Celebrate Lake Placid's 85th birthday at the Depot Museum

By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY

christopher.tuffley@newssun.com

LAKE PLACID -- Sebring isn't the only Highlands County community celebrating a birthday this year. Lake Placid turns 85.

The Historical Society's Depot Museum will be open Saturday and Sunday with special displays to commemorate the birth of the town.

Like Sebring, Lake Placid was the vision of a single individual.

Melvil Dewey -- who invented the Dewey Decimal System used to organize libraries -- arrived in 1927 at the age of 76. He planned to build a southern health and recreation resort similar to his club in Lake Placid, N.Y.

When he arrived, the area around what was called Lake Stearns was already lightly settled, but unorganized. He bought 3,000 acres and began to build hotels and a golf course. Then he lobbied to have the name of the lake changed to Lake Placid.

Unfortunately, his timing couldn't have been worse. The economy collapsed in 1929 and his dream of a great resort collapsed with it.

The town, however, survived, becoming a vacation and retirement center.

Dewey died of a cerebral hemorrhage the day after Christmas in 1931, a disappointed man. His funeral was held at the First Presbyterian Church in town and his ashes returned to New York.

To honor him, the Depot Museum at 12 Park Street has a new display featuring artifacts from the time Dewey was in Florida. Kay Tarr, director of the museum, hopes people stop by and try to guess what some of the artifacts are or how they were used. There are photographs of historic buildings. A DVD is available featuring Dewey in his own words. The museum's caboose will be open and children welcome to explore it.

Individuals like Jerry Pendarvis will be on hand to answer questions and reminisce.

Pendarvis was the town's police chief from 1988 to 2000. He grew up in Lake Placid, left to join the Air Force, and returned years later.

He remembers when the town only had two paved streets, Main Avenue and Interlake Boulevard. There were no traffic lights and only a couple of caution blinkers.

"The town was so small everyone knew everyone else," he said.

He remembers Cecil High, who served on the town council and owned Cecil's Sundries, one of the few early stores.

"Cecil was a wonderful friend to the town and us kids," Pendarvis said. "We'd hang out in his store. He's the one who told me to go into the service."

The public school, now used by South Florida Community College, contained all grades -- kindergarten through high school.

U.S. 27 wasn't built until the 1940s, Pendarvis said. State Road 8, which went through town, was the main road north.

"The (railroad) depot was a working depot," he remembered. "I worked there a couple of summers, loading boxcars. I remember steam trains, but diesel engines were phased in during the '50s.

"The biggest way the town has changed," he added, " is communication. There were very few telephones. It was mostly word of mouth, letters and telegrams."

Saturday and Sunday, this history will be available to everyone, as well as a display of Valentine cards from the early 1900s.

The museum will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

"There is no admittance fee," Tarr said, "but we exist on donations and they are very welcome."