Volume 12 Issue 3 December 2007

Hawthorne's Pioneer Honor RollAs we approach our 25th Anniversary as a Cooperative we wish to pay tribute to

those residents who were here in 1982 when the Community was purchased fromColonial-Perm. How would you react today if you were told we were converting to aCondominium Community and the up front cost to you was $20,000? Pay up or moveout. Some 1,040 homeowners faced this kind of threat. After many legal maneuversand negotiating, the residents were asked to pay $8,000 for their share of the purchase.That was steep enough in 1982 dollars. But our residents came through andestablished the Cooperative Association we enjoy today. And we have kept the amenitiesfrom the original rental community. Here are our Distinguished Citizens:

Bob & Beatrice ArtmanCaryl BiddleHennie ChandlerMay ConeybeerDoris EdsonCharlotte FowlerJan HumbertMaxine KarsnerIrene KloustinEvelyn MareBill Mertz

John & Marjorie PaleschMary PatriciaMarilyn SchickLaura SofskyMildred Thorne

1

Clinton & lola BartleyHelen BurtBob & Peg Chi IdJoh n CopperstoneLoucille EverhartDoris HarrisJack HunterDonna KauffmanRachel Lesser

Sherwood &EvelynMatthesMary MillerRegina ParksBetty RedburnDoris SmallwoodElaine SpaldingSue Ward

Marjorie BenhoffMidge BushnellBelle ClendenningEleanor DickersonJo FergusonHelen HastingsEllie Karpi nskiGarner KlairAlicia LysakowskiBetty McKennaLillian MilwardLois PatersonJoe & Ruth Sata IoffLenora SnyderLewis StamusOlive Wiggins

This group represents 47 homeowners who remain. They guaranteed our way oflife. We owe a debt of gratitude to them. This is our Honor Roll of Pioneers.

"LORD GOD OF HOSTS, BE WITH US YET

LEST WE FORGET, LEST WE FORGET."

FROM KIPLING'S RECESSIONAL

The Lakes of HawthorneHawthorne's three man-made lakes reflect the

changing Florida sky, from sunrise to sunset, andeven mirror the moon and the brightest stars in thenight skies. The lawns slope down to the lake edges,grown with reeds and wild flowers. On their banks,devotees of Isaac Walton sit for sunny hours, oftenpulling out a bream or a bass. The lakes were oncestocked, and the fish have multiplied. One can seefish and minnows of different sizes darting throughthe water. Ducks interrupt their lazy floating, to swimtoward shore, in expectation of bread to be thrownthem. Sometimes, water birds stalk along the edges,looking for fish.

A few years ago, Lake Sunrise, by the laundry area,had a resident alligator. He would climb out of thewater and sun himself on the far bank, in front ofthe orange groves beyond the park. However, lesthe become more venturesome, he was eventuallyremoved to a zoo.

These lakes were part of the original plan ofHawthorne. They enhance it, and freshen and coolits air. The fountains, one near each end of FountainLake, by the Clubhouse, and one on Lake Tranquility,are continually tossing up water to fall back in sprayinto the lake. They are not only fascinating; theyaerate the water, preventing the growth of algae.

In 1974, work was started on making a lake onthe north side of the park, close by Palo Verde, whichloops around its southern end. It is the deepestlake - 18 feet - and took 45 days to construct. Itwas, and is, filled by rainwater and water from awell next to it. Later, it was named "Lake Tranquility",the winning name in a contest of names submittedljy residents of the park.

From it, water flows through large 26-inch pipesconnecting it to the other two lakes. These areshallower, being 9-10 feet deep. Excess water drainsout through a pipe, which empties into thePalatlakaha River by the boat dock, thus maintaininga constant water level.• The results of all this planning are the clear andplacid lakes, where we can see reflected the goldand rose streaked sunset skies.

- Edith Schipper in Penn Notes February 1981

Hawthorne's History - AgainThe Hawthorne Historical Society has been

telling the Hawthorne story again and again. Ourmembers participated in the 2002 booklet updatingthe History of Hawthorne and in the 2006 bookletdescribing the legacy of the Hawthorne MemorialFund. Both of these booklets are worth a closereading. They reveal much of the unique characterof the community where we live.

