The Key West Citizen Newspaper, September 15, 1954, Page 1

Key West, Florida, has the most equable climate in the country, with an average range of only 14° Fahrenheit VOL. LXXV “CITY OF KEY WEST? —Here is an artist’s drawing vice as a ferry between Key West and Cuba. It has been named “City of Key West” and will ¥ KEY WEST, FLORIDA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1954 oss of the ship that will be christened in Miami this afternoon to be placed in ser- ‘Gity Of Key West” To Be Christened This Afternoon ‘ By SUE JONES Scores: of Key Westers will be in Miami this after- -|noon to witness the christening of the “City of Key West” which will make its maitien “.denas, Cuban October 2. % Ts. structure has Jose Figueroa, manager of the Patio Boule pdr. Figueroa brought his question be- fore the city commission at the Monday night meeting of that gtoup. ‘Commissioners present were Jack Delaney, Mayor tee Louis Carbonell and Delio" The lease for operating the con- cession stand is held by J. Y. Por- ter, IV, city attorney. Porter ob- tained the lease under the former. city commission before he was named to his present post. Sub-Leased Porter, in turn, sub-leased the business to Figueroa who was to sell soft drinks, sandwiches and coffee, . The lease agreement stipulated that the business was to be an open air concession stand, with no pro- vision made for a covering as pro- tection from the sun. Recently Por: ter asked permission from the com- missioners to add a covering. Although the commission grant- ed this permission, members of that group say that their under- standing was that it was to be a canvass awning, i Siding Started Figueroa, whose idea of the cov- ering evidently differed from that of the commission, has started construction of siding for the stand, with the idea of putting on per- manent siding and a permanent roof. Commission members report that the beginning of this construction has been protested by charterboat- men on the Bight and by Others who feel that it detracts from the appearance of the scene. The construction was ordered stopped. > When Figueroa asked the com- (Continued on Page Eighty L ~— IS OPEN ALL DAY THURSDAY 120 SIMONTON, near City Hall . ©,.B, Harvey, wife of the trip from Key West to Car- Key. est mayor, will officially name the ship when she breaks a béttle of “Old Sour’, over its bow at 5.o’clock this afternoon at Dade Drydock Company, Biscayne Boulevard and N. E. 12th Street. The officials of the Caribbean Ferry System, owners and operat- ors of the vessel, decided to dis- pense with the traditional cham- Pagne and christen the “City of Key West” with the famous keys concotion of key lime juice, salt, garlic and hot peppers. This decision involved several telegrams and phone calls from Miami before the final arrange- ments were made. It.also brought mixed reactions from Key Westers, but has caught the interest of the press and gen- eral public. Tourist Attraction The inauguration of a ferry ser- vice between Key West and Cuba is expected to be-a popular tourist attraction and to stimulate’ travel between this city and the Island Republic. There has been no direct _ sea link between Key West and Cuba since the P and O discontinued its . | Service in the mid-thirties. Cocktails will be served follow- ing the christening ceremonies with the company officials as hosts. The party promises to be a bril- liant affair and will be attended by city and county officials and their wives. “Oscar Morales, Cuban consul in Key West, and Mrs. Morales will represent the Cuban government at the festivities, State senator-nominee and Mrs. Neblett also plan to attend the christening. The Harveys left for Miami ear- lier this week and will be joined in Miami today by the other city officials. C. OF C. Meeting The christening coincides with a Tegional meeting of the U. S. Grand Jury Meets Today Misplaced minutes and lack of @ quorum teday delayed a 10 a. m. meeting of the Monroe Coun- ty grand jury. After 53 minutes of searching, the minutes of previous meetings were found. At 11:08 a. mn. the fifteenth grand juror — Diego Gonzales — showed up. Fifteen members are required to make a m. “The group was closeted with J. Lancelot Lester, state attorney, until noon. The jury alse was ex- pected to meet this afternoon. Chamber of Commerce and mem- bers of the board of directors of the local Chamber will be among the guests. Invitations were also extended to the