Coral Gables Riviera

Friday, September 5, 1941, page 1 (of 6)

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FOR DEFENSE

BUY UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDS AND STAMPS ON SALE AT YOUR POST OFFICE OR BANK

CORAL GABLES RIVIERA

AN INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA, SEPTEMBER 5, 1941

FOR DEFENSE

BUY UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDS AND STAMPS ON SALE AT YOUR POST OFFICE OR BANK

EIGHTEENTH YEAR No. 34

PRICE FIVE CENTS

Gables Building Activity Passes Million Dollar Total

Eleven Homes Get Under Way During August Coral Gables building went over the million-dollar mark for the first eight months of 1941 this week, with $1,025,529.00 recorded through August 31. The permits for the year, to date, and for the month of August, both show a slight decrease from the same periods of 1940. The first eight months of last year brought permits of $1,090,790.00, a difference of $3,761.00 in the favor of 1940. August of this year brought a total of $108,440, a decrease of $16,134 from August of last year. The month's permits included eleven residences, one store building, seven additions or alterations and 22 miscellaneous repairs. Permits for the past two weeks include: Residence with garage—A. C. Eddy, owner and builder, $6,000; 225 Avenue Sarto; George Fink, architect. Residence with garage—Pearson Construction Co., owner-builder, $7,000; 1137 Avenue Soledad; George Fink, architect. Residence with garage — George Feltham, owner-builder, $5,800; 708 Avenue Catalonia; C. LeRoy, architect. Residence with garage—Dr. and Mrs. F. G. Walton-Smith, owners; Crocks and Redfearn, builders, $5,800; 416 Avenue Candia; Carl M. Apuzzo, architect. Residence and garage—Atlas Builders, Inc., owners; H. F. Schermerhorn, builder, $5,000; 141 Avenue Sevilla; Paist and Stewart, architects. Residence and garage—Ruth and Alberta Doughty, owners; R. P. Schermerhorn, builder; $5,000; 724 Avenue Sevilla; Curtis E. Haley, architect. Residence with garage — Thomas H. Moore, Jr., owner and builder, $5,800; 1035 Avenue Venetia; Edward A. Nolan, architect. Addition—Mr. and Mrs. William Leach, owners, $6,730; 650 Columbus Concourse; Curtis E. Haley, architect. Residence with garage—Babcock-Lamont, owner - builder, $5,000; 615 Avenue Sevilla; Wolfe and Martin, architects.

City Court Fines Total $183.00

Fines totaling $183.00 and jail sentences of 25 days were meted out in Municipal Court Wednesday afternoon by Judge C. S. Robertson. L. E. Hughes of Coral Gables paid the highest fine of $100 and costs after pleading guilty to charges of driving under the influence of liquor. Theodora of Miami forfeited a $25 bond, after being charged with operating a gambling table at the Friendly Bar. Reuben Gibson, 309 Jefferson Drive, a Negro, chose a 25-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to being drunk and disorderly and chasing his wife with an axe. L. J. Keith, 1988 Red Road, paid a fine of $5 and costs on a reckless driving charge. Lawrence Lippman, 3550 S. W. 24th Terrace, forfeited a $10 bond on a speeding charge. Charged with parking on a bridge without lights and causing an accident, Joseph W. Pasterius, 936 Brickell Avenue, was fined $10 and costs. David Lee Williams, Negro, South Miami, chose five days in jail on a reckless driving charge in preference to paying a $10 fine. John D. Burrali, Jacksonville, was fined $19.50 for failing to stop at a red light, causing an accident and having no record of an accident.

