The Coral Gables Times

There's Plenty of Ginger in This Pepper

By JOE C. MORRIS Correspondent A big brown shopping bag sat on Claude Pepper's desk. It was bulging. "Vitamins. Take these home," said a handwritten note attached. It looked as if the senator was really getting ready for his congressional race to return to the nation's capital. "What effect will the strain of a strenuous campaign have on you at your age, senator?" I asked. He looked up quickly. "Just you keep up with me one day and you'll find out what it is like to be active at 61," he snorted. "It won't be any strain on me. The Lord blessed me with good health, good friends and a capacity for hard work. I'll make over 200 speeches between now and the May 8 primary, plus traveling and talking to thousands of people. And it won't bother me a bit." Pepper is one of several expected candidates for the newly-created North Dade seat in the House of Representatives. Sitting in his spacious and handsomely appointed Miami Beach law office, Pepper surveyed the piles of paper on his desk, leaned back in his high-back leather chair and talked. "I enjoy my law practice and the work it entails. It's easier than the life of a legislator. Being a public servant is a hard and exacting job. But it is also challenging. And the feeling of satisfaction from doing something really worthwhile is very rewarding." The telephone rang several different times. Without hesitation he switched from campaign talk to a domestic problem involving what he and his wife Mildred had planned for the evening; a polite refusal of someone's ticket offer for a function he couldn't attend; and a deft postponement of a complex political problem until another time. His manner toward each caller was gentle and unhurried. His composure was scarcely ruffled, as he turned back to talk some more. "I regard public service as a kind of ministry. And serving one's country and its people in the Congress is a high form of that ministry. "I feel that in public life I can make a contribution to the safety and well being of my fellow countrymen and to the preservation of freedom in the world... and that's my reason for running." "We have two principal needs in Dade County now and when I go to Congress I'll work to fulfill them. "One is to activate industries that will provide more jobs for more people. I don't mean smokestack type industries but the kind suitable to our environment where men and machines can work togeether. "The second is to attract tourists to this area." Pepper lives at 501 Alhambra Cir. Asked how he felt about serving in the House of Representatives, inasmuch as it might be considered a step down from the Senate where he served from 1936 until 1950, he replied: "If John Quincy Adams could serve in the House after being President of the United States, then I can do it too... and enjoy it." CLAUDE PEPPER ... good for J. Q. Adams J. Q. ADAMS ... good enough for Pepper

THE Coral Gables TIMES THE CITY BEAUTIFUL Vol. 36, No. 50 20 Pages Thursday, January 25, 1962 Phone HI 3-1661 Price 10c

Home Sale Fees Jump

It's going to cost you 20 per cent more to sell your house in Coral Gables. "It's a matter of rising costs primarily," said Robert Davidson this week, president of the Gables Board of Realtors, exaining a raise in sales commissions. He announced an increase of from five to six per cent in commissions paid on improved property sales. Also, yearly leases will henceforth be handled for a straight 10 per cent. This is in place of 10 per cent of the first $500 and 5 per cent over that. Davidson said also that realtors are providing more services today for their fees than in the past. The improved property increase would have meant a boost of $205,244 in commissions on last year's $20,524,445 in property transfers in Coral Gables. At five per cent, agents receive $1,026,222 in commission. This would jump to $1,231,466 at six per cent. The Gables group is the only one in Dade to jump commissions, Davidson said, but he said he expected others to follow the lead. Broward County and spotted communities throughout the state are already operating on this basis, he added.

Third in U.S. We're the Smartest!

By LEE SANDLER Correspondent Coral Gables High School is third in the nation in the number of students named as Honors Group winners in the 21st Annual Westinghouse Science Talent Search. The Gables school placed 13 students in the group, exceeded only by Stuyvesant in Brooklyn with 19 and Jamaica in New York City with 14. Last year the Cavaliers had eight in the Westinghouse competition while no other winners came from Dade County. The students are Herbert J. Bachelor, 17, 1662 SW 18th Ave.; Jack S. Catlin, 17, 8120 SW 62nd Ave.; Martin J. Cohen, 17, 2335 SW 26th Terr. Mitchell Jay Fruitstone, 17, 1512 Robia Ave.; Neil Franklin Goodman, 16, 6236 SW 10th Terr.; Jane Carol Johnson, 17, (See Gables, Page 2)

Ten New Police Cars

Ten new police cars, at a cost of approximately $11,600, have been approved by the Coral Gables City Commission. Six old cars will be turned in, making a total of four additional cars. The department will have 34 police cars. City Manager L. W. Robinson Jr. told the Commission the extra cars were needed because some officers sometimes went without cars when breakdowns occurred.

They Want B-u-m-p-y Street List

The Public Works Department has been asked to come up with priority list of street improvements. Commissioners Monday indicated disappointment at the small amount of street construction made possible by the $1 million capital improvements program okayed for this year. Only $185,000 has been earmarked from the $1 million loan to finance downtown street resurfacing. Riviera Drive, Granada Boulevard, Segovia Boulevard and University Drive are among the streets badly in need of repairs. Riviera Drive residents voted themselves out of improvements a few years ago. Further oiling and sanding of streets has not been recommended by City Manager L. W. Robinson Jr. The city manager recommended this as a stop gap last year, but now favors reconstruction before complete loss of pavement.

STOLEN STOLE

A $700 stole, cash and jewelry were reported stolen from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Meyer A. Katz, 410 Camilo Ave. Jan. 18.

Gunned

A Gables resident's gun collection was stolen by another gun fancier Friday night. Leon Skepow, of 7350 Mindello St., told Coral Gables police that 10 guns of various types and $10 cash was stolen from his home while he and his family were out to a movie.

His Constant 'No' May Cost Him for Sidewalk

A Coral Gables property owner who has steadfastly refused to allow workers on his property in connection with the Le Jeune Road improvement project may have to pay for something he could have gotten free. The property owner is Clarence Brandes, who owns a home on the southeast corner of Malaga Avenue and Le Jeune Road. Brandes has been notified by City Manager L. W. Robinson Jr. that under the sidewalk ordinance, he will be assessed the costs of replacing his sidewalk, torn up for widening of the road, unless he allows Troup Brothers to go on his property and do the work under the present contract. Brandes has been waging a fight with the City to change zoning on his property to allow offices, and with the county and state for payment of rights of way.

OVER THE BAR

-Times Photo by RAYMOND LANG THE HIGH JUMPER TOM WILSON, 4051 BARBAROSSA AVE., OF GABLES HIGH MORE PICTURES ARE ON PAGE 8

First Plans Are Approved

Preliminary plans for the new tennis and pro shop have been approved by the Recreation Advisory Board. The building was designed by William H. Merriam. It will house a shop for Pro Jack Cook, rest and locker rooms and a vault and meter room. A spectator deck will enable spectators to view play from a vantage point.

Professional packers and wrappers for shopping or mailing. "The Barefoot Mailman" 234 Valencia Ave., C. Gables.