The Key West Citizen Newspaper, September 5, 1952, Page 2

THE KEY WEST CITIZEN Friday, September 5, 1952/ Che Key West Citizen —_— Published daily (except Sunday) by L. P. Artman, owner and pub- ‘isher, from The Citizen Building, corner of (Greene And Ann Streets. Only Daily Newspaper in Key West and Monroe County \ P. ARTMAN Publisher NCRMAN D. ARTMAN Business Manager Entered at Key West, Florida, as Second Class Matter TELEPHONES 51 and 1935 —_— ‘Member of The Associated Press—The Associated Press is exclusively aputied to use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it or nos otherwise credited in this paper, and also the 1oca] news oublishea here. GEE ERATE SP ARS PL RIK, LENT NIE TS OE 2 ASPET ES \fember Florida Press Association and Associate. Dailies of Florida a Subscription (by carrier) 25¢ per week, year $12.00; By Mail $15.60 ADVERTISED RATES MADE KNOWN ON APPLICATION Sa Rn The Citizen is an open forum and invites discussion of public issue ‘ana supjects of loca! or general interest, but it will not publish anonymous communications. VEMENTS FOR KEY WEST ADVOCATED garde’ BY THE CITIZEN ‘i More Hotels and Apartments. Beach and Bathing Pavilion. ‘Land Sea. ‘ tion a cone and City Governments. “§ Coumunity Auditorium. é MACHINE THAT READS ALOUD Dr. Walter Blum, electrical engineer of Hanover, Germany, has invented a machine that will read aloud to the blind, This report was made to the World Veterans Foundation by Edgar Joubert. On the battlefield in North Africa, a friend near Dr. Blum at the front was seriously wounded and Jost his sight. The inspiration for his invention came from th’s in- cident.’ The invention is still in the experimental stage and it has been estimated that it will take at least three years and $100,000 before manufacturing on a large scale is possible. It is hoped that this mechanical reader can be produced for less than $300 apiece. ES TS <a ia SE ABOUT YOUR HOME. _ By Frances Dell There are so many varieties of azaleas that it is) often hard to decide which ones grow. The best way to} go about making this decision is to choose your azaleas to fit your climate. In-the northern sections of the United States, it, is reasonably safe to say that your best:bet» will’ be thos¢ azaleas which are deciduous. In the South, choose ones that are evergreen and native species that aré deciduous. From northern limits to Boston and inland to the northern shore regions of the Great Lakes, the best spe-) cies seems to be Rhododendron kaempferi salmon to pink-orange, R. Schlippenbachi, a clear pink, R. yedoense poukLanense, lavender-pink, R. japonicum, a yellow to| orange and some of the Ghent.and Mollis hybrids. In New York, Long Island and Nortliern New. Jersey, all of the above will be successful. The Gable hybrids and a few of the Glenn Dales will do quite well. From Philadelphia southward, all of the above are good except for the Ghent and Mollis hybrids. In the west from Washington to Oregon and coastal} Northern California the native R. occidental, R. molle and | R. japonicum are successful. Azaleas usualiy do best in wooden gardens, When placing your plants, avoid clashes among the many reds, | pinks and scarlets. Pure white azaleas are important in | your selection because, properly placed, they will enable | you to make use of all the beautiful colors available — | even in a small garden. Some of the people who are waiting for prices to go| down have been waiting for 10 years. By Marie Cappick Of the many thousands of visi- t rs to Cuba, our neighboring re- public, few if any, see one of the most historic and, it might be add- | ed, ene of the mest beautiful places on the islani of Cuba—the former convent of the Clarista nuns, now occup'ed by the Cuban Board of Pubs Works. Avride from it’s in- tetesting history the building which for several centuries housed the nuns known’ as the Claristas, is an attractive site in the heart of the city of Havana. gray walls of the former convent. The nuns who occupied it moved some years ago to a’ new convent in another section of Havana, and the building is now one of a chain of Cuban government administra- tion buildings. Previous to it’s oceupancy by the | Romance still clings to the old Santa Clara Convent In Cvba at once. Voyages