Bonnets Up At The Bonnet House
By Chris and Patsy Canning and Cyndi and Jack Voller

Our May 23rd outing was superb. You could not ask for better weather. Thomas Lanahan called this "Bonnets Up At The Bonnet House" and it was a fantastic time as a fun tour and SFJC picnic.

Thomas and his early crew had the tent and tables set up when we got there at noontime. Parking was easy and Thomas and Maryann Finnegan had signs up to help get us from Sunrise Blvd. into the Park. We were given a beautiful and shady space to park and picnic before our private Tour.

Many of us brought British Picnic fare and libations, from deviled eggs (YUMMY!!!), Gloucester and Stilton Cheese, Sage Derby Cheese with English Water Crackers, delightful Finger Sandwiches, fantastic Pastries with English Sausage, a Rum Punch that tickled your whistle to Pimms and Ginger with fresh Cucumber Sticks, and sharing was the theme of the afternoon. It really was like being in the UK on a lovely summer day... and we even had raccoons come to visit. Elaine Levine, at one point, had to actually "hold down the Fort and fight them off" when they came to see what we were eating!

The picnic time gave us all a chance to see Jack Voller's new red Series 1 Jag... what a great car. Jack got some great photos of Chris Canning and Bob Matzner sitting in the car. Looks like E-Fever was trying to nip at Chris' heels and we didn't think that Bob was going to get out of the car. We thought the Voller's were going to have to adopt him! It was also the first time Jack and Cyndi had both cars out together. The sisters seem to be getting along just fine but the new baby still doesn't have a name. Any suggestions?

We were delighted to see members of the Gold Coast Triumph and British Car Club join us. Larry and Susan Miceli came roaring in in their TR6; Phil and Gretchen were not far behind in their TR6; Don and Penny Hilston looked extremely sporty in their MG TD and Brian and Kathy Beck arrived via American style as their LBC is having a makeover.

There were 6 Jaguars in attendance. As previously mentioned, Jack and Cyndi Voller with the MK II and E-Type; Chris and Patsy Canning in their National Concours Winner; Bob and Brenda Matzner in their stunning Cat; Bill Smail and Elaine Levine in their, as always, spotless and gorgeous Kitty and Thomas Lanahan made us all smile when he brought the gorgeously yummy Hope Diamond out for a spin. Richard and Hilary Irving were also there to add to the fun. We hope to see their Jag at the next event.

The picnic time on the Bonnet Grounds was from 12:30PM to 1:45 PM and then we started on the Tour of the Grounds and Estate. The Tour took us throughout this amazing home and garden of this one-of-a-kind Estate.

Bonnet House (named for the bonnet lily that grows here) was designed by Frederic Clay Bartlett, an American artist. The Bonnet House received its name because when the alligators in the ponds would surface, the lilies would be on top of their heads and look very much like --- a Bonnet!! The land was given to Frederic and his wife Helen by her father, Hugh Taylor Birch, as a wedding gift. Construction on the estate began in 1920 and continued for more than 20 years. Frederic and Helen traveled extensively and were art collectors. Helen passed away in 1925 of cancer before the construction ended.

Frederic married Evelyn Fortune Lilly (as in E.I. Lilly) in 1931.

The neat thing about the Bonnet House is that it remains much as it was in the 1930s and 1940s, when Frederic and Evelyn created the unique blend of art and fun design. After Frederic's death in 1953, Evelyn continued to winter at Bonnet House. She made a gift of the estate to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation in 1983 to ensure that a piece of Florida history would be enjoyed by future generations.

Bonnet House is located on a coastal barrier island, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Intracoastal Waterway to the West. Many of our members live on these Barrier islands that protect the mainland from the impact of the ocean tides and currents and provide a habitat for many kinds of wildlife.

Much of the natural environment of barrier islands has been lost today to commercial development. The Bonnet House estate and Hugh Taylor Birch State Park are the only significant remnant of this coastal wilderness in Broward County.

We walked along the Nature Trail and we jumped back in time and experienced a rare piece of old South Florida. You could almost see the Tequesta Indians, who occupied these coastal areas from 2000 BC to 1700 AD. This area was also visited by early Spanish explorers around 1500 AD.

