The Seminole County Historical Society will be having its 2nd Quarterly Meeting on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 7pm. It will be held in the IFAS Auditorium located at 250 Count Home Road, Sanford FL 32771.Please join us for an exciting talk by local author and journalist Joy Wallace Dickinson. She will be making a presentation entitled "Mysteries of the Swing Era in Central Florida: Unlocking the Secrets of the Flamingo Cafe."
The book is fiction but based on real events that actually happened in the 20th century. The book's summary is as follows: "Central Florida in the years after World War II offered a haven for well-heeled winter visitors and patrons of the arts to shake off the snowflakes and blossom in the sun. But just as bright sunshine produces spots of shade, it’s not surprising that the Sunshine State also harbored dark, mysterious areas, where some folks walked on the wild side. Illegal gambling had deep roots in Florida, especially through bolita, the lottery-style numbers game that was the bread and butter of underground Florida. At the Flamingo Café outside Orlando’s city limits, patrons could also engage in casino gambling in a secret back room. Join author Joy Wallace Dickinson to venture onto the shadows explored in her novel Secrets of the Flamingo Café."
A limited number of hardcover copies 'Secrets of the Flamingo Café' ($25) will be available for purchase and autographing, along with an essay collection, 'Remembering Orlando: Tales from Elvis to Disney' ($15). Both may be purchased for $35. Cash, checks, and Zelle are kindly accepted. Book purchase is strictly optional, and Secrets is also available at the Kindle store for $4.99.
Joy Wallace Dickinson grew up in Orlando, where she remembers seeing at least one alligator in the lake across from her childhood home in Thornton Park. From 2000 to 2023, she wrote the “Florida Flashback” feature in the Orlando Sentinel. She’s also the author of three nonfiction books about Central Florida’s past, including 'Orlando: City of Dreams', as well as a mystery novel set in the late 1940s titled 'Secrets of the Flamingo Café'.
Light refreshments will be served. The talk is free, and open to the public! For more information, please call 407-665-2489.
Event Venue
UF IFAS Extension Seminole County, 250 W County Home Rd, Sanford, FL 32773-6189, United States,Sanford, Florida