presidents of civic and service clubs in Key West and many of them have indicated that they will be on hand to witness the cere- mony. Mayor Abe Aronovitz of Miami, a former Key Wester, has also been invited to take part in the gala affair. Another former Key Wester, Mitchell Wolfson, one-time mayor of Miami Beach and owner of the Wometco Theater chain, has in- vited the Key West city commis- sioners to be his guests at the tele- vised theater showing of the Mar- ciano - Charles title bout. Fiesta Planned In the meantime, plans are go- ing forward in Key West for a gaia two-day “fiesta” marking the ac- tual beginning of the auto-ferry service. A “Fiesta Queen” will be chosen from a number of attractive Key West girls at a dance at the Elks auditorium on September 25. The girl chosen for this honor will make the first trip to Car- denas as the guest of the company officials. The company officials will be hosts at a public ‘open house” a- board the vessel on the eve of its first trip. Plans have been made to dec- orate the main streets of Key West and a parade is also under consi- deration. Final arrangements will be com- pleted when Mayor Harvey returns to Key West. Navy Closes Rifle Range On Stock Is. The Navy’s Stock Island rifle range is definitely closed after 29 years of use, it was announced to- day by Capt. C. L. Murphy, chief of staff. The intramural rifle matches, scheduled for next month, have been cancelled, he added. Reason for closing the range, Capt. Murphy said, was workmen on Raccoon Key would be in dan- ger from the bullets. He said the command here was looking for another site but mean- while Marines can use the range on Saturday and Sunday when con- tractors are not working on Rac- See c00n Key. begin operation here on October 2. L_> SSS Fight Postponed NEW YORK (#) —The Marciano - Charles heavy- weight title fight was post- poned 24 hours today because of weather conditions. The announcement was made by Jim Norris, presi- dent of the IBC, after a con- sulfation with Robert Chris- tenberry, chairman of the New York Athletic Commis- sion, and managers of the two fighters. Airport Plans To Be Presented To Governing Body The county stands to get $130,- 000 toward airport improvements “if we present preliminary plans and specifications to the Civil Aer- onautics Authority,” Harold Wilde, county airport consultant, told the county commissioners last night. Wilde recommended immediate action by the commissioners, “otherwise the $130,000 will go somewhere else.” Commissioner Joe Allen suggest- ed that “we meet with National Airlines first.” The commisson and National Air- lines still have to settle differences over fees at the airport. A meeting has been tentatively set for today. Commissioner Clarence said: Higgs airport unless National comes a- cross?” 5 Allen said that a few days delay “wouldn’t hurt.” The cominirioners then vote ‘9 defer action on submission of air- port improvement plans for a tew days. ADULT CLASSES TO ‘BEGIN MONDAY NIGHT Adult night classes at the high H. C. Campbell, principal, He urged that all interested per- sons be in the high school audi- torium at 7:30 p. m. Monday. There is a small registration fee. ANNOUNCING... WARDLOW’S SERVICE STATION | 331 FLEMING “Are we going to board up the} Plans For New Toll Road Before SRD By BILL SPILLMAN A proposal to build a new overseas highway from Big Pine Key to Cape Sable on the west Florida main- land is being presented to members of the State Road Board today in a special meeting in Miami. Bill Neblett, State Senatorial nominee, is presenting the plan to the Road Board on behalf of the Lower Keys Property Owners Association, seal i oY G « The meeifng will be ‘at- tended by representatives of Hendry, Collier and Desoto counties who are proposing that route 301 be extended from where it now ends in the Florida west coast city of Bradenton to the city of Everglades, over now what is route 29. The two proposals, although not planned together, have been con- sidered by officials to go hand and hand. The proposed new overseas high- way would run forty miles over water, taking anyone who traveled the route completely out of sight of land. Link West Coast Officials oh Lower Keys Pro- perty Owners Association state that a roadway such as this-would link the proposed western gateway at the Everglades National Park to the Overseas Highway and Key West. If the road is constructed, tour- ists could use a triangular