Prior South Lake Historical Society members Jeff and Barbara Krull visited the Historic Village on Monday, April 9th. Former Mayor Jeff Krull served two terms as Mascotte’s mayor, and Mayor Barbara Krull is the current Mayor. They were longtime members of the Historical Society in its early years and were heavily involved with the restoration of the Village’s first two buildings—the Townsend and Kern Houses. Together they shared their remembrances. It is not often to hear someone talk fondly about pulling nails out of floorboards or scraping their knuckles while working with lath and plaster walls.
Some of the information they shared helped to answer questions from current members, Example: Q. How did Sallie Townsend manage to go to school to become a midwife when the school was in Orlando, and she lived in Clermont? A. The trip into town was not easy back then, and she certainly could not go to and from each day. She took their horse & wagon and drove into Orlando, stayed with friends during the week and came home on weekends.
Two more interesting bits of information they shared about the Townsend’s home were that two different types of pine wood were used in the flooring—yellow in most of the house and white in the kitchen. And, the reason the house was so low to Route 50 when it was finally moved to the Village was that James & Sallie had built their house at street level, but when the city installed sewers, they raised the road 15 feet. Suddenly, the Townsends were living in a little valley.
The Krull’s described working on the projects and named Dolores Walker and Janet Thomas as part of the team. They praised the talents of Larry Rescoe and the leadership skills of Louise Stockton.
As the proud mayor of Mascotte, Barbara talked about one particular item on display in the Townsend House that came from Mascotte. It is the quilt hanging in the bedroom. The quilt was a fundraiser for a local church and for the hefty sum of 10 cents, you could have your name embroidered on it.
If you are interested in history in general or the history of Lake County in particular, contact the South Lake County Historical Society by going to the website, ClermontVillage.org; by calling Roxanne Brown, Village Manager, at 352-593-8496; by emailing her at slhistoricalsociety@gmail.com,
Tour the Historic Village any Friday from 1 pm to 3 pm or any Saturday or Sunday from 1 pm to 4 pm; or attend a membership meeting which are held on the second Monday of the month at 7 pm in the Train Depot in the Historic Village, 490 West Ave., not far from Clermont’s historic downtown shopping district. The next meeting is on May 14th.
