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George Hardee, Captain of
Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla II
Nov. 1905 |
On Mar. 30, 1903 he performed at a
concert at the T.B. Hotel Casino given by Mrs.
Fletcher and members of her class, where he sang
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" to the delight of all. He
often sang at mass at the St. Louis Catholic church
where he attended and at numerous other public
performances often. He was considered as one of the
most popular vocalists in Tampa and was mentioned in
the Tribune multiple times a week in the early
1900s. In Christmas week 1903 some popular
young singers of Tampa performed his own operetta,
"The Silver Cat" with Mr. Hardee performing the lead
role as "Poncho." Performances continued into
1904.
In Sept. 1904 he
travelled to the St. Louis world's fair to get ideas
for Tampa's 1905 May festival. On his return, in
Oct, the Trib published a very long article by him
on his impressions of the fair. Louise Dodge
also attended the fair.
In
1905 Hardee served as Captain in Ye Mystic Krewe of
Gasparilla's second appearance.
AFTER THE MAY FESTIVAL
- MARRIAGE and JACKSONVILLE, FLA.
Hardee married Elvira Concepcion Guerra on Feb. 3,
1908 and the couple then moved to Jacksonville.
Elvira was the daughter of the cigar manufacturer
Vicente Guerra and Marguerite Neuschaffer.
In
1923 he was involved in convincing the Jacksonville
Chamber of Commerce to start a Mardi Gras style
celebration called the April Follies. Adopting a
slogan of “Be Yourself,” Jacksonville did so in
grand style, as thousands crowded the downtown area
for the longest parade in history. One of the many
private social organizations involved was the
“Jesters,” a group of gentlemen whose membership was
limited to 53, representing a deck of cards plus the
“joker”. (Naturally, George Hardee was a charter
member and later became the 6th Revelers King).
After taking part in the opening day parade, the
group assembled at the Armory for the Coronation
Ball, the theme being “A Deck of Cards”. During the
following year the organization was renamed “Ye
Mystic Revellers” because another local group was
also known as the Jesters. After the bubble of the
Florida Land Boom burst, the April follies were
abandoned. However, Ye Mystic Revellers continued,
expanding its membership and adopting a Friday
before Ash Wednesday as the date for the annual
Coronation Ball. (From
Ye Mystic Revelers website.)
The idea for the 6-acre Memorial Park at 1620
Riverside Ave. was born in 1918 when Rotary Club of
Jacksonville member George Hardee proposed a
memorial to honor Floridians who died in service
during World War I, which began in 1914 and had just
ended. The city bought the park site the next year
for $125,000, and Hardee led community efforts to
plan its development. They commissioned local
sculptor Charles Adrian Pillars to create "Life,"
the winged bronze figure atop a globe that is the
park's centerpiece. The park and sculpture were
dedicated on Christmas Day 1924. .
Mr.
Hardee died on Aug. 21, 1943 at age 70 in Baltimore.
He was survived by his wife Elvira, and their two
daughters Elvira G. Hardee and
Dolly Guerra (Hardee) Turman. His widow,
Elvira (Guerra) Hardee died in New Orleans on Jan.
3, 1984. Her name is incorrect on her obit.
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