SHADY HILLS — A two-thirds-scale replica of Rotary Club founder Paul Harris’ Chicago home was dedicated May 20 at Pasco’s Safety Town, capping a five-year effort interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The miniature structure, sized for young children, joins other scaled-down buildings at the Shady Hills attraction, where students tour a downtown environment to learn about safety. The Harris house carries a different lesson: the value of volunteering.
“It is a blessing to the world to have it to show children the importance of volunteer work,” said Katie McQuillan, president of the Rotary Club of Trinity. “Volunteering is the Rotary spirit we are trying to impart.”
Children entering the model — a faithful re-creation of Harris’ 1905 dwelling — find informational wall hangings about the Rotary founder and the organization’s mission, along with coloring sheets and crayons. The home will be decorated for Christmas, Halloween and other holidays. McQuillan said she hopes visitors will be inspired to become community volunteers themselves, perhaps one day joining a Rotary club.
The project, a partnership between the New Port Richey and Trinity clubs, cost $40,000 and was funded in part by a grant from the Rotary district. Other Rotary clubs in the Tampa Bay district, along with sponsors and public donations, also contributed, McQuillan said.
The design work was done gratis by Rotary member Troy Willingham, a St. Petersburg architect, who pored over historical documents and photographs to get the details right.
“My No. 1 source was Rotary No. 1,” Willingham said, referring to the first Rotary Club in Chicago, where Harris practiced law. “There was not a lot of precedent for a project like this. The focus was to scale it for the kids.”
As with other structures in Safety Town, adults must crouch to enter and watch their heads inside — part of the charm, Willingham said. The buildings are meant to feel special and made “just for them.”
Even a house that won’t be lived in must meet building codes, he added. Emergency egress and structural integrity had to satisfy the county building department.
The roof, damaged from years of sitting unfinished, also needed repairs before the structure could be painted and the interior displays installed, McQuillan said. The home is geared primarily to first- through third-graders.
Pasco County Fire Rescue has overseen Safety Town for the past two years, taking over from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. About 50 to 60 students tour the town each day during its four-day run. The site also includes a scaled-down Home Depot, a fire station, a church and a house used to teach fire escape skills. Children learn pedestrian, bicycle, bus and seat belt safety, when to call 911, and electrical and internet safety.
Safety Town is part of The Concourse, a 200-acre park operated by the nonprofit Concourse Council and free to visit. The grounds include a 13,000-square-foot Rotary Pavilion, a 4,400-square-foot event center and a small-scale railroad. Alric Pottberg donated the wooded tract in 1973, and The Concourse, Pasco County and the school board received a $240,000 state Department of Natural Resources grant in 1985 to develop it.
The Concourse, at 14851 Alric Pottberg Road along State Road 52 just west of the Suncoast Parkway, hosts events throughout the year, including the Celebration of Lights at Christmas, the Spook-A-Thon at Halloween, an Easter event with rides on the Bunny Train, and the three-day Jeepin’ 4 Justice event, along with corporate and private gatherings.