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CORAL GABLES RIVIERA

AN INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER 17TH YEAR NO. 50 CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA, JANUARY 31, 1941 PRICE FIVE CENTS

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1941 BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY By Tonight Phone 4-9338 THE AMERICAN LEGION

Meeting Scheduled on Transportation Franchise Revisions in City Charter Planned by Commission

YOUR TOWN by Jim Moore

● While it's our usual custom to pick out one subject for this column and keep batting it between our brain and our typewriter until we reach the end of this page, every now and then we have a lot of different things that we want to talk about that just won't stick together in one related piece. Today we find ourselves in just such a fix and hence the typographical pot-pourri. PREPARED PALMS — We hate to be a wet blanket, but we heard this week that the possibility of securing a large quantity of palms from Biscayne Key to transplant along the business district may not work out. It seems that coconut palms that have been growing in sand do not get on so well when transplanted into regular soil and have to be cut back to the bud if they're going to be saved at all. PRINTER PASSES — We were saddened this week to learn of the passing of John F. Wrenn on Tuesday. Jack was one of the last of the old-time printers and truly had printer's ink flowing through his veins. As a boy, he worked as an apprentice on the old Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph and never strayed very far from his first love after that. Old timers in Coral Gables will remember Jack when he was connected with the advertising department of the old Coral Gables Corporation, and later on the old Tribune. He was in charge of the composing room of The Riviera for nine years, until illness forced his temporary retirement. When he recovered, his doctor forbade him to do work that would keep him on his feet, so he joined the staff of the Miami Herald as a proof-reader, to be as near as possible to the busy hum of the composing room. Jack truly loved his trade, and most of what we know about the mechanical end of a newspaper, we learned under his patient tutelage. We are sure there must be a printing plant in the next world, and when and if we get there, we know we'll find Jack happily engaged in the work he loved so well in this world. CRITICS COMING — Coral Gables will be subjected to the expert eyes of the nation's top-flight critics when they arrive at the Miami Biltmore tomorrow. The critics are coming for the premiere of "Moon Over Miami" at the Beach, but will do their relaxing in Coral Gables. Movie critics are a strange tribe, seemingly taking delight in picking to pieces anything that comes within their ken. But we feel confident that this city's charm and beauty will soften the hearts of the hardest of them. DIRECTORY DEBUT — The Coral Gables Business and Professional Directory for 1941, published by the American Legion, will make its bow today. A volume of useful information that is referred to constantly throughout the year, the Directory will be welcomed by all who receive it. A lot of work has gone into its compilation and the great bulk of the labor fell on the shoulders of one man. We congratulate Harry Morrison, the editor, for again supplying this community with so useful a product. TELFAIR TELLS — From Washington recently we received a very much appreciated letter from Telfair Knight, one of the very first of the Gables pioneers and builders. Mr. Knight wrote in answer to our column asking for suggestions, and graciously offered several that we are planning to put into use.

Four Changes Are Proposed By Attorney

● Four proposed changes to the city's charter will be reviewed at 4:30 P. M. next Wednesday at a special meeting of the city commission. The charter amendments, which have been prepared in tentative form by City Attorney Morton B. Adams, will be presented at the April session of the State Legislature, following possible revision by the commission. The essence of the proposed changes, as they now stand, include: 1. To change the date of the city election from June to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. The Real Estate Board has recommended that the date be April, but Adams has not yet made the change because he believes that March will allow more people to vote and give the new commissioners time amply to study proposed budgets, which are made up in June. This change cannot become effective until 1943. 2. To change the manner of setting up the city ballot, so that only those candidates who request it will be placed in the running for the mayoralty post. As it now stands, all candidates for commission are automatically placed on the ballot as mayoralty candidates. 3. To reorganize the setup of the positions of City Manager and Director of Finance, making each independent of the other. At present, the City Clerk and Director of Finance is appointed by the City Manager. This move is to make each department independent of the other. At present, the City Clerk and Director of Finance is appointed by the City Manager and responsible to him. 4. To make the position of Tax Assessor appointive by the City Commission and directly responsible to the commission. At present the Tax Assessor is appointive by the City Manager. This change completes the move to make the financial operations departments independent of each other. The commission will also begin discussion of a new civil service and pension bill, which will be presented to the Legislature at the same time.

Lull Reported In Exemptions

● With less than half of last year's claimants on record now, homestead exemption claims have hit a lull this week, according to Gerald A. Bowen, city tax assessor. Over 700 who filed claims for exemption last year have not responded to the cards mailed them by Bowen's office during January. "They must remember that the April 1 deadline is definite," said Bowen, "because it's impossible for me to extend the date beyond that."

