The Coral Gables Times

2 THE CORAL GABLES TIMES Thursday, May 4, 1961

Tax S-q-u-e-e-z-e Due Here; 1,200 Will Be Affected Examples: Vets & Widows

Approximately 1,200 widows, veterans and disabled persons will be hit hard by the new Metro tax assessment program, according to City Tax Assessor Thomas C. Blount. About 800 of these are widows, Blount said. They will be particularly affected with the doubling of residential assessments. Under state law, widows, vets and disabled persons are eligible for a $500 exemption. This has amounted to about a $10 saving, Blount said. "Living on a fixed income," Blount said, "these people will be hard hit." The exemption would have to be doubled to preserve the same ratio of deduction. Blount said his office has been flooded with calls about the new Metro tax program scheduled to go into effect this year. "What most people don't realize," said Blount, "is that the city tax is not included in the Metro figure." People have been confused by the fact that the county will assess all property and collect all real and personal property taxes, but that municipal taxes will be added separately to the consolidated bill presented to the taxpayer. The city will set its millages based on the Metro assessments. Examples: Vets & Widows Names | Address | 1960-1961 Valuations | Taxes-X Evelyn A. Rothrock (w) | 632 Navarre Ave. | 5,700 13,600 | 8.25 162.00 Ella Bell Trout (w) | 608 Navarre Ave. | 8,100 16,600 | 107.25 202.00 Katherine F. Kloo (w) | 637 Alcazar Ave. | 5,300 12,500 | 2.65 140.00 Helen Gerstenfeld (w) | 842 Sevilla Ave. | 7,100 21,100 | 66.00 312.00 Selenia C. Schepeler (w) | 826 Medina Ave. | 5,100 9,700 | 2.50 84.00 A. F. French (v) | 822 Milan Ave. | 4,500 10,200 | 2.25 94.00 Keitha A. Holz (v) | 1143 Venetia Ave. | 4,400 11,500 | 2.20 120.00 Viola J. Hempstead (w) | 512 Altara Ave. | 3,300 9,700 | .66 84.00 Irene J. Blalock (w) | 417 Cadagua Ave. | 5,200 10,600 | 1.00 102.00 Michael C. Passafiume (v) | 441 Miller Rd. | 10,100 20,700 | 189.75 304.00 Dominic P. Guida (v) | 829 Tangier St. | 5,700 11,400 | 8.25 118.00 Majorie J. Sander (w) | 1213 Andora Ave. | 7,600 16,300 | 86.63 216.00 Rebecca S. Lesh (w) | 918 Monterey St. | 4,700 9,000 | .94 70.00 Evelyn M. Booth (w) | 831 Monterey St. | 5,800 10,500 | 12.38 100.00 X—NOTE—The amount of taxes shown is based on $20 per thousand of valuation. This is a tentative figure. The actual rate per thousand will be set by the Metro Commission at a later date.

Moose Lodge To Install

Metro Commission Chairman Robert M. Haverfield will be installed governor and State Attorney Richard Gerstein junior governor of the Coral Gables Moose Civic Lodge May 10. The installation is scheduled at the annual banquet at 7:30 p.m. at the Coral Gables Country Club. Other officers to be installed are Dr. Robert Leeds, prelate; Joseph A. Turturici, secretary; and Dr. Sanford Ziff, treasurer. Trustees are George S. Okell Sr., James Pollack and Carl J. Irwin. Dr. Irving Goldman is sergeant at arms, James Johnson, inner guard, Leonard Eichner, outer guard; and Spencer McAlester immediate past governor. The Coral Gables Moose Lodge is experimental in the Moose fraternity. The civic loge operates as a luncheon or dinner club and has no permanent lodge hall as do other Moose lodges. HAVERFIELD GERSTEIN