between Cuba and Spain were infrequent in those days and were attended by many hardships. Affairs of gov- ernment move slowly even un- der most favorable conditions but as it was known in Cuba that his | Majesty had granted permission for the erection of a convent, Col. Simon Fernandez Leston was dis- patched to Madrid to procuré.as | fine a statue of San Cristobal as might be haa for San Cristobal was to be the Patron of thé first convent of the New World: On November 1, 1638, when the convent had been complefed® and Don Simon Fernandez Leston had | returned With the finest statue of {San Cristobal that. money could buy, the convent was formally de- | | dicated to the good San Cristobal’s protection and turned over to the nuns of the Order of Santa Clara jwho thenceforth remained within Department of Public Works the | the walls of the newly erected con- building had been partially disman- | vent. They were to spend their tled and seekers of antiques pur-' remaining years there, relinquish chased some of the tile and other materials in connection with the old building. These were transport- ed to cities in Florida where Span- ish architecture was the fashion. At last arrangement was made to transport the articles from the old convent but Fate, or perhaps San Cristobal, ruled otherwise. Much of the materials bought to be transported elsewhere were placed aboard the schooner San Cristobal. Now San Cristobal was the Patron Saint of the con- vent and by a strange coincidence the vessels on which the relics were to have been transported to Cristobal. Not long after leaving the coast of Cuba, the San Cristobal was wrecked and the Cuban govern- ment ordered the crew of the ves- sel to return-to Cuba. It was stated —=SLICE OF HAM in the newspapers at the time that the vessel carried 500 tons of an- tiques. Be this true or not the ves- sel was a total loss and it is not known if any attempt was made to | salvage the cargo. Cubans are, to a great extent, superstitious and there were many who said that ill fate was attached to the‘Temoval of articles long consecrated to the services of the Lord. Others said that it was due to the unlucky number 13 which numbered the} crew of the San Cristobal, comm anded by Captain Juan Rodriguez Santa Clara convent is one of the most historic places in Cubs Ih was the first convent built in tae new world. It was on Novem. ber 7,1613 that His Majesty Felipe Seguando of Spain granted author. ity to those petitioning him from Havana to establish a convent in the New World and to solicit alms for the erection of a suitable build ing. Don Gaspar Luis Paredo was at that lime captain general of the another city, was named the San | | ing the joys of tfe for that of | Prayer and self-denial. The building fromerly occupied by the Claristas occupies an area of two city blocks in the heart of Havana. The walls are of solid masonry made from mar! from the }ocean. They rise to a height of 40 to 50 feet—solid walls, not a break in the sameness of their solidity, Three feet thick they have looked down on the gay and care. |free life of the Havanese during | the more than three hundred years } | Since the convent was built. { | Life with its passing pageant has brushed the walis which extend a jlong the narrow streets. Outside, all is noise an¢ confusion. Huck sters shout their wares, newsboys | shrill their dailies, nurseaids pass | holding toddling infants by their hands, and young men and maids breathe vows of eternal love in the shadow of the old gray walls of Santa Clara convent at even. tide. All was peace and quiet within the deserted convent before the Public Works Department moved in and a peaceful silence filled the place. It seemed to breathe— there was not that cold stillness one offen finds in a deserted house. Entering throug door made of heavy wood and stud. ded with huge nails cne came into the patio of old Santa Clara Sunshine poured into the patio where it touched the red and yel low fruits of the mango tre the leaves of th cast soft shade tered walks. Roses climbed e red roses a small narrow island of Cubs. The people of Spain | t rooms, or cells, which had been occupied by the nuns of Santa Clara. These were narrow and afforded no room for more than a bed and a chair. A