1669-32 Social, Society,& Local News 1946-1993 THU NOV 01 1990 ED: FINAL
SECTION: NEIGHBORS MB PAGE: 28 LENGTH: 17 .25" MEDIUM
ILLUST: photo: Polly Lux DE HIRSCH MEYEr with a portrait of
her husband
SOURCE: CINDY YCAZA Herald Staff Writer
DATELINE:
MEMO:
I
BIRTHDAY BASH
ON BEACH HONORS
PHILANTHROPIST
The unofficial first lady of philanthropy will be lauded Saturday night
at a celebration of Miami Beach' s 75th birthday.
Polly Lux de Hirsch Meyer, who used to stand on ladders in the 1930s and
' 40s to supervise as her Miami Beach construction company erected more than 20
buildings, can tell stories about "a lot of growth out here" during her 50
years on the Beach.
0 She didn' t just watch it grow. She often made it happen, her friends
said.
She will receive the 1990 Claude Pepper Community Service Award at South
Shore Hospital and Medical Center' s Diamond Jubilee Ball. The invitation-only
event, which celebrates the 75th anniversary of the founding of Miami Beach,
0 is Saturday at the Fontainebleau Hilton.
The late U.S. Rep. Claude Pepper first received the award 21 years ago.
Pepper presented it each year at the South Shore ball. Rep. Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen, who succeeded Pepper after his death in 1989, will present the award
Saturday.
"It is a great honor, " de Hirsch Meyer said. "We were personal friends
with the Peppers. He (Pepper) did everything he possibly could do for the
community. "
De Hirsch Meyer was once a Ziegfeld showgirl and real estate investor in
New York. She became Florida' s first female licensed building contractor when
she moved to Miami Beach in the 1930s.
After marrying Baron de Hirsch Meyer in 1950, Polly de Hirsch Meyer
became well-known in charity circles. Baron de Hirsch Meyer, a banker and
lawyer who was once a Miami Beach commissioner, was one of Mount Sinai Medical
Center ' s 17 founders.
Polly de Hirsch Meyer donated $10 million to Mount Sinai in memory of
her husband' s death 16 years ago. Among her benefactors are the Miami Jewish
Home and Hospital for the Aged and Jackson Memorial Hospital ' s Neonatal Care
Unit. She funded the first artificial limb bank for children in the Southeast
at the University of Miami.
She still attends charity events and runs the de Hirsch Meyer
Foundation herself . "Keeping active keeps you from getting old. I do it out of
I love for others, " said de Hirsch Meyer, who declined to reveal her age.
The de Hirsch Meyers proved a deep commitment to charity
over the years, her friends said.
"The two worked in tandem, " said Marshall Berkson, president and
chairman of the board at South Shore Hospital. Since Baron de Hirsch Meyer' s
death, "she has provided community leadership. She is well-recognized as one
of the leading social figures in the community.
"She gives generously of her time and her money to different charities. "
Roz Richelson became friends with Polly de Hirsch Meyer during charity
work at Jackson Memorial Hospital. They have been friends for about eight
years, she said.
"She is so popular -- her name is very important in this town, "
Richelson said. "She keeps going, she is always doing something. "
moi-