June 2010
22 posts
Fishy Photos
The Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo, which recently completed its 45th annual competition, has posted a large number of historical Rodeo photographs on its website.
Knott Not Running
When W. P. Knott announced that he would not seek reelection in 1940 as Florida’s state treasurer, he had been a state official for 38 years.
“If I served another term, I would be in my 82nd year when it ended, and when a man gets into his 82nd year he is an old man. I don’t want to wait until I’m decrepit to retire.”
Knott was first appointed state treasurer...
Unemployment Check
The first unemployment insurance payment in Florida was made on February 1, 1939, to Thomas M. Lilliston, Jr., of Carrabelle. He was a 42-year-old civil engineer who had been jobless since September of the previous year.
Mr. Lilliston’s $15.00 check was handed to him by Florida Governor Fred Cone, who had signed the “Unemployment Compensation Law” in 1937. It was estimated that...
Every Move was Carefully Planned
On February 19, 1962, a group of “professional” thieves staged a robbery of the Leonard Taylor jewelry store in Pompano Beach. They had spent some time planning the heist, but their execution left something to be desired.
When the five robbers burst into the Oceanside Shopping Center jewelry store, they herded the manager and an employee into a caged back room. Unfortunately, they...
The Last Gap
In December, 1973, a contract to build the final section of I-95 in Broward County was awarded to Hardrives Comany of Fort Lauderdale for just under 7.3 million dollars.
The 1.7 mile gap in the interstate ran between McNab Road and Hammonville Road.
Haitian Refugees
On December 12, 1972, a leaky 56-foot sailboat crowded with 65 Haitian refugees landed at Pompano Beach. The refugees included 10 political prisoners who had escaped from Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier’s jails. One passenger was five months pregnant.
The refugees had left Haiti on November 23rd, and followed a circuitous route, including a landing in Cuba, before coming ashore in...
One School Year for All
The practice of having African-American students attending school on a “split-schedule,” (closing schools to allow students to participate in the harvest of agricultural crops) was officially ended by the Broward School Board in 1953.
Jupiter Lighthouse Turns 150
Keepers of Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse will celebrate the 150th year of South Florida’s oldest public building with a special event 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. July 10th beneath the lighthouse tower.The event will feature a picnic reminiscent of the late 19th century, when more than 25 steamboat companies plied the Indian River and used a wharf in Jupiter to transfer passengers onto the Celestial Railroad for...
The Golden Falcon Desegregates
In 1961, when the Washington Senators began holding its spring training in Pompano Beach, the team’s black players were forced to use separate accommodations. The so-called “team” hotel, the Golden Falcon (1460 South Ocean Blvd.) would accept white guests, only.
Prior to the 1964 season, the Senators informed the Golden Falcon that unless it provided rooms for all team members...
The First
In May, 1936, John Rhone of Pompano was one of 23 people selected to serve on a Federal grand jury in Miami.
It was believed Rhone was the first African-American to become a Federal juror within the Miami division.
Cypress Barrier
When surveyors began to work on an extension of the Pompano Canal in 1913, they reported their task was made difficult by the abundance of huge cypress trees in their path, some of them over four feet in diameter. The surveyors also found evidence that the Seminoles had used the area and its large trees for building canoes.
Weight Watchers
During the 1920s,the average shipping weight of a crate of winter vegetables was figured at 30 pound for string beans, 45 pounds for bell peppers and 45 pounds for tomatoes.
Unlocking the Canal
On November 26, 1948, someone dynamited the locks of the Pompano Canal.
Blowing up the locks of canals in South Florida was a tactic sometimes used by farmers in western areas who believed the canal authorities were holding back water, and thus flooding their agricultural lands, in order to protect the eastern cities from high water.
In this case, however, the water level in the Pompano Canal...
Musical Pulpits
On Sunday morning, Baptist pastors of Broward county will exchange pulpits and preach to their neighboring congregations. Dr. G. H. Bolton, pastor of the First Baptist church of West Palm Beach, will preach in the First Baptist church in Fort Lauderdale. The Rev. Frank A. Keene, Fort Lauderdale, will preach at Ojus. The Rev. T. E. McCutcheon of Ojus will preach at Dania. The Rev. Harry A. Day...
Shoppers Haven
Shoppers Haven, located on the southwest corner of Federal Highway and Sample Road, was constructed in 1958-59 by developers David and Albert Yorra. The shopping center was designed by William T. Vaughn, a Fort Lauderale architect.
Among the original tenants were a Kwik Chek supermarket, W. T. Grant and Liggett Drug Store.
Tall Plans
In 1925, during the heightof the Florida Land Boom, it was reported that the Hillsboro Enterprises Corporation had purchased land on the south side of the Hillsboro Inlet and planned to build a 22-story building on the property. Had it been built, it would have been the tallest hotel in the state.
Although it was announced that work would begin on January 1, 1926, there is no evidence that any...
Combining Names
Tamiami Trail, the first roadway crossing the Everglades, was so named because it connected Tampa and Miami.
Other South Florida place names that combine syllables from two separate words include Palm Beach County’s Okeelanta (named for Lake Okeechobee and the Atlantic Ocean) and Pennsuco in Dade County (named for the Pennsylvania Sugar Company, which established sugar cane farming in the...
Slow Down
Concerned about motorists speeding through Pompano, in 1921 the city council imposed a 10 miles-per-hour speed limit for vehicles on Dixie Highway. The initial strict enforcement was relaxed after complaints from local residents.
"Store in Pompano Raided by Robbers"
Broward County law enforcement officials today are searching for clues to the robbery Thursday night of Warren Brothers seed and fertilizer store in Pompano. John Warren, member of the company, expressed the belief that the robbers had ascertained the habits of members of the company by observation, since the money was not kept in the safe or cash register but in a secret hiding place. Sheriff...
Amateur Baseball
In 1928 and 1929, Pompano fielded a team in the Dade-Broward amateur baseball league. League rules prohibited teams from fielding players who had played 30 days or more for a professional baseball team.
Other league teams represented Homestead, Little River, Fort Lauderdale, Allapattah, South Miami, two from Miami and the U. S. Coast Guard base in Fort Lauderdale.
Hard Hit
In the aftermath of the Category 5 hurricane that struck the southeast Florida coast on September 16, 1928, Pompano’s mayor, John O. Cook, estimated that 75 percent of the homes in town were damaged beyond repair.
Pay Raises
In 1946, the Pompano town council approved a raise for its sanitation workers. Previously they had been paid $30.00 a week; the new pay scale was $6.00 a day. Most sanitation employees worked a six-day-a-week schedule.