New Traffic Light To Be Installed

Plans for an installation of a traffic light at the intersection of Coral Way Biltmore Way and LeJeune Road were announced this week by City Manager A. B. Curry. While the exact type of light that will be installed has not yet been determined, Curry stated that the commission had allotted $1,000 for its erection. Conferences with the planning board are now being held, to determine just what is needed to control traffic at the intersection.

Church Plans Addition

The First Methodist Church of Coral Gables, where a $10,000 school and entertainment addition will be started Sunday morning. The new building will be located beside the church at Coral Way and Segovia Circle.

Miami Biltmore Birthday Ball Attracts Celebrities to Gables

● With a celebrity-studded list of guests headed by Governor Holland and Elsa Maxwell, and a gift from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to be auctioned, the Miami Biltmore tonight celebrates the President's Birthday Ball, where Gableites will dance so that others may walk. Governor Spessard L. Holland will make his first visit to Coral Gables since his campaign when he arrives in the city at 9 p. m. to take part in the Biltmore festivities. The Governor will be met on his arrival here by Mayor Paul D. McGarry, who will rush Mr. Holland to the hotel with a police escort. Elsa Maxwell, international socialite and "party genius," will attend the Biltmore party, and will lend her aid to the charity fund by auctioning the medal donated to the Infantile paralysis fund by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The auction will be a cooperative one between the Biltmore here and the Tatem Hotel on Miami Beach. With the entire proceedings, to be broadcast, both dining rooms will be joined in a radio hookup, and celebrants at the two parties will bid against each other in the auction of the medal. The entire auction will be broadcast, giving the public a complete view of the auction proceedings, and lending a competitive air to the bidding between Miami Beach and Coral Gables. The medal, which was sent to Governor Holland by the Windsors to aid in the fight on infantile paralysis, was issued in 1815 by Edward Orme of London. It commemorates "the battles of the British army in Portugal, Spain and France from the year 1808 to 1816 under ... Arthur, Duke of Wellington." The medal contains 12 drawings in color of the various battles in which Wellington figured. Mrs. George E. Whitten, Mrs. Clyde Epperson and Mrs. Robert Tentland will receive the Biltmore guests. Dr. and Mrs. John Oliver LaGorce will be honored guests, and will go with Governor Holland to another celebration later in the evening at the Miami Civic Center. Maximillian Bergere and his orchestra will play for the party, while the entertainment will be made up of volunteers from the area's night clubs, which will be added to the Giralda Room floor show to make a truly impressive revue. The Biltmore is prepared to receive a record crowd, as celebrities and socialites from every part of Greater Miami have already made their reservations for the Ball.

New Officers Installed by Junior Chamber

● Under the supervision of Tom Smith, past president of the Florida Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Gables Jaycees installed their newly elected officers at the Country Club of Coral Gables Wednesday night. Among those installed were: Wade Stephens, president; L. Gordon Walters, 1st vice-president; Dr. William Howden, 2nd vice-president; George Kinsman, 3rd vice-president; Dr. Worth Schell, secretary, and Taylor Knowles, treasurer. The new board of directors of the Junior Chamber of Commerce is made up of Dr. J. B. Fuqua, Grant Stockdale, Dr. S. Hill Gordon and Dr. Robert Crandall. After installation ceremonies, plans were made for Jaycee activities for the coming six months; and a regular meeting was set for Wednesday, Feb. 5.

Officers Elected By Architects

● The Coral Gables Association of Architects held their first meeting for 1941, on January 27, at the office of H. George Fink, at which time officers for the coming year were elected. E. Dan Parmalee was elected president, William Merriam vice-president, and LeRoy A. Albert secretary - treasurer. Parmalee succeeds Carl Blohm. The by-laws of the association have been amended and the future meetings will be held on the first Thursday of every month. A competition between the members of the association has been planned and each one is to submit an esquisse-esquisse on a selected subject of civic importance. The members discussed new projects for the coming year which will possibly include exhibitions by the local high schools and the university art class. FOOTBALL FANS EARLY ● Although the 1941 football schedule has not even been announced as yet, the University of Miami athletic department has several hundreds of season ticket reservations for next fall already. The reservations began coming in the day after the 1941 season closed and loyal fans have been sending in more ever since.

Ground Broken For Building By Methodists

● Capping several months of intensive planning, the First Methodist Church of Coral Gables will break ground this Sunday morning at 10:30 for its new $10,000 Church School Unit and Recreation Building, which will adjoin the church lands on Coral Way and Segovia Circle. The new building will contain an auditorium and 10 classrooms. Designed by Paist and Steward, the structure will be built by E. M. Ostland, and should be completed about March 15. Charles Moon, chairman of the Building Committee, reports that the building will contain a completely-equipped kitchen, and headquarters for all church suppers and other functions as well as for church plays. The Building Committee, which supervised plans for the new building includes, Charles Moon, chairman, Dr. Thomas Jones, Dan Redfearn, Edward Brigham, Charles Miller and Samuel McCormick. Keith Phillips, chairman of the church Board of Stewards, and H. H. Bryant, Jr., superintendent of Sunday schools, are ex officio members of the Building Committee.

