Archival Collections

The Albin Polasek Collection includes materials on the life and work of Czech sculptor and Winter Park resident Albin Polasek. The Collection consists of scrapbooks, correspondence, business records, certificates, speeches, photographs, pamphlets, programs, invitations, newspaper clippings, and related papers.

This collection contains the research materials collected by Archimedes L. A. Patti for use in his historical writings. Known for his military career, his work in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and his relationship with Ho Chi Minh, Patti was recognized later in life as a respected researcher and historian on Indochina affairs. Notes, manuscripts, ephemera, photographs, maps, books and scrapbooks are held in this collection. Of important note are photographs given to Patti by Ho Chi Minh in 1945.

The collection contains photographs, news clippings, and personal letters that are about Charles Millican. The photographs range from social events to private family photos.

These materials were in the possession of Betty Pooler Mitchell Nehrling, Henry Nehrling's second wife. Dr. Henry Nehrling was a horticulturist famous for his gardens in Gotha and Naples, Florida. The collection consists of letters, documents, photographs, postcards and monographs which provides insight into the familial and financial affairs of the Nehrling Gardens. It also offers a look at Henry Nehrling during the tumultuous years of Florida's boom and bust, and a glimpse of his failing physical and mental state while he sought refuge in a quiet communal colony in Southwest Florida.

This document explains the types of biotic communities found on the Florida Technological University Campus in 1971 and makes recommendations for actions to preserve those communities as the campus develops. The university was renamed in 1979 to the University of Central Florida.

The Bromeliad Society International (BSI) Archive consists of historical materials, including photographs related to cultivation of bromeliads; field notes related to the collection of bromeliads in the wild; list of plant entries in judged bromeliad shows; incoming and outgoing correspondence from early bromeliad growers; biographies; administrative records of the BSI such as, copyright registrations, copies of meeting minutes, annual reports, and bylaws; BSI publications; and ephemera, including posters and pins. The purpose of the BSI is to promote and maintain public and scientific interest in the research, development, preservation, and distribution of bromeliads, both natural and hybrid, throughout the world.

George Millay founded both Sea World and Wet 'n Wild for which he was named Father of the Waterpark Industry. This collection of correspondence, photographs, memorabilia, news clippings, reports and audio visual materials documents the complicated and not always successful process of building a new waterpark. In addition to materials concerning Sea World and Wet 'n Wild, the collection contains information on George Millay's other projects and his personal achievements.

Harris Rosen Scrapbooks, Home Movie Archives, and Business Records document all aspects of his life and work. First collected and created by Rosen's father, Jack Rosen, materials include correspondence, photographs, autographs, drawings, greeting cards, memorabilia, and home movie archives of Harris Rosen. Rosen carried on the tradition and still continues to create scrapbooks to document his life and family, along with his work as an influential Orlando hotelier and philanthropist. This is an ongoing project, therefore additional scrapbooks will be added as acquired.

Henry Nehrling was a horticulturist famous for his gardens in Gotha and Naples, Florida. These papers are primarily manuscripts of his articles in the American Eagle and other writings about plants. They include a few news clippings, plant lists, correspondence and other documentation of a business and personal nature.

The seal of the University of Central Florida was one of the first items created for Florida Technological University. In 1966, a local citizen wrote a letter to the Florida Governor asking to take into consideration some thoughts he had as to what the new seal should look like. Within a few months, the staff at the newly formed Florida Technological University, with the help of the Board of Regents, began to collect information and designer input as to what the new seal should be. In a twenty-two month long process, the seal was finally chosen and unveiled to the public on April 5th, 1968. The final seal is made up of the Pegasus, designed to "bridge the gap between the humanities and space technology" and was chosen to keep with the university's goal of moving forward and making a "rendezvous with space and the stars". This collection highlights the initial correspondence between the community and the university and the task undertaken by the staff at FTU to create the new university seal.