Found this on YouTube

[eweissenbach]

It is too cool!

Original Promo Video for The Villages Florida - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn_eX_37IMg&t=539s)

You're welcome!

[Bill32]

Very cool!

[BK001]

Wow - what a great old ad and piece of history. Thanks for posting. $65.00 per night LSV at the Hacienda Hotel. Limousine picked you up at the airport and when you arrived the amount you paid was exchanged for the same amount of "Village Dollars". Free complementary breakfast. The Alameda 2B/2b priced in $mid-thrties. Designer homes in the $low-fifties to $low-seventies. Want a pool? Add $9,000. Those were the days.

Fun seeing Chi Chi Rodriguez (who is 83 today) as a young man playing golf.

I was very surprised that this youtube ad has only 400+ views!

[graciegirl]

Thank you. Fun to watch.

[My Daily Run]

Loved it but curious about what happened to the family. Lots of names and faces that I didn't recognize.

[Bay Kid]

Really, really cool! Thank you

[PaulDenise]

What year was that??

[eweissenbach]

I'm guessing late 80s, but I will defer to more accomplished historians. It was obviously right after they crossed 441 and before the golf cart bridge or Spanish Springs were constructed. It appears that there was a more even split of responsibilities among Mr. Schwartz offspring at the time. It would be interesting to know the backstory of how everything evolved into Gary and his children as the "Developer".

[tophcfa]

Gotta love it, Thanks : )

[Serenoa]

For those of us interested in the history of The Villages I have to wonder why the Morse family hasn't made videos like this readily available for viewing? I would have to think there has to be many more stored away somewhere documenting the development & growth of TV over the years. Let's see them!

[eweissenbach]

For those of us interested in the history of The Villages I have to wonder why the Morse family hasn't made videos like this readily available for viewing? I would have to think there has to be many more stored away somewhere documenting the development & growth of TV over the years. Let's see them!

Not to speculate or cast aspersions, but it may be because they don't really want to share things that feature family members who no longer are involved in the development. There may have been some "palace intrigue" involved and some hard feelings. Again, that is pure speculation, but it is interesting that the Gary Morse tree is credited with founding TV along with Harold, while this video would seem to imply that it was a more widespread family venture in the beginning.

[eweissenbach]

Just rewatched with my wife and caught the couple that won the lottery saying they had moved there in 1979 and had been there almost 12 years. That would make it produced in 1990 or 91.

[billethkid]

For those of us interested in the history of The Villages I have to wonder why the Morse family hasn't made videos like this readily available for viewing? I would have to think there has to be many more stored away somewhere documenting the development & growth of TV over the years. Let's see them!

They did. When or whether they stopped I have no idea.

In 2003 when I saw their ad on television. I sent for the video. The disc arrived with a portfolio of all the details and layouts of every type of home that was available for purchase those days. I said to my wife, if the actual location was even close to the video...that is where we were going to buy.

A few weeks later we did the visitors weekend...$25 per night in one of the villas near the old sales center parking lot. Also got a bunch of Villages bucks and a dinner for two at the Cattlemen's club.

We had a lot picked out (October 2003). Closing date of May 15, 2004....moved in September 2015.

And if I just did the visit recently I would do the same thing again!!

PS....I am actually surprised at the thus far limited response to the video which I think is very entertaining. Puts a face with the name Swartz. So nice to see Gary and Sharon Morse. Mark and Jennifer were just youngsters. I thought more folks would be entertained/enlightened as well.

[Nucky]

Thank for the video. We are almost certain we saw the house we live in today on the video. Just Fantastic Thank You.

A while back Manabouttown posted this which is fun to watch also. there is a part 1 & part 2. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZH_WTRVNU]Del Webb Sun City AZ Promo The Beginning Part I - Can't seem to come up with Part 2 but it there somewhere. Enjoy.

[Serenoa]

We've visited TV several times since the first time in 2012,and while we still don't live there (yet) I feel like I know quite a bit about it. But a few things stood out in the video that I hope someone can answer my questions about. I guess WOBG tv station went by the wayside at some point? La Plaza Grande shopping center today isn't anything like what is shown in the video, is it? Where was the Fiesta Bowl bowling alley? Was it done away with once Spanish Springs town center was built? Does La Hacienda Hotel still exist, or did it go away at some point? TIA.

[manaboutown]

Thank for the video. We are almost certain we saw the house we live in today on the video. Just Fantastic Thank You.

A while back Manabouttown posted this which is fun to watch also. there is a part 1 & part 2. Del Webb Sun City AZ Promo The Beginning Part I - Can't seem to come up with Part 2 but it there somewhere. Enjoy.

Here you go:

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZH_WTRVNU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZH_WTRVNU)

Del Webb Sun City AZ Promo - The Beginning Part 2.wmv - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki5-aDvC2kw)

By the way I loved the Villages video which I had not seen. Thank you OP!

IMHO it showed the incredible vision and well thought out planning 'the developers' used to create and grow The Villages.

[Nucky]

Here you go:

Del Webb Sun City AZ Promo The Beginning Part I - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZH_WTRVNU)

Del Webb Sun City AZ Promo - The Beginning Part 2.wmv - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki5-aDvC2kw)

By the way I loved the Villages video which I had not seen. Thank you OP!

