Lighting up history

Charles H. Morse stood bathed in candlelight at the entrance to the Osceola Lodge, poised to greet a parade of guests with a smile, introduction and a handshake.

Despite the wholly authentic crystal knobs, warmly worn wood floors and antique furniture inside the historic building, the flat screen television and cable box were telltale signs that the guests hadn't truly been transported into Winter Park's past.

On Thursday, the Friends of Casa Feliz did a candlelit walking tour with stops at the Osceola Lodge, Central Park and Greeneda Court. At each stop, costumed impersonators of famed Winter Park residents —Morse, Loring Chase, Hamilton Holt and Gamble Rogers — spoke about their experiences living in the city.

Betsy Owens, executive director of the Friends of Casa Feliz and organizer of the event, slipped easily into the role of audience member while watching the actors.

"I really forgot that I wasn't listening to the actual historical figure that was being portrayed," she said.

Also on Thursday, the Friends hosted the fourth annual Gamble Rogers Colloquium on Historic Preservation. Before the candlelit tour, Joseph Riley, mayor of Charleston, S.C. since 1975, spoke to 200 people about how he transformed his town into one visited for its preservation of beautiful historical places. He spoke on the importance of saving historical architecture to the cities themselves.

"Every time we let one go, we lose the fabric, the texture of the place," Riley said.

This explains the mission of the Friends and their event. They hope that while entertaining and inspiring people, they also educate them on how vital it is to preserve historic buildings, like their beloved Casa Feliz.

Janet Robison, who attended the event and lives in a Gamble home, definitely got the message.

"It excites people about preserving the historical aspects of the town, and it gives people a great sense of where they're from," Robinson said.

And excitement there was. People made friends, unreservedly sharing what they knew about the people and places on the tour with each other. Their eyes locked on the second story balconies in Greeneda Court, where Jack and John Rogers, son and grandson of James Gamble Rogers, played the noted architect. Another actor played Hamilton Holt. They gave their speeches in appropriate dress vests and bow ties.

Owens called the night a "smashing success," with the lecture getting 200 guests and the tour selling out its 120 spots a week before the event. She hopes all the work put into the event will encourage residents to value how these places are tools to teach about history and that history can also speak for the years to come.

"When you preserve things, there's a message about hope and future," Riley said.

And then there's the beauty that comes along with age.

"Really good architecture, I think, inspires people the way that art inspires people," she said. "They shouldn't be destroyed just like a Van Gogh painting shouldn't be destroyed."

While the history of a building is important, its beauty is something anyone can appreciate, and what many residents value about their Winter Park.

"It really makes such a difference in the community — the way people see the community, the way they live in it," attendee Evelyn Pettit said.

Riley spoke of how citizenship becomes more valuable in a place where history, in the form of Winter Park's Osceola Lodge, Central Park and charming, albeit bumpy, brick roads, is protected.

"Our towns and cities should be a place where every citizen's heart can sing."