route from the west coast of Florida through the Everglades National Park, down the Florida Keys to Key West and return by the Miami route or vice versa. Neblett told The Citizen that there have been indications by west coast counties that they intend to propose a scenic highway along the coastal areas below Tampa. New Pipe Line The property owners group also has in its proposal a plan to build a new water pipe line over the new road. If the road: were constructed it would probably be made from dredged fill and would not be a continuous bridge. There would be numerous openings along the route to allow boats to come into the region. In the proposal by the west coast counties to extend route 301, only one new section of highway would have to be built between the cities of Bermont and La Bele, This new road would eliminate the need to travel over a round-about highway school will begin Monday at 7:30 | that presently exists. P. m., it was announced today by ‘Lines Are Ready All sanitary sewer lines east of First St. between Flagler and Roosevelt Blvd. and east of Ash-| by between Flagler and Atlantic Blvd. have met the test, it was announced today. enginnering firm for the Clifford Cooper and Asso- ciates, also said that the lines in these areas are ready for connec: tion to individual houses. sewer, IN THE U.S. A. County To Buy Tape Recorder For State Atty. The county commissioners last night voted to buy $1,459.- 40 of tape recording equipment for the use of J. Lancelot Les- ter, state attorney. The com- missioners accepted the bid of Electronic Engineers Associ- ates. Lester said he will use the equipment in the court room, at coroners’ hearings and in the grand jury room. “Putting the testimony of a witness on tape leaves no doubt about what was said,” Lester remarked. “Such equipment is a definite deterrent to commit perjury.” Besides the recorder, there will be two booms, three mikes and two desk stands for mikes. Fluoridation Can’t Be On Nov. Ballot Legislature Must Authorize Any Measure For Vote W. A. Douglass last night asked the county commis- sioners to put the controver- sial fluoride question on the November ballot. and. told it could not be Paul Sawyer, legal adviser to the board of county commissioners, said: “That question can not be on a county election ballot unless the legislature authorizes it.” As an after thought, Sawyer ask- ed: “Has anybody asked the Navy about putting fluoride in the wa- {ter? After all, the Navy owns the pipeline.” Navy Talks Gerald Saunders, chairman of the board of county commission- ers, recalled that he had met with Navy doctors, dentists and engi- neers to discuss the matter. Navy doctors and dentists strong- lly favor fluoridation of the water supply. Saunders said the Navy would fluoridate the water after the city commission and county com- mission had passed resolutions re- questing it. Douglass presented a petition which he said “contained the nam- es of more than 300 registered vot- ers.” The petition asked that the question be put on the ballot. Douglass also asked that the commissioners call a public meet- ing to discuss fluoridation. Action Deferred Commissioner Joe Allen moved |to defer action on the public meet- \ing request until “we are required jto pass a fluoride resolution.” The motion carried unanimously. In another petition presented to the commissoners last night by Mrs. Anna Prior Thompson, of Tav- ‘ernier, 201 signers asked for beach- jes on the Upper Keys. Among the groups signing the beach petition were Florida Keys Elks Lodge No. 1872, the Islamora- (Continued on Page Eight) (Special To The Citizen) NEW YORK — Residents of Key West pay more for electricity than do consumers in most other cities, according to a comparative survey just released-by the Fed- eral Power Commission. Data is given for 4,528 communities with | populations of 2.500 or more. They |are served by some 1,250 utilities. For each city there is shown the average monthly bills for residen- tial users of electricity as of Jan- uary Ist, this year. put/a, m. He w: The Ken West Citis THE SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER Subseription n Of Stock Is Announced By Local Backers By JIM COBB Application has 5 aan Chapman, State Comptroller's office, Federal Deposit Insu West’s second, has been in by a group of prominent | a ee Saucers? Well— By DENIS SNEIGR Flying saucers are back, Within the past month several persons here and on Stock