Tag Archives: Stuart Heritage Museum

An Unlikely Series of Events

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When Old-Timers gather at the Stuart Heritage Museum, I have been amused when several of the men address Jim Navitsky, former Superintendent of Martin County Schools, “Coach.”

Jim Navitsky, at my request, poses with two of his former Martin County football players, Bruce Stiller and Bruce Wells. They are looking at a 1977 yearbook.
Jim Navitsky listens to Bruce Stiller as he reminisces about a long-ago football play.

In 1964, Jim and Geri Navitsky, a teacher and a nurse with two children, decided to move from the frigid Pennsylvania to Florida. Geri’s parents, Alfred and Elizabeth Kaufman had retired to Rio where they purchased the Seahorse Lodge. This introduced the Navitskys to the wonders and warmth of Martin County. 

Superintendent of Schools, Tom Crook, offered Jim Navitsky a teaching job at Stuart Middle School. Since Jim’s passion was coaching, he accepted the job of physical education teacher which included coaching the middle school football team. He enjoyed working with the middle school principal, Joe McCoy, who had previously coached the Martin County High School basketball team.

After two years at Stuart Middle School, Jim was appointed head coach for Martin County High School. He was in heaven. Under his leadership, Martin County High School was Sun Coast Conference Champion and Jim was selected High School Football Coach of the Year.

Jim Navitsky was head coach of the Martin County Tigers in 1966-1967.

Martin County Schools were still segregated in 1964 with both Martin County High School, on Kanner Highway, and what was first called Carver Gardens Junior-Senior High, opening in the New Monrovia section of Port Salerno.

Murray Junior-Senior High School was built to serve Martin County’s Black students.
The Murray Junior-Senior High School Faculty pose before the school was integrated; FR: Venus Wallace, Unknown, Ernest Edwards, Cephas Gipson, Emma Washington, Elmira Rawls; MR: Charles Todd, James Robinson, James Wiggin, Kinley Austin, William Delancy, Quilly McHardy, Catherine Howell; BR: Eli Howell, Walter Oden, Ora Dell Turner and Lewis Rice.

When the new school for Blacks was built in Port Salerno in 1964, it was first called Carver Gardens Junior-Senior High School but the name was changed Murray Junior-Senior High, honoring a family of educators including two who had served as principal of the much beloved Stuart Training School.

Murray Junior-Senior High School was running pretty smoothly but the Martin County school system was faced with the nation’s deadline for full integration. The so called “freedom of choice” that made it possible for a few brave students to attend white schools was not fulfilling requirements. When Ernest Edward, principal of Black school resigned because of poor health, Walter Oden became interim principal.

THIS IS WHEN THE “UNLIKELY SERIES OF EVENTS” CAME INTO PLAY.

Rather than Walter Oden, Jim Navitsky was selected to be principal of Murray Junior-Senior High School in the fall of 1967. It was a way to begin full integration but Navitsky was reluctant to give up coaching.

The Murray students were not pleased. To demonstrate their displeasure, they flew the school’s American flag upside down and boycotted classes.

They even made up words to a song to be sung to the tune of “Mercy, Mercy” by Cannonball Adderley:

We want Mr. Oden for our principal!

We want Mr. Oden for our principal!

Not Navitsky, No, No!

Not Navitsky, No, No!

Not Navitsky, No

We want Oden.

For there is no man like Oden

Who will treat us like he should.

We want Oden!

A youngers was singing the ditty as he bagged groceries when Jim and his wife, Geri, were checking out of the local A & P. 

Jim asked Geri, “Do you suppose he knew who we were?

UNANTICIPATED VACANCY

Then, seemingly out of the blue, Tom Crook, Superintendent of Schools, resigned to take a Federal job and Jim Navitsky became his replacement.

