The Key West Citizen Newspaper, December 16, 1952, Page 1

Rey West, Florida, nus the ost equable climate in the with an average ‘ only 14° Fahrenhett ‘ty, VOL. LXXIII. No. 299 Opposition Mounts In Bay Bottom Land Controversy City Commission To Meet Tonight, Many Expected S fe To Oppose Issue | By JIM COBB Opposition to the deci- vion by the City Commission | *o return 514 acres of bay | bottom land to state control I ts expected to crystalize at the regular meeting. of that group tonight. Following the move by the commissioners last week to re-| linquish the reservation by the trustees of the state Internal Im- ozovement Board on the valuable piece of land fronting on Roose- velt Boulevard, interested citizens | have indicated that they will netition the city fathers in an | effort to persuade them to re- verse their decision. Return of the land to the state would pave the way for its sale to private interests. The land was reserved to the city ‘in June, 1951 by the state for the purpose of preserving the } natural scenic beauty of the area | for the public. The tract of land, the control of which has created a hot controversy, lies under water and stretches from the municipal swimming pool to a point 425 feet short of the juncture of the Sigsbee Park Road and Roosevelt Boule- vard. Several real estate opera- tors are said to be interested in buying the land for business deve- Jopment. The ¢ommissioners said that the reapom relinquishment of seottie I that, sale and sub Faént bul pi ia yheareathad defeated the original intent of the grant by the state. it no longer serves “any useful purpose to the city,” they aver. ‘owever, public sentiment eyi- cently is in favor of retention of the land. Some quarters hold that the city should maintain the rights to the land so that they will be able to control the traffic situation on the houlevard. A large number of driveways opening on to that thoroughfare would constitute a rave traffic hazard, they contend. County Tax Collector Howard Wilson and County Tax Assessor Claude Gandolfo are the owners (Continued on Page Eight) | Chamber Swamped ith Inquiries Key West’s winter tourist season wll be*one of the greatest ever the number of inquiries from rospective visitors pouring into he Key West Chamber of Com- merece is any indication. | Chamber manager Harold Laub-| her today reported that during the first two weeks of December, 1990 letters requesting information out the Southernmost City were | received. Last year, during the | same period, 625 letters were Te-) ceived. Laubscher said that he believed | the increased interest in Key West | as a resort was due to an ad} appearing on December 7 in five | northern newspapers. J. R. Stowers Co As usual we are offering $10 as a trade-in on your old| | bike. | USE OUR LAY-AWAY PLAN | | SKIPPER ELIJAH SIMS spent urvivor Of Shrimp Boat Tragedy Che Key West Citizen THE SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER IN THE U.S.A. KEY WEST, FLORIDA, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1952 | 4 Citizen Staff Photo 12 hours in the cold, rough sea with his shrimper sinking under him. Today in Monroe Gen- eral hospital he is necovering from shock, exposure and grief at the loss of his mate and good friend James Cannon. Survivor Of Shrimp Boat T Tells Last Crewmen Rescued From Wrecked Ship LEGHORN, Italy (#—Four Navy Helicopters rescued the last crew- man from the U. S. Navy ship Grommet Reefer 10 to 36 hours after the ship broke in two off Leghorn. The helicopters brought off 13 men. Previously 26 had been re- moved by breeches buoy and boat. Originally the Navy said 40 men were aboard, but this was re- vised today to 39. The four windmill craft circled |the stern of the wrecked refrigera- tor vessel. Then one after another they hovered above the broken off section, lowered a seat, pulled it up with a man aboard and flew to a Leghorn soccer field. The helicopters were from the U. S. Aircraft carriers Midway and Leyte. They landed briefly at Pisa before starting the rescue opera- tion. The operation was completed at 4:30 p. m. (10:30 a. m., EST). Until the helicopters took over, the Navy’s rescue crew depended mainly upon a breeches buoy to get off the Grommet Reefer’s men. (Continued On Page Eight) NOTICE NEW ADDRESS OF THE CONGER LIFE INSURANCE CO. Is 907 United St. Attention | Please! KEEP OUR CITY CLEAN By Calling MR. FEINSTEIN DIAL 2.3036 We BUY all kinds of JUNK All Kinds of Scrap Metal Located at Simonton & Dey Sts. SANTA DAIRY ROOSFVELT FRIDAY, DECEMBE Santa Will Have Surpri aa | eeecececoooooooooooos '! er... cass 6S Is Coming to the FREEZE BOULEVARD R19 AT 7:30 P.M. ses for All the Children Story Here ‘SKIPPER SIMS CHILLED AND PENNILESS WEEK BEFORE XMAS Heartbroken, chilled and dazed Skipper Elijah Sims mourned his drowned mate James