The Key West Citizen Newspaper, June 11, 1953, Page 1

Key West, Florida, has the most equable climate in the country, with an average range of only 14° Fahrenheit Key West Pays Homage To Native Son Captain “Pete” Local Youth Seriously Injured Im Crash Sun. Clayton Sims, 19, son of Mr. ahd Mrs. Henry Sims, | Hospital and later trans- ferred to Tampa. 200-D Poinciana, is in sek-| ih ppt eas iin ‘ Ue AT ik Th ,,| back to Key West after hav- ty condition in St. Joseph Bling atietided qt qiectin gti Hospital in Tampa as a re- Tampa. Their father has not sult of an automobile acci-|been told of the true na- dent which occurred Sunday jture of the accident because near Plant City, it was learn- | he is suffering from a serious ed today. illness. His son, Charles, had His brother, Charles, 2t, a |P°° Sent home from his Air |Force station in Germany on jemergency leave due to the elder Sims’ illness. He is re- ; maining at his brother’s bed- side in Tampa, | The accident victim re- cently completed his second lysat at Florida State Univer- \sity in Tallahassee. He was an honor graduate of the Key West High School in 1951 and a former Citizen Nearer boy. member of the Air Force re- cently returned from Ger- many, was slightly injured ih the crash and has been re- leased from the hospital. According to word re- eeived by his mother, the youth is suffering from a broken back. No details of the crash were given ex- cept that the pair were re- moved to the Plant City ict Guard Warns Of Live Mines In Waters In Gulf Dr. Williams To Address Elks Flag Day . Public Invited To Ceremonies (ht Elks Ginb * “Sunday At 4 P.M. Old Depth Charge | Is Brought In By Local Shrimpboat The “Two Brothers” own- jed by Don Ortega netted a} j huge depth charge at 2 a.m. instead of the little shrimp it was seeking, Ortega — re- ported to the U.S. Coast Guard after the boat rushed into port at 8 a.m. Fernandez In Stirring Downtown Che Wen West Ci THE SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER KEY WEST, FLORIDA, THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 1953 Fernandez Lauds His Fellow Pilot Word that Major James Jaba- ra has knocked down his 11th Communist MIG brought enthu- jiastic response from Captain Fernandez yesterday. “Good,” was the Key West born pilot’s hearty response when told of Jabara’s feat, “I hope he beats my record.” “He's a great guy,” Fernandez 's feat brought him of Fernandez’s were squadron mates in Korea, Fernandez re- vealed, although he ined to mame the outfit because of mili- tery secrecy. Light Fines In Criminal Court This Morning Drink Cause Of Most Traffic Offense At A.M. Session Today At a busy session of Criminal | Court this morning, Criminal Court | Judge Thomas Caro levied fines, suspended and revoked licenses on charges stemming from drunken- ness and traffic offenses, Rene Albert-La France was con- o IN THE U.S.A. PRICE FIVE CENTS Korean War Ace Greets His Grandmother Sue Demerité(r nation's second-ranking | Demonstration Here Scores Line Streets To Hail Arrival Of Nation’s Second-Ranking Jet Ace Captain Manuel “Pete” Fernandez came home to Key West a hero Wednesday. And the citizenry rose to the occasion to give him an ovation, the like of which has not been seen here for a long time. Hundreds of Key Westers lined Truman Avenue | and Duval Street to pay homage to the hometown boy who | has compiled one of the finest records in the Air Force in High-Ranking Naval Officers + AtUSO Lunch Program Of Local USO-YMCA Club Is Discussed Commanding officers of a num- ber of the component parts of the U.S. Naval Base, Key West, were guests at the monthly meeting of the Key West USO-YMCA Club erating Committee yesterday ednesday) noon at the USO P| Club. fa iid receives a tond hug from his grandmother, 84-year-old asion of his arrival here Wednesday, jet ace of the Fernandez (right).