City Will Buy Power Shovel

The purchase of a power shovel for the parkways department was approved Tuesday evening at a meeting of the city commission. The shovel will be used to resoil all the parkways and parks this spring and also in tree planting and removal. A temporary permit was granted to John Ravlin for the erection of a real estate information booth near his property at Ceeplum Plaza.

Barr Recovering From Auto Crash

● With another week in the University Hospital ahead of him, Dugall Barr, 45, of 205 Alhambra Circle, was described today to be "recovering satisfactorily" from his automobile accident Jan. 25. Dr. Hamilton B. Frobisher, who is attending Barr, said that fears of a broken back or ribs, which were entertained by the examining staff at the accident, were proved groundless by X-rays made at the hospital. "Mr. Barr has a slightly chipped vertebra, but that is his only real back injury," explained Dr. Frobisher. "His injuries are painful, but not really serious. I believe that another week will see him able to leave the hospital in safety." Barr was injured early this week when the car he was driving was hit by a truck driven by George Rawlins, colored, at the intersection of Navarre St. and Marianna Ave. He is known to many Gableites as the genial manager who officiated last year at the Drum.

Fires Cut Down

● With only 12 fires recorded in Coral Gables for the month of January up to press time, the Gables fire department has achieved a cut in fire frequency amounting to more than 100 per cent. The fire decrease, from 42 fires in January, 1940, to 12 this month, is credited to more stringent inspection of premises applying for fire permits, and to increased preventive work by the fire department.

Seeded Players Advance As Net Finals Approach

● With a week of top-flight play behind them, the seeded ranks of the First Annual University of Miami Invitational Tennis Tournament went into the stretch with the playing of the quarterfinals Thursday afternoon. Only one ranking player was moved out of the winning group Wednesday, when eight-seeded Billy Gillespie, University junior, lost in a surprise match to Gardner Larned of Chicago, a rangy youth who is rated third among the nation's juniors. Larned defeated Gillespie 6-3, 6-4. Bobby Riggs, former national champion, and Frank Kovacs, second-ranked player, who is favored to win the tourney, both advanced in Wednesday's play. The two moved forward with straight-set wins against local players. Riggs took a game Miami junior star, Bud Hart, 6-4, 6-3; while Kovacs settled down to work and defeated George Parks, captain of the Hurricanes, in a fast, hard-played match. Kovacs won by a 6-3, 6-1 margin. Another Hurricane netter, Dick McKee, put up an aggressive battle with seventh-seeded Hal Surface, but weakened in the stretch to come out on the short end of a score of 7-5, 6-8, 6-0. Two victories got Jack Kramer off to a flying start, Kramer defeating Wayne Sabin, 6-1, 12-10; and returned later in the afternoon to breeze through a contest with Vincent Paul which he won, 6-1, 6-0. The fourth, fifth and sixth seeded players, Gardner Mulloy, Elwood Cooke and Wayne Sabin, all advanced without dropping a set. Mulloy whipped Jim Bartlett of Miami, 6-0, 6-1; Cooke repulsed Martin Buxby of Miami, 6-1, 6-3, and Sabin routed Lawrence Shipley of Waynesboro, Ga., 6-0, 6-0. The quarterfinals Thursday afternoon found four tight matches, in store for fans at the Coral Gables Country Club. Kramer and Larned opened the play at 1 p. m. Riggs and Sabin were slated to cross rackets at 2. Kovacs and Cooke, and Mulloy and Surface, completed the afternoon's bill. Today will see the playing of one semifinal. The other will be played on Saturday; and the grand windup will take place Sunday afternoon.

Meeting Is Called on Civil Service

The matter of civil service and pension plans for city employees will be revived again next Tuesday afternoon at a conference scheduled by City Manager A. B. Curry. The meeting, which will be held at 2:30, will be attended by two representatives from each department, selected by their fellow employes. "We are calling the meeting," Curry stated, "in an attempt to find out exactly what our employes want in the way of a civil service and pension plan, and to review their objections to the old plan that was rejected at the special election." Curry stated that following the conferences, the commission will attempt to draft a new bill in time for the April meeting of the State Legislature. If such action is taken, another referendum will be required, probably at the same time as the June municipal election.

