April 20, 2010
By BILL McGOUN
Sixth in a series.
Part 1, Memories of Palm Beach County, 1943-1954
Part 2, The war years
Part 3, Before the urban sprawl
Part 4, The wide-open coastline
Part 5, The wide-open west
Part 6, Changing times
The first decade after World War II was not a time of big change as far as downtowns were concerned. Palm Coast Plaza, the first shopping center, was not opened until 1959, and Palm Beach Mall, the first mall, did not come on the scene until 1967.
In residential areas, however, change was the norm as the vacant lots and blocks of the coastal cities began filling in quickly. The two vacant lots across from our house on South O Street in Lake Worth became the sites of a two-story apartment building and a one-story prefabricated house.
The vacant lot at S. Palmway and 3rd Avenue where I often played sprouted a one-story group of apartments. In the southwest, new streets — C, D and E — were cut between 6th and 12th Avenues S., and
the Whispering Palms subdivision was built on the south side of 12th Avenue.
The same pattern would hold true in other coastal cities, as most neighborhoods filled up to reach their present configuration. The great leap west would come later.
As for the downtowns, there was some infill and some realignment. In addition to the department-store changes noted previously, downtown West Palm Beach would add the Surf Theater in the 300 block of Datura Street and Mike Pucci’s Bowlarama...
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April 1, 2010
Today is April Fool’s Day. For some it’s a day for telling tall tales. For lovers of history, it’s a good day to bust myths and legends. In Palm Beach County, there’s none more infamous than that of the Styx. Here’s what we wrote in 2000:
The legend of the Styx has been passed down by oral tradition and is accepted as gospel by many. But the evidence all but dismisses it. The shantytown sprang up on Palm Beach’s County Road, north of the Royal Poinciana Hotel, in the 1890s for more than 2,000 black workers at nearby hotels. The story is that Henry Flagler was eager to oust the residents so he could develop the land. He had it condemned on health grounds, then hired a circus to set up across the Intracoastal Waterway in West Palm Beach, gave black residents free passes, and while they enjoyed the show, burned their homes down.
Another version places the incident on Guy Fawkes Day, Nov. 5, 1906.
Inez Peppers Lovett, who was born in 1895, said in 1994, a year before her death, that she recalled packing up and leaving the Styx but remembers no fire.
And in 1994, T. T. Reese Jr., of the pioneer Dimick/Reese family, wrote to The Palm Beach Post "to lay these questions to rest."
First, Reese said, Flagler didn’t own the property. The Bradley brothers — Col. E.R. Bradley owned the famed Beach Club casino — bought the 30 acres around 1910 and by February 1912 had cut it into...
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March 8, 2010
BY KYOTO WALKER
CNN Hero Roy Foster was chosen as a top ten finalist from 9,000 submissions in 100 countries. Foster and friend, the late Donald Reid, started Faith Hope Love Charity, a nonprofit organization which helps homeless male veterans with substance abuse issues. Foster founded Stand Down House in 2000. Stand down is a reference in the military for a soldier to be at ease. The house has serviced over 900 veterans to date.
Foster struggled with alcoholism and drug addication for many years and found himself living out of a care or in houses with other users.
"No utilities, no lights, no water. All the toilets filled with everything. I was on the verge of being arrested.
Foster sought treatment for his addictions and says he has been clean for nearly 20 years.
It is important to remember the battle scars that veterans carry with them each day, Foster said.
"Veterans are our men and women who have dedicated their lives in order to preserve our freedoms," he said.
"Here in this country, they should never be abandoned or forgotten becasue their wars and battles will continue for a lifetime. We must never forget."
Foster currently resides in West Palm Beach with his wife Taretha.
Photo/KYOTO WALKER CNN Hero Roy Foster with West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel. Foster was honored by the City of West Palm Beach in November 2009 for being selected as a CNN Hero with over 9,000 entrants from 100 countries for his efforts in helping at least 900...
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