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1674-4 C.W. (Pete) Chasett ,L.„) J4fr (Pete) chase' Man of the Hour The only remaining mem- ber of the first Board of Governors of the Miami Beach Chamber of Com- merce, C. W. "Pete" Chase, also happens to be the man that had the original idea for the Beach Chamber. Chase, in January of 1921, was a member of the Key West Rotary Club. At its meeting someone suggested that somehow they should get Carl Fisher to come to Key West and do with it What he did with Miami Beach. Chase said he was a rather brazen young man, and he jumped up and said, "I'll get him." But he real- ized that after he volun- teered he was going to have to figure some way to get Fisher to come. He read in the newspaper that Fisher was planning a regatta. "The idea hit me to have a boat race, on the ocean, from Miami Beach to Key West. I wrote Fisher about the idea, told him we would put up a sterling silver cup, and have a celebration, and he fell for it." • When the race was over, there was a big celebration at an oceanfront club in Key West. Chase explained that although this was in the days of prohibition, "Key West didn't know what prohib- ition was." Chase said that since he had first been able to find a way to get Fisher to come to Key West, he was appointed the one who was to convince him that he should go there and develop the island. Chase said that after he fin- ished his spiel, Fisher asked him to come to his hotel that evening after dinner. Chase said he went back to the Ro- tary Club, and declared "we got this guy, he wants to talk to me some more later." Chase went to the hotel, and Fisher asked what Chase did. He told him he worked for a molasses company that brought molasses from Cuba and shipped it north. Fisher then asked Chase if he want- ed to come to Miami Beach, and go to work for him. "What do you want me to do?" Chase asked. Fisher replied: "If we're buiiding houses, you build the houses. If we're planting grass, you plant the grass. If we're entertaining visitors, you entertain the visitors, and if a mule dies, you bury the mule!" Chase said when hi got here in March of 1921, ev- erything was closed. There was no local business at the time. The 1921 season had been somewhat of a flop, and Fisher was laying people off. But he 'owned a street car line that went from Miami to the Beach, and he "sent me to them and told them to give me a job." Thus Chase needed anoth- er job. At the time, he said, both the automobile and the street car each thought they hat, ;he right of way, a -d there were many accidents where the paths of the two crossed. Chase was given the job of going to the accidents and getting to the people to settle before they had a chance to get a lawyer. One day someone came into the office and said an ice truck had come out of an alley and hit a street car. When Chase got there, he said he found two dead mules. So living up to the terms of his original agree- ment, he buried the mules. But burying mules wasn't a full time occupation, obvi- ously, and Chase was still trying to find his place in the Fisher organization. He de- cided then that since his fa- ther wassecretaryof the Key West Chamber of Com- merce, and because he knew a little bit about how such an organization functioned, he would write a letter to Fish- er and suggest such a thing for the beach. At that time, there was a great hatred between the North Beach population, which included anyone north of Fifth Street, and the South Beach, anyone that lived from • Fifth Street to Biscayne. The South Beach residents called the North• Beacher's "stuffed shirts" who thought they were won- derful, while those in the North Beach looked down on the South Beach people, calling them bums and drun- kards. No matter what hap- pened, Chase said if it was proposed by the South, the North opposed it, and vice versa. Fisher immediately saw in Chase's proposal an opportu- nity to get the two groups together. He told Chase he would go along with the idea if he could accomplish this union. A meeting was arranged for June of 1921 in Hardie's Casino. It was a bitter crowd at first, with one group strongly against the other. But they were lucky, .Chase said, to have a goud comedian among the gang who was able to get every- one laughing and in good spirits. They soon decided to stop fighting, and the seeds were sown for the establish- ment -of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. Chase soon became the general sales manager of Fisher's various organiza- tions, a job he had for 22 years. He later became sec- retary -treasurer, then vice president of Fisher's organi- zation, and was one of the executors of Fisher's will. MIAMI BEACH EMPLOY EES UNION mules. So living up to the terms of his original agree- ment, he buried the mules. But burying mules wasn't a full time occupation, obvi- ously, and Chase was still trying to find his place in the Fisher organization. He de- cided then that since his fa- ther wassecretaryof the Key West Chamber of Com- merce, and because he knew a little bit about how such an organization functioned, he would write a letter to Fish- er and suggest such a thing for the beach. At that time, there was a great hatred between the North Beach population, which included anyone north of Fifth Street, and the South Beach, anyone that lived from • Fifth Street to Biscayne. The South Beach residents called the North• Beacher's "stuffed shirts" who thought they were won- derful, while those in the North Beach looked down on the South Beach people, calling them bums and drun- kards. No matter what hap- pened, Chase said if it was proposed by the South, the North opposed it, and vice versa. Fisher immediately saw in Chase's proposal an opportu- nity to get the two groups together. He told Chase he would go along with the idea if he could accomplish this union. A meeting was arranged for June of 1921 in Hardie's Casino. It was a bitter crowd at first, with one group strongly against the other. But they were lucky, .Chase said, to have a goud comedian among the gang who was able to get every- one laughing and in good spirits. They soon decided to stop fighting, and the seeds were sown for the establish- ment -of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. Chase soon became the general sales manager of Fisher's various organiza- tions, a job he had for 22 years. He later became sec- retary -treasurer, then vice president of Fisher's organi- zation, and was one of the executors of Fisher's will.