IMHO it showed the incredible vision and well thought out planning 'the developers' used to create and grow The Villages.

Thank You, Sir. Wish I knew how to do that. I have watched your video several times a year and don't take it as competition to The Villages because I have met several people who have moved from The Webb Community to ours. Glad you fixed it up for us. Thanks again. :clap2:

[manaboutown]

You are most welcome, Nucky!

These videos make some great points and warm my heart.

[eweissenbach]

They did. When or whether they stopped I have no idea.

In 2003 when I saw their ad on television. I sent for the video. The disc arrived with a portfolio of all the details and layouts of every type of home that was available for purchase those days. I said to my wife, if the actual location was even close to the video...that is where we were going to buy.

A few weeks later we did the visitors weekend...$25 per night in one of the villas near the old sales center parking lot. Also got a bunch of Villages bucks and a dinner for two at the Cattlemen's club.

We had a lot picked out (October 2003). Closing date of May 15, 2004....moved in September 2015.

And if I just did the visit recently I would do the same thing again!!

PS....I am actually surprised at the thus far limited response to the video which I think is very entertaining. Puts a face with the name Swartz. So nice to see Gary and Sharon Morse. Mark and Jennifer were just youngsters. I thought more folks would be entertained/enlightened as well.

I have watched it twice since I discovered it last night. I find it extremely fascinating for a few reasons:

In contemporary Villages history Gary Morse is portrayed as the savior of TV while Harold is portrayed as a glad handing old man strolling around the community and the square greeting visitors and residents. This makes it appear that he was still quite involved and the head of the organization in the early nineties.

All of the previous history I have read barely mentions, or completely ignores, the other members of the family which were obviously intimately involved at the time of this video.

The prices of the homes seem insanely reasonable for that period of time. (I bought a nice, but not extravagant home in Fargo in 1989 for $180K and a smaller home in St. Paul In 1994 for $140K.)

What the hell ever happened to Uncle Bob and Aunt Connie?

The victors, as they say, write the history!

[KEVIN & JOSIE]

Thanks for sharing.

[Bosoxfan]

Very informative

[queasy27]

That was long but fun! The changes in interior design in less than 20 years, oh my. The models seemed to be a mix of manufactured homes and stick-built, given the garages on some.

I think the public area of La Plaza Grande looks pretty much the same today.

[eweissenbach]

That was long but fun! The changes in home design in in less than 20 years, oh my. The models seemed to be a mix of manufactured homes and stick-built, given the garages on some.

I think the public area of La Plaza Grande looks pretty much the same today.

Just a point of clarification, it is almost thirty years. The homes they were building at that time were all stick-built. I think they had only recently gone to that as opposed to manufactured when they crossed 441.

[pauld315]

Just a point of clarification, it is almost thirty years. The homes they were building at that time were all stick-built. I think they had only recently gone to that as opposed to manufactured when they crossed 441.

There are neighborhoods (Delmar is one of them) after they crossed 441 on the east side of Morse near Spanish Springs that have manufactured homes mingled with stick built homes. I think you still had a choice between the 2 at the time these were built.

[pauld315]

Just rewatched with my wife and caught the couple that won the lottery saying they had moved there in 1979 and had been there almost 12 years. That would make it produced in 1990 or 91.

It also said the Hacienda Hills Golf Course had just opened. That was in 1990.

[pauld315]

We've visited TV several times since the first time in 2012,and while we still don't live there (yet) I feel like I know quite a bit about it. But a few things stood out in the video that I hope someone can answer my questions about. I guess WOBG tv station went by the wayside at some point? La Plaza Grande shopping center today isn't anything like what is shown in the video, is it? Where was the Fiesta Bowl bowling alley? Was it done away with once Spanish Springs town center was built? Does La Hacienda Hotel still exist, or did it go away at some point? TIA.

LaPlaza Grand Shopping Center is very similar today to what was in the video

Fiesta Bowling Alley is still up and running. It is close to the Villages Golf Cars in Spanish Springs.

La Hacienda Hotel building is still there. I think it is now The Holiday Inn Express by Paige and Avenida Central.

[champion6]

It is too cool!
Original Promo Video for The Villages Florida - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn_eX_37IMg&t=539s)
You're welcome!Ruh-Roh. "Somebody" doesn't want us to see it. I just went to watch the video again and got this message:
Video unavailable
"Original Promo for The Vi..." is no longer available due to a copyright claim by The Villages of Lake-Sumter Inc..

[twoplanekid]

Ruh-Roh. "Somebody" doesn't want us to see it. I just went to watch the video again and got this message:
Video unavailable
"Original Promo for The Vi..." is no longer available due to a copyright claim by The Villages of Lake-Sumter Inc..

I also received that same message when trying to view it today.

[billethkid]

I knew I should have saved to my computer....Now I will have to try to find it elsewhere before the copyright police come down again!!

Did anybody think to download/save it?