large hook onthe wall was for hang- ing the few garments the occu- pants. possessed. Nothing more was there—no place for more. The guide -offered the informa | tion ‘that“those.,who ‘designed the building wished to keep before the minds" of the ntins the fact that the passage from this world to the next is by the natrow confines of the grave. Here it was easy to picture those Spanish women who had consecrat: ed themselves to God—beautiful, refined and of gentié manners— spending their days in prayer. All the things of the world they could possibly enjoy were sunshine and the blue sky overhead, as all cells opened on the patio with its wealth of beauty and fragrance. The stairway leading from the lower cloister to the upper is the one originally placed there when the convent was built. Worn to a glassy surface by many hands long since dead, the ba shows the wood to be well p no marks of any k surface. The ste] side than on th coming down steps That Spring day when a visit was made to the old convent which had recently been od, doors swung to and fro in each passing breeze. One creak s hinge Birds sang in the tr ly obli vious to the fact that convent was vacant, t * THE JA Cuban Tourist’‘Commission Photo ONE OF THE BIG PATIOS, OF THE SANTA CLARA CONVENT NOW OCCUPIED BY THE PUBLIC WORKS :DEPART- MENT IN THE ISLAND REF UBLIC. The First Convent In The New World ' »yPassing along the broad shaded ister, entrance was found to 4 | There were public business places within the walls of this convent in it's early years. These'strong walls | also afforded the residents of the city of Havana protection from pi- 3 that occasionally raided the city. Business men ‘and others sought the safety of ‘Santa Clara against the robbers. walls was the first public bath in the New World and the: first meat market and "between the bath and the market stands the hitching post to which the customer at the mar- ket or @ gentleman, ‘at his bagh, hitched their horses .while they bought their ration of beef or made their morning toilet. The chapel was bare. The alter at which the holy sacrifices of the Mass had been offered up uninterruptedly through the cen- turies had been moved fo the new convent. The choir loft, enclosed * by @ heavy curtain was also va- cant. Around the sides of the chap- el were spaces in which bodies had béen interred then removed to the new convent. Above each yawning space was a rudely carv- ed white cross nun of the Santa once was buried there. A small wooden house stands in| one end of the patio. The windows | » of this house have hand carved »| wooden bars to protect the occup- ant. The legend is that a ‘widowed | up men and women to the police. 4\I think the latter will get stricter | something done about the situation. Within the | GUV VV ICCC CIS CCC CCC CC Cee THIS ROCK BILL A mother called this week to sug- gest something be written concern- ing children and adults who per- sistently ride bicycles and disre- gard all local traffic ordinances. The column has handled the sub- ject several, times in the past. The that all traffic violators would be arrested. The latter action was | what I'd call courtesy plus! Most law enforcement agencies operate | on the theory that, ignorance of , the law is no excuse. The fact remains however, that bicycles are still creating a major hazard on the streets of Key West. If an adult with a reasonable amount of brains wishes to endan- ger his life by riding the wrong way on a one-way street, I don’t have much sympathy for him. Children provide a somewhat dif- | ferent case though. Too often they don’t realize the chances they are taking or the discourtesy they are showing to other people. It is up fo the mothers and fathers to see to it that their children know and obey all traffic ordinances. There are a lot of ‘psychos’ writ- ing today who like to blame all the evils of the world on our young- .sters. If you listen to them, you'd say, there wasn’t any use in trying to teach youngsters the difference between right ‘and wrong. That’s a bunch of baloney. If you adults go about the job of instruction properly, your child- ten will ride their bicycles the way they shoulb be ridden. We can leave the job or correcting grown- when they realize the people want Trailer Camp