The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-08-01
HiShli8hts of An Auto Tour
Continued from page u

attraction there of much greater i'm
portance. John Ringing has built al
Sarasota a magnificent art gallery and
that was what attracted -ls. The gallery
was open to the public and we Went
through it. The building is a beautiful
structure standing out by itself some
distance from the city proper. 1t is
built of pale pink stone, in the form
OF large reetangle, and in the center
of which there is large and most
elaborate sunken garden. The garden
is filled with, flowers and shrubs and
statuary, some Of the worlds MASTER
pieces. ~
The building encloses this sunken
garden on all four sides and within
the building room after room contains
paintings and statues from the great
artists of all time. The paintings are
originals and one who has appreciation
of the beautiful in this phase of art
could spend hours and days there
wrapped in exaltation at the beauty
of many of those magnificent examples
of the painters skill And mixed in
with the paintings there are many
excellent marble and bronze statues
brought from the galleries and the
homes of Europe
The roof to this magnificent build
ing is flat one and around the inner
edge of the roof, overlooking the
sunken garden, there are placed at
close intervals marble statues, other
,r,1a &c I'll &c II
great artists.
AT the rear of the sunken garden,
the guide pointed out two doors TO
Waited chambers. Within one vault
John Ringing is to be buried when
he dies and within the other chamber
the body of his first wife is to lie, it 10
be removed from its present resting
place.
Ringing has also established nj
Sarasota an art school and a young
woman student acted as our guide on
this occasion. She said the gallery and
its contents We're valued at between
thirty and forty millions of dollars
The Singing Tower.
After visiting Sarasota we drove in
land and northward for several miles,
reaching Lake Wales in the late after
noon. The attraction there was the
Edward w. Box singing tower and bird
sanctuary. one of the show places Of
Florida There Edward Box purchased
and set aside for the enjoyment of the
public a tract of land that is the highest
in Florida. 1t boasts the great height
of 325 feet, which doesn't mean much
to one who lives in the mountains
But it is beautiful spot, set in a
district Of lakes and trees and verdure
On the highest point in this tract
Box had the Singing Tower built in
memory of his beauty-loving grand
parents. The Singing Tower is beau
tiful four walled tower reaching into
the heavens to a height Of 205 feet
built Of lovely pale pink stone. Il
houses the carlton, consisting of II
bells with So notes, or four and one
half octaves. The total weight of The
bells is 123.264 pounds. 1t is said The
tenor bell alone weighs II tons, and the
smallest bell Il pounds. 1t is the fines
and largest carlton ever cast. The
carlton plays every evening and we
fastened our driving with the hope Of
arriving in time to hear it, but we were
a little late
The grounds surrounding the tower
are beautifully handicapped and with
the tower make a lovely setting for The
last resting place of Edward William
Box, that poor emigrant boy who came
to America and who rose to fame and
fortune as the great editor Of The
Ladies' Home Journal. His body rests
at the foot of the tower.
As evening was drawing nigh we left
the tower and turned westward toward
Tampa. We passed through Plant City
which claims to be the largest straw
berry shipping point in the world. Their
on through Lakeland, another lovely
little city There we stopped briefly
to meet an old friend Of former years
who had lived in Blue Earth, Mimi.
but who had removed to Florida years
ago and who had been lucky in ac-
cumulating a fortune
That night we got back to my broth
er's home in Tampa about o'clock
with the darkness Of night all about
us and with the city lights shining ir
their brilliance everywhere. We note
this simply to mention the early fall
ing Of night in the Southland 1t wa:
dark there at o'clock while here II
the North darkness does not come unit
after $3.50 o'clock at the same time q
the year.
We Turn Northward
But all good things must come 10 al
end and after a most delightful weel
with my brother and his estimablt
wife, it came time to say goodbye anc
to give way again to the wanderlust
This time the partings caused a wrench
at the heart strings; the week had beer
altogether too short for visit with tina
brother after a separation Of SO man,
years. But finally one morning thu
goodbyes were said and we were Of
again
We started on that early morning TO
Daytona Beach, on the east coast 0
Florida, but enroute we planned t
stop at a famous spot, Silver Springs
These remarkable springs are in realit,
subterranean stream Springing iron