The Key West Citizen Newspaper, November 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 No. 271 WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE—Some of Key West's Old World charm still was a bit damp this morning as you can see from this photo of Aronovitz Lane. City-owned pumpers were dis- posing of the water today—Citizen Staff Photo, Don Pinder. Big Change In Weather For Weatherman , Meteorological { Aide Here To Go From Key West to Nome, ‘Alaska. That's the big Jack Brown, meteorological aide ai the U, S. Weather Bureau here, is making. Brown, who lives at 1715 United Street with his wife and nine-year old son, is leaving tomorrow for the flight to Nome His family, he said, will join him fn Alaska next summer. Brown said he asked for a trans- fer to the Nome weather bureau some time ago and the transfer just recently came through. Previous Experience He said he was stationed in Al- aska in 1944-1945 with a U. S, Air Foree weather section “] like that part of the world very much,” Brown said today, “and I have been wanting to get back there ever since I was sta tioned there with the Air Force Brown came here in April, 1950 as his first assignment with the Weather Bureau, He was born in Newport, Tenn., and educated in Nashville “There is just one thing, though” he added, “I'll have to buy an et tire new wardrobe for the / kan climate.” Man Injured ‘ In Accident A bicyclist identified as Leon Sumner, 28, of 208 Catherine St was slightly injured Saturday when he ran into an ¢ ear door oa Eaton St., police reported to- day According to the rep Was treated at Hospital for ab fons shortly afte door of a parke John W. Cord, 36, of 1406 velt Blvd. car Roose QUARTERBACK CLUB TO DINE TONIGHT The Quarterback Chid’s dinner meeting will be at 6 today in the High School Al be expe members who Douglass-F ness wil REINFORCING STEEL — at Strunk Lumber 120 Simonton, near Weather Bureau | change -iteam will owned by go THE amage Believed O SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER KEY WEST, FLORIDA, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1954 }| Mass Cleanup Campaign Is On To Rid City Of Debris a oF Ta ety | | | | | PS | UMBRELLA CHAPEAU—A local drugstore did a land office business Saturday night. selling umbrella hats to Key Westers who were caught in the downpour as were these two.—Citizen Staff Photo, Don Pinder. ‘hool Survey ‘Team Due Here Late Tomorrow The six-man We Need It! Today will be “pretty much of a summer day,” the wea- thereman said this morning. Temperatures will be in the low eighties with a “few scat- | tered showers likely,” he added. the State Department of BdwCa- | seem | tion will arrive here late tomor- | — yg Spectacular Fire Hits Honolulu HONOLULU (®-A_ spectacular] fire, punctuated by booming ex- plosions, destroyed a block of build-| ngs in Honolulu’s industrial area! last night. | Firemen said the cause was un-/ determined. They estimated dam- at several hundred thousand | n survey team from afternoon to iook into future nty school down the Keys, the pect the schoals at | t Marathon, Hor- | superintendent of n, said today survey team school board stees at the Ad eeds, On the « e survey team to check s Key West the team will be e of th2 destroyed buildings housed the Tongg Publishing Co.j} warehouses, one loaded with! trucks and another owned by a/ lumber company, also were de- stroyed. and SHOW IS CANCELED = | in fin" CHICAGO W—The once-delayed | Chicago run of George Bernard) }Shaw’s play “Saint Joan” was can- celed yesterday because of the , assistant in surveys, and S. Barstow, assistant ance, FOG IN BRITAIN LONDON W—Britain’s vere fog of the season delaved jland, sea and air traffie today. se- role. |of his store, They drowned in the By JIM COBB Damage estimates mounted to more than $100,000 today as Key Westers surveyed the havoc wrought by the worst rainstorm in the city’s history. Damage ranged from flooded homes and business places to water logged automobiles as 19.8 inches of water deluged the city Saturday. City workmen and private citizens joined in today in a mass cleanup campaign to rid homes and streets of tons of mud and debris swept in by torrents of water which reached 24 inches in some areas. City Manager Victor Lang list- ed the worst hit areas of the city as the Whitehead-Angela Street section, the area south of Flagler Avenue and a housing develop- ment north of Flagler Avenue. Sewer Failure He pointed out that failure of some of the city’s storm sewers was due to the fact that the city had a protracted dry spell prior to the torrential downpour result- ing in masses of debris plugging the sewers. Considerable damage to the city’s streets also was caused