1674-8 N.B.T. Roney T virs ,
Ie,nort .,
, z
Hoyt Frazure came
t
Miami in 1905 and he
hasn't forgotten a thing i
since. Now, sixty y e a r s ',
later, he shares with you r.i..
his vivid impressions of
a time gone by, in a se- I,
ries of stories written in ,
collaboration -
Smiley, he Herald's rrov�-
id
Rril
ing Florida reporter.
I
tkV (hili
E became startlingly aware of Mi-
3ami's growth in 1920 when 3tOhe
` c>� ,-
federal census gave the city
t J 000. Miami had grown from a sprawling little
citywithin a
town on the Miami River to almost
109-1(
�J f' I decade, having increased in population
V
113six times from its 5,500 in 1910.
IZS) '�� We moved from the Frazure House in 1920,
J into a new home at 221 NE 17h Street.eMy par-
entsr-
et the Boulevard property g ;
year lease. n
Downtown property had increaSed greatly Frazurein
value since my parents boughthe the
they re- '
House before World War I.compared with the
ceived was small, though,
camp
Boom-time deals a few years
later.
anything like
But who could have predicted
the Boom, which was to have its beginning after ,..
a little depression the city had in the early 0
1920's? ears— E
The activities of the three Boom
1924,1925 and 1926—still ring in my ears.
Looking back to 1920, I can't
remember
thinking that might lure
Ihad watched it grow, having lived here since I
normal.
three.Everything seemed perfectly i
Jreksonville was Florida's big city in those
days. I had never been there but I knew it was
immense compared with Miami. Dade County's
.. entire population of 43,000 was less than half of
Jacksonville's. And Jacksonville was growing,
•
too. What reason was there to hink thgrat Miacams
i
one day would be among
the—especially in one's own life time?
But I can see now that Miami was no ordi-
nary place in 1920.
Today p e o P 1 • uch names as
N.B.T. Roney, Carl Fisher,
George Merrirothers with the
�' F.C.B. LeGro an me ?atB li
Boom years. But they were here before the
ii
Boom. It was people like them whose vision in-
spired the Boom. school when
I was in my second year of high
the war ended; but I remember the
t for M ,
a
people had for this area —
not but Miami Beach, Coconut Grove and the other
Dade communities.
I won't mention Coral Gables here because in
1920 Mr. Merrick had not put on his promotion
campaign. That is a story in itself when the
name of Coral Gables became better known than
any other city in Florida,even Miami.
It was my good fortune to know Mr. Roney
personally. Mr. and Mrs. Roney r and their little NA
daughter, Betty, moved into the Frazure House
during the war and lived with us for several
months. s
- Mr. Roney had purchased the old Elser Pier,
at the foot of Flagler Street, and he wanted to
be close to this activity. He which dime-and-
dancen a atteudon the sery second floor,
en respecially aviation
acted
hundreds
cadets,and their girls.
Mr. Roney was typical of the men who bad
the combination of vision and had been enthusiasm a neout of a 'j
which the Boom gre practice his l
lawyer, but while building up he decided in go I
is
home town of Camden, N.J.,
_
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A Time on Saturday Morn,
Known as the Kiddie Hour
FOR AS LONG as I can remember without Even the commercials are different. Where
straining, my children have turned on TV every else would you hear about Vroom, Sugar
Saturday morning, a time when programs are Smacks and Crazy Foam (the soap that bounces
aimed directly at children. This is my day off, and makes foam so thick you can wear it as a
and I have tried to read The Herald and do beard) or Quik (which you mix in milk, then
other important things while these children's win the backyard football game) or see the
' shows were on. sneaky character who tries to make counterfeit
Several weeks ago the children signed tip for Milky Ways?••- - - • . :..+. _ '
membership in a club sponsored by the Museum My favorite is the Suzy Cute plug in which
of Science and Natural History. In return for Satchmo Armstrong and three little girls sing a
their dues, they get to see a movie at the mu- catchy tune which ends with Old Satch holding
seum every Saturday morning. up a doll and yodeling: "Girls, Suzy Cute needs
When they started going to these shows, a Mommy—Suzy Cute needs you!"
that left me peace and quiet at home, and my This, too, is the.day you learn about Skipper,
good wife said she was glad she wouldn't have who is Barbee doll's little sister; Jiffy Pop, pop-
to hear me complaining anymore about those corn fixed by a chimpanzee in a chef's hat; about
silly kid programs. Super Helmet 7 and the prizes in Rice Krinkles;
When she returned home after delivering liverin the
ey
T
children to the museum, I had the TV going full about ants a Clark
Bar; theeir RoLls;oethe ; the
who wants a Clark GI Joe game; the
blast. Soaky dolls made of soap that "make it more
"It's sort of a shame the children had to go fun getting dirty."
These commercials, all telling us kids to tell
our parents to buy us games or dolls or cereals
i ' z .< ,, `'° or soaps, are merely the dessert. The main fare
fr. ' ,'
i -�, is the programs.
1�, `'° ,.. , , s -� In addition to Quick Draw McGraw, we have
( � Augie and his dear old dad, a very dumb dog not
fit to be the head of a dog house; Mighty Mouse
(who is not one of my favorites, on account of
to that movie,"I said. "I'll bet it isn't as good as Superman reduced to a mouse gets kind of hard
this Quick Draw McGraw cartoon." to believe); Deputy Dawg; Casper, the friendly
She stared at me. ghost; Linus the Lion Hearted, a very comical
"I hope they are home in time for Sky King character, and Billy Bird; Bullwinkle, the amaz-
and My Friend Flicka," I said. "They always ing moose; and Cecil, the loveable, sea sick sea
liked those." serpent with long eyelashes and one of the most
"Just who likes these Saturday kiddy despicable villains since the guy who used to
shows?" she asked. bullwhip Uncle Tom.
"Shhh!" I whispered. "Watch Black Bart tie Another real special character is the Hunter,
up old El Ka-Bong — you know that's really a dog who is the world's most famous (and
Quick Draw McGraw." dumbest) detective but always gets his man, by
I hit my thighs and roared in laughter as accident. There also is a private eye cat who
Ka-Bong got hit over the head with his`own gui- follows much the same formula. And I dearly
tar, love the king, a lion, whose prime minister is a
"I bet the kids don't see anything this fun- skunk. His no-good brother is the tool of a rat
ny!"I gasped when I could talk again. who speaks like Edward G. Robinson and keeps
My wife walked off in disgust. trying to steal the throne...
I must admit some embarrassment that I Those are just samples. We have all kinds of
now watch these programs alone. It was much exciting. shows on Saturday morning, from the
better when I could pretend that the children Jetsons to the pirate and parrot who sing that
forced me to endure them. But I must say that "you're darn tootin', I like fig Newtons."
folks who don't see them don't know what they I can hardly wait for the children to join me
are missing. in watching my favorite programs.
1
F
I