Item M05
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date: May 19.2004
Division:
District 1
Bulk Item: Yes
No
Department: Commissioner Dixie M. Spehar
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
Resolution to honor the memory of Jeane Porter Kirke Poirier, a devoted writer and preservationist of
Key West history.
ITEM BACKGROUND:
She established the Heritage House Museum in 1990 and opened her family's home as a showcase of
gracious island living and history that visitors to Key West see not only the island's commercial side,
but also its tradition of culture, literature and the arts. She established the Robert Frost Poetry Festival,
an annual poetry celebration held in honor of Robert Frost, "a pleasant older friend of (her) mother's"
that showcases the talent of many local poets.
PREVIOUS REVELANT BOCC ACTION:
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
TOTAL COST:
BUDGETED: Yes
No
COST TO COUNTY:
REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes
No
AMOUNTPERMONTH_ Year
APPROVED BY: County Atty ~ OMB/Purchasing _ Risk Management _
DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL:
Ij~ TLJ ~4b
(Commission DiXie M. Spehar)
DOCUMENTATION:
Included X
To Follow_
Not Required_
AGENDAITEM#/?1~
DISPOSITION:
Revised 2/27/01
RESOLUTION NO.
Commissioner Dixie M. Spehar
2004
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY IN
RECOGNITION OF THE LATE JEANE PORTER (POIRIER)
WHEREAS, Jeane Porter passed away on April 18, 2004, at the age of78; and
WHEREAS, Jeane Porter Kirke, was born on January 4, 1926, to Jessie Porter and Wallace
Kirke in Bronxville, New York and came to Key West via Flagler's famous railroad a month after
her birth; and
WHEREAS, Jeane was proud of her heritage as a sixth-generation Conch, descended from
Dr. J.Y. Porter, Florida's first health officer and culminating with her mother, Jessie Porter,
historian and preservationist; and
WHEREAS, Jeane started her education at the Key West Convent, and later at Miss Harris'
School in Miami; she continued her education at the University of California at Berkeley, the
College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California, Mexico City and Europe, followed by a
successful career in textile design in New York City; and
WHEREAS, Jeane was a talented artist, historian and supporter of local arts; she was
passionate about Key West History, and devoted to the preservation of the island's heritage, both
cultural and architectural; She established the Heritage House Museum in 1990 and opened her
family's home as a showcase of gracious island living and history that visitors to Key West see not
only the island:s commercial side, but also its tradition of culture, literature and the arts;
WHEREAS: She established the Robert Frost Poetry Festival, an annual poetry celebration
held in honor of Robert Frost, "a pleasant older friend of (her) mother's" that showcases the talent
of many local poets; and
WHEREAS, Jeane loved to tell stories of Key West people and historic buildings from her
youth, which were a source of much amusement and laughter; in 1998 she published them in Key
West: Conch Smiles, a compilation of Key West legends and family stories; and
WHEREAS, Jeane is survived by her son, Porter Poirier, daughter, Renee Poirier Pound,
both of California; daughter, Suzanne Poirier Campbell.; grandsons Kieran and Kyle Campbell of
Key West; sister, Caroline Kirke Boyer of Tennessee; and nephews Thad and Eric Lang; and
WHEREAS, the memory of Jeane is secure in the cultural and creative history of Key West
and in the hearts and minds of her many friends and family, now, therefore
BE IT RESOL VED THAT THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA:
Section 1: Hereby memorializes the County's great appreciation for the service Jeane
Porter gave to the community and for her love and concern for people and hereby expresses to her
family their regret and deepest sympathy for the passing of the late Jeane Porter.
Section 2: Hereby adopts this Resolution as a permanent record of the high esteem and
respect in which Jeane Porter was held by her colleagues and by the community.
Section 3: The Board of County Commissioners is hereby designated to forward a copy
of this Resolution to the family of Jeane Porter expressing the Board's Sorrow.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County,
Florida. at a meeting of said Board held on the day of , A.D.. 2004.
Mayor Murray E. Nelson
Mayor Pro Tem David P. Rice
Commissioner Dixie M. Spehar
Commissioner George Neugent
Commissioner Charles "Sonny" McCoy
(SEAL)
Attest: DANNY L. KOLHAGE, Clerk
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
By
Deputy Clerk
By
Mayor/Chairman
Porter sought to preserve Key West's colorful past - Keysnews.com
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Porter sought to preserve Key
West's colorful past
BY MANDY BOLEN
Citizen Staff Writer
KEY WEST - Jeane Porter, who devoted much
of her time to preserving Key West's past and
personality, became a part of its history on Sunday
when she died peacefully at the age of 78.
File photo by MIKE
HENTZlThe Citizen
Jeane Porter turned
her family's home into
the Heritage House
Museum, one of her
many efforts to
preserve Key West
history. She died
Sunday at the age of
78.
Porter's family history is synonymous with Key
West's storied past. The name Porter peppers the
island's ages like a familiar and powerful spice,
and Porter loved to share stories from her historic
home at 410 Caroline St.. which she turned into the
Heritage House Museum in 1990.
Born in New York in 1926, Porter arrived in Key
West via Flagler's famous railroad a month after
her birth and developed an unending connection to
her island home. Although she spent several years
traveling after marrying petroleum geologist Art
Poirier, Porter returned to Key West for good in 1979 after her three
children, Renee, Suzanne and Porter were born.
Her return to Key West resounded throughout the community as Porter,
a painter and supporter of the arts, established the Robert Frost Poetry
Festival to honor the poet who had befriended her mother and spent a
great deal of time in the back cottage of 41 0 Caroline 8t. that now bears
his name.
Porter's stories were a source of much amusement and laughter, and she
finally was persuaded to write them down in "Key West: Conch
Smiles," which was published in 1998.
In the book, she offered a glimpse of Key West history as told and
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Porter sought to preserve Key West's colorful past - Keysnews.com
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interpreted through her family's perspective. Porter was descended
from Dr. Joseph Yates Porter, who was Florida's first health officer and
is credited with eradicating yellow fever in Key West, she said in her
book, which describes the ebb and flow of Key West's economy and
culture.
"Its latest 'high' - its success as a world tourist attraction - may be
the biggest threat of all to its survival and identity," she wrote in
explanation of what prompted her and her family to transform the front
of the sprawling 1830s Caroline Street property into a museum that
leads visitors through each period of Key West history with
instruments, art, clothing and other objects.
At the end of the book, Porter left her "Wish List for Key West."
She wanted a new Southernmost Point marker, likening the current one
to an unexploded World War II bomb. She also wanted to see the city
dump, locally referred to as Mt. Trashmore, turned into a Greek-style
amphitheater, the creation of a school of theater, radio and television in
Key West and an annual historical musical pageant held at Fort
Zachary Taylor.
But she left her readers with "My Wish Most of All," which states,
"May our island develop more perspective so as not to be overwhelmed
by commercial successes and greed. May it preserve its history and
retain its outlandish individuality and may it keep a delicate balance
intact between vision and reality.
"Old Conchs never die, they dry up and blow away."
mbolen@keysnews.com
This story published on Thu, Apr 22, 2004
http://www.keysnews.com/290340825886551.bsp.htm
Page 2 of 3
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4/22/2004