Cannon, lost when the shrimper Capt. Frank sank after going around in North- west channel yesterday morning. Sims, bundled up in Coast Guard ; water proof overalls, after his 12 hours in the cold, high seas off Key West, was red eyed with weeping and shock foliowing the sea tragedy, He had lost every- thing, papers, clothes, and was flat broke. He had been bringing his shrimp- er into Key West from Dry Tor- tugas when the vessel ran aground and was dashed against a jetty. “She sank in 20 minutes after she began to leak,” the big, sad man said yesterday. Shivering, as he remembered his harrowing night in the rough seas, Sims said that the vessel provided only a slight protection against the seas for him and Cannon. “We both stood on a Tail of the | ship that was still afloat. We was | knocked down when the waves | come up.” } At daybreak yesterday, Sims de-| | cided to try and swim toward | some other ships he saw in the | jdistance. With his life jacket he! }made a distance of about one quarter of a mile. It was then| (Continued on Page Eight) °53 EVINRUDE $399.00 | DeLuxe Speedicraft Boat $395 | KEY WEST OUTBOARD 1116 Eaton Street | => DUVAL CLUB DANCING NIGHTLY MON., DEC. 15 | LOU BORDISE and His “International Trio” In Its New Room THE HUT SSS | Wage Increase Approved For Hourly Workers - New schedule for all Civil Service hourly employees in Key West area has been ap- proved by Wage Stabiliza- tion Board. Average hourly increase is 18 cents. Typical increases: laborer, 24 cents; helper 18 cents; electrician and machinist, 17 cents. Schedule effective first pay” period after October 30, 1952, for employees on payroll as of December 13, 1952. SS Sloppy Joe’s A.M. Patron Sues On Slip $10,000 Damages Claimed By Man Who Fell, He Says On Slippery Floor A $10,000 damage suit has been filed by Edmund Rabagny against. the Monroe Operating Co., which operates Sloppy Joe’s at 201 Duval Street. Rabagny claims that at 8:30 a. m., on December 4, 1951, he slipped and fell on the “highly glazed tile” which was “slip- pery.” causing great injuries to himself. Among the injuries were a broken left arm, bruises and con- tusions. He itemizes his medical ex- Penses as $200, and his future medical expenses as $500. For past pain and suffering he sues for $4,500 and the future pain and suffering $4,800. The suit Statésthatthe day. the fell waswet, causing Raba- gny’s'feet to be wet — “patron whose feet were wet was in great danger of slipping and falling to the floor.” He wasn’t pushed, he did slip and fall, how- ever. 4 The plantiff entered Sloppy Joe’s business premises as @ pros- pective customer therein. edt ‘ight) Dick Splaine Article Leads In Nat'l Mag. Subject Of 6 Page Feature Piece _ Fly-fishing in the Dry Tortugas is described in a six-page illus- trated article by Key West’s Dick Splaine in the Lincoln-Mercury Times for November-December just out. A pioneer in salt water fly-fish- ing, Dick combines the sports- man’s and the historian’s approach in the article which has six full color reproductions of paintings by Bill Moss The writer and painter spent a week at Fort Jefferson and Log- gerhead Key in the Dry Tortug: last spring. Though kept in by ba weather part of the time, Dick and (Continued on Page Eight) i] 2-5631 TODAY'S EVERY NIGHT from 10 P.M. ‘till 3. 4M. | 426 GREENE STREET Next te the Western Union No Cover No Mi DIAL 2.3253 Ford Lincoln Mercury PHONE 2. BA. 2 For Re Best G bbe 72 Yéedu iath PRICE FIVE CENTS Divers Fly To Aid Shrimp Boats Disabled In The Dry Tortugas KEY WEST'S LEADING DIVER Eddie ing in Col. Pen Edgar’s Seabee for Dry Tortugas where are disabled as result of the foul weather. Eddie and H. witt took full diving equipment and Ed- die’s underwater machine shop. Ciésinski and Robert Hew: Nikolaidi’s Great Voice State Man To Head Crippled Children’s Clinic Cripple Children’s Semiaynual | last night by warming a Clinic is to be held all day Friday, | audience that shivered in the Con- December 19, at the Monroe Coun- ty Health Dept., when 47 Key West children are scheduled to be ex- amined by appointment, all re- ferred by private physicians or under regular prior Health Depart- ment care. Fla. Cripple Children’s Com mission Staff, District No. 4, Coral Gables, will conduct the Clinic, under the direction of or thopedic specialist, Dr. Robert P. Keiser, assisted by Dr, Robert Yates, orthopedist, two District jurses, Mrs. Nelle Reimer and Miss Kathleen Price, and Mr. Arthur Finieston, brace and crutch specialist. 