Soon after the United States entered the Second World War, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed an issue that was of great concern to Pompano farmers:

We are learning to ration materials, and we must now learn to ration manpower . . . Every farmer in the land must realize fully that his production is part of war production, and that he is regarded by the nation as essential to victory.

The federal government set production goals for various crops, in many cases favoring those that required the least labor in relation to nutritional value.

During the 1930s and 40s,one of the most eagerly awaited holiday events was the Halloween Carnival put on by the ladies of the Eastern Star.

The festivities were held in downtown Pompano at the Florida East Coast loading platform, and included a parade, a costume contest, plenty of food and treats, a turkey raffle and bingo games. Local public organizations rented booths at the event to promote their causes.

In July, 1935, as Broward County Sheriff deputies were transporting a prisoner, Reuben Stacey, to the Dade County jail for safekeeping, a mob forced the deputies' vehicle off the road on an isolated stretch of West Dixie Highway (State Road 7), removed Stacey from the car and hanged him from a nearby tree. As he hung by his neck, the mob riddled his body with bullets.

Stacey, an African-American, had been accused of attempting to rape a white woman in Fort Lauderdale.

Hugh Lester, the justice of the peace with jurisdiction, convened a coroner's jury that included Pompano's B. O. Giddens (a former and future city commissioner). After hearing testimony the jury concluded that that Stacey had been killed by "persons unknown."

Florida has sixty-seven counties and in a number of them the most impressive building is the county courthouse. In other counties (such as Broward), their long-demolished courthouses were architecturally superior to the structures that replaced them.

Florida's Historic Courthouses provides a visual tour of each county's courthouses, historic and modern.

In the days following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, security measures were instituted along the Atlantic coast. Almost immediately, soldiers controlled the bridge crossing the Intracoastal Waterway at what is today Atlantic Boulevard.

Bud Garner was a teenager at that time and remembered the impact:

From then on, everyone had to have a pass to cross the bridge to get on the beach. At night you could not cross unless you had proof that you lived there or had official business. Because of blackouts, the headlights of cars were painted black, except for a half-inch strip to drive by, and we also observed blackout rules in our homes at night. If the blackout warden saw lights from your windows, he would knock on your door to give you a warning.

Quote from Bud Garner, "Army Flash: TODD 8," Broward Legacy, Vol.19, No. 1 & 2, p 43.

As far as we know, the first person to try and develop residential property east of what is today the Intracoastal Waterway was Exum Jelks.

Born in Georgia near the end of the Civil War, Jelks became a successful businessman in Macon, Georgia, where he owned a brick plant, a pharmaceutical company and was a bank director. He and his family began spending their winters in the Pompano area around 1904.

Within several years Exum had purchased 100 acres that stretched from the ocean to the canal, subdivided the property, and put the lots on sale for $400 each.

It is not clear how many lots were sold, but very few houses were built in the Jelks development.

In 1963, on the occasion of the Pompano Beach High School football team's 20th anniversary an all-time Tornado/Beanpicker all star team was selected:

Quarterback - Frank Budka (1958)
Left Halfback - Cabot Knowlton (1962)
Right Halfback - Tommy Dorman (1961)
Fullback - Bill Farrell (1954)
Left End - Don Hughes (1958)
Left Tackle - Orrin Cope (1959)
Left Guard - John Hill (1959)
Center - Stan McCall (1951)
Right Guard - Joe Lee (1950)
Right Tackle - Pat Stone (1957)
Right End - John Wood (1953)

There was offensive and defensive teams since they played both ways in those days.

Because of the small enrollment at Pompano High School, the school played six-man football up through 1941. The following two seasons, football was suspended due to wartime restrictions on transportation and the number of male students who had left school for military service.

The Beanpicker's 1941 team was a powerhouse. It opened its season in an unusual manner -- playing back-to-back games on the road. On October 9th Pompano defeated Jupiter 66-27, and the following day traveled to Everglades City and beat the local team 40-0.

The Pompano gridiron team was undefeated that season and averaged over 43 points per game.