Optimists Open Drive For Members

Optimists and future Optimists met at noon yesterday at the Country Club of Coral Gables in the first regular weekly meeting of the newly organized Optimists Club of Coral Gables since founders' night last Friday. Mayor Joe Whitley will head, as "major", the membership campaign, plans of which were completed at the meeting. The two teams have been set up, the Coral team with Armand Renaut as captain and the Gables team with H. N. Boureau as captain. Members of the Coral team are Luis Molina, J. V. Hardeman and J. W. Keelin. On the Gables team are H. U. Zimmerman, Michael Santanello, O. J. Cassidy and Gene Williams. The personnel of the teams will be augmented as the campaign progresses. Zimmerman, designated as the founder member by Optimist International, heads the temporary group of officers as president. Other officers elected unanimously are vice-president, Mr. Whitley; secretary-treasurer, Mr. Keelin; and historian, Mr. Cassidy. A governing board will not be formed until the new organization has been formally accepted by the International and the charter presented.

School Days

This is our conception of an alarm clock. One day pretty soon it will be sweet music to ears of boys and girls everywhere. You know a clock is a funny thing. This clock looks ferocious, horrible, sneering. But if you look long enough at the clock you can see a twinkle in its eye, a question mark in its countenance. What we're trying to say is that school starts soon and The Riviera, faithful to the recording of local news, will tell its readers about school—with pictures and advertisements—in next week's issue. We just want to be sure that YOU see our back-to-school number.

Ask Action On Palm Planting

An appeal that planting of palm trees on Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Coral Way, as planned some months past, be started this month in order to have the work completed before the season starts, was made this week to City Manager A. B. Curry and members of the Coral Gables City Commission by Frank N. Holley, Jr., president of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, and Andrew N. Houston, chairman of the Merchants Bureau. In emphasizing the value of planting trees now so that they will have a full frond growth by December, Holley declared that the Chamber of Commerce has calls continuously from residents and property owners seeking information regarding the suggested plan, and that the only answer the chamber can give is that "it is still being considered by the city." "This has been going on so long now that the public in favor of this beautification of the business district believe that we are merely passing the buck, which is not strictly true," Holley stated. "However, it is a fact that the Chamber of Commerce directors' charity has approved of the plan and there have been approximately 35 trees promised free by public-spirited citizens. There is nothing further we can do—it is up to the city to do the actual planting, which seemed agreeable to them when the idea was first suggested." Will Attract Customers Houston stated that in his opinion the beautification of the business area similarly as has been done to Lincoln Road on Miami Beach, will attract a large number of new customers to Coral Gables, and will make this city's business section "like the residential section is, distinctive and beautiful. "The planting should be done now before the season starts," Houston declared.

City 'Takes Over' At Coliseum; Ice Skating Is Ended

Pentland Heads Drive To Aid Polio Victims Robert Pentland, Jr., of Coral Gables, has been named chairman of the drive to collect $250,000 to complete and equip the South Florida Crippled Children's Hospital, it was announced this week. Part of the fund will be raised through public subscription and part through the memorialization of rooms, corridors and wards of the institution. "No one will be asked to do too much, many will be asked to do a little," Mr. Pentland said, following his appointment, estimated that personal gifts already totaled $25,000. Roscoe Brunstetter, former mayor of Coral Gables and a member of the hospital's board, estimated that after the institution's completion, income will include $24,000 from the South Florida Chapter of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and $10,000 for research from the national offices of the foundation; $15,000 from memberships; $1,000 from the South Florida Crippled Children's Society; $10,000 from civic and fraternal organizations interested in child welfare and $18,000 from pay and part-pay cases. Mr. Weiland said that there are more than 10,000 crippled children needing some type of rehabilitative care. In the South Florida district, he said, district facilities for convalescent care were completely outstripped. "Children need hospital facilities separate from adults because of the danger of cross infection, special requirements for nursing and avoidance of undesirable complexes in receptive and developing personalities of young minds," Dr. Weiland said. A steering committee was to establish a working schedule for workers and to set up a special gifts committee to work during the general campaign. The drive is expected to get under way about October 1 and to last for two weeks. Memorials, it was pointed out, may be established immediately. Teams for the big effort to secure funds will be formed in the near future. J. Julien Southerland, president of the hospital, said that the hospital, was "the most outstanding and est important charity to come before Dade County in many years." "The crippled Children's Hospital is absolutely essential to the welfare of this community," Southerland said. "This drive will naturally enlist the sympathy and allegiance not only of the leading men in the country, but all women." 'No Buyers In Prospect,' Curry Says Coral Gables' biggest white elephant, the Coliseum, bounced back onto the hands of the city fathers yesterday when Rodney Miller and Associates, purchasers of the building notified City Manager A. B. Curry that they were returning the deed. The group purchased the Coliseum three years ago for $50,000 and have made principal payments totaling $7,500. These will be forfeited. When the building was purchased, freezing equipment was installed and an ice skating rink set into operation. Last spring the ice skating concession was leased to the Tropical Ice Skating Association by the Miller Group. Robert Lawrence, one of the operators of the association, told The Riviera yesterday that the forfeiture of the deed would probably mean the end of ice skating in Coral Gables. He said that the ice was being melted and could never be frozen again, due to the condition of the equipment. It was also stated that a mortgage is held on the freezing equipment, and that it will probably be removed in the near future. City Manager Curry said that they had no prospective buyers for the building, but that it was definitely for sale and would not be rented again on a long-term basis. He said that it was possible that it might be leased for short periods to enterprises that were "compatible to the policies of Coral Gables." Built during the boom, the Coliseum has always been one of the city's principal "problem children."

