Page 241 - From the Outhouse 4 -21

241 | P A T R I C I A R A E M E R R I T T W H A T L E Y

As Tajiri continued to blossom to 45 talented individuals, it became obvious that we needed to move out of the
neighborhood. Parents bringing their children and picking them up after classes became cumbersome for me on

my small street. All the traffic--I thought it was too much for neighbors coming home from work. Although no

one complained, I wanted to seek a permanent home before we were reported to City Hall.

We began to hold classes at more public places like churches, schools, parks, cultural arts center, the Boys and

Girls Club, Hopper Academy, and the Chamber of Commerce building. In September 1995, we found a facility
that could house our Tajiri Arts program. Commissioner Robert Thomas, the first African-American

Commissioner of Sanford, told me of the possibility of owning 519 Palmetto Avenue in Sanford. It should be

noted that Commissioner Thomas was the husband of Mrs. Doris Thomas, my angel and encourager. His
granddaughter, Monica Thomas, was a member of Tajiri Arts, and that made the search more personal for him.

When I inquired about the facility, I learned that there were ten applicants for the same place. The building had

been given to the City of Sanford by the Seminole County School Board because it was in a neglected state. The

objective was for the City of Sanford to find a 501c3 organization that could restore the building because of its
historical value. It was built in 1883, and became the first public school in Sanford, affectionately called the Little

Red Schoolhouse. The building is listed on the Registry of Historical Places in Washington, D.C.

This historic facility was a 3,500+ square-foot corner property that sat across the street from the original home

of General Henry Shelton Sanford, who founded the City of Sanford. The building had a wide set of steps that
led to a large front porch. There was a nice lawn in front and a large yard on one side of the building. It also had

about eight drive-in parking spaces. Best of all, it was located in the Historic District of Sanford and wasn’t far

from several different ethnic neighborhoods. Inside was a spacious lobby, a number of self-contained classrooms,