Digital Discussion: Roberto Clemente, The Pittsburgh Pirates, and Thomas Edison’s Connection with Baseball in Fort Myers
From 1955 to 1968, the Pittsburgh Pirates conducted spring training in Fort Myers. Learn about the team and their greatest player, hall of fame outfielder Roberto Clemente, who experienced Fort Myers during the time of Jim Crow.
Join Program Manager Holly Shaffer for this free virtual lecture. Registration is required.
Click here to register.
Digital Discussion: How Edsel Ford and Ford Motor Company Helped Win World War II
During W
orld War II, the Ford Motor Company played an essential role in arming the United States for success. Much of this success can be attributed to Edsel Ford, the only son of Henry and Clara Ford.
While battling stomach cancer, Edsel helped create an assembly line at the Willow Run plant that could produce crucial B-24 Liberator aircraft in an hour. Join Edison and Ford Winter Estates Program Manager Holly Shaffer for this free virtual discussion (registration is required).
Click here to register.
Digital Discussion: The Battle of Fort Myers
During the last months of the American Civil War, the Battle of Fort Myers was fought. This skirmish is known as the “southernmost land battle of the Civil War.”
Join Edison and Ford Winter Estates Program Manager Holly Shaffer for the story of the people at the “Fort” in Fort Myers.
Registration is required for this free event. Click here to register.
Digital Discussion: General Winfield Scott Hancock, Almira Hancock, and the early citizens of Fort Myers
Almost thirty years before Thomas Edison arrived in Fort Myers, renowned General Winfield Scott Hancock was stationed there during the Third Seminole War.
Hancock’s family were with him at the fort. It was there that Almira Hancock– the only woman at the fort– gave birth to their second child. Learn the story of their time in Fort Myers as revealed in Almira Hancock’s book, Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock.
This free Digital Discussion with Program Manager Holly Shaffer will follow the Hancock family from their time in Fort Myers to his time in the Civil War and as a presidential candidate.
Click here to register for this free webinar.
Digital Discussion: The Amish and Amish-Mennonites of Sarasota, Florida
By the 1920s, the Edison family was spending more time than ever in Fort Myers, and the Amish were first arriving in Pinecraft, a campground and neighborhood in nearby Sarasota.
The earliest Amish and Mennonite visitors to this area were attracted by the weather and by the opportunities for winter farming. Though the farming did not work out as planned, the area became a major vacation destination for Amish and Mennonites throughout the United States and Canada. Today, some 5,000 people visit each year, primarily in the winter.
Learn about the history of the Amish and Amish-Mennonites in Pinecraft in Sarasota and why the Amish still visit there today during this free virtual lecture with Program Manager Holly Shaffer. Click here to register.
Click HERE to view our previous digital discussion catalog.
Digital Discussion: Florida in the Civil War
Join us for a Zoom presentation about Florida’s role in The Civil War. An estimated 16,000 Floridians fought in the war. Most fought for the confederacy, but about 2,000 joined the Union army. The major battles in Florida, life on the home front, and Florida’s role in supplying the confederacy will be discussed.
Click here to register for this free webinar.
Digital Discussions: “The greatest of all my inspiring friends:” Exploring the Friendship of Henry Ford and George Washington Carver
Join Program Manager Holly Shaffer for a virtual discussion about the friendship and the business relationship between automobile magnate Henry Ford and scientist and inventor George Washington Carver.
To register for this free Digital Discussion, click here.
