Roy Simon (left) and his brother Ernie (far right) — with assistance from Amanda Herrick and daughter Laura Simon — entertained the crowd at Boston’s with stories of their childhood in Delray Beach. Photo by Jerry Lower
By Paula Detwiller
A Delray Beach group has introduced an enticing way to get young residents interested in their city’s history: Invite them to belly up to the bar.
That’s the idea behind the “Happy History Hour,” aimed at young adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s. It’s a time for cocktails and conversation and casual history lessons, held at historically significant watering holes in Delray Beach each month. For a donation of $10, attendees get a free drink, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, and a memorable glimpse of Delray’s past.
Happy History Hour is the brainchild of Preservation Generation, a young networking and service group that seeks to raise awareness of Delray’s rich history and stimulate interest in preserving it. Proceeds from the happy hour events are donated to the Delray Beach Historical Society, the Delray Beach Preservation Trust and the Sandoway House Nature Center.
“I don’t think young people normally think about historic preservation,” says 34-year-old Clayton Peart. “We wanted to make it fun.” Peart joined with his sister Ann Margo and several others to create Preservation Generation last year.
You might say the Pearts have preservation in their blood; they grew up in homes built in 1928 and 1942, and their mother, JoAnn, has long been a local crusader for historic preservation.
Clayton Peart says he sees people he’s known since grade school at the Happy History Hour events. “We all went off to college and then came back,” he says, a testament to the allure of his hometown. “When I was at UF, I’d tell people where I was from and they didn’t even know where Delray was. Now it’s really popular, but the small-town character is still here,” he says.
And that’s precisely what Preservation Generation wants to uphold, according to steering committee member Amanda Herrick, 25.
“I grew up in Wellington, which doesn’t have a downtown. It’s just shopping centers,” she says. “When I would come to Delray Beach as a child to visit my grandparents, I remember how it felt so different.”
Herrick says Delray Beach has an “authentic sense of place” compared to many South Florida communities because so much of the city’s architectural history has been preserved.
“When you walk down Atlantic Avenue, you’re walking through history,” she says. “When young people go downtown, they don’t pick up on that right away, especially if they’re not from here. But that’s the cool, historical aspect that makes Delray special. It evolved organically.”
Bringing history to life is a central theme of each Happy History Hour.
The inaugural event was held Nov. 9 at the Falcon House, a 1920s-era family home that’s now a cocktail lounge. Guests perused archival photos and listened to prominent Delray businessmen Roy and Ernie Simon reminisce about going to their friend Howard Falcon’s house when they were all young bucks.
Similar happy hour events have been held at Tryst restaurant, whose 1912 building once housed a neighborhood grocery store; City Oyster restaurant, on the site of a 1930s hardware and lumber business; and Boston’s by the Beach, where Casa Las Olas (The Waves Hotel) welcomed visitors in the 1950s.
Hanging out with the Happy History Hour crowd has been rewarding, says 35-year-old steering committee member Kim Winker, who was raised in upstate New York. “Many of the others are from here, and they know a lot about the history already,” Winker says. “Their passion and love for Delray is really contagious.”
Preservation Generation is using Facebook (www.facebook.com/preservationgeneration) and other forms of social media to promote its activities. They’ve attracted an average of 40 people to each happy hour event and collected more than $1,000 in donations so far. The money is greatly appreciated by the three nonprofits receiving the proceeds.
“I think they’re wonderful and creative,” says Dorothy Patterson, archivist for the Delray Beach Historical Society. “It makes some of us who’ve been around a while
feel hopeful about the
future.”
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