February 2012
21 posts
Bluefish Bites
In early April, 1976, the annual migration of Bluefish up the coast came a little too close to shore at Pompano Beach, resulting in 22 swimmers being bitten in the shallow waters, with a number of people being taken to the hospital.
Broward's Piers
Of the four fishing piers in Broward County, Pompano Beach’s is the newest, dating from 1962-63.
The oldest of Broward’s piers is the Anglin Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, which was constructed in 1941 (and rebuilt in 1963).
The Deerfield Beach Pier dates from the early 1950s. It was damaged in 1960 by Hurricane Donna and rebuilt.
Dania Beach’s fishing pier was first...
John Saxon
John Andrew Saxon (1866 - 1944) was one of Pompano’s earliest settlers, arriving here in the mid 1890s as a section foreman for the Florida East Coast Railway. Like almost everyone else in the settlement, Mr. Saxon was a farmer, but he also opened a general store and boarding house in the young community.
Coach Houston
Purcell Houston was born in 1932, and as a young man attracted attention as a football player in Tampa, Florida. Following graduation, he attended Florida A&M University where he played quarterback under legendary coach, Jake Gaither.
When Blanche Ely High School opened, Principal Ely hired Mr. Houston head the sports program at her Pompano Beach school. For nearly twenty years he coached...
E. Pat Larkins
Elijah Pat Larkins was the second African-American elected to the Pompano Beach City Commission (1982) and the first to serve as mayor. He was born in Pompano Beach in 1942, the oldest of nine children by farm-worker parents, and graduated from Blanche Ely High School in 1960.
In 2001 Larkins unsuccessfully sought election to the Broward County Commission, but reclaimed his city commission seat...
Lorena Robson
When the Pompano Beach Historical Society was established in 1973, Lorena Hardin Robson was one of its most active members, completing extensive research on the early history of the city. She was born on September 11, 1907, and in addition to her historical work she served as Pompano Beach’s City Clerk. Her other posts in city government included tax assessor, tax collector, registrar,...
House Calls
Before Pompano had a medical doctor who lived in town, most residents relied on Dr. Thomas Kennedy of Fort Lauderdale. Dr. Kennedy was called upon to attend to the sick and injured throughout what is today Broward County in the early years of the 20th century, often with considerable difficulty, as can be seen in his description of traveling to look in on Harry McNab in Pompano:
He was in bed...
Pompano's Drug Stores, 1956
Pompano Beach drug stores, 1956:
Arnold’s Drug Store (Beachway Shopping Center, 818 No. Federal Highway)
Beach Mart Pharmacy (3408 Atlantic Boulevard)
Hamilton’s Pharmacy (130 NE Flagler Avenue)
Medical Pharmacy (1915 Atlantic Boulevard)
Pompano Pharmacy (60 NE First Street)
Prescription Center Pharmacy (2761 Atlantic Boulevard)
West Side Pharmacy (363 NW 3rd...
Policing the Point
Following Lighthouse Point ‘s incorporation in 1956, its first police chief was Phil Grondin and the city’s first police car was a donated early 1950s dented Buick that could, in Grondin’s words, “hardly get out of its own way.” This was soon replaced by a Ford station wagon in which Grondin patrolled the city from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and then again from 8:00 PM to 12:00 AM....
The Great Transition
Between 1817 and 1859 … the Seminole people were reduced from a powerful confederation of thirty-six towns to a mere handful of left-over families. One observer, writing in 1869, dubbed the three hundred-odd remaining Seminoles a “remnant of a remnant.” Be that as it may, this ragtag remnant showed surprising resiliency in adapting to life in southern Florida. Abandoning the...
Walking Tour on February 18th
The Pompano Beach Historical Society will sponsor a free walking tour of Pompano’s old downtown on Saturday, February 18, 2012, at 10:00 AM.
Long-time Pompano Beach residents Bud Garner and Don Downie will lead the tour, pointing out the historic buildings along the route and discussing the people ran businesses and events that unfolded over the years.
The tour is being held in conjunction...
Signs of the Times
In 1963, Robert E. Bateman wrote a letter to the Florida State Turnpike Authority, asking that his residential development of Coconut Creek be identified by a sign at the Turnpike’s Pompano Beach interchange and that the directional sign to Hammondville be removed.
A written response from the Turnpike Authority’s director of services, C. E. Taylor, noted “it is our current...
John's Pineapples
The August 28, 1908 edition of the Miami News reported that John Sample had planted 40 acres of pineapple in Pompano for the Peninsula Fruit Company, of which he was a manager. Sample had previisously planted 35 acres of pineapples the previous summer.
John Sample was the brother of Albert Neal Sample, who built the Sample-McDougald House in 1916. After several years in Pompano, John and his...
Aunt Betty
Elizabeth “Betty” Hardy Warren was born in 1895 in Hypoluxo, Florida, and came to this area by boat in 1899 with her parents, Mr. And Mrs. I. I. Hardy. As there were no building supplies in Pompano, they brought lumber by boat to build a home in Pompano, not far from Lettuce Lake (today’s Lake Santa Barbara). Although the Hardy’s were not the first people to live in what is today Pompano Beach,...
Medal of Honor
On this date in 1942, Alexander “Sandy” Nininger was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the first U.S. Army recipient in World War II. Nininger had graduated from Fort Lauderdale High School and the U. S. Military Academy and was posted in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked.
His Medal of Honor citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond...
Who's on Top?
Since 1900, every U.S. census had shown that either Miami or Jacksonville have been the cities in Florida with the largest population.
Such was not the case in the 19th century. When Florida became a state in 1845, St. Augustine was the largest city. From 1850 until the Civil War, Pensacola was the most populated city in the state. Immediately after the Civil War, Jacksonville took the top...
Flagler's First Visit
Henry Flagler first visited South Florida in 1892 when he came to what is today the West Palm Beach/Palm Beach area to inspect locations for luxury resorts. He returned the following year, and soon the Royal Poinciana Hotel (1894) and the Palm Beach Inn (1896) were opened. The Palm Beach Inn was later renamed the Breakers Hotel.
Getting Started
The Pompano Park Harness Track held its opening ceremonies and first evening of racing on February 4, 1964. Just over 4,000 people came out to the track that day to witness (and place bets on) the state’s only pari-mutuel harness races.
Dade County Created
Tomorrow (February 4th) will be the 176th anniversary of the creation of Dade County by the Florida Legislature. The county was named in honor of U.S. Army Major Francis L. Dade, who was in command of a contingent of 110 men marching from Fort Brooke (Tampa) to Fort King (Ocala) when they were ambushed on December 28, 1835 by Seminole Indians. Dade and his soldiers were slain, almost to a man.
Dillard High School
The first public school for black students in Broward County was opened in Fort Lauderdale in 1924. Its first principal was Joseph Ely, who would later marry a widowed Pompano educator, Blanche General Boyd.
Principal Ely led the effort to have his school’s name changed from Fort Lauderdale Colored School to one that honored James Hardy Dillard, a white educator who was a leading advocate...
Ms. Director
According to the late local historian Stuart McIver, the first person to shoot a motion picture in Broward County was a Parisian woman by the name of Alice Guy Blanche, who in 1917 took a boat west from Fort Lauderdale and shot the movie Spring of the Year in the Everglades. Apparently, all copies of that early film have been lost.