Sunny Scenes Inc.

A successful greeting card business in Winter Park for over 25 years

Sunny Scenes, Inc. was a successful Winter Park business that operated during the years of 1923-1949. Mr. Joseph Bryant started the business venture in 1923 and later sold it to Col. E.G. Akin in the mid-1930s.

The plant was located in a 2-story building at 421 Fairbanks Avenue. It was adjacent to the ACL RR (Atlantic Coast Line Rail Road) railroad tracks that intersected Fairbanks Avenue, and Harpers Restaurant & Bar was located on the other side of the tracks.

The business manufactured hand-painted color greetings cards, postcards, note cards and large pictures by using stencil and air brush techniques. The scenes on the stationary were of Florida, Hawaii, California and Texas and were distributed in those states as well as New York City and Washington D.C.

Their stationary heading included a description of their products:

MANUFACTURERS OF
HAND-COLORED SCENES,
GREETING CARDS, POST CARDS
AND ADVERTISING SPECIALTIES

Mrs. Montine Jones Akin (mother of Col. Akin) managed the operation during the time Col. Akin was in the service during WWII. At that time, fifteen employees made up the staff of the company.

Sunny Scenes, Inc. was a very profitable enterprise for over twenty-five years. After he returned from his term of service, Col. Akin sold the business to a Miami concern in 1949.

*This history was provided by Elizabeth Akin Axton on August 20, 1996.

This article was written by former archivist, Barbara White, MLIS.