Renown Highwaymen Takes the Solo Road

Renown artist, Mary Ann Caroll, is stepping away from the nationally acclaimed Florida Highwaymen to do her first ever solo art exhibition.

The Florida Highwaymen started their craft in the 1950s in Ft. Pierce and consisted of 26 African-American artists, which was considered controversial during the segregation period.

Caroll was the only female of the group, but said she never had any fear of what people may do or think about her or the other highwaymen. "When I think of man, when I think of woman, it always spelled at the end with three letters. Same three letters, m-a-n ... I just looked at it as a job is a job. Whoever does it, does it. If it's a woman or a man, if you could do the job, do it. I've had to do a lot of manly labor and I'm not a man. So, I guess that's why I never paid any attention to it."

Caroll said she feels that even today, racism still lingers, though not as bad as before, but doesn't let it affect her, instead has used painting as her outlet during the times of struggle and made it easier for her to support her children, which she said was her primary motive for beginning the craft. "It was a tight life, but it was a right life," she said. "It was a good life."

Her daughter, Kandie Ingram, recalls growing up in her mother's world.

"I was too young to know what was going on," Ingram said. "All I know is we had fun a lot traveling, getting the perks, eating ice cream, you know, the perks. I didn't know the significance of it."

Ingram said that she and her siblings, along with their next generation, realized as they got older the importance of her mother's work, and that each are all adept in drawing, but have not pursued it as a hobby or career. On the other hand, Ingram said, she was into athletics, even though her mother had the kids help with matting and framing.

"Art conquers the mind ... You can drift away in art," Caroll said. "You can drift to places you've never been and just imagining yourself there. So, that is why I wanted them to be involved."

Caroll, who still lives in Ft. Pierce, said she paints only with oil paints, anything from abstract pieces to the landscapes of Florida's natural scenery that the Highwaymen have become famous for portraying in their pieces.

"The reason the landscapes are done so prevalent is because a lot of people who were here before, they come back and all the things are gone," she said. "And it's just not like it was. They may have a little lake on some land and when they come back, it's a condominium there or a shopping center ... Their desire was to get something that reminded them of home."

The landscape artwork that can now be seen being created by recent artists. Caroll said the story behind the Highwaymen's art make their work unable to duplicated and truly one of a kind.

"The [artists] now don't have any suffering to go through" she said. "They don't have any struggles. They are reaping the benefit that we have provided. They are reaping the benefit off our suffering and struggling ... They have never once been insulted [or] persecuted for just trying to do right."

Kandie said she is organizing the show to present her mother's talent.

"She doesn't know how great she really is because she gets so lost in a group of people," Ingram said. "Sometimes people just want you ... My vision for her is greater than she may even think because I know her work. I tell people when you get her work, you're getting all of her."

One person who has appreciated Caroll's aptitude is Barbara Chandler, who is the assistant manager of the Hannibal Sq. Heritage Center and said it was an honor to be able to showcase Caroll's work for an annual benefit that they have had for the past two years.

"I think what Mary Ann Caroll - of course, being the only noted female - brings to the table, is that femininity in her art, which is really nice to see. One of my favorite pieces is of a lavender Poinciana and one thing you can see in that, is a woman's touch and I think that's very unique in a male dominant field especially during the era of segregation."

Caroll said she won't stop at this show, but will continue producing art for shows to come.

"I could be painting with bad eyes or tired body, but it's something about painting when I get into it ... It takes the mind and this is why it's therapy, I believe. It can be therapy; take your mind from where you are to where you need to be," she said.

The purpose of the show is to not only represent Caroll's work, but also as a way to help fund ministries and to give back to God. "There's a lot of churches that don't have proper money," she said. "I survived. I thank God. And what He gives me, I give back to him, as I should."

The show is taking place on Aug. 13 at the Woman's Club of Sanford. For more information, contact Kandie Ingram via email at kandieingram@yahoo.com or telephone at 850-345-9381.

Homeless Shelter Makes Advances to Facility

Rescue Outreach Mission has been providing services to the homeless for 25 years and continue to find new and innovative ways to keep their residents comfortable and happy.

Their most recent addition is the playground and learning center and have made renovations the children's playroom, all of which are inside the Open Door Shelter for Women and Children.

