For Sale —American Paradise (60 page)

111. Helen Wainwright, a champion amateur swimmer:
Davenport Democrat and Leader
, January 1, 1926

111. Golfer Bobby Jones—still an amateur at the time:
Helena Daily Independent
, December 19, 1925

111. . . . and a real estate company was offering $15,000 to tennis stars Bill Tilden and Vincent Richards:
Zanesville Signal
, December 17, 1925

111. Boxers Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey were training in Florida:
Helena Daily Independent
, January 18, 1926

111. As the federal officer in charge of enforcing the Volstead Act:
Lima News
, March 8, 1926;
The Star
, Wilmington, Delaware, December 7, 1926

112. Movie star Gloria Swanson arrived in Miami Beach:
Miami Daily News
, January 16, 1926

112. . . . as was movie star Bebe Daniels:
Miami Herald
, February 26, 1926

112. United News sportswriter Frank Grey reported that Major League baseball managers:
Cedar Rapids Republican
, January 8, 1926

112. Will Rogers was back in Florida and dispatching his quips:
Lincoln Sunday Star
, February 14, 1926

112. The managers' fears about the distractions of real estate investments:
Cedar Rapids Republican
, March 26, 1926

112. The conflict baseball players experienced between focusing on the game:
Lincoln Sunday Star
, January 10, 1926

113. “Nobody here is alarmed”:
South Florida Developer
, January 5, 1926

113. Theodore Dreiser and his wife visited Martin County: Riggio, Thomas P.; West III, James L.W.; Westlake, Neda M.; and Lohmann, Christoph K.,
Theodore Dreiser: American Diaries, 1902–1926
(Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982) p. 440

114. “What is the matter with Coral Gables?”: Riggio, Thomas P.; West III, James L.W.; Westlake, Neda M.; and Lohmann, Christoph K.,
Theodore Dreiser: American Diaries, 1902–1926
(Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982) p. 439

114. Their plan was to tow it into the Miami harbor and convert it into a floating hotel and casino: Boulton, Alexander J., “The Tropical Twenties,”
American Heritage
, May/June
1990; George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,”
Florida Historical Quarterly
, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 47

114. On January 9, the
Prins Valdemar
was being towed:
The Evening Independent
, January 11, 1926

114. “The dearth of building supplies”: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,”
Florida Historical Quarterly
, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 47

114. The VIPs joined a gathering of about 1,500 guests:
New York Times
, January 15, 1926;
Miami Daily News
, January 16, 1926

115. Three days after the extravagant opening of the Biltmore, a large advertisement appeared: Mackle, Elliott, “Two-Way Stretch: Some Dichotomies in the Advertising of Florida as the Boom Collapsed,”
Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida
, vol. 33, 1973, pp. 20, 28;
Miami Daily News
, January 18, 1926

115. Thursday, January 28, 1926, dawned clear and brisk in Stuart:
South Florida Developer
, January 29, 1926

115. . . . but the
Developer
reported that ten thousand barbecue sandwiches:
South Florida Developer
, February 2, 1926

116. According to the tale, the bootlegger who'd brought in a boatload of booze: Paige, Emeline K. (editor), Untitled promotional booklet about history of Martin County (Stuart, Florida, Southeastern Printing Company and First National Bank and Trust Company of Stuart, 1973); from the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History, University of Florida, Gainesville

116. About a week after the celebration in Stuart: Mackle, Elliott, “Two-Way Stretch: Some Dichotomies in the Advertising of Florida as the Boom Collapsed,”
Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida
, vol. 33, 1973, p. 28

116. On the heels of the discount offering of Florida real estate:
New York Times
, February 9, 1926

116. On February 8, Solomon Davies Warfield's Seaboard Air Line Railroad: Turner, Greg M.,
A Journey Into Florida's Railroad History
(Gainesville, University Press of Florida, 2008) p. 202

116. A few days later, Arthur Brisbane:
South Florida Developer
, February 13, 1926

117. The
New Yorker
magazine's edition of February 13 hit the newsstands:
New Yorker
, February 13, 1926

117. The influence of African-American popular music: Author's interview with Stephen Anderson, PhD, Associate Professor of Music, University of North Carolina, December 19, 2014

117. The hotels and nightclubs in and around Miami were full of jazz:
Miami Daily News
, March 1, 1926

117. Shannon, a jovial, fun-loving daredevil who spent his ill-gotten earnings:
Miami Herald
, February 25, 1926;
Miami Herald
, February 26, 1926;
The Star
of Wilmington, Delaware, March 7, 1926;
Lima
(Ohio)
News
, March 8, 1926

118. As the end of the 1925–26 season approached, the torrent of visitors: George, Paul, “Brokers, Binders and Builders,”
Florida Historical Quarterly
, vol. 65, no. 1, July 1986, p. 49

118. In Stuart, backers of a development called River Forest:
South Florida Developer
, March 5, 1926

119. Tampa attorney Peter Knight, whose name would soon become a lightning rod:
New York Evening Post
, reprinted in the
South Florida Developer
, March 16, 1926

119. St. Petersburg was already beginning to see the effects of slowing real estate sales: Fuller, Walter P.
This Was Florida's Boom
(St. Petersburg, Florida, Times Publishing Co., 1954) p. 62

