Gretchen Giles and Deborah Dillon. PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS

It’s easy to imagine the smile on Ruth Hallstrom’s face if she was listening in on the recent Fall Tea at the Hallstrom House, the historic home and farmstead where she lived until her passing in 1999.

The afternoon was a fundraiser for the Indian River County Historical Society, which maintains and manages the property as a museum. In June 2002, the Hallstrom Farmstead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house was built by Swedish immigrants Axel and Emily Hallstrom in the early 1900s and it’s where Ruth spent most of her life. She entrusted the five-acre farmstead, the house and its contents to the Historical Society to ensure it and the memory of its pioneer settlers would endure.

Laughter filled the air – as it did during Ruth’s lifetime. The enigmatic character is well-remembered for her zeal for life, and as Gretchen Giles ‘spilled the tea’ on the Hallstrom legacy, other volunteers, dressed as Edwardian-era maids, poured tea into China teacups atop elegantly laid tables.

“She [Ruth] was a seamstress, an avid book reader and spoke five languages. She never stopped living, even when she was sick and she couldn’t travel,” said Giles, noting that after that, Ruth lived vicariously through books and magazines.

“She was a character. She loved to entertain,” said Giles.

She related tales of Ruth hosting card parties in the upstairs parlor or the basement, sitting on the front porch and having coffee with folks that dropped by, and zooming down Dixie Highway in her red sports car. She commented that the Hallstrom family grew pineapples and later citrus crops on 100 acres of land on the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, and they had a major impact on the local citrus industry.

After hearing a brief history of the property, the family and their contributions, the ladies continued chatting over the English tea with sweet and savory tidbits.

After lunch, guests toured the historic home which is still filled with remnants of a life well lived.

Ruth and her father traveled extensively, hence the eclectic collection of furnishings, tableware, linens and artworks.

The Historical Society plays a vital role in preserving the area’s heritage, and its fundraisers support their ongoing efforts to promote the area’s cultural significance and local history, while also maintaining historical sites such as the Hallstrom House and the Vero Beach Railroad Station.

Its mission is to “save, preserve and restore the historical and environmental resources” of the county through educational programs, historical preservation and community events.

“History is a very, very important part of our future. If we don’t think back and look at what our ancestors have come forward and done for us, as we are as a society, we’re lost,” said Giles.

She noted that they need more volunteers to greet visitors at the Hallstrom House.

“We are only open two days a week. We would like to extend that to three or four days a week,” said Giles, adding that people can visit their website to register to volunteer.

The Hallstrom House is located at 1723 Old Dixie Hwy. and is open for tours on Wednesday and Sunday. On Nov. 2, the House will also be open for its annual Party at the Pineapple Plantation.
For more information, visitirchistorical.org.

Photos by Joshua Kodis