May 2008
20 posts
1 tag
The Circle
The Pompano Jewish Circle was an formed in 1945 by local Jewish residents as both a social organization, and as a means to work toward the a congregation with its own building in Pompano Beach. In 1957, Circle established Temple Sholom and held its first High Holy Days services at Pompano Beach’s First Methodist Church. The Temple’s first officers were: Moe Hirshman, president; Abe...
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Mrs. Ely Stays
In 1957, the Broward County School Board attempted to transfer Mrs. Blanche Ely from her position as principal of Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach to a lesser principalship at Lanier Junior High School in Hallandale. Should she refuse the transfer, she would be demoted to the rank of teacher. The reason given by the School Board for the move was charges that Mrs. Ely had permitted over-age...
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Almost Gone
In 1979 the Florida Legislature allocated 5.2 million dollars to relocate the Pompano Beach State Farmers Market to Palm Beach County. After three years, however, Palm Beach County was unable to come up with a site, and the money was returned to the state’s coffers. The following legislative session, $425,000 was approved for renovations and repairs to the Pompano Beach facility.
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Pompano's Elementary Schools
Fifty years ago, Pompano Beach had five elementary schools (Coleman, Pompano Beach, Pompano Projects, McNab and Norcrest). Ely High School also had elementary students in classes on its campus. The total elementary school enrollment in Pompano Beach for 1958 was approximately 4,000. Today, Pompano Beach has ten elementary schools located within the city limits with a total student enrollment of...
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Pompano's Blue Laws
In 1912, the Pompano town council passed the following ordinance:… whosoever follows any pursuit, business or trade on Sunday, either by manual labor or with animal or mechanical power, except the same be for necessity, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars.The town council also passed an ordinance prohibiting the playing of sports on Sunday.
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First Try for a Community Center
During the late 1950s, some Pompano Beach residents began to lobby for a community center in the city. The Chamber of Commerce listed such a center as one of the city’s most pressing needs, and the Pompano Beach Junior Woman’s Club took the cause on as a project. The Junior Woman’s Club held public meetings “to begin plans and an Inter-Club Council was formed. Later a...
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On this Date
On May 20, 1913, Henry Morrison Flagler died. Earlier that year, he had fallen down the stairs at his home in Palm Beach and he never recovered from the injury. He is buried in St. Augustine alongside his daughter and first wife.
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Blount Brothers go to War
James and William Blount were among the Pompano residents who were drafted into service during World War I. Age 22 and 20, respectively, the brothers were not drafted until the war was almost over; they were inducted into the military on September 3, 1918, just a little over two months before the war’s end. Both were sent to Camp Jackson, South Carolina, but there their paths diverged. James...
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First Church of the Nazarene
Pompano Beach’s First Church of the Nazarene (916 NE 4th Street) was officially organized in January, 1958, with 12 members. As early as June, 1957, a small group of Nazarenes began meeting at a storefront on East Atlantic Boulevard. That fall, the group moved their meetings to a wood-frame house on the site of its current 4th Street location. In March, 1959, a new facility was...
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Humble Beginnings
When Pompano was incorporated in 1908, there was no public hospital in southeastern Florida. That year, however, Miami City Court Judge John Gramling organized the Dade County Hospital Association with the goal of building a charity hospital. Local physicians agreed to provide services free to the indigent and the county. The Miami municipal government agreed to pay $9 per month for any of their...
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Pompano's Sea Grapes
In 1953, the Pompano Beach City Commission designated the sea grape as the city’s official tree. The Pompano Beach Garden Club had requested the designation, and also urged that 1,000 sea grape trees be planted on municipal property.
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Safe at Last
In 1891, Lt. William Henn and his party aboard the sloop Minnehaha had been traveling up the coast of Florida when they were caught in a fierce storm off Jupiter Inlet. The crew from the Jupiter Life Saving Station had been able to reach them and rescue those who could not swim, but Lt. Henn and the boat’s skipper remained on board to try to bring the Minnehaha to safety. At first it seemed...
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Life-Savers to the Rescue
Continuing the account of Lt. William Henn’s voyage up the east coast of Florida, the sloop Minnehaha is caught in a storm off Jupiter Inlet and in danger of sinking in the rough seas.Skipper had lost all heart, and was seasick into the bargain, poor fellow. The sloop was pretty much all he owned in the world, and I think he had made up his mind that he was going to lose her. Our feelings...
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Perilous Conditions off Jupiter Inlet
Continuing Lt. William Henn’s account of his storm-tossed voyage up the Florida coast in 1891. He and his fellow travelers are off Jupiter Inlet, but caught in a storm that prevents them from making land:The Minnehaha was pounding and smashing into the short lop on the long, heavy swell, sending the spray flying all over us; but we were making headway, and gradually “clawing off”...
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A Storm Along the Coast
Continuing Lt. William Henn’s account of his trip along southeastern Florida’s largely uninhabited coast in 1891.… everything appeared to be in our favor — settled weather, a fair wind, and smooth water; so congratulating ourselves on our good fortune, we made the requisite preparations for a night at sea, and at 6:30 P.M. let her go north. Until midnight all went well. We...
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A Coastal Journey in 1891
In 1893, Lt. William Henn, a well-known naval officer and yachtsman, wrote an account of a cruise through Florida waters. Starting on the Gulf coast he and his party rounded the peninsula and stayed in the Miami area for a while before sailing north.On the morning of March 24 [1891] we had a splendid morning, with a light northeast wind, and all of us felt sorry it was to be our last at lovely...
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Pompano's Palm Island
Other than at the Hillsboro Inlet, in the early years of the twentieth century there were no permanent residents living on the beach in what is today Pompano Beach. It is thought that the first beach resident (albeit seasonal) was Exum Jelks and his family. Around 1907 Exum purchased 100 acres that ran from the beach to the canal (today’s Intracoastal Waterway). He paid $2,000. The...
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McLean's Properties
Broward County’s website gives the origins for Trade Winds Park, located on the north side of Copans Road, just west of the Turnpike:Trade Winds Farm was a horse-breeding and boarding business owned and operated by William K. and Margueritte C. McLean from 1944 to 1975. Their original farmhouse still stands and is a museum on the north side of the park. In 1975, Broward County bought the...
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Skate While You Can
In the 1930s and 1940s, one of the eagerly-anticipated winter arrivals in Pompano was a portable roller rink. Longtime resident, Merrill Pridemore remembers it being most frequently located on the south side of Atlantic Boulevard, west of Federal Highway, but at times it was sited on the corner of NE 1st Street and 1st Avenue (where the Pompano Pharmacy is today) or where city hall is currently...
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Covered Dish Supper
The Pompano Beach Historical Society will mark the end of its 2007-08 programming season on Wednesday, May 21st, with our traditioanl covered dish supper at the Dick & Miriam Hood Center (217 NE 4th Avenue). Members and friends are invited to bring a dish to share and enjoy what is always one of the most delicious meals in town. That evening we will also install new officers and...
