The 1933 Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs Convention at Avon Park
From 14 to 17 March 1933, Avon Park served as the host city for the thirty-ninth annual statewide convention of the Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs (FFWC), bringing club presidents and delegates from every county in Florida to the Lake Wales Ridge during the banking crisis of 1933.[brooksville-1933-03-23]
Host Organization and Venues
The convention was organized and hosted by the Avon Park Woman’s Club, led by local civic leaders including Mrs. William M. Reck.[maxwell-1976]
- Headquarters and Hospitality: Convention headquarters, executive board meetings, and delegate accommodations were centered at the Hotel Jacaranda on Main Street, which served as the primary resort facility in northern Highlands County.[maxwell-1976]
- Plenary Sessions: General assemblies and public addresses were held in the auditorium of the 1915 brick Avon Park High School building on South Highlands Avenue.
The School Funding Crisis and Resolution No. 14
The March 1933 convention met in the immediate aftermath of the national banking holiday proclaimed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 6 March 1933. Across Florida, municipal insolvencies and uncollected property taxes had forced numerous county school boards to shorten terms, reduce teacher salaries, or close schools entirely.[brooksville-1933-03-23]
On 17 March 1933, the convention passed Resolution No. 14, which was reprinted editorial pages across the state:
Whereas, the State Road Department at its meeting in Daytona Beach on March 7th adopted a budget of $14,000,000, and whereas, the public schools in some sections of our state have already closed and many will be forced to close within the next thirty days for lack of funds, therefore be it resolved that the Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs in session at Avon Park, March 14–17, 1933, respectfully requests the incoming Legislature to divert sufficient funds from the gas tax to keep our public schools open.[brooksville-1933-03-23]
The resolution mobilized statewide pressure on Governor David Sholtz and the 1933 Florida Legislature, accelerating legislative action to divert state gasoline tax receipts into county school funds to maintain public instruction during the Great Depression.
References
- brooksville-1933-03-23 — The Brooksville Journal (Brooksville, Fla.). Editorial page, The Brooksville Journal, 23 March 1933, page 2, reporting Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs convention at Avon Park. 23 March 1933. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn95047246/1933-03-23/ed-1/?sp=2
- maxwell-1976 — Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida. 1976. the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md
Related
- Entity: The Avon Park Woman’s Club
- Entity: Hotel Jacaranda
- Report: Schools of Avon Park
- Report: Avon Park in the outside press, 1916-1941
Where this comes from
- Evidence
- corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
- Review
- unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
- Rights
- society
Sources
- The Brooksville Journal (Brooksville, Fla.), Editorial page, The Brooksville Journal, 23 March 1933, page 2, reporting Florida Federation of Women's Clubs convention at Avon Park (1933)
- Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida) (1976) · book
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