Presented here is a brief synopsis of theHawthorne Story - again.

Our first residents arrived mid-summer 1973.They were an excited lot. The prices of brand newmanufactured homes went from under $20,000 toa little over $40,000. It was a rental community.You were offered your money back if you weredissatisfied after a year in your new home. Howdifferent from today's mortgage market!

Those early years were full of adventure,camaraderie and new friendships. New activitieswere organized almost weekly and participation wasenthusiastic. The fantasy continued nearly 9 years,but the price was too great for Colonial-Penn. Weexperienced near run-away inflation and thedeveloper could not keep up.

Early in 1982 residents became aware that aprofessional property management company wastalking with Colonial-Penn. They wanted to buy thecommunity and convert it to a condominiumassociation. The conversion, if successful, wouldhave meant a $15,000 to $20,000 fee for each home.That was only the beginning of troubles as practicallyall the amenities would be withdrawn, or if retained,would have costs involved. You want to use the pool- join the swim club - annual fee $500. You likeShuffleboard - this elite club's fee would be $450yearly. And so forth.

You can understand the concern of the residents.We had nearly 1,050 homes in the community thenand were still offering new homes on select lots. Itwas a year of uncertainty, but a group of leadersemerged and a law firm in Tallahassee was engaged.

The Historical Society archives contain detailedrecords of the events of 1982. Weekly Green Sheetswere published - in fact that was when the GreenSheet originated. John Dobkin's father, Louis, ranthe Green Sheet on a mimeograph machine(remember those?). Mildred Bovee, who was theFirst Treasurer of the Cooperative Association wasthe sister of Mitzi Schuemann and Sylvia Schreck,who still live here. Truth to tell, Hawthorne is justone big family! Mildred received those $8,000payments, provided receipts and recorded daily allmonies. The Treasurer title involved the actual workand she was up to the task.

On December 15, 1982 the residents purchasedHawthorne from Colonial-Penn. We will celebrate25 years as a very successful cooperative associationon December 15, 2007.

It was a short nine months after our purchase ofthe community that the funds were in hand to payoff the mortgage. We paid in full the final $800,000and celebrated our debt-free status. We have been

(See History Again on page 5)

Below is the 1999 signing of the contractfor our Multipurpose Building.Directors Blount, Bryan, Winters andFadely served this Board.

Hawthorne's Board of DirectorsWe are a Cooperative Association. That means

we are in charge of everything. We own the wholeplace. We must manage the entire operation. Weare responsible to pay all the bills. "We" is you andme.

We decided back in 1982 to handle all thesetasks by electing a Board of Directors. The Direc-tors were to assist us in doing all this stuff. Theyrealized early on that this was a very complex job.They needed a manager. And they needed otherfolks to supervise the many aspects of running thecommunity. Well, we have done all that. And wehave done a pretty good job of it.

Listed here are the names of those who haveserved as Directors of HRCA in the past. You owethese folks. They have paid their dues and deserveour appreciation.

Bob Artman Bill BellDick Blount Jane BryanBob Dieden Ralph DomorackiSteve Doody Jan FadelyMary Garcia Doris HarrisDennis Heid Ed HobbsGlenn Hotz Ann HubbardColleen Kollmann Art LambrightBill Lienhart Bob MannLee Manausa Cherry PearsonRudy Schmitt Betty SmithJack Wi ntersYou might also note that two of the above indi-

viduals are presently serving on our current Board.Rudy Schmitt and Betty Smith are filling vacanciesfor this year. Then we must list the current Boardmembers. They are in addition to Rudy and Betty,Dan Biro, John Haag, Gene Jones, Jerry Paronto,Bob Waller, Ed Walsh and George Wolf.

Hats off to these dedicated individuals.