THIS IS THE BACK STORY:

Although he had never attended a school board meeting, the few local Republicans, two of whom were on the school board, recommended Republican Governor Claude Kirk appoint Jim Navitsky Martin County Superintendent of School.s

Jim Navitsky had experience teaching in a large predominately Black high school in Philadelphia and was so new in town that he had no ties to the local Democrats who had ruled politics ever since the founding of Martin County. Things were changing. The Republicans thought Jim was savvy enough and had charisma that who make him a good candidate in future elections.

Jim Navitsky was appointed Superintendent of Martin County Schools in 1968 Florida Governor Claude Kirk.

The Republicans  were right. Jim Navitsky served as Superintendent of Schools for 21 years.

Jim Navitsky was an excellent superintendent who led the school system through integration and a teachers’ strike without serious disruptions. It was an important job but he smiles and says “Coaching the Martin County Tigers football team was the most fun.”  

The photographs of Coach Navitsky and Superintendent of Schools Navitsky were taken from the 1977 and 1978 Martin County Highschool yearbooks available at the Stuart Heritage Museum Stuart Heritage Museum

The photographs of the Murray Junior-Senior High School building and faculty are available on http://Martin Digital History

Helen Engebretsen wants her friend to be remembered

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I recently visited the basement of the Stuart Heritage Museum that is entered from the back of the building. It was a beautiful day and when I looked toward the St. Lucie River, I admired the Seminole Chickee-like picnic pavilion.

So many years have passed since the chickee honoring Juanita Geary was built, some of the present leaders of Stuart Heritage are unaware of its significance and all planning and work involved in making it a reality.

Juanita DeBerry Geary 1934-2003
Helen Jean Fleming Gilliard Engebretsen

Helen Engebretsen, with her quiet ladylike manner may not seem like a globe trotting business woman but that is exactly what she became. She first worked for then bought the an early travel agency from Stanley Smith. She was the registered agent of Stuart Travel Service in 1965 and her offshoot “Jensen Breach Travel Service” did not close its doors until 2015. https://archive.tcpalm.com/yournews/martin-county/martin-county-world-traveler-retires-ep-1018362440-340783311.html?page=1

After a house fire resulted in Juanita Geary’s death in 2003, Helen Engebretsen spearheaded the fundraising, planning and construction of Seminole chickee picnic pavilion dedicated to Juanita’s memory.

After Juanita Geary’s unexpected death resulting from space heater fire, her grieving friends wanted something to be done in her memory. Juanita was an early and active member of Stuart Heritage whose family tree includes a number of pioneer families—Stuart, Greene, Wells and DeBerry. At the time of her death Juanita had assumed the responsibility of the Stuart Heritage Museum gift shop. It included items made by the Seminole Indians in Ft. Pierce and the Brighton Reservation north of Lake Okeechobee. Juanita was especially interested in these, because the Seminole Indians often visited the south Florida towns where her family lived during her formative years.   

Juanita Geary’s memorial chickee had to be placed far away from the 1901 building housing the Stuart Heritage Museum for safety reasons.

Helen Engebretsen spearheaded the effort to build the chickee as a memorial to Juanita. It was not easy. The City of Stuart required permitting and said that the Chickee had to be built near the St. Lucie River,  a distance from the 1901 historic commercial building that houses the Stuart Heritage Museum. Donations were collected and contractors hired to pour a slab and build the wooden part of the pavilion. Finding Seminole Indians who specialized in authentic Sabal Palm thatching was a challenge.  It is becoming a lost art.

A muralist from Okeechobee painted the fence that screens the trash dumpsters.

Juanita’s friends were saddened when garbage dumpsters were placed beside the chickee. More fund raising followed and a muralist was hired to paint an Everglades scene to improve the setting of the Seminole chickee pavilion.

