A charming bit more on Blessed Harriet may be viewed here (from a Naples, Florida online journal):
“She took some time off, and was driving down U.S.41 when she saw local Indians selling items out of a chickee hut, and also posing for pictures to make a little money,” Nicolay said.
“She basically threw a fit at what she saw as degrading, so she obtained permission to remain and work with these people.”
Bedell based herself at what was then simply called Everglades, at the time the county seat.
She would buy items such as pottery and baskets from the American Indians with “script” money which was in turn redeemable for essential goods at the local store, Nicolay said.
Evidently Harriet had some spunk!
On a more personal level, Nicolay said, the deaconess had an acid wit.
Having once dined with then-President Truman at the Everglades Rod & Gun Club, she was asked what it was like to sit down with a president.
Her reply, Nicolay said, was: “He was alright for a Baptist.”
Other quirks associated with the deaconess, Nicolay said, were that she never owned a radio or went to a movie.
But she did drive a car, and was something of a “hellion” on the road, Nicolay said.
Another lasting minds-eye image of the woman, she said, was the deaconess nosing about the swamps in a canoe, dressed in a flowing habit and boots.