Hawthorne's Employee Honor RollSeven individuals have been on the Hawthorne

payroll since we formed our Cooperative in 1982.Here is the list:

Dan Gorden Gene FullerJuanita Dixon

Wayne Sanders Julio Magan K e t hSlone

Craig HatcherIn a time when loyality to an employer is a thing

of the past, we salute these faithful workers whohave stood with our firm over these many years.Thank you!

TV-7 BeginningsMarie L Richardson in an article published in

August 1982, presented a brief sketch ofHawthorne's closed circuit television. Here are ex-cerpts for your information.

Hawthorne's closed circuit was a first in televi-sion broadcasting in a retirement community andprobably remains unique today. The anniversary ofChannel4's birthday on August 26, 1974, has beenobserved each August since, with a social hour andtraditional birthday cake.

In August 1975, TV-4 declared, "Our aim is todiversify as much as possible". Sometime duringthe first year of operation the 'drum' came into ex-istence. A television camera had been purchasedwith the idea of showing movies on Channel 4.However, it was decided that a source of continuinginformation about Hawthorne activities would bemore useful.

John Rankin, Francis Blair's predecessor asclubhouse manager, devised the drum, using thecamera and a red cookie tin, with a discarded metalbox as a light shield. The mechanism that turnedthe drum was from a Timex watch display case. Thecontraption lasted several years before being dis-placed by a new (and still ingenious) structure de-signed by John and Francis.

Ed note: We're still working on the task of show-ing movies on TV·7 (we changed the channel num-ber too). More to come on this effort.

Anniversary LuncheonHawthorne has been a self-governing entity

since December 1982. We celebrate 25 years thisDecember 15th with a lunch where we recognize ourdistinguished citizens. They are listed on the frontpage today. You've read most all of their storiesover the past 10 years.

Also, we will honor those who have served asDirectors of our Cooperative. They are listed intoday's edition. Because I am one of this group ofvolunteers, I know the effort and dedication required.You owe these individuals your appreciation.

Another group we have chosen to honor arethose faithful employees who have been here sincewe began operating as a Cooperative. They are listedelsewhere in today's issue. The Historical Societyhas specifically invited these employees as ourguests to the Anniversary Celebration.

You can share this special time. Be at the noonevent on Saturday, December l S'". Get your ticketat the Clubhouse 10 to 11 AM Monday through Fri-day up 'til December 11 tho

(History Again from page 2)

debt free ever since. We live within our budgetand meet all expenses up front - no home equityloans, no short term borrowing to meet anemergency expense, no assessments to cover someunplanned item.

Our roads were repaved in 1986-88, a three yeareffort. Weconsidered the purchase of the 100 acresto build an assisted living facility. The Long-TermPlanning Committee at that time realized we werenot up to managing both an active retirementcommunity and a congregate living facility. Besidethat, we voted this proposal down. Democracy atwork.

The establishment of a Cooperative and ourseparation from Colonial-Penn and the nationalconnection with AARP was reflected in our growthand sales. Art Lambright resigned his position as amember of the Board of Directors and accepted anassignment as Marketing Director. He implementednumerous changes in our advertising - our uniquesign out front being one, and the result was a turn-around in sales. That was 1989-90. The firstfemalePresident of the Board of Directors at Hawthornewas elected in 1990. "Murph" Raupple was quite agal. We have other ladies who have served asPresident of the Board - Mary Garcia, Betty Smithand Colleen Kollmann.

In March of 1999 we held a 25th Celebration ofthe Founding of Hawthorne. This was recognitionof the beginnings of the community; an eventmarked each March 7th as Founders Day. TheHistorical Society planned and sponsored this event.We approached the Board of Directors for a jointcelebration, but they were reluctant until theyrealiz d the determination of the Historical Societymembers to make this a great day. It turned out tobe the groundbreaking day for the new multipurposebuilding and the woodcrafters building. OurDirectors were happy to join with the HistoricalSociety for this happy occasion.

In February 2001 Hawthorne purchased the 100acres rom the Lutheran Good Samaritan Society.That organization had purchased this land in 1986with the intent of building a total care congregatefacility.

