by Willie Drye
95. “The fight today is not to defend the Christian religion”: Miami Herald, March 28, 1926
95. “Science gives us great things”: Miami Herald, June 12, 1925
95. Earlier in the year, Bryan had made a quick trip to Nashville: Author’s visit to Scopes Trial Museum, Dayton, Tennessee, February 4, 2013
95–96. . . . illegal to “drink liquors as a beverage” in Florida: Palm Beach Post, June 7, 1925
96. “. . . “one traverses the bank of the Indian River”: Roberts, Kenneth L., Florida (New York and London, Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1926) p. 129
96. “Millions will be made”: South Florida Developer, January 27, 1925
96. Federal engineers had started a feasibility study: South Florida Developer, January 20, 1925
96. “the finest south of Savannah”: South Florida Developer, January 27, 1925
96. During the second week of January 1925: South Florida Developer, January 20, 1925
97. Brisbane’s brief visit to Stuart: South Florida Developer, February 13, 1925
97. A week later, a bylined story written by Brisbane: South Florida Developer, February 20, 1925
97. When R. C. Ogilvie, a physician in Superior, Wisconsin: South Florida Developer, April 21, 1925
98. Warfield’s Seaboard Air Line Railroad had sold the timber rights: South Florida Developer, March 27, 1925
98. Northern Palm Beach County voters helped pass a $6 million proposal: Stuart News, January 9, 1964
98. On April 9, they met with Representative M. S. McCracken: South Florida Developer, April 14, 1925
98. Offer to name the new county after Governor John Martin: South Florida Developer, September 13, 1929
98. On May 28, the state legislature passed the bill: South Florida Developer, May 28, 1925
99. Around the same time, Arthur Brisbane made yet another visit: South Florida Developer, May 1, 1925
99. . . . the lawmakers approved issuing $250,000 worth of bonds: South Florida Developer, May 1, 1925
99. Crowds continued to pour into the city: Tindall, George B., “The Bubble In The Sun,” American Heritage, vol. 1, no. 5, August 1965
99. During the spring and summer, ambitious young men: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders, And Builders,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, pp. 35–37
100. “The binder boys worked right on the street”: Burnell, Elvira S., “A.J. Manning’s Reminiscences: Boom of the 20s,” Library of Congress, American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940, available online at http://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh000381/
100. Historians have blamed the binder boys: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders: Greater Miami’s Boom of the mid-1920s”; Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 1, July 1986, p. 35
100. The development was sold out in three hours: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 41
100. On June 25, Edwin Menninger traveled up the coast to Vero Beach: Vero Beach Press, July 2, 1925; South Florida Developer, August 4, 1925
101. “Florida is the sanitarium for the rich”: Vero Beach Press, July 2, 1925
101. On the shores of Lake Okeechobee in western Martin County: South Florida Developer, July 7, 1925
101. “the Fifth Avenue of Florida.”: “History of Olympia-Picture City,” Collection M74-13, State Archives of Florida, Tallahassee, Florida
101. William Jennings Bryan arrived in Dayton, Tennessee: Author’s visit to Scopes Trial Museum, Dayton, Tennessee, February 4, 2013
102. Darrow walked Bryan through the biblical story of Creation: Linder, Douglas O., “Famous Trials” webpage, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law; Bryan’s testimony online at: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/day7.htm
103. . . . recalling that he had met Bryan at Vero Beach: South Florida Developer, August 4, 1925
103. . . . Brisbane praised Seaboard Air Line Railroad: South Florida Developer, July 24, 1925
103. And Edwin Menninger continued his cheerleading: South Florida Developer, August 21, 1925
104. Withdrawals from member banks of the Massachusetts Savings Bank: Frazer, William, and Guthrie, John J., Jr., The Florida Land Boom: Speculation, Money and the Banks (Westport, Connecticut, Quorum Books, 1995) p. 119
104. Similar warnings were issued by the Minnesota Department of Conservation: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 48
104. “Land is not worth a certain figure”: South Florida Developer, September 8, 1925
