January 2008
23 posts
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Follow the Crops
The growing season in southern Florida was from about October through April. In the months in between, there just wasn’t much income for those who relied entirely on agriculture for their livilyhoods. It was not uncommon in the early years for pioneer families to move out of Pompano in the summer to grow crops in northern Florida or elsewhere. As time passed, most of the farm owners became...
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170 Years Ago
On this date in 1838, the great Seminole leader Osceola died while imprisoned at Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina. He had been captured in Florida under a flag of truce.
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Tequesta Diet
The Tequesta Indians had not developed an agricultural society; the abundant food sources of southern Florida allowed them to remain hunters and gathers. Seafood was an important part the Tequesta’s diet — everything from smaller fish to shark and porpoise. They also hunted manatee and turtles, and gathered shellfish such as clams, conchs and oysters. Other meat sources (bear, deer,...
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The Tequesta
The Tequesta Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of southeastern Florida in the early 16th century when European explorers first arrived in this area. The Tequesta occupied the lands that are now Miami-Dade and Broward counties, although at times their villages were located as far north as Jupiter Inlet. The first descriptions of the Tequesta indicated that the males were clothed in...
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First Bridge
Pompano’s first bridge across what would become the Intracoastal Waterway was constructed in 1912. It was built of 12 inch square timbers that were cut on the banks of the canal. The steel plates and rods that held the wooden beams in place were purchased out-of-state and shipped to Pompano. This bridge opened for boat traffic by turning in the middle. It was operated by hand with the use of...
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Dr. Joseph P. Lee
Dr. Joseph Parry Lee was hired as pastor of Pompano’s First Baptist Church on January 1, 1922. Initially his position at the church was half-time — he also served as the minister at Deerfield’s Baptist church. On November 25, 1923, Dr. Lee resigned as pastor at Deerfield and was employed full time in Pompano at a salary of $1,800 per year. During his tenure, he oversaw the...
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Bringing Home Medals
In the 1960s, Pompano Beach High School had two students who would make it to the Olympics. In the 1964 Olympics, held in Tokyo, John Nelson took the silver medal in the 1500 meter freestyle. He was 1.3 seconds behind Australian Bob Windle. Four years later, at the 1968 games in Mexico City, Pamela Kruse won the silver medal in the 800 meter freestyle. She was bested by Debbie Meyer, who became...
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Hole in the Wall
During the Texas Ranger’s 1986 spring training in Pompano Beach, newly-acquired outfielder Pete Incaviglia became something of a legend when he visibly demonstrated the power in his swing:Incaviglia arrived at spring training in Pompano Beach, Florida the following spring without a great deal of fanfare, though it wasn’t anything unusual. With the New York Yankees training only 10...
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.Martin Luther King, Jr., from his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech,...
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Town to City
During the its 1927 session, the Florida Legislature “abolished” the Town of Pompano and replaced it with the City of Pompano. This was a standard legislative function based on the population growth of municipalities, giving the local governments additional powers and responsibilities.
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Memories of Early Pompano
Edna Smith Thurman was born in Pompano before it incorporated — in 1906. She was the daughter of Pompano pioneer Dexter Smith. Her family moved to Homestead in 1921. In 1999 she returned to Pompano Beach for the dedication of the Pioneer Monument. In a letter to Don Downie, chairman of the Pioneer Monument committee, she related her memories of Pompano’s early days:There was no high...
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Pompano Permits
In December, 1913, the Pompano Town Council passed an ordinance requiring residents to obtain building permits for new construction and certain repairs to existing structures.
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Silver Thatch Inn
The Silver Thatch Inn was opened on Pompano’s beach in 1939 on property owned by the Jelks family just north of the then recently-built Kester cottages that lined A1A. Designed by Fort Lauderdale architect Courtney Stewart, the first unit built contained 16 bedrooms with private baths, as well as a lobby, dining room and sun deck. Additional units were added in the following years.
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Drive-In Worship
In the 1950s, a new phenomenon swept the nation — drive-in church services. Not to be left behind, Pompano Beach’s First Baptist Church initiated such a program on November 4, 1956, at the Gold Coast drive-in theater, located on Federal Highway, north of 54th Street. The location was considered advantageous as the newly-developed subdivisions north of the Pompano Beach city limits had...
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Community Church
Before the Pompano’s white Baptists and Methodists built their own churches, they met in a community church located on NE First Avenue, just north of Atlantic Boulevard. Originally church services were held in the one-room school house, but in 1907 Andrew Saxon donated property for the church building. The wood-framed building was contructed with a tower that gave it a church-like...
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Pompano HIstorian Bud Garner Featured Speaker
Bud Garner will be the featured speaker at the Historical Society’s monthly public program on Wednesday, January 16th. The program will take place at the Dick & Miriam Hood Center (217 NE 4th Avenue, Pompano Beach) and will begin at 7:00 PM. Mr. Garner will discuss several people from Pompano’s past who played a significant role in the community but are little remembered...
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Beach Bargain
The City of Pompano Beach purchased much of what is today its public beach in 1951 from William Kester for $80 a front foot. Kester sold the oceanfront property at a discounted price; at that time beach frontage lots were selling at between $200 and $300 a foot.
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A Big Cake
A 100 pound cake was the featured attraction at Beacon Light Shopping Center’s 2nd anniversary celebration on November 8, 1958. Baked by the Little German Bakery, the cake was four-foot square at its base, with two-foot high tiers. A sugar “beacon light” rose another two feet at from the top. Lighthouse Point Mayor Russell Clarke cut the cake, which was served to the public by...
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Cemetery Expansion
In November, 1956, the City of Pompano Beach added five and one-half acres to the original section of the Pompano Beach Cemetery, creating approximately 3,500 additional graves sites. Purchase price of burial plots in the new section was $75. Unlike the original section of the cemetery, the new section restricted monuments to bronze tablets or markers that did not extend above the ground.
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Smudge Pots
Until fairly recently, local farmers combated South Florida’s occasional winter freezes by deploying smudge pots. Smudge pots were portable oil heaters that were placed around the fields and lighted on nights when the temperature was likely to drop below freezing. The protection for the crops came not from the heat generated, which wasn’t enough to keep any significant area warm, but...
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103 Years Ago Today
On January 3, 1905, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward was inaugurated as Florida’s 19th governor. Broward had battled Robert W. Davis for the Democratic nomination, which was as good as being elected since the Republican party was almost non-existent in Florida at that time. Davis represented the interests of the railroads and business, while Broward concentrated on the rural vote. Broward...
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First Christian Church
The First Christian Church of Pompano was organized on April 15, 1956, when twenty-eight people gathered at the Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce building for that purpose. Harry Stinson was the church’s first minister. The new church built a sanctuary at its current site, 1860 NE 39th Street, and occupied the building on June 28, 1957.
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St. Elizabeth of Hungary
The St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic parish was officially established in July, 1959, by Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll. Father John McAtavey was selected to be the first pastor. As was the practice, Father McAtavey was expected to build a congregation from scratch, and to develop the resources to construct a church building. The first service was held in the dining room at McFadden’s...