by the freak storm, a development that will set preparations for the city’s projected street program back an estimated two weeks, Lang said. He added that he is “toying” with the idea of asking for aid from federal civil defense forces since the city may be rated as a “disaster area.” Aid would prob- ably be in the form of funds for the city’s street damage, Lang added. wea Garden Damaged Hardest hit by the storm was the home of Mr. and Mrs, Al Mills at Simonton and Angela Streets, The Mills’ garden, which has gained national recognition for its beauty, was ‘almost completely ruined when a diesel oil tank adjacent to the Columbia Laundry across the street overflowed and flooded the area along with an estimated 24 inches of water from overloaded sewers, Hundreds of valuable orchid plants, shrubbery and trees were damaged by the flood. Mills said today that he had queried the University of Miami in an effort to learn of a solvent which could be used to save the valuable oil-covered plants but that he was given slight hope that they will live. In addition to the damage to the garden, water swept into the Mills home and damaged some valuable rugs. Total damage to the residence May reach $25,000, Mills said. A total of $5,000 in damage re- sulted when 14 inches of water poured into the grocery store own- ed by Jose Padron at Whitehead and Angela Streets. Merchandise Was ruined before Padron had a chance to get it out of the way. Chickens Drown In addition, there were only seven survivors of a flock of 37! chickens Padron kept in the rear! high water. Water also flooded the law office of Attorney Tom Watkins on White- head St. Mayor C. B. Harvey and City Manger Lang personally worked to clear a storm sewer in that area to telieve the situation. About a half dozen Duval St. bus- iness establishments were flooded clothing store at 512 Duval St., was Particularly hard-hit. Several rugs there were listed as total losses. Motorists Stranded Hundreds of local motorists were stranded when their motors were flooded during the storm. Sheldon Smith, local insurance adjustor, said that more than 100) claims had been received from mo- torists by his office. He estimated that total claims would a mount to more than $5,000 as a result of he sorm. The City Electric System report-| ed only one- small service inter-} ruption due to the storm That was: in the Fort Village housing pro- ject where a line went down. Work-/ _ had it back in service short-/ y The Key West fire department answered three alarms, all of them | continued illness of actress Jean|caused by short cireuits due to | rabies. Arthur who was to play the title} water. The first was at Duffy's; If these (Continued om Page Eight) F lying Farmers Will Make Keys Flight Will Precede Havana Jaunt Between 300 and 400 persons — members of the Flying Farmers and their families — are scheduled to land at Marathon December 7, it was learned today. K. C. Butler, of Wichita, Kan., secretary of the group, estimated the number of Flying Farmers who would make the group's first Florida flight. He said the flyers are expected to spend the day fishing in a- thon waters and then fly to Havana December 8. Meacham Landing Many of the flyers, Butler said, will land at Meacham Airport. to service their planes and to clear through customs and immigration before ping to Havana. ee A a West, leave their planes at Meacham Airport and then travel to Cuba via Aerovias One of the better known mem- bers of the Flying Farmers and the man who organized the move- ment, may not make the Decem- ber trip here. He is Delbert Fubriman who landed his light plane here Octo- ber 16 after setting a light-plane, non-stop record from Vancouver, B. C., to Key Wi Fuhriman’s Plans When he was here in October, Fubriman said he may not be able to make the mass flight with his brother Flying Farmers because of the time and expense involved in his record shattering flight and because he plans to seek sanction for an air tour of Russia next year. However, on his return flight to his Utah home, Fuhriman st in Washington. He said later the State Department dashed cold wat- ted on his hopes for a Russian air ur. At that time he also said that the scenery he flew over in south Florida was the most interesting and most beautiful he had seen in his flights over other parts of the United States, Canada and Mexico. He said then he would urge the | Flying Farmers to include the Florida Keys in their next mass flight. At that time, the Farmers had not selected a destination for this vear’s flight, IN THE NG x & & For Quick Communication, Use CLASSIFIED Ads! Youll reach buyers and sellers— tenants or workers . . . Just DIAL 2.5661 or 2-5662 