A huge cultural impact: Polk County arts group will induct six into Hall of Fame

The Polk Arts and Cultural Alliance has inducted only one person into its Hall of Fame since 2019, having twice skipped years during the pandemic.

The organization is making up for that with a flurry of inductions this year. The nonprofit will add six current and former Polk County residents next month to the Polk Arts & Culture Hall of Fame, and for the first time the group will hold a gala ceremony to recognize the inductees.

The recently announced list mixes artists and performers of various stripes with two people being honored as cultural forces. The six being inducted at a celebration on Oct. 17 are Clifton Lewis of Bartow; Milford Myhre of Lake Wales; the late Rick Olivo of Lakeland; Harriet Rust, formerly of Davenport and now a Lakeland resident; Bobby Braddock, an Auburndale native now living in Nashville, Tennessee; and the late Nat Adderley, who lived in Lakeland late in life.

The organization, originally known as the Polk Arts Alliance, bestowed its first Hall of Fame induction in 2014 to visual artist Richard Powers of Frostproof. Under its previous executive director, Meri Mass, the alliance generally honored one recipient in subsequent years.

Daryl Ward, named as executive director last year following Mass’ retirement, decided to expand the inductions while also creating an annual celebratory event. In the past, inductees received more informal recognition at meetings or cultural events they were attending.

“I wanted to honor the inductees but also elevate the event to be a celebration of all arts and culture in our community, starting with the Hall of Fame members who are being honored for lifetime recognition and achievement,” Ward said.

The Polk Arts & Culture Hall of Fame Gala will take place Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. at Bonnet Springs Park in Lakeland.

The process began with nominations from the public, from which a list of names was submitted to a selection committee, which included current Hall of Fame members, local elected officials and community members involved with the arts. That group made recommendations to a subcommittee, and the Alliance’s board of directors made the final decision on inductions, Ward said.

“It’d be dishonest to say that it was a truly democratic process because there's always subjectivity in it,” Ward said. “But we tried to make it as community-based and collaborative as possible.”

Ward said that he emphasized the importance of honoring residents beyond Lakeland and Winter Haven, the county’s two dominant cities, and recognizing not just artists but also those making cultural contributions.

“The thing that excites me the most about this group is the diversity of the group,” Ward said. “And I don't just mean racial diversity, although that's there. But there's gender diversity, and there's artistic diversity — or, I should say, disciplinary diversity. So you have visual artists, you have music, you have some cultural champions. And there's geographic diversity. You have someone from Davenport and Bartow and Lake Wales. So that's kind of exciting to me because as a county organization, our job is to promote the arts and cultural achievements and recognition of all of Polk County.”

Cultural champions

Lewis, a native of Louisiana, moved in 1989 to Bartow, the hometown of his wife, Vendarae. In the 1990s, he discovered that a house facing potential demolition had been constructed by Lawrence B. Brown, a man born into enslavement in Alachua County who thrived as a versatile entrepreneur after coming to Bartow.

Lewis, now 81, led a campaign to preserve what is now called the L.B. Brown House, serving as director of the Neighborhood Improvement Corporation, created for the purpose. The endeavor yielded a full restoration of the two-story, Victorian-style house, built in the 1890s and now a museum.

The structure at 470 S. L.B. Brown Ave. (formerly Second Avenue) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also the subject of an exhibit in the National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Lewis led the creation of the L.B. Brown Heritage Festival, held each February since 2000 on the grounds of the museum. Over the years, the multi-day event has included scholarly discussions, demonstrations of early Florida life, entertainment lineups, food and vendor sales. Lewis has continued to serve as director of the festival despite his age and recent health issues.

“I'm surprised, I’m humbled, I’m deeply honored,” Lewis said of the induction. “And I just wonder — what did I do?”

Lewis listed the many other people and entities who supported his push to save and restore the L.B. Brown House — Bartow officials, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, churches and many individual volunteers and financial contributors. He expressed gratitude that the project drew support from “both sides of the tracks” in Bartow.

