Boynton Beach Historical Society Program Meetings
Location:
First Presbyterian Church of Boynton Beach
235 SW 6th Avenue, Boynton Beach (Enter through the courtyard gates)
April 27, 2026
Ice Cream Social 7:00-7:30 pm
Reserve your Spot for the Free Ice Cream Social
Program: 7:30 – 8:30 pm
Crystal Ball Chronicles:
Speakers: G.L. Pedersen and J.M. Naughton
Ambitious young reporter Kate Brennan thought she had found a tranquil paradise. Instead, a fateful meeting with Lena Clarke, the spinster postmistress of West Palm Beach, Florida, entangles Kate in Lena’s mysterious and delusional life. Clarke’s obsession with snakes, foreign spies, and the supernatural led to one of 1921’s most bizarre crime sprees.
This true crime story recounts Lena Clarke’s downfall following the tragic death of her most trusted confidant. As officials closed in on Clarke’s scheme, she fled and hid out in a hotel room where she unleashed a night of terror.
In the spirit of In Cold Blood and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, this haunting tale from Florida Authors and Publishers Association and Historical Society of Palm Beach County award-winning authors G.L. Pedersen and J.M. Naughton will appeal to true crime and mystery novel fans of all ages.
About the Authors:
G.L. PEDERSEN was born in Florida and raised on its stories of pioneer days. She writes about real people, especially the women whose lives were too often left out of the historic record. She uncovers their stories in faded letters, old newspapers, and archives that time almost buried, bringing them forward so they will not be lost again. Two award-winning books authored with Janet M. Naughton shed new light on Palm Beach County history. In Pioneering Palm Beach, they told the unknown story of author Byrd Spilman Dewey. In The Crystal Ball Chronicles, they followed the trail of murdering poet and postmistress Lena Clarke. Now, in Unbreakable Healer, G.L. Pedersen tells the story of Dr. Mabel E. Elliott, a pioneering physician and medical missionary whose fearless service from the battlefields of postwar Turkey to the orphanages of Armenia and the hospitals of Japan saved thousands of lives. Dr. Elliott bore witness to some of the 20th century’s greatest humanitarian crises. G.L. Pedersen resides in Florida among palms, pineapples, and bananas, always looking for the next mission.
J.M. NAUGHTON: Award winning author Janet DeVries Naughton is a college professor by day, and moonlights as a tour guide in a historic cemetery by night. The intrepid researcher has authored or contributed to over a dozen Florida books.
Naughton, who holds Masters Degrees in Library and Information Studies and American History credits her passion for research, treasure hunting, adventure and clue seeking to the fictional pop icon, Nancy Drew, whose suspenseful adventures captivated her as a youngster. The Crystal Ball Chronicles is Naughton’s leap into fiction with a true crime thriller sure to please any crime novel and mystery reader.
HISTORY STROLLS
Professor Janet Naughton, past-president of the Boynton Beach Historical Society leads narrated history tours of downtown Boynton Beach, local cemeteries, and other historic sites.
2024 Tours
History stroll with Professor Janet Naughton
Rosenwald Schools in Palm Beach County – Historic Marker Dedication, 2024
Historic Marker Dedication for Boynton’s Poinciana Elementary School. The school was the first Rosenwald Funded School for rural black children in Palm Beach County
Program Meeting Recordings
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