TEACHER CONFERENCE CALLED FOR WEDNESDAY

Junior and Senior High School faculty members will meet at 2 p. m. Wednesday at their respective schools. Class room teachers, (Elementary) will meet at 10 a. m. Saturday, the 13th, according to a bulletin issued by the Dade County School Board.

Lasting Peace Not Far Off, Bishop Says

Expressing the belief that the world is nearer to a permanent peace than ever before, Bishop Edgar Blake, retired Methodist minister, addressed the Coral Gables Kiwanis Club Tuesday, at the Country Club of Coral Gables. Bishop Blake, who was stationed in Europe for eight years before retiring and moving to Coral Gables, said that 90 percent of the common people the world over wanted peace and would demand it eventually. He traced the history of civilizations based on force, showing that they all collapsed. The only institutions that have lived through the ages are those based on service, such as churches, schools and hospitals, he said. It was announced at the meeting that A. O. Renuart had been named a member of the board of directors, replacing the late Wade Livingston Street.

Second Pool Party Set For Wednesday

The second of the summer series of city parties at the Venetian Pool will be held Wednesday evening, with the staff of the Country Club of Coral Gables serving a buffet supper on the pool terrace at 6:30. Another water show, similar to the one that drew approximately 1,000 spectators on August 13, will be staged. No charge will be made for the pool show. Reservations must be made for the buffet supper, Club Manager Karl D. Schmitz stated yesterday, and those who come for supper without such reservations will have no guarantee of being served. The pool show, which will include swimming and diving events, will follow the supper. During the evening the pool will be open for night swimming.

State Begins Drivers' Tests At Gables Fire Department

Examinations for state drivers' licenses will be conducted at the Coral Gables Fire Department on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 A. M. to 7 P. M. by a Florida highway patrolman, it was announced yesterday. The new licenses went on sale at two places in Coral Gables Tuesday, Sam's Service Station and Norman's Gulf Station, with both places reporting rushing business. Holders of 1940 drivers' licenses, including out-of-state, may renew their licenses without examination by showing their old cards at the license issuing station. Persons applying for a new license will have to furnish their own cars for the road test and be accompanied by a licensed driver. Children 14 to 16 years of age will be issued a limited driver's license. Applications for these must be signed by the parents. Limitations are that they have to be accompanied when driving by a person who has an operator's license. They are limited to a speed of 35 miles per hour and for operation only in the county in which they live. They are also limited to daylight driving only. Junior Operator's License Junior operator's licenses are those licenses for persons 18 years old and younger and the applications for them must be signed by the parents or guardian and can be purchased for 50 cents, with limitations on these as stated above on the ones 14 to 16 years old. Regular operators' licenses will be sold to those persons 19 years old and over and can be purchased for $1.00. Chauffeurs' licenses will be sold to those persons 21 years old and over and can be purchased for $1.50. Each driver's license must be signed by the purchaser in the place designated on the license for his or her signature at the time of purchase. Every effort will be made to speed up the handling of the sale of all drivers' licenses. The full co-operation of the public by early purchase of their licenses will give great help in avoiding congestion during the last few days of September, as the present license will expire October 1, 1941. Auto inspections are being made daily, beginning at 8 A. M., by the firemen.

