John Tiedtke

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John Tiedtke
Tiedtke c. 1967
BornSeptember 15, 1907
Toledo, Ohio, US
DiedDecember 22, 2004(2004-12-22) (aged 97)
Winter Park, Florida, US
Burial placeWoodlawn Cemetery, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation(s)Philanthropist, Farmer, Professor, Entrepreneur
SpouseSylvia Southard
Children2[1]

John Meyer Tiedtke (September 15, 1907 – December 22, 2004) was an American farmer, professor, college dean, businessman and philanthropist from Central Florida.[1] He was the scion of a family that made its wealth in Toledo, Ohio, being the founders of the grocery and department store Tiedtke's.[2] He was a benefactor to individuals and the community, even as he did it in a quiet and unassuming manner.[3]

Personal life[edit]

His parents were Ernest Tiedtke (1872–1950) and Anna Marie "Mamie" Meyer Tiedtke (1878–1981), of Toledo, Ohio.[4][5] He was 7 years old when parents started spending time in Winter Park, Florida, in 1914.[2] The state became his home as an adult.

In 1948, he was married to Sylvia Southard, daughter of Prince and Princess Alfred Hohenlohe Schloss Friedstein of Streinach, Austria, and James Wendell Southard.[5][6][7] Tiedtke died on December 22, 2004, at the age of 97 in Winter Park, Florida,[8][2] less than a month after the death of his wife[9] of 55 years.[1]

He attended Culver Military Academy[4] and Dartmouth College,[5] where in 1930 he received a bachelor's degree, and in 1932 a master's degree from its Tuck School of Business Administration.[10]

Career[edit]

Tiedtke's parents founded the Toledo, Ohio, grocery and department store Tiedtke's which they sold in 1925 at the height of its popularity and retired to Florida in the winters.[2][11]

John's father, Ernest, had been a farmer before starting the grocery chain, and with the help of family money John went into the farming business too.[12] In the 1930s he began buying land for sugar-cane farms, he found land was so cheap because of the Great Depression he could buy it for the cost of its unpaid property tax.[12][1] He became a prominent and leading sugar, citrus and corn farmer, and cattleman, owning large spreads in Central Florida.[13] After World War II, he did not enlist due to a bad knee, he was hired by Rollins College to teach returning soldiers business classes.[12] He was director of the Palm Beach County Agricultural Advisory Committee.[14] In October 1945, he testified before the Committee on Appropriations of the United States Congress about the availability of migrant labor on sugar plantations.[15] He patented a cane loading and chopping machine.[16]

Tiedtke was a philanthropist and patron of the arts. He is noted for championing and supporting various fine arts programs in Central Florida including the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park[17][A][1][22][23][24] and the Enzian Theater.[23][25][12] He was instrumental in funding a unique film festival.[7] In 1949, "Tiedtke breathed life into the Florida Symphony Orchestra" and was a founding member.[10][23]

He was a full professor of economics beginning in 1951, becoming the school's first dean of graduate programs (1960 to 1965).[10] He was its business manager, treasurer and second vice president. He became Vice President, Treasurer and Business Manager of the college.[26] He devoted 20 years to being on the Board of Directors of Rollins College.[1][10][23] He donated magnanimously to both the Rollins College Music and Theater Departments.[10]

He was the owner of the Tiedtke well in Punta Gorda, Florida, which was the source of an unusual sample of Punta Gorda Anhydrite which he photographed.[27]

Legacy[edit]

Upon his death, the Orlando Sentinel wrote, "The arts in Central Florida lost a giant on Tuesday. He created wealth by investing in sugar, citrus and corn farms on land near Lake Okeechobee. Land companies, development companies, Shawnee Cattle and Atlas Sugar were among his holdings. But it was what he did with that wealth that has had so much impact. He spent millions bringing music, film, and art to his adopted home of Central Florida."[1] Florida Today said Tiedtke "was another important figure in the cultural development of Winter Park" who "was very successful in the state's sugar industry".[22] Orlando Magazine noted that Tiedtke was "a savior to nearly every arts organization in town, including the Bach Festival, Florida Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando Opera, and Festival of Orchestras—all that besides being a founder/funder of United Arts of Central Florida".[7]

He individually funded the 400-seat John M. Tiedtke Concert Hall at Rollins.[1] It is the music department's "flagship venue and features two Steinway D Concert grand pianos."[28]

Tiedtke established the John M. Tiedtke Endowed Chair of Music — funded in part by an anonymous $250,000 donation from Fred Rogers, who was TV's Mister Rogers and alumni of Rollins.[20] In 1972, he was one of eight Floridians to receive a "C.H.I.E.F." award ("Champions of Higher Independent Education in Florida") from the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida. In 1973, Florida Governor Reubin Askew gave him one of the "Governor's Awards for the Arts".[29]

The Tiedtke family's mausoleum is in Section 42 at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio.[30][31][32][33][34][35]

