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.
Orchid Sale and Symposium
Don’t miss our annual Orchid Sale and Symposium! Horticulturists, orchid growers and representatives from the Southwest Florida Orchid Society will give presentations on growing and caring for orchids. Several orchid growers will have orchids available for sale, including rare and native species. The presentations will take place outdoors, under the oak trees:
Saturday, October 9
• 9:30-10:30 a.m. — Little Known Orchids and Why You Should be Growing Them; Debbie Hughes, Horticulture Director at Edison Ford
• 11 a.m.-12 p.m. — My Favorite Orchids for Southwest Florida; John Hampton, Past President of the Southwest Florida Orchid Society
• 12-1 p.m. — Lunch break
• 1-2 p.m. — Orchid Mounting Demonstration; Gary Murza, President of the Southwest Florida Orchid Society
• 2-3:30 p.m. — Orchid Pests & Diseases and What to Scout for During the Year; Gary Murza, President of the Southwest Florida Orchid Society
Sunday, October 10
• 11 a.m.-12 p.m. — Intro to Orchids; Mickey Carnell, Owner of Blue Pagoda Orchids
• 12-1 p.m. — Lunch break
• 1-2 p.m. — Putting Orchids in the Trees; Debbie Hughes, Horticulture Director at Edison Ford
• 2:15-3:15 p.m. — How to Grow and Re-flower the Orchid I Just Bought; John Hampton, Past President of the Southwest Florida Orchid Society
Daily admission for the presentations is $15 for non-members or $10 for Edison Ford members (does not include tours or admission to the museum, lab or riverside of the property). Click here to register. Guests should redeem their e-ticket for a wristband at the welcome booth on the day of the event. There is no charge to enter the Garden Shoppe.
The authors of the book, Compendium of Orchid Genera (available for sale in the Museum Store) will be on site and signing books (Wesley Higgins will be signing on Saturday and Peggy Alrich on Sunday). Representatives from the Southwest Florida Orchid Society will be available to answer orchid-related questions.
Additional vendors, including Blue Pagoda Orchids, Jim & I Orchids, OFE Orchid Supplies, OrchidsAmore, Orchid Jewels, Red Hawk Nursery, RF Orchids, So Orchids, Sunland Orchids and Tropiflora will be selling orchids and orchid supplies. A limited number of garden carts will be available; guests are encouraged to bring their own. Food and beverage vendors will have refreshments available for purchase, and live music will be provided.
The Garden Shoppe will also be open and offers a unique place for gardeners to shop for quality plants. A large selection of ornamental plants and orchids will be available, along with fruit trees, butterfly plants, herbs, succulents, rare exotics and Florida natives. Many of the flowering trees and shrubs in the botanical gardens are available for purchase. Wind chimes, fountains, ceramic flower pots and garden art are also available.
Orchids have a long history with the Estates. They were Mina Edison’s favorite plants and she displayed many of them in her garden, attached to trees so they could grow as she saw them in the Everglades. Today, visitors can view many orchid species throughout the 20 acres of botanical gardens. Following in Mina’s footsteps, horticulturists continue to attach orchids to trees all around the site.
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.
Fort Myers Film Festival at Edison Ford
Join us for an evening of films under the stars! In partnership with the Fort Myers Film Festival, several films will be shown on the Henry Ford estate lawn along the Caloosahatchee River. Refreshments will be available for purchase.
The selection of films will include:
- An original silent film, with pianist Stephen Brittain performing the score
- “Preservation Forever,” a tribute to the success of Sam Galloway, Jr. and his long history with the Estates
- “Stay Wild,” a short story about a young woman and her quest to conserve wild places
- “A Greenlander,” a documentary about a French painter in Greenland who teaches art therapy to neglected children
TICKETS: Edison Ford Members: $10 and Non-members: $15. Masks are required where social distancing is not possible during this special event. Click here to purchase tickets.
Generously sponsored by Strayhorn & Persons, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law.
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.