Executive Director Ernie Hamilton said they accomodate to when the times change. "We wanted to make it suitable for today's children," he said. "It's just a change in the time. I'm sure five years from now, we will see things grow and change as we move forward. Just like any university or business, it always changes and this is going to be forever changing also to meet the needs of the community."

The Playground

The modern playground was put in the backyard of the Open door in 2010 and was refurbished by Leadership Seminole, who raised $75,000 for materials.

Wayne Weinberg, president of Leadership Seminole, said they were happy to have helped. "It puts smiles on each and everyone of our faces," he said. "It's pretty cool. It's great stuff. I tested it. I started swinging on it."

Tanishia Hunter, a case manager in the women's unit, said the former playground, which was an old, wooden kind, was not being utilized but the replacement has "livened" the children, who play at least three times a week.

Hunter said she enjoys seeing the residents socialize. "It's just good to see them come out together, not just one person sitting out here," she said. "But all the families come out here and socialize and they have fun. It's really good. This has really just made things better here for the kids."

The Learning Center

Four brand new Dell computers equipped with headphones were set up at four individual tables and are equipped with headphones for the residents of the shelter to use the internet for communication with family or to find jobs.

"All of our residents have to go down the road to the library to use the computer and I said, you know what it would be really good to have something here on-site," Hamilton said.

Residents will also be able to use the Access program to apply for food stamps, medicaid and cash assistance.

Hunter said due to the time limits for computer use and crowds at libraries, they were motivated to do this.

"We just wanted to make it easier for them to access what they needed, here," said Hunter.

The shelter received a $10,000 donation from Symantec for the costs affiliated with the multimedia room, but the paint, flooring and furniture was donated by Leadership Seminole Class 19, a group that provides volunteer services to the community.

The Play Room

Class 19 also assisted the shelter with remodeling the playroom. An engraved name plate has been placed on the door and reads, "Leadership Seminole Class 19."

"It's not like your regular at-home [playground]," Hamilton said. "It's like the city park, county park kind of playground. It is beautiful ... [It] has the state of the art brand new things in there for the kids to play with. It looks like a little classroom."

Hunter said that prior to the modifications being made, the play room only had a table with chairs and that that the room was falling apart. "They made it really look like a VPK room for the kids to come in and have so much fun and help develop their mental education. They love that room," she said.

Now, the room is packed with all different types of dolls, toys, games and even a kitchen for kids.

Mission Accomplished

Chantal Brazell has been living at Open Door with her two children, Aliyah, 2, and Walter, 4, for about a year and said the children love the playground. "They really enjoy it," she said. "They like playing, like getting stuff to learn and keeping active."

Walter said his favorite activity on the playground is the tire swing, and Chantal said Aliyah's favorite is the slide. "I have lots of fun," Walter said.

"It's a really good place," Chantal said. "They are very helpful. They help you get on your feet in the right way. They are positive people. They try to keep you positive. They try to keep you on the right track and try to help you the best way they can."

More Work Ahead

"My next vision is phase two," Hamilton said. "If things go the way it is with some things, we are for this office right here to be the learning center for the men. But right now, they can use next door."

Currently, there are 35 men, six single women, six families and 14 kids living in the shelters, and Hamilton said they are continuously getting more and are constantly full, serving 6,000 meals per month. He said he is eager to do more to help.

"We hope to expand our services even broader in the next year or two. A lot of growth is happening," he said. "We are one of the most employed counties in Florida. So when you think about Seminole County, you think money and you don't think poverty."

But he said that a homeless person can be anybody and no longer fits any stereotype.

"We are watching the face of homelessness change," he said. "The caliber of the person who lives here today is different. It's not just the alcoholic or the drunk ... It's families that are coming in here now needing help."

Hunter had equal sentiments and said she has grown a rapport with the women and children. "It's not the bum that you see on the street holding the sign saying, 'Will work for food,' " Hunter said. "It's the person who has the degree and who had a good job and had a good car. It has really changed. Homelessness has really changed. They are good people. We all are good people."

Sylvia Izquierdo is the administrative director and daughter of Mother Weaver, who had the vision to create ROM. Izquierdo said they are persistently working and that she thanks God for the Rescue Outreach Mission and all of the successful conversions they were able to make.

"We are just proud to be here; proud to be working in here," Izquierdo said. "When you look where we have come from in 25 years; you may see some of the old films of what it was to what it is now."

For more information, visit http://www.rescueoutreachmission.org.