To the lady and several men who have complained about the new trailer eamp to be placed off Flagler Ave: .. . This is a Public Housing Author- ity project ans not a U. S. Navy installation to the best of my know- ledge. I haven't been able to get any authoritative information. to data concerning the matters which you asked to xnow about. Mayor Harvey is a Navy worker. As Mayor, he also makes appoint- ments to-the Housing’ Authority Board. However, the strength of the Housing Autnority lies in this Board —' composed of Ralph Bet- ancourt, “Sugar” Sweeting, Mrs. Being a cloistered order they could not admit the girl to the covent but gave her their care in her own little home nearby. A pent house} provided shelter for a beautifully carved head of Christ which the father of the girl brought from South Ameriea as further. protec- tion for his child. A step or two more and the! visitor stéps from the peace and tranqui of old Santa Clara con- | vent to the noise and bustle of the busy city of Havana, Cuba. SLOPPY JOE'S B. * Burlesque * Continues Floor Shows & Dancing Statring The Fabulous SALLY & MARCELLA LYNN AND GOGO GAEE, CATHY CARROL, SANDRA LANE AND A HOST OF OTHERS Dancing To MARK STANLEY’S TRIO i. OF OURS 59244 4644444444444444444444444444438445 Van Goidtsnoven, and Billy Free- man. It is headed by an executive director, Kermit Lewin. Harvey himself is more or less a figure- head. I have known Mr. Harvey for some time and on occasion, ken police force has even gone so far | a slap at him in “This Rock” bey : as to advertise to bicycle riders in my own opinion, the situation warranted criticism. There is not a doubt in my mind though, that C. B., (as he is popularly called), is an honest and conscientious man, His predominant trait of loyalty would not permit him to use his Position in either the Navy Yard or City for selfish motives. More housing is badly needed in Key West. Perhaps the new trailers will provide a partial ans- wer to this problem. As for the location, I don’t like it because it conflicts with city zoning ordin- ances. Either these ordinances should be enforced or thrown out the window. More on this subject later. Jack Burke Again The other day we mentioned how hard Jack Burke was working with the Key Outpost, a Navy publi cation. Well, Jack’s work is paying off — he now has a rating as journalist and is proud as a pea- cock of his future prospects in the Navy. Huge Enrollment | TAMPA (#—Faced with @ rec- ord enrollment, Hillsborough Coun- ty school officials are trying to figure out ways to avoid those distasteful double sessions at schools. Hillsborough recorded an in- crease of 2,882 pupils, a new mark, and more are expected. SRE ORT ERS RUGS CLEANED AND Stored Free of Charge IF DESIRED UNTIL NOV. 30 All Formal Garments chemically processed, All work guaranteed and fully insured. POINCIANA DRY CLEANERS 218 Simonton St. Tel, 1086 RARE OMAR aR Saas STRAND «.,,ciionee Friday - Saturday HIGH NOON . x GARY C ER, GRACE KELLY and THOMAS MITCHELL Coming: THE HALF BREED Robert Young and Janis Carter MONROE . Friday - Saturday CRY DANGER DICK POWELL end RHONDA Coming: DETECTIVE STORY Coming: DECTIVE STORY Kirk Doug! ind Eleanor AiR COOLED Never An Admission or Minimum Charge sea captain had an only daughter | whom he entrusted to the Claristas. four Grocer SELLS that Good (SAN CARLOS THEATRE STAR * BRAND AMERICAN COFFEE and CUBAN -—TRY A POUND TOLAY— | MBOREE GANG DUVAL S§T. j | | TODAY — SATURDAY STARRING BRODERICK CRAWFORD YOU LOVED HIM IN “BORN YESTERDAY”—BOOED HIM IN “SCANDAL SHEET.” SEE HIM NOW! with — BETTY BUEHLER - RICHARD KILEY - OTTO HULETT AND , MAT CROWLEY BOX OFFICE OPENS 1:45 P.M. CONTINUOUS PERFORMANCE CHILDREN — Me to 6 P.M. SPECIAL STUDENT TICKETS — She }demated lavishly of their wealth to } this request for they were deeply | religious and anxious to extend the | Faith *o the new land discovered by Columbus. In 1632 sufficient funds had been collected and Apostolic permis- sion granted. Felipe 1V was then King of Spain and his permission was, in due time, received by the people of Cuba te start building GIBBY CHICK AND BOBBIE EVERY NICHT — 8:00 TIL 1:30 FRIDAY AND SATURDAY TAVERN. STOCK ISLAND RLIGHT CLUB AM. — 6:30 AM. of ste: g utensils we: i COMPLETELY AIR CONDITIONED