—Citizen: Staff Fernandez, w! Edwin F. Trevor, chairman, and host, presided and welcomed the ing. guests: os... |..Capt. Selby, Commander, USS 2b My |W, Gilmore; Capt. » Murphy, | Korea—by shooting 14 Communist MIGs out of the skies ; and gaining credit for another possible kill, And a humbler hero would be hard to find. Fernandez wears his fame well, From the time that he stepped from a National Airlines plane at Meacham Field shortly after 5:00 P. m. to the moment when he re. treated into the La Concha Hotel for a much needed rest, Fernandes humbly acknowledged the plaudits of Key Westers from all walks of life - although he has made it clear that he feels the acclaim rightfully belongs to his fellow - fighters ix the Korean War, “I'd like to go back,” he said quietly after all the furor was ever. if old grandmother, Mrs, Demeritt. He was then greeted by of civie leaders including Representative Bernie C, Pa. Fa 3 f ets C of Staff, Naval Fe aaa Mecoropenied: by barcanethec, Men aoe Capt. W, Ht, Hroeadell “Conk a - . nander, Fleet Sonar School; Capt. victed of drunken driving and reck- Mi penis . Dr. Russell: Williams of Miami, one of,Florida's best known speak- | ers, will deliver the principal, ad-! dress at the annual. Flag Day exercises to be held -by Key West| Lodge of Elks at 4 p.m., Sunday in their auditorium, No other speaker in Florida is in more demand than Dr. Williams. He: is no stranger to this city, hav-i ing spoken before various civic) groups here. All veterans’ organizations ‘and their auxiliaries have been invited to participate. Their color guards will assist in the advancement of colors, The public is invited to attend) the ceremony, which will be the) only one being held in Key West | on that day — Sunday June 14) which is Flag Day. A brief history of the flag will be given by Miss Katharine Boaz, | a member of the Key West High School student body. : A highlight of the program will be a Military Drill and Tap by pupils of the Pinder School of Dance. Vance Stirrup is chairman of the committee on arrangements, He is being assisted by Robert M. Dan jels, Frank Romaguera, Charles «8. Kraegar and Louis Carbonell. Maj. Knight’s Promotion, Is Announced Here Maj. Joseph Knight, Alr Force, received, hils promotion to that rank Joe Knight, 1425 Eliza Street, an pounced today, The news of their gon’s promotion was not released until last week. Maj. Knight is stationed at Heac quarters 2th Far E£. Alr Force, His wife, the former Mary Know fes of Key West is w ° Far East and has t dren, Mary Lou, 14, and Joe, eight, with them. Maj. Knight is entitled to wear the Armed Forces Reserve Medal for completing ten years honorable commissioned service in the Re rm eerve. He ts also ent wear the Korean Campa Nations Medals with serving In the 20th Air fs directing. b against the Comm Maj, Koight's ts State Conserva Keys and Key West. | ed today. Lt. Clem Pearson, local Coast Guard commander, said that this was an old World War II depth charge. He immediately turned it over to the Naval Ordnance Unit which will dismantle it. Though this is an oldie, there are brand new live mines with five pound charges of TNT near Rebecca Shoals and Dry Tortu- gas, which all small boats should avoid, Lt. Pearson warn- The depth charge netted this morning about 18 miles off Key West at the Wreck Bouy, must haye weighed about 500 pounds, Ortega said. His skipper Dick Cavanaugh and Pat Tolson mate drew. up their net thinking they had a load of shrimp, when the ugly looking 30 gallon drum land- ed on the deck, Tolson, who knew about such things figured it was safer to keep the potential killer aboard than to throw it over the side and risk an explosion. The brand new net of the “Two Brothers” carried the weight of the depth charge with only slight rips, ; owner Ortega said, | “They had no choice but to ; bring it back to port. They were | frightened naturally to have such | @ companion on the 18 mile run | into Key West, but they figured the detonator must be faulty.” Lt. Pearson said ‘that the large} amount of*marine growth on the | drum showed it had been in the | water a considerable length of | time, Not taking any chances, how jever, he turned it over immedlate- ily to NOU, “We pick up these old depth; charges all the time,” Lt. Pearson said | The Coast Guard commander, however, warned all small beat owners about the mine fields | fear Rebecca Shoals and the | southeast entrance of Dry Tortu- | gas. Though these mines ere in considerable depth of water, | they could, if detonated, damage ® amail beat, he said, The area is being patrolled by Navy craft | until July 1, when the test mine field: moved, he said. N e to all Mariners and s p boat operators went out as Soon as the test mine fields were laid, said Lt, Pearson. The exact location of the live mine fields is as follows according to Coast Guard builetin. position % May. Mina-; ed Qo Page Two) | an assault and battery charge. less driving and fined $100 and) costs. Fred Maher was fined $25 for drunkenness. One couple, though their sentence was deferred, were barred from driving after pleading guilty to drunken driving, reckless