Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Hill.
Hi Natalie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I am originally from New York, moved to Sarasota Florida in the early 50s as I entered high school and went to Florida State to major in Education. Married a year after graduation to an Air Force pilot and had three children. We parted and I raised the children who eventually grew up and gave me five grandchildren. All five have graduated from college and the eldest has made me a great-grandma.
During those years I earned a Master’s Degree, taught 8 years in elementary, 9 in middle school, and 8 as an Assistant Principal in a high school. I retired in 1998 and moved from Citrus County to Tallahassee where my twin brothers lived. I got a part-time job in a craft store in the fabric dept.- I had sewn my clothes and my children’s clothes since high school. It was my passion!
Shortly after that, I met another Air Force pilot, also retired, who was trying to run a reunion for fellow AF squadron members. We married two years later and to my surprise, I learned that his family had a Fabric store in Ohio where we lived. I had started quilting in Tallahassee and now I acquired all the fabric that was left from the store when it closed. My second husband passed away from cancer in 2014 and I moved back to Florida.
We ran the TAC Tanker Reunions every year from 2000-2013 together and I continued to run them until 2021 when I accepted the position of President of the Woman’s Club of Winter Park. When I first joined in 2015, I decided I would do a Fashion Show with clothes from the 1915 era to celebrate the WC’s 100th birthday. All that fabric I had from the store was finally being used for the outfits.
A couple of years later I did another fashion show to celebrate the 100 years (10 decades) of fashion to celebrate the years since the historic clubhouse was built. I was again using the material I had acquired in Ohio. Sewing, jigsaw puzzles, calligraphy, historical novels and are my therapy.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The struggles may have been from the early divorce but they opened many unexpected doors in my life.
Instead of having my kids during the summers when they went to visit their dad, I turned to coach swimming a Master’s Swim Team for ten years in Sarasota before moving to Citrus County 84-98. While working at the high school, I traveled alone throughout the western US and studied western art.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Most of this was in my first question block. (education, career). Since moving to Winter Park, a town I had visited many times during high school and college, I ran into a classmate from Sarasota who invited me to join the Woman’s Club. It was a perfect fit for me. While in Ohio I was also active with a Woman’s church group where I was president and organized luncheons, etc. I made quilts and cross-stitch projects for door prizes and also made them for the AF reunions. Always making things to give away. I also completed a framed cross stitched picture of a peacock, the symbol of Winter Park, which I donated to the club.
During the years I was helping my husband run the reunions, I was also the editor of the newsletter we sent out 4 times a year, that continued until we stopped the reunions. I was presented with a lovely plaque. What sets me apart I guess is my creativity. I come up with ideas and projects. I love doing nametags in calligraphy and have made various things for the WC including a Quilt with the emblem on it.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
We are not an industry, just a historic club that reaches out to the community with charitable giving. The building is also rented out for weddings, receptions, birthday parties, conferences, etc. as well as being used by the membership for weekly meetings from October-April. We have major fundraisers each year and have finally returned to normal since the pandemic.
Image Credits
Churchill Thompson
