Tenth Anniversary
Please SUPPORT
the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion
History
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| Patricia Ann Ravo |
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Our beloved daughter, Patricia Ann Ravo, was born on November 1, 1956 in Annapolis, Maryland. She was born hearing impaired (deaf) but through her determination and our encouragement, Patricia succeeded in a hearing person’s world by accomplishing many remarkable feats.
Patricia attended school in Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey and graduated from the Katzenbach School for the Deaf in Trenton, New Jersey. Some of Patricia’s early accomplishments included being a Junior Lifeguard in Long Branch, New Jersey; received the New Jersey State Safe Driving Award; and excelled at Baton Twirling.
Early in Patricia’s employment career, she became a trailblazer and excelled throughout her career in positions rare to be held by the hearing impaired. She worked in data processing in a bank in Freehold, New Jersey. Then she became the first deaf female to pass the examination for a Meter Reader in New Jersey which position she held until she moved to Florida in 1982. Patricia was very independent and lived in Coral Springs, Florida.
After moving to Florida, Patricia attended college at Palm Beach Community College where she studied art. She later transferred to Broward Community College and soon after learned that she had breast cancer.
In Florida, she held professional clerical positions with major corporations such as American Express in Plantation, Florida; Pratt & Whitney in West Palm Beach, the Post Office in West Palm Beach, and, for several years she worked at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where she became Deputy Clerk.
Some of Patricia’s hobbies included collecting money banks, cookie jars, vintage clothing, Norman Rockwell prints, the Flintstones and anything Simpson. She was also a gifted artist, world traveler and gourmet cook.
Patricia was also a very courageous woman who fought a long hard battle with breast cancer, sadly, from which she passed away in December 2004. A few months before she passed away, Patricia said “Mom – if I pass away, I will always be with you, I will be over the rainbow.”
In 2002, when her cancer was stable, Patricia visited an exhibit in Delray Beach that was organized and developed by the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History (MLFH) entitled: Hats, Handbags & Gloves: from past to present. That exhibit proudly featured my handbag-basket and a poem especially written by me (Patricia’s mother) about that purse. Patricia never forgot the wonderful experience that our family had visiting the exhibit and she also knew that the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History was looking for a permanent home. Patricia fondly talked about the day she visited the Museum’s exhibit, saying: “Lori Durante graciously gave us a tour of that exhibit and someday, let’s support that museum so that it can have a permanent home.”
Even though Patricia has passed away, her dream of helping to support the Museum’s efforts for a permanent building is still being realized. In year 2005, the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History was granted a $6,000 bequest from our daughter’s estate that is recognized as The Patricia Ann Ravo Fund. Since that time, annual bequeaths of various amounts from the Ravo Fund have been received by the museum totaling more than $14,000.
A permanent home for the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History was one of our daughter’s final wishes during her last days.
As you may know, the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2009. During these past years, the Patricia Ann Ravo Fund has been able to help support many unique and notably successful educational and cultural arts programs developed by MLFH that have received rave reviews by attendees, received recognitions and awards, and acclaimed as “The Best” by both local and national publications.
Although the MLFH has been without a permanent home since 2005, this organization continues to bring cultural arts, entertainment and educational activity programs to several thousand people each year. Families and children, residents and tourists, schools and businesses, community clubs and social organizations--all continue to benefit from the rich offerings of MLFH.
Your financial support to MLFH will allow it to continue to grow, and most importantly, to reach our goal of building a permanent museum facility. A permanent facility will allow this Museum to expand its hugely popular historic bus tour program as well as host international exhibitions. We still need your help to make it happen.
Please show your support today by taking a few minutes to fill out the enclosed donation card and mail it to the Museum.
We hope that you will be among the list of contributors.
Thank you so very much for your time and for your consideration of making a statement of support for the Museum of Lifestyle and Fashion History with your financial commitment to the Museum and our fundraising campaign.
Sincerely,
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Milla-Antoinette and Pat Ravo
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Mail to:
Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History
P.O. Box 6127
Delray Beach, Florida 33482
Phone: 561-243-2662
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Museum of Lifestlye & Fashion History
P.O. Box 6127
Delray Beach, FL 33482
Phone: (561) 243-2662
Fax: (561) 495-8785.
