On Monday, November 16, 1931, as most Pompano residents were at breakfast or on their way to work,or out in the field getting crops ready for early harvest, news spread that a decline in deposits and steady withdrawals had caused the Bank of Pompano, the town's only banking facility, to close its doors. Employed then as a bookkeeper in the bank, Pompano pioneer Lorena A. Hardin Robson recalled that as the panic intensified crowds gathered outside to find out if the news was really true and to claim the money they had placed in the bank for safekeeping. According to Mrs. Robson, who continued to work at the bank until it was liquidated, refunds to depositors never amounted to more than ten percent of their total deposits.

Excerpted from a history of Pompano Beach published in the Pompano Beach Diamond Jubilee commemorative book (1983).

Before she gained widespread fame as Florida Evans in Maude and Good Times, Esther Rolle had a distinguished career as a dancer and on stage:

Rolle attended Booker T. Washington High School in Miami, Florida and then Spelman College for a year before moving to New York. She supported herself by working in a pocketbook factory while auditioning for the theater. While taking drama classes at George Washington Carver School in Harlem, she got a scholarship to study acting at New York's innovative New School for Social Research. During this time she met and became a member of African dance master Asadata Dafora's dance troupe, Shogola Oloba, she became the troupe's director in 1960.

Two years later Rolle made her acting debut as Felicity in Jean Genet's The Blacks. During the 1960s, she appeared in such productions as Blues for Mr. Charlie 1964, Amen Corner and Day of Absence 1965.

In addition to her previously mentioned Emmy nomination, Esther was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1974. Although she didn't win the award for "Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy Series," she was in good company. The nominees that year were:

Carol Burnett in The Carol Burnett Show
Valerie Harper in Rhoda
Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Esther Rolle in Good Times
Jean Stapleton in All In the Family

The award went to Valerie Harper.

In 1981 the City of Pompano Beach had NW 3rd Avenue renamed Esther Rolle Avenue.

Esther Rolle is buried in Pompano Beach's Westview Cemetery.

One of Pompano Beach's most famous families is the Rolle's. Various accounts have Jonathan and his wife Elizabeth arriving in Pompano from the Bahamas around 1908, the same year the town was incorporated.

Jonathan and Elizabeth had eighteen children, a number of whom had successful careers in the performing arts.

The most well-known is undoubtedly Esther Rolle (1920 - 1998), who starred in the television comedy series Good Times. A graduate of Spelman College (1942), Esther was one of the early members of the Negro Ensemble Company in New York City. Following years on the stage, she moved to a career in film and television that spanned 35 years. She won an Emmy Award for her performance in the 1978 television production of The Summer of My German Soldier.

Estelle's older sister, Estelle (1906 - 1985), also was an actress. Her film credits include parts in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and The Learning Tree (1969). She also had guest appearances on a number of television shows.

The third Rolle sibling to perform in films and television was Roseanna [Carter]. She was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1993 as "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series" for her role in I'll Fly Away. Her television credits included parts in Law & Order, The Cosby Show and Tales from the Darkside.

In the 1970s, both Estelle and Roseanna appeared with Esther in Good Times.

Other members of the Rolle family were prominent in the local community.

This coming Saturday, April 2nd, will be a big day at the Pompano Beach Green Market.

First of all, it will be John Knox Village Day. Residents of JKV will be participating in the Market, providing entertainment, exhibits and demonstrations. If you experienced JKV Day at Last year's Green Market, you know what an amazing day it will be.

Also, this coming weekend marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (at 2:00 AM Sunday), and the Green Market is joining with the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors to celebrate the annual event. The NAWCC will have a display of unique antique timepieces, and members will be on hand to appraise and evaluate antique and collectible watches and clocks brought to them be the public.

The Green Market is open 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM every Saturday, through April 30th, in Pompano Beach's historic downtown. For directions click the Green Market link to the left.

The 53rd Florida Folk Festival will be held May 27 - 29, 2005, at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida.

We've had quite a few inquiries about purchasing Bud Garner's book, Tales of Old Pompano.

The book is available for sale at the Pompano Beach Green Market every Saturday morning, at the Historical Society's booth, for $10.00.

If you would like a copy sent to you by mail, send a check for $12.50 to:

Tales of Old Pompano
Pompano Beach Historical Society
P.O. Box 154
Pompano Beach, FL 33061

The good thing about purchasing your copy at the Green Market is that Bud just might be there and sign the book for you.

