Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Thursday, January 19, 1961, page 19 (of 23)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
No Longer Enthusiastic Gableite Who Backed Castro Finds Terror, Suspicion In Havana
To deny a belief once strongly held is a shattering experience. To be deceived by someone in whom you have utmost trust, confidence and admiration can be heartbreaking. To have to face both must be a terrible experience. One Gableite faced that crossroad recently with the Cuban revolution and Fidel Castro. She is Mrs. Guariana McCarthy, an American of Cuban birth who loves both countries and who had hoped that the traditional and historic friendship between the "Colassus of the North" and the "Pearl of the Antilles" would endure the revolution which she supported wholeheartedly. Slow Decision The decision to renounce the revolution and Castro was slow in coming and difficult to make, she admits. While many around her, perhaps skeptical to begin with and less emotionally involved, abandoned ship with the first firing squad or anti-American tirade, Mrs. McCarthy clung to the belief that Cuba and Castro would regain their equilibrium. In a few months ago Mrs. McCarthy, in a Times interview, denied that the new regime was pro-Communist or anti-American. Only anti-imperialistic, she said. She regarded American newspaper accounts of the progress of the revolution as capitalist and imperialist propaganda, she said. But how does she feel about Fidel Castro and the Peoples Republic of Cuba now? "I don't think what happened to Mussolini is good enough for him (Castro), said Guariana McCarthy. She predicted that the counter-revolution will find him ripped to shreds by his own people if he is unlucky enough to escape capture. But change of heart towards Castro, a man "I idolized because he was such a good liar," is also reflected in her opinion of the left-wing dictatorship he has established. He's Communistic "What he is doing is communistic," she said flatly. What changed her mind? She went to Cuba before the Christmas holiday. Conditions shocked her; her own terrorifying experience left her shaken and happy to get back to America safely. But how could this happen to an avowed supporter? Mrs. McCarthy admitted that she had begun to waive in her beliefs about the revolution shortly before she left for Cuba. The weight of accounts had begun to have its effect. But she still had faith that the revolutionary gyro would righten itself. The Havana-born Gableite found a strange land when she returned to the Cuban capitol. Gone was the gaiety of the carefree Habaneros. Instead she found people afraid to talk to one another and even more suspicious of strangers. Fear stalked the streets and there were shortages of many things-even hunger for some, she said. Though she spoke Spanish fluently, people shunned her when they suspected she came from America. Mother Visited Finally she got to her aged mother's home - or what had been her home. "The home," Mrs. McCarthy said, "had been taken away from her and she was living in a room." It had been confiscated by the Castro government's Institute of Agrarian Reform and "given" to another family who were now paying the government. This is not the democratic revolution that Guariana McCarthy said she bargained for when she supported Castro and the original 26th of July movement against Fulgencio Batista. After three days, she prepared to depart. Her plane was to leave at 3 p.m. But approximately an hour before departure, as she went through the technicalities of clearing, a Cuban official pulled her to one side and questioning began. Soon she was whisked away in a government car which wove through Havana streets. The driver arrogantly ran red lights, she said, and defied other authorities who warned him. More Questions At Cuban G-2, or intelligence headquarters, more interrogation followed. "I told them I would miss my plane and I showed them the article published in The TIMES showing my friendship for the people of Cuba," Mrs. McCarthy said. This was the same clipping she had produced at the airport. Apparently, they were not impressed, or they could not read English. They ordered her into a detention room where she was stripped of all her clothing and subjected to the indignity of having every inch of her body searched. It was 8 p.m. before she was finally released from the filthy jail by her G-2 captors. She had missed her plane. This meant she had to remain in Havana overnight, and by now she was thoroughly frightened, she said. It was 3 p.m. the next day before she finally got a plane out of Havana to Key West, where she landed with only $5 left. On the way she related how she met a Chicago reporter by the name of Conners who told her that Cuban authorities had relieved him of all his money, $75, before he left. In Key West Mrs. McCarthy found herself stranded in Key West with a couple who had a similar experience of having all their money taken away from them before they left. MRS. MCCARTHY The couple had a baby, born in Cuba, where the mother had gone shortly before its birth. The father was forced to go to Cuba to bring them back, Mrs. McCarthy related. Without money and no milk for the infant, they were stranded and desperate. The anxious Gableite was finally able to cash a small check in Key West with which to help the family and get herself back to Coral Gables. Mrs. McCarthy has no immediate plans to return to Cuba. "I'm helping a group to put him (Castro) down," she said angrily.