2.5631 SPECIAL 1941 Studebaker Champion $95.00 Good Transportation Monroe Motors, Inc. Ferd - Lincoin - Mercury PHONE 2-563] | | j | Warms, Enthralls Audience SETS NEW HIGH IN VIRTUOSITY FOR COMMUNITY CONCERT SERIES By SUSAN McAVOY Elena Nikolaidi, contralto, prov- ed her superb and unique artistry large vent Auditorium at 8:30 huddled in furs, tweeds and mufflers, The richness of her voice would have been sufficient to draw the audience out of its chill. Nikolai- di, however, has an additional quality that made all of us for- get our eold feet and listen en- tranced to the magnificent voice. She emanates a volatile warmth that reached out to every man, woman and teenager in the full house of subscribers to the Com-| munity Concerts. The beautiful Greek virtuosity with combined) versatility ther she was singing the passion-| ate operatic aria “O Mio Fernan-| do” from La Favorita by Doni- zetti or the well-known folk song| “Oh, No, John,” or the tender Nina Bobo” by Bainbridge Crist,| Nikolaidi acted as well as sang the song. The range of selections was di vised to meet the taste of the (Continued on Page Eight) KOOL SEAL Paint for Trailer Tops | Thompson Enterprises, Inc.; HARDWARE DIVISION Caroline St. Dial 2.3132 —— and | STILL HAVE A FEW OUTDOOR PLAYGROUND SETS $29.95 TWO SWING RINGS, TRAPEZE BAR and GLIDER CHAPPELL’S VARIETY STORE 1108 White St. OPEN ‘TIL 9 P.M | | “@ “Fair Wind” and the “Fair Weather” Whe-| - ab - Citizen Staff Photo itt as they took off this morn- H.S. Choral Dept. Presents Program ‘The Key West High School choral department will present its annual Christmas vespers Wednesday night at 8:15 at the Old Stone Methodist Church, The public is extended a cordial invitation to at tend. The program is Organ prelude, Whitley; The First Noel, choir; Adeste Fideles, Peter Simpson; | Silent Night, choir; | Cantique Noel, Miss Elaine Es-| kew; | as follows: Mrs. Thomas Hark the Herald Angels, choir: Hushaby, Orlando Puig and | choir; Fred Waring’s Song of Christ mas Soloists, Miss JoAnn Mul lin and Robert Lastres; Trio of | Wisemen, Glynn Archer, Joe Pine-| da and Robert Lastres. The program is produced by the | high school choral department under the direction of Tom Whit ley. Accompanists at the program will be Miss Millicent Taylor, piano and Miss Betty Sheppard, celeste. cara Christmas Suggestions Gilbert and Oster Hair Dryers and Massager USE OUR LAY-AWAY PLAN HOME APPLIANCE CO., INC. | 605 Simonton St. Dial 2-3621) ——— — | TET OL Complete Stock of Mechanic HAND TOOLS Guaranteed for Life Roy's Key West Auto Parts Co. DIAL 2.3501 12) DUVAL STREET PRET SOURS DAIRY ROOSEVELT Do Yourself 4 @ SUNDAES @ MILK SHAKES Each Purchase of 25c Ct SUNDAY ONLY EM DA ’ “Fair Wind” And “Fair Weather” Fouled Up At Fort Jefferson Civilian divers were |flown for the first time to- day to the aid of shrimp .| boats in distress at Dry Tor= tugas. Arriving at 12:30 p.m | Eddie Ciesinski assisted by Robert Hewitt, professional underwater repairman, went to work on the “Fair Wind” and the “Fair Weather” both fouled up with bent screws, shrimp nets caught in the propeller and other damage. The Coast Guard notified owners of the Fair Wind on Saturday night in Tampa that divers could be flown down to aid the vessel. The owners.said “no” they would send down sister shrimp boat “Fair Weather” to tow the “Fair Wind” into Key West for repairs, The “Fair Weather” ran afoul and aground at Dry Tortugas bending her screw and becoming as helpless as her sister which ran afoul of the shrimp net. Both boats are tied up and laid up at the dock at Fort Jefferson, according to the Coast Guard. This morning Ciesinski and He- witt loaded their air compressors, rubber diving suits, resetve tanks tubing, and underwater repair tools into Col. Pen Edgar’s Sea- bee in Garrison Bight. Shivering with the chill breeze that swept the Boulevard, the pilot and the two divers were all set to take off when they remembered they had forgotten to eat in the excite- ment. The yellow sea plane took off for the 68 mile trip to the Fort. Diver Ciesinski said that it could take anywhere from 30 minutes to five hours to free the shrimp nets from the propellor of the “Fair Wind.” When she is fixed she will then be in a position to tow the “Fair Weather” back to port, just the reverse of the original mission. The Coast Guard reports no further distress calls as of this |moment. High winds and rough seas have kept local headquarters busy, Accreditation Granted KWHS Key West High school is en accredited institution from which students can go to first class colleges and universities through- out the nation, it was reported to- day. The school was granted accredi- tation without qualification by the Southeastern Association of Secon- dary Schools and Colleges. E. ©. Schweitzer, principal of KWHS, said the high school shares lits high rating with some of the leading schools of the state and nation. Announcing ... Re-Opening of RENE’S RESTAURANT 620 Fleming & Specializing In Seafood and Native Dishes . > " FREEZE BOULEVARD - Enjoy Dairy Freese @® CONES @ BANANA SPLITS ] Be Eligible for Our BER 21, 7:30 P.M. YS REMAIN