VERO BEACH — Suzan Phillips, author of The Miracle of McKee, will be at the Vero Beach Book Center on Tuesday, March 15 at 10 a.m. to sign copies of the Second Edition of The Miracle of McKee.
Phillips joined the McKee Jungle Garden Preservation Society as Secretary in the Spring of 1989 after moving to Vero from Santa Barbara, Calif. Her grandfather, Winchester Fitch and Mr. Arthur G. McKee were old friends and she spent many days in the Garden as a child. Her grandmother, Florence Fitch, and Mrs. Waldo E. Sexton started the Garden Club of Indian River County, so it was only befitting that she would lead the efforts of preserving the Garden as well as many other historical sites in the area.
She became head of the McKee Committee of the Indian River Land Trust in 1993 and started to try and find a way to save the Garden. She started the Saturday Morning Gang at McKee and did everything from hacking paths through the jungle and giving tours of what was left, to photographing the beautiful plants and giving slide lectures to garden clubs about the magic of McKee. Today, Phillips regularly volunteers by giving tours of McKee to visitors and tour groups. She is an Honorary Board Member of McKee.
The Second Edition of The Miracle of McKee is now available. It is filled with colorful photographs which chronicle the development of this treasure for Vero Beach and also pays homage to Entomologist, Jim Haeger, Garden friend and creator of The McKee Jungle Garden Preservation Society. “Without his help, the Garden would never have happened,” stated author Suzan Phillips.
Books can be purchased at the Vero Beach Book Center or at McKee Botanical Garden for $14.95.
