What would Harold think?
 

I wonder what Harold Schwartz would think if he could see The Villages as it is today?
I'm quite sure it isn't what he planned or anticipated.

You might be surprised the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

I often wonder what Walt would think of Disney World!

I think it could be what he anticipated............didn't he cross US441 for expansion?

I think he'd be very proud of his son & family!

What makes anybody think Harold S would not have kept on expanding as he saw more of his product being snapped up as quick as he could get it ready for market?

What would George Washington think if he could come back and see the USA now?

I think he would be very happy to see that 100,000 people, just like him--not born millionaires but workhorses--could attain the joy of single-family, concrete or frame, site-built home and lot ownership, at a price that fits their income and retirement savings....

...while never having to sit in an old 2 or 3-story house in MI, paying $500-600/month for heating fuel, only to have the thermostat set at 62 and having to wear a coat in the house, and the temp outside is -20 with a 20 mph wind making it Real Feel -40 degrees, and you get out only to get the mail if the mailbox has not been plowed in with a 6-ft high mound of snow/ice.....and Oh, Wait....you're there waiting for a plumber because the pipes froze and broke.

I agree.


I am! We are!!

Considering the fact that Harold Schwartz started out, as other developers did, selling property through the mail (newspaper, magazines, etc.), which was later prohibited by law, I think the smile on his face on his statue in Spanish Springs says it all.

Whether he dances, or spins, on his grave depends on how history peels back the onion. History. Not me.

Regardless of that, it is the residents that have funded their lifestyle from years of hard work. And they owe no debt of gratitude to anyone else other than themselves.

Except for the hospital, Harolds vision disappeared years ago. It seemed to be common knowledge that Harold was relieved of any major participation in decisions regarding future development. Along about the same time Richard Schwartz a half brother was more or less exiled to his property along route 466 and his position as head of golf operations eliminated.. Harold once joined us for lunch at Cafe Ole and shared some of his dreams. He wanted every Villages to "share" in the good things happening in the Villages. He wanted everyone to also live a wonderful life here and not necessarily be wealthy to take part. I don't recall his exact words but he wanted the fees for amenities to be as low as possible and available to everyone. At about that same time I recall priority golf at TDS as being $12 for 18 holes. Harold knew it was primarily the golf that sold homes. I am not sure Harold's vision was broad enough to handle what was was in store as the Villages grew.

We all worked hard to get here, yes. But there would not be a place like this to buy if it were not for the Schwartz-Morse family.


They have made far fewer mistakes and learned far more from them than most people would as they went along. What happened to them is financial success and I have to suspect the joy of watching their own dreams come true in founding a city like no other ever on the face of this earth, making the end of life as joyful for many as their younger years.


As the vision is coming close to being finished, I am glad we were included in it.

what would Harold say
 

I hope he would say job well done.
I for one want to thank him for his vision .I never thought my husband and I would be able to be part of this life style .We worked hard ,but are by no means financially well off. But because of Harolds vision we are able to look forward to having a retirement our friends will envy .
The dream Harold had is lived over and over with every new Villager .
THANK YOU HAROLD

Interesting question. I am certain you have an opinion or you would not have started this thread. What do you think?

Well Gracie. Maybe I will be a convert. Maybe I am a convert. But I will always be skeptical. Critical thinking.

Walt would wonder why the fifth Park is not opened in Orlando....what would be very proud of the Magic bands

I agree! My magic band is my favorite piece of jewelry! LOL. And I am soooo glad to live here in The Villages.

We too are so glad that we found a 'little bit of paradise' here and I'm sure that Mr. Schwartz would be quite proud to see it today and seeing so many of us...just enjoying life in general in The Villages and seeing what his vision turned into.

Walt would be disappointed that EPCOT, the city of the future, was not built, only EPCOT Center the permanent World's Fair which is turning into Tomorrowland. He want a city where people from around the world would live and research new ideas on living and research new medicine and show off what worked in EPCOT Center.

In all the reading I have done about Mr. Schwartz, it seems obvious that he was not a BIG thinker. He may well have been satisfied with a community like Continental CC, Spruce Creek South, or Water Oaks. It was when he brought son Gary aboard that the vision that would become the Villages began to take shape. People who were here in those days say that it was not at all unusual to see Harold at the town square, or anywhere else in TV, much unlike his offspring. I surmise that he was overwhelmed with the growth he lived to see, and I am sure that much of what would become the Villages of today, was already planned out on the drawing board. I would think he would be proud of what he, and his son and grandkids have built, but without them his legacy would have probably been that kindly old man who roamed around the trailer park several years ago.

Funny you would mention this on the very day they broke ground for Avatorland, the fifth park.

Avatorland is an extension of Animal Kingdom, not a Fifth Park. I would like Tommowland expanded and make it Science and Engineering again, not Fantasy land. Mission Space and Test Track in EOCOT Future World belong in Magic Kingdom Fantasy Land. But keep Carousal of Progress, all ways go there since '64-'65 World's Fair.

I'm looking for one word that might describe Harold Schwartz if he saw TV today. Excited, surprised, overwhelmed, and happy/proud might partially describe his reaction.

My wife and I met Harold Schwartz when we visited TV for the first time in the mid-90's. He was "hanging" around the sales office---seem to be making sure you were getting "service" and all your questions answered. Very personable---a people person.

Surreal is most likely how he would feel about TV today.

Well said. As always.

I'd say that without Gary's involvement, Harold would have had his third bankruptcy trying to make his dream come true. At the same time, I'm not convinced that he would have been happy with all that has taken place in the past ten years. His dream, from what I've been told by folks who knew him, was a community where everyone knew everyone, where all could partake of the recreational facilities, etc. I think he would have been very proud of some aspects of TV and saddened by others (especially the chasm that seems to have developed for north and south of 466).