East Hillsborough Historical Society presents 45th Annual Pioneer Day celebration
The East Hillsborough Historical Society is pleased to announce the 45th Annual Pioneer Day celebration will be held on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022 at the historic 1914 Plant City High School Community Center, 605 North Collins Street. Hours for Pioneer Day will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event will welcome food and craft vendors, pioneer exhibits and the display of homemade and historic quilts. The family oriented, free, all-day celebration will also include live entertainment, a train ride for kids and a day of fun.
Visit the 1914 PCHSCC Pioneer Museums, the Henry B. Plant Railroad Historical Society’s model train layout, museum exhibits, heritage demonstrations, clogging, dancing, singing and a whole lot more.
Alumni from Turkey Creek High School will share with the community their archives collection for their school’s history.
The Quintilla Geer Bruton Archives Center will host their annual Bake Sale with mouth watering sweets and treats to choose from.
A new exhibit, The Seminole and Miccosukee People of Florida will be welcomed to The Classroom Gallery.
Artist John Briggs will be in his studio turning the press and releasing a new lithograph. Henry B. Plant will bring some of his fellow hotel staff from the Plant Museum and they will tell the inside stories from Mr. Plant’s famous Tampa Bay Hotel. Mr. Planter, the mascot from the days when the 1914 was a high school, will be visiting the classrooms from his days of reign.
Descendants of pioneering families who have lived in the Eastern Hillsborough County area for one hundred or more years are eligible to receive a Pioneer Certificate. Applications are available in the Archives Center or email info@ehhsoc.org.
Plant City Optimist Club brings back annual Christmas Tree lot
For nearly 60 years, the Plant City Optimist Club has been helping the youth within the Plant City community, following its motto of “Friend of Youth.” Their work each year is primarily funded by Christmas tree sales at their annual Christmas tree lot.
Each year, the club sells over 900 Christmas trees at their lot and for several years the club has offered a discount in exchange for non-perishable donations. Partnering with the United Food Bank of Plant City, these commodities will be used to help local families during the holiday season. This year, the club is offering a $5 discount on any tree from the lot with the donation of three or more cans or boxes of non-perishable food.
Trees from 4 to 11 feet tall are delivered to the lot several times throughout the sales season to ensure fresh-cut trees. Club members staff the lot with assistance from students in the various high school service clubs.
Many people travel into Plant City from outlying areas to buy their tree from the Optimists, knowing the top-grade trees are fresh cut and that all the proceeds stay in town to support local youth programs.
The Plant City Optimist Club will begin setting up their lot for the 2022 season on Nov. 19 and be open for business on Nov. 22. Located at the corner of Maki Road and W. Alexander Street in front of Plant City High School, the Optimist Club lot’s normal season runs for around three weeks, with a targeted end date for this year of Dec. 10.
Hillsborough County to host free Adult Caregivers Workshop to introduce local services and resources
November is National Family Caregivers Month and Hillsborough County’s Adult Day Services is hosting a caregivers workshop to assist residents who care for an elderly person.
The workshop, Caregiving Happens: Find Support, Resources and Fellowship — is open to all Hillsborough County caregivers and will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the Phillis Busansky Specialized Adult Day Center, 4102 W. Spruce St.
Improvement League to host Veteran’s Fish Fry
The Improvement League of Plant City will host a Veteran’s Fish Fry at the Bing Rooming House Museum, 205 Allen St., on 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11.
Those who attend this free event will enjoy a homestyle fish fry and music from the 70’s and 80’s.
The Bing Rooming House Museum is a museum in a historic residence in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Plant City, built about 1928 as a boarding house and was operated by Mrs. Janie Wheeler Bing for African-Americans who were not allowed to stay in segregated white hotels or eat in white restaurants. On September 14, 2002, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. In addition, the museum provides free assistance to veterans seeking disability benefits each wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
within their local community. Various goods ranging from vegetables to meats to dairy and bakery goods will all be available.
The pantry, “Moving Hope,” takes place at Hope Lutheran Church on the third Thursday of each month, no identification is required to participate and the pantry is open to anyone in the Plant City community who may need an extra hand.
Hope Lutheran Church welcomes mobile food pantry
Hope Lutheran Church will once again host their mobile food pantry in the church parking lot, 2001 N. Park Rd., on Thursday, November 17.
This pantry, in association with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Lakeland, will begin distributing food to those in need beginning at 6 p.m., running until the supplies are distributed. Anyone in need of grocery assistance is encouraged to join as Hope Lutheran works to help eliminate food insecurities within their local community. Various goods ranging from vegetables to meats to dairy and bakery goods will all be available.
The pantry, “Moving Hope,” takes place at Hope Lutheran Church on the third Thursday of each month, no identification is required to participate and the pantry is open to anyone in the Plant City community who may need an extra hand.