From the time of its opening in the 1920s, the Pompano Theater, located in the 300 block of NE First Street, operated on the edge of profitability.

By the early 1960s, the movie house was showing its age and was finding it hard to compete with the more modern theaters, such as the Gateway, in Fort Lauderdale.

Still, the management tried to put a positive slant on the situation. An advertisement for the theater claimed, "Many folks are finding that the quality of our sound projection and entertaining subjects are far superior to anything in Fort Lauderdale where it costs more."

In 1928, after graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in pharmacy, C. George Hamilton came to Pompano to work at S. C. Fox's drug store on Flagler Avenue.That fall, Hamilton was in the pharmacy when a hurricane hit.

In 1961 he recalled that day:

"It was my first year here and I can still remember watching the top of Kester's building [located on the west side of Dixie Highway]. . . come flying across the railroad tracks toward me. If it hadn't hit an air pocket, and dropped in the track, the bricks would have smashed into the drugstore window."

Pompano Beach's Unity Church was formed in 1957. In 1960 it broke ground for a church building on land that had been donated by Philip Vinkemulder, Sr. at 261 SE 13th Avenue.

Unity Church's founding pastor was Rev. Frances Jarrell. Subsequent ministers have been Rev. Loren Flickinger, Rev. William R. Clark, Rev. Robert Hungerford, Rev. Lana G. Charlton and Rev. Marion Wadhams.

On August 15, 1977, Pompano Beach Mayor J. Maxim Ryder and Vice Mayor William J. Alsdorf resigned from those positions, but not from the City Commission.

To replace them, the commissioners elected Betty L. Wistedt, mayor, and J. Maxim Ryder(who just stepped down from being the mayor) as vice mayor.

In assuming the office, Ms. Wistedt became the first female mayor of Pompano Beach.

As the United States began to organize for war in 1942, Pompano farmers were concerned that certain vegetables grown here, such as eggplant and peppers, were listed as "luxury" crops and that they might be prohibited by the government.

Although local farmers were allowed to grow what they wanted, the government indicated that should there be a shortage of railway cars for transporting crops or a scarcity of items such as packing crates, those growing "luxury" crops could not expect help from federal agencies.

The threat of German submarines and saboteurs was of great concern along the Atlantic shoreline during World War II. Pompano residents were quick to volunteer to guard the beaches and keep an eye out for signs of the enemy (and judging from the tone of the following newspaper article, engage in a little competition with neighboring towns).

Pompano is the first unit of the newly organized horse patrol to guard lower Florida beaches to place its unit in the field ready for service.

Capt. R. G. Parnell of the Broward Grain company was well pleased at the response given by citizens at Monday night's meeting and declares it convinced him the community is solidly behind this patriotic work. The unit, spurred by the evidence of civic cooperation, rushed its training program through to start active guard work Thursday night. Thirty-two riders, each taking a four-hour shift and riding in pairs, are available and 16 mounts, each to work double the hours of he riders, have been offered. Feed and care will be financed by generous public subscriptions already offered and ranging from $5 to $35 a month from patriotic citizens.

Stables are nearing completion on the Beach near the Casino. The Pompano unit will cover the beach for a four-mile area. Other communities in the county are organizing to make the patrol solid the length of the county along the Atlantic but all are said to be far behind Pompano in getting into action.

Officers of the local unit in addition to President Parnell are E. E. Torbett [Tarbet], secretary-treasurer, and Irvin Robinson, director. Two more directors will be named.

The Pompano Planter, Friday, September 4, 1942.

Principal Blanche Ely's message to her 1958 graduates:

In this age of Sputniks and Atomic missiles, modern and beautiful buildings are necessary for an institution to perform well its functions, but the most important test of a good school is to be seen in the quality of its students and the achievements of its graduates. As I greet you, the Class of 1958, it is my hope that as you leave this institution, you will not forget the high ideals that we have striven to instill in you here at Blanche Ely High Schools.

It is my hope that you will further your education and develop your talent and be useful Citizens in the world.

May God bless and keep you.