Kiwanians Hear Naval Officer

● Activities of the naval reserve were outlined to members of the Coral Gables Kiwanis Club, Tuesday, by Lieut. Comm. Kenneth B. Salisbury, commanding officer of the Naval Reserve Base at Opa-Locka. Commander Salisbury was the principal speaker at the club's luncheon at the Country Club of Coral Gables. Stating that practically all of the organized reserve members were on active duty, the Commander told Kiwanians that there was still a need for pilots and that training bases all over the United States were running at capacity.

John F. Wrenn Taken by Death

● Funeral services were conducted yesterday morning for John F. Wrenn, 60, former foreman for The Riviera, who died Tuesday afternoon in a Miami hospital after a brief illness. The services, conducted by Father P. J. Roche of St. Mary's Catholic Church, were held at the Bess Funeral Home with burial at Woodlawn Park Cemetery. Mr. Wrenn came to Miami in 1924 from Pittsburgh, Pa., where he had been associated with the old Chronicle Telegraph. He was merchandise superintendent on the old Miami Tribune during the boom days following which he came to The Riviera as foreman. Illness caused him to leave the Riviera in 1938 and in 1939 he joined the staff of the Miami Herald as a proof reader. Surviving are the widow, Mrs. Adelaide Wrenn; two sons, G. J. Wrenn of Miami and J. D. Wrenn of Long Beach, Cal.; three daughters, Miss Jean Wrenn of Miami; Mrs. W. Custer of Miami Beach, and Mrs. J. C. Crockett of Tampa; a brother, G. J. Wrenn of Pittsburgh, and two grandchildren.

Jesuits Meet At Biltmore

● The 400th anniversary of the founding of the Society of Jesus, and the 50th anniversary of the inception of their work in Florida, will be marked by a dinner at the Miami Biltmore evening, Feb. 5. George MacDonald of New York, a Papal Marquis, is honorary chairman of the affair. Hon. David J. Heffernan, judge of the civil court of records in Dade county, is general chairman and the honorary co-chairman is Mayor Alexander Orr, Jr., of Miami. The women's committee is headed by Mrs. Hugh Matheson of Coconut Grove and other committee chairmen are Mrs. John Goggin, flowers and decorations; Dr. James McShane, printing; J. R. Fitzpatrick, ticket distribution; Charles Slater, auditor of accounts, and Andrew T. Healy, publicity. Lay speakers of the evening will be Harold Wilfred Colee of Jacksonville, who will review the work of the Jesuits in Florida. The committee expects to have a high-ranking member of the clergy to tell of their work (Please turn to Page Six)

Officials Consider Sale Of Bus Lines

● An effort to iron out completely Coral Gables' bus franchise problems with the city of Miami will be made early next week at a conference attended by Miami commissioners, and Col. P. J. O'Shaughnessy and Mayor Paul D. McGarry, representing this city. The bus situation has been hanging fire since November 4, 1935, when a hurricane destroyed the electric railway lines to Miami and Coral Gables substituted buses for street cars of the Miami run. Up to the present time, the city has been operating its buses into Miami on the old street car franchise. Recent franchise changes in Miami, substituting buses for all street cars, has brought the matter to a head, with local transportation officials anxious to see the situation cleared up immediately. Asked by The Riviera if the possibility of selling the municipal bus system existed, Mayor McGarry stated Wednesday that since no franchise was in existence, the city might consider such a move if the right set-up were available. The mayor said that the commission had been wondering, from time to time, if the city should remain in the transportation business. Since no recent conferences have been held with Miami, the mayor stated that he did not know whether a new franchise would be forthcoming, or whether to expect the amending of the old franchise to allow the buses to run on a definite and permanent basis.

Arrest Made On Booking Charge Here

● Marking its first bookie arrest in over a year, the Coral Gables police force Wednesday arrested Walter Fillmore, 39, on charges of operating a gambling place at 305 Coral Way. Commenting on the arrest, city and police officials were unanimous in their assurance that Coral Gables would not tolerate bookmaking or any other form of gambling in the city. "Coral Gables doesn't want gambling, and the police are going to see that it's kept out of town. In the future, whenever we raid a gambling establishment we're going to arrest all the patrons of the place as well as the operators," Police Captain Reeves said Thursday. "Remember that none of those places could operate without patrons. Well, we're going to discourage the customers, too." A. B. Curry, city manager, said that he was in sympathy with Reeves' views, and that the city's officials were entirely opposed to letting the Gables become a gambling city. Appearing in city court Wednesday evening Walter Fillmore entered a plea of guilty, was fined $100 and costs by Judge Mayes.

Mr. Fuller Called to Altoona

● Funeral services were held in Altoona, Pa., Saturday for Mrs. Elizabeth Fuller, mother of William D. Fuller, manager of the Coral Gables branch of the Florida Power and Light Company. The elder Mrs. Fuller passed away last Wednesday following a long illness. Mr. Fuller attended the funeral.