Coral Gables Riviera-Times

Something New Has Been Added

Readers of today's edition of your community newspaper will discover that "something new has been added" to the "name plate". The name "Riviera-Times" has been substituted for the familiar "Riviera". Because we believe that you readers are actually the editors who tailor and decide what should go into your newspaper, we feel that you will want to know why this change has been made. First of all, let us point out that the change is not so great a one as it might first appear. Since 1929 we have carried on the editorial mast-head, right under the paper's name, "Combined with the Dade County and Coconut Grove Times in 1929". So actually, in one sense, we are merely making fuller use of a name that has long occupied a subordinate position in our mast-head. Then too, many readers have told us that the name "Riviera" is unwieldy for them. It comes to us misspelled in the mail and mispronounced on the telephone. Perhaps in time to come this situation can be improved by merely referring to us as "The Times". These are however only minor reasons that have contributed to our re-christening. Mainly we feel that it is another step in our avowed purpose of keeping pace with the community we serve. At the outset we were known as "The Miami Riviera" which gave way to "The Coral Gables Riviera" in 1939 when this city had attained an entity and a position of importance that justified the severance of the name "Miami". The Coral Gables of the post-war era is entering upon another phase of its development, a phase which we believe will result in a great community, dedicated to the ideals of graceful living and progressive community enterprise. In searching for a name to match this period of development, we can think of none better than the "Times", which in the essence connotes keeping pace and going ahead. This change in name is but one step in many that the staff of your community newspaper has planned. It is, in a sense, looking ahead and keeping in step with this march of progress. As the community grows, it constantly demands a better newspaper. It is our resolve that the Riviera-Times will be just that.

CORAL GABLES Riviera-Times

VOL. 21—NO. 12 | TWO SECTIONS | CORAL GABLES, FLA., FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 1947 | 16 PAGES | TEN CENTS

HEAVY VOTE SEEN TUESDAY

Local Churches Plan Special Easter Services

Good Friday and Easter Sunday will be observed in Protestant and Catholic churches throughout the world and in Coral Gables beginning with services all day today and tonight through Sunday. The congregations of the First Presbyterian, the First Methodist and St. James Evangelical Lutheran churches will observe the sacrament of Holy Communion tonight in their respective churches. The choirs of the Methodist and Presbyterian churches will sing the sacred cantata "The Seven Last Words of Christ," by DuBois. At the Lutheran church the communion will be celebrated at 8 p.m. for the first time in the new chapel. Good Friday three-hour services will be observed in the Church of the Little Flower and in St. Philip's Episcopal Church from 12 noon to 3 o'clock. (Please Turn to Page Two)

Gables Tops Quota for Red Cross

William H. Fuller, chairman of the Coral Gables business division for the 1947 Red Cross campaign, reported exceeding his $5,000 quota by $200 on Wednesday. The division is the third to reach its individual quota in the campaign. Also reporting progress in the drive was Mrs. John Doyle Carmody, who announced that the Coral Gables residential division had reached the 80 per cent mark. With a quota of $10,000, a total report of $8,000 was given. Coral Gables is one of the 22 sections comprising the drive's residential division, and with the exception of the Miami Beach area, is the only section assigned a quota of $10,000 or more. Assisting Mrs. Carmody have been Mrs. Ernest Nitzsche and Mrs. S. A. Shikany.

Appropriation Made To Municipal League

The sum of $500 to be paid to the Florida League of Municipalities for legislative service during the next two years was appropriated Tuesday night by the city commission. The commissioners also voted an appropriation of $350 to pay the expenses of City Attorney Edward L. Semple in Tallahassee during the coming legislative session.

Plan Study of Gas Service For Gables

City Manager William T. McIlwain told the city commission this week that he planned a trip to Clearwater and St. Petersburg in the near future to study the municipally operated gas plants in those cities. McIlwain stated that he had also been in communication with the People's Gas Company and the Florida Power and Light Company exploring the possibilities of the city purchasing bulk gas from them and operating its own distributing system. The facts obtained will be weighed against proposals of private operators for a franchise to supply cooking gas to Coral Gables homes, McIlwain stated. The city has one such proposal on file, made by a local group headed by James A. Henderson.

