HELEN STANLEY MEMORIAL DONATION

To honor his grandmother, Helen Stanley, Lorin Cope, of St. Louis, MO, has donated her huge collection of shell craft material to the Broward Shell Club. We are grateful to Mr. Cope for going well out of his way to drive an SUV, filled with plastic bins holding hundreds of jars of tiny shells, all the way from Ohio to Homestead for us. Additionally, he emptied out a Homestead storage room with countless more plastic bins of shells that were stored for over twenty years. Thank you, Lorin, for your generosity to our club and for honoring your grandmother by looking after her treasures!!!Mrs. Helen E. Stanley (1901-1992) Married to Lorin Stanley. Grew up in Ohio but started going to Florida in 1932 because her husband hated cold weather and they needed to make money during the depression. They were dairy farmers in Ohio and worked in the tomato, bean, and cucumber fields in South Florida each winter. They built their first Florida home in 1946. Helen started collecting, showing and “working” with shells in the 1960’s. A few of her shells were picked up along the beach, but many were purchased and shipped to her in Ohio as well as in Florida. She loved going to Marco Island, long before all the homes, hotels and condos were built, to pick up shells and visit the stores selling shells along the coast. A member of the Greater Miami Shell Club, Helen won Shell Show ribbons and awards during the 70s and 80s for her beautiful shell craft exhibits! One of her most prestigious awards is a wooden plaque from the Greater Miami Shell Club’s 23rd Shell Show in 1985 for Best Shell Art Exhibit.