In 2019, in honor of the fifteenth anniversary of his passing, a memorial concert was dedicated to him at the Bach Festival Society, along with other memorial events in Winter Park.[17]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Tiedtke's most notable contribution to the arts was his involvement in the Bach Festival. Since 1950 until his death, he served as the president of the Bach Festival and turned the program into the high quality performances that it is today."[18][19][20][21]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Moore, Roger (December 23, 2004). "Benefactor's Legacy Lives in Music, Art". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Toledoan was supporter of arts, museum". Toledo Blade. December 24, 2004. Retrieved March 1, 2020.(subscription required)
  3. ^ Wigler, Stephen. February 19, 1984. "John Tiedtke shares good fortune with community". Orlando Sentinel. pp. 1 and 2). Archived from the original (pages 1 and 2) on February 28, 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b "John Tiedtke Engaged". Orlando Evening Star. August 10, 1948. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c "John Tiedtke Takes Bride". Orlando Evening Star. November 2, 1948. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES (November 2, 1948). "Sylvia Southard Bride in Toledo". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c McLeod, Michael (March 25, 2016). "Still Blooming". www.orlandomagazine.com. Retrieved March 1, 2020. The Florida Film Festival took root 25 years ago in an art movie house named after an Alpine flower. The story of how it became a crowd pleaser is one of family ties and a dedication to goodness over glitz. ... Enzian owes its existence to John Tiedtke, whose family owned a prosperous department store in Toledo, Ohio, and had a winter home in Orlando at the corner of Hillcrest Street and Magnolia Avenue. Tiedtke made Winter Park his permanent home as an adult, tending to the family's investments in South Florida farmland and becoming a savior to nearly every arts organization in town, including the Bach Festival, Florida Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando Opera, and Festival of Orchestras—all that besides being a founder/funder of United Arts of Central Florida.
  8. ^ "John M. Tiedtke". Rollins College. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Sentinel, Debbie Barr, Special to the. "Sylvia Tiedtke Survived Bombing, Earned National Honors for Roses". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b c d e Irwin, David. "John M. Tiedtke (1907-2004): Treasurer, Trustee and Supporter". Rollins College. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  11. ^ Bill Fredette (1994). Let's Go Down to Tiedtke's. WGTE. OCLC 60593665. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d Brown, Steven (February 22, 1998). "John Tiedtke: A cultural icon". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  13. ^ See Snyder, James D. (2004). Black Gold and Silver Sands: A Pictorial History of Agriculture in Palm Beach County. Historical Society of Palm Beach County.
  14. ^ "Officers". Sugar Journal. Sugar Journal, Incorporated: 81. 1994.
  15. ^ "Statement of John Tiedtke, Representing the Florida Farm Bureau, Clewiston, Florida". October 30, 1945. pp. 847–850. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  16. ^ US 2621461, Tiedtke, John M., "Cane loading and chopping machine", published 1952-12-16 
  17. ^ a b "Bach Festival Society, Winter Park Organizations Celebrate Philanthropist John M. Tiedtke during 84th Annual Bach Festival February 20 - March 3, 2019" (PDF). Retrieved March 4, 2020. He served for 53 years on the Board of Trustees of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, 51 of those years as President and Treasurer
  18. ^ "History: The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park". [In 1950] Rollins President Hugh McKean asked John M. Tiedtke, the treasurer of Rollins College, a music lover, and an astute businessman, to fill the opening and he agreed. Tiedtke served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees until his death in December 2004. Under his leadership, the Bach Festival Society expanded its programming to include two additional choral programs beyond the annual Festival, top-tier visiting soloists and ensembles, and community events in Winter Park.
  19. ^ Furrow, Jami (February 25, 2005). "John M. Tiedtke: A Legacy of Music Benefactor Extraordinaire". The Sandspur.
  20. ^ a b Noles, Randy (June 7, 2015). "Iron Man of the Arts". Winter Park Magazine. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020. 'Mr. Tiedtke and Dr. McKean understood that with great wealth comes responsibility,' says Sinclair, who still refers to both men using formal titles, even in casual conversation. 'They would have lunch together every Saturday. They started inviting me to come along, and those lunches were hugely interesting.'
  21. ^ DeMarko, Sharon (April 8, 1973). "Askew and the Arts: Setting Excellence Standards". Pensacola News Journal. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ a b Brotemarkle, Ben (April 4, 2017). "Florida Frontiers: Winter Park, a haven of culture". Florida Today. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  23. ^ a b c d Sanchez, Dina (November 15, 2001). "Business Leaders To Be Honored Tonight". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  24. ^ Ericson, Raymond (January 18, 1970). "A Mann for Bach At Bethlehem". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  25. ^ Lawson, Julie (September 2002). "Year of The Arts". www.orlandorep.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
  26. ^ "Proceedings, Southern Association of College and University Business Officers 1963 - Universities and colleges". 1963: 13. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  27. ^ Geological Survey (U.S.) (January 1, 1964). "Geological Survey Professional Paper, Issues 446-447". United States Geological Survey. pp. 42–45. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  28. ^ "Department of Music: Your Rollins Music Experience". Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  29. ^ "Rollins College Trustee To Get CHIEF Award". Orlando Evening Star. January 26, 1972. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ McCray, Vanessa (January 13, 2015). "Charles Tiedtke Brumback: 1928-2015: Tribune exec hailed from Ottawa Hills". Toledo Blade. The body will be cremated and the remains will be placed with Mr. Brumback's family members in Historic Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo.(subscription required)
  31. ^ "Tiedtke Mausoleum - Woodlawn Cemetery - Toledo,Ohio - Mausoleums". www.waymarking.com. March 12, 2010.
  32. ^ "Tiedtke Mausoleum" – via pinterest.
  33. ^ "Tiedtke's Dept. Store" – via pinterest.
  34. ^ "A Trip to Woodlawn Cemetery with Bill". September 5, 2014.
  35. ^ Malcolm, M.A. Mimi (January 12, 2017). Totally Toledo Three: Trade Card Owners Buried in the Woodlawn Historic Cemetery (Paperback). Vol. 3. ISBN 978-1539821809.

External links[edit]

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