Today xx PRICE FIVE CENTS ver $100.00 ee ff Drinking Water Safe Here; Pools May Be Contaminated Aftermath Of Record Rainfall Holds Dangers, Sanitarian Says Weather Bureau Explains Cause Of Sat. Flood Here‘s what caused Satur- day’s flood, according te the weather bureau: There was a north - south trough along the surface of the earth from Cocoa to Key. West. In the trough, converging winds from the northwest met winds from the southeast. A low pressure area in the middie Gulf of Mexico pulled winds aloft from the southwest over the trough. This southwest wind from the Gulf and Carib- bean Sea was unusually moist. The converging winds in the trough moved upward, carry- ing the moist air aloft with it. As the air rose, it cooled, causing the unusually moist air to condense. That's what all the rain was — condensate from the unusual- ly moist air. Four Survive Ditching Of Navy Plane ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. @— | Four crewmen of a Navy patrol plane that ditched Jast night with five aboard were found today ‘a Pamlico Sound about 15 miles south of here. One was in a life raft and three on a navigation light, A Navy spokesman said there ‘was no wofd on a Marine Corps jet with two aboard that disappeared last night while searching for the Navy plane. The Marines aboard the two- place F3D Skynight all-weather fighter jet from the Cherry Point Marine Air Base were identified as 2nd Lt. Roy O. Wilkins, 23, the pilot, of Indio, Calif.; and M. Sgt. Gerald A. Moreau, 30, of Havelock, N.C., the radar opera- tor. : The Air Reserve training unit at topped | Anacostia Naval Base in Washing- ton said the missing man, who apparently went down with the plane, was Richard Zigmund Gar- lenski, a seaman apprentice, Wash- ington, D. C. son of Cecilia C. Coffman. The survivors were: : Dmitrius Georgius Sotiropolos, airman apprentice, Washington, D.C Lt. Cmdr. George | Smith, Fairfax, Va. Lt. Albert Winston Funkhouser, Edgewater, Md. Lt. Robert Lawton Mallonee, Towson, Md. Sanford Do You Have Bats In Your Belfrey? By DENIS SNEIGR Parents were warned t from playing or wading in w big rain. oday to keep their children rater left from the weekend’s Bill Braatz, sanitarian at the County Health Depart- ment, said the water may be contaminated from overflow- ing septic tanks and cesspools, Navy Speeds To Aid Burning Freighter Fire Extinguished By Crewmen As Navy Stands By To Help Navy surface and air craft sped to the aid of a burning tanker 15 miles off Boca Clica at noon today, but crewmen aboard the burning vessel extinguished the fire. The |. §. Washington, was. eam pal according to a spokesman at, the Boca Chica Na- val Air Station when an electric motor on the main engine short circuited and caught fire. The tanker was loaded but it was not immediately learned if the car- go was gasoline or oil. Rescue Unit Sent The Air-Sea Rescue Unit at the Naval Air Station dispatched an R4D carrying rescue gear and a helicopter. The Coast Guard stationed here dispatched a 38-foot picket boat to the scene. Meanwhile, two Navy mine- sweepers, a blimp, and two sub- marines converged on the Wash- ington. Crewmen aboard the Coast Guard boat clouds of black smoke poured from the tanker. Navy Escort A Navy minesweeper was es- corting the Washington northward. The port of departure and the destination of the tanker were not immediately available. The pilot of the air-sea rescue helicopter was James R. Locklair, chief aviation pilot. The pilot of R4D was Cdr. D. C. Rumsey. Ledr. T. N. Meadows flew co-pilot in the R4D. | asta cide | WEATHERMEN MEET | | MIAMI BEACH W—The Ameri- | can Meteorological Society, a group ‘of people who should know some- | thing about it, meets here Wednes- | day to talk about the weather. \State Board Of Health Is Looking For Bats However, the city’s drinking | water is completely safe, Braatz added. | Even the water in cisterns,” he said, “is safe to drink if the cis- tern is in good condition.” Braatz issued the following state- ment today about the city’s water supply “The Florida Keys Aqueduct is @ sealed pressure system and it is highly improbably that the rains could affect this supply, Merely as a routine precaution, additional samples will be taken from the Aqueduct and sent te the laboratory in Miami; hew+ ever, local wells and cisterns which are not in good repair should be eyed with caution. “With 19.88 inches of rainfall, most of the cisterns should be near overflowing. The sediment in the bottom of cisterns is probably stir. red up to give the wate: some off color, If the roof, gutters and cis- tern itself were in good repair and clear prior to the rain, there is no need to suspect them. “A reasonable amount