History Now is an on-line resource for American history teachers (and everyone else who wants to learn more about our past).

Arranged by subjects, which so far have included elections, slavery and immigration, the website includes digital essays, lesson plans for high school, middle school and elementary school classrooms, and questions and answers for each subject.

The essays are written by recognized experts in each field and contain a wealth of information.

History Now is produced by the The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

The City of Pompano Beach has received two responses to its request for bids to purchase the Bank of Pompano and Bailey Hotel.

It will have to be determined whether or not the bids are responsive to the specified criteria (see request document here), but this is an encouraging sign that the historic buildings will be saved.

Historical Society trustee Bud Garner was recently recognized as Pompano Beach's first designated Historian by the City Commission, following his nomination by the Pompano Beach Historic Preservation Advisory Board.

Bud is well-known for his colorful stories of Pompano's past, many of which are collected in his book, Tales of Old Pompano.

The Florida Historical Society has announced that the winner of 2005 annual Rembert Patrick Award for Best Scholarly Book in Florida History is Grander in Her Daughters: Florida's Women During the Civil War, by Tracy J. Revels.

The Award will be presented to Dr. Revels at the FHS's 2005 Annual Meeting on May 20th in Palm Beach.

(image courtesy of University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries,
Dept. of Special Collections)

March is Women's History Month, and the Historical Society's executive director, Dan Hobby, will be speaking about The Pioneering Women of South Florida on Tuesday, March 22nd, at the Beach Branch Library, 221 Pompano Beach Blvd., Pompano Beach.

The public talk will begin at 1:00 PM, and refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Pompano Beach Libraries.

The Florida Highway Patrol has posted its history on the internet. It's full of interesting information, such as its activities during World War II:

When World War II erupted in Europe, many of our patrolmen enlisted to do their patriotic duty. Other patrolmen were called up for defense work. Because of the war, it was hard to get and keep patrol officers. The Patrol's sworn officers were down to 100 and were kept busy escorting military convoys, including gasoline tankers filled with fuel for military installations, and patrolling Florida's 1,197 statute miles of coastline looking for illegal aliens trying to slip ashore. The Patrol, working closely with the military police, was spread thin during these war years, but did not give in or give up.

In April 1942, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, aided by the Florida Highway Patrol, launched a series of raids on Florida's east coast. They entered 67 homes of German and Italian nationals, seized guns, ammunition, dynamite, caps, fuses, and radio receivers. Some of the persons captured were classified by the FBI as dangerous. Throughout the war, patrolmen aided in the search and apprehension of prisoners of war.

Although it traces its roots to the early 1930s,the FHP's formal creation came in 1939 when the Florida Legislature created the State Department of Public Safety. The new department contained two divisions, the Division of State Motor Vehicle Drivers Licenses and the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Pompano Beach Historical Society will host an illustrated talk on the history of "Old 75", the city's first fire engine. Firefighter Rob Brantley, who over the years has donated thousands of hours to the preservation of the 1926 LaFrance Pumper, will discuss how the engine was sold, lost, found, recovered and restored. He will also talk about the history of Pompano's first fire station.

The free program will begin at 7:00 PM in the Dick & Miriam Hood Center (217 NE 4th Avenue, Pompano Beach). The public is welcome and refreshments will be served.

We are approaching another significant anniversary in South Florida history. April 25th will mark 75 years since the completion of the Tamiami Trail, the first vehicular road connecting Miami and Florida's west coast.

In anticipation of the anniversary, the St. Petersburg Times has published a special report , written by Jeff Klinkenberg, commemorating the building of the road, as well as providing a travelogue of the highway today.

Miami's Capt. James J. Jaudon, who wanted to develop his holdings in the Everglades, thought up the idea of a road linking Florida's coasts in 1916. In Tampa, E.P. Dickey of the Board of Trade seconded the motion and suggested a name, the Tamyami Trail.

"Good heavens," bellowed the editor of the Estero American Eagle. "The name sounds like a bunch of tincans tied to a dog's tail and clattering over cobblestones." But in Miami, William Stewart Hill, a Herald writer, sprinted to his typewriter. Whenever interest waned, he batted out another story.

Barron G. Collier, a Southwest Florida millionaire who amassed a fortune in the New York advertising business, bankrolled Trail construction when the state ran out of money. In return, a county was named for him. Collier wanted more than immortality. From his mansion he looked with envy at all that Henry Flagler money over in Miami and plotted a way to get it flowing in his direction. The Tamiami Trail was the pipeline.

