September Centennial

Labels, beer and longevity highlight September’s Centennial celebrations

VERO BEACH — There is just one month before the Vero Beach Centennial wrap up its year of fun, celebrations and memories.  Thanks to committee co-chairs, Tammy Bursick and councilman, Tony Young each month’s activities have been full of history and a salute to our city’s prosperous future.

Sept. 1-30: Centennial Citrus Labels. Main Street Vero Gallery will take a step back in time to view a curated selection of vintage citrus labels.  Referred to as “Florida’s First Billboards,” as wooden crates replaced shipping barrels, growers began applying uniquely designed labels to display their name brands on the ends of the crates. The labels were an early effort at product branding that also advertised Florida. Citrus labels were used in Florida between 1880 and 1960 with its heyday from 1920 – 1940. Today, these colorful labels are coveted collector’s items.

Generously on loan from George Hamner, Jr., one of the most avid such collectors in the state, the labels showcase Vero Beach’s rich history in the world of citrus. As part of Vero Heritage’s annual “Night at the Indian River Citrus Museum,” last month this collection received such tremendous response that Main Street Vero happily decided to host the exhibit and couple it with the history of Vero Beach’s past 100-plus years of citrus. Located at 2036 14th Avenue, visit this exhibit anytime Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sept. 13: TCPalm/Press Journal Centennial Beer Celebration. Months in the making, Walking Tree Brewery and TCPalm/Press Journal collaborated to create two distinctive centennial beers in honor of the newspaper’s 100th birthday.  The beers will be unveiled from 3-9 p.m. at Walking Tree and the public is invited.  Paying homage to classic print terms the two beers are called: “Ink by the Barrel,” a Schwarzbier which is a rare black lager and a British Golden Ale called “Paper by the Ton.”

There will be a bar-wide toast at 5 p.m. followed by Press Journal and Walking Tree history trivia full of prizes and live music from the Quick Fix Duo from 6-9 p.m.  As an additional perk, each beer will have a small batch separately treated with unique, local ingredients. This is a natural fit for the two businesses. The newspaper was founded in 1919 on quality local journalism that lets the community connect, act and thrive together. Walking Tree, founded almost three years ago, shares a similar community focus — down to its tagline, “Stay rooted.”  Walking Tree Brewery is located at 3209 Dodger Road in Vero Beach.

Sept. 20: Centennial Certificate Program.  Michelle Wagner of the Genealogy Department of the Indian River Library and Anna Brady, Development Coordinator for Florida Atlantic University, will honor families, businesses and buildings in Vero Beach that date its roots back to 1919.  A boomer award will be given for those who were in the area and applied for recognition from 1920-1945. This event will be exclusive to the award winners and their families, who will be hosted at the Women’s Club of Vero Beach located at 1534 21st Street and from 5 – 7 p.m.

This month sponsors are Southern Eagle Distributing and New Vision Eye Center.