of danger | does exist in cisterns with cracked walls or bottoms and open wells | which can be contaminated by sur- face water. This water should not be used for dinking. “The problem is the number of children playing in the rain pud- dies and ponds. The danger is in- creased with the continued use of toilet facilities discharging sewage into cesspools and septic tanks whieh are already flooded and over- flowing into yards and rain ponds, | “This water poses the hazard until it subsides either by draining off or evaporatng. Parents are urged not to let their children play or wade in these ponds." All Time Record The big rain set an all-time wea- ther bureau record, Sam Goldsmith, head of the bu- reau, said the rain was the most to fall on Key West in a 24-hour period. A total of 19.88 inches fell be- | tween 8:30 a, Saturday and |5:45 a. m. Sunday. . Mostly of this fell on Seturdey, from 8:30 a. m. te midnight — 17.05 inches. In the three hour period from 2:22 p. m. Saturday until 5:23 DP. m., 844 inches of water drop- ped on the city. The previous record for Key West rainfall was 13.54 inches im 24 hours on Oct. 4, 1933. Flights Canceled The heavy rain caused cancelae tioh of three flights Saturday. Na- tional Airlines canceled its flight that was due to arrive here at 4:47 p. m. Two Aerovias Q Flights leaving Key West at 1:45 p. m. and at 4 DB. m. were killed by the rain The passengers scheduled for these two flights stayed overnight It's bats the . Florida State, bite humans who also may become | Warner, Entomologist~for the Mos-| 4nd went out on planes for Havana it has solicited the help Monroe County Audubon Society — not in protecting, but reporting bats. | bats | Now the bat isn't a bird because lit has fur and teeth. It isn't a have seen to it that there are not }enough mosquitoes left on the is- land of Key West to bite people, Here's the story. Bill Jennings of mouse, because it has wings. There-| much less eat the bats — if there the Florida State Board of Public | fore it is nothing but a bat! there | were any bats to be eaten Health came to Key West, a few are some 24 species of bats, only} The matter was also referred to days ago, looking for bats, prefer-| one of which is known to be carry-| the Key West Art and Historical So- ably the kind that migrate. He contacted Willie Saunders, In- spector of Weights and Measures, who referred him to the Audubon Society since that society keeps re- cords of bird migrations and might have some records on migra of bats. Also, Jennings said, owls eat bats and body might know where some roost and could ask the why all the commotion It seems, Board of Public Health, bats it iH fr dee owls But bats? State species of animals m jing rabies. | So the possibility of being bitten \eiety for research at East Martel- lo Towers and to a number of local |by the water. Herman's, a women’s| Board of Public Health is after and| infected. A sort of a chain reac- quito Control, because he and Neil|¢arly Sunday. of the! tion, so the problem is to find the |Saunders and their efficient crew| By 10:15 a. m. Sunday, Aerovias 1Q flights were back on schedule. 31 Die As Rebels Fight In Tunisia TUNIS, Tunisia, #@—Clashes be- tween French security forces and jby an animal which has been bit- residents who might have had an) Nationalist guerrillas in restive ten by a bat is very remote here, | opportunity to observe bat and bird Tunisia and Algeria took a week- especially since no bats have yet | migrations. end toll of at least 31 killed. been mugrating over Key| Bill Jennings aiso talked to Jack) Twenty rebels were killed in one West. Watson, of the U. S. Fish and Wild-l encounter Saturday at Djebel Gar- The bat belongs to the order of life Service who is stationed in Big bou, in eastern Tunisia. Thirty Chiroptera; mammals having their | Pine Key, and Jack reported he others were wounded and two cap- forelimbs modified to form wings.'had not seen any bats in all the | tured. The French lost one soldier. They are the only mammals capa- time he’s been stationed there. In the Aures Mountains of south- true flight. Jennings is going to stop and see east Algeria, French paratroopers Jennings went to Fleming, Robert Porter Allen of the Nation-| killed five guerrillas and lost two light house, who says | al Audubon Society at Tavernier, so| men in fighting near Djebel Uca- seen none who have the research goes on apace. moul. Two rebels and one French the windows of the lighthouse So if anyone knows where therejsoldier were kilied in another migrating birds sometimes do. are bats in a belfrey, roosting pla-jclash in the Algier region near Jennings was referred to William (Continued on Page Eight) Gigzirt, }