For 20 years Susan Gillis has sifted through a collection of artifacts and photographs and documents to build a working catalogue of Boca Raton history. In November, the new Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum opened, a touchpoint in Gillis’ long career as a museum curator, and a capstone to a life dedicated to preserving and exploring the past. Gillis is a native Floridian, growing up in Miami and Hollywood; she came to her job in Boca in 2002 from the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. Her work was cut out; as she notes, her predecessor did not even have a typewriter. Two decades and one museum transformation later, she is still keeping our past alive.
Accomplishments she is proud of:
One of the most important accomplishments I have contributed is we have catalogued our collection. Also, our collections have grown tremendously … We are interested in every bit of history, from the pre-Columbian era to the present. We collect a lot of fairly contemporary items—yesterday is history. I have a lot of experience as a history museum curator, and I like to think I brought that to this job, that I have the hindsight of knowing what we will want to retain for the future …
I’ve also written a couple of books using our collections, of which I am proud: Boomtime Boca, a photographic history, started when the Blackstone Group took over [The Boca Raton] hotel back in 2004. The other one is called Palm Beach County During WWII, another photo history we did with the Historical Society of Palm Beach County.
Favorite artifact:
One of the most fascinating humble objects in the collection is this can of Maxwell House coffee; I’m in love with that. Number one, it’s still good to the last drop. It was also an eyewitness to WWII. Most people don’t know there were German U-boats offshore; it’s important in world history. This coffee can would have come off one of our merchant ships—not a military ship—that was torpedoed offshore here by a U-boat. They were trying to destroy the supply line to Europe in 1942. Local citizens could hear explosions and see smoke; sometimes bodies would come ashore. In this case, it was cargo. And then there are the IBM PCs, which I call my babies. … very near and dear to me… because the PC changed the world … and that started here. How cool is that?
Why saving history is important:
Look at how much we’ve changed in a little more than 100 years. This untamed wilderness with mosquitos and rattlesnakes everywhere and panthers and bobcats—how dramatically altered we’ve become in such a short time. We’re a metaphor for that … I strongly believe sharing history builds a sense of community … Learning about the history of a very specific area gives you a sense of place. You know how things came to be, and I think it gives you a better way to envision going forward.
This story is from the May/June 2022 issue of Boca magazine. For more like this, click here to subscribe to the magazine.