Considered among the world's great engineering feats, the Tamiami Trail took a dozen years of sweaty, buggy, boggy work to complete. It took dreamers and schemers and $8-million. It took a lot of dynamite to blast away stubborn rock. It took oxen, especially an ox named Old Blue, to haul stuff through the Everglades. Paul Bunyan would have been there, but he was scared of mosquitoes.

Of the thousands of workers who braved the hostile environment to build the Tamiami Trail, just one is alive today.

This Saturday, March 19th, will be Dog Day at the Pompano Beach Green Market. Bring your canine for talent and beauty contests, special treats and for a great opportunity to show off your pooch!

The Green Market is located in Pompano Beach's historic downtown, just north of the Atalntic Boulevard and Dixie Highway intersection. For directions and hours, visit the Green Market page on this website.

Want to keep up with what's going on at the Green Market? Subscribe to the weekly Green Market email newsletter -- just send us an email with the word subscribe in the subject line.

"On October 2, 1899 the first two public schools in what would one day become Broward County opened their doors. Ivy Cromartie, Fort Lauderdale's first teacher, welcomed nine students into the wood-frame schoolhouse located on South Andrews Avenue, South of the River. Pompano's first teacher, Mary Butler also greeted nine students. Each teacher earned $40 per month. Since students needed to work in the farm fields, the school term was only four to six months long."

So begins a history of Broward County Public Schools on the Broward County Public Schools website.

The East 33 feet of Lot 10, LESS the North 10 feet thereof, of the resubdivision of Lot 15, of the subdivision of Section 35, Township 48 South, Range 42 East, according to the plat thereof, recorded in Plat Book "B", Page 76, of the Public Records of Dade County, Florida; said lands situate, lying, and being in Broward County, Florida; TOGETHER WITH: The West 68 feet of the East 101 feet of Lot 10, LESS the North 10 feet thereof, of the TOWN OF POMPANO, being a resubdivision of Lot 15, of the Subdivision of Section 35, Township 48 South, Range 42 East, according to the plat thereof, recorded in Plat Book "B", Page 76, of the Public Records of Dade County, Florida; said lands situate, lying and being in Broward County, Florida

Folio No. 8235-08-0220

On Saturday, March 19th, Everglades National Park will host "A Century of Preservation" with "A Day of Celebration."

One hundred years ago, in 1905, Audubon warden Guy Bradley was killed by plume hunters illegally taking wading birds from a rookery on Florida Bay near Flamingo. His death galvanized the conservation movement in the United States. Bradley was the first American martyr for wildlife conservation; unfortunately, he was by no means the last. Many men and women of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and other conservation agencies have since died in the line of duty trying to protect our nation's resources and wonders. On March 19, 2005, join us for a day in the park commemorating their sacrifice and the resulting legacy of conservation we enjoy today.

The celebration begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Ernest Coe Visitor Center near the main entrance of Everglades National Park. Enjoy activities for adults and children, special presentations and guest speakers, exhibits and booths, and skits by the Pelican Island Players. Author Stuart McIver will be signing his new book, Death in the Everglades: The Murder of Guy Bradley, America's First Martyr to Environmentalism at the Coe Bookstore. In the afternoon, we invite you to take the scenic drive to the Flamingo area of the park, enjoying the wildlife, vast scenery, and short walks along the way. Then join us at 5:30 p.m. at the Flamingo Amphitheater for a Sunset Commemoration for Guy Bradley and all the fallen heroes of conservation. After sunset, you may wish to stay for a ranger-led evening program at the amphitheater at 7:30 p.m., enjoy a meal at the Flamingo Lodge restaurant, or begin your leisurely drive back home reflecting on these gifts we have received from the past and the promises we will keep for the future.

Both Bradley and his killer had ties to the Pompano area (as was discussed by Stuart McIver when he spoke at the Historical Society last year).

"A Century of Preservation, a Day of Celebration" is a partnership between the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Audubon of Florida.

The promotional map below was produced by the Florida East Coast Railway and Steamship Line and is dated 1898, just two years after the railway was extended south from West Palm Beach to Miami.

Only two towns are shown between West Palm Beach and Miami -- Fort Lauderdale and Lemon City.