119. By late spring, even Edwin Menninger was acknowledging:
South Florida Developer
, May 14, 1926

120. Menninger's opinion that Florida's boom days were over infuriated some people: Hutchinson, Janet, and Page, Emeline,
History of Martin County
(Stuart, Florida, Historical Society of Martin County, 1998) p. 390

120. On April 4, Solomon Davies Warfield decided the time was right:
South Florida Developer
, April 4, 1926

120. Brisbane was back on the front page of the
South Florida Developer
on June 11:
South Florida Developer
, June 11, 1926

121. Then it quickly intensified into a monster storm:
Nassau Guardian
, July 28, 1926

121. F.A. Lancaster, a lineman, was electrocuted:
The Evening Independent
, July 29, 1926

122. The Florida Association of Real Estate Boards wanted these embarrassing eyesores:
The Evening Independent
, July 29, 1926

122. In August,
Forbes
magazine said Florida
: Forbes
magazine, August 1926, reprinted in
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
, August 18, 1926

122.
World's Work
, another highly respected publication:
World's Work
, reprinted in
Lancaster Daily Eagle
, August 31, 1926

122. Putnam County Sheriff R.J. Hancock and F.S. Waymer, mayor of the county seat of Palatka:
Stuart Daily News
, September 14, 1926

Chapter Seven: “Many Die; Cities Razed”

123. For a while, a brisk breeze coming off Biscayne Bay:
Florida Cracker Legionnaire
, October 11, 1926

123. The Weather Bureau had been following the storm and issuing advisories:
Monthly Weather Review
, October 1926, p. 414

123. “At 1:55 the storm had reached such intensity as to indicate that everything would be demolished”:
Monthly Weather Review
, October 1926, p. 414

124. With one tragic exception, ships were managing to avoid this storm:
New York Times
, September 15, 1926

124. But the following day, a Danish tanker searching for the
Loyal Citizen
:
New York Times
, September 16, 1926

124. At 10:20 a.m., he relayed the official storm advisory from Washington:
Miami Daily News
, September 17, 1926

124. One of the Weather Bureau's warning telegrams went to Fred Flanders: Will, Lawrence,
Okeechobee Hurricane: Killer Storms in the Everglades
(Belle Glade, Florida, The Glades Historical Society, 1990) p. 14

125. Around four p.m. on Friday, Leo F. Reardon, a construction contractor: Reardon, Leo,
The Florida Hurricane & Disaster 1926
(Coral Gables, Florida; Arva Parks & Company, 1986) p.4

125. There were, however, clear indications that something awful: “We Went Through Quite an Ordeal,” by Helen Frank;
Update
, vol. 10, no. 2, May 1983, p. 3

125. As the sun neared the horizon, a young Jane Wood Reno: Reno, Janet Wood,
The Hell With Politics: The Life and Writings of Jane Wood Reno
(Atlanta, Peachtree Publishers, 1994) pp. 34–35

126. The spectacular colors linger long after sunset: Garriott, E.B., “West Indian Hurricanes” (Washington, U.S. Weather Bureau, 1900)

126. At eight p.m. Friday night, Richard Gray and the Weather Bureau office:
Monthly Weather Review
, October 1926, p. 409

126. In Moore Haven, Fred Flanders was one of many residents who went to a party: Will, Lawrence E.,
Okeechobee Hurricane: Killer Storms in the Everglades
(Belle Glade, Florida, The Glades Historical Society, 1990) p. 14

126. Miami resident Mildred Cronin, a Dade County school board employee: “The Florida Hurricane, September 18, 1926: Official Report of the Relief Activities,” by American National Red Cross; Folder DR-207, Florida hurricane of 9-18-1926: Donated Records Collection (formerly Records Group 200), Records of the American Red Cross 1917–1934, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland

127. Around ten p.m., one of those bands passed over downtown Miami: Reardon, Leo,
The Florida Hurricane & Disaster 1926
(Coral Gables, Florida; Arva Parks & Company, 1986) pp. 20–21

127. While Reck was chatting with the deputies, an anemometer at Allison Hospital:
Monthly Weather Review
, October 1926, p. 415

127. A few minutes before midnight, Hicks left downtown Miami:
New York Times
, September 22, 1926

127. At midnight, Gray's barometer read 29.54, down 0.16 inch:
Monthly Weather Review
, October 1926, p. 412

127. The party in Moore Haven began breaking up at about the same time: Will, Lawrence E.,
Okeechobee Hurricane: Killer Storms in the Everglades
(Belle Glade, Florida, The Glades Historical Society, 1990) p. 14

128. In Coral Gables, Leo Reardon and his guests: Reardon, Leo,
The Florida Hurricane & Disaster 1926
(Coral Gables, Florida; Arva Parks & Company, 1986) p. 5

129. At 3:30 a.m., Richard Gray's barometer in the Weather Bureau office had dropped to 29.06:
Miami Daily News
, September 18, 1926

129. Out on Miami Beach, the sea was swallowing the island:
New York Times
, September 22, 1926

129. As dawn approached, the hurricane's winds had reached at least 115 miles an hour:
Monthly Weather Review
, September 1926, p. 410

129. That was more than Gertrude Rubelli's house could withstand: “Report of Mrs. Gertrude Rubelli employed by Dade County School Board and Red Cross Chapter”; Folder DR-207, Florida hurricane of 9-18-1926: Donated Records Collection (formerly Records Group 200), Records of the American Red Cross 1917–1934, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland