Visions of Paradise: Historical Society to Meet at Florida Tech

– The 102nd annual meeting of the membership of the Florida Historical Society, “Visions of Paradise,” takes place April 14-17 at Florida Tech and the
Melbourne Hilton Rialto. The meeting will be hosted by Florida Tech. Program chairman is Dr. Gordon Patterson, Florida Tech professor of humanities and communication.

The keynote presentation, “Slavery in Florida,” is open to the general public at no charge. It is on April 15, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the F.W. Olin Life
Sciences Auditorium. The presentation is by Larry E. Rivers, dean of Arts and Sciences at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. He is author of
the award-winning book, Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation.

At the conference, Florida history scholars from throughout the state will make presentations on Florida’s past, including its maritime legacy, explorers,
Civil War frontier and the great Florida hurricane of 1928.

Scholars also will talk about Florida’s technology, environment and culture, including parks, highway system and tourism. There will also be an exploration
of Florida’s literature and environmental writings.

Conference participants may also take guided tours of Fellsmere, downtown Melbourne and the Florida Tech campus.

For more information, call Dr. Robert Taylor, Florida Tech associate professor of history, at (321) 674-7384.