driving and no drivers license. Their 14 year old daughter was taken away from them for six months and placed in the custody of their old-| er son and his wife, by Juvenile Court Judge Eva Warner Gibson who appeared and served the mo- ther. | Aresenio Pedro Diaz forfeited $10 bond for reckless driving. Robert Burnice Love had his sentence deferred on reckless driv- ing. William O. Helfer was fined five dollars on a no drivers license charge. Wade M. Reed was fined $10 on} a reckless driving charge. Bertha Ferguson was fined only costs on a drunkenness charge. Merle S; Boling was fined $25 and costs on a drunkesess charge. Allan Warner was sentenced to six months in the county jail on/ Alcides Justiniano was fined $15 | for reckless driving. Edward Thoma Beltz was fined $10 on a reckless driving charge. Crawfishermen | | | | |talked his Hast, Observing Law, Knight Reports | | Since the trapping of crawfish | became illegal on March 21, State Conservation agent Joe Knight has found only one violator, he report- ed today, Many crawfish traps have been discovered from Angelfish Creek down to Key West, Kn He and three oth an inspection tour la (Continued on Page NOTICE SHRIMP HEADERS WANTED! MALE OR FEMALE Ne Experience Necessary Champion Seafood Company OLD CLYDE MALLORY DOCK Next Te The Aquarium Jet Ace Charms Crowd With Snappy Repartee Wednesday By JIM COBB Captain Pete Fernandez way into the} hearts of scores of Conchs yesterday when he reaffirm- ed the fact that he is first, | and always—a Key} Wester. The jaunty, fun-loving / |Captain (a chip off the old} block in the eyes of folks/ who know his dad, Col. Man- | uel Fernandez, Sr.) told a) cheering, whistling throng) in a short and snappy ad-} dress yesterday “that he! never wanted to leave Key! West.” “I was born in Key West, I've always been a Conch and I'll re one until the day I die,” he “I was born here -- there ing away from it.” then threw his arms into the air and shouted a rousing “Viva Cayo Hueso,” after which he jumped from the back of an open automobile and watked out into the crowd of well wishers, many ef whem “knew him when..." The crowd loved it, He then posed for scores of pic- tures and exchanged greetings in Spanish with Fiorentine Delgado, who at one time was the proprietor of a grocery store on Eaton Street Delgado recalled that Fernandez used to be a frequent visitor in his PLY-WOOD FIR OR EXOTIC WOODS STRUNK LUMBER 120 SIMONTON STREET Near Key West Citizen “Viva Cayo Hueso; I Will Always A Conch? Be ‘Capt. Pete Tells Throng store to buy candy when he was just a sprout. “This is a switch -- a tiger with all of these Lions,” quipped the Captain as he posed ‘for a picture with Lions Club officials, Fernandez was kept busy sign- ing autographs and more than one pretty girl stepped up and gave him a hearty kiss, “This is the ; Part I enjoy,” he admitted. The ace, who looks like any- thing but a hotrock fier who has sent 14 Communist MIG‘s to their end, had the .crowd in stitches when, at the invitation of a fish- erman in the crowd, he swapped his jaunty Air Force cap for a battered straw “Conch hat.” He declined to. be photographed wearing the, chapeay however, “It’s not regulation,” he said.- J, C. Toth, Commander, FawTu- Lant; Capt. Momm, Commander, SurAsDevDet; Cdr. C. H. Hutch ings, Commander, VX-1; Com- mander Farrell, Commander, A, U. W. School; Cdr. J.. Wi Lenney, Commander, Naval Air Station; Ledr. C. Pearson, U.S. Coast Guard and Harold Laubscher, Key West Chamber of Commerce. Joe Pinder presented the finan- cial report and City Manager Dave King made the report for the Building Committee indicating that the program kitchen, last of the renovations, was nearing ¢om- pletion. | Dick Evans, Club Director, made the. program and operating re- ports. May attendance of 23,313 was slightly under that of April. Many special activities had been con- The crowd milled around in Du-}ducted due to the transfer of the val Street long after Fernandez! program director, Miss Dorothy disappeared into the hotel for a bit} Rath. The GSO and the Service- (Continued On. Page Two) Jet Ace Given Keys To The City (Continued On Page Two) A HAPPY HORDE OF HIS ADMIRERS, many of them friends during bis youth bere. lock on as Mayor C B. Harvey (right), presents Cavtaim Pete Fernandes with the traditional keys to the city is ceremonies near the La Concha He, Wednesday. Fermemier will be feted wnight by Lions Club — Ciuzen Staff Photo. In i i i Ey 2 6 ur : i : gi : i Ss it 8 i a z