105. “The fact of the matter is”: South Florida Developer, September 11, 1925
105. “If these attacks succeed in slowing down”: South Florida Developer, October 13, 1925
105. The shift started when the Florida East Coast Railway: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 46
105. Out-of-work carpenters added to the problem: South Florida Developer, October 9, 1925
105. The speculators—especially Miami’s ubiquitous binder boys: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 46
105. Enterprising residents were renting their porches: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 43
105. As the winter of 1925 approached: New York Times, December 5, 1925
105–6. Jokes circulated about returning tourists selling the Florida sand: Syracuse Herald, October 18, 1925
106. A service station operator in Stuart said he’d soon be selling his land for a dollar a spoonful: South Florida Developer, October 20, 1925
106. Humorist Will Rogers: Fresno Bee, October 11, 1925
106. Florida as a source of humor hit the bright lights of Broadway: Meredith, Scott, George S. Kaufman and His Friends (Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1974) p. 274; New York Times, December 9, 1925
Chapter Six: The Bootlegger’s Curse
107. In November, New York Times readers learned that Charles Ponzi: New York Times, November 17, 1925
107. The US Post Office in Atlanta reported in August: South Florida Developer, October 9, 1925
107. “All our gold rushes, all our oil booms”: Literary Digest, October 24, 1924
107. Two days before Thanksgiving, US Senator T. Coleman du Pont: New York Times, November 25, 1925
108. Mizner tried to downplay du Pont’s resignation: Vickers, Raymond B., “Addison Mizner: Promoter in Paradise,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. LXXV, 19XX, pp. 389–390; New York Times, November 25, 1925
108. Still, John McGraw moved ahead with plans to spend $3.75 million: Palm Beach Post, December 6, 1925; St. Petersburg Times, February 24, 1965; Sunday Times-Signal, December 6, 1925
108. While McGraw was asking potential investors to take his word: St. Petersburg Times, December 8, 1925
109. Northeast winds brought a gloomy drizzle that parked itself over Tampa Bay: St. Petersburg Times, December 29, 2011
109. But local cops picked that time to get serious about cracking down on bootlegging: The Evening Independent, December 10, 1925; Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, December 10, 1925; Kingsport Times, December 10, 1925; Decatur Review, December 10, 1925
109. That “certain information” may well have come from someone: Evening Independent, August 6, 1924
110. Shortly after the bankers departed St. Petersburg, an eyebrow-raising warning: New York Times, January 10, 1926
110. Tregoe’s colleagues in Florida’s banking industry: New York Times, January 24, 1926
110. In October, Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, sunburned and windblown: South Florida Developer, October 10, 1925
110. Soon, he told the Developer ’s readers, Stuart’s harbor would be deepened: South Florida Developer, September 22, 1925
; 111. As the usual post-Thanksgiving migration to Florida started: New York Times Magazine, December 6, 1925
111. Author Theodore Dreiser was among the thousands who came to Florida: Riggio, Thomas P.; West III, James L.W.; Westlake, Neda M.; and Lohmann, Christoph K., Theodore Dreiser: American Diaries, 1902–1926 (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982) p. 430
111. Babe Ruth was seen among other celebrities at a hotel opening in St. Petersburg: Hatton, Hap, Tropical Splendor: An Architectural History of Florida (New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1987) p. 75
111. . . . Stanford University football star Ernie Nevers would play in an all-star football game in Florida: Davenport Democrat and Leader, January 1, 1926; Lincoln Sunday Star, January 17, 1926
111. Helen Wainwright, a champion amateur swimmer: Davenport Democrat and Leader, January 1, 1926
111. Golfer Bobby Jones—still an amateur at the time: Helena Daily Independent, December 19, 1925
111. . . . and a real estate company was offering $15,000 to tennis stars Bill Tilden and Vincent Richards: Zanesville Signal, December 17, 1925
111. Boxers Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey were training in Florida: Helena Daily Independent, January 18, 1926
