Fourth Graders Sudying Florida History Visit the Rossetter House
On Feburary 1, the Rossetter House hosted art-teacher Nancy Gavrish and about 50 fourth-grade students from Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy. They toured the house and grounds, including the Houston Pioneer Cemetery. Then they took a walking tour of our neighborhood, reaching St. John's Episcopal Church just as the heavens opened. They explored the late-19th-century sanctuary, then had lunch in the Parish Hall. Afterwards they went to the Brevard County Art Museum, just down Highland Avenue from the Rossetter House.
Nancy Gavrish is very enthusiastic about Florida history and shared her excitement with her students, who had heard a lecture on old Eau Gallie the previous afternoon. Her kids were all well behaved and asked many intelligent questions, and we hope there are some budding historians among them!
The Historic Rossetter House Museum is a great place for school groups, who enjoy our 1931 Model A car, our sugar-cane press, the cemetery, and our two interesting houses. A historical scavenger hunt can be added for even more fun. Tours should be arranged in advance.
Roesch House Fountain Refurbished in Eagle Scout Project
Thanks to Shaun Bonner and his helpers (fellow scouts, parents and guardians), a small, cool jet of water now plays and plashes in what was once an empty, forlorn pool that for years had collected dead leaves and branches. As part of his Eagle Scout project, Shaun, a member of Troop 224 (Eagle District) of the Boy Scouts of America's Central Florida Council, spent many hours cleaning, repairing and painting the fountain basin. Home Depot on N. Wickam Road was so impressed by Shaun's project (and presence in scout uniform!) that the store donated a pump for the fountain as well as plants to place around the basin. The scouts then dug a trench from the fountain to an eletrical outlet. With the help of Eau Gallie Electric Contractors, who provided their services at cost, the electrical line was installed and hooked up to the pump. Small rocks were washed and then placed in the bottom of the basin, and mulch spread around the flowers lining its edge. And with the money saved due to local business's generous support, Shaun was able to buy two beautiful Bougainvillea which will be planted at the entrance to the Roesch House. (The plant is named after the great French explorer and naval officer, Louis-Antoine, comte de Bougainville, who discovered it in Brazil during his 1766-69 circumnavigation of the globe; Bougainville also stopped in Tahiti and the Solomon Islands, the largest of which is named for him. If there had been Eagle Scouts in his time, Bougainville would have been one!)
Fourteen-year-old Shaun is in the 8th grade at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School, where he plays football. Refurbishing the Roesch House Fountain--a project initiated by Shaun, who then approached the Historic Rossetter House Museum with his idea--will surely help him toward his goal of attaining Eagle Scout rank. And it is a wonderful improvement to our historic site. Please walk down Highland Avenue during our open hours (now Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.) and admire his hard work!