Toley Alfred Engebretsen
1928-2023

Helen’s husband, Toley Engebretsen, was a longtime volunteer at the Stuart Heritage Museum serving on the board of directors of Stuart Heritage, Inc. beginning in 1996 and as president from 2012 until shortly before his death in 2023. http://Stuart Heritage Museum.com

Serge Nekrassoff Shared His Skills with the Hutchinsons

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In the early 1960s Jim and Joan Hutchinson lived among the Seminole Indians on the Brighton Reservation near Lake Okeechobee.

Jim and Joan Hutchinson built a home in Golden Gate not far from the Nekrassoff home on Willoughby Creek. As kindred artists they became friends and Serge taught both Jim and Joan the basics of copper enameling.

Jim Hutchinson gained fame as a fine artist and was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.

https://dos.fl.gov/cultural/programs/florida-artists-hall-of-fame/james-f-hutchinson//

Joan and Jim built their rustic home on Delmar Street in Golden Gate in stages.

I think I first heard about Joan and Jim from “Babe” Hudson, the mother of my brother-in-law, Dale Hudson. Mrs. Hudson was very worried about the “starving artists” who had been living on the Seminole Reservation at Brighton and now had a baby boy.

After Serge Nekrassoff taught Joan enameling skills, and allowed her to use his kiln,  she began taking commissions to paint people’s homes on copper trays. Mrs. Hudson became a patron, commissioning Joan’s pieces for gifts for friends and relatives. Two of Joan’s trays have remained in our family. One is of the Thurlow home on Riverside Drive and one was of Dale and Mary Hudson’s home Krueger Parkway.

Joan Hutchinson painted the home of Jane and Tom Thurlow . The house, though much modified, still stands on Riverside Drive at the end of Hibiscus Avenue.
This was Mary and Dales first home on Krueger Parkway. It has been demolished. Dale Hudson’s mother, Mrs. Dennis S. Hudson, Sr., commissioned the enameled tray .

I was able to photograph examples of Joan Hutchinson’s enameling but I did not know where I could find an example of Jim’s.

As is often the case, serendipity rules my life. Right after I visited Mary and Dale Hudson to photograph Joan’s enameled pieces, I drove to Florida Classics Library in Hobe Sound to buy books. When I stood at the counter to pay for my books, I glanced down and saw a copper enameled dish. It was Jim’s work! Val Martin, who founded Florida Classics Library was a close friend of the Hutchinsons. Jim had given the dish to Val Martin when his book store was across from Memorial Park in Stuart.

There is one other local person who learned copper enameling under Serge Nekrassoff, Jane Morrison, the granddaughter of George W. Parks who founded the merchandise store that is now Stuart Heritage Museum. Even though Jane lived all over the world after her marriage to Ray Fentriss, her experience with Serge Nekrassoff was mentioned in her obituary. The obituary, published in The Stuart News on August 24, 2017 stated “She also assisted and trained in copper enamel art under Serge Nekrassoff.”

Jane Morrison Fentriss stands in the Washington Square Gallery in New York City where a Nekrassoff exhibit was featured.

Today, an Internet search of “Serge Necrassoff” bring up many things. There are items for sale on eBay. My interest is primarily his copper enameling but the pewter pieces that cannot be replicated today are of interest to collectors and authorities on metalcraft.

https://www.kellscraft.com/Nekrassoff/nekrassoff.html

Serge Nekrassoff’s son, Boris and his wife, Lois, presented a program for Stuart Heritage Inc. in April 2000.. To complete this blog I am featuring the Nekrassoff display that is there for all to see at the Stuart Heritage Museum, located in the commercial building constructed for Jane Fentriss’ grandfather, George Washington Parks, in 1901.

https://www.stuartheritagemuseum.com

Mosquito switches of note

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This authentic pioneer mosquito switch appears on page 24 of Sewall’s Point The History of a Peninsular Community on Florida’s Treasure Coast published in 1992. It was barrowed from Garnett Rushing Early to be photographed.

Towns in southeast Florida could not grow because of pesky mosquitoes. Talking about and demonstrating the use of mosquito switches is an effective way of sharing regional history.