Project of Love She Buys Merrick Manor, Won't Change A Door Knob

Although Merrick Manor has been sold, it will remain among old friends. The Coral Gables landmark, once the site of the 160-acre Merrick plantation at 907 Coral Way, is being purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Leon Jack Mass, 6001 Mall. Mass is a Miami area contractor. "I am not going to change one door knob," said Mrs. Mass. Only the final closing win the heirs of Ethel Merrick separate the Mass' from their new "old" home—the birthplace of Coral Gables. "We're not going to rush right in," said Mrs. Mass. There'll be a lot of painting and fixing before the Masses move in with their three children and the grandmother. Fixed Up "It'll be a do-it-yourself kind of a thing" she said. The Masses plan to put new life into the historic 12-room, eight-bath manor. The crack of croquet balls and the clanging of horseshoes will reverberate through the 54-year-old house, long the scene of solitude since Ethel Merrick's long illness. Miss Merrick died recently, willing the home to her nephews, Merrick and Donald Kuhn. "My mother had known Ethel Merrick for many years," said Mrs. Mass, who was introduced to Merrick Manor 15 years ago. KNEW HOME The family has always loved the old Solomon Merrick home where Gables founder George Merrick lived as a youth. "We're sentimental and provincial," said Mrs. Mass, but she hastened to add that they weren't old fashioned. The home just reminded them of the mansions found in North Carolina where they came from. In the area where last year's swimming pool is pretty old stuff, Merrick Manor may not seem like much, but the Masses feel differently. "We have a feeling for things," said Mrs. Mass. Earlier Efforts Miss Merrick attempted to sell her home to the city, but some neighbors objected and city officials were generally cool to the idea. Finally, the Masses decided to call their home Merrick Manor. Negotiations for the $45,000 purchase were underway in March when Miss Merrick died at the age of 72.

Beauty in the Gables

HELPING ONE of her fourth-grade pupils is our Beauty of the Week. She's Sally Hudson, a University of Miami intern working at Coral Gables Elementary School. Sally is from New Philadelphia, Ohio. The 22-year-old has red hair and brown eyes. She likes to swim and dance. After she's graduated, she hopes to teach in Dade County. Staff photo by Raymond Lang.

Visits Gableite Say, That Looks Like Bert Parks; It Was

TV personality Bert Parks was in Coral Gables the other day. Vacationing on Miami Beach after "The Music Man" closed on Broadway (Parks had the lead), he visited an old friend, Jack Rubin, of Tobacco World, 2344 Ponce de Leon Blvd. Chuckling about the hour-and-a half he spent with Parks reaction when shoppers saw Parks. "We were outside taking pictures — and from nowhere — they came with cameras. Word spread. And before he left quite a crowd had collected. "I felt pleased that he would take time out from a few days vacation to visit an old friend." Their friendship dates back to the end of World War II when Rubin, then a radio producer with Wolf Enterprises, gave Parks his start on a new show, "Break the Bank." Parks later shifted into television's "Break the Bank" and "Masquerade Party," both Rubin-produced shows.

Deel Dealt

Three out of four signs at Deel Motors at Le Jeune Road and Ponce de Leon Boulevard will read "Ford," but the fourth will have to be "Falcon." The Coral Gables City Commission Tuesday backed the Zoning Board ruling that Deel could not have a fifth sign to advertise its Falcon line.

230 Member-Guests To Attend Dinner

More than 230 members and their guests have made reservations to attend the 35th annual membership meeting of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, this evening, Thursday at the Coral Gables Country Club. Warner Daniels, who will be acting as master of ceremonies for the event, describes Fred Smith, the featured speaker, as the major reason for the almost sellout attendance. "Fred Smith is truly one of the outstanding speakers in this country. He has addressed many national conventions. He is an author and successful self-made business man. We are most fortunate in having him as our speaker."

Cast Set For Studio M; Course Due

The cast is complete for "Not By Bread Alone," Studio M's next play scheduled to open May 15. Owner-Director Ruth Forman announced this week that John Vella, Toni Simeon and Arthur Krohn had been selected to round out the cast of eight for South Miami publisher Ed Seney's play, scheduled to run for two weeks. A limited number of juniors, teenagers and adults are sought by Miss Forman for interviews for a six-week "Television Theater Workshop," for live television presentation. The 21⁄2-hour workshop sessions will be conducted three mornings a week.

Retired Teacher Mrs. Kurtz Dies;

Mrs. Reggie Kurtz, 62, for 35 years a resident of Coral Gables, died Tuesday. A retired school teacher, she and her husband, Laurence, who survives, came here from Clayton, Ill. Services will be held at 11 a.m. today (Thursday) at Van Orsdel's Coral Gables Chapel with the Rev. Dr. A. L. Mathes of the Granada Presbyterian Church, where she was a member, conducting. Also surviving are a daughter, Mrs. Dan Lundsten, and two grandchildren.

Psst!

Art. For the birds? For the artists? Not the way Robert S. Hurwitz writes about it. He makes with names, prices, ideas & criticisms about our local art in a manner you'll find entertaining as well as informative. His first column will appear next week in The Times