History of Parrish goes on display Jan. 29 in new museum

PARRISH -- Residents of Parrish are slowly but surely pulling together the history of their community, and planning a grand opening of a museum Jan. 29.

"Baby steps" is what Norma Kennedy, president of the Parrish Arts Council, calls the drive to spotlight the history of the village and attract visitors to Parrish.

The centerpiece of the museum in a room of Cecil's Antique Emporium, 12348 U.S. 301 N., is a diorama of Parrish as it might have looked between 1900 and 1920.

Each building in the village diorama, still a work in progress, was crafted by resident John Phillips. Buildings represented include a packing house, train depot, boarding house and more.

Only the Friar Mercantile building still stands, underscoring the urgency

of documenting the history of Parrish.

Phillips has worked from photographs and used input from long-time residents, Vivian Buice and JoAnn Rogers, to make the diorama as accurate as possible.

"My Parrish is long gone," Buice has told leaders of the effort to save the history of Parrish.

Not so, said Rob Kolanowski, one of the driving forces in the revitalization effort. "It will live right here in the museum."

Large-scale paintings of local scenes by Barbara Hart and Jerri Phillips will cover the museum walls.

The museum also has a growing collection of artifacts loaned by residents, primarily from Parrish, but also from Bradenton and Palmetto.

Notable are a street sign from Alhambra Road and a kerosene lamp with a lid from a coffee can soldered to the bottom. The kerosene lamp shows the lengths to which pioneers went to repair and make do with what they had, Kolanowski said.

"People never threw anything away," he said.

Kennedy and Kolanowski have their favorites in the growing collection.

For Kolanowski, it is an 1856 abstract of the Parrish area, and for Kennedy it is the diorama.

Looking forward, Kolanowski would most like to see an aerial photograph of the Parrish area shot in 1920 or earlier, but Kennedy is doubtful such a photo exists.

Kennedy said she would most like to see the community embrace the new museum to help it achieve its full potential.

Both are convinced history is a winner for Parrish.

"When we put up the Historic Parrish Facebook page, the hits were phenomenal, which opened the eyes of a lot of people out here. It's important to save this," Kennedy said.

Kennedy, who researched the history of Parrish for roughly five years while gathering oral histories, has produced a 12-minute video of town life over the generations. It plays continuously in the museum.

The biggest takeaway is how Parrish residents have traditionally been there for each other whether the need was raising a barn or butchering a hog, Kennedy said.

"It was a community that joined together to get things done. The village was so close," Kennedy said.

Old-timers aren't the only ones interested in Parrish history. Newcomers are thirsty to learn more about the Parrish community, too, Kolanowski and Kennedy said.

Kennedy and Iris McClain have been collaborating on a book about the historic houses of Parrish and the people who lived in them, and plan to present it at the next Parrish Heritage Day celebration.

Kolanowski promises the museum will be fun and interesting for people of all ages.

"When we are done, this will be an amazing place to be. This is like planting a seed. It will only grow," he said.

The museum will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free.

The grand opening begins at 6 p.m. Jan. 29.

Information, call Kennedy at 941-776-1681, or Kolanowski at 941-479-7817, or visit the Historic Parrish Florida Facebook page.

James A. Jones Jr., East Manatee reporter, can be contacted at 941-745-7053 or on Twitter @jajones1.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 12:08 AM with the headline "History of Parrish goes on display Jan. 29 in new museum ."