Histor-tree

For a quarter of a century, the Zonta Club of Melbourne has created holiday ornaments that highlight Brevard landmarks as a fundraiser for their charitable projects. TANAIYA AUBRIE

Sought-after ornaments celebrate sites of yesteryear

Zonta member Sandy Michelson originally proposed the idea of the hand-painted Historic Brevard collection of ornaments. SANDY MICHELSON

While the Space Coast may not brim with major landmarks like the Empire State Building, St. Louis’ Gateway Arch or the Hollywood sign, Brevard nevertheless has plenty of memorable buildings and places. Whether it’s the Rocket Garden or the Big Orange, the Henegar Center or the departed — but not forgotten — Annie the Dragon of Dragon Point, there are many favorite local spots. 

For some, it may be Del’s Freez, with its memories of many a delicious ice cream headache. The allegedly haunted Ashley’s Restaurant in Rockledge may evoke good times for others. It could be the Strawberry Mansion, now just The Mansion, or Field Manor or the Melbourne Beach Pier. Whatever the building or place, the odds are in your favor that Zonta Club of Melbourne has — or is planning to have — a holiday ornament that commemorates it.

Every year for 25 years, the Brevard County service group has debuted a different holiday bauble highlighting a local icon for its popular Historic Brevard Christmas Collection. The ornaments are cheery, but the reason behind the project is a serious one. Funds from sales assist with Zonta projects that include scholarship programs for local women, and shedding light on the issues of human trafficking and violence against women.

Zonta Club of Melbourne is the local chapter of Zonta International, a global organization dedicated to empowering women locally and worldwide. The nonprofit fights for equality for women, and an end to human trafficking and domestic violence.

POWERFUL MESSAGE

The 2024 Zonta ornament features the Moore House at Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex in Mims. HESTIA CREATIONS

This year’s Zonta ornament also carries a powerful message. The Moore House, a modest Florida vernacular bungalow in Mims, was the site of “the bomb heard around the world,” as newspaper headlines described the tragedy of the bombing that killed its owners, educators and civil rights activists Harry and Harriette Moore.

The ornaments are handcrafted by Hestia Creations of Marblehead, Massachusetts, and hand painted by work-at-home moms. “It really works well with our mission to help women,” said Sandy Michelson, who launched the ornament project in 1999. 

Using an approach she admits is completely unscientific, Michelson and other fellow Zontians decide on subject matter each year. “Once we pick a subject, we take a bunch of photos from every angle and forward them to Hestia,” Michelson said.

Like potato chips, it’s hard to enjoy just one ornament, and collectors, like former Zontian Peggy Braz, purchase many. A history fan, Braz even authored a book on Melbourne history. So, the ornaments, which each include a brief history of the site, are right up her alley.

Braz’s collection is not stored away once Christmas is a memory, but instead proudly visible throughout the year. Since the ornaments can be purchased with a stand, it’s easy for her to keep them on display. “It’s fun to look at them,” she said.

A curio cabinet in her West Melbourne home is well stocked with several years’ worth of ornaments, to the point that several reside atop the cabinet and not in it. Which are her favorites? 

“Dragon Point and Big Orange,” she said.

Dragon Point is also a hit with Shannon Coutant Ferry.

“This ornament brings back special memories for me from my first visits to the Space Coast area,” she said. “My first time to the Space Coast was when I was 12 years old, to visit my aunt and uncle who lived in Indialantic at the time. They had a boat and would take me out on the Indian River, and we would ride by the dragon statue on the island. It was sad to see that statue deteriorate.”

Despite her busy schedule as an American Airlines Airbus 321 pilot, based out of Miami, Coutant Ferry gladly gives her free time to further Zonta’s mission. “I love volunteering beside our amazing and motivated members and leaders,” she said. “They are wonderful role models and together we got so much done in the community.”

The Del’s Freez ornament remains one of the collection’s most popular. HESTIA CREATIONS

SIGNIFICANT STRIDES

‘Big Orange,’ as the vintage orange juice stand on U.S. 1 is known, is another much-loved collectible. HESTIA CREATIONS

Current president Cathy Greene adds that Zonta has made significant strides in raising awareness of the issue of human trafficking. “It has only been in the last couple of years that people started to realize that it doesn’t just happen in other parts of the world,” said the Viera resident. “It happens here, too.”

Like Braz and Coutant Ferry, Greene has her favorite holiday ornament.

“For me it’s the Cocoa Village Playhouse, because I’ve had season tickets there for many years,” she said.

Doris Larson joined Zonta in 1990, while living in Annapolis, Maryland, and transferred her membership to the Melbourne chapter when she moved here in 2002. Larson notes that, in addition to advocacy and raising awareness, Zonta offers help to build a better world for women through educational scholarships. “I am very proud of our work,” she said.

As to her favorite ornament, that’s easy. “It’s Big Orange,” she said.

For the newbies, Big Orange, on U.S. 1 about a mile or so north of Eau Gallie Boulevard, was built in 1967. Fifteen feet in diameter, Big Orange was once a juice stand. As with all the Zonta ornaments, the Big Orange version includes a short bio of the landmark. Another crowd favorite, the Del’s Freez ornament, details how the popular ice cream stop had been around since 1956, before namesake Delbert Schmadel purchased it in 1968. 

Unlike collections that retire specific ornaments after a certain period of time, the entire plethora of Zonta ornaments is available, allowing anyone to become an instant collector. At $25 per 3.5-inch ornament — or $30 with a stand — it’s a reasonably priced gift to yourself, or to friends or family. Shipping is available, too. 

Meehan’s in downtown Melbourne carries the entire collection, as does the Zonta website at zontaspacecoast.org.

Zontians Shannon Coutant Ferry, left, and Cathy Greene hold their favorites from the club’s collection. TANAIYA AUBRIE

Moore House

Harry and Harriette Moore, who taught in segregated schools in Brevard during the 1920s through the 1940s, were pioneer civil rights activists who paid  the ultimate price. Harry Moore organized the Brevard chapter of the NAACP and would go on to help coordinate similar chapters throughout Florida. The Moores led the fight against injustices and inequalities on a number of fronts, including voting and civil rights, as well as battling for equal pay for the state’s black teachers. 

On the evening of Dec. 25, 1951, a bomb exploded under the bedroom of their 

Mims home, killing both. The couple had gone to bed after celebrating 

Christmas and their 25th wedding anniversary. 

A replica of their modest yellow bungalow stands on the site of the original home, now part of the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex in Mims. The interior of the house has also been faithfully recreated to reflect the time the Moore family lived there. Visit harryharriettemoore.org for more information.

See the original article in print publication