1674-4 Jake Schreiber Ke — patriot :
• 30th in a series on early Miami. ///���
HOWARD KLEINBERG •
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Salter el The ikeen
His name Mm was Jake Schreiber but J
everyone knew him as Silver Dollar Jake. ^�[/}�C
Heo came from Detromovie a whereuhe had C`J 1
done well in the movie theater business—
to Miami Beach in 1938 and became one
of this community's better known charac-
ters.
Jake gave out silver dollars — gave
them to friends, relatives, GIs and strang-
ers. He was a critical part of this area's
World War II effort, raising millions In war
bond sales, entertaining troops and lead-
ing blood drives.
When Silver Dollar Jake was on the
roads of Miami, he was quite obvious. In a
1968 column, Miami News entertainment
editor Herb Kelly wrote how Jake drove
around in a fire red Cadillac convertible,
life preserver on the side, shiny silver •
horns in view,a dummy by his side(usual-
ly wearing a sailor hat), tags and bunting
ripping In the wind. Most of the time there •
would be a banner on the car like "Join ' •
the Navy. There'd also be a sign to "Buy
Bonds."
His dedication to the war effort was in-
tense.
And he rarely was without his Polly, a •
macaw reported to be 70 years of age.
Kelly, five years after Shreiber's death
in 1963 at the age of 72, reported that Sil-
ver Dollar Jake had willed $30,000 in
bonds payable to the U.S. Treasury, but
nobody would take the money. The be-
quest was made out to the Treasurer of
the United States and nobody would take
the authority to sign for the treasurer.
Shreiber's Houston nephew vainly tried to
talk the Internal Revenue Service and Se-
cret Service Into accepting the money, but
they would have none of it. Finally, he met
entertainer Martha Raye who had Just
come back from a tour of Vietnam.
Martha went directly to the White
House and President Lyndon Johnson,
who finally accepted the$30,000 gift.
Jake's last years were spent in his
home at 298 S. Coconut Lane on Palm Is-
laid, a prestigious address — but he
began his life in poverty In New York, sell-
ing newspapers. Later,when he drifted out
to California and was without funds, he
put the touch on a gambler outside a casi-
no. The man gave him three silver dollars, •
Jake's luck changed and from then on sil-
ver dollars gave him a sense of security.
Jake, his convertible and his macaw
were a familiar sight in Miami and Miami
Beach; often he'd be seen at Orange Bowl
parades and other celebrations throughout
the community. Few kids grew up in Miami
in those days without knowing that Silver
Dollar Jake had passed by.
Oh, Jake had some problems -- such
as the times he battled In court with the
Internal Revenue Service over his taxes, or
when he wound up before a judge be- - •
cause of an altercation Involving himself,a
detractor and Polly. - +�
Silver Dollar Jake Schreiber left his
mark on Greater Miami — as an eccen-
tric, as a patriot and as a philanthropist. <.
And when Jake died, silver dollars In the S'•
pockets of the needy became a thing of;'
the past.
• NEXT SATURDAY: Miami c•lebrat$
dry New Year's,or does it?
■
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NEWSPAPERS
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