VFW Post Bids for City Land

A real estate transaction, whereby the Ray Renuart Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars would gain a 100-foot, city owned building site on Avenue Valencia, between Galiano and Ponce de Leon Boulevard for $2,000 was taken under advisement on Tuesday by the city commission. The offer for the site was made to the commission by Col. Wallace Hackett, post commander, who stated that the building would be offered to all civic groups for use as a meeting place. An architect's sketch of the proposed building was presented to the commission. It will have a two-story frontage on Valencia, a large outdoor patio and a band shell. The commission promised an answer at the next meeting.

KIWANIANS SCORE AUDITORIUM LACK IN HIGH SCHOOL

School Board Plans Called 'Disgraceful', Action Demanded in Resolution Omission of an auditorium in plans for the new Coral Gables High School drew the fire of the Coral Gables Kiwanis Club this week. The Kiwanians, in an unanimously passed resolution, labeled the school board's refusal to construct such an auditorium as "disgraceful and discriminatory against the residents of the Coral Gables area." The resolution pointed out that the City of Coral Gables allowed the school board to purchase the 23-acre tract at LeJeune and Bird Roads for $16,000 while it has an actual value of over $150,000. The club members further pointed out that every other high school in Dade County has an auditorium, while in Coral Gables it is necessary to hold high school functions in the Elementary School auditorium. The plans for the $750,000 structure call for the erection of gymnasium, cafeteria and laboratories but no auditorium. The Kiwanians concluded their resolution by calling on the school board to allocate money for an auditorium and "to carry construction forward on the school with all possible speed."

Lack Funds For School-- Henderson

School Board Member James A. Henderson, addressing a Chamber of Commerce luncheon yesterday, stated that it was virtually impossible to predict when an auditorium for the Coral Gables High School could be expected. Henderson stated that the county is in bad shape financially as far as schools are concerned, needing $15,000,000 worth of buildings with only $3,000,000 in funds available. He said most schools were crowded, and pointed to the Elementary School as the most overcrowded in the area. He admitted that the proposed Coral Gables High School is not (Please Turn to Page 12)

Dr. Marshall To Begin Series

Beginning at 10 o'clock Sunday morning, April 9, Dr. Harry I. Marshall will begin teaching the adult Bible class of Coral Gables Congregational Church. The aim of this class is to offer a modern interpretation of the bible suited to present day living. There will be open discussion at all class meetings. Dr. Marshall is a trained theologian, having an advanced degree from Andover-Newton Theological School, near Boston, Mass. For fifteen years he has been president of the Karen Theological Seminary at Rangoon, Burma. He has traveled in the Holy Land and in Syria and Egypt. The class will begin with a study of the Old Testament applying it to present day conditions both moral, social and political.

Election Calendar

Place: City Hall Date: Tuesday, April 8 Time: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Who Can Vote: Any person registered as an elector on the city registration books. Canvass: April 9, 12 noon, City Hall. Installation: April 11, 12 noon, City Hall. Vote Tuesday!

The Way Most of Us Look At It

Read what Jim Moore has to say about what's behind the Biscayne Key grab in his "Our Town" column, Page 4.

STAGE SET FOR FINAL RALLY

Polls Open At 7 O'Clock In City Hall A heavy vote in Coral Gables' municipal election on Tuesday to select three commissioners and designate a mayor was predicted today by E. B. Poorman, supervisor of election. Poorman said that he expected well over 50 per cent of the 4,322 voters would cast ballots. Polls will open at 7 a.m., and close at 7 p.m. All voting will be done at City Hall. For the first time in Gables history, negroes can be expected to vote in a municipal election. Poorman revealed. Twenty negroes, living in the small negro section of Coral Gables at LeJeune Road and Dixie Highway, registered on the last day the books were open. Candidates include Paul H. Brinson and W. Keith Phillips, who are seeking both the mayoralty and return to the commission and Andrew T. Healy, David J. Hendrick and George Newhard, commission candidates. Following the balloting the votes will be canvassed at a special (Please Turn to Page 15)

