44 REMINISCE.COM * JULY 2018
BEVERLY SCOTT • AUBURNDALE, FL STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA (2)Located in former swampland along the shore
of Lake Eloise in Winter Haven, Florida,
Cypress Gardens as seen through my 5 -year-
old eyes in 1944 was very different from the
national tourist attraction it later became.
We lived in Auburndale, about 6 miles from
t e par. The war years were tough: Gas and
autom bile tires were rationed and scarce,
money or family outings even scarcer.
Fortunately, Dick and Julie Pope, the owners
of Cypress Gardens, held a Polk County Day
once a year, when local residents could get into
the beautiful park for free.
For the whole day we forgot our hardships
and strolled paths through a fairyland of
bougainvilleas, gardenias, azaleas and roses.
My favorite was the one I called the bashful
plant, though it was probably a touch-me-not
(Mimosa pudica). The leaves would shrink and
close up when I touched them, much as I, a
shy girl, felt like doing around people.
I looked forward to seeing the banyan tree,
which was planted the year I was born, 1939 ,
and has grown to giant proportions today.
And I stopped at the Wishing Tree, a huge
oak damaged in a hurricane, a large limb
almost completely torn away. Though partially
detached from the mother tree, the limb
thrived. A nearby sign promised that if you sat
on it and made a wish, your wish would come
true. Every year I asked for the same thing —
to fly like the birds inhabiting the pines and
cypresses in the gardens. My three brothers
teased me that it couldn’t come true, but the
first time I got on a plane, I knew the Wishing
Tree had proved them wrong.
For 25 cents, visitors could tour the canals in
small boats. These rides weren’t in our budget,
but we enjoyed standing on the wooden bridges
as the boats passed below us. I admired the
southern belles who roamed the gardens in
colorful hooped dresses. At lunch, we’d picnic
in the shade.
Between water ski shows, guests could swim
in the lake. There was even a rope tied to one
of the cypresses at the shore. What a thrill to
swing out and drop in the water. This activity
ended when more ski shows were added.
We visited Cypress Gardens on Polk County
Day every year until the Popes discontinued the
event in the early 1950 s. What memories! •Where Wishes Were Free
A PEACEFUL RETREAT FROM WAR
A DAY AT CYPRESS GARDENS OFFERED
ELECTRIC BOAT
tours of the canals
at Cypress Gardens
provided intimate
views of tropical
flora. The tours
started in 1937 and
remained popular
throughout the
park’s history.