolated from therest of the group.

In search of a room withbetter acoustics, the Free Spiritsdecided to move their meetingplace to the Marina, but not forlong. When Security becameaware of the number of peoplecramming themselves into theMarina, they feared the wrath ofthe Fire Marshall and sent thegroup back to the LemonILimeroom. It's no secret . . . theLemonlLime room wasn't theonly place in Hawthorne whereone could listen to the melodicstrands from the Free Spirits'. Onmany occasions, we are told, thehot tub was also Alive withMusic!

The Free Spirits did morethan just sing together. In March

of 1986, Jack, along withGeorge and Lillian

Braun,organized a

cruisejust forthe FreeSpirits.

They left Hawthorne by bus toFort Pierce where they boarded Jthe Viking and cruised acrossFlorida via Lake Okeechobee toFt. Myers. The Free Spiritschorus was undoubtedly heard onthe'''Bankg of the Okeechobee, andwho knows by how many? Thetrip was so successful it inspiredRuth Morris to write a lengthy,but fitting poem.

The following are but afew of her descriptive verses:

The Saga of the Free Spirits-Crossing the Okeechobee

The Viking was not easy tofuulWe searched both far and near

And finally found her way out thereClear at the end of the pier.

An indoctrination was given by thecrew

They told us what we should andshouldn't do, J

"Now, down the ladder to your room,but never try to rush!

Just remember to tip the toilet u; andcount to 30 whenyouflush!

2 longs, 2 shorts. •• the whistle calledAs we approached the locks.

They closed the gate, and up we wentLike a giant jack-in-the box!

Lee, so 'tis rumored,Just couldn't stretch out in bed,

So with shoulders round,he is going home

With a permanent lump on his head.

(the final verse •••• )Though we've been over the waters to

strange new lands,And viewed marvels created by

Edison's hand,There is nothing lovelier under

the moonThan our little tin houses with

TWO bathrooms •••March 1986Ruth Mo"is J

In 1985 the firstV anniversary songbook by Iris

Underwood was prepared andprinted. It has been updatedtwice; most recently by formerchairman Mabel Lemich with thetyping and layout done by'Dorothy Sayles. There arecurrently 268 songs in this FreeSpirits songbook.

In the early days, to addvariety and a little levity to theirsessions, Jack and Lee oftenwrote a parody in connection witha current happening, using "ItAin't Gonna Rain No More" or"Way Down Yonder in theCornfield" for the melody. Therest of the group then joined in onthe chorus.

After a while, as withmany of our residents, Jack andTabby Malach decided to leaveHawthorne and reside in an

~. assisted living community, so Leecontinued to be the Free Spirits'leader, except a few sum-mer months when Iristook charge.

Lee hasbeen a part of thegroup for 17 years.Last March 1999, hedecided that a newleader should beselected. He wasawarded a beautifulplaque andappreciative "ThankYous" from the group.

Lee says, "Thepurpose of Hawthorne's' FreeSpirits will always be purepleasure, fun, socializing, andbeing a free spirit." The monthlyjokes he shared with the members

o were fun and they always sangAura Lee, appropriately, Lee's

favorite song. Incidentally, AuraLee was likewise a favorite ofElvis Presley. He kept themelody, but changed the words tothe number one hit, Love MeTender.

Hawthorne's HistoricalSociety hopes to preserve Lee'sFree Spirits folders because theyhold the wonderful history of anactivity enjoyed by so manyHawthorne residents. In additionto leading the Free Spirits, LeeSchick was Hawthorne's Ambas-sador for three years. Accordingto many new residents he madethem feel most welcome andwhile he found the job to beextremely rewarding, it was alsovery time consuming.

Now retired from hismajor jobs here at Hawthorne,Lee continues to ride his bikealmost daily. Just think of it, byaveraging 10 miles a day, he hasridden around the world withoutever leaving the gates of Haw-thorne! Some of his other activi-

ties include, the NatureClub, Lapidary,

Hawthorne's Search

reasons for being a Free Spirit:You like to sing the golden oldies,(if you can't sing, join anywaybecause you can always hum alittle!) to drink whatever youbring, a desire to be a part of thefun."

Dorothy Sullivan ispresently the chairman of FreeSpirits. Dorothy's husbandWarren assists by playing hissaxophone and MargieCuthbertson plays the piano. Sojoin them on the fourth Tuesdayof every month at 4:30 in theLemonlLime room

Now you know the historyof our delightful Free Spirits.Sign up on the Quad, buy yourdinner tickets, sing for fun, thendine together and socialize.