Mrs. Bellamy, 61 Dies; Funeral Services Today

Funeral services will be conducted at 2:30 P. M. today for Mrs. Ethel Houston Bellamy, 61, of 820 Salzedo Street. Mrs. Bellamy died Wednesday of a heart attack in Jackson Memorial Hospital, where her daughter, Jeanne, is recuperating from an appendectomy. Rites will be held at the Philbrick Funeral Home chapel, with the Rev. G. I. Hiller, rector of Miami Trinity Episcopal Church, saying the service. Interment will be in Orlando on Saturday. Mrs. Bellamy was born in Indiana, Pa. Her husband, Donald L. Bellamy, died in 1927. The Bellamy family came to Florida in 1918, settling in Gainesville. Subsequently they moved to Orlando and, after Mr. Bellamy's death, Mrs. Bellamy came to Miami to make her home with her three children, Donald L. manager of the Crown Distributing Company; Thomas, a salesman employed by the same firm, and Jeanne, who survive. With Jeanne, Mrs. Bellamy was to have left last night on a vacation tour of the Middle West and Pacific Coast states, for which tickets have been purchased. Jeanne's appendicitis attack forced abandonment of the plans.

Humane Society Appeal Here Nears Goal

The drive to secure $500 from Coral Gables residents for the Humane Society received impetus this week with the receipt of a $25 check from Mr. and Mrs. Herbert C. Craft of 2100 Country Club Prado. Mr. and Mrs. Craft mailed their contribution from their summer home in Rehoboth Beach as the result of an appeal in last week's issue of The Coral Gables Riviera. Mrs. Crafts, in a letter to The Riviera accompanying the contribution, called attention to the drive as a "worthy cause", and said they were "happy to contribute". The Riviera will be glad to forward any further contributions for the Humane Society drive to Mrs. Lloyd Park, who is in charge of the local campaign. Mrs. Park said today that the Gables effort was rapidly approaching its goal with $200 already received in cash or definitely promised.

Baltimore Men May Purchase Tropical Park

The possibility that the Gables Racing Association, operators of Tropical Park, will be controlled by a Baltimore syndicate headed by H. L. Strauss, loomed yesterday as negotiations neared a climax. Consummation of the transaction is expected today by the Florida Racing Commission at its meeting on the Tropical Park situation. Tropical Park twice has had its request for 1941-42 racing dates deferred by the commission, which previously warned that Owney Madden, Frank Erickson and Johnny Patton dispose of their interest in the track. The trio have been endeavoring to dispose of their stock. Whether the Miami group of James A. Yonge, Ed Brennan and George Langford will fit into any reorganization now appears doubtful. The local men made a bid for controlling interest, but were unable to reach an agreement on the amount of cash to be put up to close the deal. Previously it had been reported that a New York syndicate headed by Herbert Bayard Swope was interested in purchasing the racing park. Sale of the controlling stock to the Strauss syndicate was reported Thursday by the New York Daily Racing Form, which said that stockholders would pass over their interest to the Strauss group today.

V. Ward Barr Accepts Call To Mississippi

The Rev. V. Ward Barr, pastor of the University Baptist Church, has resigned his pastorate here, to accept a call to the First Baptist Church at Corinth, Miss. He will leave September 15 for his new duties. Dr. Barr has been pastor of the University Baptist Church for three years. During that time the membership in the church and Sunday school more than doubled. The church completed also, bought and paid for a lot on the corner of Segovia Street and Riviera Drive and have a substantial cash fund established toward their new building. Dr. Barr received his Ph.D. May ninth at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married and has a son 20 months old. During the months of July, August and September, the mean temperature in Coral Gables is 81.5 degrees.

