BESTBets
Celebrating Women of Clearwater
The Clearwater Historical Society’s second
annual Women’s History Month Exhibit will
honor women who have made a significant
impact to the greater good of Clearwater,
Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay area.
This year’s honorees are Willa Carson, the
late Ruth Eckerd, Barb Green, the late Cherry
Harris, the late Blanche Littlejohn, Sallie
Parks, the late Ruth Payne Stone, Jean Rees
Homer and the late Margaret “Peggy” Watkins
Word. The exhibit, sponsored in part by the
Pinellas Community Foundation, will be on
display at the Clearwater Historical Society
Museum at 610 S. Fort Harrison Ave. in
Clearwater from March 4th through May 8th
by appointment only. To become a sponsor,
schedule an appointment, or receive additional
information, call (727) 754-8019.
This saddle cover by an
unidentified artist from 1880-1890
uses four-ply commercial yarns,
commercial cotton warps and
aniline dyes.
40 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021
Don Maitz Illustrates
Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’
Long before the COVID-19 outbreak, prophetic author
Stephen King, who winters in Sarasota, wrote The Stand
about a deadly airborne virus that decimated the world’s
population. One of King’s publishers commissioned
Sarasota-based artist Don Maitz to paint illustrations for a
special edition of the book, which Maitz completed shortly
before the pandemic made the news. He used a splatter effect
to represent the virus in the book symbolically and crows
to represent the dark side of human nature. Maitz has some
of the original paintings available from this sold-out book
publication. He can be contacted at DonMaitz@mailmt.com.
Margaret “Peggy” Watkins Word,
1922-2020, is one of nine women who
will be featured in the Clearwater
Historical Society’s second annual
Women’s History Month Exhibit at
the society’s museum in Clearwater.
Operation Healing Forces
The mission of Operation Healing Forces is
to serve the needs of active duty and recently
wounded, injured and ill Special Operations Forces
warriors and their spouses by starting or continuing
the healing process, whether mentally, physically or
emotionally, in preparation to return to the fight or
transition successfully into civilian life. Gary Markel,
the charity’s chair, and Tony Markel, its secretary,
have committed to covering overhead expenses so
that 100 percent of donated dollars are used for the
organization’s programs. To become involved with
Operation Healing Forces, contact Jeff Hudson, its executive director and former
Special Forces member, at (831) 241-4276, or visit OperationHealingForces.org.
Color & Design in
Navajo Textiles
The Museum of Fine Arts,
St. Petersburg is displaying more than
80 weavings through March 14th in
its “Color Riot! How Color Changed
Navajo Textiles” exhibit. The woven
works tell the story of Navajo history
with vibrant colors and experimental
design techniques. You can view the
striking colors and design elements
of this textile art from the late 19th
century along with ten weavings from
contemporary Navajo artists. The show
is an opportunity to learn about a tragic
time in Navajo history that brought
about a period of creativity and vibrancy
to Native American weavers.
FRED HARVEY FINE ARTS COLLECTION AT THE HEARD MUSEUM
/OperationHealingForces.org
link