Source: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

A.W. Turner, 1915 - 1925

Paul C. Bryan, 1925 - 1927

A.W. Turner, 1927 - 1931

Walter Clark, 1931 - 1939

Eddie Lee, 1939 - 1940

Walter Clark, 1941 - 1950

Amos Hall, 1951 - 1957

J.A. "Quill" Lloyd, 1957 - 1961

Allen B. Michell, 1961 - 1968

Thomas Walker, 1968

Edward Stack, 1969 - 1979

Robert Butterworth, 1979 - 1982

George Brescher, 1983 - 1985

Nick Navarro, 1985 - 1993

Ron Cochran, 1993 - 1997

Ken Jenne, 1997 - present

The Historical Society's monthly public program for March will feature Pompano Beach firefighter Rob Brantley, who will present an illustated talk on the restoration of both the old fire station as well as the rebuilding of the city's first fire engine.

The program will be held on Wednesday, March 16th, 7:00 PM at the Dick & Miriam Hood Center, 217 NE 4th Avenue, Pompano Beach.

Neat site that "combines historical images with interpretaive information about the Florida Keys." Very clever.

The Pompano Beach Historical Society took part in Publix Super Markets' 75th Anniversary celebration with an exhibit of historic photographs and an information table at the Cypress Road Publix on Thursday evening.

At Publix's 75th Anniversary celebration (l. to r.): Historical Society trustees Jean Craft and Chris Mullon, Store Manager Brian Paolini and Customer Service Manager Terry Kaposi

Another excerpt from Mrs. Tinney's letter about Pompano in 1914:

This used to be a great storm center and after the great storm of 1907, when it blew down the houses and very few [were] left except the F.E.C. depot, and most of the trees were swept away leaving our country bare and cold-looking.

We have missed the storm. Beautiful spruce trees now cover the bare places and the blown-down houses have been replaced by better ones. For several years the people would not build a two-story house, and would put long poles all around their houses, for fear of the return of the storm. But for the past two years they have removed their props and begun to raise their houses.

The 1907 storm was not a hurricane, but rather a tropical storm with winds of about 40 mile per hours. It's questionable whether it would have caused that much damage (and long-lasting memories) in Pompano. Perhaps Mrs. Tinney was referring to a category 3 hurricane that hit South Florida in October 1906, which would have produced winds of up to 120 mile per hour. Earlier that year, in June 1906, a category 1 hurricane (80 mph winds) had crossed South Florida, undoubtedly weakening structures and trees.

Continuing with excerpts from Mrs. Tinney's 1914 letter about Pompano:

The first days of Pompano were considerably marred by a class of rough people, who like to drink and fight, thus making it very undesirable for those who were used to better things. But, as time rolls on, there have come into the country people who tried to overcome these undesirable things, and to upbuild and help towards the betterment of the place. So today we have a start that makes us proud to own Pompano as our town.

The men who once tried to dry the state by drinking all the whiskey in it up, have reformed, and are today the leading men in the town, and are doing all in their power to catch up with the lost time and double their efforts in making the town second to none along the line.

We have a nice little church, dedicated to the M.E. Conference, but used by all the different denominations, which are Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterians, Lutheran and Episcopalian. We have a fine Sunday School, with an enthusiastic crowd of little folks. We have one of the best day schools in the state with two teachers. We have a wooden building now, but have the money for a fine stone building, with a donation of four acres to build on as soon as we can get to it, but the work is crowded on the people faster than they have the time to fill.

Of course Mrs. Tinney was describing only Pompano's white community -- racial segregation was the law of the land. Pompano's black residents did not have a formal school yet, but its churches had been well established by this date.

Yesterday's post quoted a 1914 letter from Mrs. Ollie Tinney in which she explained how Pompano got its name. In another excerpt from the same letter, she discussed two of Pompano's pioneer settlers.

J. A. Saxon [was] one of the first settlers here after the F.E.C. Railroad came through. He was a section master at that time, and is one of the largest property owners here now. L. R. Smoak of Fairfield, with his family, is also one of the first settlers here, and lived in a palmetto shack the first year, 'til he could raise a little crop. Then in the summer time he went out on the ocean beach and picked up the drift lumber and made himself a more comfortable house. When the time came to farm, he would try again, year after year lifting himself a little higher, until now he has a comfortable home, and is still growing his crops year 'round.

Mrs. Tinney's letter was written less than twenty years after the beginning of the settlement and the arrival of the railroad.