Child Conducts Charity

John Loso spent his summer a little differently than most children his age. After a successful toothbrush charity drive at his elementary school in May, 11-year-old Loso decided to have at it again in the summer time.

Loso, a Sanford resident, collected over 800 toothbrushes at Wicklow Elementary School after he was touched by an episode of "60 Minutes" regarding the homeless population of Seminole County. This time, his goal has been to collect 400 toothbrushes, along with tubes of toothpaste and containers of floss, and to accomplish it all before school starts.

"It's something that I can help the community with because there's a lot of homeless people," Loso said. "And it's not just lazy people that don't pay the bills or anything; there's kids out there. It seems like a lot more kids than adults actually."

Chair of the Seminole Action Coalition Serving Our Needy (SACSON), Trace Trylko, said the numbers in Seminole County, especially Sanford, are extremely high. "Of Orange, Osceola and Seminole County, Seminole County has 25% of homeless of those three," he said. "And a good number of those are in the Sanford area."

Of the homeless population in Seminole County, 17% are veterans and 40% are women and children.

The number of homeless students in the Seminole County Public School system has increased to more 1,700 in this past year and majority have lived in various homes in short periods of time and because there is not enough room in homeless shelters, many of them live in motels, said Trylko.

Trylko is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of the All Souls Catholic Church where the Loso family attends and where the community can drop off contributions. The Loso family also has a partnership with a Firehouse Subs in Lake Mary.

The Firehouse owner, Suzanne Kelly, said many people solicit the business, but felt like John's mission was something she was interested in promoting. "We really try to partner up with good causes for our local area ... We try to do what's right," she said. "We knew it was a nice thing to do."

Janice Plescia is a member of a local group called the Bonkel Club and visited John and his mother at the Firehouse Subs on Wednesday to provide them with buckets filled with 250 items gathered by the 13 members of the organization. "We all decided right away, it was something we'd like to support," Plescia said. "Because it's a very worthwhile cause and with Seminole County as it is with the homeless, all of us should be doing something to help and this is just a small way that we can help. But I think it's a wonderful enterprise that he has. And for John to have thought of it and to come up with the idea and to move forward with it is a wonderful thing."

John thanked Plescia and three other group members for their supply who arrived, and they replied with sentiments such as, "Keep up the good work."

Plescia, Trylko and others have said they were amazed at the work John has done at his young age.

"He's 11 years old and he decided to do this on his own," Trylko said. "What more will he do? It's exciting to see what more he will do. How will he make a difference? What future leader will he become? And I credit his family because they want to have a heart for this issue at a time when honestly, not everyone wants to have that heart."

John's mother, Susan, said she is proud of what her son has accomplished. "He has a big heart," she said. "He just wants to help people. He's in the right place ... He's going to go far. He really is."

John said he plans to conquer more ways to help the homeless and that other projects are in the works. "[Mom] tells me to slow down; finish one thing at a time because I'm already thinking about the next one," he said.

John said he is happy with the work that he's done in order to assist the homeless children of the county and he said: "One kid can make a difference."

As of Wednesday, July 27, the Loso family has raised 2,046 items and hope to continue surpassing their target before the Aug. 15 deadline. All aggregated items will be distributed to Pathways to Home and Rescue Outreach Mission.

John and his mother paid a visit to the shelter on Thursday to donate items, which included one toothbrush, one tube of toothpaste and one container of floss in each package, to the children of the home.

Chantal Brazell has been at the shelter with her two children, Aliyah, 2, and Walter, 4, for about a year. She said she was thankful for John and his family to donate the toothbrushes to her kids. "That's a good that they donated toothbrushes," said Brazell. "My kids love to brush. I think it's a good thing that people who donate toothbrushes can teach kids how to keep their mouth clean. It's important. It's important for them to keep their breath smelling good and have healthy teeth."

ROM Executive Direct Ernie Hamilton said he is so appreciative of John's efforts because something as small as a toothbrush is so big for them.

"It's amazing," Hamilton said. "That's good teaching from his parents; already teaching him philanthropy and how to give. That's really good ... In this time, our operating costs are extremely high. We operate more people come in than we can [help] but God makes a way and we are still here."

For more information, email John at tiglet2@earthlink.net. To donate, visit the All Souls Catholic Church, or the Firehouse Subs at 3587 Lake Emma Rd. in Lake Mary.