Requests for Information Are Trebled

Requests for housing information being received by the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce have trebled during the past few weeks, which is indicative of an excellent season insofar as this city is concerned, according to Alvie S. Lindborg, secretary. Many real estate firms reported that there seemed to be plenty of apartment house accommodations available at reasonable rental. Furnished houses for seasonal rental seemed to be ample to take care of normal requirements, real estate men advised, but stated, however, that the "season" usually does not start until late October and in November. For news behind the news--read Jim Moore's "Our Town" every week in The Riviera.

School Fund Is Increased

Florida's permanent state school fund has increased nearly a quarter of a million dollars since January 1, 1941, according to a report submitted by J. Edwin Larsen, state treasurer to Colin English, state superintendent of education. The fund is invested entirely in Florida securities and the increase has resulted largely from purchase of Florida bonds at a discount during the past four years. Bonds owned by the principal of the fund on August 1 totaled $5,019,375, an increase of $226,883 since the 1937 report. The fund originated from the sale of state school lands, and, although the principal is held inviolate, the revenue from interest on investments is apportioned among the counties as part of the teachers' salary fund. The investments have become more valuable to the state teachers' salary fund by a drastic reduction during the past four years in the amount of interest in default.

As New Club Was Founded

H. U. Zimmerman, founder member, receives the congratulations of Mayor Joe Whitley at the founders' meeting of the new Optimists Club Friday night. Looking on are Edgar Keuling, national co-ordinator, and Lucien Renuart, district governor.

HOLLEY TO ATTEND LUNCHEON FOR PEPPER

Frank N. Holley, Jr., president of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, will attend the luncheon today on the Columbus Hotel roof, in Miami, given in honor of Hon. Claude Pepper, United States Senator, by the Miami Chamber of Commerce. President Holley will be seated at the speakers' table along with heads of other civic organizations in the Greater Miami area. All members of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce have been invited to attend the affair. Have you told your story to the home town folks? If not, now's the time to tell it via a Riviera ad.

HOLIDAY ACCIDENTS FEW

Only five accidents marred Coral Gables Safety record over the Labor Day holiday, Gables police reported yesterday. Only one injury, and no fatalities were chalked up on the accidents report.

To Notre Dame

Mr. and Mrs. William Huntley will leave Wednesday accompanying their son, William, Jr. (Bill) for Indiana, where Bill will enter Notre Dame University. Mr. and Mrs. Huntley will go on to Lexington and Louisville for the fall racing meets and visit Memphis and their plantation in Mississippi before returning here.

Wilkins Return

Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Wilkins and children, Barbara, Patricia and John, have returned from Balsam, N. C. Mrs. Wilkins and children spent the month of July in Highlands City, N.C., the guest of her mother, Mrs. Frances Mason.

Rev. Mr. Hawk Returns Sunday To Methodists

The Rev. Carlock Hawk, pastor of the Coral Gables Methodist Church, will resume his work Sunday at the church after a month's vacation at Lake Junaluska, N. C. The sermon topic will be "Sources of Perfect Joy." There will be communion.

Colored Traffic Lines Will Serve as Silent Guides Here

The traffic lines, painted in the city's streets, will also serve as a system being worked out by City Manager A. B. Curry, leading to points of interest for visitors. For example, a green line may run all the way to the Biltmore, a white one to Tropical Park, an orange one to the University of Miami and a yellow one to the Venetian Pool. Captain Reeves, who returned this week from his vacation, said that the idea was adapted from a New York subway station, where colored markers direct travelers to the correct trains. "It's difficult," he said, "to give visitors clear directions how to reach various points in the city. Under the new system, an officer can just tell them, 'Follow the yellow line' or 'whatever color will lead to the desired objective." Reeves said that he and Mr. Curry had been talking about the plan for quite some time, and that new lines would be painted in time for the first influx of seasonal visitors.