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1624-38 Clubs Surf" lilb • MAR-1 oti nder • • Dies . at 87 • Alfred I. Barton , Callettl 'Mr. Society' By EARL DEHART And ULA BEYER •n driers Ifr founder of the swan urf Club iii Surfside and a leader of Miami Beach society for more than 30 years, died Saturday night at the• Villa Maria Nursing Home • F in North Miami. £ He was 87 Mr. Barton ire remained so- cia I ly o cially active,at tending parties and opera open ing nights, until he was hospi- talized • six months ' ago €. after breaking BARTON his hip. Even after that, he con- -f,,Xitttted to enl4ertain old.frjçtds in his nursing-home room. "NOTHING seemed to stop him," said Bill Clemmer, a longtime friend. "He was Mr.Society." Many members of Florida's high society remember the wild Satur- day nights at the Surf Club. Even for rich guests accustomed to enjoying the club's Prohibition liquor, frolicking all day in its oceanside cabanas and foxtrotting at night in velvet pajamas, the Sat- urday night galas were an escape. The rich flocked to the Surf Club, so much so that, in its heyday, the club was nicknamed "General Motors South" because its member- ship included so many automobile executives. The Surf Club was their temple and Alfred I. Barton their high priest. Every Saturday night, in season, he came up with something new: the Nautical Party, the Yucatan Party, the Farm Gala, the Monte Carlo, the Dude Ranch, the Bon Voyage Affair, the King Arthurs' Court Party. Those who worked to transform the club every week remember Bar- ton as an exacting taskmaster. "HE WAS a feudal lord," said Olive Ennis, social director of the Surf Club for 17 years. "His word was law and his demands had to be met almost immediately. He would hold things up for an hour just to get the lighting perfect in a hall- Turn to Page 4B Col. 1 • • t, •- .-.ter--- — artonI • I les in ursing .. • FROM PAOE president of the United States. His then-president of the Woolworth and decorations included the Legion of Stores, chain, bought a 16-block "co Honor, Croix de Guerre, Cross of tract,'. which stretched west from. "th room. That's what made him a sue- the Star of Rumania, Cross of Dani- the club to Indian Creek,and set up iar, cess." lo and Silver Medal of Montenegro. a subdivision. foi. On summer global junkets, Mr. As personal aide to Gen.Henry R. Meeting in the Surf Club in 1935, 1 11 Barton gathered.ideas for his galas. Alien, ctOmrnander of the U.S. Army the residents, uncertain of what a 1 There was the Taj Mahal Party, of Occupation in Germany after.the services Miami Beach would offer if wo complete with a small herd of.large, war, Mr. Barton learned to throw it annexed their land, decided to in- mo live elephants. The Traintime Party, no-expense spared parties for the • corporate as the town of Surfside. nut at which guests drove real trains royalty and wealthy who visited The first council included Mr. T and the Surf Club was transformed Allen's headquarters. Barton, who also had a brief tenure do:a copy of Grand Central Sta- as police chief. F tion. And the Circus Party, with a FROM FRANCE, Mr. Barton In later years, Mr. Barton's de- a.m real merry-go-round, banquet traveled to Hollywood, Calif. . scent from society came in stages. cop tables around a huge show ring and As production manager for Cecil In 1964, he retired as club gener- mu performing animals from a circus' B. De Mille, he designed sets for al manager and vice president. The Grc winter quarters in Sarasota. The Ten Commandments. club directors retained him as a bri( Once, he had 300 tables made en- When the strain of working of, consultant and provided an apart- Cot tirely.of ice,orchids frozen inside. De Mille's film extravaganzas ment on the grounds. lie lived there ran "This club was founded with the began affecting Mr. Barton's health, until 1973, when club officers in- P idea of giving the very hest to peo- a doctor ordered a change of di- formed him the agreement was can- wh pie without regard for expense — mate. celed and he must leave. had or at least with that appearance," He chose Florida, where his He bought a Miami Shores home to t he said. "And, over the years, I mother and aunt owned large prop- _ think it has proved to be not a bad erties,and plunged into real estate. idea." He became much a part of Flori- da. In 1945, his wife Sallie divorced MR. BARTON was born Nov. 16, him, citing as an example of incom- 1892 in Philadelphia. • patihility the fact that he hadn't He first came to Miami Beach in •kept a promise to live six months in 1905, with his parents, the Hunter New York and six months in Miami Bartons of Philadelphia's Main Line Beach. Mr. Barton wanted to stay in families. Miami Beach,she said. In his college days, Mr. BartonIn the late 1920s, Mr. Barton and wrote and produced plays and mu- his industrialist friends had a prob- sical comedies. He wrote the music lem: If the Bath Club on Miami and lyrics for The Gambol of the Beach were filled, where could they Gods, The Feast of the Cherry Bfus- go? , soms and The FlowerPrfncess. To a clilb of their own,of course. When World War I began, but In 1929, 950 feet along the ocean, before the United States entered the north from 90th Street, was pur- war, he enlisted in the French chased for $300,000 and the Surf army, serving the 14th Corps as a Club was built. Mr. Barton became staff officer. vice president and secretary. He also had a period of liaison service, served as aide de camp to THEN IN 1934, Mr. Barton and two generals and was an aide to the Byron S. Miller, the son of the • --Urday nignt gain •vv"..- . The rich flocked to the Surf Club, so much so that, in its heyday, the club was nicknamed "General Motors South" because its member- ship included so many automobile executives. The Surf Club was their temple and Alfred 1. Barton their high priest. Every.Saturday night, in season, he came up with something new: the Nautical Party, the Yucatan Party, the Farm Gala, the Monte Carlo, the Dude Ranch, the Bon Voyage Affair, the King Arthurs' Court Party. Those who worked to transform the club every week remember Bar- ton as an exacting taskmaster. "HE WAS a feudal lord," said Olive Ennis, social director of the Surf Club for 17 years. "His word was law and his demands had to he met almost immediately. He would hold things up for an hour just to get the lighting perfect in a ball- Turn to Page 4B Col. I AIIMMOMMMMM I cn :pg a wy.°o.0-a 7.. ' av q° v° .•°. U W nn 4E -y °°° A y'.§ E . ..cy .c..-o ^ L'''''-i2'01.'gc ..<c. •E boa.: came =" �ma a`o� -:� {. 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