1632-2 Synagogues INTERVIEW WITH
HAROLD KASSEWITZ
AND LEONARD ABBESS
MAY 13, 1992
H=Harold
L=Leonard
H: Camer in 1924 to a new frontier. Couldn't make a living
practicing law in Georgia (came from Fitzgerald) . Lived on
Beach, had office in downtown Miami. Lived at Euclid and 10th,
in an apartment. In 1930, moved practice to the Beach.
L: Came on Aug. 3, 1925 . Was an accountant in New York for $25
a week.
(Notes to myself: Marcy Liberman joke about rabbi/rabbies; that
from H. )
L: De Hirsch Mayer and I bought apartment house at Pennsylvania
and 9th street.
H: after war, MB became honeymoon capital. Package tours. War
responsible for growth.
L: We built hotels. People who went to Catskills in summer came
to MB in winter. Jacobs brothers. Walter Jacobs/Lord Tarleton.
Al Jolson his buddy. Built DuPont Plaza.
H: Represented backers of gambling; defuses Renshaw theory in
Fisher letter. Needed Dade sheriff to fight gambling, city
alone couldn' t do it. Gambling was at Beach & Tennis Club near
Roney Plaza, ccraps, roulette during and right after WWII .
ABC News Agency had Royal Palm, Frolics Club.
Ace Deuce Solomon; died recently; widow Rosalie Silverberg.
`v Partner Uke Byer. Kefauver closed it up. Palm Island Club,
Little Palm Club near today' s Herald.
Leonard Abbess 88-y-o
(�} Harold Kassewitz 90-y-o
1920s: Roney had an outdoor club. Every Saturday night had
dances . Husbands sent wives to North Carolina, took girlfriends
to the dances.
Kass: Art Deco lots of hokum.
Lummus should have subdivided.
Novak' s first wife still living. Bella Novak. Got divorced 54.
Liberman loaned Novak money for second mortgage; marcie could
drink with either hand. He was a great friend of Father Barry.
In those days you couldn't get elected without Barry. There
were more Catholics than Jews .
HK: Real Estate changed hands rapidly after the war. Price was
based on how much a bookie paid for the concession.
Price, Price, Kehoe & Kassewitz
Leonard Abbess: Brook Club on 94th, John Knight would come in
and place chemin de fer.