City Defers New Action On Biltmore

Election Causes Postponement Of Discussion The impending municipal election caused the Coral Gables city commission to delay action on the Pratt General Hospital situation, Tuesday night, but commissioners indicated that the matter would be taken up at the first regular meeting of the new commission, two weeks hence. City Manager William T. McIlwain informed the commission of a letter he had received from Undersecretary of War Kenneth C. Royall stating that the war department "simply does not have sufficient funds or personnel authorizations to permit maintaining an installation the size of Pratt as an active general hospital, when considering the fact that the air forces are removing the activities in southern Florida which have heretofore supplied the logistical (Please Turn to Page 13)

Plans for Fire Station Announced

Plans for an auxiliary fire station, to be located in a city-owned block just east of Ponce de Leon High School, were revealed at Tuesday night's meeting of the city commission. The city authorized the city manager to purchase six privately owned lots in the block for $2,000 to place the entire section under city ownership. City Manager William T. McIlwain told the commissioners that plans call for the building of a fire station to serve the surrounding territory, and the conversion of the rest of the block into a playground and park.

Army Day Plans Are Completed

In celebration of Army Week, Coral Gables will be the scene of an open house to be held at the Pratt General Hospital on Monday from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Col. Clyde M. Beck, commanding officer, will welcome the visitors. During the open house guests will be taken on a conducted tour of the hospital. A technicolor film featuring Gen. Eisenhower will be shown. Also during their visit, the guests will witness athletic events and a pool show. The Ponce de Leon High School Band will be featured in a concert at 3 p.m. following which there will be a formal retreat, parade, review and a decoration ceremony for some of the men at the hospital. On Wednesday evening at 7:30 a large parade made up of many service and veteran units will originate on Flagler Street, east of the bridge, and continue going east to Bayfront Park, where it will dissolve by the bandshell. At this time Gen. Edward H. Brooks, (Please Turn to Page 13)

Mrs. Wakefield Rites Observed On Monday

Funeral services for Mrs. Thomas H. Wakefield, 28, who died Saturday were observed at a requiem mass on Monday morning at the Church of the Little Flower. Burial took place in Graceland Cemetery. Mrs. Wakefield was the former Margaret Ann McGarry, daughter of the late Paul D. Garry, former mayor of Coral Gables. She died at her home, 3830 Alhambra Court, after a lengthy illness. A native of Jacksonville, Mrs. Wakefield came to Miami in 1925 with her parents. She attended St. Theresa School in Coral Gables and graduated from Florida State College for Women. She was a member of Pi Beta Phi fraternity, Coral Gables Junior Woman's Club and Coral Gables Country Club. Surviving are her husband, Thomas H. Wakefield, attorney; a daughter, Miss Patricia Ann Wakefield, and her mother, Mrs. Paul D. McGarry, all of Coral Gables, and two sisters, Mrs. Campbell Boyd of Hendersonville, N. C., and Mrs. Robert B. Worland, of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Restaurant Planned for Miracle Mile

Plans for a large restaurant and soda fountain to be erected at the northwest corner of Coral Way and Douglas Road by Georges Courtois, local real estate broker, were revealed Tuesday night at the meeting of the city commission. The commission approved a recommendation of the zoning board that Courtois be permitted to build a 5,239 square foot addition to his present real estate office, which would serve as the hub of the new restaurant building. Originally a filling station, the building was converted to its present use by Courtois. It lies at the eastern entrance to the Miracle Mile section of Coral Way.

Hardee Road Bridge Estimates Studied

Bids for the construction of a bridge over the Coral Gables waterway at Hardee Road were opened on Tuesday night by the city commission and referred to the city manager for study. City Manager William T. McIlwain stated that all bids were higher than the city's estimates and that it is possible that plans and specifications might be resubmitted.