When Garnett Early was selling her antiques in 1992 I purchased the same mosquito switch I had photographed for my Sewall’s Point book. The mosquito switch had hung by the door in Garnett’s grandmother, ‘s house on Detroit Street in Stuart near the Martin County Courthouse for as long as Garnett could remember. It has been made by her grandmother’s husband, Fred Kummer. Since Garnett was 69 at time, the mosquito switch was many years old.

The girl with the bow is Garnett’s mother, Clara White. Her grandmother, who later became Elizabeth Kummer, stands in the middle. This photograph was obtained from a glass negative supplied by Stephen Dutcher who was Garnett’s realtor when her house was sold.

http://Historical Society of Martin County

Garnett’s mosquito was donated to the Elliott Museum on Hutchinson Island.

This photograph shows the interior of the Capt. Henry Sewall House in Indian RiverSide Park. One of my replica mosquito switches has been hanging by the door since I gave history talks on Wednesdays. Bruce and Barbara Osborn have been hosting visitors on certain Wednesdays since I “retired.”.

Pioneers not only walked around swinging mosquito switches, switches were hung outside doors so the pests could be swished off as a person quickly entered a screen door and closed it. After photographing the mosquito switch in the Capt. Henry Sewall House I went to the Stuart Heritage Museum on Flagler Avenue in Historic Downtown Stuart to photograph their mosquito switches.

The mosquito switches hanging the the Stuart Heritage Museum are both authentic pioneer examples and replicas made by members of Stuart Heritage in the 1990s.

Lauri Bradfield was President of Stuart Heritage, Inc. in 1992. She became an enthusiastic supporter of using mosquito switches to tell about pioneer days. She learned to make them and even made tiny switches to sell for Christmas tree ornaments.http://Stuart Heritage Museum

Celebrating Martin County’s Centennial in Many Ways

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I must be forgiven for worrying about Martin County’s 100th Birthday being properly celebrated.  Initially, I thought my blog would be the best way for me to share our county’s history.

Then, Gregory Enns said his Indian River Magazine would publish a special Martin Centennial edition and asked me to join Donna and Rick Crary as a writer. My ability to access historical photos was more than helpful.

Michelle Moore-Burney, Indian River Magazine’s design editor, created a charming collage of historic photographs for the centennial cover. The magazine is available at no cost at the Stuart Heritage Museum while they last.

Shortly after the Indian River Magazine came out in January, Stuart Heritage had a change in plans and asked me to present a program on February 11th. It provides a perfect opportunity to share a PowerPoint presentation “Celebrating Martin County’s Centennial.”

The program will take place in the Flagler Building, 201 SW Flagler Ave. at 7:00 pm, February 11, 2025.
Stuart Heritage has this notice on Facebook. http://Stuart Heritage on Facebook

Yesterday, David Yankwitt, of Indian River State College, asked me to give a centennial presentation at the Chastain Campus for his history students and the public at large.  It is tentatively scheduled of March 7th at 11 o’clock in the Susan Johnson room in Clare and Gladys Wolf Center.

Additionally, Martin Digital History is going strong. Georgen Charnes is doing a wonderful job. She has “Martin County is turning 100 years old!” on her publicizing bookmarks. 

Georgen Charnes selects photos of interest for bookmarks. I shared this one long ago when Robert Crowder ran for Congress. http://Martin Digital History

Robert Crowder, an officer in the Stuart Junior Conservation Club, and Robert Routa, also an officer, release Green Turtles nurtured at Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge in Ross Witham’s sea turtle “Head Start” program in October of 1961.  

I looked in my “Sheriffs File” and thought his image illustrates the historical importance of Robert Crowder.

With all the activity launching and selling my daughter, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch’s and my Pictorial History of Palm City, and preparing for presentations, I have let my blogging lapse.

Now I must be forgiven for promoting the ways I am helping to celebrate Martin County’s 100 years!