Hawthorne has added facilities in the past 8 yearsfor the benefit of all. We have invested nearly$1,000,000 in our community without borrowing adime. Further, our reserves have gone from $1.4million in 1999 to $1.6 million today. None of thisjust happened. It is to the credit of our managementand our Directors who oversee the financial healthof our community. May the tradition continue!

George Wolf

Who Cares?The Hawthorne Remembers newsletter began in

the spring of 1997. The impetus was the discoveryby a small cadre of newer residents of the originsof our town and the caliber of those first residents.The excitement of this knowledge led to the desireto share this with all residents. There was no moneyto accomplish this and for a while we were askingfolks to put a quarter in the can for their copy on theQuad. We almost closed up shop. The Board ofDirectors and our General Manager came to therescue. Weexpanded the newsletter with free copiesto everyone.

Today you have come to expect the HawthorneRemembers along with the Hawthorne Highlightsand the Green Sheet. Looking at our 2008 Budget,I noted $ 13,000 for program printing. That's alittle steep, don't you think? So, what is the answer?Down the road at Highland Lakes is a newsletterloaded with ads placed by various vendors lookingfor customers. What would it take to do this? Is itworth the effort or cost effective?

Do I have your attention yet? Actually, I have anulterior motive. The Historical Society is a very smallclub and we have lost our chairman due to his movefrom our community. Chuck took his wife along, sowe are one less on the staff of our publication too.We're just a step away from disbanding and unlessother workers appear the effort may end.

We've been telling the stories of our residents. Iconfess that we haveonly scratched the surface. Nowthe question is - do you want this publication tocontinue? Do you care enough to step forward andhelp us? Let me hear from you.

Life's JourneyLife is not a journey to the grave

with the intention of arriving safelyin a pretty and well preserved body,

but rather to skid in broadside,thoroughly used up,

totally worn outand proclaiming,

"Wow, What a Ride!'!"_An()n

Hawthorne RemembersPublished by Hawthorne Historical Society

Editor George WolfWriters Nancy Apsey Lee Manausa C.R. White

Submissions to: vonflow43@aol.com

Saluting LeesburgAs Leesburg is celebrating its 150th Anniversary,

we are reminded that Hawthorne conducted a fundraiser for the benefit of this larger city to the northof us. Here is an article that appeared in our PennNotes for Apri I 1982

An air of carnival festivity filled the ClubhouseMarch 15th complete with colored balloons, popcornand soda pop. It was all for a good cause - to raise$5,000 for the "Leesburg Alert" project to renovatethe Leesburg Community Building located inVenetian Gardens.

Residents flocked to this Hawthorne SalutesLeesburg celebration where entertainment wasfurnished by the Fun with Music band, theBarbershoppers, the Hawthorne Chorus, LadiesKitchen Band, Peter Kirk on the bagpipes and specialentertainment from Circus World.

Where else but at Hawthorne could you have somuch fun and still accomplish so much in a fewhours? We went over the top to the tune of morethan $6,000.

Bill Lacy was Master of Ceremonies for the event,and a host of willing Hawthorne volunteers and theever·present Hospitality Ladies helped make it asuccess.

EditorialIn October 2000 I began my tour as editor of

this newsletter. I commented in that issue, "Asusual,I'm in over my head." That was seven years ago.Where does the ti me go?

The Hawthorne Residents Cooperative Associationhas witnessed the passing of time too. Our successis our people. The difficulty is that our people choseto leave us. Or they leave the scene entirely. Timeis not our friend.

I've had genuine help in learning the desktoppublishing game. Chuck Manausa has been mymentor. He has saved the day for me many times.Lee served on our Board of Directors and was ajournalist for our newsletter. They moved fromHawthorne last week to be closer to family. QuotingLee, "Our years here have been fruitful andwonderful! We shall miss many of you. We loveyouall and hope you enjoy living here as much as wehave these past years."

We live in a special place. May we always upholdour values and maintain the Spirit of Hawthorne.

Hawthorne Has Always Had its 'Lookers'