Gary's mother and dad divorced when he was a little guy. I would guess that would be in the early forties. (Harold Schwartz married several times) Gary's mother married a man named Morse and moved back to Michigan where she had grown up. In the early forties there was much talk of Hitler and much fear among Jewish families. I have heard this said that she changed his name to Morse to protect him from the harm that was happening to Jews in Europe. It is the tale I have been told. Gary's brother of course, from a different mother still goes by the name Schwartz. Gary's sister has recently retired from the country store and bakery she ran for years, called Brownwood, in Michigan. We have seen pictures of her wonderful donuts and met a real live person who lived in the area that knew them back then and thus the story about his name change. It is a story told us from a delightful person who lived near the old Brownwood and now lives near the new one. Gary also brought many craftsmen with him and even some landscapers too. Gary and Sharon. Sharon died of cancer and Gary remarried and lived with his wife in the compound on the North side of 466.

I am guessing Gary would not be very happy about a high density rental apartment complex being built at
the site of one of the Championship Country Clubs he created for the single family homeowners he sold their dream homes to.

As is his body or rather ashes under the statue.

i don’t think it will make the NYT bestseller list.

That's funny as
 

heck

Tarrson.


History of The Villages

Has anyone heard that The Villages is going public?

I can't believe the Morses would do that. It would mean they'd have to come out of the shadows and tell us what's going on.

I am guessing Gary would be very happy about a high density rental apartment complex being built there since the single family homeowners to whom he sold their dream homes saw fit not to support the facility that he rented to owners of the restaurant. Harold and Gary were developers and profit motivated. Nobody wanted to take over the facility and since they weren't in the restaurant business they made a profit motivated decision. Same with Katie Bells. We have the right to choose where we eat or shop but if those choices don't sustain the business the owner has the right to go another direction.

Darn so they found out we are negotiating to buy the place.

SCHWARTZ is the founder
 

More re-writing of history, watch out or Mr Schwartz's statue at Spanish Spring will be torn down...

Beg to differ. Mr Schwartz would be so proud of what his Son, Grandkids, Great Grandkids have developed. I sure would be.

Those that don’t like it really should go find another better place.
You could call it “Negative Village”

Nope, haven’t heard that. Where did you hear that rumor?

Probably while standing in line for the free stuff at trail winds Publix :a040:

What free stuff? Heard that was only the first day

I have heard that Sharon Morse was the big idea person for the Villages, but she died young.

Hope not. The greedy kids have destroyed the “friendliest hometown.” It’s now the up and coming annex to Orlando.

Yet just like us they are still coming.and we even like it here

Disagree.....the only people that destroyed it (and I disagree that it is destroyed) are the people that live here, the Developers give us opportunities, what we do with them is on us.

So, you have decided to move away, right? I mean, no sane person would live in a destroyed community.

I do not believe it wasn’t profitable. That’s a fairy tale only the very gullible would believe.

:shocked::duck::clap2:

The real driving force and success of the villages is simply statistics and the Aging of America, one of the luckiest Sons to have a father who gave him a business I won't mention the other one.

No.
But an awfull lot of public is going The Villages!:icon_wink:

The original developers would rather remain unseen now that they have endorsed the in-flux of thousands of new owners swarming the apartments they built destroying the original ideal of what the villages is about.

:1rotfl:

funny how folks that are living a pretty darn good life in TV still find little things to gripe about

if you're not happy living here and refuse to move...please, get a different hobby

Sorry, but Mr Schwartz did not simply hand over The Villages to his son. The fact is that that Schwartz and his partner, Al Tarrson, were trying, without much success to develop what we now know as The Villages. They created a small mobile home park called Orange Blossom Gardens. Because sales were so poor, Tarrson wanted out.

Schwartz called his son in as a partner. It was Gary Morse who suggested to Schwartz that developments such as this needed amenities. It was Morse that built the first golf courses, pools and rec centers.

In 1983 sales of mobile homes in OBG were a total of about 400. Once Morse was brought in sales began to increase exponentially.

Now I take nothing away from Harold Schwartz. He was the founder. He was the guy that had the vision. He was in charge and needed to approve everything.

But it was Gary Morse that turned a small mobile home park into The Villages. He needed his father's permission, but without his ideas The Villages would not exist today.

Gary Morse is responsible for much of the lifestyle that we have today.

Harold Schwartz and his wife divorced during WW2. His wife remarried a named named Morse. She was afraid that if we lost the war that the Nazis would invade our country and kill all of the Jews so she legally changed the names of her children to their stepfather's name.

I don't believe that Harold's wife was Jewish but I can't find anything about that. Her name was Mary Louise Lee.

Gary Morse's actual name, by the way is Harold Gary Morse (nee Schwartz).

I doubt it. His grandchildren are very proud of what their grandfather started. The ashes of Harold Schwartz are in the box that the statue stands on.

It was his son, Harold Gary Morse that had that statue erected. I doubt that his children would take it down.

How would any of us have any idea what Gary Morse would have thought about any of the changes and/or additions that have gone on?

A lot of these plans have been in the works for several years. Morse may even have had input into them.

While it's true that most people only knew the name of Harold Schwartz in connection with The Villages, Gary Morse had been highly involved since 1983.

Often in the case of big companies like this, there is a Mr Inside and a Mr Outside. Harold Schwartz was a personable guy that made himself very visible. I have spoken with residents on the Historic side that told stories of how he would invite people into his house for iced tea and cookies. He would personally greet people who came for lifestyle visits and give them his home phone number.

Gary Morse was different type person. He worked behind the scenes and keep to himself. He was a very private person who shunned attention and the media. He allowed his father to deal with all of that. But it was his vision and ideas that turned a little mobile home park into what we now know as The Villages.

The truth is that the two of them worked together to build The Villages.

It was in 1992, coincidently, that the name of the development was changed from Orange Blossom Gardens to The Villages. So you might have been one of the first residents of The Villages.

Without Harold Schwartz, there would have been no Gary Morse, and no The Villages.

I would suggest getting more acquainted with how many private homes and residents and property vs apartments and residents and property.

How will it affect the average villages resident?

For the most us....not at all.

Your right, the smart Developer or owner would take a profitable business and tear it down, what was I thinking? Your business acumen has set me straight....thank you. Oh, and you became a billionaire doing what?

Actually, the son rescued his father's failing business. Then the son changed how things were done and turned it from a failure into a raging success. Gary Morse is the true visionary and the true businessman who made the vision a reality. His father soon retired.

But, but what is going on with Paige.... ?

Thanks for sharing the history

Harold Schwartz
 

It maybe because when Schwartz started it all it was called Orange Blossom Garden and not The Villages. My father originally purchased one of the first units through Schwartz.

There was a documentary made shortly after Gary's death. It was produced by the family and was shown at the Sharon during the meet the Developer meeting. It contained interviews with the family, with the guys who ran construction and some humorous yet revealing moments. To my knowledge it was the only time it was shown but rolled back the curtain on how this all came about.