John Tiedtke Explained

John Tiedtke
Birth Date:September 15, 1907
Birth Place:Toledo, Ohio, US
Spouse:Sylvia Southard
Children:2
Death Place:Winter Park, Florida, US
Burial Place:Woodlawn Cemetery, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation:Philanthropist, Farmer, Professor, Entrepreneur

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. He was a benefactor to individuals and the community, even as he did it in a quiet and unassuming manner.[2]

Personal life

His parents were Ernest Tiedtke (1872–1950) and Anna Marie "Mamie" Meyer Tiedtke (1878–1981), of Toledo, Ohio.[3] He was 7 years old when parents started spending time in Winter Park, Florida, in 1914.[4] 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] Tiedtke died on December 22, 2004, at the age of 97 in Winter Park, Florida,[7] [4] less than a month after the death of his wife[8] of 55 years.[1]

He attended Culver Military Academy[3] 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.

Career

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.[4] [9]

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. 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.[1] He became a prominent and leading sugar, citrus and corn farmer, and cattleman, owning large spreads in Central Florida.[10] 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. He was director of the Palm Beach County Agricultural Advisory Committee.[11] In October 1945, he testified before the Committee on Appropriations of the United States Congress about the availability of migrant labor on sugar plantations.[12] He patented a cane loading and chopping machine.[13]

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[1] [14] [15] [16] and the Enzian Theater.[15] [17] [18] He was instrumental in funding a unique film festival.[19] In 1949, "Tiedtke breathed life into the Florida Symphony Orchestra" and was a founding member.[20] [15]

He was a full professor of economics beginning in 1951, becoming the school's first dean of graduate programs (1960 to 1965).[20] He was its business manager, treasurer and second vice president. He became Vice President, Treasurer and Business Manager of the college.[21] He devoted 20 years to being on the Board of Directors of Rollins College.[1] [20] [15] He donated magnanimously to both the Rollins College Music and Theater Departments.[20]

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.[22]

Legacy

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".[14] 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".[19]

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."[23]

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. 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".[24]

The Tiedtke family's mausoleum is in Section 42 at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio.[25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]

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.[31]

References

Citations

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Moore . Roger . December 23, 2004 . Benefactor's Legacy Lives in Music, Art . . February 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228080002/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2004-12-23-0412230466-story.html . February 28, 2020 .
  2. News: Wigler . Stephen. February 19, 1984 . John Tiedtke shares good fortune with community . 1 and 2). Archived from the original (pages 1 and 2) on February 28, 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-28 . . Orlando Sentinel.
  3. News: August 10, 1948 . John Tiedtke Engaged . . . February 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228084341/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45779576/orlando-evening-star/ . February 28, 2020 .
  4. News: Toledoan was supporter of arts, museum . . December 24, 2004 . March 1, 2020.
  5. News: November 2, 1948 . John Tiedtke Takes Bride . . . February 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228084804/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45779630/orlando-evening-star/ . February 28, 2020 .
  6. News: Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. Sylvia Southard Bride in Toledo. November 2, 1948. The New York Times. March 1, 2020. en-US. 0362-4331.
  7. Web site: John M. Tiedtke . Rollins College . April 6, 2020.
  8. Web site: Sylvia Tiedtke Survived Bombing, Earned National Honors for Roses. Sentinel. Debbie Barr, Special to the. OrlandoSentinel.com. en-US. March 4, 2020.
  9. Let's Go Down to Tiedtke's . https://web.archive.org/web/20090606181214/http://www.wgte.org/wgte/item.asp?item_id=103 . June 6, 2009 . dead . . 1994 . Bill Fredette . 60593665.
  10. See Book: Black Gold and Silver Sands: A Pictorial History of Agriculture in Palm Beach County . James D. . Snyder . Historical Society of Palm Beach County . 2004.
  11. Officers . 81 . Sugar Journal . 1994 . Sugar Journal, Incorporated.
  12. Web site: Statement of John Tiedtke, Representing the Florida Farm Bureau, Clewiston, Florida . 847–850 . October 30, 1945. March 3, 2020.
  13. 2621461. Cane loading and chopping machine. US. 1952-12-16. Tiedtke. John M..
  14. News: Brotemarkle . Ben . April 4, 2017 . Florida Frontiers: Winter Park, a haven of culture . . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228090123/https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2017/04/04/florida-frontiers-winter-park-haven-culture/100015968/ . February 28, 2020 . March 1, 2020.
  15. News: Sanchez . Dina . November 15, 2001 . Business Leaders To Be Honored Tonight . . February 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228082426/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2001-11-15-0111150197-story.html . February 28, 2020 .
  16. News: Ericson. Raymond. A Mann for Bach At Bethlehem. January 18, 1970. The New York Times. March 1, 2020. en-US. 0362-4331.
  17. Web site: Lawson. Julie. September 2002. Year of The Arts. www.orlandorep.com. April 29, 2007. September 30, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930083510/http://www.orlandorep.com/news/news_9-02_Orlando.htm. dead.
  18. Web site: John Tiedtke: A cultural icon. Orlando Sentinel. February 22, 1998. Brown. Steven. en-US. February 29, 2020.
  19. News: Still Blooming . March 25, 2016 . Michael . McLeod . www.orlandomagazine.com . 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. . March 1, 2020.
  20. Web site: Irwin . David . John M. Tiedtke (1907-2004): Treasurer, Trustee and Supporter . . February 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228075410/https://lib.rollins.edu/olin/oldsite/archives/golden/jtiedtke.htm . February 28, 2020.
  21. 13 . Proceedings, Southern Association of College and University Business Officers 1963 - Universities and colleges . 1963 .
  22. Web site: Geological Survey Professional Paper, Issues 446-447. . Geological Survey (U.S.). 42–45 . January 1, 1964 . March 3, 2020.
  23. Web site: Department of Music: Your Rollins Music Experience . March 1, 2020.
  24. News: January 26, 1972 . Rollins College Trustee To Get CHIEF Award . . . February 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228082859/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45779439/orlando-evening-star/ . February 28, 2020 .
  25. News: Charles Tiedtke Brumback: 1928-2015: Tribune exec hailed from Ottawa Hills . The body will be cremated and the remains will be placed with Mr. Brumback's family members in Historic Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo.. Vanessa . McCray . Toledo Blade. January 13, 2015.
  26. Web site: Tiedtke Mausoleum - Woodlawn Cemetery - Toledo,Ohio - Mausoleums . www.waymarking.com . March 12, 2010.
  27. Web site: Tiedtke Mausoleum . pinterest.
  28. Web site: Tiedtke's Dept. Store . pinterest.
  29. Web site: A Trip to Woodlawn Cemetery with Bill. September 5, 2014 .
  30. Book: Totally Toledo Three: Trade Card Owners Buried in the Woodlawn Historic Cemetery . Paperback . January 12, 2017. 978-1539821809 . 3 . M.A. Mimi . Malcolm .
  31. Web site: Bach Festival Society, Winter Park Organizations Celebrate Philanthropist John M. Tiedtke during 84th Annual Bach Festival February 20 - March 3, 2019. 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.

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