Links Champ Prefers Golf, Others Differ, Inquiring Photographer Learns at Party

The Time: Tuesday afternoon. The Place: Coral Gables Country Club luncheon for Mrs. Charles R. Harting, who retained her Florida State Golf Championship in Tampa last week-end. The Interrogator: Audrey Gelb. The Photographer: Jim Oliver. The Question: What is your favorite sport and why? MRS. CHARLES HARTING, 765 North Greenway Drive: "Only enough my favorite sport is golf! I've been active in almost every sport that exists so I've plenty to make my choice from. Golf can be played throughout life and I think that's what makes it most interesting. I hope to be playing golf when I'm 90." MRS. E. C. HODGE, 415 Avenue Aragon: "Swimming is my favorite sport and my reason lies in the fact that swimming exercises all the muscles simultaneously and it is wonderful for streamlining a girl's figure. I also play golf, but have been a swimming enthusiast for many years. I even taught swimming at a girls' camp." MRS. E. M. REINHOLD, 901 Country Club Prado: "Golf is my favorite sport because my husband, being a golf enthusiast, has set up a miniature golf apparatus in our back yard and we both (Please Turn to Page 15)

MRS. HARTING | MRS. HODGE | MRS. REINHOLD

MRS. HALIFAX | MRS. PIERCE | MRS. ROBINSON

CAN TWO SMART PEOPLE NAME ELECTION VICTORS?

Are there two smart people in Coral Gables who can predict the outcome of Tuesday's election? To put it a bit more specifically, The Riviera-Times is willing to play host at a theater party for the two people who come the closest to predicting the two high men in the city commission race, and the number of votes they will poll. All you have to do is to write down the names of the two candidates you think will poll the highest votes for city commissioner and the number of votes you predict each will poll. To the two readers coming closest to the actual total as recorded by the election clerks on Tuesday, The Riviera-Times will present five passes each to The Gables Theater, which will entitle them to see the film "Two Smart People," showing Tuesday or Wednesday, or any other picture to be shown during the April "Parade of Hits." Remember, this contest applies to the commission race only, in which there are five contestants: Paul H. Brinson, Andrew T. Healy, Dave Hendrick, George Newhard and W. Keith Phillips. Entries must reach the Riviera-Times' contest editor by 5 p.m. on Monday. Just write down the names of the two candidates you think will get the most number of votes, and the number of votes you think EACH will poll. If you're one of the "Two Smart People" guessing closest, five theater passes are yours.

CANDIDATES MAKE FINAL PLEAS TO THE VOTERS

Paul H. Brinson Mayor-Commission

On Tuesday Coral Gables goes to the polls to elect a Mayor and three city commissioners. This has occured numerous times since our city was incorporated. With each new election the decision that is made by the voters becomes definitely more important, because of the growth of the community, the changing conditions in County, State and Federal and World affairs. Coral Gables is on the threshold of an astounding growth. The (Please Turn to Page 15)

W. Keith Phillips Mayor-Commission

Coral Gables enjoys the distinction of being one of the few planned cities in the world, and is the most beautiful as well as cultural. The original plans of the City have not been completed because of the so called bubble bursting, resulting in a collapse of the City's financial structure, which was followed by an era of depression and almost 5 years of war. When the plans of the founder, George E. Merrick, are completed Coral Gables will actually be a (Please Turn to Page 15)

Andrew T. Healy Commission

With the city election only a few days off, I urge every registered voter to go to the polls next Tuesday. Three commissioners and a mayor are to be elected. This year we have the largest qualified registration in the history of Coral Gables, over 4,300. Let no citizen who fails to exercise his right on election day find fault with the city administration whose members have been voted into office. Coral Gables is on the threshold of a tremendous develop- (Please Turn to Page 15)

David J. Hendrick Commission

As election day approaches, it is usually expected that a candidate will commit himself to fulfill certain campaign promises made for the sake of appeasing different groups of the voting public. In view of the fact that I believe a public office is a Public Trust, I do not feel that I can honestly tell you what my answer to future specific problems will be. The right answer today might be entirely the wrong answer six months from now under changed circumstances. The prob- (Please Turn to Page 15)

George Newhard Commission

I feel sure the voters of Coral Gables are entitled to know the background and qualifications of the candidates for city commissioner. I have been a citizen and taxpayer of Coral Gables for 22 years. I have been actively identified with the growth and development of the city, and have had a part in advancing its interests since its inception, constructing the Venetian pool in 1924. For 18 years I was affiliated with the county engineer's office. (Please Turn to Page 15)