Meanderin' thru Eustis, Florida     

                                                                           By Fran with a little help from my friends

Ferran's Department store was the "Store with the Squeaky Floors". It 
was operated for about a hundred years. You could buy the family's 
clothing there, linens and towels, lace and ribbons, needles and thread plus gifts of ceramics and other delightful  things.

Ferran Park sported one of three Band Shells located in Florida. Also in the park was the All Tourists Tourist Club where one could hone their skills at the game of Shuffleboard. Several times a year there were tournaments which drew large participation.

Later on, in the 1950's a city swimming pool was added behind the band shell. Eustis had a pretty good swim team. Even the high school students took their PE classes there in good weather.

Eustis has been the place for pastoral vacationing families for years. Visitors would either travel over land from Deland where the train depot deposited people or by water, down the St. John's River from Jacksonville, through the Ocklawaha River and finally into the Chain of Lakes to Eustis in the early days of the twentieth century..

The Ocklawaha Hotel was a pleasant place to spend some time in the early years. It was situated close to downtown overlooking Lake Gracie.

1923 saw the beginning of a hotel which took up a whole city block called the Fountain Inn.  Also included on the ground floor on 2 sides were retail stores. One newspaper quip said, “Eustis has a hotel named for a fountain pen and at mealtime it’s guests are all self-fillers”. 

The Waterman family had wintered in Eustis for several years prior to building the hotel. They owned a bungaloo east of Eustis on Blue Lake and had lots of peacocks on the property. 

When the depression hit, the hotel was closed and was given to the doctors of Lake County for a Medical Center.  The top two floors were used for the hospital and the lower 2 remained hotel and stores.  The hospital went through changes in size and name for years until it merged with Florida Hospital.  The old structure was demolished and a new modern one was built on US Hwy 441just inside the Tavares City Limits and now goes by the name of Florida Hospital Waterman.

An arcade lead from Magnolia Ave. into the lobby of the hotel.  In the 1960’s a neighbor found an old skunk.  He took it to the vet to be descented.  The vet said the skunk was too old for a scent and he wouldn’t do it.  He wanted to show it off to some friends.  He took the skunk in the back of his pickup to downtown and parked in front of the hotel.  He was showing it  and the skunk, deciding not to be the center of attention any more, escaped and ran right into the lobby.  The police were called.  And to the boys amazement, they discovered the skunk did in fact have a scent.  It turned out to be a bit of an expensive skunk since the officer's uniform  had to be replace.  No cleaning that smell out of them. 

There was another hotel, The Grandview, situated 
cattycorner.  It was a four story building made out of wood where the newer hotel, the Fountain Inn was concrete. 
Many delightful days were spent at these two hotels. 

Large porches adorned both of   them.  Both were known for their good food and large areas that accommodated parties of varying sizes.

Two blocks away was another smaller hotel, The Palms, which housed workers for the hotel.

Eustis sports the oldest continuously running celebration in the state of Florida.  They celebrate George Washington’s Birthday with sometimes as much as a 2 week celebration.  Always included is a parade which in these days lasts around two hours.  There are many horsemen, clowns, midget cars, motorcycles, scouts and whatever else anyone can come up with.

I remember one parade with Rapunzel in a castle tower pulled along the street by her brother, suggesting he was her swain wishing her to let down her hair so he could climb up.

One year they had sky divers who were supposed to land along the shore of Lake Eustis. High winds sent them astray.  Some landed as far away as 12 blocks at the high school while others had to be fished out of the cold Lake Eustis water.

A float in the late 50’s held a trampoline.  Two brothers and their friends took turns bouncing up and down on it all through the length of the parade.

The finale is the beautiful noisy fireworks at the end of the day.  Only when it is so dry
that fire is a threat or there is too much rain are they postponed to a later date.