Rust, 82, is the other inductee described as a cultural champion. A third-generation Polk Countian, she grew up in Davenport, still an isolated hamlet in her youth. Along with her late husband, Pete Rust, then the city’s mayor, Harriet formed the Davenport Historical Society, which arose from a quest to earn a historic designation for a neighborhood.

In the early 2000s, Rust started the annual Quilts and Tea Festival, a display of both functional and artistic bedcovers. The event drew a visit one year from the president of Zambia, who was in Florida in connection with Habitat for Humanity.

Rust also conceived of the annual Highwaymen Arts Festival in Davenport, honoring a collective of artists with little formal training revered for their vibrant depictions of Florida landscapes. And she promoted the Citrus Label Tour, a celebration of the colorful designs used on shipping crates shipped north in the early 1900s.

“It's an honor, it really is, to be recognized with a fine group of people,” Rust said. “The thing about these awards — which are very nice, and I am very humbled by it — but it always takes a lot of other people to place one person in the limelight. It’s really a lot of people that get these things done throughout the county.”

After the death of her husband in 2017, Rust moved to Lakeland to live near her daughter, Sara Roberts McCarley, a Lakeland city commissioner. Rust has served on the Polk County Historical Commission and other advisory groups.

“I've lived my lifetime here in Polk County, and there's been a lot of activities promoting art and culture — more for the arts, I think, than culture. So we really are pleased to have this portion recognized. And there are a lot of small and large events throughout the county that are cultural related. We have numerous historic societies and organizations that do contribute.”

Carillonneur, artist honored

Myhre served as chief carillonneur for 36 years at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, providing voice to the attraction’s “singing tower” by pounding on levers that controlled an assembly of bells ranging up to nearly 12 tons. Myhre, 91, retired in 2004, having performed some 2,000 afternoon recitals.

At the time of his retirement, Myhre was one of just six professional carillonneurs in the country.

Myhre established the International Carillon Festival and the Music at Pinewood concert series at Bok Tower Gardens, and he is a founding board member of the Lake Wales Arts Council.

Olivo, who died last year at age 74, was perhaps Polk County’s best-known artist. A Puerto Rico native who grew up in the South Bronx, he came to Winter Haven in the 1980s and made an impact in myriad ways. He founded the Pied Piper Players, a troupe that evolved into what is now Lakeland Community Theatre.

Olivo taught art, first at Rochelle School of the Arts and then for decades at the Polk Museum of Art. He operated a studio in Lakeland’s Dixieland neighborhood for several years. His artistic legacy endures in the city’s public swan sculptures, for which he created the model, and the Dragon of Toys, a whimsical assemblage displayed at the Florida Children’s Museum at Bonnet Springs Park.

A versatile creator, Olivo excelled at drawing, painting and sculpture.

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Honored for their music

The final two inductees achieved success outside of Polk County but have indelible local ties.

Adderley, who lived from 1931 to 2000, gained renown as a jazz trumpeter, along with his older brother, saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley. Nat composed “Work Song,” an enduring jazz favorite.

Born in Tampa, Nat Adderley resided in Lakeland starting in the 1980s, even as he spent much of the year touring with jazz ensembles. He joined the faculty of Florida Southern College as an artist-in-residence, and he promoted and performed in the school’s annual Child of the Sun Jazz Festival for more than a decade.

Braddock, who spent his childhood in Auburndale, is one of country music’s most esteemed songwriters and producers. He co-wrote “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” a George Jones staple often called the all-time best country song, along with “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” a hit for Tammy Wynette, who became Jones’ wife.

Long based in Nashville, Braddock, 83, has produced albums for the likes of Blake Shelton.

Along with Powers, the previous inductees to the Polk Arts & Culture Hall of Fame are Norman Small (theater), Robert MacDonald (music), Beth Mason (arts promotion) State Rep. Melony Bell, R-Fort Meade (arts promotion), John DeYoung (music), Paul Hughes (theater) and Mass.

Tickets for the Oct. 17 event can be ordered at https://polkarts.org.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk arts group will induct 6 into Hall of Fame for cultural impact