August 2011
20 posts
A Dry Win
Four candidates competed in Florida’s 1916 election for governor: William V. Knott (Democrat), George W. Allen (Republican), Sidney J. Catts (Prohibition) and C. C. Allen (Socialist).
Catts won the election with a little less than 40,000 votes (about 48 percent of all votes cast).
Thinking About It
In 1934, the United States Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act, which recognized the rights of American Indians to conduct popular vote elections and govern their own political affairs under a constitution and bylaws. The Seminoles of southern Florida, mistrustful of any government intervention, the Seminoles did not take advantage of this opportunity until 1957, the Tribe was faced with...
The Spirit of Cooperation
A fine spirit of co-operation is being manifest by Broward county cities these days, particularly in the matter of going after federal aid. Every few weeks all Broward chambers of commerce and the Pompano Rotary club, which performs the functions of a chamber of commerce in Pompano, get together. The next meeting will see all cities submitting for the consideration of the session definite...
Klan Rally
On July 3, 1965, the Ku Klux Klan staged a rally in Fort Lauderdale in an open field near Dixie Highway and Florinada Road. The rally was held despite an injunction sought by Pompano Beach city commissioner Edward Stack, who stated the gathering would endanger public safety and be in violation of local zoning codes.
The rally attracted about 2,000 people who heard KKK speakers denounce...
Change in Ownership
The Lyons Park neighborhood was begun by developer Jack Marqusee (who also developed Margate and the Melrose Park neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale).
In July, 1957, with about half the projected houses built and sold, Marqusee Associates sold its interest in Lyons Park to two former New York City merchandisers: Jack Gaines and Bert Haft. At that time, new homes in Lyons Park were selling from...
Cresthaven Opens
A fortnight ago, David and Albert Yorra officially opened the doors at their “Cresthaven Homes” development, one half mile north of the country club on U.S. Highway 1.
Opening day more than 2,000 people trekked through the four model homes, many returning for second and third visits during the week.
The Yorras are showing two variations of “The Bruce,” two bedrooms, one...
Finding Fault
Hurricane Cleo, the first major hurricane to hit the Pompano area since 1947, came up Florida’s southeast coast on August 27, 1964. Although there were no fatalities from the storm in Florida, there was significant property damage.
In Cleo’s immediate aftermath, George Smathers, one of Florida’s U.S. Senators, called for an investigation of the Miami office of the U.S. Weather...
Florida Kills Ponce
Although The Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon first sailed to the New World with Christopher Columbus’ second expedition in 1493 and would become a political and military leader in the early days of Spain’s West Indies empire, he is best known as the discoverer of Florida and his search for the fountain of youth.
Ponce met his demise in 1521 as a result of a battle with Calusa...
Sand Problems
During Thanksgiving weekend in 1966, a northeaster storm’s wave and wind action carried sand into the Hillsboro Inlet, partially blocking the waterway. A couple miles up the coast, the Boca Raton Inlet was completely blocked when the storm created a sandbar spanning the inlet three feet above the high tide mark.
Jook Joints
During the 1930s, a new term entered Floridians’ popular vocabulary: jook joint.
One source credits Florida author Zora Neal Hurston as first describing the term in a 1934 article on African-American folklore. She noted that the term dated back to at least the post Civil War era and described a rural gathering place for blacks, often including music and alcohol.
By the late 1930s, the...
Pioneer City
One of Broward County’s short-lived tourist attractions was Pioneer City, located in the western reaches of Davie. The theme park offered “wild west” features such as mock gunfights in the street and stagecoach rides. Opened in 1966, it lasted only a couple years, closing in 1968 to make way for the Kapok Tree Restaurant.
Highlands' Second Birthday
The 1,500 residents of Pompano Beach Highlands, situated half-way between West Palm Beach and Miami along U.S. 1, will celebrate the second anniversary of establishment of the community Tuesday, starting at 3:30 pm, at Pompano Beach Highlands Park.
“These people hailing from 38 of the 48 states are retired business men, industrial workers and professional people who for the most part...
Buses to the Beach
At the Pompano Beach City Commission’s January 8, 1957, meeting, commissioners considered expanding city bus service. Commissioner Hazen Ames supported the expansion, stating “Every day that passes costs beach residents about 60 cents a day through paying higher jitney fares for their domestic workers. We need service for the public welfare.”
Expansion Plans
In 1972, Baptist Retirement Village, the forerunner of Pompano Beach’s John Knox Village, sought to purchase Salhaven Village, a 600-acre retirement and convalescent center in Jupiter, Florida. Salhaven had been built in the 1950s as a retirement home for members of the Upholsterers International Union, but by 1970 the complex was losing half-a-million dollars a year.
The purchase was...
Anti-Semitism in Fort Lauderdale
During the 1930s, Fort Lauderdale increasingly acquired a reputation as an anti-Semitic town. Many hotels were “restricted,” forcing Jewish travelers and tourists to go south to hotels in Hollywood or the Miami area.
When Henry Morgenthau, Franklin Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Treasury, came to Fort Lauderdale to visit the U.S. Coast Guard base (located on the beach where Bahia...
Tall Building
The nine-story Sands Harbor Hotel was the tallest commercial building east of the Intracoastal Waterway in Pompano Beach when it was constructed in 1966.
No Light at the Inlet
From 1941 to 1945 the Hillsboro Lighthouse was dark. The light was kept off as a security measure during World War II to prevent German submarines from using it for navigation or aiming purposes.
The Pinehurst Gets Built
Because of an embargo on the transportation of most building materials imposed by the Florida East Coast Railway in October, 1925 (due to the FEC’s prioritization of freight needed in South Florida), building materials for the Pinehurst Hotel were brought to Pompano by boat. The Pinehust Hotel (later renamed the Pompano Beach Hotel) was located on the north side of the 2200 block of...
Floating Bonds
In March, 1926, Pompano voters approved borrowing $150,000 for improvements to local roadways, sidewalks and utilities.
Seminole Support
The construction of Alligator Alley through the Everglades generated a significant amount of opposition from those who saw the road as a threat to the Everglades’ fragile ecology as well as organizations such as the American Automobile Association, which saw it as unsafe for drivers.
One important ally for the road advocates was the Seminole Tribe of Florida. On April 6. 1959, more than a...