Island have sighted unidentified objects or li, in the sky, they reporte day. The most recent case was Mon- day night. Another strange light in the night sky was spotted Sept. 4. A third was seen about a month ago, Mrs. Oria Goodrich today told how she, her husband, Danilo, and a nephew, Walter Goodrich, watch- oval-shaped | bt Fim the windows of theiz home, 1718 ‘United: St. 2 How It Happened “My husband,” she said, “was looking out the window about 1:10 moking, I already was in bed.” Suddenly her husband added: “Look, there’s a flying saucer.” “TI thought at first he was kid- ding,” Mrs. Goodrich said, “and then when I looked, I thought it was lightning. “But it wans’t lightning,” Mrs, Goodrich continued. “The object was oval shape and a bright blu- ish, yellow color. There seemed to| be smoke coming out of the left side of it. “The object was first standing still but vibrating. It seemed to be at a great height over the Naval Station. Went . “My husband,” she added, “called Walter and we all watched it for about 10 minutes. Then the object began moving to the left. It went very fast toward the south- west and then straight up until it disappeared behind a cloud. “We continued to watch,” Mrs Goodrich went on, “and at 1:45 a. m. we saw it again. It went straight up for about 15 minutes until it disappeared.” Two Navy men today also report ed sighting unidentified lights in the sky. Norman Cranford, a first class lithographer, said he and his wife, Shirley, sighted a strange light the night of Sept. 4. “We were on the dock at Al's Trailer Park on Stock Island, where we live,” he said. “It was about 9:30 p. m. “Orange Light” “We noticed an orange light near the horizon,” he continued. “It was similar to a star but larger. “The light,” he went on, “moved (Continued On Page Eight) Federal Power Commission Makes Survey Electric Rates Are Above Average In Key West $2.00, as compared with the United States average of $1.33. For 100 kilowatt hours, the a- mount generally used for lighting, small appliances and refrigeration, the monthly bill in Key West was $5.50, as against an average of $3.- 81 for all the cities. In the 250 kilowatt hour class, where cooking by electricity is in- volved in addition, the typical mon- thly bill locally was $8.50, contrast- ed with $7.10 nationally. The aver- age in the State of Florida was $8.07. Among all the cities, the range was from a low of $3.20, in Tacoma, Wash., to a high of Upward Trend The FPC notes that American was {householders are paying electric been filed f, new state bank to be established in Key representing Clarence M. charter for a West. Gay, and C. c. Phillippe of the progress local businessmen, Practically all of. the stock in the new bank will be held in Key West, 4 total of 15,000 shares of common stock has been subseribed in the enters Prise. Capitalization, in- cluding a reserve fund and undivided profits amounts to $405,000. No preferred stock was placed on the market. Proponents of the Bank in- _ : A. Maitland nee man; Frederick L. MacDonald, Sarasota insurance broker; Dr. J. Lancelot Lester, Jr. Frank A. Shepherd, local respresentative of Merritt Chapman-Scott; Karl oO. Thompson, retired, and con- tractor Joseph R. Sirugo. Stock Is Sold The task off selling the 15,000 shares’ of stock was completed by Ross C. Saw- yer, Michael Lanasa and MacDonald. Sawyer, retired clerk of the circuit court here, was appointed trustee of all funds. As required by law, five per cent of the capital stock, along with a small expense account has been deposited with the Pan American Bank in Miami, Big Sawyer pointed out that there was “such a tremen- dous response from stock subscribers that many busi- ness firms wefe not contact- ed for an opportunity to pur- chase stock.” Further details of the new bank will be forthcom- ing as they develop from time to time to the people of Key West through the Key West Citizen. Preliminary plans and sketches of a proposed bank | building have been received from a prominent architect, he said. the previous year. For the country as a whole, con- sumption of electricity in the past year averaged 196 kilowatt hours per home per month. This was more than double the amount con- sumed ten years ago. The use of electricity in the Uni- ted States has become almost uni- versal, with only two percent of all occupied dwellings doing with- out frigerator, clock, washer, toaster, vacuum cleaner coffee maker and television set.