111. As the federal officer in charge of enforcing the Volstead Act: Lima News, March 8, 1926; The Star, Wilmington, Delaware, December 7, 1926
112. Movie star Gloria Swanson arrived in Miami Beach: Miami Daily News, January 16, 1926
112. . . . as was movie star Bebe Daniels: Miami Herald, February 26, 1926
112. United News sportswriter Frank Grey reported that Major League baseball managers: Cedar Rapids Republican, January 8, 1926
112. Will Rogers was back in Florida and dispatching his quips: Lincoln Sunday Star, February 14, 1926
112. The managers’ fears about the distractions of real estate investments: Cedar Rapids Republican, March 26, 1926
112. The conflict baseball players experienced between focusing on the game: Lincoln Sunday Star, January 10, 1926
113. “Nobody here is alarmed”: South Florida Developer, January 5, 1926
113. Theodore Dreiser and his wife visited Martin County: Riggio, Thomas P.; West III, James L.W.; Westlake, Neda M.; and Lohmann, Christoph K., Theodore Dreiser: American Diaries, 1902–1926 (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982) p. 440
114. “What is the matter with Coral Gables?”: Riggio, Thomas P.; West III, James L.W.; Westlake, Neda M.; and Lohmann, Christoph K., Theodore Dreiser: American Diaries, 1902–1926 (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982) p. 439
114. Their plan was to tow it into the Miami harbor and convert it into a floating hotel and casino: Boulton, Alexander J., “The Tropical Twenties,” American Heritage, May/June 1990; George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 47
114. On January 9, the Prins Valdemar was being towed: The Evening Independent, January 11, 1926
114. “The dearth of building supplies”: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 47
114. The VIPs joined a gathering of about 1,500 guests: New York Times, January 15, 1926; Miami Daily News, January 16, 1926
115. Three days after the extravagant opening of the Biltmore, a large advertisement appeared: Mackle, Elliott, “Two-Way Stretch: Some Dichotomies in the Advertising of Florida as the Boom Collapsed,” Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida, vol. 33, 1973, pp. 20, 28; Miami Daily News, January 18, 1926
115. Thursday, January 28, 1926, dawned clear and brisk in Stuart: South Florida Developer, January 29, 1926
115. . . . but the Developer reported that ten thousand barbecue sandwiches: South Florida Developer, February 2, 1926
116. According to the tale, the bootlegger who’d brought in a boatload of booze: Paige, Emeline K. (editor), Untitled promotional booklet about history of Martin County (Stuart, Florida, Southeastern Printing Company and First National Bank and Trust Company of Stuart, 1973); from the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History, University of Florida, Gainesville
116. About a week after the celebration in Stuart: Mackle, Elliott, “Two-Way Stretch: Some Dichotomies in the Advertising of Florida as the Boom Collapsed,” Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida, vol. 33, 1973, p. 28
116. On the heels of the discount offering of Florida real estate: New York Times, February 9, 1926
116. On February 8, Solomon Davies Warfield’s Seaboard Air Line Railroad: Turner, Greg M., A Journey Into Florida’s Railroad History (Gainesville, University Press of Florida, 2008) p. 202
116. A few days later, Arthur Brisbane: South Florida Developer, February 13, 1926
117. The New Yorker magazine’s edition of February 13 hit the newsstands: New Yorker, February 13, 1926
117. The influence of African-American popular music: Author’s interview with Stephen Anderson, PhD, Associate Professor of Music, University of North Carolina, December 19, 2014
117. The hotels and nightclubs in and around Miami were full of jazz: Miami Daily News, March 1, 1926
117. Shannon, a jovial, fun-loving daredevil who spent his ill-gotten earnings: Miami Herald, February 25, 1926; Miami Herald, February 26, 1926; The Star of Wilmington, Delaware, March 7, 1926; Lima (Ohio) News, March 8, 1926
118. As the end of the 1925–26 season approached, the torrent of visitors: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 49
118. In Stuart, backers of a development called River Forest: South Florida Developer, March 5, 1926
119. Tampa attorney Peter Knight, whose name would soon become a lightning rod: New York Evening Post, reprinted in the South Florida Developer, March 16, 1926
