April 2012
20 posts
No Business in the Morning
It is said that William L. Kester, perhaps the most influential person in Pompano Beach’s development from the 1920s through the 1950s, did not drive a car and never conducted business before noon.
Just a Couple Fish
Pompano Beach is named for a fish, and given that Florida is a fisherman’s paradise, one would think that quite a few cities in Florida would carry fish names. Such is not the case.
Other than Pompano Beach, the only other sizable Florida municipality named for a fish is Tarpon Springs in Pinellas County.
The Palm
The palm tree is associated with Florida, and there are quite a few communities in the state that reference the tropical tree. Locally, in Broward County, when Coconut Creek was developed in the 1960s each house sold had at least one coconut palm planted in the yard.
Other Florida municipalities that pay homage to the palm include: Palm Beach and West Palm Beach (Palm Beach County), Cocoanut Key...
Wood to Stone
When Broward County was established in 1915, one of the first projects of the new school board was to replace existing wood-frame school buildings with new masonry structures.
Polish Catholics
Our Lady of Czestochowa, a Polish Catholic Church, was founded in 1997. It is located at 2400 NE 12th Street, Pompano Beach and is a parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.
The church’s name references the town of Czestochowa in southern Poland and the famous “Black Madonna” painting which has been located there sine 1382.
Merchants Organize
In the fall of 1956, the Downtown Hammondville Merchants Association was formed to promote the “the advantageous shopping facilities available in this area.”
The organization’s first president was Ray Kohl, who owned Kohl Office Supply at 61 NE First Street, and Moe Hirshman, owner of Pompano Pharmacy at 60 NE First Street, served as treasurer.
Ball Coach Born
In 1945 on this day, April 20th, future University of Florida quarterback and coach Steve Spurrier was born in Miami Beach.
The City with a Plan
When Jack Marquesse began promoting his new residential community in the mid-1950s, he advertised Margate as being “The City with a Plan.” Unlike other residential projects in Broward County, Margate was not a neighborhood within, or adjacent to, an existing municipality. Rather, it was stated from scratch miles from the closest city — Pompano Beach.
Beachway Bargain
Pompano Beach’s Beachway Manor residential neighborhood was developed in the early 1950s, located east of Federal Highway between NE 4th and NE 6th Streets. A three-bedroom house with 1150 square feet of living space on a 65’ x 140’ lot was sold for $10,490.
The Pompano Origins of Coconut Creek
Wednesday, April 18th
7:00 PM
at the Dick & Miriam Hood Center
217 NE 4th Avenue, Pompano Beach
The City of Coconut Creek was incorporated in 1967, the last municipality to be created in northern Broward County. Before its development, however, much the area was agricultural land, farmed by Pompano with the names of Blount, Collier, Jones, Green, Vinkemulder and Lyons, among others....
Fire Sale
Pompano’s first fire engine, a 1926 La France, was in service with the City for almost half-a-century. In 1973, Pompano Beach sold it at auction, and for a while the vehicle was exhibited in a transportation museum in North Carolina. At some point, the fire truck was purchased by a Fort Lauderdale resident and moved back to South Florida.
By the early 1980s, several Pompano officials...
Promoting the Jubilee
In 1983, during Pompano Beach’s celebration of its 75th anniversary of incorporation, the Diamond Jubilee committee organized “promenades” and “caravans.” The purpose of both was to promote the Diamond Jubilee’s schedule of activities.
Promenades were short walks by committee members dressed in period costumes through local shopping areas. Caravans took...
Here Comes the Blimp
The effort to acquire the Goodyear Blimp base for Pompano Beach took place quickly:
When the manager of the Pompano Beach Airport, Morris Rankin, read of the dissatisfaction brewing between the Goodyear Company and the City of Miami about the residence of the Goodyear Blimp there, he went at once to consult the officials concerning the possibility of moving the Blimp base here. He urged them to...
Name Change
Pompano Beach’s major boat-launching facility is located at William Alsdorf Park, adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway off the 14th Street Causeway. Originally, it was dedicated as Caliban Park, named after the adjacent Caliban Canal.
On the Wrong Side of the Line
Sylvester Corbett ” S.C.” Fox represented Pompano on the Broward County Commission from 1935 through 1957.
In 1943, the Sample house (now Sample-McDougald House) on Dixie Highway was up for sale and Mr. Fox and his wife were interested in purchasing it. However, it turned out that the house was situated outside his district, so he decided to build a new two-story house in the 500...
Wearing Many Hats
In 1928, 26-year old Pompano city commissioner Brumby Oneal “Bo” Giddens was appointed to be the city’s fire chief, water superintendent and building/electrical inspector.
Two Firsts
When Thomas H. Chapman opened the first produce packing house in Pompano in 1904, he already had another “first” on his resume — he had packed the first carload of grapes to be shipped out of the Imperial Valley in California.
Pompano's Post Offices
From 1933 through 1962, Pompano’s Post Office was located in leased space on the first floor of the Masonic Lodge building, 102 SW First Street (since demolished). After nearly 30 years in that location, the Post Office moved to its current location at 1950 NE 6th Street.
Fewer on the Field
The 1941 Pompano High School football team did not lose a game all season. Being a small school (the senior class of 1942 had about 40 graduates) there were not enough players to compete against the big schools, so Pompano was one of a number of high schools in southeastern Florida to play six-man football.
Six-man football was developed in Texas during the Great Depression and quickly spread to...
The Sun Moves North
Following the disastrous Labor Day hurricane of 1935 that hit the Florida Keys, the Florida Keys Sun newspaper moved its operations to Pompano and became the Pompano Sun.