E-mail: INFO@MLFHMUSEUM.org
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About the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History
The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History is a non-profit 501(c) 3 history museum that was established in 1999. The
inspiration for the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History of Delray
Beach was the phenomenally successful popular culture &
retrospective exhibit "40 Years of the Barbie® Doll" in celebration of Women's History Month which was on display from March 1999 thru September 2000 in Delray Beach , Florida . More
than 19,000 visitors from around the world attended this exhibit which
made it the #1 attended exhibit in the history of Delray Beach and one
of the most memorable Museum exhibits in all of Palm Beach County . The
Barbie® Doll exhibit was conceived and curated by Lori J. Durante who
is the Executive Director/Chief Curator of the Museum of Lifestyle
& Fashion History. The mission of
the Museum is to offer retrospective and anthropology exhibits and
programs showcasing lifestyle, history, cultures, people, places,
fashion trends, architecture, furnishings, locomotives and toys, and
information about popular uses of artifacts by people/events of the
periods of time. From 2003-2005, the Museum was located in a rent-free
8,000 square feet facility in the former Pineapple Grove Shops Plaza
located in the 300 Block of Pineapple Grove Way in the Main Street
District of Downtown Delray Beach, FL. However, that plaza was sold and
then demolished along with the entire City block where it was located. As a result, the Museum had to move. While
at the facility, the Museum developed and presented exhibits about
fashion history and popular culture and also hosted traveling exhibits
from the Smithsonian Institution. But,
Museum board members are leading aggressive efforts to secure a
permanent facility. Because of this, the Museum of Lifestyle &
Fashion History is purchasing land in the local area on which to build
a proposed permanent building. On the 4th
Saturday of each month, year-round, at 11am the Museum still conducts,
without interruption, the Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach. Some of the Museum's accolades include being selected as Best New Museum in 2004 by the New Times Broward-Palm Beach Newspaper; Best Bets
in Palm Beach County in 2006 & 2005 by the Gold Coast Edition of
Guest Informant Magazine; and in 2006, the Museum's Narrated Bus Tours
of Historic Delray Beach were selected as Unique Travel Gem by AAA Travel Home & Away Magazine of Mid-America. Most recently, in June 2006, the Museum's Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach were selected as Best Tour of the Town by The Palm Beacher & Gold Coast Magazines. For more information call the museum at (561) 243-2662. Visit the Museum's web site at http://www.mlfhmuseum.org/
More Facts about the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History
- The
Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History opened in an 8,000 square
feet facility in October 2003 in the City of Delray Beach, Florida and
premiered the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition: "Antoin Sevruguin and the Persian Image". The
museum's beginnings are very humble and its former home was located in
the former McCrory store space which was a five & dime store
located in Delray Beach since the 1960s. This
storefront space was located in the former Pineapple Grove Shops plaza
and was donated to the museum by the owner of the plaza, A.M. Davis
Mercantile of Lincoln , Nebraska . The museum's
mission is to host exhibits showcasing vintage fashion designs, popular
culture art, decorative arts, vintage toys, interior designs,
architecture history and history exhibits showcasing lifestyles of a
variety of ethnic cultures. Museum is also developing a "Southeast Florida Style Exhibit Series"
plus a Tanzania Art & Culture Gallery in honor of Delray Beach 's
Sister City affiliation with Moshi , Tanzania in East Africa .
- As
one of the services of the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History, a
history exhibit was curated and produced on the teddy bear entitled "Teddy: The Bear Beginnings" and it was on display in latter 2001.
- In 2001, the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History also hosted the Smithsonian Institution exhibit "Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions"
which was on display at the Fulton-Holland Educational Services Center,
which is the headquarters for the School District of Palm Beach County,
Florida located in the City of West Palm Beach
- In 2002, the museum displayed at the School District of Palm Beach County headquarters a photography exhibit entitled "Moving the Fire: The Removal of Indian Nations to Oklahoma"
which was organized by the Oklahoma Arts Council and traveled by
ExhibitsUSA. That exhibit wxhibit was locally sponsored by Palm Beach
County Commissioner Addie L. Greene.
- In the Fall of 2002, the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History presented a multi-media anthropology exhibit entitled: "Hats, Handbags & Gloves: from past to present". This
exhibit was re-displayed on November 1, 2003 thru March 7, 2004 at the
Museum’s former location on Pineapple Grove Way in the Pineapple Grove
Main Street District of Downtown Delray Beach. This exhibit was
created, organized, developed, funded and produced by the Museum of
Lifestyle & Fashion History and curated by Lori J. Durante. The
exhibit received outstanding ratings and comments. Visitors
represented various cities throughout the State of Florida and from
states and countries such as Pennsylvania , New York and Switzerland
and Japan . This multi-media anthropology
exhibit featured men’s and women’s hats, handbags and gloves in a
variety of work and life uses, ethnic cultures and fashion applications
from over 65 people. The exhibit included archival photos from
institutions such as the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum in Boston
, the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, the Library of Congress,
Harry Winston Jewelers, the Archives Room of the Fashion Group
International and the Schomburg Center in Harlem , New York .
Additionally, corporations including Celine, Chanel, Eric Javits,
Everlast, St. John , MooRoo, Stetson, Inde, the Louis Vuitton Museum in
Paris , France and Kate Spade contributed multiple items to the
exhibit. And, in 2002, Hats, Handbags & Gloves was listed on the Kate Spade web page www.katespade.com.
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