Originally published in Safety Harbor Living magazine May 2022

By Laura Kepner

Last week, two white-haired people sat on one of the benches in front of the library. They were talking about the invasion of Kyiv and what it must be like for the Ukrainian people. Ironically, they had been staring at the massive Grand Oak that is so loved by the Safety Harbor community. In order for such a tree to be registered with the Live Oak Society (an organization in Louisiana that keeps track of Southern Grand oaks), it is required to have a circumference of at least 8 feet. It also has to have a name.

In 2004, the tree was definitely big enough so Safety Harbor City Commissioners came up with a list of names. Suggestions included the Tocobaga Tree, the St. James Tree, the Green Springs Tree, the Hernando de Soto Tree, the Espiritu Santo Tree, the Ronald Reagan Tree, and finally, at Mayor Pam Corbino’s suggestion, the Baranoff Oak.

Dr. Salem Baranoff was an immigrant from Kyiv, by way of New York. He was a soft-spoken man, known for a full head of beautiful white hair. As a teenager, he immigrated to New York City with his family in 1904. There, he studied English and taught at a Hebrew school. Somewhere along the line, he was introduced to natural medicine.

Instead of becoming a rabbi like so many in his family had, he chose to become a doctor. He graduated from the American School of Naturopathy in 1921. He focused on the benefits of proper diet, exercise, and aging gracefully. The regiment proved so successful for his patients that one of them offered him the use of their summer home near Spring Valley, New York to open a health resort. The property was unsuitable but the idea had taken hold. He rented an old hotel and invited his clients to immerse themselves in his regimen. He operated the resort for nineteen years. Since his Spring Valley facility was only available for a limited period of time each year, he started spending winters in Safety Harbor, at Dr. Albin Jansik’s Sanatarium.  

The Sanatarium’s usual clientele stopped coming during the Depression. Business declined rapidly and Dr. Jansik was forced to sell. In 1945, Dr. Baranoff and a small group of investors purchased the entire 18-acre complex, including the springs, for $190,000. The Safety Harbor Sanatarium became the Safety Harbor Spa.

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Under Dr. Baranoff’s management, 150 people soon traveled from New York to stay at the Spa. Some were former Baranoff clients from his facility in Spring Valley,  while others heard about it from friends or were drawn by New York Times advertisements.

Guests would receive a physical examination and were assigned individualized diets, which included a lot of grapefruit, as well as exercise, massage, and whirlpool baths.

Dr. Baranoff developed a list of “ten commandments” for his clients to follow in order to live a healthier, happier, and longer life. These included:

1. Thou shall respect thy body as the highest manifestation of life.
2. Thou shall abstain from all unnatural devitalized food and stimulating beverages.
3. Thou shall nourish thy body with only natural unprocessed live food that shall extend thy years in health for loving, charitable service.
4. Thou shall regenerate thy body by the right balance of activity and rest.
5. Thou shall purify thy cells, tissue, and blood with pure fresh air and sunshine.
6. Thou shall abstain from all foods when out of sorts in mind and body.
7. Thou shall keep thy thoughts, words, and emotions, pure, calm, and uplifting.
8. Thou shall increase thy knowledge of nature’s laws, abide therewith and enjoy the fruits of thy life’s labor.
9. Thou shall lift up thyself and thy brother with thine own obedience to all nature’s laws.
10.  Thou shall stretch thy 600 muscles daily, maintain a positive attitude at all   times, and count thy blessings regularly.

But his influence extended beyond the Spa. When Dr. Baranoff learned that the Safety Harbor Library was being run from the community house, which also served as a meeting house for clubs and local groups, he donated the land for a new library, which opened in 1949.

Dr. Baranoff became an active participant in the lives of his neighbors. Not only had he given them the means to open a new library, he was also the catalyst for the American Legion’s opening. Every year, he gave scholarships in English and mathematics to junior high school students. He joined the Lions Club and made an effort to know his employees by name. It’s no wonder Safety Harbor loved him.

After his death in July 1977 at the age of 90, the Spa continued to operate, and even thrive. The man from Kyiv’s name lives on through the beautiful tree in our city center.