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On Mother’s Day, I had the chance to talk with a rare woman. The friend of an older friend I visited Sunday afternoon, she was just “Julie” to me. I never learned her last name. But this senior citizen was engaged, spry and charming. And she has a personal memory of Broward County that’s far longer than anyone I’ve met in all my years of living here. To me, Julie was a reminder about the rugged frontier history of this area – and how recent that history really is by American standards. She served as a reminder, too, about the remarkable transformation from subtropical wilderness to chic tourist destination that continues to this day. That exotic past, I believe, is part of the underlying reason for South Florida’s appeal, both to locals and visitors.
Julie is a fourth generation Floridian, born in the Gainesville area. She moved to Broward in 1931, at age seven. “There was just nothing here,” she told me. “I remember the farms that were east of Federal Highway, between about Atlantic and Oakland Park boulevards. EAST of Federal Highway! There were only a few bridges across the Intracoastal Waterway back then. One of them was on Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale.” The two main highways were Federal and Dixie. There wasn’t much between them – and only the Everglades beyond. “We had lots of pine trees and palmettos all around us. Kids used to dig tunnels in the stretch between Dixie and Federal – ya know, just for something to do,” Julie said.
What about the heat and insects in that pre-air conditioner, pre-bug spray era? Today, everything is cool and clean, modern and upscale. Tourists come because it feels and looks like paradise to them. But what was it like 75 years ago? “True, there wasn’t air conditioning. But there weren’t high rises and other buildings either,” Julie explained. “We didn’t live by the ocean but we got a wonderful sea breeze year round. It was often hotter in Chicago and New York than it was here. And we had screens in our windows. My father used to put a substance on the screens sometimes to keep out the no-see-ums.” Her relatives also hunted right here in Broward for quail, doves. Even rattlesnakes. Those days are long gone, of course, the dangerous snakes replaced by pretty wild parrots, the farms replaced by luxury condos and hotels. But someone like Julie – and there aren’t many like her left – helps us remember that South Florida wasn’t always a vacation paradise. There were people living here who loved this place, even before it was.
NOTE: There are many attractions for visitors that offer glimpses into South Florida’s history. Right in the midst of downtown Fort Lauderdale, you can visit Stranahan House and the Fort Lauderdale Museum of History. And just off the beach on Sunrise Boulevard, is the Bonnet House and Gardens.
Julie is a fourth generation Floridian, born in the Gainesville area. She moved to Broward in 1931, at age seven. “There was just nothing here,” she told me. “I remember the farms that were east of Federal Highway, between about Atlantic and Oakland Park boulevards. EAST of Federal Highway! There were only a few bridges across the Intracoastal Waterway back then. One of them was on Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale.” The two main highways were Federal and Dixie. There wasn’t much between them – and only the Everglades beyond. “We had lots of pine trees and palmettos all around us. Kids used to dig tunnels in the stretch between Dixie and Federal – ya know, just for something to do,” Julie said.
What about the heat and insects in that pre-air conditioner, pre-bug spray era? Today, everything is cool and clean, modern and upscale. Tourists come because it feels and looks like paradise to them. But what was it like 75 years ago? “True, there wasn’t air conditioning. But there weren’t high rises and other buildings either,” Julie explained. “We didn’t live by the ocean but we got a wonderful sea breeze year round. It was often hotter in Chicago and New York than it was here. And we had screens in our windows. My father used to put a substance on the screens sometimes to keep out the no-see-ums.” Her relatives also hunted right here in Broward for quail, doves. Even rattlesnakes. Those days are long gone, of course, the dangerous snakes replaced by pretty wild parrots, the farms replaced by luxury condos and hotels. But someone like Julie – and there aren’t many like her left – helps us remember that South Florida wasn’t always a vacation paradise. There were people living here who loved this place, even before it was.
NOTE: There are many attractions for visitors that offer glimpses into South Florida’s history. Right in the midst of downtown Fort Lauderdale, you can visit Stranahan House and the Fort Lauderdale Museum of History. And just off the beach on Sunrise Boulevard, is the Bonnet House and Gardens.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 9:31 AM
It's always nice to sit and talk with those who remember how things used to be. If you're interested in discovering more about Fort Lauderdale's rich past visit the . I also recommend you read . I first read it in high school and have since reread it at least five times. Great book about Florida's history and life.
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