Interview by Nancy Apsey

Editor's NoteAs Editor of Hawthorne Remembers Ihave a complete set of the early PennNotes, Hawthorne Herald, and theHawthorne Happenings; These earlyissues are full of fascinating HawthorneHistory, and will soon be available inour new libraryfor everyone to read

The May/June 1986 issue of theHawthorne Herald has the foil storyabout the Free Spirits' four-day River-boat Adventure, written by RosalindSykes. What a wonderful story completewithpictures!

In the November/December1990 issue of the Hawthorne Herald youcan find a foil page article about theFree Spirits, written by Elnora Bolan..She ended her article with thefollowingparagraph:

The Free Spirits have a goodtime at their meetings when theysing-a-long, and dine. They develop afine sense of camaraderie, esprit decorps, and especiallyfriendship.

swimming, in-terviewingBoa r dCandidateson TV,

bowling, andbeing a part of the

Entertainment GroupAsked if he had any

advice for the new residents, helaughed and said, "People don'tlisten to it anyway." But he didremind us to BE ACTIVE and toGET INVOLVED! He highlyrecommends joining the FreeSpirits and said, "There are three

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The following is a list of the items included in the Time Capsule to be opened in the year 2050 JThe History of Hawthorne at Leesburg 1972-1990, by Melanie K. WagnerThe text of the presentation by the Hawthorne Historical Society for the 15th Anniversary of our Cooperative

Residents Day, December 15, 1997The Year That Was, a poem by Carolyn B. Orme,,~What Hawthorne Means to Me, an article by Rosamond BraddockThe Single Rose, a poem by Anna K. MerlinoPlaybill for For the Love of Hawthorne, an original Musical written and presented in March 1996 and again

in March 1999.Hawthorne Holiday Happenings 1999-2000Hawthorne Highlights - May 1999. A special edition marking our 25th AnniversaryHawthorne Concert Series Brochure for 1999-2000, our 24th Season with 761 subscribersHRCA Green Sheet dated November 19, 1999, presenting the 2000 budget approved by the Board of

Directors at the December 1999 meeting.Color Brochure used by Hawthorne Realty Division presenting Hawthorne as Florida's Best Investment

Retirement community.The Gateway to a New Way of Life, a Daily Commercial newspaper article from March 1974 covering the

Dedication of HawthorneCopies of articles from The Daily Commercial:

March 8, 1999 Hawthorne Enjoys 25th AnniversaryAugust 7, 1999 - National Recognition Bestowed on Unique Hawthorne at LeesburgSeptember 22, 1999 - Kitchen Band a Fun Recipe

--------------------------------------------------------~Former Resident Abby Lacy HonoredAbby Lacy, a very popular nameat Hawthorne between 1974 and1985, now resides at Lake ViewTerrace. Still active, though notquite as active as she once was,Abby enjoys reading ourHawthorne Remembers. (SeeRemembering the Lacys in theDecember '98 issue of Haw-thorne Remembers).

We recently learned abouta special reunion Abby attended.Trudy Adams asked her to tell usabout it. This is Abby's story.

Recently I had a call /romCali/ornia. The caller didn~ iden-tify himself at first, but recitedsomething that was vaguely/amiliar. He then asked i/ I wasMiss Bryant, his 6th grade teacher

in 1936 at Kirby Road School inCincinnati, Ohio. He had recitedsome lines /rom a class play.(Abby was indeed his teaaher.}

This class has stucktogether through the years and havehad occasional dinner reunions atthe same restaurant not far /romthe school. This past May theclass celebrated its 60th reunion 0/their 8th grade graduation. I amnow the last living teacher 0/ thegroup, and they do spoil me. I wasinvited and not only did I attendtheir reunion, I was part 0/ the pro-gram. Bear in mind that these/olks were 12 to 15years old whenI had last seen them. I did remem-ber where they sat after hearing

their names.One 0/ the points I made

was how much it means to beremembered. You don~ have tohave liked your teachers, but thefact that· you remember them wiDmake their day.

Editor's note

The Kirby Road School Class of '36obviously made Abby Lacy queen forthe day! Congratulations Abby!

Hawthorne Remembers

Editorial StaffEditor_. • ._ ••••.•_RoseLee GeigerAssistant Editon _ •••_George & Grace WrInterview by__ •••__ •••••••••_N.ncy Aps...JContrlbuton _ ••••••_Ttudy Adams, Abby Lacy,

.nd George Wolf