Landscaping? Better Check
Coral Gables, "The City Beautiful," and also known as the "City of Beautiful Homes," welcomes efforts by homeowners to landscape their properties-but. In order to keep the parkways or swales looking uniform, the city insists on having responsibility for maintaining these. Sunday, one homeowner was caught in the act of removing a palmetto palm from a parkway near the intersection of Orduna and Miller Dr. This is frowned upon, he was told by Gables police. Recently, city crews tore up one resident's elaborate circular driveway cutting across the city-owned parkway and removed pea rock from another site and billed the owners for the work. Moral: Check with the City before you make any plans to landscape which involve sidewalks and parkways.
Dr. Ballinger To Speak
Dr. Charles L. Ballinger of Coral Gables will be a featured speaker at the 65th annual convention of the American Osteopathic Association, Jan. 23-26, at Miami Beach. He will discuss: "Physical Fitness as it Affects the Surgical Risk."
Car Splattered With Acid While Parked On Pizarro
A Northwest section man's auto paint was ruined Jan. 11 when he parked his car in Coral Gables. Clifford F. Berthoud, of 10150 NW 8th Ave., told Coral Gables police that some caustic solution was tossed all over the hood and fenders of his car while he was visiting Arthur Ford of 831 Pizzarro. Berthoud said that he had received a warning note not to park at that address before. The note had been placed on his windshield.
Residents Say Stop Sign Can't Stop Tragedy
The scene of a tragic accident that took the lives of two men several weeks ago remains unprotected, despite the fact that there have been six more accidents since. This has proved frustating to residents living around the area of Coral Way and SW 82nd Ave., who had been assured by Metro immediately after the fatal accident that remedial steps, including installation of a traffic light, would be taken. New Type Sign A new type of stop sign was installed on the SW 82nd Ave. side and the damaged bridge spanning the canal paralleling Coral Way was repaired, but no traffic light. Joe Mantinan, who lives on the northwest corner of the intersection and a leader in the fight to bring safe conditions, said Monday that he plans to take the matter to the Metro Commission because of inaction by the Metro Traffic and Transportation Department. Mantinan said that relief had been promised nearly two months ago by that department of Metro, but that nothing has been done. More Danger Meanwhile, Tropical Race Track has been opened, creating an even more dangerous situation in late afternoon when traffic leaving the track clashes with suburban workers bound for their homes. The Mantinans and other neighboring residents have had their homes converted into temporary hospitals, emergency and communication centers following virtually every accident at the dangerous intersection.
Fall, Recovery, Both Miracles
A 17-month-old child who survived a three-story fall Dec. 31 and lived made an equally spectacular recovery at Variety Children's Hospital. Little Glinda Lee Coley, of 135 South Dixie Hwy., the fall victim, was scheduled to go home this week. The tot suffered a fractured skull when she accidentally fell from the three-story apartment. Coral Gables Firemen Bourke B. Rouse and Jerome S. Kirk found the young girl conscious and crying when they got there. She had bitten her tongue when she struck the ground below, but showed no other apparent injuries. It was later discovered that she had a fractured skull.
STATEMENT OF CONDITION December 31, 1960
RESOURCES Loans and Discounts | $ 6,103,312.88 Banking House, Furniture and Fixtures | 44,587.56 Prepaid Expenses | 3,781.34 Accrued Interest & Income Receivable | $ 100,410.95 U. S. Government Securities | 8,503,782.51 Florida County & Municipal Bonds | 1,366,237.12 Other State & Municipal Bonds | 298,566.62 Federal Reserve Bank Stock | 34,500.00 Cash on Hand & Due from Banks | 5,184,941.94 | 15,488,439.14 $21,640,120.92 LIABILITIES Capital Stock | 500,000.00 Surplus | 650,000.00 Undivided Profits | 71,822.81 Reserve for Contingencies | 207,630.25 | 1,429,453.06 Reserve for Taxes, Interest, Etc. | 130,236.80 Interest & Income Collected, Not Earned | 97,372.40 Deposits | 19,983,058.66 $21,640,120.92 OFFICERS Geo. A. Chatfield President E. W. Ripple Vice-President & Cashier Wm. C. Swain Vice-President Edward J. Lucke Assistant Vice-President Phil W. Conder Assistant Vice-President J. B. Jackson Assistant Cashier H. J. Zarnik Assistant Cashier Donald M. Daniels Assistant Cashier DIRECTORS Dean S. Campbell Vice-President, Florida National Bank & Trust Co. at Miami Jodean P. Cash President, Fuchs Baking Co. Geo. A. Chatfield President of the Bank Alfred T. Eldredge Secretary, Langford & Ledbetter, Inc. Chas. F. Miller Retired Howe E. Moredock Sr. Chairman of the Board Howe E. Moredock Co., Miami E. W. Ripple Vice-President & Cashier of the Bank THE APPRECIATIVE FULL-SERVICE BANK... FLORIDA NATIONAL Bank at Coral Gables MIRACLE MILE AT PONCE DE LEON BOULEVARD MEMBER: FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, FLORIDA NATIONAL GROUP 8741