[graciegirl]

For those of us interested in the history of The Villages I have to wonder why the Morse family hasn't made videos like this readily available for viewing? I would have to think there has to be many more stored away somewhere documenting the development & growth of TV over the years. Let's see them!

It is my assessment that they are very low key, not interested in being "on". Do run a for profit business, but are not big for being in the spotlight.

They come across to me as decent Midwest folks who are busy doing their job and if they need someone else to count their money, that is fine too.

[mixsonci]

I just tried to open it and it says video no longer available due to copyright by TV of Lady Lake

[twoplanekid]

Oldie (Dec. 1996) found on the wayback machine site ->The Villages (https://web.archive.org/web/19961219005556/http://thevillages.com/)
Same site (Feb. 2000) -> Designer Homes (https://web.archive.org/web/20000303030841/http://www.thevillages.com:80/explore/models/homes/designer/designer.html)
and from (Aug. 2005) -> Welcome to The Villages - The retirement lifestyle you've been dreaming about (https://web.archive.org/web/20050814001441/http://www.thevillages.com:80/index2.htm)
one more Feb 2009 -> The Villages - Lifestyle (https://web.archive.org/web/20090226204601/http://www.thevillages.com:80/Lifestyle/nightly-entertainment.asp)

[Nucky]

I'm O.K. with it, not that it matters but does anyone know why they wouldn't want this to be seen. It was fantastic.

[manaboutown]

My guess is the copyright/trademark/trade name ownership entity of 'The Villages' assiduously polices its intellectual property.

[eweissenbach]

I'm O.K. with it, not that it matters but does anyone know why they wouldn't want this to be seen. It was fantastic.

For those of us interested in the history of The Villages I have to wonder why the Morse family hasn't made videos like this readily available for viewing? I would have to think there has to be many more stored away somewhere documenting the development & growth of TV over the years. Let's see them!

Not to speculate or cast aspersions, but it may be because they don't really want to share things that feature family members who no longer are involved in the development. There may have been some "palace intrigue" involved and some hard feelings. Again, that is pure speculation, but it is interesting that the Gary Morse tree is credited with founding TV along with Harold, while this video would seem to imply that it was a more widespread family venture in the beginning.

What happened to Uncle Bob and Aunt Connie?

[champion6]

What happened to Uncle Bob and Aunt Connie?Are you possibly asking about Karnie?

Harold and wife Bernice had a daughter Karen (Karnie) Schwartz-Hicks. According to an Ocala Star-Banner article written when Harold died in 2003, she precede Harold in death.

[VApeople]

This is the video that convinced us to move here!

What It's Like To Live In A Retirement Community (The Villages, Florida) - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtUdBmFn6RQ)

[EviesGP]

I think it's totally tragic that they removed this video??? I/we are about to buy/move there(just spent 2 1/2 months there), and love to see/hear the nostalgia? What is there to hide??? Just sad!

[manaboutown]

'They' may or may not be 'hiding' anything but they appear to be protecting their intellectual property.

[graciegirl]

I think it's totally tragic that they removed this video??? I/we are about to buy/move there(just spent 2 1/2 months there), and love to see/hear the nostalgia? What is there to hide??? Just sad!

????

This reminds me of people protesting when the buffalo went away. Things change.

[eweissenbach]

????

This reminds me of people protesting when the buffalo went away. Things change.

Apples and Oranges! The bison were determined to be a liability risk and they were a tangible asset to many residents. This video is simply a piece of nostalgia and something they used in marketing the development many years ago. I know of your devotion to the developers and I agree for the most part - they have created a wonderful place and done it better than anyone who ever tried before. However, they are human beings and thus imperfect, as are we all. I see no reason that they would pull this other than they want to preserve the narrative about how it all came to be. That narrative seems to be that Harold was a man with little vision, but to have a nice trailer park in order to get rid of land he owned, when son Gary came in and he along with his family, transformed it into the amazing place it has become. By the time this video was made the narrative seems to be that Harold was no more than the glad handing elder statesman, and not the driving force he appears to be in the video. No mention is made of Harold's daughter and her husband, who seem to be a pretty vital force in the development at that time according again to the video. It doesn't bother me that they seem to want this hidden, it's there property, but I sense a bit of overreach in maintaining control over the "story". I was excited when I found this and wanted to share it because I thought it was great fun to look back at the "early days" and see how things, and prices, had changed. For some reason the developers don't see it that way and that is too bad.

[Bay Kid]

It is a shame they had to pull the video. It is history. Oh well.

[Carla B]

Yes, too bad. I suppose it proves that they monitor TOTV.

[billethkid]

Yes, too bad. I suppose it proves that they monitor TOTV.

I suppose the could but suggest they do not.
It could have been as simple as someone sending to a Morse family member like many of us did to ours.

What has become apparent over the 15 years we have been here is the long arm of the legal support TV has and how many things have changed for liability, copyright/etc.
Liability concerns made the buffalo go, and the new years eve celebration at the squares/etc.
It happens to every small or family entity that grows and takes on a legal staff....that has to earn it's billing hours.

Yes it is a shame they have decided for legal reasons to pull the video. For practical reasons there was no threat from those of us who enjoyed it and wanted to share it.

An unfortunate reality of the time and day we live in.