Many people talk about the "good old days," but others remember that there were plenty of problems, too. Grace Carson Odum arrived in Pompano in 1922 and had a decidedly critical view of her life in those early years:

"Pompano was the most god-forsaken place I had ever seen. Apart from present day Atlantic Boulevard, which was a single lane road of crushed shells, most roads were narrow dirt-strewn paths. My first home was at Lake Santa Barbara. We had no electricity or telephone service, and used a tin structure next to our home as a kitchen and dining area. There we cooked on an oil stove. We even had to pump our own water. In addition to swarms of mosquitoes and sand-flies there were so many wildcats and poisonous snakes my husband left a loaded shotgun for me to use when he went to town for supplies."

Quote from David F. Butler, Early History of Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale, n.d., P. 27.