The Lake County Fairgrounds first were located almost in downtown Eustis. The midway was located across the street which caused the street to be closed for a week.  There were several exhibition buildings, pens in the courtyard with all manner of water fowl.  Large tanks inside one building with fish in them - lots of goodies to eat, and a midway with many great rides to take.  As Eustis grew, the fairgrounds were moved northwest about 3 miles.  One big attraction was the Lake Co. Flower Show.  Exibitors were awarded ribbons for their work.  A new show was done on Thursday so there were fresh flower arrangements and specimens all week.  

In the early 50’s there was a gun club located across the street from the site for the new fairgrounds.  Skeet shooting was quite the thing for men and women alike. 

Interest waned in later years and the clubhouse became “Cat’s Cave” the teen hangout.
Dances after football games were either held there or upstairs at the ELKS Lodge near downtown.

1900's

1930's

1942

The first public school was located on Citrus Ave. It burned down around 1920.  The second high school building was located where the First Methodist Church sits now.  I have heard tales of the boys making paper airplanes and bombarding the neighbor's yard with them, sailing them down from the second story windows.  The gal who lived in the house was none too pleased with their antics and made no bones about letting it be known. 

On the corner where the National Guard Armory is situated was the old gym for the school.  It was an old rickety wooden building which had seen better days for years before it was torn down.  In the late 50’s boys and girls basketball games were still held there.

In 1942 the new high school building was built on Washington Ave.    During the time the high school was being built, the students attended classes at the Eustis Elementary School on Citrus Ave. It took until 1955 or so to have a gym built at the new facility.

The high school got into the swing of the George Washington’s Day celebration by learning about elections.  The seniors would divide into two parties and had students running for various city offices.  The winners would work for the city for a day- riding in the parade with their official counterparts.  Democracy was alive and well during those times.

Our school for blacks was located in their neighborhood.  It had a cafetorium, gymnasium and many classrooms.  During the George Washington’s Parade, on lookers could hardly wait for their band to come high stepping down the street with their own special kind of rhythm.

Proms have changed through the years.  In the 50’s they were held at the Fountain Inn Hotel.  There was a large dining room for the banquet.  We all dressed in nice party clothes for the dinner.  Then we went home and donned our formal attire for the dance held in the lobby. 

In the mid 50’s the king of the prom had sustained an accident and was in the hospital with his leg in a cast.  When it was time for the Bunny Hop he was wheeled in so he and the Queen could lead the dance which snaked all over the room.

The class of ’60 was the last class to use the Hotel dining room.  The dance that year was held at the National Guard Armory.  Decorating the Armory was a big headache for some.  The ceiling was very high so mobiles were hung from the framework to make the ceiling appear lower.  The 1963 prom was held in the new EHS gym located on school property.

Now  the prom and dinner are held at a country club or large gathering place miles from town.

Graduation ceremonies have changed also.  In the 50’s the auditorium of the high school was large enough to seat all the attendants.  Now the football field is needed.  In early 2000's building expansion came to Eustis High.  The football field was moved to a lower level and a track around it for other sports. New buildings replaced older ones and now the area looks drastically different.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               State mandates for schools said playground space must be 25 ft per student.  A group of citizens were appointed to a committee to find suitable space for a new school.  After careful consideration they decided on a part of the old Eustis Airport.  There was ample land for expansion and was still inside the Eustis City Limits.  It was slated to be ready for the first day of school in 1955 but it wasn't.  The committee scrambled to find space for the new classrooms which were to be there and also food for lunch for them.  It took about 2 more weeks before they moved in.  The church's near Eustis Elementary opened their doors to house the students so classes began as they should.

That did not allow the expansion needed for students in  the later 1950's.  Already there had been added a new cafetorium (cafeteria with a raised stage in one end) .  Next came the addition of  bathrooms by the Cafeteria and a new music room.  A building located at the corner of the school property was torn down to make up for the new building space.  

The State relaxed its rules and now Eustis Elem has very little playground area with permanent buildings replacing the modular classrooms used for severl years in the 70's and 80's.  The newest elementary, Eustis Heights Elementary as also seen growth as well.