119. St. Petersburg was already beginning to see the effects of slowing real estate sales: Fuller, Walter P. This Was Florida’s Boom (St. Petersburg, Florida, Times Publishing Co., 1954) p. 62
119. By late spring, even Edwin Menninger was acknowledging: South Florida Developer, May 14, 1926
120. Menninger’s opinion that Florida’s boom days were over infuriated some people: Hutchinson, Janet, and Page, Emeline, History of Martin County (Stuart, Florida, Historical Society of Martin County, 1998) p. 390
120. On April 4, Solomon Davies Warfield decided the time was right: South Florida Developer, April 4, 1926
120. Brisbane was back on the front page of the South Florida Developer on June 11: South Florida Developer, June 11, 1926
121. Then it quickly intensified into a monster storm: Nassau Guardian, July 28, 1926
121. F.A. Lancaster, a lineman, was electrocuted: The Evening Independent, July 29, 1926
122. The Florida Association of Real Estate Boards wanted these embarrassing eyesores: The Evening Independent, July 29, 1926
122. In August, Forbes magazine said Florida: Forbes magazine, August 1926, reprinted in Sarasota Herald-Tribune, August 18, 1926
122. World’s Work, another highly respected publication: World’s Work, reprinted in Lancaster Daily Eagle, August 31, 1926
122. Putnam County Sheriff R.J. Hancock and F.S. Waymer, mayor of the county seat of Palatka: Stuart Daily News, September 14, 1926
Chapter Seven: “Many Die; Cities Razed”
123. For a while, a brisk breeze coming off Biscayne Bay: Florida Cracker Legionnaire, October 11, 1926
123. The Weather Bureau had been following the storm and issuing advisories: Monthly Weather Review, October 1926, p. 414
123. “At 1:55 the storm had reached such intensity as to indicate that everything would be demolished”: Monthly Weather Review, October 1926, p. 414
124. With one tragic exception, ships were managing to avoid this storm: New York Times, September 15, 1926
124. But the following day, a Danish tanker searching for the Loyal Citizen: New York Times, September 16, 1926
124. At 10:2
0 a.m., he relayed the official storm advisory from Washington: Miami Daily News, September 17, 1926
124. One of the Weather Bureau’s warning telegrams went to Fred Flanders: Will, Lawrence, Okeechobee Hurricane: Killer Storms in the Everglades (Belle Glade, Florida, The Glades Historical Society, 1990) p. 14
125. Around four p.m. on Friday, Leo F. Reardon, a construction contractor: Reardon, Leo, The Florida Hurricane & Disaster 1926 (Coral Gables, Florida; Arva Parks & Company, 1986) p.4
125. There were, however, clear indications that something awful: “We Went Through Quite an Ordeal,” by Helen Frank; Update, vol. 10, no. 2, May 1983, p. 3
125. As the sun neared the horizon, a young Jane Wood Reno: Reno, Janet Wood, The Hell With Politics: The Life and Writings of Jane Wood Reno (Atlanta, Peachtree Publishers, 1994) pp. 34–35
126. The spectacular colors linger long after sunset: Garriott, E.B., “West Indian Hurricanes” (Washington, U.S. Weather Bureau, 1900)
126. At eight p.m. Friday night, Richard Gray and the Weather Bureau office: Monthly Weather Review, October 1926, p. 409
126. In Moore Haven, Fred Flanders was one of many residents who went to a party: Will, Lawrence E., Okeechobee Hurricane: Killer Storms in the Everglades (Belle Glade, Florida, The Glades Historical Society, 1990) p. 14
126. Miami resident Mildred Cronin, a Dade County school board employee: “The Florida Hurricane, September 18, 1926: Official Report of the Relief Activities,” by American National Red Cross; Folder DR-207, Florida hurricane of 9-18-1926: Donated Records Collection (formerly Records Group 200), Records of the American Red Cross 1917–1934, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
127. Around ten p.m., one of those bands passed over downtown Miami: Reardon, Leo, The Florida Hurricane & Disaster 1926 (Coral Gables, Florida; Arva Parks & Company, 1986) pp. 20–21
127. While Reck was chatting with the deputies, an anemometer at Allison Hospital: Monthly Weather Review, October 1926, p. 415
127. A few minutes before midnight, Hicks left downtown Miami: New York Times, September 22, 1926
127. At midnight, Gray’s barometer read 29.54, down 0.16 inch: Monthly Weather Review, October 1926, p. 412
127. The party in Moore Haven began breaking up at about the same time: Will, Lawrence E., Okeechobee Hurricane: Killer Storms in the Everglades (Belle Glade, Florida, The Glades Historical Society, 1990) p. 14