The tour started at The Welcome Center - "Bartlett's Landing" - is the only building on the property that is not original to the estate. We were given a short lecture about the history of the house by our very funny and knowledgeable Tour Guide, John Burns, which was followed by actual videos of the Bartletts at the Estate. We then moved on to the Boat House, situated in the very center of the property, which was the delivery point for building materials brought in by barge during the construction of Bonnet House. It later stored The Bonnet, a 35-foot Richardson yacht the Bartlett's used for cruising the Intracoastal Waterway. The Boat House was rebuilt in 1985. The Bonnet House is working with the City of Fort Lauderdale and the Historical Society to create a Tour Package with the Water Taxi that would include The Stranahan House, Bonnet House and other historical locations located along our waterways.

Next we went to the Pavilion that was designed by Frederic Bartlett for parties and was used by the Bartletts' for afternoon lounging, playing cards or visiting with friends. The Pavilion, built in 1936, overlooks the Lily Pond where the Bonnet lily grows.

The tour then went past The Fountain, added in 1942, another of Frederic's creations, which was built with materials recovered from a demolished estate in Palm Beach. The marble fountain stands at the end of the tree-lined path, which looks a lot like European-style gardens. As we went from room to whimsical room, it became even more apparent that the Bartlett's definitely had a distinct artistic and eclectic style and that they both had a marvelous sense of humor. Each room had something completely unique about it, whether it was a piece of artwork, furniture, flooring, wall treatments, etc. As Chris stated earlier, it is a one-of-a-kind Estate that everyone should experience.

Our group then went to the Chickee Bridge - At one time, a simple plank bridge crossed the early marshland of sawgrass leading to Ft. Lauderdale beach. Frederic had the marsh dredged, forming the slough and ponds on the eastern side of the property. The thatched roof was created later by a local group of Seminoles of the Osceola family.

We next passed by the Island Theater, designed by Frederic and built in 1938, and is surrounded by a moat stocked with Koi. The theater was originally built to show home movies. Today it is used for meetings and classes. Finally, we went into the Shell Museum Complex that was designed by Frederic around 1935 and given to Evelyn to showcase some of her favorite things. The Shell Room contains pairs of shells from around the world and houses orchids in bloom from a collection of more than several hundred types. In the Bamboo Bar, Evelyn often created the house specialty, a Rangpur Lime Cocktail. As Mr. Burns began to give out the recipe, Cyndi quickly whipped out pen and paper - 4 parts Mt. Gay Rum, 1 part Rangpur Lime (Mr. Burns said you could use sour orange mix instead) and, get this, Vermont Maple Syrup to taste. The reason for using Vermont Syrup is that it is by definition 100% Maple Syrup.

We finished the Tour at the Caretakers Cottage & Gift Shop. This was living quarters for the caretaker and his family, who lived year-round at Bonnet House.

We all had many, many laughs and chuckles throughout the tour as everyone seemed to be in rare form. It was pretty much 22 unemployed comedians on a historical tour. Cyndi thought she was going to lose it when we were in Frederic's Art Gallery and Mr. Burns mentioned anatomical parts that Jack was missing that were on the chandelier!

We are sure that everyone will agree that the scenery was quite spectacular and we never quite knew what would pop out at the next corner. It certainly had our curiosity spiked!

What was also amazing was that almost everyone in our group all said the same thing - "I've lived down here for umpteen years and I've always wanted to visit The Bonnet House." Well, I know one thing, I'm sure glad we did, it is truly an Estate that everyone needs to see, experience and appreciate.

After our Tour we had more libations (would you expect anything else from this group!?!) and all happily departed around 4:00 PM with a new found appreciation and love of our two Clubs and The Bonnet House.

It was a fantastic afternoon and enjoyed by all and I know that I (Cyndi) certainly hope that we do more outings like this in the future. Maybe we can even get other types of Car Clubs involved, just a thought. But as a final note -

THOMAS, (standing ovation, clap, clap, clap, clap) THANK YOU - WHAT A GREAT TOUR!!!!!!

Purrs Ya'll!!!

thomas Lanahan's E-type

Bob Matzner behind the wheel of Cindy and Jack Voller's new E-type